by Leah Atwood
His cheeks hurt from trying not to smile. He didn’t want her to think he was making fun of her, but it did his heart good to see how much she hadn’t changed. “If I ever get in trouble, I want you on my team.”
She cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“If you believe in something, you’ll defend it with your dying breath.” He inserted the key and locked the door to the building. “It’s a good quality to possess, one I’ve always admired in you.”
For the first time since she’d arrived, she cracked a smile. “Not everyone sees it as an asset. I dare say many see it as a liability.”
He chuckled and draped a friendly arm around her shoulder. “It’s good to have you back.”
A weight seemed to lift from her, and her shoulders straightened. “Where to first?”
“Toys on Main.”
Brenna smirked. “I should have known.”
“Remember the year we went and picked out presents for each other?” He let his arm fall to his side.
“Yes, we both picked out those animated weasels chasing a ball.” She shook her head. “What were we thinking?”
“I still have mine.” He pushed the button and waited for the crosswalk light to change. “My mom brought a box of items from the attic to me a few years ago, and it was in there. Teegan loves it.”
“Teegan?”
“My nephew.” He furrowed his brows. “You weren’t kidding that nobody tells you anything.”
“Told you.” Her frown disappeared. “How old is he?”
“He turned two in September, and is full of life.” He pulled out his phone and showed Brenna the most recent picture of his nephew. “I watched him last week, so Misty and Carson could have a date night. He barely stopped moving the entire four hours I was there.”
“He’s adorable. I see he got the trademark Thomas blue eyes.”
“His Thomas genes are strong. He looks identical to me as a toddler.” Derek pointed to the picture. “Except he got Carson’s red hair, not the Thomas chestnut brown. Misty said that combination is rare.”
“I’ve heard that.”
The light finally changed, allowing them to safely cross the street. He surveyed the scene, disheartened at the empty sidewalks. “If we can’t even get people to town today, how are we ever going to restore Noel?”
Chapter Three
Brenna held the cup of coffee to her face. The heat thawed her exposed cheeks, and she second-guessed her choice not to wear more cold-weather gear around her face.
“Here, wear this.”
She looked up to see Derek handing her his scarf. “I can’t take this.”
His eyes gleamed. “We haven’t even made it down half of this side of Main Street, but if you want your nose to fall off, okay.”
“Whatever. Your mom told us that all the time as kids, and it never came true.” Regardless, she yanked the scarf from him and laughed. She wrapped it around her neck and tugged the fabric to cover her cheeks while leaving her mouth free to speak. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He finished stirring sugar into his coffee then replaced the lid. “Where to next?”
“Aren’t we making a straight line?”
He smiled. “Just making sure you hadn’t changed your mind.”
The banter between them came naturally, stirring nostalgic feelings in her. Her friendship with Derek could be traced back to their days of diapers and bottles. He’d been a constant in her life until their senior year of high school, until a single kiss changed everything. Their friendship never ended but had morphed into a strained version of its former self, although her years away from Noel seemed to have erased that tension.
“We’re stopping in each store. Knowledge is power, and from what I’ve seen, I need all the knowledge I can garner to bring hope back to Noel.” Her chest tightened. “Vanna warned me, Mom and Beth, as well, but I didn’t believe it could be this bad.”
Derek guided her to the door. “I’m conflicted. Part of me doubts anything we do will make a difference, but a larger part refuses to admit defeat.”
“Is that why you ran for Mayor?” The bell above her on the door jingled.
“Yes.” He held the door until she was outside then followed her. “Clyde Dumfries isn’t a bad man, but he lost his hope along with everyone else. I might not have all the answers, but I will do my best to bring back the Noel we all knew.”
Despite the cold air, she strolled at a leisurely pace to Becoming Mom, a store she had no reason to enter except for research. “Do you have any ideas?”
“We need jobs. When a mom or dad can’t provide for their family, it creates a ripple through the entire community.” He paused in front of Becoming Mom. “If we could get another company to move into the factory, that would be key.”
“Simple enough in theory, but not in practicality.”
He loosed a sardonic chuckle. “Tell me about it. I’ve contacted a corporate real estate agent, but the problem is, Noel doesn’t own the land.”
“Who does?”
“Mason Textiles.”
She opened the door and stepped inside the store. “I’m assuming they aren’t in a hurry to sell?”
“As long as it sits there vacant, it’s a hefty tax write-off for them. Whoever buys it would have to make a lucrative offer.”
Her insides sank. The big picture became grimmer with each revelation. “Even if they find a buyer, it will take time to close the sale and bring jobs. From what I’m seeing, Noel doesn’t have that long.”
His pinched lips said it all.
Jerrica Talon, the owner of the maternity boutique, came to greet them. “The entire store is on sale. All clothes are forty percent off, spa items are twenty-five percent off, and everything else is ten percent off. I’m also offering free gift wrap for today only.”
The desperation in Jerrica’s tone made Brenna want to make a purchase. She already had several bags from other stores, and she didn’t know anyone who was pregnant, but she’d find something, even if she had to set it aside for a day when a friend was expecting. In the end, she settled on a gift box of lotions and bath salts. Pregnant or not, she could indulge in extra pampering.
Two hours later, she and Derek had stopped in every store on Main Street. She’d depleted her Christmas budget, but finished buying gifts for everyone on her list, including several more items for herself. Store after store, the full shelves called out to her, begging her to support the local businesses. If only she had unlimited finances, she’d buy everything if it meant saving Noel.
“Are you in a hurry to get home?” Derek reached for her bags, relieving her of the burden.
She shook her head. “Mom and Beth had tickets for a matinee of The Nutcracker production at the Holman Theatre.”
“You didn’t want to go?”
“They’ve had their tickets for weeks now. I went online last night to get one, but they’ve sold out.”
“Bummer.”
“It’s not a big deal. They offered to stay home, but I told them to go.” With her hands now free, she wiggled her fingers to relieve the cramps. “I’m the one who showed up unannounced, and I would have felt terrible if I ruined their plans.”
He arched a brow. “Wait, after being gone for years, you came home without telling anyone?”
“I didn’t want to get Mom’s hopes up if I changed my mind.”
“Makes sense.” He pointed across the street. “Want to grab a late lunch/early dinner at the café?”
“Do they still have the garlic Texas toast?”
He nodded. “I get it every time I eat there.”
“Low carb diets are overrated. Let’s go.”
“Why don’t we drop these off at your car and then go.” He lifted the bags, made a gesture exaggerating their heaviness.
She counted the number of bags. “I went overboard, didn’t I?”
“I know why you bought most of the items, and I appreciate your efforts.” He graced h
er with a smile that warmed her chilled bones.
“I needed to buy gifts anyway—why not shop locally?”
His smile transformed into a frown. “Unfortunately, many of our families can’t afford to shop locally. Many can barely afford traveling fifteen miles to the discount store.”
She was struck by how sheltered she’d made her life since Dad passed away. The irony of it all was that she missed Dad as much today as she did the day he died. The pain didn’t go away simply because she ignored Noel. That was the thing with memories—they traveled with the person they belonged to.
“Do you have a list of young families who need help buying gifts for their children this year?” She took long strides to keep up with him as they walked.
“I have all the applications for assistance in my office.” He looked both ways before crossing an alley. “It’s a lot. Too many.”
“Have you called the churches and rotary and such?”
“Everyone is tapped out. I have calls to make Monday for service projects, but if it requires money, there aren’t many resources available.”
She pictured her bank account, inflated by a generous Christmas bonus for earning her company two awards for design this year. How could she continue with plans for a cruise next summer when a town full of kids wouldn’t have Christmas this year. “May I see the list before we eat?”
“Sure.” His face lit up. “If you could sponsor one or two kids, that would help tremendously.”
When they reached her car, she popped the trunk and helped Derek arrange her bags. She followed him inside and into his office. It had been years since she’d been in the mayor’s office, but it still looked the same.
Evergreen boughs were draped from the top of bookcases, a console table displayed a nativity scene, a fully decorated, artificial tree stood in the corner. In another corner, a display case held the Noel snowglobe collection, one for each mayor since the early nineteen hundreds.
“Have you picked out yours yet?” She stared beyond the glass at the whimsical balls.
“No.” He picked up a manila folder from his desk. “I haven’t been in office long enough and wasn’t sure if this would be a good year to add it.”
“You have to.” She gestured toward the case’s handle. “May I?” After she had his permission, she opened the display door and reached for her favorite, Joseph leading Mary who rode on a donkey. She turned the silver knob on the bottom, then released it to play “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
“That’s always been your favorite.”
Derek’s comment unnerved her, or maybe it was the way he watched her. Few, if any, people knew her better than he had. For all the years she’d lived in New York, most of her friendships stayed at a surface level. Only a handful went deeper, and they couldn’t compare to what she and Derek had shared.
Unable to handle his scrutiny, she replaced the snowglobe and cleared her throat. “Do you have the applications?”
“Right here.” He handed over the folder.
She lowered her body into one of the visitor’s chairs. Page by page, she flipped through, her heart breaking with each name and list she read. She’d gone to school with many of these parents, had grown up with them and had sleepovers and birthday parties with them.
A fundamental shift occurred in her. Her mission went beyond saving Noel to a goal even more personal. She’d bring Christmas to these people who weren’t just citizens of a town. They were a part of her life that helped weave the story of her childhood and early adult years. They’d been there for her when Dad passed, had reached out to her when she’d returned to New York.
The force of the memories flooding her pinned her against the chair. How could she complain that no one told her anything? They’d tried to stay in her life, but she had pushed them away, hadn’t responded to their letters or calls.
That stopped now.
“Do you have a notepad and calculator I can use?”
“Here’s a notepad and pen.” He rummaged in a drawer. “And here’s a calculator.”
“Thanks.” She scooted the chair forward until she could use the desk to write on.
More slowly this time, she went through each application and wrote an approximate cost to complete each wish list. She tallied the total and cringed.
So close.
“Goodbye cruise,” she muttered.
“What was that?”
For a second, she’d forgotten she wasn’t alone. “Nothing.”
Derek raised a brow. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Bren?”
“I’m figuring out a way to fill all the lists.” She finished adding the numbers a second time and came up with the same total. Even allowing for a margin of error, she couldn’t possibly buy every item on her own. “If I take a toy off a few lists, I can cover them all, but how do I know which one they want the most?”
“Nobody would expect you to take on that expense.” Derek tried to be discreet in looking at her list, but she saw his neck move slightly. “And the lists are only suggestions. The kids will be grateful for anything they receive.”
“I want to do this.” She laid the pen aside and leaned back in the chair. “It’s not about the gifts, not exactly.”
“Then what?” He stared at her as though he knew where she’d go, but wanted to hear it from her.
“I know Christmas isn’t about the gifts. It’s about celebrating the birth of the long-awaited Savior.”
“Jesus is the reason for the season.” Derek smiled briefly. “But it’s said so often that we start to tune out the significance of it.”
“When life gets busy it’s easy to lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas. To be honest, that’s how I’ve been the last four or five years.”
“Something changed just now, didn’t it?”
“As I read through each of those applications, I saw families who needed hope, who need to know someone cares.” She rubbed her fingers against each other, hesitating to continue. Would he think her insight was off or idealistic? “Jesus’s sacrificial death on the cross was the ultimate act of kindness that gave all mankind hope.”
He leaned forward, gazing at her intently. “And in a similar way, you want to bring hope by gifting these families.”
“Does that sound arrogant? Any act I could perform would pale miserably in comparison to what Christ did for us, but in the best way I know how I want to imitate His love.” She held her breath, watched for his reaction.
A slow, humble smile crept onto his face. “I’ve always admired you, but never more so than now.”
“It’s not about me. Canceling my cruise is the least I can do to spread love this Christmas.” She swallowed the ball of emotion in her throat. “I should never have ignored my home for this long.”
“Can I see your estimates?”
She slid them across his desk. “They aren’t perfect since I don’t know the going rate of most toys, but I believe it’s a reasonable estimate.”
He lifted the tally sheet and let out a low whistle. “This is a lot of money. I can’t ask you to spend that much.”
“You didn’t ask, I offered.” She crossed her arms, ready to battle in defiance.
“Let’s do this.” He laid the papers aside. “If you can give up your cruise, I can put off buying a new car. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to split the costs.”
Her heart grew two sizes. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel obligated because of me. God doesn’t give all of us the same callings.”
“I’m positive.”
She relaxed and uncrossed her arms. “If you’re free any day next week, we can go shopping and make a day out of it.”
“Tuesday’s my only day off. I’m here all day Monday and Wednesdays, and a half day on Fridays, but I still work at the nursery.”
“Oh wow. That’s a crazy schedule to carry.”
He reverted back to a frown. “Not as much as I’d hoped. Mom and Dad are talking about shutting it down.”
&n
bsp; “They can’t do that. It’s a staple of the community.”
“When a family struggles to put food on the table, they’re not thinking about landscaping and planting new trees and flower gardens.” His gaze wandered, and he sighed. “They’re operating at bare minimum now, and the only thing keeping them from going in the red is cutting my salary.”
“They cut your pay?” She couldn’t imagine Mr. and Mrs. Thomas shortchanging their own son, but she didn’t voice her thoughts on the matter.
“It was my idea. Since the town pays me a small salary to be their mayor, I suggested my parents hire a part-timer to fill in my missing hours. I knew Dave Richards needed a job, so he’s helping out. Overall, the nursery’s payroll is less, and Dave has a little income to keep him afloat.”
“You always were a saint.”
He chuckled. “Not by far. If I were, I would have given up my car money months ago.”
“Either way, you’re a good man Derek Thomas. I’m proud to call you friend.”
“It’s been a long time since you’ve called me that.”
She swallowed. He had a point, but she didn’t want to go there. Not now, maybe not ever.
A rumble echoed in the room.
Derek shifted his eyes and laughed. “That’s my stomach, demanding to be fed.”
Saved by the stomach growl. “I’m hungry, too. Let’s eat.”
Chapter Four
Derek stretched his arms and yawned. Coming to his office at the nursery this morning had been a bad idea. No matter how he worked the numbers, they didn’t add up to a positive outcome.
For the first time in thirty-three years, his parents’ business had operated on a negative profit for November. If it continued, they’d have to make hard decisions about the nursery’s future. Mom and Dad had poured years of sweat equity and sacrifice into the business. He’d hate to see the nursery close, but his parents deserved to enjoy the money they’d saved over the years—not throw it back into a stumbling business.
He closed out the books and pushed aside the worries. He’d talk to them tomorrow and deliver the bad news, but today he had other plans. In less than an hour, he’d pick up Brenna, and they’d go to Portland, armed with wish lists and shopping apps. They’d purchased what they could from Noel’s stores, but the variety was limited. Decreased sales meant decreased inventory.