by Mary Manners
“Hi, Miss Katy.” He offered a quick wave as he brushed too-long hair from his eyes. Mariah probably hadn’t been able to get him to the barber’s in a while, since she was feeling poorly. The realization tugged at Katy’s heart. Perhaps Caleb would see to it, now that he was home again.
Home…
“Hi, there.” Katy was warmed by Billy’s eager welcome. At least one of the Kendrick men had a shred of manners. “How are you?”
“Great. Uncle Caleb is going to show me how to hook the treats, but we were waiting on you to bring them.” He scampered over to Caleb and reared up on his tiptoes to peek into the oversized plastic containers. “Are these the cookies?”
“Affirmative.” Caleb mussed Billy’s hair. “Take a sniff.” He popped open the corner of a container and slid it Billy’s way as the aroma of brown sugar and warm, creamy butter drifted up to tickle. “Pretty amazing, huh?”
“Oh yeah. Wow.” Billy tossed Katy an eager look over one shoulder. “Uncle Caleb says you make the best sugar cookies ever. He knows, ’cause you used to bake them ’specially for him, right Miss Katy?”
“That’s right…once upon a time.” The memory of it caused Katy’s heart to ache just a little.
“Katy and I once shared a kiss over a sugar cookie,” Caleb offered, slanting a look her way. The grin on his face might have melted butter. “Do you remember, Katy?”
She did…all too well. It hadn’t just been a kiss…it had been her first kiss. And Caleb had stolen her breath, literally. They’d been standing in the farmhouse kitchen, having just pulled the baking sheet from the oven. Warmth drifted as Caleb leaned in, his hand resting at the small of her back, and the room had spun, her knees had buckled, and she’d have hit the floor if he hadn’t caught her in his arms and held her. She’d been all of seventeen, and thinking, right up until then, that she’d never know what it felt like to be kissed—really kissed.
It had been worth the wait.
“You two kissed. Really?” Billy asked.
“Really.” Caleb nodded.
“That’s gross.” Billy’s mouth twisted and he scrubbed his lips for emphasis. “I’m never kissin’ a girl…except for Mom, that is…on the cheek.”
“You’ll feel differently one day.” Caleb laughed. “But there’s plenty of time for that. For now, we’ll just stick to enjoying the cookies.”
“Oh, they are delicious.” Janie nodded to solidify the fact. “Aunt Katy’s good at lots of stuff, but her holiday cookies are the best. Last year she won the blue ribbon at the Holly Haven Christmas Cookie Bake-off. No one can beat her.”
“If I remember correctly, that’s spot on.” Caleb nodded appreciatively as he slanted a look Katy’s way. “And, if my memory serves me right, her kisses…Yep, they’re worthy of a blue-ribbon, too.”
2
Caleb couldn’t take his eyes off Katy as she crossed the room toward a table he’d covered with a festive red cloth. She looked good in faded jeans that hugged every curve of her petite frame coupled with a long-sleeved scoop-necked Tee in hunter green. The shade complemented hair the color of mulled cider that spilled in waves to kiss the small of her back. The dusting of freckles along the bridge of her nose stirred a longing to kiss them one by one.
Yes, time had been good to Katy; she still looked better than he deserved. She always had, and now Caleb reminded himself to take a long, pulse-slowing breath and a few steps back. No point in putting the cart before the horse and all that.
He had time…plenty of time to make things right again with Katy. He’d thought that returning here to his hometown would prove a curse instead of a blessing—an experience he’d avoided—but a recent flare-up of his sister’s Multiple Sclerosis had left no other option. Since Billy’s father had taken off for parts unknown as soon as he got wind of the pregnancy, and Mariah had never married, she needed her brother, at least for the time being, to help with Billy and the upkeep of their family home.
Mariah had managed well on her own while Caleb was away, but their parents had willed the home and twenty acres to them both, and though Mom and Dad’s early deaths had proved a shock—remained a shock, truth be told—Caleb couldn’t abandon his sister, especially now, with Mariah struggling through the most serious flare-up yet.
So, even though he’d never thought to move home permanently, Caleb had rolled up his sleeves and come home to Holly Haven—and to Katy Sullivan—for good.
If Katy would have him back after all this time. Word on the street—and from her sister Liz and from Mariah, as well—was that she wasn’t taken…wasn’t so much as sharing a cup of hot chocolate with a work colleague. So Caleb figured there was a ray of hope to grab on to and hold tight.
Caleb had tried his best to wash memories of Katy from his brain as he spent several years strumming his guitar in hideaway honkytonks while chasing his dream of becoming a country music superstar. Today, he could honestly say his music career hadn’t tanked, because in reality, it had never truly taken off. But chasing that particular dream had led him to his true passion—collecting antiques that told a story rich in history and heritage. Somewhere along the way, in between gigs, he’d begun to scour the countryside for by-gone treasures…maybe because he longed for a connection to the past, to something firm and solid. Now, the treasures he’d amassed stood showcased in the small shop he’d set up along Main Street—Pickers and Spinners.
He’d played a good deal of football in high school, and had once thought that perhaps the pigskin game might be his calling; but the truth was, though he had the skill, he didn’t have enough love-of-the-game to stay with it for the long haul. The only thing he’d really ever excelled at—the only thing that had come as naturally as a refreshing summer storm—was his friendship with Katy and that had ended badly when he’d rushed off to follow his dreams.
Oh, to be fair, back then he’d had his reasons for leaving Holly Haven—and Katy. Her kisses coupled with an unbridled trust had awakened something inside him that, at eighteen, he was nowhere near man enough to handle. And when she started talking marriage…when Caleb found himself talking about it, too…well, one of them had to put on the brakes. He was way too young…Katy much too innocent with that dancing starlight in her eyes that turned his insides to tumbleweeds. It would have ended badly—and surely for good—if they’d taken things to the next level.
It had ended badly anyway, but Caleb liked to think enough wiggle room remained for a shot at a second chance. After all, he and Katy weren’t pie-eyed kids anymore. They were both closing in on thirty now, and those wild oats that had once muddled his thoughts and recklessly driven his actions had been sown for longer than he cared to admit. A barrelful of hard-earned lessons had smoothed out the rough edges and humbled him beyond measure.
Like a wild stallion that refused to surrender, he’d finally been broken and realized how nice summer days roaming a pasture hand-in-hand with Katy might be. If only he could make Katy see who he’d become, and that he’d returned full-circle back to her side. If only…
“How does this game work?” Katy’s question tugged him back to the task-at-hand. She’d taken up one of the fishing poles he’d fashioned and turned it slowly in her hand, examining the wooden rod and short length of nylon line that dangled a clothes clip.
“The kids grab the fishing pole and drop the line in the hole like this.” He demonstrated. “Billy will be waiting out-of-sight beneath the platform and he’ll attach one of your bagged cookies to the clip.”
“I see. Did you make this fishing hole…the platform and all?” Katy smoothed a long-fingered hand over the painted wood, and the scent of sweet sawdust mingled with hearty pine from the fragrant spray a custodian had generously used to set a holiday tone throughout the classrooms.
“I did.” Caleb nodded, wishing those fingers might find his and hang on for a while. “I picked up a few skills along my journey. A decade is a long time.”
“I know.”
“Anyway…” He had to a
vert his gaze from her for a moment; she was driving him crazy, provoking his senses. He deflected. “When the cookies come up, the kids can take them over to the table to decorate. That’s where you come in.”
“And me!” Janie lifted a hand in the air as she bounced on her heels. “I’m gonna help Aunt Katy with the decoratin’.”
“So, the prize is the cookie…the decorating…” Katy ran a hand through her hair, smoothing the waves that never seemed to be completely tamed. It was one of the things Caleb loved about her…her natural, unbridled beauty.
“And most of all the eatin’!” Billy chimed in. “Can I try it, Uncle Caleb?”
“Sure. Give it a go.” Caleb handed Billy the rod, and then dove to the floor. Katy’s gaze seemed to bore a hole through his back as he slithered beneath the platform. It was a tighter fit for him…barely accessible…and he second-guessed his decision to take the plunge as he quickly filled the ‘hook’ with one of Katy’s delectable cookies that had been packaged into a sheer red holiday-themed baggie. He remembered well how delicious the sweets tasted; he’d had the pleasure of sampling many over the days leading up to his departure from Holly Haven, and had snatched one from the cookie platter on the coffee counter of her boutique just a few days ago when he’d gone looking for her.
“Is it ready?” Billy tugged on the rod and Caleb knew his nephew got the answer he was looking for when a shout of glee eclipsed the Christmas music. “It’s a snowman!”
Katy had taken time with the cookie details. Caleb noted the top hat and twig-like arms she’d fashioned by hand. He peered through the platform’s opening and saw she’d brought candy pieces that mirrored coal-colored eyes, carrot noses, and buttons in a variety of sizes, as well as sprinkles and icings and all sorts of food colorings that could be applied to the hardened dough with paintbrushes. The kids were sure to have a ball with it.
“Would you like to decorate him?” Katy’s voice, warm and sweet as molasses, filtered through the hole in the fishing platform. “I’ve got the decorating supplies set up over here on the table and you can be the guinea pig.”
“Yes, ma’am. I sure would.” Billy rushed to the table, cookie in hand. “Oh, I like being a guinea pig.”
“I wanna be a guinea pig, too!” Janie chimed in. “Can I go fishing now?”
“Of course, sweetie.” Caleb waited, watching through the porthole as Billy handed the pole to Janie so she might have her turn.
“I’m gonna need lots of sprinkles, Aunt Katy,” Janie announced as she dropped the ‘hook’ into the hole. She scored a Christmas tree cut-out, which caused her to squeal, and that brought smiles all around. Janie lifted the bounty into the air with a little flurry of hops. “This sure is a better prize than walrus singing.”
“Walrus singing?” Caleb inquired, popping his head up through the hole in the platform. “What’s that all about?”
“Inside joke.” Katy laughed as she brushed away the inquiry with a waggle of fingers. “Never mind.”
With the kids busy, Caleb scrambled out from under the platform. He took a moment to brush lint from his flannel shirt and the seat of his jeans, then flecks of dust from his hair before heading Katy’s way.
“So, how did you get roped into this evening of craziness, too?” he asked.
“My sister’s the principal here.” Katy dumped the contents of the decorating bin onto the table and began to organize the supplies. “So I can thank her for the lasso.”
“Yeah, right. Liz dropped by my shop to welcome me back…and to ask if I’d be willing to help out tonight. And then Billy sealed the deal with a round of, ‘Oh, please, Uncle Caleb…please, please, please!’” He mimicked Billy’s voice. “How was I supposed to say no to that? The kid has the art of persuasion down to a science.”
“He takes after his uncle.”
“Regardless, I hadn’t been in town yet so much as a full day when the request came in. As soon as I agreed, Liz handed me a sketch for this fishing game and asked if I could have it built by this afternoon. I hardly had a chance to object, and wouldn’t have dared to do so even if she had stopped talking long enough for me to slip a word in edgewise.”
“Yeah? Well, that sounds like Liz. She could persuade the Mississippi to change its course. I’m knee-deep into holiday shoppers, but I couldn’t turn down the request either. My sister is not very good at taking no for an answer.”
“I remember that.” Caleb leaned in to help Katy sort and organize short chubby vials of colored sprinkles. As he reached for the reds, their fingers brushed, bringing him back a decade. Even such a slight touch…the warmth of her skin…shot an arrow straight though his solar plexus. He lifted his gaze to match hers. “But that’s not all I remember, Kat.”
Caleb noted the change in her posture at his use of her nickname. She paused, gasped, and he could almost feel her spine stiffen as if someone had placed a metal rod along the discs. He bet to this day no one besides him ever called her by the endearment…a shorter, softer version of what the rest of the world called her. But, from this point forward, he aimed to make up for lost time.
Katy turned to him, her gaze steely with resolve that matched her posture. “I’m not the same person you remember, Caleb.”
“How do you know what I remember?”
“I can see it in your eyes. You want…you need—”
“What do I want, Kat?” He reached for her hand, lightly stroked her fingers. “What do I need?”
She pulled back, shook her head ever so slightly as her lower lip trembled. “You tell me.”
“I’m not sure you’re ready to hear what I have to say.”
“Try me.”
“OK, then…What I want—what we want…well, we’ll just have to figure that out together, won’t we?”
“There is no together for us, Caleb.”
“But there is. We’re here…together…aren’t we?” He kept his voice low, steady, as he matched her gaze. “As for what I need…what you need, as well…that’s a conversation for another day.”
“There might not be another day, Caleb.”
“I’ll take my chances. Holly Haven is a small town, and we do work right next door to one another.” He reached out, skimmed her fingertips with his just long enough to remind her that he was there beside her again, flesh and blood. “And, for the record, I’m not the same as you remember, either, Kat. I’m…changed.”
“It will take an awful lot of proof for me to believe that.” Yet, she didn’t pull away. She watched him, those alluring emerald eyes as large as a frightened doe’s. “A trainload of proof, and then some.”
“Then, let’s not waste any time.” Caleb dropped his hand but his gaze held firm. “It is, after all, the holiday season, and Christmas is a time for magic.”
“It’s going to take more than magic to soften my heart and allow me to trust you again, Caleb.” Katy’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “It’s going to take a miracle.”
3
“I hear you’re good at creating shop window displays.” Caleb said as he munched on a bell-shaped cookie Janie had decorated with candy pieces and golden sprinkles especially for him. It proved the last of the collection; Katy had gauged the number for her homemade batch within a few, leaving little waste as the Christmas Family Night festivities wound to a close. Now she wished she’d brought more, seeing how much Caleb enjoyed them. She’d forgotten his love for her sweets…well, almost forgotten. Tonight brought back the memory, front and center.
“So I’ve been told.” Katy used a damp cloth to collect the last of the colored sprinkles that had scattered over the table during the course of the evening’s fishing expedition. Christmas carols played softly from a CD player set atop a bookshelf, though it inched toward eight o’clock and the holiday crowd had long-since dispersed. Outside the wall of windows along the far side of the classroom, security floodlights washed over a nearly-deserted parking lot. “And your point is…?”
“I could use a little help wit
h mine.” Caleb leaned against the teacher’s desk, none too worse for wear though he’d spent most of the evening beneath the fishing platform, hooking cookies when Billy discovered that the assortment of icings, sprinkles, and decorating tools Katy had brought proved more exciting that clipping cookies to clothing pins. Billy had jumped ship and Katy couldn’t really blame him. She’d rather be here at the table than buried beneath a slab of wood. Caleb had done a fine job pinch-hitting, though, and the thought warmed her just a bit. “Let’s just say my window display handiwork is a few yards shy of a touchdown.”
“I’ve noticed that, and it’s more than a few yards shy.” Katy caught a whiff of his aftershave as she rounded the table toward the trash can to dispose of the soiled plastic table cover. She tried to force back the memories which the crisp, woodsy scent evoked, but they bled through anyway…Caleb’s gentle caress from the tailgate of his truck parked beneath a sundrenched oak…the husky sound of his voice as he softly crooned the latest melody he’d written especially for her. She shook her head, tossing the memories aside. “Your storefront display is not exactly what I would call eye-catching…it’s not even near the red zone.”
“Thanks for driving that point home.”
Caleb frowned as he used a paper towel to wipe icing from a thin spatula before stuffing the tool into a large plastic bag with the others. Katy would cart them all home and run them through the dishwasher before she went to bed tonight.
“Do you think you might lend me a hand with my window display to help me get ready for the holiday rush?” he asked.
“The holiday rush has already arrived.”
“Well, yeah…then there’s that.” Caleb jammed his hands into his pockets. “No time to waste and all the more reason…”
“I’ll need at least a couple of hours to unravel the disjointed spectacle you created and throw something new together.” Katy slipped the soiled dishcloth into the plastic bag along with the spatulas and then brushed her palms along the front of her jeans. Weariness seeped in, and she stifled a yawn. “I can meet you before we open shop in the morning…say around six-thirty?”