Christmas Cookie

by Sophie Kaye

  Christmas Cookie

  A Bellfrey Romace

  Sophie Kaye

  This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Copyright © 2019 Sophie Kaye. All rights reserved.

  To contact the author please visit bellfrey.wordpress.com

  Sign up to receive news about upcoming books at: subscribepage.com/bellrom

  Chapter one

  Hailey

  “Really? You don't think I can make bundt cake for my own niece?”

  Hailey buried her face into the pillow and tried to ignore her aunt's raised voice.

  “I came to welcome her, Myra,” the other woman said. “Not to argue with you. And you know as well as I that my bundt cake is better.”

  Hailey smiled, her aunt would not like that comment.

  “Well, she's still sleeping. They didn't get here until well past twelve.”

  “I'll just leave the cake here then.”

  “You do that.”

  There was a pause in the conversation as the two women crossed the small house to the front door. A small sound made Hailey sit up and study her daughter. Sage's cheeks were rosy and her hand still clutching the bunny lovey her aunt had sent almost as soon as she had found out that Hailey was pregnant.

  “Will I see you at bridge tonight?”

  “Of course,” Myra said. “Unless Hailey needs me to watch Sage.”

  “You can bring Sage. In fact, why don't you bring Hailey too. I'm sure she could do with some cheering up since her husband died.”

  With a sigh, Hailey reached for her robe. Ever since Conrad died it had become part of her, that poor woman with the dead husband.

  “It's been two years, Susan.”

  “He never got to see the girl, did he?”

  “The girl is fine. And I very much doubt watching us play bridge would cheer up a woman in her twenties.”

  A smile crossed Hailey's lips. Her aunt had her back. It was nice being around family again.

  “Hmph, well. I'll stop by later to welcome her properly.”

  “You do that.”

  The front door closed and Hailey stepped into the slippers her aunt had left out for her. Careful not to wake Sage she snuck out of the room.

  “Oh, did we wake you? Susan stopped by. No doubt so she could be first with the news.” Myra took out two mugs from the cupboard and placed them next to the dripping coffeemaker.

  “What news?” Hailey sat down on the stool by the small kitchen island.

  “Your arrival, dear.” Myra placed sugar and cream in front of Hailey.

  Hailey grimaced. “That's not news.”

  “Well, it is in Bellfrey. I know you got used to living in a big city, where nobody would bat an eyelash if you got murdered in your front yard, but things are different here.” She leaned over the island and squeezed Hailey's hand. “Here, we look out for each other.”

  Hailey let a finger slide over the countertop and blinked a few times to get rid of the tears that were threatening to well up. She had been alone with Sage for so long, trying to make it work in Thurmont. Conrad had been so devoted to his work at the university. He spoke so fondly of his students and the other professors. Part of her had felt it was her duty to remain closeby and try to get to know the man she had married after only a few months of courtship.

  The coffee maker made a gurgling sound and Myra let go of her hand.

  “Here we go.” She poured two cups and placed one infront of Hailey. “Do you want some bundt cake? Susan brought it. Don't tell her I said so, but it's pretty good.”

  Hailey smiled and nodded.

  “I'm so glad you came,” Myra said as she took out plates and a knife. “But why did you? I've been asking ever since before Sage was born.”

  “I realized everything around me reminded me of Conrad. The apartment, the streets, the university. It's like he was all around me, but I was still alone.” Hailey took a bite of the cake. It was good. “One day, I saw a family at a restaurant. Not just the parents and kids, there were grandparents and aunts and uncles. A big table, laughing and arguing and... And I looked over at Sage and we were sitting, just the two of us, at this tiny table.”

  Hailey raised the coffee mug slowly, taking a sip and avoiding looking at her aunt.

  Myra cleared her throat. “Well. You're with family now.”

  Hailey smiled.

  “When are your things arriving?”

  “Later today. Oh, I did accidentally pack my toiletries so I'll have to make a stop at the drugstore at some point.” Hailey leaned her head in her hands. The last few days had been madness, packing up the apartment and saying goodbye to the only life Sage had known.

  Myra put a hand on her shoulder. “As soon as Sage wakes up we can head over to the diner for breakfast. You can run the errands that you need and then we can go to the bakery so you can inspect it. I told Tina I'd give her a call so she can come open it up for us.”

  “About that, are you sure about the rent? It just sounds so affordable.” Hailey took another bite of the cake.

  “You're used to big city prices.” Myra smiled at her. “Besides, Tina is in our bridge group, so I was able to negotiate it down for you.” Myra winked. “Mind you, she said it does need some work.”

  “Was the fire very bad?”

  “Well, it got all of us up on our feet. But they managed to contain it pretty quickly.”

  “And the kitchen was fine?”

  Myra nodded. “Yes, the damage was in the storefront. You'd think if a bakery burns down it'd be from the ovens or something.”

  “I think I hear Sage moving about. I should go check.”

  Hailey stopped halfway out of the kitchen. “Thank you for looking after us.”

  Myra waved a dismissive hand. “We're family.”

  ∞∞∞

  An hour later they were walking at the pace of a one-and-a-half-year-old through Bellfrey on their way to the diner.

  “Santa.” Sage pointed to a snowman in the town square with a red coat and hat.

  Hailey smiled at the children having a snowball fight. They were running around without worrying about muggings or shady people. Up ahead, a young girl waved at them as she got off her bike and entered the grocery store.

  “Yes, it's Santa Claus,” Myra said. “And maybe on Christmas the real Santa will show up.”

  “The woman forgot to lock her bike,” Hailey gestured to the bike leaning against the storefront.

  “That was Petra, nobody would steal her bike. I can't even remember the last time anything got stolen in Bellfrey. Well, there was Gunther's watch last summer, but that turned up in the rose bushes next to the gazebo.” Myra smiled. “I think he took it off and some kids found it and made off with it, but when they realized what they'd done they got scared and tried to hide it.”

  Hailey stopped Sage from picking up snow and putting it in her mouth.

  “Do you always go all out with the decorations?”

  Wreaths hung on all the lamp posts and the gazebo was decorated with pine garlands and big red bows.

  “Oh, this is nothing, by Christmas Day the whole square will be lit up by fairy lights. All the stores decorate their windows and we walk around and vote on who has the best one. And the pageant on Christmas Eve is a highlight in Bellfrey.”

  “Hear that, Sage.” Hailey crouched down to adjust Sage's hat. “There's going to be a pageant. And fairy lights.”

  “Flaily,” Sage said

  “Yes, fairy lights.”

  Sage patted Hailey's cheek with a snowy mitten.

  “Come on,” Myra reached out a hand to Sage. “I see Jessica's at the diner today. I think you two will get along.” She turned to Hailey. “She's about your age and hel
ps with the children. In fact she's in charge of the Christmas pageant.”

  They continued along the town square. Myra waved at Petra and the other customers at the grocery store before they crossed the street to the diner.

  Large windows with red and white café curtains pulled apart showed a cosy interior with red booths and a counter. Behind the counter a blackboard announced that today's special was Meatloaf Sandwich and Banana Cream Pie.

  The bell above the door rang cheerily as an older man excited.

  “Myra.” His face lit up. “Come for breakfast? Oh, and this must be your niece.” He held out a hand towards Hailey.

  “Gunther, this is Hailey,” Myra waited for them to shake hands. “And this is Sage.”

  “Well, hello there.” Gunther leaned down. “And how old are you?”

  Sage stretched up a mitten towards him. “One,” she said and showed the mitten to Hailey.

  Hailey smiled and nodded. “Yes, you're one year old.”

  “Well, I won't keep you out in the cold.” Gunther opened the door for them. “Enjoy your breakfast.”

  The smell of frying foods and coffee welcomed them as they stepped into the diner. Three of the tables were occupied. By the door, a man, who hadn't bothered to remove his jacket, gulfed down a plate of pancakes and barely glanced as they entered.

  Lively discussions filled the air from a table where four older men were having coffee, an empty cup showed where Gunther must have been sitting.

  “We call it the daycare club,” Myra whispered to Hailey. “Retired or semi-retired men that meet up every morning for coffee.” She turned to the four men. “Good morning. Solving the mysteries of the world?”

  A small man with short, blond hair turned to Myra. “Will you tell Herb there are photos of bigfoot.”

  Myra raised an eyebrow. “I don't know that there are Ted.”

  Ted turned to Herb. “Well there are, I saw a documentary about it.”

  “You're always seeing documentaries. If I shot a documentary proving there were rats that drove cars you'd believe it.” Herb scoffed.

  “As a matter of fact there are,” a man with a trimmed gray beard and blackrimmed glasses said. “I read a study recently-”

  “Will you all settle down.” The fourth man rose. He smiled at Hailey and showed pearly white teeth that emphasised his tan. “You must think we have terrible manners.” He walked around the table and held out a hand. “My name is doctor Gary Joseph Torres.”

  Hailey reached out her hand. Instead of shaking it it grasped it firmly and bent down at the waist until his lips met her fingers.

  “Oh, sheesh.” Myra rolled her eyes. “Will you unhand her.” She turned to the table. “This is my niece Hailey and her daughter Sage. Hailey this is Herb Peterson, Ted Roberts and this is Charles Lambert.”

  “Charley,” the man said and adjusted his glasses.

  “It's nice to meet you all.” Hailey smiled at them.

  “So, Hailey. Have you seen any photos of Bigfoot?” Ted asked.

  “I...” Hailey looked at his eager face.

  “We should find a table.” Myra said. “Sage is getting warm in her snowsuit.”

  “It was nice meeting you all.” Hailey followed Myra and Sage to a table near the window.

  “Myra,” a young man waved from the last occupied table.

  “You sit down and have a look at the menu,” Myra said. “I'll just go say hello to Tommy and his mother.”

  Hailey helped Sage out of the snowsuit and glanced over at the woman Myra was talking to. Hung on the back of her chair was a folded up white cane. Tommy might have been in his early twenties, calmly eating his breakfast as Myra and his mother exchanged a few words.

  “Peabu,” Sage said and brought Hailey back to what she was doing.

  “You want a peanut butter sandwich?”

  Sage nodded violently.

  “Let's see if they have it.” Hailey reached for the menu leaning against the little basket with napkins and condiments.

  “Oh, we can make one. No problem.”

  Hailey looked up. A young woman with clear blue eyes smiled down at Sage. She had on a red apron with snowflakes and a white shirt.

  “I'm Jessica.”

  “Hi, I'm Hailey and this is Sage.”

  “Hi Sage.” Jessice crouched down. “So you want a peanut butter sandwich?”

  Sage nodded.

  “Do you want any jam on that?”

  Sage shook her head.

  “No jam?” Jessica raised an eyebrow and glanced at Hailey.

  Hailey shrugged and smiled.

  “OK.” Jessica stood up and took out a notepad and pencil. “And for you?”

  “Hello, Jessica.” Myra took off her jacket and sat down at the table. “How's the Christmas pageant going?”

  “Oh wonderfully. The kids are doing a great job. I think it's going to be the best one yet.”

  Hailey opened the menu and studied it.

  “I'm sure it will be,” Myra said.

  “So, what's for breakfast?” Jessica asked.

  “I'll have the tomato and green pepper omelette,” Hailey said.

  “And eggs over easy for me,” Myra said.

  “Bacon?” Jessica wrote in her notepad.

  “Not today.”

  “Coffee?”

  “Yes, and apple juice for Sage.” Hailey said.

  “I'll be right back with your order.” Jessica smiled and headed towards the kitchen.

  “Jessica, you've seen bigfoot, right?” Ted asked as she walked by.

  “Oh, plenty of times, Ted.” She slowed down and winked at him. “Whenever I go fishing.” She continued on.

  “See?” Ted said.

  “Jessica doesn't fish.” Herb shook his head.

  Hailey smiled. Maybe living here wouldn't be so bad. In fact, she might like it alot.

  Sam

  “...and this is the kitchen.” Sam opened his arms to the gutted room.

  “It's going to need a lot of work.” Michael peered behind the door.

  “I know. But it's what I do. And I just couldn't say no to the price.” Sam poked at part of the wall making some drywall scatter over the floor.

  “But you don't need a house this big. You'd save a lot on insurance if you found a smaller house, or even an apartment.”

  “It's an investment, Michael.” Sam rolled his eyes at his brother. Sometimes Michael could be such a killjoy.

  “Like a fixer-upper? What do they call it... house-flipping? It certainly has a lot of fixing that needs done to it. And I suppose it can only go 'up' from here.” Michael stepped around a broken bathroom sink. “And if you do get it looking half-way decent you can probably turn a profit.”

  “Not exactly.” Sam hesitated. “I won't be selling it.”

  “Then I don't understand. Are you going to live here all alone?” He opened a door and revealed a decent sized pantry.

  “I won't be alone forever.” Sam leaned back against the wall. Then immediately stood up again as it bowed under him.

  “I thought you broke it off with what's-her-name.” Michael tried to turn on the light in the pantry.

  “There's no electricity yet. And yeah, we ended things. We had different goals.”

  Michael raised his eyebrows at Sam before looking out the window.

  “I have to say the view is nice, you can see all the way to the lake. And with the trees and the fields...”

  “I know.” Sam took a deep breath. “I bought the fields too.”

  “You what?” Michael turned around and almost stumbled on a pile of broken planks.

  Sam shrugged. “They came with the house. Someone made an offer for all of it and I would have lost the house otherwise.”

  “See, this is why it never works out with any of your relationships.” Michael walked past him into the hallway.

  “Because I buy what I want?” Sam frowned and followed him.

  “No, because you're always all in. You scare them awa
y.”

  “No, I don't.”

  “I've seen you do it. It's always marriage or nothing.”

  Sam got flustered. “Well, why would you date if it's not going to end in marriage? I'm just upfront about it.” He stalked past Michael out to the front yard, zipping up his jacket with jerky movements.

  “Women want to get to know you before they decide if you're someone they could marry.” Michael followed him to the curb.

  “They can do that. I never pressure anyone.”

  “Not intentionally. But you give off this energy.”

  Sam's eyes went wide. Hearing his banker brother who used to give them unsolicited insurance advice use the word energy felt wrong.

  “When they meet you, it's like everything about you screams marriage or bust.”

  “Well, when I meet the right one she won't be scared.”

  They stood for a while looking at the house. The structure was sound. A coat of paint and some small adjustments here and there and it'd be a beautiful house.

  “Just... just let her get to know you before you start thinking of marriage.” Michael put an arm over Sam's shoulder.

  Sam took a breath. Was he so eager to find the one that he pushed everyone away? Maybe the house was a bit on the big side?

  “I have to get back to work. Good luck with the house, and let me know if you need help with the insurance.” Michael hurried off down the street.

  For a moment Sam stared at the house. It was beautiful, old. It never should have been allowed to fall apart like this. He'd done the right thing by buying it. He could bring it back to what it should be. A home.

  Hailey

  While Sage was happily eating her second peanut butter sandwich under Myra's watchful eyes,

  Hailey hurried across the street. She raised her hand at the driver who stopped and let her pass. He waved back. She smiled. In Thurmont, he would have honked.

  She stopped on the sidewalk. She had promised Sage it would be different here. They'd make time to do things together and not rush through every day. Might as well start now. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  Something wet landed on her cheek and she flinched and opened her eyes. It was snowing. Maybe the universe was telling her she had made the right decision. She reached out a hand to catch the large white flakes. They landed on her palm and melted away.