Sawdust and Mistletoe

by Michelle Pennington

  “Don’t worry. I can keep a secret. Have you had breakfast?”

  With his head down as he worked, he only knew she was coming closer by the sound of her voice.

  “No. I was going to go get something.”

  “You eat out too much. Come inside in twenty minutes and I’ll feed you. Looks like you need to warm up anyway.”

  Then, he felt something land on his head. He put a hand up to see what it was, and dust fell around his face. No, not dust. Sawdust. She’d put sawdust in his hair.

  “What the—”

  Laughing she said, “Be sure you clean up before you come inside.”

  Growling, Hunter grabbed a handful of sawdust from the table saw. She shrieked and ran away, shutting the door in his face.

  Hunter stared at the door, smiling like an idiot. His nose was still cold, but his insides were plenty warm. And the back of his neck itched where the sawdust got down his collar.

  ***

  Not wanting to wear out his welcome, Hunter swept Ava’s garage and got all of his tools organized before he left for the day. The dollhouse was put together and ready for all the fussy details like trim and shingles and paint. Not bad progress for one morning.

  He could have stayed to work on it longer, but knowing Ava was hanging out at his brother’s house was a good reason for packing it in early. Half-way over there, Hunter realized she might have already left. The disappointment he felt surprised him, as did his relief when he turned onto the street and saw her van parked on the curb. Surely this wasn’t a good sign, but he couldn’t help feeling cheerful. Whistling and twirling his key ring around his finger, he went inside to crash their party.

  Ava sat at the kitchen table with Molly, their heads bent over Christmas coloring books. Krista smiled as he came in, but turned back quickly to flip the grilled cheese sandwiches she was making.

  “Got enough for me?” Hunter asked, taking off his jacket and draping it over a chair.

  “Sure. Want some tomato soup?

  “You know it.” Then sitting next to Ava, he asked, “Can I color too?”

  Bumping her knees against his, Ava said, “You’ll have to ask Molly. This is from her brand-new Christmas coloring book.”

  Hunter knocked her knees back and leaned towards Molly. “How about it, Molls? I am your favorite uncle.”

  “Okay.”

  While Molly flipped through the book, Krista said, “You’re her only uncle.”

  “That’s just a technicality.”

  Molly handed Hunter a page with an elf making a toy train. The bottom corner was missing from where the paper had torn unevenly. He picked up a red crayon and colored the elf’s fat nose. “I can relate to this guy. His workshop must be as cold as mine was.”

  “His workshop is at the North Pole, so he’d probably think you were a wimp,” Ava said.

  “Maybe this will warm you up,” Krista said. She put a steaming bowl of soup and a toasty sandwich in front of him.

  Hunter pushed the elf away and picked up the spoon without another word.

  Ava took a bite of her sandwich, and a moment later reached over to brush her fingers over the back of his hand to get his attention. The touch sent warmth through his arm.

  “Guess what Molly’s favorite color is?” she asked once he turned to look at her.

  “Pink?”

  “No, yellow. And she likes sparkles and rainbows.”

  Smiling, he glanced over at Molly who was scrubbing a drop of soup off her coloring page. “I never would have guessed you like sparkles,” he told her, flicking his finger against the tiara on her head.

  Molly giggled and Ava looked at him. Her eyes were so full of amusement, he reached out his hand and pinched her chin softly. Ava’s cheeks flooded with color, but before she could say anything, her phone rang. It sat next to her on the table, so she glanced over at it without picking it up.

  Then her eyes went wide. “No way. It’s Sharon Windover. She’s Marcia’s biggest client.”

  It rang again, but she still stared at her phone in disbelief.

  “Well answer it.”

  Her hand jerked toward the phone, answering the call and sweeping it up in her hand in one smooth motion. She walked into the living room so he focused on eating. He was about to go for a second helping when she came back. Clutching her phone in one hand, she said, “You’ll never guess what she wanted.”

  “You’re right, so spit it out.”

  She laughed then took a deep breath. “She’s hired me to decorate for the Candy Cane Ball. It’s the premier party of the year. Marcia McBrady has gotten the gig for as long as I can remember, but Sharon is Mrs. Trundell’s granddaughter so she heard about Marcia firing me. It made her furious, especially since Marcia was so snooty about Mrs. Trundell’s account. So, I have my first job as an independent designer.”

  Standing up, Hunter grinned and held his arms out to her. She gave a little squeal and hugged him.

  “Congratulations. That’s awesome.”

  Ava stepped back and gave a happy shimmy. “Yeah, I can’t believe it. Wow. This is big. I’ll have to front it with a huge chunk of my savings, but the profit will be decent. Not great since it’s a charity event, but it will open up so many doors.”

  “You know, Marcia is going to be furious.”

  “Yeah, she’s going to have a stroke. But it serves her right for firing me.”

  Hunter nodded and pulled her in for another hug, loving the excuse to hold her. But he hoped that her ex-boss wasn’t the vindictive type. She’d struck him as more viper than human.

  “I want to hug too!” Molly said.

  Ava and Hunter broke apart, laughing, and Hunter pulled the little cutie in for a cuddle.

  Chapter Ten

  Ava took a deep breath as she stared at her mother’s large wreath. Beside her Hunter rocked back on his heels and waited silently. At least he was silent for about twenty seconds.

  “So, are we going to knock? Or go in maybe?”

  “It’s my mom’s house. We’re going in.”

  “Cool.”

  But still, she hesitated. “I think this is a bad idea.”

  “Well, I can smell the lasagna from here, so I disagree.” Then Hunter reached out and opened the door. With a hand on the small of her back, he gave her a gentle push forward.

  As they stepped into the foyer, Ava took off her scarf and took a deep breath. “We’re here, Mom.”

  “They’re here,” her mom shouted from the direction of the kitchen. Ava closed her eyes and waited for the onslaught. Within moments, she was pulled into a soft, perfumed embrace. Her mom rocked them from side to side a few times, then finally let go. She turned to Hunter and said, “So you’re Hunter. I didn’t realize you were so big.”

  Hunter held out his hand. “I get that a lot. You’ll get used to me.”

  Ava raised her eyebrows. “I’m not sure I’ve gotten used to it yet.”

  “I don’t want you to.”

  “Oh my goodness,” Ava’s mom said. She fanned herself with her hand. “If you two keep looking at each other like that all evening, I might have hot flashes.”

  Ava shook her head. “It looks like you already are. Where are Craig and Gabbie?”

  “They should be right behind you.”

  Ava pressed her lips together before asking the tough question. “And dad?”

  Her mom rolled her eyes. “You know your dad. He said he’d be here, but it just depends on if something more important comes up.”

  “More important than Sunday dinner with the family?”

  Her mom shrugged and got the sad, hollow look in her eyes that Ava dreaded. “You know how he is.”

  “Well, we’ll have fun without him,” Ava said brightly. “Come on, Hunter. I’ll show you around.”

  “Great,” her mom said brightly. “I’m going to go toss the salad.”

  Ava led the way into the living room. She pointed at the mantle where a row of framed family pictures stood in a lin
e. “As you can see, we’re one big happy family.”

  Hunter reached out and grabbed her hand. He didn’t say a word, just held it and his touch calmed her. She leaned against his shoulder for a few seconds, then turned him toward the tree. “And behold the Roth family Christmas tree. She’s had this one for ten years now, since I was a teenager, and it’s still going strong.”

  “Holy fiber optics,” Hunter said, his eyes wide as he took in the bunches of thin plastic tubes projecting color-changing lights all over the tree.

  “Yep. The rotating tree stand stopped working a few years ago, but she’s determined to get a new one next year.”

  “I have to say, I kind of love it.”

  “I thought it was totally cool back in the day. And here is my mom’s Christmas village and nativity.” Ava pointed to the bookcase lined with small, intricately detailed buildings set on white cotton to look like snow. The Nativity was arranged on the coffee table.

  “I take it she doesn’t have any grandkids. Molly would never leave them alone if they were down in her reach.”

  Ava laughed. “No, not yet. My brother’s her only hope right now and he and his wife are holding off until she finishes her nursing degree.”

  Just then, she heard her brother call out from the front door. “Sorry we’re late.”

  Ava grabbed Hunter’s hand and led him out to meet her brother and sister-in-law.

  “Hey, Craig.”

  “Hey, squirt. Who’s this?”

  “This is Hunter Newman. Mom insisted on inviting him. Hunter, this is Gabbie, Craig’s wife.”

  Hunter shook their hands. “Nice to meet you. I would never have guessed you were brother and sister though.”

  Ava shrugged. “I got my dad’s Nordic genes. Craig got mom’s olive skin and dark hair. Lucky.”

  “I love your blond hair,” Gabbie said, reaching out to tug it with her fingers.

  “I like it too,” Hunter said.

  Gabbie winked at him. “And I bet that’s not the only thing.”

  Ava sighed. “Not you too. Let’s go eat. Maybe it will keep everyone from embarrassing me.”

  She walked into the dining room, knowing everyone would follow if there was food involved.

  Her mom had her best tablecloth out and her second-best china. There was a centerpiece of artificial poinsettias in a basket, and dinner was spread around the table.

  “Sit wherever you like,” her mom said, “But Hunter, you sit by me.

  Everyone sat down, leaving the chair at the end open in case her dad came home. Ava avoided looking that direction because seeing it empty made her mad.

  For the first fifteen minutes or so, there wasn’t much conversation as everyone ate, but Ava wasn’t surprised when her Mom brought out the molten lava cake, and the interrogation, as a second course.

  “So, Hunter, have you lived here long?”

  “Actually, I don’t live here at all. I’m visiting my brother’s family for the holidays.”

  Her mom’s eyebrows drew together. “Oh? Where do you live?”

  “I have a cabin in Colorado. That’s probably the closest thing I have to home. Most of the time I have to close it up when I’m gone for work.”

  “Oh? I thought you were a carpenter or something.”

  “I’m a lot of things. I build houses, I do landscaping and even road work. If I really want to make some money though, I find a welding job. I can set myself up for half the year with two months of welding work.”

  Ava raised her brows and listened curiously, not minding her mom’s nosiness for once. “Why don’t you do welding all the time then?”

  Hunter shrugged and stirred his fork through the chocolate sauce pooling on his plate. “I like to travel. Once my bank account is in good shape, I hit the road.”

  “That kind of thing is fine when you’re young,” her mom said. “But what about when you have a family?”

  Hunter broke eye contact with her mom and looked down at his place. “I’ll have some adjusting to do before that happens.”

  Ava looked at him, though she could only see his profile. He must have felt her eyes on him because he turned to look at her, but his expression remained somber.

  Craig took a sip of his water. “That sounds like the life to me. I wish I’d done more of that before I met Gabbie. Now with her class schedule and shifts at the hospital, we barely have time to see each other, much less travel.”

  “Yes,” her mom broke into this almost normal line of conversation, “But what about you and Ava?”

  “Mom,” Ava whispered, hoping her mom would get the hint to shut up.

  “I don’t know, Mrs. Roth. We’re still trying to figure that out ourselves.”

  “Well, I know this—it’s no good falling in love with a man who won’t settle down.”

  “Here we go,” Craig muttered.

  Ava looked across the table at her brother, their eyes meeting in a show of support for what was to come.

  “If I’d have used the sense God gave me when I met my husband, I’d have given him a wide berth. The trouble and heartache that man has caused me! He’s had more jobs in the last thirty years than anybody could keep track of. We moved around a lot when the kids were little because he just couldn’t seem to keep from packing up and heading off to greener pastures. Finally, when Craig was ten, I put my foot down and said me and the kids weren’t moving anymore. So, he moved around without us for a while, coming back every few months or so while I supported the family.”

  “Mom,” Ava broke in. “Hunter doesn’t need to hear all this.”

  “Maybe he does, seeing as how he’s looking at my daughter the way he is.”

  Ava stood up, not knowing what to say or do. But before she could decide, her dad came in with a broad, unrepentant smile.

  “Well, doesn’t this look cozy?” he asked, looking around the table.

  An awkward silence hung over them all until her mom asked, “Where have you been, Jim?”

  “Oh, at an estate sale over in March Hill. I’ve heard you can make a good bit of profit on antique tools, and they had a ton of them. I picked some up cheap. Now, who’s our guest?”

  Hunter was introduced for the third time that evening, and part way through their exchange of pleasantries, Ava sat down again and glared at the silk poinsettias for daring to look so festive.

  “Well, it was nice to meet you,” Ava’s dad said. “But Homicide Detective is on at eight and I never miss.”

  He left the room, and Ava turned to Hunter. “When you’re done with dessert, I think we should go.”

  “Oh no,” her mom said. “You can’t leave yet.”

  “Why not?”

  “I was going to ask Hunter to fix that loose vent cover in the bathroom.”

  “Mom, no.”

  “I don’t mind,” Hunter said softly. His hand came over to grip hers under the table. “Really. I’m happy to help out.”

  Ava’s mom stood up. “Thanks so much. Jim never gets around to anything, even though he always promises he will.”

  Clenching her teeth, Ava watched as Hunter followed her mom out of the room. She reached out and picked up her fork, more for something to do than because she wanted any more of the rich cake.

  “So, he’s gorgeous,” Gabbie said in a pseudo whisper.

  “Oh geez,” Craig said, looking disgusted.

  Gabbie smiled and rubbed his arm. “So are you, babe. I’m just saying, for Ava. You know?”

  “He is,” Ava agreed. “And funny and sweet, and talented. But you heard. He’s not sticking around. Just my luck.”

  “Well, maybe you could follow him. Or maybe go visit him sometimes. I mean, you’re going to be your own boss now, right?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know. I got fired before I had enough money saved up.”

  Craig and Gabbie gasped and sat up straighter. “You got fired?” Craig asked.

  “Yeah. On Thursday. Didn’t mom tell you.”

  Gabbie shook her head. “
No. But why? Marcia won’t know what to do without you to keep her clients happy.”

  “Fortunately, that’s not my problem. In fact, it may be my salvation. Already one of her biggest clients has asked me to do the decorations for the candy cane. It’s a big deal because a lot of wealthy people will get a preview of what I can do. If I can pull it off, it should help me get going. But it’s a lot to do since it’s only two weeks away.”

  “If anyone can do it, you can,” Craig said, smiling at her with a confidence she was far from feeling.

  “Thanks.”

  “And maybe if you take Hunter, you can make him forget about wanting to leave.” Gabbie laughed. “Just hang lots of mistletoe around the venue.”

  Craig winced. “Can we change the topic, please. I do not want to think about Ava kissing anybody anywhere.”

  Ava rolled her eyes. “Like I haven’t had to watch you to play kissy-face for the last two years. Come on. Let’s clean up for Mom.”

  By the time they had the dishes all loaded in the dishwasher and the leftovers stored away, Hunter still hadn’t come back from wherever her mom dragged him.

  She went looking and found Hunter coming down from the attic through the access door in the laundry room.

  “There you go, Mrs. Roth. You shouldn’t have any more trouble with that vent. But let me know if you do.”

  “I will. It’s a shame you don’t have time to look at the light switch in the guest bedroom. It flickers and makes a crackling sound when you flip it on.”

  Hunter closed the attic door and cast a concerned look at her mom. “You should definitely get an electrician out here for that.”

  “Oh dear. I figured so. Well, thanks. We’ll have to have you over again sometime soon. You know, since you’re leaving town and all.”

  Ava had had enough of her mother for one evening and she was sure Hunter had as well, even though he was his usual, laid-back self. “We’ll see, Mom. Thanks for dinner. It was delicious as always.”

  “It was wonderful,” Hunter said, rubbing his hand over his completely flat waistline. “I’m too full for comfort.”

  Ava took his arm and prodded him to start walking, much like he’d done to her at the front door coming in. As they passed the living room where her Dad sat watching television with an open bag of chips on his lap, Hunter called out, “Nice meeting you, Mr. Roth.”