A Sweethaven Christmas

by Courtney Walsh

  For two days straight, all she did was bake. She told herself it was research for the dessert portion of the cookbook, but the truth was, she needed the distraction, and baking helped her clear her head.

  Now, though, looking over a table overflowing with delectable dishes, Adele began to think a new method of processing her emotions might be in order.

  She called Meghan and told her to get the girls over to her house. “I need help with something.”

  “Is everything okay, Mama?” Meghan had asked.

  She wouldn’t tell her any more than that. If she told her slender daughter she needed help eating the mountain of sweets she’d accumulated, none of them would come.

  “Oh, it’s fine. I just have a few things to, uh, share with you. And I thought maybe we’d get a jump start on our scrapbook. No sense waiting till summer when we have Thanksgiving photos to scrap.”

  She gave Meghan the details and hung up the phone, then began pacing the house.

  She’d tried to bake away the reality that Henry had asked her to marry him, but even that hadn’t worked. All it had done was get her even more worked up.

  Why couldn’t she simply hand this situation over to God? He’d take care of it like He’d done a thousand times before, but she hadn’t given Him the chance. Instead of going to her knees with it, she’d gone to the cupboards—and she couldn’t hide that fact unless she wanted to dump everything in the garbage.

  The sound of footsteps on the front porch interrupted Adele’s introspection, and then she heard the door opening.

  “Mama? We’re all here.” Meghan’s voice was a welcome addition to the quiet house. Adele greeted them in the entryway.

  “It smells so good in here.” Campbell took her coat off and inhaled a deep breath.

  “Are you trying to kill me?” Jane had a terrified look in her eyes.

  “Oh, girls, I’m so glad you’re all here. Come on in.” She ushered everyone into the dining room, where she’d laid out all the treats.

  “I’m going to need some help narrowing things down.” Adele set a Texas sheet cake on the table and glanced up to find four pairs of wide eyes staring at her, confused.

  “Mama, what is all this?” Meghan asked.

  “Dessert.”

  “For an army?”

  “I got word a couple days ago,” Adele said. “The cookbook is a go.”

  “That’s wonderful, Adele,” Campbell said.

  “You must be so excited.” Jane stared across the table full of off-limits food.

  “You really didn’t need to go to all this trouble, Adele,” Lila said. “I think I’ve had that lemon cake with the cream cheese frosting at least ten times. You already know it’s delicious.”

  “I can’t be here.” Jane turned around, panicked. “Just smelling it is going to make me gain ten pounds.”

  “No, darlin’. I made you a sugar-free apple compote. It’s in the kitchen.”

  “Mama, what is going on?” Meghan put a hand on her hip like she did when she was a teenager.

  “It’s nothin’, just a little baking is all.”

  “This isn’t either. This is stress baking. You do this when you’re upset.” Meghan raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer.

  “Fine. Yes, I might be a little bit stressed.”

  “Because of the cookbook?” Campbell asked.

  “No. Well, yes, I am a little worked up over that, but girls—” How did she say it out loud? Telling them would break her heart. “I’m leaving Sweethaven.”

  All four of them gasped.

  “Now, don’t go getting all upset about this. It’s a good thing.” Adele hoped. She’d spent these baking days weighing her options and Henry was right. They weren’t getting any younger. The girls could visit her in Grand Falls—it wasn’t that far away.

  “Mama, this is crazy talk. Sweethaven is your home. No one loves Sweethaven more than you.” “Let’s go in the living room, girls. I’ve got some news.” Adele followed them all into the coziest room in the house and waited until everyone was comfortable. Their exchange of confused glances didn’t escape her. “Do y’all want some dessert?”

  “Mama! Spill it. What on earth is going on?” Meghan stood, arms crossed, and stared at her. Clearly her daughter was not in the mood for Adele’s stalling.

  Adele sat on the edge of her rocking chair, remembering how Henry had proposed right there in that very room. It was the second time he’d proposed to her. The first time, she’d been too young.

  “Let me tell you a story,” Adele said. “To give you some background.” Her mind moseyed back and in an instant, she was sixteen again, standing under the night sky with Henry at her side. He’d been quieter than usual their last few dates, and tonight had done nothing to change that. Adele had started to wonder if he didn’t want to see her anymore. Had his feelings for her changed?

  They walked out on the dock and sat down, where they both put their feet in the lake, letting the water lap over their skin. The moon shone brighter than usual, illuminating Henry’s troubled expression.

  “Thanks for taking me out tonight,” she said.

  He glanced down at her and smiled. “Are you kidding? There was nowhere else I’d rather be.”

  “Really?” Hopefulness resounded in her voice.

  “Of course.” His face fell. “I love spending time with you.” He stilled for a long moment, then said, “That’s why this is so hard.”

  Adele frowned. “Why what is so hard?”

  “What I’m about to tell you.”

  Her heart sank. He needed to break up with her. He’d most likely romanticized it for her sake, but she braced herself for her first heartbreak. “What is it, Henry?”

  “I enlisted in the army.”

  Adele’s mind spun, trying to understand the words he’d just spoken. Tears sprang to her eyes. Just yesterday she’d heard about another boy from Sweethaven who’d been killed in action in Vietnam. She’d said a prayer of thanks that her Henry didn’t have to go over there and fight. “Thank You, Lord, for keeping him safe,” she’d said.

  And he was purposely putting himself in harm’s way?

  “Henry . . . why?”

  “I want to serve my country.” He shook his head. “I’ve been thinking about this all summer, Adele, ever since I turned eighteen, and I know it’s the right thing to do.”

  Adele pulled her feet out of the water and stood up. “No, it’s not the right thing, Henry. The right thing is for you to be here. With me.”

  He stood and moved toward her, but she held up a hand that told him not to come any closer. “Adele, please.”

  “I won’t sleep a single hour when you’re gone. How will I survive?” Her breath caught in her throat and she swatted the images of him with a gun out of her mind. “People die over there. Ronnie died over there. We knew him, Henry. This isn’t a game.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and held her, the nearness of him drawing the tears from her very core. “I’m going to be all right,” he said.

  “You can’t possibly promise that.” Her voice caught and tears stained his shirt. “I can’t lose you, Henry.”

  “You’ll never lose me. I love you.” Henry pulled back and took her face in his hands. “I need to know that you’re going to be here when I get back.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver band. “I want you to marry me, Adele. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  Through her tears, she gasped. “I’m only sixteen.”

  “I know. But I know I love you, and I want us to be together.”

  She took the ring from him. No diamonds, and it still sparkled in the moonlight.

  “I’ll get you a real one when I get back,” Henry said. “But I wanted you to have something for when I’m away. It’ll keep the other guys away.”

  Adele met his eyes. “There are no other guys.”

  He leaned down and kissed her, holding her face, his thumb moving softly across her tear-stained cheek
. After a long moment, Henry took a step back. “Will you wait for me?”

  She nodded. “Yes, Henry. Of course I will.”

  They sat on the dock for at least an hour past her curfew, and a few days later, she said good-bye to him at the Sweethaven Train Depot.

  Adele looked up at her captive audience, all four of the women wide-eyed and waiting.

  “So, what happened?” Meghan asked.

  Adele looked away. “Henry kept his promise. He was fine. But I didn’t keep mine.”

  Silence washed over them and it seemed for several seconds they were all afraid to take a breath. She knew why. She’d made a promise and she’d broken it. She’d walked away from love because it had gotten too hard.

  “I thought if I moved on and put Henry out of my mind I’d stop worrying about him. By the time he came back, I was engaged to someone else.” She glanced at Meghan. She’d leave the part out about that someone being her biological daddy.

  He’d never been anything close to a father to Meghan.

  “I think we need to dive into the sheet cake,” Lila said.

  Adele’s laugh sounded nervous in her own ears. “I tell you all this to tell you that thanks to you girls, Henry and I have reconnected.”

  Jane let out a squeal and the others started chattering. “When can we meet him?” Campbell asked.

  “Soon, I hope.” Adele met their eyes, one by one. “He’s asked me to marry him and move to Grand Falls.”

  More squeals and chattering.

  “You’re getting married?” Jane covered her mouth with her hands and shook her head.

  “Adele, that’s wonderful news!” Campbell smiled.

  “I hope you’re having four bridesmaids,” Lila said. “One with a big old belly.”

  Adele laughed. The girls’ excitement had sparked something in her, and the stress of her decision melted away. Then she met Meghan’s eyes. Her daughter had been oddly quiet.

  “Meg?”

  She put on a smile, but Adele saw right through it.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Meghan shook her head. “No, Mama, I’m happy for you, of course.” She pressed her lips together. “It’s just all so sudden.”

  “I’ve known him all my life, darlin’,” Adele said.

  “No, Mama. You knew him. You don’t know him now. You don’t know what he’s become.”

  Adele stared at her. “You girls are the ones who found Henry for me. Don’t go changing things around on me now that it’s workin’ out.”

  “I’m not trying to rain on your parade, Mama, and I’m sure not trying to tell you what to do. I just want you to be careful—make sure you know what you’re getting into. There are all kinds of stories about men conning women and taking their money. Teddy left you in decent shape.”

  “But I’m not wealthy by any means. Besides, Henry has his own money. He doesn’t need mine.” Adele held Meghan’s gaze. “For the first time in years I feel like someone needs me again.” Adele willed herself not to cry. “And girls, you may all take that for granted, but it’s an important thing—being needed.”

  “But is it a reason to jump right into marriage? Why don’t you date him for a while?” Meghan asked. “At least let us meet him.”

  Adele nodded. “Of course I want you to meet him.”

  “Good. Let’s set something up,” Lila said. “I can’t wait.”

  “But you need to understand something, darlin’,” Adele said. “I’m making this decision for myself. I turned my back on Henry once before because I was too afraid to keep my promise, and I’m not going to do that again.”

  Meghan leaned forward and held Adele’s gaze. “Mama, you can’t change the past. I understand that better than anyone. Don’t make another mistake trying to right an old wrong.” She reached out for Adele’s hand. “I’m just watching out for you same like you’d do for me.”

  Adele took her hand and smiled. “I know you are, hon.” She looked around the room. “I’m so lucky I have you girls back in my life.”

  “Yeah, who else would eat all that sugar?” Campbell said, laughing.

  “Speaking of, you can’t put chocolate in front of a pregnant woman and expect her not to eat it,” Lila said. “Where are the forks?”

  “Plates and forks on the table,” Adele said.

  “Who said anything about a plate? Just give me the pan.” Lila followed Campbell and Jane into the dining room, leaving her face-to-face with Meghan.

  “I don’t want to upset you, Mama,” Meghan said. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I know, Meg, and I appreciate that.” Adele smiled, thankful to have Meghan back, worrying about her for a change. “But I’m a big girl now. I promise.”

  “Just think about it. You don’t have to rush. I just can’t imagine you being happy anywhere but right here in this house.” She pulled Adele into a hug, and Adele drank in the moment. All those wasted years she and Meghan weren’t speaking—and here they were, just like old times.

  But now, the tables had turned and it was Meghan speaking common sense and Adele acting rash.

  After the girls ate too many desserts, they pulled out their scrapbooking supplies and Thanksgiving photos.

  “If we’re not careful, we’re not going to have anything to work on over the summer,” Meghan said.

  “Excuse me,” Lila said. “I will have a baby to scrapbook.” She beamed and they all began trimming photos and placing embellishments, each creating one layout for the album on their Thanksgiving experience.

  “Don’t give me any pictures with food in them,” Jane said. “That apple compote was good, Adele, but it sure wasn’t Texas sheet cake.”

  Meghan put a hand on Jane’s. “It gets easier.” She smiled at her old friend and seeing them all there like that warmed Adele to the core.

  She did love Sweethaven, and she loved having the girls right there with her, working on pages like they did as kids. Maybe there was some truth in what Meghan said.

  After everyone left, Adele turned to face the quiet of the old cottage. The house she’d grown to love.

  And suddenly everything she thought she’d decided hung in the balance, and Adele was more confused than ever. A part of her had always loved Henry, but all of her had always loved Sweethaven.

  And leaving this old place behind would be a different kind of grief.

  Meghan

  Meghan had been going through her days as if everything was fine, but at the back of her mind, the Christmas special—and the fact that the producers wanted to oust her own family—had her worried.

  “Maybe we should just cancel it,” she told Nick the morning of the rehearsal.

  “Don’t be crazy. The worst thing that could happen is that your real family doesn’t get to be a part of it, and you know they’ll understand. It’s not like it was your decision.”

  It was true, and that’s why it bothered her. For years, her career had been mishandled by a self-serving manager. It was time for Meghan to be in control of her own future, but that meant standing up to pushy television executives.

  And she didn’t want a reputation of being a diva.

  A housekeeper had been in the day before, but Meghan still had the duster out when the doorbell rang. She stashed the filthy rag in a drawer and wondered out loud why she hadn’t just told her family there was a chance they wouldn’t be in the special after all, but the only reply was dead air.

  Meghan opened the door to find Liz and her entourage shivering on the front porch.

  “This is the most frigid, coldest place,” Liz said. “How can you stand to live here when you could be anywhere else?” She came into the entryway and peeled off a too-thin jacket to reveal a wisp of a blouse. No wonder she was freezing.

  “I made coffee for you guys. It’ll warm you right up.” Meghan watched as the group of them pushed inside, chattering about camera angles and lighting challenges.

  “We could’ve filmed a Hawaiian Christmas special, you know,” Li
z said. “You are a famous musician.”

  Meghan smiled. “I like it here.”

  Liz shook her head. “That’s something I don’t think I could ever understand.” She walked into the living room and watched the others moving furniture and setting up shots. Before long, Meghan’s quaint cottage looked more like a television set.

  “I thought this was just a rehearsal,” Meghan said as they removed a large family photo from over the fireplace and replaced it with a wreath.

  “It is, but we need to map everything out. Once we do, we’ll need to keep the set just as we leave it until after the show. And we’ll most likely be filming some filler today just in case the timing is off somehow. It’s always better to have more to work with than to be scrambling around.” Liz turned her attention to her iPad.

  “Liz, I wonder if I could talk with you before we get started?”

  The woman glanced up and met Meghan’s eyes. “Of course.”

  “I want you to reconsider using my real family and my Sweethaven friends. I don’t feel right about using actors—it seems like a lie.”

  Liz hugged the iPad to her chest. “Why don’t we see how it goes today and then we can revisit this afterward? If, after you meet everyone, you still feel the same, we’ll discuss it, but with the time crunch we may not be able to do much to change anything.”

  “They’re all coming today. Just meet them. My mom and brother, my friends.” Meghan hated how desperate she sounded, begging this preschooler for her own way. She was Meghan Rhodes, for crying out loud. Shouldn’t they be asking her what to do?

  But the sad fact was, she needed this Christmas special more than they needed her.

  Liz held her gaze for a long, condescending moment and then pursed her lips. “Fine. We’ll consider it. Do any of them sing?”

  Meghan nodded. “My mom and brother can both sing. In fact, they filmed Luke singing with me at the christmas concert.”

  “Fine. Bring them to me when they get here.”

  The front door swung open and Luke walked in, followed by Campbell. Liz raised a brow. “Who’s that?”

  “That’s Luke, my little brother.”