Sawdust and Mistletoe

by Michelle Pennington

  His deep, booming voice must have startled her dad because he jumped. “What? Oh, yeah. You too. You’re a big fella, aren’t you? I didn’t notice so much when you were sitting down.”

  Ava didn’t wait for Hunter to reply before grabbing their coats off the coat rack and pushing him out the door. As soon as the door shut, they looked at each other. Hunter started laughing first, then Ava broke into hysterical giggles that made her lose her balance. She shut her eyes and leaned against Hunter for support.

  The next thing she knew he was holding her coat out for her to put on. She sniffed and took a deep breath before sliding her arms into the sleeves.

  “That was everything you promised it would be,” he said.

  “Sorry you came?”

  “No way. I’d face worse than that for your mom’s cooking. Plus, I feel like I understand a few things better now.”

  “Oh yeah? Like what?”

  “Like where you got your decorating style. As soon as I walked in and saw the glitter-covered pinecones, I got it.”

  “Yeah, because that was the most obvious revelation about me tonight.”

  Hunter gripped her hand and swung it between them as they walked to his truck. “No, not the most obvious. Just the only one I’m going to tease you about.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Hunter pulled into Josh and Krista’s driveway after a long day putting trim in a newly built home. It had been good solid work, and he’d been glad to do it knowing his work was going to help the family who was buying it move in by Christmas. But he’d missed the charge of excitement and creativity that came with working with Ava. He’d just missed her.

  He turned off the truck and went around to get the groceries out of the back. He’d been watching carefully and thought he knew what groceries Josh’s family needed most and which treats they might most appreciate.

  As he strode into the kitchen with a massive load of plastic shopping bags in both hands, he called out, “Krista, I’ve got something for you.”

  She looked up from the laundry she was folding on the kitchen table and said, “Oh no. Hunter, you didn’t need to do that.”

  “I wanted to. You’ll have to help me. I don’t know where everything goes.”

  They worked together taking out the fruit, milk, cheese, butter, and vegetables.

  As Krista sorted it all out, Hunter said, “I’m going to go for another load. Be right back.”

  “There’s more?”

  “Yeah, I left the meat and some goodies outside.”

  Then, to his surprise and discomfort, Krista bent forward with her hands on her face and sniffed. He stood still, trying to figure out if she was crying like he was afraid she was.

  “Um…”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. She straightened and dropped her hands, then groped around on the counter for a dishtowel. She dried her cheeks and took a deep breath. “It’s just such a blessing. We barely had anything left in the checking account. I didn’t know how we were going to make it. Our credit card is maxed out, and even if Josh gets a job today, it will be two weeks before he gets paid.”

  “Why didn’t you guys tell me it was so bad?”

  “Josh didn’t want you to worry.”

  “Huh,” Hunter said, turning around to get the rest of the groceries.

  As he went outside, Josh was getting out of his car. His shoulders were slumped, and his expression was tight with anxiety, but when he saw Hunter come outside, he straightened and forced a smile. “Hey.”

  “Hey, man.” Hunter nodded and tried to look as if he hadn’t seen his brother’s moment of weakness. He grabbed the rest of the groceries and headed inside.

  “What’s all that?” Josh asked.

  “Just a few groceries.”

  “That looks like more than a few. Who paid for them?”

  “I did of course. I told you I wanted to contribute.”

  “You already have been. You brought dinner home the other day, and you’ve bought milk and stuff. This is too much.”

  Hunter ignored him and went to the kitchen.

  Krista smiled at him as he came in. She held up the Christmas tin full of butter cookies. “These are my favorite,” she said. Then her expression changed as Josh came in scowling.

  “We aren’t a charity case,” Josh said.

  Hunter folded his arms across his chest. “I never said you were. Look, we’re family. And I’d be paying rent somewhere and buying groceries and paying utilities. I appreciate that you let me crash on your couch so I can spend some time with you guys. This is no big deal.”

  “It is a big deal,” Josh insisted. He turned to his wife. “Krista, we can’t accept it.”

  “Maybe you can’t, but I sure can.”

  “I get it. You think I can’t provide for you.”

  Krista bit her lip. “You’ve provided very well for us for four years. But we’re struggling right now, and if Hunter wants to help, what’s the big deal. Otherwise, I’m going to have to go get a job.”

  “You’re not getting a job. We both wanted you to be able to stay home with Molly. I’ll get a job soon.”

  “But not today?” Krista asked, her voice hesitant and sad.

  Josh shook his head. “No. Not unless I want to work in a call center.” He glanced at the groceries. “Which by the look of things I may need to do if I don’t find something by this week.”

  Hunter felt decidedly awkward. He opened the bag of Hershey’s kisses wrapped in Christmas-colored foil and grabbed a few. He walked back to Molly’s room where he found her playing with dolls on the floor. He smiled thinking that soon she’d have the dollhouse of her dreams and cleared his throat. “Hey, Molly.”

  She looked up and dropped her doll on the carpet as she jumped up to hug him. “You’re back!”

  “Yep. I brought a treat for you. Hold out your hand.”

  When she held up her little hand with her fingers stretched out flat as a board, he gently curled her fingers over as he dumped the chocolate kisses into her hand.

  “Thank you,” she said, giving a little bounce of happiness.

  “You bet. Be sure to put the wrappers in the trash so your mom doesn’t get mad.”

  “Okay.” She plopped back down on the floor and tore into one.

  Hunter smiled at her, then figured he’d better make himself scarce for a while. He remembered a loose board on the front porch. Fixing it would give Krista and Josh some privacy to talk for a while.

  As he fixed the step, he thought about what Ava’s mom had said at dinner the day before. He hadn’t let on to Ava just how hard it had hit him. No wonder Ava had such conflicting reactions to their growing relationship. But the hardest part was that Ava’s mom had some great points to make. She was right. He could never have a family with his current way of life.

  He set his drill down and sat on the porch, his feet resting on the now solid step.

  Not long ago, that wouldn’t have bothered him. He had never felt any urgency to get married and have kids. It would happen someday. But being here with Josh and Krista, and of course Molly, he realized he wanted it sooner rather than the far distant future he’d envisioned. Even though they were going through hard times, they loved each other. Love like that couldn’t be replaced with rugged mountain trails, blue skies over long stretches of open road, or even sunset views over the ocean. Because no matter where he went, he was alone. And views don’t love you back.

  But he did have some commitments in the new year, jobs lined up that he wasn’t sure he was ready to give up. They’d bring in a lot of cash and take him places he’d never been. And he wanted to be back in Colorado in the spring.

  Hunter turned as he heard the door open behind him. Josh came outside and sat by him.

  “They say a cold front is going to move in tomorrow and stick around for a while. Maybe we’ll actually get some snow.”

  “That would be nice.”

  “Yeah. Hey, look. I’m sorry about how I acted. I appreciate your h
elp. It’s just a little hard for me, you know?”

  “I get it. I’m the irresponsible younger brother.”

  “No. That’s not it. I’d have a hard time accepting help from anyone.”

  “I understand. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Hey, how are things going with what’s her name?”

  Hunter chuckled. “Ava? Man, I’d have to understand myself to tell you that.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Ava stared around at the cavernous ballroom of the Bellmark Hotel on Old Main Street. It was built nearly a century ago, so while it was a beautiful room with a gorgeous, original hardwood dance floor, it was also dark and old-fashioned. She had ten days to figure out how to make this place shine—and only Olivia to help her do it.

  She took a deep breath and released it slowly to keep calm. She couldn’t let Sharon see her look overwhelmed even for a moment.

  Sharon, who was across the room from her on a phone call, turned just then. As she walked back over to Ava, she said, “Yes, all right. I’ll be home in twenty minutes.” Dropping her phone in her bag, she smiled. “Looks like I need to head out. Do you have any more questions for me?”

  Ava did her best to smile confidently. “That covers everything for today. If anything comes up, I’ll be in touch. And I’ll meet with you next week with the full design ready for your approval.

  “Excellent. I know you’ll do a magnificent job. I’m thrilled to work with you, Ava. Wasn’t it wonderful that Marcia was so late getting back with me about signing our contract? That’s what you get for taking a client for granted.”

  Not wanting to get drawn into trashing her former employer, Ava said, “I’m excited for the opportunity.”

  Sharon reached out, grinning, and hugged Ava, crushing her tablet between them. “I can’t wait to see what you do. Okay. I’ve got to run, but I’ll call you later.”

  Ava stood still a moment after the door shut behind her client, and breathed in the atmosphere of the room, running a mental check to see if she’d taken all the measurements she’d need. Everything was recorded on her tablet, and there was nothing left to do but brainstorm. Like that was an easy thing to do.

  Sighing gustily, Ava walked over to where she’d left her coat and bag on the piano bench of the grand piano. She put them on, wrapping her scarf around her neck, and pulling on her gloves because it was cold outside. The temperature would have dropped even further now that the evening was coming on. The weather was even predicting a few flurries later on.

  Ava walked across the grand lobby of the hotel, waving at the receptionist behind the desk as she stepped out into the frigid air. Ava could hear the ting-a-ling of a bell-ringer looking for donations, and the buzz of generators in the town square a block away. Every year, the city decorated the square with lights and invited vendors to set up booths and food trucks for all the traffic drawn to see the light display. There were even carriage rides. She was tempted to go check it out, maybe get some hot chocolate, but she simply didn’t have time.

  Just as she reached her van, her phone rang in her coat pocket. She pulled it out as she got in her van and tossed her purse over to the passenger seat. Her heart did a funny jerk when she saw Hunter’s name on the screen. She answered quickly, and said, “Hey there, lumberjack. What’s up?”

  “Hey, Scrooge. Just wondering if I can work on the dollhouse tonight.”

  Despite herself, Ava smiled at the thought of him being so close all evening. “Of course. I’m on my way home right now, but there’s a spare key under the garden gnome in the flower bed if you want to go in.”

  “Thanks. See you soon.”

  Ava bit her lip after hanging up. It was a good thing she had so much work to do tonight so she wouldn’t be tempted to hang out with Hunter all night.

  As she pulled up in front of her house, the door to her garage was open and gleaming with light. Hunter’s truck, becoming much too familiar, sat in the deepening shadows of the evening. It felt so good to come home and see it sitting there.

  “Don’t be an idiot, Ava,” she said as she got out of her car.

  “What was that?” Hunter asked.

  Ava screamed and nearly hit him with her purse. “What are you doing down there?”

  Hunter was crouched down in front of his truck, messing with some extension cords. “Just rigging out a little surprise for you. I’ve actually been here for a couple of hours, and since you told me where the key was, I was able to get it finished. Stay here.”

  He straightened and walked inside and flipped a switch. Ava gasped as icicle lights lit up the length of her front porch. She pressed her hand over her mouth, then gave up and let her laughter ring out across the lawn.

  Hunter walked back towards her with a grin on his face. “You find all my hard work funny?”

  “Is this part of your plan to make me love Christmas again?”

  “Yep. I figured that even if you didn’t want decorations all over inside, maybe you’d be fine with a few outside.”

  Ava nodded. “You guessed right. I do love them. I was just so surprised. Thanks.”

  This time, his smile was softer, but his eyes were warm. “You’re welcome.”

  “It so funny that you did this tonight because I was just thinking that I wished I could go see all the lights in the town square.”

  Hunter straightened, raising his brows. “Well, come on. Let’s go see them.”

  She shook her head. “I said I wished I could go. But I’ve got too much to do. I only have a week to come up with a design for the Candy Cane Ball. After walking around the venue today, I’m having serious qualms about taking on such a monster job. And don’t you have a dollhouse to work on?”

  “It can wait until tomorrow. And who knows, maybe you’ll find the inspiration you need. It’s got to be better than sitting in your house with zero Christmasy atmosphere.”

  Ava tilted her head to the side as she thought about it. “Maybe you’re right.”

  “There’s no maybe about it. Here, let me get my truck warming up while I close your garage.”

  “Okay. Let me go get ready.”

  “What’s to get ready?”

  Pointing at her heels, Ava said, “There’s no way I’m walking around downtown in these. Even if my feet could handle the pain, there’s no way my toes could stand the cold.”

  Hunter walked into the garage while pointing a finger at her. “All right, but no changing your mind, or I’m coming in after you.”

  Ava rolled her eyes and hurried inside. In her bedroom, she kicked off her heels and got out of her trousers and blouse as fast as she could. She pulled on her nicest jeans, a warm sweater, cozy socks, and a pair of knee-hi boots. Then, unable to stop thinking that this was kind of, sort of, almost like a date, she touched up her makeup and hair, misted on some perfume, and popped a peppermint in her mouth.

  When she went outside, once more bundled up, Hunter was leaning against the passenger door of his truck, his hands shoved deep in his coat pockets, waiting for her with a patient expression. But when he saw her coming, he straightened and sent a smile her way that made her heart flutter like it wanted to take flight.

  “Let’s go have some fun,” He said, as he opened the door and helped her up into the truck.

  “If you say so,” she teased.

  The heater was blasting waves of heat at her, but when Hunter got in, he reached over and turned it down to low so that the cab of the truck was the perfect, cozy temperature. He also turned on a radio station that was playing around the clock Christmas music until New Year’s Day, which they advertised at every commercial break.

  “Oh no!” Ava dropped her head back and groaned dramatically.

  Hunter glanced sideways at her. “It’s for your own good.”

  “This cure of yours is going to backfire if you lay it on too thick.”

  “Relax. Let it Snow never did anyone any lasting harm, I promise.”

  As they drove downtown, Hunter asked questions about
her client meeting, and what ideas she had for the job. Ava responded enthusiastically until she realized she was doing all the talking. She blushed and came to an abrupt halt.

  “Why’d you stop?” Hunter asked.

  “You can’t possibly be interested in all this. I’m sorry I was boring you to death. My brain is just so full of it right now.”

  Hunter pulled into a parking spot and turned off the truck. “I wasn’t bored.” Then he got out and came around to open her door. Ava smiled at him and dropped down onto sidewalk beside him. And then, because it seemed silly to protest, she let him take her gloved hand in his bare, warm one.

  They had to walk a block to the square, but the lights strung on old towering trees gleamed over the top of buildings, giving a preview of the display that lay beyond. Then they reached the corner, and the full experience burst upon them. A bright canopy of white arched from the perimeter of the square, meeting at the top of a tall flagpole in the center. All around, trees were traced with colored lights, and the bushes were netted with lights as well. Couples and families strolled from one vendor to another, and at the center of it all, a choir was singing carols. The smell of popcorn and cinnamon warmed the cold breeze.

  “Where to first?” Hunter asked.

  “Hot chocolate?”

  “Absolutely.”

  With Styrofoam cups filled with cocoa that was still too hot to drink and warm apple empanadas in a paper sack, they found an empty bench and sat down to listen to the choir.

  “Oh, the bench is cold,” Ava said. “I hope I don’t get frostbite on my behind.”

  Hunter chuckled. “You’re so wimpy when it comes to cold. You’d never make it in a Colorado winter.”

  Ava felt the corners of her mouth turn down. “I guess not.”

  Hunter pulled out an empanada and handed it to her. “I was joking, Ava. We have heaters and fireplaces in Colorado too.”

  “Yeah. It’s not likely I’ll find out though, huh?”

  He took a sip of his cocoa, looking as placid as a snowy mountain himself. “You never know.”