Christmas in Candle Cove

by Mary L. Briggs

  “What was wrong with her?” Rory asked, the moment she was back inside.

  “She has a bad headache,” Ellie told him, stopping to rearrange some of the ornaments on the store’s biggest tree.

  “She looked OK at lunch,” he stated.

  Ellie almost lost hold of the ornament in her hand. She turned her eyes to Rory. “You saw her at lunch?”

  “Yeah,” he nodded, closing the cash register door. “She was over at Charlie B’s place. There with some old guy. He looked about as desperate as she does,” he grinned.

  “Rory! That’s not nice.”

  His face fell. “Sorry. You’re right. Anyway, she was hovering all over him like he was a movie star or something. It was kinda sad.”

  Ellie shook her head and went back to her ornament re-arrangement. “Poor Madge. I can’t help but feel bad for her.”

  “She’ll be OK,” Rory assured her. “She’s made it through so many marriages, that she’s pretty tough.”

  Ellie sighed. Loneliness was a hard thing. But there were some things worse than being alone. You read about them every day in the paper, saw them on the news. Madge was a nice woman and deserved to be happy. But maybe she was going about it all the wrong way.

  Ellie snorted to herself. Who am I to give anyone advice?

  The bell over the door jangled and Gabe entered the store. “Afternoon everyone!”

  “Hey there, Gabe,” Rory waved, busy putting out another box of Candle Cove Candles.

  Ellie re-hung a few of the candy canes and nodded. “As you can see, we aren’t so busy anymore.”

  Gabe shrugged and slipped his jacket off, heading for the hooks that held Rory and Willa’s coats. “There must be something I can do.”

  “Sure,” Rory grinned. “We’re going to need to put some more candles out on the shelves. Folks are buying them up like they’d heard there won’t be anymore.”

  “Just point me to a box of them,” Gabe told him.

  “This way,” Rory said.

  She watched as the two of them headed to the storeroom. The bell jangled above the door and she turned with a smile. A customer was exactly what she needed.

  An elderly woman, accompanied by an even more elderly man, was busy adjusting her walker. “Good afternoon. May I help you?”

  Chapter 23

  The senior couple seemed to be catnip for the rest of the people out shopping. Ellie barely had time to swallow for the next hour and a half.

  “I think we’re going to need even more candles,” she said to Rory, as she passed, a customer right behind her.

  “I’ll get them,” Gabe, busy behind the counter, answered and headed to the storeroom.

  “And I’ll go get the kids,” Willa called out, as she left out the front doors.

  Ellie continued to the furniture section. “Now, right over here, Mrs. Goble, are the rockers your son has been telling you about. Amish made by a Mr. Weaver. He lives up north of us, near Branson.”

  ***

  “Wow, is it always like this?” Gabe asked, as Ellie locked the doors behind a gentleman carrying out the last of the pine wreaths.

  “We have our moments,” she laughed. “These spurts are really what keep us going . I count on Christmas to keep us in business.”

  He nodded and looked around the store. “Where’s Danny?”

  Ellie headed toward the bakery bar. She could use a few moments off of her feet. “He’s with Willa. After she picked them up at school, they went to the diner for some chocolate sodas, then they were going to McPherson’s to look at toys. I told her to pay attention if Danny seems extra taken with anything.”

  “Sounds like fun for them.”

  She took two mugs from the shelf and looked at him. “Do you have time for a cup?”

  He nodded and headed toward one of the tables. “Mom rode over to the church with Mrs. Ridge, to help with some decorating. She won’t be ready for a little while.”

  Ellie filled his coffee, then took a seat, pouring her own. “She’s going to miss all this chauffeuring around once you are gone.”

  He took a sip of his coffee. “I don’t know. She’s used to being her own boss. She doesn’t like the way I drive, the way I park, or the way I make shopping lists,” he laughed.

  “Still, she’s glad you’re here,” Ellie insisted. She leaned back in her chair. Her back could use a rest, as well as her feet. All that bending over, unpacking so much every day, was hard on her. Once Christmas was here, things ought to slow down.

  “You look tired,” he observed.

  She shrugged and smiled. “Only for another week and a half. Then, everything will slow down and I’ll be wondering where all my customers have gone.”

  “I take it the winter months are pretty slow?”

  She reached for the carafe of coffee and re-filled her cup. “It picks up again a few weeks before Valentine’s Day. After that, everyone is tired of winter and wants spring décor. I usually order some plants from Farley’s Nursery, once people start planting their gardens. It always brings in a nice income.”

  She watched as he stirred a lump of sugar into his cup. His eyes met hers and she ignored the flip-flop in her chest. Why did he have to be so handsome? So sweet? So. . .perfect?

  “How’s play practice coming along for Danny and Willa’s girls?”

  Good. Children were a safe subject. “I think they’re all looking forward to it. Danny is a shepherd, of course, and the girls are angels. Kenna says it is her last year to be an angel. Says she’s too old,” Ellie laughed.

  “How many years did you have to be an angel?”

  “I think until I was twelve. And that was too old!” Her cheeks warmed at his glance and she forced her eyes to her coffee. Surely his mother was finished at the church by now.

  As if reading her mind, Gabe glanced at his watch. “Looks like it’s about time to pick up mom. We still have a stop to make at the grocery store.”

  She followed as he stood and headed to the front of the store.

  “So, is your girlfriend coming this weekend?” Why was she bringing her up? At least she had said girlfriend, and not fiancé.

  Gabe stopped and took his jacket from the hook and slipped it on. “Only if I can talk her into staying at my mother’s house again. She says the pink guest room makes her feel like Alice in Wonderland. But I explained to her that if she stays at the B&B on the highway, it would hurt Mom’s feelings.”

  Ellie laughed. “I was down at Evan’s Hardware, buying some flower seeds one day last spring, and I helped your mother pick out the paint for that room. She said she’d always wanted a pretty pink room.”

  He nodded. “It’s true. She wanted a daughter. She had her eye on that bedroom for years. Dad used it for an office and then I stored a bunch of boxes in there after I graduated college. She had it all cleaned out last year and called me and told me it was going to be a pink guest room. . .daughter or not,” he laughed.

  “Well, she’ll have one when you and Melissa marry.”

  His eyes narrowed a bit and he straightened his jacket collar. “Her name is Marisa. And what makes you think I’m going to marry her?” he asked.

  Ellie blushed. Think before you speak, Ellie! “I’m sorry. But, the first time you were in here, you said you wanted her to see you could be a family man,” she reminded him. “And, it’s just that your mom. . .I mean she thinks that you think she’s the one, and. ..”

  His eyebrows rose. “She does, does she?” He stared for a moment. “And what about you? Do you think Marisa is right for me?”

  Ellie felt the heat in her cheeks. She hadn’t meant anything by the statement. Somehow, the conversation was going in the wrong direction. “I wouldn’t know that, Gabe.” He was not going to trap her into that discussion.

  “Well, since you’ve met her, I’m asking what you think. Is she my type, or not?”

  “That’s not fair. I have no idea what your ‘type’ is these days. And I hardly know Melissa. I only met her that
one time, and I didn’t even know who she was. And besides, your life is your own affair. You can marry who you want to without anyone else’s permission.”

  He folded his arms. “Her name is Marisa. And you think it would be a mistake for me to marry her, don’t you?” he insisted.

  Ellie grit her teeth. He was like a dog with a prized bone, once he started an argument. Making peace was usually not an option. He would continue putting words in her mouth until she was finally furious with him. “Well, so far, the only person that has asked that question, is you, Gabe Chandler. Have you thought that maybe it’s you that wonders if she is the one for you?”

  The expression on his face told her that she should never have uttered those words.

  “I don’t need you thinking for me, Ellie Landers. .. Courtland,” he added. “We went through all of that years ago. And you’re right. I don’t need anyone else’s approval of my bride to be! Just because we had that one kiss—”

  Ellie’s jaw dropped before she recovered. Her voice rose as she spoke. “Kiss? Is that what you think this conversation is about? A sympathy kiss that you gave to me? Are you. . .insane? Like it meant so much to me? Don’t think so highly of yourself, Gabe Chandler!” It was just like him to think that her every thought dwelled on that silly kiss. And even if they did, he had no right to bring it up!

  “Sympathy!” His face was scarlet. “I’ve never given a sympathy kiss in my life.”

  Her expression sharpened and she stepped closer to him. “Then, what was it? Were you thinking of Marisa and I just happened to be standing there?”

  She winced as he slammed out the door, sending the tiny tree next to the front window toppling on its side. She let out a sigh. If only she’d given him a chance to explain himself.

  “Me and my big mouth,” she whispered to the empty room.

  ***

  Gabe sat in his car, fingers drumming on the steering wheel as he waited for his mother to exit the grocery store. At least he was breathing a little calmer, now that they were on the other side of town. What had made him think he could have a normal conversation with Ellie? She’d always been stubborn and opinionated. Always saying what she thought about a subject, with no concern for anyone else’s feelings. Even when she was a teenager.

  He sighed. That was a little harsh. She was a kind, caring person. And he hadn’t realized how much he missed her smile, her laugh, her. . .he had been missing her for years, and he hadn’t even known it.

  He relaxed a little more and chuckled, remembering an incident from high school. His senior year, none of the students had liked the new cheerleading uniforms that the principle had picked out. The girls thought it made them look like turtles, with its odd pattern and shape for the top. But no one had said anything. Except Ellie. One of the school paper’s photographers, she had been horrified after snapping a photo of the girls in their uniforms. After developing the pictures, she had gone straight to the principal’s office and told him just what she, and the rest of the student body thought of his choice. And, it had made a difference. The principle and his committee had scrapped their choice and allowed the cheerleaders to vote on the subject. If nothing else, Ellie could get things accomplished.

  He leaned his head back against the head rest and sighed. He had loved her, even as a high school student. She had been special, caught his attention. Sent his heart reeling with just her laugh. And he had intended to marry her. So, where had he and Ellie gone wrong? Or rather, where had he gone wrong?

  “What are you daydreaming about?” Cora Chandler asked, as she opened the car door, sack of groceries cradled in her arms.

  Gabe opened his door. “Let me get that for you, Mom.”

  “Oh, don’t be silly,” she said, wrestling the sack inside as she slipped into the seat. “Just what do you think I do when you’re not here? I’m not helpless, you know!”

  Gabe chomped his jaw on the words that threatened to erupt. Women! You try to help them out, and all they do is accuse you of babying them, or feeling sorry for them, or just plain ignoring them. There was no winning when a woman was involved.

  Chapter 24

  Ellie found herself focusing on the door every time the bell jangled. But no Gabe. She would be lucky if he ever spoke to her again. And it had been all her fault. She should never have mentioned Marisa in their conversation.

  To make things worse, Danny had done nothing but chatter about him last night. The words had been like salt in her wounds. It would break Danny’s heart if he never spent time with Gabe again.

  After the boy had fallen asleep, she had searched all over for the stocking that Willa had mentioned. She wasn’t sure why, but she wanted to see it. Was Danny planning to give it to Gabe for Christmas? If that was his plan, she would have to find a way to stop him.

  The door opened again and she looked up to see Charity Tucker enter.

  “Good morning,” Charity called, heading to the bakery section. “I’ll take three dozen assorted,” she told Willa.

  Ellie made her way over to the woman. Tuck had picked a wonderful woman for his wife. It was sad that he hadn’t lived to spend his life with her.

  “Good morning. Is the town still staying together?” Ellie teased. Charity had been appointed mayor in her late father-in-law’s place. Since then, she had been duly elected and was serving the town well.

  Charity nodded, then shrugged, as if she wasn’t sure. “Have you heard about the break-in at Sid Rupert’s place?”

  Ellie’s heart fell. “Another burglary? This has got to stop soon. I just can’t imagine who it could be,” she said, watching Willa count out the cookies and arrange them in a bakery box.

  Charity nodded. “They took a music box from Sid’s place. He said he bought it here at your store. Do you remember?”

  “It’s possible. Rosa Sinclair collected them, and I bought quite a few of them at the auction Mr. Sinclair had a few years back.”

  “Well, to make it more interesting, Judy Dart discovered that a music box is what was taken from their house.”

  “So, the thief is a music lover,” Rory stated, walking up behind them.

  Charity reached for the box of cookies that Willa handed over the counter. “It’s a mystery, that’s for sure. Cal. . .I mean, Chief Burns, figures they’re looking for something in the boxes. Maybe jewels, or some sort of valuables.”

  Rory shook his head. “If anything, it’s the will they want. And, for some reason they think it’s in one of Rosa Sinclair’s music boxes.”

  “Rory has definite ideas about this whole scenario,” Ellie smiled. “Do you have time for a cup of coffee before I check you out?”

  Charity shook her head. “Sorry, but there’s a committee meeting about the city park.” She glanced at her watch. “And I’m almost late.”

  “I’ll get you over here at the counter,” Rory offered, taking the box from her.

  “Merry Christmas,” Ellie called after her, as she left the store.

  “She seems like a nice woman,” Rory said, shutting the cash register drawer. “Did you know her husband?”

  Ellie nodded. “Tuck, Gabe, and Cal were inseparable when they were growing up.”

  “Until you,” Willa teased, bringing a plate of cookies to the front counter. “You must have put a damper on their trio.”

  An image of the framed picture on Cora Chandler’s wall flashed through her mind. She reached for a cookie. “I guess maybe I did, but Cal and Tuck had girlfriends, too. They used to take all of us fishing with them.

  “Once, when we were out on the lake, the little boat that Cal’s father owned, turned over and we all went for an unexpected swim.” It had been spring, and the water icy cold. Gabe had built a fire on the shore to warm them. She blinked, remembering brisk wind against their wet skin, the laughing and jokes that flew between them. No use thinking of all that now. Life had not turned out the way any of them had imagined.

  She and Gabe had parted ways. Then, she married Harry. He and Tuck had bo
th died in Afghanistan. Cal’s wife, Bonnie, had died in that freak rodeo accident. And now, Gabe was going to marry Marisa.

  “Hey, cheer up, Ellie. We’re going to find who did it,” Rory interrupted her thoughts.

  She forced a smile to her face, glad he had mistaken her trouble for the town’s problems. “I know. It will all work out in the end. That’s what my grandmother always said.”

  Rory grinned. “Grandma’s know best. My grandmother thinks that the ghost of old Charles Sinclair has come back to haunt everyone that has something that belonged in his house. She says all these weird things will keep happening until everything is returned to the mansion.”

  “And what did you say to her when she gave that opinion?” Willa asked.

  “Not a thing. She’s my grandmother,” Rory shook his head. “But I told her, don’t be surprised if the police catch a real, living soul that’s committing these crimes.”

  Ellie headed to the coffee pot. “Whoever it is, I hope they catch him soon. Everyone’s nerves are about to snap.”

  ***

  Ellie stared out the front of the store, her eyes on the traffic. Business had been good that day. A busload of tourists, on their way to Branson, had descended on the town and filled the cash registers of several stores, Farmhouse Finds, included.

  Rory had volunteered to stay late and help her stock the shelves. She should be feeling pretty good about the seasonal sales, but all she could think about was Gabe. And the fact that he hadn’t called for two days. She went ten years without speaking to the man, and now two days seemed longer than all those years put together.

  She sighed. After the conversation the two of them had had, he had probably gone straight to the airport and flown home to Memphis to marry Marisa. It would be like him to make such a spur of the moment decision.