Noel, Alabama

by Susan Sands

  He’d been able to expedite things, but there wasn’t much he could do about the slow walking and talking that took place.

  Time was precious and in short supply, and Bailey needed as much help from the locals as possible. If he showed his willingness to pitch in, many would follow. That’s how it worked here.

  Chapter Seven

  There was a cute little Christmas tree in the corner, and Bing Crosby was crooning about dreaming of a white Christmas in the background as she sat down across the desk from Seth. She relaxed a little.

  Is this how they broke down their suspects? Pure atmosphere.

  Bailey exchanged hellos with Cheryl at the desk across the room.

  He slid a folder toward her with paperwork for her to sign. “Thanks for doing all this. Looks like you’ve been busy on my account. I appreciate it.”

  “My pleasure. So, what’s on your mind that’s got you frowning since we left Maureen’s?” he asked.

  Blue eyes like none she’d ever seen to this day. Dang it. She was weak. “I’m short almost twenty-five rooms.” Yes. Back to business.

  “That’s a lot of rooms. You check with the Garden Inn?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Full. Christmas is pretty popular around here.”

  “Yeah. Cammie and her cooking show put us on the map. Then Jessica Greene showed up. What’s your plan?” he asked, frowning.

  “Camp Grandview might be my only option. But I don’t know how well Daddy’s kept it up. I might remember him mentioning renting it but honestly, I’m not sure.”

  “He did rent a couple cabins out last summer for a family reunion, I think, which is why I helped him do those repairs and clean things up. But I’m not sure how many he ended up using. Let’s go out and have a look, why don’t we?” he suggested.

  “I didn’t want to call Daddy and ask about the cabins if things were a mess. He would try too hard to make it work.”

  “I don’t think they’re in bad shape. I was surprised at how well they’d held up through the years. I mean, I know Aames has kept the structures in decent shape, but the insides weren’t so bad either.”

  Bailey’s sudden surge of relief at having a supportive partner in her rapidly changing planning roller coaster was like a shot of Valium. Her anxiety nearly disappeared for a moment because he was there. Like he’d always been. She suddenly wanted to lean into it. To him. But Bailey had been on her own for so many years now. Trusting anyone to help handle her challenges was foolish.

  Even reliable Seth McKay. Reliable, and oh, so gorgeous. Still.

  Bailey shook her head to snap out of it and checked the time on her watch. “My coworker Alexis arrives at three, so I have enough time to go and check out the cabins.” Hopefully he didn’t get some crazy idea she was trying to spend time with him. Because she totally wasn’t. It was his suggestion after all.

  “You can call Aames on the way. He’ll want to meet us there with the keys. Hopefully he’s in the area,” Seth said like a man who knew exactly how things went around here.

  “If he’s not nearby, I can get the cabin keys from the house,” she said. “I know where he keeps them.” From the day she left home, Daddy insisted Bailey keep a key to the house so she could always let herself in should she ever need to. Bailey hadn’t wanted to think about what kind of scenario would require her using her house key because he wasn’t around to let her in, but this wasn’t the expected one, she had to admit.

  “Bye, Cheryl.” Bailey waved at the police chief as she exited the office. She did wonder what Cheryl must think of their exchanges with one another. Cheryl looked up from her paperwork and waved at Bailey. Her expression was pleasant and didn’t show any real overt interest.

  “Thanks for holding down the fort, Chief. I’ll be back in a couple hours.”

  Cheryl smirked at Seth.

  Bailey wondered what that was all about but decided it wasn’t her business.

  Bailey dialed her daddy’s number on the way.

  “Hello there, baby girl. What can I do you for?” he asked when he picked up.

  “Hey, Daddy. I’ve got a situation with finding rooms for all the crew here in town. Maureen Laroux suggested the Grandview cabins as an option. Says you’d rented them out for a couple family reunions last summer. I think I remember you mentioning it to me.”

  “Yep. She’s right. Can’t believe you don’t remember our discussion about it. I sat right on the porch and spoke with you for twenty or so minutes about it.”

  Bailey could believe it. “I probably had you on speaker and tried to multitask with too many tasks, if you know what I mean. Sorry about that.”

  He sighed into the phone. “You’re forgiven. But you’d better cut me some slack when I start forgetting the things you tell me.”

  “Okay, deal. Now, what can you tell me about the cabins? Are they habitable? If so, how many could I get cleaned up and ready within the week for use?” she asked.

  “Well, now, I’ll have to go out and do a good inspection,” he said. “It’ll take some elbow grease, but it could probably be done.”

  “Seth and I are headed out there now. Are you available?” she asked.

  “You don’t mess around now, do you?” But he laughed as he said it so she knew he wasn’t annoyed by her assumption that he wouldn’t mind her barging in and taking over what she wanted and needed.

  “Sorry. I’m hoping this will solve my problem. And if I see that it will, I’m going to have to dive right in and get started getting the cabins in order immediately. With your permission and blessing, that is.”

  “What’s mine is yours. You know that. If I can make your job easier, then my day is made. Goodness knows I failed you enough when you were a little girl. I’d love to make some of it up to you now.” Bailey could hear melancholy in his voice.

  Uh-oh. “You were the best daddy a girl could hope for. I never worried about drowning or getting eaten by a bear,” she joked, because Bailey knew by his tone, he was remembering their sad times, and didn’t need to start down that path.

  He chuckled. “No, you were not going to get eaten by a bear on my watch.”

  “Then we’re agreed, it’s all good. I’ll be there in a couple minutes. Are you home?”

  “I turned my truck around when you said you were coming by. Me and Groucho will meet y’all there.”

  “See you soon.” A nice thing about Daddy’s career in wildlife and fisheries, is it mostly required him driving around the county roads making sure nobody was doing anything illegal or stupid so as to endanger the animals or environment. This made his job flexible for the most part.

  Back to the sentimentality. It was somewhat new for Daddy. Bailey had noticed it during some of their recent phone calls. Anytime the subject touched on her childhood or the past, he’d made comments like he had a few minutes ago. Like, he’d not been the best father, or, Bailey had deserved better.

  Granted, it hadn’t always been easy being the daughter of a single dad who knew nothing about young female children. He was gruff and tough and had expected her to be as well. Bailey’s feminine side was underdeveloped even though she’d had a secret love of all things pink and frilly. Pink and frilly didn’t go with a tackle box and a bass boat.

  Of course Daddy hadn’t expected her to behave like a boy. He wasn’t ignorant. He simply wasn’t very aware of how to nurture her as a female. And she’d been feminine. It might have been easier if she’d been less so. Some girls were.

  Joella had noticed and tried to help her with the “girly” stuff as best she could. The hair, the clothes. Joella had pulled Daddy aside a few times over the years and asked to take Bailey shopping in Huntsville. Those trips with Joella had made Bailey feel like a fairy princess. Besides the one where they bought her first bras. And stuff for her period. Those were awkward. And somewhat humiliating because Bailey worried that Seth would get wind of them.

  Then she would die. Or so she’d thought at the time. Bailey hadn’t died.

 
Thinking about how helpful Joella had been during some pretty important points in her developmental milestones made Bailey want to head back to the pizza joint and give her another squishy hug.

  The Jeep hit the ruts without regard for her deep thoughts and jarred Bailey back to the present. Seth and Camp Grandview. She didn’t want to feel like he gave her the we’re in this together team response. They weren’t. But darned if he wasn’t currently bumping along right beside her. Her backup. Her safety net.

  No. No. No. She’d been independent for far too long to let Seth McKay infiltrate her thoughts and emotions. Make her feel new things even. Because she would be lying if she denied that every one of her senses didn’t go on high alert when he was nearby. Those eyes. Those Wranglers.

  *

  Seth still loved Grandview. Sometimes he came here to fish, leaning against one of the many old oaks that had provided shade for all the summer campers so many years past. The five-acre lake was spring fed and filled with small-mouth bass, bream, and white perch. “Good-eatin’,” as his daddy used to say.

  Seth hoped she still appreciated Grandview for what it represented to the two of them. He had no expectations when it came to Bailey’s temporary homecoming. She had a job to do, and so far, she was doing it full speed ahead. His wish for her this Christmas was that she could absorb some of what had been so extraordinary about her childhood home instead of treating it like a snake that would bite.

  He still knew her better than anyone, well, maybe not Aames, but in a different way. They’d shared everything as kids. Hopes, dreams, and so much time together. They were soul mates, if that term even meant anything. And Grandview was as close to hallowed ground as there could be for them.

  Bailey and Seth pulled their vehicles in the packed gravel area designated for parking and climbed out.

  “Wow. The place hasn’t changed much that I can see,” Bailey said as she glanced around. “It’s more weathered, and the trees are bigger.” She did a quick three-sixty turn. “I had no idea Daddy kept things up so well.” She was staring at the main dining hall, which was the first building in a small cluster. As kids they’d eaten meals there and done arts and crafts during the hottest part of the days.

  “It’s a special place for sure.” Seth sometimes brought his own weed eater or mower out and spent time cleaning up the area as well. He didn’t discuss it with Aames. Seth figured if Aames didn’t mind his coming out and fishing here, then Seth should do some work to maintain the area. It was only neighborly. There wasn’t any reason to share this with Bailey.

  He heard her intake of breath when she turned and faced the water. “I’ve got a picture of this imprinted in my mind. It’s greener, and the weather is warmer in my memories, but still the same.” Their boots made a dull thudding sound as they stepped onto the dock where a single aluminum boat with a small outboard motor was tied. They instinctively walked toward the end and gazed out.

  “I still come out here when the weather is nice,” he said. A cold breeze blew across the lake, causing the few dry, brown leaves that were left on the trees to shake and tremble. Seth noticed Bailey’s slight shiver, even though she’d worn a down jacket, but had no hat covering her silky hair.

  She turned and faced him. “Why?” Her golden-brown eyes were asking as much as her words.

  Did she want some kind of confession? An admission that he returned because of her? “To fish.”

  “Oh. Yes, of course. Do the fish still bite like they used to?” she asked, her hands deep in her jacket pockets.

  “Better. Because there aren’t as many folks casting lines out here as there were back in camp days.”

  She nodded. “That makes sense.” She shivered again. “It’s getting colder. Let’s go inside.”

  “It’s supposed to get below freezing tonight,” Seth said. He motioned for her to precede him on the dock since there wasn’t ample room for them to walk side-by-side.

  Aames pulled up in his truck as they were stepping back on solid ground. The second he opened his passenger door, a giant canine burst out, but stopped short at Aames’s sharp whistle.

  “Wow, Dad, he’s getting the hang of it. Good boy, Groucho.” Bailey approached the large hound with the weird black eyebrows. “Should I pet him now?” she asked.

  “Sure, but if he starts to jump on you, the command is a loud, ‘down.’”

  Bailey loved animals, dogs especially. She was a sucker for a stray of any breed. Her heart broke anytime they’d see local dogs kept in pens outside for hunting, no matter that those dogs were work dogs and well-cared for. Bailey believed they should be snuggled up next to her watching classic movies and sitcoms.

  Groucho here was obviously still an excited puppy, no matter that he was taking Aames’s training to heart. They threw a stick for him to chase several times to calm him before heading inside.

  *

  Bailey did her best to keep a straight, businesslike face during the assessment of the cabins and meeting/dining hall. Coming back here was far more impactful than she could have imagined.

  Every room held memories. Some of those memories swept her away in the past and either Seth or Daddy would say her name to bring her back to the current discussion of bedding, cleaning, or repair.

  The cabins even smelled the same; they were all wood, so there was the combination of pine, cedar, and spruce. The logs had come from the many acres of land Daddy owned, and he’d carefully chosen the right trees ahead of time so they could age. He’d felled them in the winter because the sap content was lowest at that time. Bailey had called him Paul Bunyan after she’d heard the story of the great ax-swinging lumberman at school in kindergarten.

  He’d begun construction of the camp before her momma died and he’d nearly worked himself to death finishing it after. Camp Grandview was a product of several years of Aames Boone’s blood, sweat, and tears, quite literally. So it made sense that he hadn’t let it fall to ruin. And the quality with which he’d built it ensured that would take a very long time to occur.

  So, as they discovered, things weren’t so bad here. There was dust. And the bedding and mattresses, while covered with dust covers, still required some work. Most likely replacement. Fortunately, during the drive from the airport, Bailey noticed an outlet mall not far away. The billboard sign boasted a large factory bedding store. She always wondered why they built those malls in the middle of nowhere. Now, she was thankful it existed.

  “There are six sleeping cabins with eight bunks in each one.” Bailey made notes as she’d been doing since her arrival. “We’ll need fresh pillows, linens, and new mattress covers.” At some point, Daddy had replaced the old feather mattresses with regular ones. They were old but had been protected with covers. So, under the covers, the mattresses weren’t bad. They had been slept on mostly by children and young teens.

  Bailey checked her watch. Two o’clock. Alexis had texted Bailey when she’d landed. She was an hour away by car now. Not so far from the outlet mall if memory served. “I need to call Alexis. Excuse me.”

  Chapter Eight

  “Did you get them?” Bailey asked Alexis when she drove up.

  “I wouldn’t have except that outlet store still had some ‘back to school’ merchandise they were holding onto in the storeroom out back. Some of them are white, some are cream, and the rest are blue. All the pillowcases are white. The good news is I got them for cheap.”

  “You’re the best. Did you find the other things?” Bailey asked.

  “I got the Keurigs and the coffee pods. You can’t know the horrors of a rural Alabama Walmart, Bailey. Who should I speak to about a raise?” It was on Alexis and Bailey to have coffee makers and coffee and bottled water for immediate consumption for the cast and crew when they arrived. Everything else, food-wise, would come with them.

  Bailey and Alexis would provide all the information regarding restaurants, stores, and local establishments of every kind in the vicinity. Bailey had begun putting that list together through her re
search on the internet, but before she printed anything out, she wanted to make certain to run it by someone local to be certain not to leave anyone out.

  Basically, things had to be ready for the arrival and setup for filming. Everyone should have a place to sleep, should have references for places to eat, and maps and information about the town and its amenities. They were a moving mini-city. For this film, Epic was rolling in a catering semi-truck to be parked alongside the talent trailers, complete with a cooking and catering staff of three. Bailey wished they’d had time to source locally for catering but there simply hadn’t been time to make arrangements to prepare and feed everyone three meals a day.

  These were some of the things Seth was helping Bailey with. Placement of trucks and trailers and finding the additional space required to make everything work. Christmas in Ministry took up a lot of area already without a movie filming at the same time. Bailey did her best when shooting to squeeze everything in and try to minimize the ugly parts of what they did.

  All their gear was black and white. The trailers and equipment. Almost everything. That way, the look wasn’t messy. Tarps on the ground covered all the electrical cords for aesthetics and safety. They tried to park most buses, vehicles, and trailers behind buildings where they weren’t seen by ordinary citizens walking around. And they always put up barriers to try and prevent anyone from going where they shouldn’t. Security personnel were stationed strategically to help with this.

  Everything at a location began with Bailey getting on the ground first and organizing spaces for everything and everyone she knew would be arriving. Sometimes both she and Alexis arrived first, and sometimes Alexis was first on location. It depended on how Mr. Stone had them working and where it was.