“Jake. He talked with you,” she prompted. “Or is it confidential?”
“I’m sure Jake trusts me not to share what he said indiscriminately, but I can tell you the parts that will help us with our … your secret angel gift.” He swallowed and glanced at Caro. From her placid expression, she must not have caught his slip. He didn’t want her to think he was taking over her project, especially since he’d gotten another gift idea from talking with Jake.
“You’re on target with the heating oil. Their tank is low, and Jake said his mother is having trouble coming up with enough cash for the minimum delivery. I’m guessing she doesn’t have any credit because of the house foreclosure and all. Jake didn’t say that. Just my speculation.”
“Makes sense. Did he say why they came here?”
“Lower cost of living. Apparently, his father had a life insurance policy from when he worked at Lockheed. His mother is trying to make it last until Hope starts kindergarten next fall and she can get a full-time day job without needing full-time daycare. Jake watches Hope evenings when his mother works.”
Caro frowned.
“It’s not ideal, but Jake didn’t sound like he resents it. He said his mother is never home later than 9:15. He also said that …”
Simon searched for words that wouldn’t alarm Caro. There weren’t any. The truck’s right front tire hit a chunk of ice pulling it toward a snowbank, which gave him an excuse for not finishing his sentence right away.
He maneuvered the truck back into the tire tracks. “A couple of Jake’s father’s friends were harassing his mother, demanding money for the product her husband was supposed to have been unloading for them or the product itself returned to them.”
Caro looked more sad than alarmed. But then she’d probably seen a lot working in the emergency room. More than he’d seen as a high school teacher, even during his student teaching in Glendale, one of the most dangerous cities in the state.
“Didn’t she go to the police?” Caro asked.
“She did and had an order of protection for herself and the kids issued. But Jake said she didn’t feel safe enough, thought they’d be better protected here with only the sheriff’s department knowing exactly where they live.”
“And us, now.” Caro’s expression turned grim. “The secrets. That’s a lot to put on kids.” Caro told him about Hope double checking that the door was locked.
His defenses went up. “I think their mother is doing the best she can. Jake told me she’s a few credits short of her early education degree to teach elementary school. She’s hoping to finish it online and get a teaching position here next fall when Hope is in kindergarten.” Something he might be able to help with, but he didn’t want to say anything to Caro until he was more certain.
“Why doesn’t she substitute now, and put Hope in the Pre-K program? It seems like that would be better for everyone.”
What was with Caro and the kids’ mother? “Subbing isn’t as secure an income as the convenience store. And the family didn’t move here until after school had started last fall. The Pre-K spots fill fast.”
Caro huffed. “I guess I was thinking of Jake. When I was his age, my mother was gone a lot of evenings. I hated it, even when we were living with Gram.”
Interesting. Simon knew very little about Caro’s mother. Had she worked nights? He had no idea what she did for work. “I think he’s okay, knowing the present situation is temporary, that the family will be secure once his mother is teaching again.”
“Hmmm.” She bit her lip. “Jake. If I help his mother with heating oil and a Christmas tree and find Hope her nativity scene, I should do something for him individually, too.”
“Leave that to me,” Simon said. “I know teenage boys better than you do.”
“You wouldn’t mind?”
“No, that’s what friends are for.”
Caro’s broad smile chased away the concern that had been on her face. “Simon Novak, you are a good friend.”
Good friend. He’d moved up at least two steps.
Chapter Seven
Caro held the front door open for her grandmother and her walker. The evening was perfect with a clear midnight blue sky twinkling with stars, snow still blanketing the lawns and the temperature staying up around forty.
“Simon,” Ruth called across the yard to him on his front porch and waved.
Caro closed and locked the door behind her. Simon was right on time. Could he be looking forward to the evening as much as she was?
“Wait right there,” he yelled back and jogged down his walk, over, and up Ruth’s walk to take the two front porch steps in one stride. “It would be easier for you to take Caro’s and my arm to get down the steps than to use your walker.”
“Is that all? From your shout and speed in getting here, I thought my hair must be on fire or I was in some other imminent danger,” Ruth said with a chuckle. “That’s what I’ve been doing, taking Caro’s arm to get down to the sidewalk.”
Caro smiled at him over her grandmother’s head and he responded with a smile of his own that revved her already quickening pulse. “Yes, that is what we’ve been doing, but only after I refused to drive her anywhere if she tried the steps on her own, especially after the snowstorm.”
“Ruth!” he admonished, offering her his arm.
She leaned on him. “Well, I hate waiting for people to help me and depending on someone else to get around or for anything else I should be able to do on my own.”
Caro carried the walker down to the sidewalk. That sentiment must run in the family, or at least through to her. But you’re waiting for Simon to work out the details of the idea he has for Heather as part of your secret angel gift. And depending on him to come up with something personal for Jake.
They walked slowly to Ruth’s car while she made her way with her walker.
“You sit in the front with Caro,” Ruth said. “It’ll give you more room for your legs.”
“Gram!” Caro said. “We’ve had this conversation already, too.”
Her grandmother waved her hand at Caro as she and Simon walked to the passenger side of the car. “She thinks it’s easier for me to get in and out of the front seat. Maybe it is, but I should be able to choose where I want to sit.”
Simon threw his hands up in mock surrender. “I’m an innocent bystander here. You ladies tell me where to sit, and I’ll sit.”
His gaze and her grandmother’s met Caro’s. Two against one. That is if she was correct in picking up that Simon wanted to sit in the front with her. But that could be because she wanted him there next to her. She opened the driver-side door. Why was she making a big deal about this?
“Simon, can you help my grandmother into the back seat?” Caro climbed into the driver’s seat. There, they had their answer.
“Yes,” her grandmother said from behind her. “This is one of the reasons I bought this car. The comfy back seat. I had a couple of my friends come with me when I was looking and test the back seats. It’s the first car I’ve bought on my own since Caro’s grandfather died. Drove the other one until it was twelve years old.”
Caro suppressed a laugh. “How about you, Simon? Plenty of room for your legs up front here?”
The corners of his mouth twitched, and his eyes sparkled. “Yes, I’m quite comfortable here in the front with you.”
Was his response a double entendre? Or did she just want it to be? Caro pushed the ignition. The better question was why she was still dwelling on the sitting arrangements.
“Where’s the best spot to see the lighting, Gram?”
“Either side of the street as close as you can get to the tree. But you can drop me at the Little Corner Bistro. The girls and I reserved a window seat, we can have coffee or tea and desert while we watch the lighting. You know Kathryn doesn’t get around so well anymore, so we decided to stay with her at the Bistro. I’m sure all the shops are as pretty as always. You can drive up and down Main Street so I can see all the lights when you
pick me up.
“Okay.” Caro wasn’t going to say anything about her grandmother leaving Simon to escort her, and not only to discourage Gram from her well-meaning matchmaking. She glanced sideways at Simon. But also because she enjoyed being with him. There, she’d admitted it to herself.
A couple of minutes later, they reached Main Street, which was more than the pretty Gram had said. It was breathtaking with all the shops highlighted by twinkling white lights. “I’ll stop in front of the Bistro, and you can help Gram out of the car. I’ll grab a parking space and join you.”
“Will do,” Simon said as she slowed to a stop in front of the restaurant.
Caro had to drive up and back down Main Street before she finally spotted a parking spot on a side street. The Christmas tree lighting apparently was as big of a deal as she remembered it being as a kid. When she got back to the Bistro, Simon was just coming out.
“Your grandmother asked me to walk her in. I think she was unsure about walking between the tables.”
Caro laughed. “No, she wanted to show you off.”
“Show me off?”
They walked toward the next corner to cross the street to the lighting. “Yes, as her success. There’s not a one of her friends who doesn’t have a family member they’re trying to fix up. For the family member’s own happiness, of course.”
Simon turned his head and looked at her.
Caro pointed. “You. Me. Success.”
Simon burst out laughing so loud, people around them stared.
Caro wanted to sink into the sidewalk. It wasn’t that funny.
They stopped at the corner and waited for a break in traffic. The streetlight overhead made a soft halo around Simon, emphasizing his strong solid stature.
“You caught me off-guard,” he said. “That, us, while you’re here. Would it be a bad thing to humor your grandmother, since we’re working together on your secret angel gift?”
Possibly the worst, but … she’d also been entertaining that idea. Butterflies danced in her stomach. “No, not at all.”
* * *
Simon took advantage of Caro’s unexpected reply and wrapped his gloved hand around hers. He hadn’t been looking for a holiday romance, but he had no objections to spending his free time with Caro until she had to go back to Aurora.
“Caro!” a woman who he remembered as one of Caro’s high school friends called out and rushed over when he and Caro reached the other side of the street. A guy about their age trailed after her, along with two teenaged girls.
Mia Rosa. He finally put a name with the woman.
“I see you took my advice,” Mia said. Her gaze dropped to their joined hands, producing a faint blush on Caro’s cheeks.
He wasn’t sure what Mia had meant, but he knew what he’d like her comment to mean.
“Mia Rosa,” she introduced herself. “And this is Jesse Quinn and his niece Kristi and her friend Amy.”
“Yeah, Mia, I remember you from high school,” Simon said.
“Not from us gawking at you guys at football practice, I hope.”
Caro turned pinker. Interesting. He’d thought he’d known everything when he was an upper classman in high school. It had never occurred to him that Caro’s group sitting in the bleachers had been doing anything other than waiting for the late bus. He hadn’t an inkling that Caro might have had a crush on him. His stomach clenched. He’d just felt sorry for her because she seemed so awkward and accident prone. In his eyes, all that remained of the high-school Caro was the sweet vulnerability that had him aching to protect her. He mulled that over as the six of them walked toward the town Christmas tree.
Simon and Caro stopped when they reached the center of the crowd milling around the town Christmas tree, buzzing with expectation.
“Can’t we move closer?” Kristi and Amy begged.
Jesse gave Simon and Caro a what-can-I-do shrug, adding, “It was nice meeting you,” before he, Mia, and the girls disappeared into the crowd.
Simon looked around. Like him, many of the people he recognized must have seen the tree lighting countless times.
“I’ve only seen the lighting a couple of times. Once when I was small and once during high school. You’ve probably seen it 30 times,” Caro added, as if reading his mind.
He couldn’t decide whether that would be good or bad. “Thirty times that I remember.” He laughed. “You didn’t come all through high school? Your grandmother told me she hasn’t missed a tree lighting since she moved to Snowflake as a newlywed.”
“I spent those Christmases with my mother,” Caro said softly. “She wasn’t up to coming to Snowflake to celebrate with Gram and me. This year she’ll be on a holiday cruise with a new male friend.”
Caro seemed to have anticipated his next question.
“Oh. I hope she has a good time.” How lame did that sound?
“I do, too,” Caro said. “She finds so little joy in life.”
She clenched her jaw as if she hadn’t meant to say that, or that much.
“Attention everyone,” Mayor Hardy shouted over the din of the crowd, pulling Simon out of the mental cocoon he’d let wrap itself around him and Caro. “Can I have your attention, please.”
A drum roll from one of the Snowflake High School band’s drummers quieted the crowd. The mayor did a short welcome to everyone who had turned out for the lighting.
Simon released Caro’s hand and slipped his arm around her waist. He leaned over and said, “He’s about to start the countdown.”
She nodded, her gaze fixed on the tree. A faint scent of lilac—her perfume or shampoo?—tickled his nose and ramped up the feeling of excitement that had been building up in him all evening.
“Three,” Mayor Hardy called out.”
“Two.” Simon, Caro, and the rest of the crowd joined in.
“One!”
The tree glowed with a kaleidoscope of colors twinkling on its branches.
Simon squeezed Caro to his side.
“Beautiful,” she said.
“The best ever,” someone behind Simon said.
Caro moved and put a small space between him and her, but let his hand continue to rest on her hip.
The crowd broke up, taking with them some of the magic Simon had experienced seeing the lighting with Caro.
“Ready to stroll Main Street?” he asked.
Caro pulled away and reached in her pocket, removing the warmth of her standing close to him.
“Let me text Gram and see how she’s holding up,” Caro said. “She may be ready to go home.”
“Of course,” he said with some relief that he’d been able to keep his disappointment out of his voice.
He couldn’t begrudge Caro thinking of her grandmother, putting her first. Any decent person would. The Christmas star at the top of the tree drew his eye.
Lord, you’re my guide. But I’m not ready for this evening to end.
* * *
Caro’s emotions were such a jumble that she didn’t know whether she wanted Gram to text back that she was ready to leave or wanted to stay. Simon’s arm around her had felt so right. For a moment, she’d almost understood how her mother could lose herself in a man. She shivered.
“Cold?” Simon asked.
“A little.” She stretched the truth.
“Let’s start walking toward the Bistro while you wait for your grandmother’s text.”
Gentleman that he was, Simon walked on the outside, toward the street. Caro kept her phone in her hand between them. She wasn’t her mother. She knew that. Gram often told her that. Simon placed his hand on the small of her back as they walked.
She could do this, have an adult, friendly relationship with Simon. Her phone pinged and she jumped. Caro read her phone screen.
I’m good for a while here. Go ahead and check out the decorations with Simon.
Caro texted her a smiley emoji back before she looked up. “We have the greenlight.”
“Good.” Simon grinned.
She put her phone away and Simon took her hand.
“Ms. Caro!” a familiar voice called from behind her.
Caro pulled her hand from Simon’s, and she and Simon turned around.
“And Mr. Coach, too.”
“Hope,” her mother said as she caught up with her daughter. “I’m sorry.” She apologized to Simon and Caro.
“No need,” Simon said before Caro could. “You must be Jake’s mother.”
“Heather Campbell. And you’re the famous Coach Novak. I get a lot of Coach says this and Coach says that.”
He laughed, which sent a ripple through Caro.
“Simon,” he said. Some of what you hear is good, I hope.”
“Mommy,” Hope interrupted. “This is Ms. Caro who helped with my Sunday school and came to our house with Mr. Coach.”
Caro froze and Simon went still.
“Yes.” Heather continued to smile.
A good sign. Caro would hate to see Simon get in any trouble with the school district for their church home visit.
“Jake gave me the information you left. I’m going to have Jake sign Hope and him up for the Sunday school Christmas pageant and ask for Christmas Eve off work so we can attend service.”
Caro released the breath she’d been holding. “I’m glad.” Her heart swelled.
“Snowflake Chapel has a wonderful pastor and congregation,” Simon interjected, “We’re always open to visitors and new members.”
“Mommy, Ms. Caro, Mr. Coach. Look there’s a Santa Claus Teddy bear in that store. Can we go look at it?”
“Ms. Campbell,” Simon started.
“Heather, please.”
“Would you mind if Caro took Hope to see the store display? I’d like to talk with you.”
Caro knit her eyebrows. What was Simon up to?
“I suppose it would be okay.”
Caro took Hope’s hand. “Come on, let’s go look at that Teddy bear.” As they walked away, she heard Heather ask, “Is there a problem with Jake?”
Caro could only imagine how difficult it was being a single parent in general without all of what Heather and her children had gone through. She could only pray her help would make a difference. The same way she prayed in the ER when she’d exhausted all her medical experience and knowledge on a critical patient. It’s in your hands, Lord.
Caro's Gift (Small-Town Christmas Wishes Book 2) Page 7
