Dessert was also his favorite.
“I’m gonna hang around here and clean up, but if you’re only in town for the week, you need to check out The Rolling Pin,” Devon suggested. “My aunt owns the place. It’s a little frilly for a guy’s guy like yourself, but Aunt Martha’s pastry case houses some of the best baked goods you’ll find within a three-hundred-mile radius. This time of year the shortbread is in short supply, so I’ll make a call and ask her to set some aside for you.”
“I don’t discriminate when it comes to sugar. Whatever she’s got left is fine by me.” Luke looked out the large, arched second floor window that faced Glenn Street. Townspeople lined the sidewalks with their shopping bags in hand and smiles worn brightly. He felt like he’d completed a puzzle with his grandfather back when he was a kid that had this very scene. “Point me in the right direction?”
“Down by Randy’s Tree Lot. Just on the corner. You won’t be able to miss it. Your nose will lead the way.”
“THIS ONE’S ON the house.” A plump woman in what Luke figured to be her sixties said as she brought a small plate to his table and set it down in front of him. She wore her graying hair in a tight, round bun on the top of her head and it looked just like the bagels she served in her shop. The red apron tied around her neck accentuated the pinkish glow of her cheeks and to Luke, she mirrored every illustration he’d ever seen of Mrs. Claus. He wondered how often she got that comment. “A slice of our famous peppermint pie. Best seller the entire month of December for twelve years running.”
“Thank you kindly, ma’am,” Luke said. He rubbed absentmindedly at his stomach, already full from the triple fudge brownie and three macaroons he’d consumed. “But I’m happy to pay you for it.”
“Not a chance. My nephew called earlier and said you’d be heading over so I made sure to save you a slice.” The woman patted Luke on his shoulder in a motherly way. “And once you’re finished with that, I’ve got some shortbread with your name on it. Just give me a holler, sweetheart.”
Luke pushed back from the table, stretching his gut. “You’ll have to roll me out of here when I’m all done.”
“What do you think the big man in the back is for?” As if on cue, a large gentleman wearing an identical apron saluted from behind the glass pastry case. He had to be Martha’s husband because he could’ve been mistaken for the man in red himself.
Luke laughed and grabbed his fork to dive in.
The Rolling Pin was a great spot. For the last half-hour, there had been a steady stream of customers lined up to the counter to place their holiday orders. Yet, for as successful as the place appeared, the accommodations just weren’t there. Luke sat in one of four rectangular, two-person tables located within the shop. Outside there were only three more, crowded on a narrow strip of sidewalk that passersby dodged and skirted. While he wanted to consider it quaint, he suspected many found it to be crowded. If he scooted his chair out even an inch, he’d bump into the person sitting directly behind him. That would’ve been annoying if any person other than Jolene Carter had been the one taking that seat.
“Luke?” she said in a tone threaded with both surprise and obvious delight. “I haven’t seen you all day!”
The way in which she spoke nearly suggested disappointment about that fact. Luke couldn’t say he didn’t feel the same. While he’d originally planned to avoid Jolene—not for any other reason than wishing not to overwhelm her—she’d been close to his thoughts and mind all afternoon. Running into her at The Rolling Pin felt like a welcome, unforeseen encounter.
“Rose.” Jolene held out a hand to the woman seated opposite her. “This is my neighbor, Luke. The one I was telling you about who’s renting the O’Connell place for the week. Luke,” she swiveled back, “this is my sister, Rose. She’s here with her husband and baby for a couple of days to celebrate the holidays.”
“Nice to meet you.” Luke tipped his head in greeting. While each woman had her individual, unique look, he could spot the family resemblance instantly. It was evident in their dimpled cheeks and heart-shaped mouths that were tinted the same shade of raspberry red. Even though the texture of their hair was different, the hue matched almost perfectly. That they were related wouldn’t come as a shock to anyone upon first introduction. They wouldn’t be mistaken for twins, but certainly siblings. “You live close by?”
“Not at all. It took half a lifetime to finally get here.”
“She’s lying,” Jolene quickly corrected, interjecting like she thought Luke might believe her sister’s sarcastic words. “They’re just outside of Hickoryvale.”
“She’s right, what I meant to say was the drive here shaved off half of my life.”
“They have an eight-month-old,” Jolene explained again. She twirled the straw in her milkshake between her slender fingers. Luke thought it was cute how she felt the need to interpret for her sister. “Ava’s not a fan of car rides.”
“I get it. My sister’s got a fifteen-month-old and they live two states away. I have a feeling they won’t be traveling until my nephew is at least eighteen. Last time I spoke to her, Corey was going through the I hate being strapped into anything phase. Don’t figure that’s any fun.”
“I truly don’t understand the problem,” Jolene said. She tried to remain straight-faced, but her arched lips betrayed her. “Ava is always a perfect angel for me. I can’t imagine her ever causing any amount of trouble for anyone.”
Rose huffed. “I’m telling you, sis, the offer still stands. I’m leasing her out, one year at a time. Didn’t I hear you say you were volunteering for the terrible twos?”
Luke enjoyed being a spectator to the sisters’ friendly banter. It gave him a glimpse into yet another side of Jolene and, like every other part he’d already gotten to know, he liked this side, too. There was no pretense, no game. These were the sorts of characteristics that were hard to come by these days, even harder to find in someone single.
Not that he was going to date her. They weren’t going to date. Luke made his brain take a swift detour from any road it planned to go down with that thought.
Jolene was his lake house neighbor, that was all. Temporary neighbors.
“Luke,” Rose hollered around her sister, meeting Luke’s eyes. “Why don’t you slide your chair on over here and join us? You’re looking pretty lonely all by yourself.”
“Luke’s not lonely,” Jolene defended in a high-pitched voice. “He’s perfectly fine.”
“From our conversation earlier, I was already aware that you thought he was fine, but I’m telling you, he also looks lonely.”
Martha swooped in with her promised shortbread, delivering three pieces to her customers. “And I present to you,” she made a drumroll noise by stomping her feet on the tiled floor, “The Rolling Pin’s signature shortbread! Merry Christmas, all. Enjoy!”
Luke swung his chair around and joined the sisters at their table, but Jolene’s focus remained on her dessert. He figured if he looked at her long enough, she’d have to look up at some point. He was dying to see her reaction to her sister’s confession.
“Hi,” he said, grinning when her eyes finally flitted up to his. He held their connection until she blinked her thick eyelashes rapidly and dropped her eyes back down, but he noticed how she bit her bottom lip to pin back a smile. He popped a bit of cookie into his mouth, satisfied and even feeling a little confident. “This is mighty fine shortbread, don’t you agree?”
“Oh, this one’s a funny one.” Rose pointed the tines of her fork toward Luke and shot him a wink. “I like him.”
“Me too,” Jolene said quietly and this time when she looked up at Luke, she didn’t hide the smile that crept onto her lips. “Me too.”
9
Jolene
PATRICK WAS SNORING on the couch when the sisters arrived home. Though they tried to be quiet when opening and closing the front door, it always stuck in the jamb and required a hip bump to push it all the way into place. Evidently that was just e
nough noise to wake up a sleeping Ava in the back room, but it did nothing to rattle Patrick who continued mimicking a locomotive with his loud, gurgled breathing.
“I’ll go feed Little Miss and get her settled back down,” Rose said as she slipped her patchwork leather purse off of her shoulder and set it on the table in the hallway. “Might even turn in for the night myself. The drive this afternoon was an exhausting one. I’m not at all surprised Patrick’s already out like a light.”
“Want any help with Ava?”
“Nah. I’ve got it.” Rose shook her head then looked over at her husband. “Okay if I leave Patrick there for now? I’m sure he’ll head to bed once he wakes and realizes the football game is over, but waking that man from his hibernation is a feat I don’t have the energy for at the moment.”
Jolene placed her keys on a hook on the wall and slipped the wool jacket from her shoulders to hang next to them. “Of course. I’m just going to tidy up and probably turn in for the night, too.” Then, taking her sister’s shoulders within her hands she squeezed and said, “It’s good to have you here, Rosie. Really good.”
“It’s good to be here, sis.” Rose leaned forward and kissed her sister swiftly on the cheek. “Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Jolene looked around her family room. Most everything was still in place from her earlier organizing and the mad dash to clean up before Rose got into town. There was, however, a small box of ornaments next to the fireplace that hadn’t been there earlier. Jolene smiled when she realized her brother-in-law must have baby proofed the Christmas tree while they were out, as the bottom two feet were now bare, only the twinkling lights adorning their branches.
Bending down to pick up the box, she gathered it into her arms and headed outside. It was late, nearing nine-thirty, but she knew Luke was still awake, mostly because they’d given him a ride back to the O’Connell house, dropping him off only five minutes earlier. She doubted he’d settled in for the night that quickly and figured now would be a good time to catch him.
Balancing the box on her hip, she lifted her hand to knock on Luke’s door, but it opened before her fist could connect with its surface.
“Jolene,” Luke greeted, his teeth revealed behind a huge smile. While he hadn’t gone to bed yet, he had managed to change out of his jeans and jacket and into a white V-neck shirt and plaid flannel pants. His feet were bare and Jolene had to blink her way back up to his face, trying to keep her focus there. “I leave something in your car?”
“No.” Jolene shifted the box. “But I do have those ornaments I promised for your tree. I thought maybe you’d like them?”
Luke gave her a blank stare, like he was trying to figure something out about her and his pause gave Jolene just enough time to fill up with insecurity. “Never mind. It’s late and you’re obviously wanting to get to bed what with the pajamas and all. This could’ve waited until tomorrow—”
“No, no.” Luke’s hand shot out and touched her arm. “It’s not all that late. Come on in.”
Desperation was not a good look on anyone and she feared she wore hers so visibly, so plainly. She’d never wanted to come across that way, especially in front of someone like Luke. They barely knew each other and here she was forcing her hand-me-down ornaments on him when he so obviously had hopes of going to bed.
“I really should go.” She spun on her heel.
“Don’t.” Luke’s voice was firm this time, punctuated and strong. Then it softened when he said, “Please stay, Jolene. I mean it. I’d really like the company.”
That drawl she loved curled around her like a hug.
Luke took the box. “Let’s see what we’ve got here. Want to stick around and help me do a little late-night tree decorating? I could get some hot chocolate going.”
Self-doubt expanded in her chest again. “See? It is late, Luke. I can come back in the morning—”
Setting the box down onto the floor and then straightening back up, Luke reached out for Jolene, taking her hands into his large ones. Her heart rammed in her ribcage and her throat went dry. He dipped his head down to draw her eyes up to meet his steady gaze and he intentionally held onto her so she couldn’t look away.
“I want to spend more time with you and I would love it if you would help me decorate. Right now it’s just a tree and from what I’ve seen, you have the perfect touch to turn it into a Christmas tree. What do you say?”
Jolene could feel her cheeks warming, her palms clamming up with sweat. It was like she’d lost all knowledge of the English language. Her nodding head answered the wobbly “yes” that her mouth couldn’t muster.
“Good.” He dropped only one of her hands and scooped up the cardboard box. “So, let’s see just what we’re working with here.”
Jolene followed Luke into the family room, guided by their intertwined hands. She loved where he’d chosen to place the tree—right in the middle of the room with the sprawling windows framing it in. The way things were situated, the glass barrier between the inside of the house and the outdoors barely seemed noticeable. The tree drew it all in, bringing nature into the space. While Jolene loved her own tree, it was shoved in the corner by the fireplace, hemmed in with walls on two sides. Here, Luke’s was displayed in such a lovely way that she couldn’t wait to get started with the decorating. It was going to be the perfect Christmas tree.
Remembering there was a box of lights used for the outside of the house stored in the hall crawl space, Jolene sent Luke to collect them while she warmed up some water on the stove for hot cocoa. Luke returned just as the teapot whistled.
“All I could find were the clear lights. These the ones you’re thinking of?” Luke wrapped a strand around his upper body and twisted at the waist to playfully show them off.
“Yep,” Jolene said through a giggle. “Those are them.” She brought a mug of hot chocolate over to Luke. He took it from her. “Careful, it’s hot.”
“Thank you, Jolene.” He took a sip. “Mmm. Perfect.” Unwinding the lights, he turned toward the tree. “Shall we get started?”
“We shall.”
For the next hour, the two trimmed the tree. Jolene reminisced about every ornament pulled from the box. She found herself telling stories about them, not meaning to at first, but as the night went on, she noticed Luke prompting her to do so by holding up each one for her to recall.
“What about this?” Luke lifted up a pink flamingo that glittered with sequins. “There’s gotta be a story behind this one.”
“Oh jeez!” Jolene snatched the ornament from Luke and turned it over in her palm. “That was from my mom and Rosie about six years ago. They always teased me that I had terrible balance. Lady Grace, they often called me. I would argue that I had enough style to make up for my clumsiness, and apparently this ornament perfectly illustrated that, what with the flashy looking flamingo balanced on one leg and all. I still can’t stand on one leg without falling over. I’m a complete klutz.” She shrugged and looked wistfully out at the lake. “I don’t know. I suppose it’s a little silly to decorate your tree with all of my memories, isn’t it?”
“I think it’s perfect.” Luke ducked around the tree to retrieve another ornament from the stash. “You have nice memories.”
Jolene smiled. She found herself doing that whenever Luke was around, like she couldn’t keep her lips from lifting into a spontaneous grin. It was so good to be happy like this again.
“This one?” An ornament of an envelope that read Season’s Greetings dangled from his finger.
“That’s from my mailman, Stan. A little self-explanatory and not all too creative, I suppose.”
Luke shook his head, but not in disagreement. It came across more as a gesture of amazement. “Even your mailman gives you Christmas gifts? Jolene, is there anyone in this town whose life you haven’t impacted?”
She didn’t know how to answer that. If there was one thing about Jolene, it was that she never knew how to properly accept a compliment. P
raise of that nature felt awkward to acknowledge. She was anything but rude, though, so she offered an unsure smile.
“Okay.” Luke stepped forward and suddenly took her by the shoulders. “I can see I’ve made you uncomfortable, but indulge me for a minute while I make you just a little bit more uncomfortable.”
Panic seized her. She had no clue what Luke was going to do. If she was honest, it felt like the place for a kiss. If it had been a movie, this was where the guy would draw the girl into his arms and plant one on her, the crescendo of an emotional scene. She found herself hoping for that just as much as she hoped he would let her go. Jolene felt caught right in the middle of her emotions, torn in two opposing directions of hesitation and yearning.
“Jolene, I’m going to teach you how to take a compliment because compliment receiving is a practice that we should all be adept in. Especially someone like you, who I would imagine receives multiple compliments a day.” With a gentle hand placed on the small of her back, he guided her to the couch just a few feet away. “Here,” he motioned, “Sit across from me.”
She did as instructed, feeling a bit like she was a student in class. They both folded their legs underneath them, and she wanted to laugh when Luke struggled with his long legs and big feet on the small sofa. He looked like a human pretzel.
“Two rules.” Luke held up as many fingers. “You’re not allowed to break eye contact and you’re not allowed to disagree. All you can do is say thank you. Understood?”
She nodded, though her agreement didn’t mean she was any less uncomfortable with the rules of the game.
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