Shawn chuckled. “You do the same, Tandy. Merry Christmas.”
Tandy lowered the phone and smiled. That was good advice. But first she’d need to figure out where her home was.
She looked up at Greg in his ridiculous hat. Did her own hat count as ridiculous? Could she fit in with the townsfolks who hadn’t seemed to want her there at first? “I don’t know what I’m going to do yet,” she said. But she had an idea.
Marissa listened to her mom as if in a daze. She was being given the gift she’d dreamed about, but somehow it didn’t hold the value she’d thought it would.
“The head judge called me and said that since Lavella admitted to tripping you, you can challenge her crown. Then, as first runner up, you’d be the one to step in.” Mom sounded as giddy as a teenager.
Marissa scanned the floor, eyeing the area where the diamonds had spilled out. Those diamonds had been the reason she’d had a knife held to her throat only half an hour ago. Shouldn’t Mom be more concerned about the threat on her life than a stupid beauty pageant?
Mom laughed. “You’re in shock, aren’t you? You don’t know what to say.”
“Kind of.” Marissa lifted her gaze to find Connor talking to the police. Perhaps giving his statement. He’d been there for her through the whole thing even though she’d publicly rejected him. But he’d never really cared about appearances, had he?
“Once you get your voice back, you’ll need to call the judges right away and—”
“Mom, it’s Christmas.”
“Marissa, it’s the crown.”
“So?”
“So if you’re going to compete for Miss USA, then we need to get to work right away.”
That opportunity had once meant so much to her. She’d felt like a failure having competed every year and never been crowned the way her mother had been and the way she’d thought her grandmother had. In fact, it had been the desire to make sure everyone else still thought her grandmother had won Miss Ohio that had gotten her into this mess in the first place.
That had almost gotten her killed. That had shown her how her mom was a lot like the criminal who had been killed.
Had mom known Grandmother hadn’t truly won? Marissa hadn’t explained the part about Grandmother yet. How would Mom take it?
For the first time, Marissa really didn’t care. “Did you know Dad’s mom shouldn’t have won Miss Ohio?”
“Marissa,” Mom hissed. “Don’t speak ill of the dead.”
“She said it herself, Mom. In her diary.” No response. “Mr. Cross rigged the judging to get Grace Springs on the map, and Grandmother was planning to come out with it.” In the end, it was the thing Marissa admired the most about her relative.
“Well.” Mom’s voice tightened. “There’s no reason to come out with it now.”
Marissa pursed her lips. Whether Grandmother’s secret was revealed or not, it wouldn’t affect who she was. Marissa had nothing to prove anymore.
Originally the idea of a starting a teahouse had been just that. Trying to prove her worth despite losing the Miss Ohio title. But now, if she decided to return to a life of pageantry, she’d have to let that desire go.
She looked around the antique shop again. She still would love to make it a teahouse. She truly loved tea. She loved the warmth of it. The way it brought people together. The healing properties when being nursed back to health. The beauty and joy that came from memories of big hats and flowered wallpaper and tiny sandwiches with cucumbers. The refreshment of a break from all the striving that life so often required.
Or did she only think life required striving because that’s what she’d been taught? She was like a teapot, constantly pouring out all her energy to impress others. What if she simply let herself be filled up? What if she overflowed like a punch fountain instead?
“Marissa?” Mom checked to make sure she was still there. Or was she checking to make sure Marissa wouldn’t reveal their secrets. “You can call the head judge when you get here for dinner tonight.”
Oh yeah. Christmas Eve dinner. Where Mom traditionally served Pigs in a Blanket even though Marissa hated them. Where she worked on a jigsaw puzzle with her father as he discussed his latest academic journal articles and how great he was. Then they gave her some gift to imply she wasn’t good enough and needed help. Like a gift certificate for Cool Sculpting. How was that a holiday?
She looked around at the people in the room. Connor, whose parents loved people despite their flaws. And Greg, who had given up his own holiday celebration to help out an old friend. And Tandy. Marissa’s new friend. Who might very well be spending her evening alone.
“You know what, Mom?” She was going to let down her parents on purpose this time. And she’d be fine no matter how they responded. “I’m not going to make it tonight. I have a friend here who saved my life today, and I want to take her to see the living nativity. I think that’s what a real beauty queen would do.” Thoughts of Billie crossed her mind. The way she served. The way she offered grace. She was the kind of grandmother Marissa had always wanted. “Truly great people know how to make other people feel like they are great.”
“Truly great people don’t abandon their families.” Mom huffed. “But as long as this means you’re going to claim your rightful crown as Miss Ohio…”
Marissa looked down and shook her head. Not so much at her mother’s blindness but at what had been her own. If she did go on to compete for Miss USA, it would only be so that she could share the lesson she’d learned here today. “I don’t know what I’m going to do yet, Mom. But I know that whether I mess up this decision or not, the people who truly love me will still love me.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“I love it.” Tandy stared in awe at the show a little town like Grace Springs could put on.
Next to the simple brick church with the arched windows and an actual belfry, nestled a stable with a straw roof. It looked like the people dressed up inside also held a live baby, but she wouldn’t know for sure until the line they waited in wound closer. First they had to pass the church choir dressed like angels and swaying back and forth on the stairs as they hummed “O Holy Night,” then past a couple of “shepherds” with actual smelly sheep. There were even three magi with camels.
“Where did they find camels?”
One of the magi tilted his royal blue turban at them. Connor?
Marissa nodded in return. A big change from how she’d treated him when Tandy had first arrived. “Connor’s family has a farm. Their biggest holiday is Halloween with a pumpkin patch, corn maze, and hay rides, but they also keep camels for the Christmas pageant.”
“Hm.” Tandy considered the word pageant as she strolled forward.
“What?” Marissa waved goodbye to Connor when they passed.
“Both your family and Connor’s family really care about pageants.”
They stopped at the railing in front of the stable Connor had probably built, watching the woman dressed as Mary rock a real baby in her arms. The baby reached for her face with his tiny hands. Tandy had thought she’d been humbled earlier that day, but it was nothing compared to how the King of the World had humbled himself enough to come to earth as a vulnerable infant. All to forgive her sins. And she hadn’t even wanted to apologize for them.
Marissa smiled softly. “This is the pageant that really matters, isn’t it?”
The old Tandy would have loved to agree and rip on the Miss Ohio contest, but the new Tandy knew she wasn’t any better. She had also put on a show of perfection in refusing to accept her failures as failures. “Yes. It took me coming to Grace Springs to really admit the fact that I need grace.”
Marissa’s smile turned pensive. “Isn’t it interesting how you didn’t think you needed it while I thought I had to earn it?”
Tandy lifted a shoulder. “Just another example of how none of us get it right, I guess.”
Marissa twisted her lips. “I also need to offer it to others, as well. I’m not good at doing t
hat.”
Tandy glanced over her shoulder at Connor. If Marissa offered him grace, it would change his life. Tonight was going to be a night for him to remember.
Marissa continued forward. “I’m not going to contest Lavella’s title. She can be Miss Ohio.”
Tandy followed, waiting for Marissa to continue on about how she couldn’t be Miss Ohio anyway because she wanted to marry Connor.
Marissa tilted her head. “This is huge for me, Tandy. Aren’t you going to say anything? I turned down the Miss Ohio crown.”
Tandy opened her mouth. Gah. What did she say? Did Marissa really not see how she was offering grace to one person, but completely ignorant to the person who needed it the most? Or had she just not gotten that far yet? “What are you going to do now?” Tandy prompted.
Marissa stood up taller. “I’m going to put a bid in on the antique shop and start my teahouse.”
Tandy stopped to face her, the crowd pouring around them toward Grandma’s Attic where Billie served refreshments after the event. Had Marissa learned nothing at all? She was still choosing to pursue her own goals without regard to others. Others like Tandy.
Tandy pinched her mouth shut. Even if Marissa hadn’t learned anything, she had. She’d been planning to offer a partnership to Marissa, but now she’d let Marissa pursue her dream while Tandy returned to Cincinnati. She had a job waiting, and though it wasn’t the job she wanted anymore, she hadn’t wanted to come here either. Yet, look what God had given her through it. He knew best, didn’t He?
The star twinkled from the top of the tree in the town square as if a sign. Whether Randon ever got to hang it or not, it had somehow ended up right where it was supposed to be. She had to trust that God would do the same in her life.
Marissa scrunched her nose. “What?” She challenged. “You’re not going to try to compete against me this time?”
Tandy looked down and narrowed her eyes. It sounded like Marissa wanted her to compete. “No… This is your home. You love it here. The people love you. I couldn’t contend with that.”
Marissa beamed. “Good. Because I don’t want to contend. I want to be partners.”
Tandy rocked back on her heels. They’d been thinking the same thing. “We do make a good team. You with your intuition. Me with my logic.”
Marissa turned her forward and linked arms. Probably so she wouldn’t slip. “I think so.”
Tandy matched Marissa’s pace toward Billie’s shop, mulling over the idea of starting their own. “We still have what Virginia would have called a caffeine conundrum.”
Marissa’s dark eyes sparkled. “So that’s what we’ll name our shop. A Caffeine Conundrum. We can make downstairs more urban for you while the upstairs loft can be Victorian for my tea parties. It already has that beautiful chandelier.”
Tandy stopped. “You like that chandelier?”
“No.”
Tandy sighed in relief.
“I love the chandelier.” Marissa tugged her forward into Grandma’s Attic.
Tandy followed with a surprisingly happy headshake, unsure if her sudden warmth came from the shop or from her heart. She was going to get to start her coffee shop in the town she’d always loved, and she wasn’t going to have to do it alone. The partnership was something she never would have considered before, but that’s because she hadn’t understood grace before. If they were going to work together, they’d definitely need to offer each other a lot of grace. For example… “The chandelier appears to have come from a creepy old gothic monastery.”
Marissa’s forehead wrinkled. “It’s a priceless antique. Granted, the place will need a little work, but with the two of us, we’ll get it done twice as fast.”
Which brought up a good point. Together they’d have the money needed to remodel. “We can hire Connor.”
Marissa pulled away, her nose in the air. “I’m not ready for that. I still need some space to figure things out. I mean, he’s a great guy, I’m just…you know…need more time.”
Tandy rolled her eyes. If Marissa took too much time, some other woman would realize how great Connor was, and he’d make the healthy choice for himself and move on.
Marissa headed toward the refreshments table. “You want any apples? On Christmas Eve Billie slices them crosswise so you can see the symbol of a Christmas star in the center. I think there’s some tradition in Europe that says the better the star, the better year you’ll have.”
“Sure.” Though Tandy was already excited for what the year had to offer.
Billie stepped out from behind her counter, arms wide for a hug. “Did I hear you say you and Marissa are starting a shop together?”
Tandy embraced the little woman, wondering how they ever could have suspected her of killing Virginia. “Yes. I’ll sell the good stuff, and she’ll sell her boring beverage.”
Billie leaned away, a serious look in her eye. “By good stuff, you mean apple cider, right?”
Tandy laughed. “We’ll let you have the monopoly on that one, Billie.”
Billie’s face relaxed then her eyes widened behind her funky glasses. “You know what? I have something for you too. Joseph just told me I won the decorating contest.”
Tandy wasn’t sure how that was for her. “Congrats.”
Billie placed a hand on her hip. “You know what the prize is, right?”
Tandy sniffed in embarrassment. The decorating contest had been one of the reasons Marissa had suspected the older woman of murder. “Yeah, free remodeling by Connor, right?”
“Right.” Billie motioned to the beautiful shop. “I can’t use his services, but perhaps if you girls are starting your own place, you might be able to use him.”
Tandy blinked. Did that mean what she thought it meant? Billie was gifting them her prize? It wasn’t only generous, it was perfect. Because whereas Tandy couldn’t convince Marissa to hire Connor, her partner wouldn’t be able to turn down his free handiwork. “Oh, Billie. You are more of a saint than St. Nick. That is the best present ever. I’ll be right back.”
She gave Billie one more hug than ran out to pick up the last-minute Christmas gift.
Where had Tandy gone? Marissa bit into one of the juicy apple slices she’d picked up for her new partner and surveyed the crowd. There was Randon in an ugly suit made out of snowman print, chatting it up with Mayor Kensington. Lukey was there too, now wearing a sheriff’s badge in the shape of a Christmas star. He didn’t seem too upset about finding out his ex had been using him, but of course he’d also won the Ho-Ho-Holiday run on his way to closing a couple cases. And then there was Mr. Cross wooing Billie. She laughed as if fifty years younger. If so, their age would better match the spikey thing he’d done to his hair and the popped collar on his red and green plaid shirt.
Marissa headed over to join them and ask if they’d seen Tandy. “Hey, you two. You seem to be getting along quite well.”
Billie blushed. “Joseph has been asking me out for a while, and with knowing his secret about rigging your grandmother’s beauty pageant, I couldn’t say yes. But now I can. He’s a changed man.”
“Oh…” Marissa pursed her lips. So that’s why Billie had wanted them to talk to Mr. Cross in the first place. “Are you going to tell anyone else about what happened back then?”
Grandmother had been willing to come clean about the beauty contest, but was he? If so, was Marissa ready to let him?
Mr. Cross nodded. “It may affect my business, but it’s the right thing to do. I don’t want any more criminals thinking they can come to me to ask for help with their crimes.”
Marissa’s spine didn’t stiffen. Her heart didn’t pound. Her face didn’t burn. She was somehow okay with revealing the fact that Grandmother had been a fraud much like Lavella. Though Mom might not agree, it didn’t make Marissa any less of a person. In fact, she felt more whole.
In accepting that she needed grace, her shame had been wiped away. And though she hadn’t yet recovered Grandmother’s diary from Jenn, it was okay
because she had nothing left to hide.
“Billie, you have a good man.” Marissa smiled at the sweet couple, though she still didn’t understand how Billie could not only forgive Mr. Cross but choose to trust him again. What if he let her down? What if she got hurt?
Marissa hadn’t yet admitted to herself that she was truly thinking about Connor when Tandy appeared outside the front door, hauling him behind her. His gray eyes snagged on hers and her breath whooshed out. How could he even make a royal blue turban look good?
“Hi,” she said, remembering she’d asked that very thing about how he’d made his Joseph costume look good the year before.
“Hi.” Connor looked around in confusion as to why he was there rather than still at the living nativity.
“Billie?” Tandy ignored them both and grinned ridiculously at their hostess. “Do you want to tell these guys what you told me?”
Marissa eyed Connor. He shrugged. They seemed to be in this together. And for some reason that made her heartrate thrum.
Billie beamed. “I won the holiday decorating contest.”
“Congratulations.” Truly winning an award had to be so much better than rigging the competition.
“Congrats, Billie,” Connor added.
“Thanks.” Billie peeked at Tandy. “Though I don’t have any need for Connor’s handiwork.”
Marissa met Connor’s gaze again. She loved his handiwork. Her extra bedroom turned into a closet. Her built-in bookshelves. Her gorgeous kitchen. “Maybe not here, but what about remodeling your house? He does good work.”
“Nope.” Billie’s face broke into a grin. “Though I’m glad you like his work because I’ve decided to pass on my prize to you for your new shop.”
Marissa set her last apple slice on a napkin. Tandy knew she didn’t want this. But Billie didn’t. “Billie.” She shook her head. Shook it again. “I don’t think Connor would—”
“Wait, Marissa.” Billie stopped her.
What? Were they ganging up on her?
A Caffeine Conundrum Page 22