Finding Christmas (Blue Harbor Book 7)

by Olivia Miles

  “Candy.” Jenna looked at her pleadingly.

  “Jenna.” If history proved anything, Candy wasn’t going to back down on this, and Jenna sensed that she had better heed her aunt’s insistence, even if she was technically in charge here.

  Sighing deeply, she trudged back through the snow to her group, most of whom looked either confused or bewildered at what had just transpired, but Jenna knew that before they all dispersed tonight, Candy would be filling them in on every last detail—that was, if they didn’t witness things for themselves.

  Candy rang the doorbell and Jenna held her breath, wishing that she could hide behind her aunt’s formative figure rather than stand shoulder to shoulder, as they’d practiced.

  The door opened after a turning of the locks, and it took a moment for reality to catch up with her expectations. She stared at the blank space where she assumed Travis would be, her gaze eventually dropping to Mabel Gibney, who sat in her wheelchair, a plaid throw blanket on her lap, crimson lipstick on her mouth.

  “Oh, I’ve been waiting for this all evening!”

  Candy slid Jenna a look that didn’t require explanation, and Jenna immediately felt guilty at almost disappointing this poor woman.

  “We can wait until your grandson joins you!” Candy beamed, and now it was Jenna’s turn to flash a look, one that Candy stubbornly refused to catch.

  “Oh, I’m afraid he’s not here,” Mabel said.

  Jenna and Candy both frowned. It was Candy who asked the question that Jenna was thinking: “He isn’t with you on Christmas Eve?”

  Mabel shook her head. “Had to leave. Something important came up, I’m afraid, and he had a change of plans.”

  A change of plans. Jenna chewed her lip, knowing that Travis never would have left his grandmother on Christmas Eve unless something very important had come up—he may not have much Christmas spirit of his own, but he certainly knew what the holiday meant to the woman sitting before her, shaking her head.

  Could he have left town? Gone back to Florida, or moved on somewhere else so quickly? It was entirely possible.

  “And you’re all dolled up and all alone!” Candy, never one to refrain from stating the obvious, tutted.

  “Oh, I’m not alone for long.” Mabel gave a little smile.

  So he hadn’t left then. Jenna wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed, and it troubled her that she was even remotely conflicted. Her heart picked up speed as she darted her eyes to the driveway. There were fresh tire tracks in the snow. Maybe Travis had left to run an errand. Maybe he needed to pick up something from the grocery store before it closed until the day after Christmas. That would classify as important. That would warrant leaving his grandmother on Christmas Eve.

  “Mr. Pritchard is picking me up shortly. I was so afraid I would miss you all!”

  Not Travis then. Jenna glanced at her group. “Well, shall we begin then?”

  They sang Mabel’s favorite—something they did with all the homes they visited over the years. Some they knew from requests, others from the sheer joy that came into their neighbors’ faces. Sometimes, like Mabel, it was the tears in her eyes. Not from sadness, Jenna knew, but from a memory.

  “My husband loved that song,” Mabel said wistfully once they were finished. “It’s funny how even when people have been gone for years, somehow, especially at Christmas, it’s like they’re still a part of you. Thank you, all of you.” She held Jenna’s gaze the longest. “Thank you, Jenna. You’re a very special young woman.”

  Jenna swallowed back the knot in her throat.

  “Have a wonderful Christmas, Mrs. Gibney,” she said, backing away. No one in the group spoke again until they’d reached the end of the driveway and began moving toward the next house.

  “See? Travis wasn’t even home,” Candy said with a wink as she linked Jenna’s arm.

  Jenna wasn’t sure what to make of that, or why her chest felt so heavy. It was Christmas Eve, her favorite night of the year, and she was caroling, with people who shared her love for music, even if some of them, like Candy, perhaps enjoyed it a little too much.

  “Who’s next on the list?” Jenna asked.

  “Just these two homes here and then it’s back into town. A few people are gathering over near the library. I think the mayor is going to announce that the library has been saved. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful Christmas gift to the town?”

  “Imagine that,” Jenna let out a breath, but she was smiling for all the work they’d done, and the thought of life in Blue Harbor being able to continue as it always had, even though change was inevitable, even in their small little part of the world.

  And just like all the times before, she tried to find hope in her latest setbacks, but right now, she was struggling, even though it was Christmas.

  By the time their small group arrived at the library, shivering and eager to warm their hands and maybe soon indulge in a hot beverage, a large crowd had already formed.

  “This is quite a turn-out!” Jenna said. “But I guess it’s for a worthy cause.”

  “Oh, very worthy,” Candy said with a little smile as she hurried over to her husband.

  Jenna was only mildly surprised to see her parents standing beside Uncle Dennis, and she waved to get their attention, but Candy had already made her way to them and was already deep in conversation.

  Jenna looked through the thick crowd for her sisters or cousins, but instead, she saw Mr. Pritchard. Her heart sank a little when she considered that this wouldn’t just be his final year, but the final year for the department. It was bittersweet in many ways; the program would always have his mark on it. She couldn’t walk away without saying hello.

  “Oh! And Mabel!” She looked in surprise at the woman sitting in the chair beside him. “We meet again. I suppose you’re here for the mayor’s announcement before you get on with your special plans?”

  “I’m here for the best Christmas gift of all,” Mabel said with a wink and patted Mr. Pritchard’s hand as he helped her to stand.

  Jenna looked at her quizzically but shrugged it off. Mabel Gibney had always loved the community here in Blue Harbor; it should come as no surprise now that she was finding personal joy in seeing the town’s traditions preserved.

  “I heard about the board’s decision.” Jenna willed herself not to cry as she looked into Mr. Pritchard’s kind blue eyes.

  “It’s okay, my dear. I had a good run. The best really.”

  Truer words were never spoken, and Jenna swallowed back her emotions as she turned away from the two lovebirds, happy to see Helena was within arm’s reach.

  “Oh, Helena! What a turnout!”

  “I know!” Helena’s eyes sparkled. “I probably say this every year, but I have to say that this has been the best Christmas ever!”

  Jenna pushed back the hurt in her chest and managed a smile for her friend, wishing she could say the same for herself.

  “It’s funny how sometimes when it feels like all is lost that you realize just how much you found.” Helena squeezed Jenna’s hand, but when her eyes looked over her shoulder, her expression changed. “Oh! There’s the mayor now!”

  Sure enough, Mayor Hudson was moving through the hallway, greeting the members of the town as he walked, stopping momentarily to grin in Helena’s direction.

  “Are we ready?” he asked, and Helena nodded.

  “So you already knew?” Jenna supposed that she would have had to, considering the entire town was gathered in a building that was typically closed by this time of night on Christmas Eve.

  Helena couldn’t stop smiling as she released Jenna’s hand and walked toward the solid oak double doors that housed the children’s section and pulled the knobs, revealing a crowded space of faces that Jenna recognized, even though she could barely process what she was seeing. There were Britt and Robbie, and her cousin Natalie, and the Jacobs and the Millers and all the other families of the children she taught…and not just for piano lessons. These were the parents
from the school. And there, at the very back of the room, were the children, lined in rows by grade level, the smallest at the front, all in costume, from the angels to the elves.

  “It’s your Christmas pageant, my dear.”

  Jenna turned to see Mr. Pritchard standing beside her as hot tears welled in her eyes. “But…I don’t understand.”

  “It wouldn’t be Christmas in Blue Harbor without this pageant. The very same one we do each year. And will continue to do, every year.”

  “Oh, Mr. Pritchard.” Jenna blinked quickly, trying to make sense of what he was saying. She felt every eye in the room on her, even as the rest of the crowd shuffled quietly to find a seat. “But I wanted to give you a concert. I wanted that to be my gift to you.”

  “Oh, Jenna. Giving is the greatest gift of all. And you’ve given these children the same love for music that I was honored enough to share with you. I’m so proud of you, Jenna. And I hope. Well.” He glanced over her shoulder. “I think Principal Dunne can take it from here.”

  “Principal…” Jenna started, but not before Travis stepped around in front of her, his expression somber, but his eyes hopeful. “I don’t understand, Travis. I thought you left town. Your grandmother said you had something important to do.”

  His mouth crooked into a smile. “Something very important. I had a Christmas wish to fulfill.”

  “You mean you did this? All of this?” She looked around the room, at all the happy faces, at the joy and expectation in the children.

  “Oh, I had help. From Mr. Pritchard. And my grandmother. And the mayor. And Candy, who helped secure the costumes. And Helena, of course.”

  From the doorway, Helena winked.

  “I talked to the mayor. I explained the situation with the school’s budget and he decided to allocate some of the proceeds from this library fund to the music department. There’s more than enough, and that’s mostly on account of you. And everyone here. I didn’t know if anything would come from it, but I had to try, Jenna, because like you said, when you want something bad enough, you fight for it. And I…I want you, Jenna.”

  She swallowed hard. “Travis.”

  “I know what I said, and I know what I’ve done, but I meant it, Jenna, when I said that I didn’t know you when I put all this into motion. I didn’t know the town, or the people, or what the music department meant to them. But I know what it means now. And I want to be a part of it. I want to be a part of this town. And I want to be a part of your life.”

  “You don’t like to stay in one place for long,” she reminded him.

  His mouth crooked into a smile. “That’s because I never found a home before now.”

  “Or Christmas,” she said, feeling her heart lift as she smiled up at him. “So the music department is saved?”

  “On one condition.” Travis lifted his eyebrows. “The school will need a new music teacher. That is if you’re open to it.”

  “Open to it?” She laughed through her tears. “I couldn’t think of anything better. I couldn’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.”

  And it was true, she realized, standing there, in the building that was as familiar to her as her own home, surrounded by her family, her friends, people who had known her since she was a little girl, and one in particular whom she had only just met but was very eager to know better. And longer. Maybe even forever.

  Travis took her hands in his. “Me either, except maybe under a sprig of mistletoe.”

  She grinned up at him. “I’m willing to forego tradition this once if you are.”

  “Let’s call it the start of a new tradition,” he said, leaning down to kiss her, slowly, sweetly, with absolutely no mistletoe required, only the sound of music as the children started to sing, and maybe, just maybe, a touch of Christmas magic.

  About the Author

  Olivia Miles is a USA Today bestselling author of feel-good women’s fiction with a romantic twist. She has frequently been ranked as an Amazon Top 100 author, and her books have appeared on several bestseller lists, including Amazon charts, BookScan, and USA Today.

  Olivia lives on the shore of Lake Michigan with her family.

  Visit www.OliviaMilesBooks.com for more.