by LoRee Peery
She pictured him entering her tiny kitchen. Did he perform his writing ritual at the table or in a corner of the couch?
Hours later, he emerged, yawning.
She couldn’t help but grin over the disoriented expression he wore. He must still have his head in some odd make-believe world.
Busy with several sales, they were unable to talk. The woman at the counter was distracted by her small daughter. While she dug through a combination diaper bag/purse, Hayley grabbed a moment. “Excuse me, please.”
She held out her phone. “Kam, I won’t apologize for being busy. Could we exchange phone numbers, please?”
He offered her his phone and entered his contact info in hers. Would the phone connection keep them in touch?
That night, Kameron had to see Hayley’s face to face, not just listen to her voice. He shrugged his shoulders, did the breathing thing, and knocked.
She opened the door and motioned him in.
His whole insides sighed. How corny was that? He unzipped his coat, ready to soak in the warmth of Hayley and her bright, happy abode. Why did he have to use words in his head like a writer?
“Christmas blend spice tea, or hot cocoa?”
“Hot chocolate sounds good. It’s cold and damp outside. Must be gonna snow.” Lame conversation. He didn’t want to talk. He wanted to kiss her. “Need some help?”
“Sure. Grab the milk and choose a couple mugs. You might want to rinse them out. I always use the one with the sunflower. I’ll grab a wooden spoon and man the stove.”
“First, I have to do something.” He moved in close, cupped her shoulders, and turned her to face him. They stood so close he saw green flecks in her eyes of gold. He froze. She smelled divine. He closed his eyes to breath in her essence.
He wrote about kids. Distant, adolescent crushes, sometimes a kiss on the cheek or a hug, now that he had a girl in the current story. Never had he imagined proximity like this, a woman like this. He opened his eyes and savored what he read in her face. Lovely, open, trusting. Light brown, wispy short hairs lined her forehead, different from the shades of her blonde ponytail.
Her eyes drifted closed but moved beneath the lids. Her nostrils flared. She experienced something, had to be aware of the change in air they breathed.
What to do? He should move away.
She made the tiniest moan in the back of her throat.
The sound jarred him like a lightning bolt.
Longing. Passion. Restraint.
She placed her hand on his arm.
He lost it. His hand tunneled at the base of her skull so her hair tumbled down to tickle his fingers.
He had to kiss her. Did that sort of thing come naturally?
Every atom in his being shouted to pull her close and savor. Cherish. He kissed one closed eyelid and then the other. One temple and the other. One silky cheekbone and the matching one. He trailed tickling, light caresses along her jawline.
She moaned and sagged against him.
His arms went around her, and he ever so gently brushed the corner of her mouth.
She moved a fraction of an inch to answer the call of his lips.
For the first time ever, he lost himself in another.
9
Only a week now until Christmas, and Hayley couldn’t be more pleased over Auntie’s Antiquities’ lucrative business. She wished she could smell the cinnamon pine cones piled high in a blue speckled washbowl replica, a gift from Blythe. Kameron had told her the powerful aroma was too strong so she’d brought down the few she’d put in her kitchen.
With so many items leaving the shop, her online purchasing list for January grew longer by the day. So far her computer searches only involved vintage jewelry‒her double locket and Kameron’s fob chain. She’d viewed umpteen interlocking heart and clasp combinations until she had to have seen a picture of every piece owned by anyone with a camera and Internet access.
Quit daydreaming.
Kameron asked if she’d like to drive around looking at Christmas lights. A date. One of the most popular displays was on a country road a couple miles west of Edgewood. The whole Manley family, including a dozen grandchildren, annually unloaded and set up the show over a weekend in mid-November.
Hayley covered the glass server on today’s dark chocolate mint fudge. In between customers she once again pulled up jewelry. As far as she could determine by collectors she’d sold to, vintage by today’s standard started around 1940, but she searched for older pieces. She had yet to find a double heart locket and had seen plenty of woven leaves, flowers, curlicues, and birds from owls to peacocks.
Moments later she shut down the computer, decision made. She’d visit Pastor Gregg. Show him her necklace. Come right out and ask what he knew about both pieces of jewelry.
The day passed in alternating bursts of busyness and quiet contemplation. Finally, time to get ready for Kameron. Hayley waved at Bette Jean through the window as she turned from securing the garage. She’d asked them to come to supper again, this time with Pastor Gregg, two nights from now.
Hayley ran upstairs to shower and change. She’d have to hurry, since she had no idea what to wear. She tried on four sweaters, changed her boots twice, and then blew a relieved breath just as he knocked.
Instead of his usual casual shirts, a couple he’d even tossed on backward, he wore a Christmas red sweater over a button-down, baby blue shirt.
“Wish I could smell the leather. Your jacket is the color of cocoa.”
He blushed.
She sucked in her cheeks to prevent a smile.
“You always smell good. I like leather, too, but it doesn’t smell as good as you. I bought the jacket after I contracted my first series.”
“It’s good to reward ourselves.” She adjusted her necklace as she leaned against the counter.
Kameron met her gaze briefly, and patted her arm the way he’d pet one of the dogs.
She reached out to cover his hand. It took a couple seconds, but he turned his over to clasp hers. His touch wormed awareness throughout her system. Her mind turned to mush. “Thanks for asking me out tonight. I love the Christmas season. We celebrate Jesus coming to earth.” To die for our sins.
Kameron’s hand clenched to squeeze hers, not quite to the point of hurting, as though he’d read her thoughts. What was he waiting for?
He met her gaze.
“Now that I have your attention, how’s the story going?”
He gulped, cleared his throat. “Sorry. It’s not bad manners. I sometimes just get lost in my head while looking at you. The story. Great. As soon as my agent approved the first draft, I started revising.”
“She likes it?”
“Yeah. Especially that I incorporated a girl into the woods. My other stories are about how boys survive.” He blushed again. What would his handsome face look like if he smiled?
“That’s good. Have you ever driven by the Manley place?”
“The what?”
“Christmas light show, between here and Lincoln. Where we’re headed.”
“No. I don’t pay much attention. Except to those huge blow-up things that look out of place.” He released her hand. “You’re my guide tonight. Is that place in the country the first on your list?”
“Silly. You can plot books but not a night driving around.”
He blushed again. Too cute.
“Lighten up. I’m such a planner I have a list of the top five houses, in order. I’m ready if you are. I just need to grab my coat.” Hayley grinned.
He shifted weight from one foot to the other, helped her with her coat sleeves, and they headed out the door.
A quarter mile up the dirt road Kameron came to a complete stop.
Taillights lined the right side of the road, dimmed headlights faced them as far as she could see. She strained for a glimpse of the light show. “I wouldn’t have wanted to spend the evening alone.”
“No problem.” Kam moved at a crawl with the traffic. “A writer is
supposed to be open to new adventure.”
So this isn’t a date? “Looking at Christmas lights is a new adventure?”
He only shrugged, kept his eyes on the car ahead.
“It says to dial in a particular radio station. May I?”
“Have at it.”
She tuned in. A catchy, modern rock Christmas tune filled the air. Suddenly the car in front took off, and a kaleidoscope of lights and lawn settings came into view.
“Oh. I could sit here for fifteen minutes and not see everything.” Where to look first?
Some worded signs held a steady glow. “Go Big Red” inside a giant football, and a “Happy 150 years, Nebraska” inside the state’s shape. Several pine trees were so covered in lights they glowed like fire. Colors blinked, silver strobed to the beat of numerous tunes from familiar carols, to modern rock and roll.
She tracked from left to right, up and down, knowing she’d never remember specifics. Sensory overload.
Kameron crawled along as Hayley attempted to take it all in. Reindeer glided Santa and his sleigh above the house roof. A cartoon dog danced atop another building. The lawn held scenes from movies as well as biblical characters. Lights in choreographed sections and rows of synchronized colored lights kept in time with the instrumentation blasting all around them.
The last display she noted was a huge cross next to a manger raised to rest on a wagon. “I heard somewhere that Jesus came with the cross in His heart.”
At that instant, Kameron hit the gas.
Just past the city limits sign she’d had enough of his silence. “Does your apartment seem extra quiet after spending time with Gregg’s energetic dogs?”
“I’m used to the quiet. Where to next?”
She directed him to various decorated homes around the city. None compared to the extravaganza they’d witnessed in the country.
Kameron bit out a few responses. She eventually gave up on engaging him in conversation. Her comment about the cross and Christ had done it. Though sick at heart over his lack of belief, she refused to let him take away her joy while celebrating Christmas.
Some date.
Some date.
Kameron slammed into his place and tossed his keys on the counter. Emotions all over the place, he backpedaled to flip the deadbolt. He’d looked forward to their evening together and expected another mind-blowing kiss. Hayley ruined his mood by carrying on about that Bible stuff.
He braced against the counter and hung his head. He felt as young and lost as the kids he wrote about. What a joke. He had no business writing about inexperienced adolescent feelings. He had no idea how to handle the way he felt for Hayley. She had his guts twisted into knots. The whole world was bright and sunny to her because her reality was all wrapped up in Jesus.
Would her Jesus keep her from laughing at him if Kameron tried to express himself?
His reality was he’d been tossed out. The proverbial baby with the bath water. Why should he feel good about anything?
This jumble going through his head got him nowhere. He straightened, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and opened his laptop. The strobe-effect of the racing lights they’d seen in the country reminded him of a carnival with its midway rides, noise, and confusion. It’d be a perfect setting, only silent ghosts of bygone adventure, for a new series.
Hours later, the ringing cell phone startled him. He jumped and knocked over the stale warm beer he’d taken one swig of. “‘lo?”
“Kam?”
“What? Who?”
“Kameron, the dogs were loose.” Hayley. Crying. “You have to come. It’s awful. Gregg. Oh…”
What was all that street noise? He reached for his shoes. “Slow down. I haven’t slept. What’re you trying to tell me?”
She audibly drew in a breath and exhaled. “Winter and Summer were running in the street. It’s really a highway, you know, dragging their leashes. I hurried out to take them home.”
He grabbed his coat and keys while she tried to choke out something he couldn’t understand.
Hayley. Sobbing.
He waited another beat. “I’m on my way. I spent the night hammering out the plot for a couple new books.”
She drew in a huge gulp of air and blurted. “It’s Pastor Gregg. I took home the dogs and found him collapsed in the driveway. I called nine-one-one and held it together until I heard your voice.”
Sirens rent the background. “Hang in there. See you in ten.”
“Can we stay on the phone until you get here? I think I can hold on if you talk to me. Right now by myself, I might faint. Oh, here come Bette Jean and Ross. It’s mad. Fire and rescue. A deputy sheriff.” Another blare covered her voice. “The ambulance just got here.”
“I’m in the car now.” Kam slammed the door. “I don’t understand. He kept in shape by walking the dogs and using light weights.”
“You’re right.”
“He didn’t overeat.” What happened?
“I can make out occasional comments. They’re suggesting heart attack or stroke.”
The commotion of activity became visible a mile away from Edgewood. “I’m almost there, Hayley. I have to see him before they take him.”
It was past time for Kameron to seek the face of Jesus. Today is the day of salvation.
Words of caution and preparation declared centuries ago. Words Gregg quoted multiple times. Words meant for Kameron now?
10
Hayley’s heart hurt for Kameron. She kept her phone close in case he needed her. He’d spent the night at the Heart Hospital with Pastor Gregg. That morning Kam told her he only knew what day it was because of her. He’s in my life now.
A carload of senior women full of holiday shopping spirit barreled through the door. She had a store to run and customers to greet. God had watched out for her and Kameron yesterday by the scant number of people who’d entered Auntie’s Antiquities.
“Welcome, ladies. The coffee’s hot, so please help yourselves. Today’s fudge is almond, and I have a variety of samplers from this week. The old bank safe is full of candy made right here in our own little town of Edgewood.” She met each of their gazes with a smile. “Let me know if you have any questions.”
Her phone chimed “Joy to the World,” which was Kam’s ringtone. She connected but didn’t answer.
“The doctors kicked me out, so I’m here at the house.” He sounded tired. “They’re keeping Gregg sedated through the day. You busy?”
“They have your number?” Just in case…
“Yeah. The elders are making sure there’s always someone there.”
“To pray. That’s good.” Lord, draw Kameron to pray also. “Come on over and spend time with me until your relatives fly in.”
“I’ll try. Thanks for suggesting Blythe to deal with the dogs and handle the phone calls.”
She pictured him gnawing on his knuckle. One of these days, she’d spring for a phone that showed the caller’s face. “What’s the latest on Pastor Gregg?”
“Doctors are still deciding if and when surgery is necessary. They agree it would have been much worse if you hadn’t found him in time.”
“I was where God wanted me to be.” She checked on her customers. They gabbed and touched and chattered as they wandered, nowhere near the fudge or coffee yet.
Hayley stepped into the hall. “Kam, every spare minute I have, you’re in my prayers. I wish you weren’t going through this. It was awful to watch Mom deal with cancer, but we made plans and talked and grew close. I hope this will deepen your relationship with Pastor.”
“It’s just so sudden. Unexpected. What lousy timing. Christmas.” He blew a sigh. “Sorry. Were you done talking about your mom?”
“You’re sweet. It’s OK. I’m trying to empathize with you. Things will be better once Pastor Gregg’s sister gets here. I think I need to go.”
Crossing to assist one of the women, Hayley pictured her mother’s last moments. Toward the end she’d opened
her eyes, but hadn’t seemed to see Hayley. Someday, Hayley would take the opportunity to tell Kameron she believed Mom had seen the face of Jesus. All the lines had cleared in her face. Her eyes shined with an unforgettable glow. There were no words for the peace and love that had transformed on Mom’s face.
“Do you have another old-time Santa figure?” The attractive customer held up a figurine. “My mother has one like it, but I’d like to add to her collection.”
“Let me show you my Victorian grouping.”
Hayley attended to customers while Kameron called, texted, or stopped in throughout the day. She prayed the constant contact soothed him as much as it helped her. Late in the afternoon, she selected Kam’s number. “Hi. Are you about ready to leave for the airport?”
“Yes, and thanks. I almost forgot.”
“What are you doing?”
“I finally crashed for twenty minutes. Then I made up the spare room and laid out a blanket and pillow so I can bunk on the couch.”
“Did you tell me their last name?”
“Who? Oh. I think so. Wormwinkle. John won’t be with Mom and Samantha. The church ladies have already brought food, so eating tonight won’t be a problem.” His words faded away.
The emotion in his voice was a side of Kam she hadn’t seen. Illness, his family coming, the church’s expression of love. He had a lot to deal with.
“Are you taking them directly to the hospital or stopping here first?”
“Here. Can you come over? I could use your moral support before we leave for the hospital.”
“I’d be honored, Kam. I’ll be there as soon as I close up.”
“Blythe’s been gone about an hour. The dogs know when it’s time to eat. Would you mind feeding them and let them out back?”
“I can do that. Bye for now, I have a customer.”
She kept busy the next hour, and then took time to pour out her heart to the Lord. “I’m wrapping things up here at the shop, Lord. I don’t need to tell You that. Please bring Kameron and his family back safely. He’s preoccupied and probably not in top form to be driving. Show me how to reach him, what to say later. Above all, Kam needs You, Lord.”