Finding Love in Christmas Creek

by Mary L. Briggs

  A small girl clutching a strawberry ice cream cone rushed past them, barely missing running into Scott. He laughed. “Slow down, kid!” But the little girl never turned to acknowledge him.

  “Close call,” Macy said. “And I wasn’t involved with almost getting ice cream all over you,” she teased.

  “Maybe not,” he countered, “but I’d like to give you another chance at it.”

  She took her eyes from the crowd and looked at him. “What are you talking about?”

  He cleared his throat and she was sure a bit of pink crept up to his ears. “I was thinking. . . I mean, after the town closes down tonight, Sammie and I are going to eat over at Dixie’s Home Cooking, and well, I’d sure like it if you’d join us.”

  Macy felt her heart begin to race. He was asking her to go out. Sure, Sammie was going, but it was him, not his daughter, asking her to join them. “Yes. That sounds nice,” she answered, hoping her voice didn’t sound too strangled.

  He smiled and the skin around his cobalt eyes crinkled. “Good. It’s a date.”

  Date. He had said the word! It was true. She was dating Scott Henson. The nicest guy she’d met in a lot of years. A man that didn’t seem to be obsessed with his work, or his material possessions. A man that put God and family first.

  “We don’t eat there very often, so you might have to give us a tip on —”

  “Scott! Scott Henson!!! Yoo-hoo!” a woman coming down the sidewalk toward them yelled.

  Macy stared. A stranger. She was tall and slender, her creamy skin and auburn hair giving her the appearance of a woman that always looked perfect. Never mussed, or a hair out of place.

  Macy glanced at Scott and was surprised to see a look of irritation on his usually happy face.

  “Scott!” The woman arrived beside him, almost breathless. “I’ve been looking all over for you!”

  “Brandy? What are you doing here?”

  The woman smiled and gave a quick glance at Macy, taking in her long calico skirt and braided hair. “I’m doing a story on small town parades. Imagine my surprise when I found out your little town was one I’m covering.”

  His eyebrow raised. “Really? Almost seems too much of a coincidence, doesn’t it?”

  The woman’s smile wavered. Then she recovered. “And what a cute little town it is. And just look at how the inhabitants are dressed,” she said, pointing at Macy’s skirt.

  Scott turned to look and grinned. “Macy, I’d like you to meet an acquaintance of mine, Brandy Murray. Brandy, this is my…” he cleared his throat. “This is my good friend, Macy Colbert.”

  Macy couldn’t help but notice that he had identified Brandy as an acquaintance and her as a good friend. “How do you do?” she said, her eyes on Brandy’s pretty face.

  Brandy gave Scott’s arm a playful slap. “What do you mean acquaintance? We’ve known each other for years.” She turned to Macy. “It’s nice to meet you, Macy. I’m glad that Scott has met such nice neighbors in this town.”

  “We do our best,” Macy answered. She didn’t know the woman and she was already irritated. It was easy to see her real reason for coming to Christmas Creek. And it didn’t have anything to do with the parade.

  At that moment, the high school band started playing Home on the Range, and everyone turned their attention to the street, all craning their necks in the direction the parade would come. It was still out of sight, but once they rounded the curve, the band would be visible.

  Chapter 16

  “I think the church float is third in line,” Macy said, looking at Scott.

  “You mean, you’re sweet little Sandy is in the parade,” Brandy interrupted, her eyes admiring Scott’s profile.

  Scott nodded and glanced at Macy. It looked to her as if his hands were clenched shut.

  Brandy pulled a camera from the large bag she was carrying and began to take pictures as the band arrived even with them. “I’ll just need a few from each parade,” she glanced at him. “I’ll be sure to get one of Sandy.”

  Macy noticed he didn’t reply to her, or correct her. Where was the easy going Scott that she knew? Something about this reporter had put him out of sorts. Well, no matter, she would be gone as soon as the parade was over.

  Macy glanced behind and could see Janet standing in the shop door. She hoped she could see the parade. It made her feel selfish to be standing in front. But since Janet had all but pushed her and Scott out the door, there wasn’t much she could do.

  ***

  Scott, Brandy in tow, walked down to the school to retrieve Sammie. Macy went back inside the store. Was their date still on for tonight? Scott hadn’t mentioned it when he left, and with Brandy in town to see him….

  “What are you daydreaming about?” Janet’s voice whispered in her ear. “We’ve got two customers upstairs.”

  Macy headed up, shaking thoughts of Scott from her head.

  ***

  Scott kept his pace steady. He knew it was too fast for Brandy, but the more distance between the two of them, the better. Still, she was making a great effort to keep up.

  “Scott! Slow down just a bit. I want to talk to you.”

  He stopped so abruptly that she bumped into him. “There is nothing to talk about, Brandy. You show up here, out of the blue, and expect me to greet you with open arms.”

  She made a face and stuck the camera back in her bag. “I’m not sure what you mean. I just —”

  He leaned down close enough to smell her perfume. Being close to this woman always made him want to gag. “I told you how I felt about you two years ago. Why did you show up here?”

  She balked. “Well, I just saw the opportunity for the story, and thought maybe we could renew our friendship. You know, go out to dinner. In fact, I made reservations for us in a nice restaurant in Bartlesville tonight. It will give us a chance to talk over old times.”

  “Well you can just unmake them. I already have a dinner date for tonight.”

  She snorted. “And I wonder who she is. That frumpy homestead looking woman back at the parade? Really, Scott, you can do better than that.”

  He bit down hard. Else, he would say something he would regret. He forced a smile to his face. “Brandy, you have no idea what you’re talking about. Now go home.”

  “Not until I see Sandy. That’s the least you can let me do. You know how close we were,” she pleaded, following close on his heels.

  He didn’t bother to stop. “If you’d been that close, you might remember that her name is Sammie, not Sandy.”

  When he looked back, she was gone. Good. He hadn’t wanted Sammie to see her.

  “Daddy!”

  He heard her shout from the back of the float. “Coming, sweetheart,” he called, waving to let her know he saw her.

  Chapter 17

  Macy stared in the mirror and blinked. Her makeup had been re-done, and she had combed her hair down long. No need to go on a date with a pigtail hanging down her back. The jeans she changed into were new, as was the close fitting light blue sweater she wore. It had been a gift from Aunt Alta before she left. She had said it accentuated her eyes. As usual, she was right. And her boots were ones she had worn for years. Her favorites. She reflected that she had never felt comfortable enough to wear them on a date before.

  She took a deep breath. She wanted to be confident. But if she wasn’t careful, her nerves were going to get the best of her. Her face did feel a bit flushed and her eyes were bright. With anticipation, or fear? She took another nervous breath. Maybe both.

  She glanced at the clock. They would be there in a few moments. Best get her jacket and purse and be waiting.

  ***

  As they stepped inside the entrance, they could hear the melody of a famous country song. No doubt Randall’s Redneck Band was on stage. The hostess led them through the main dining area, crowded with customers. A lot of them were locals that Macy recognized and waved to, but there were quite a few stranger faces. She scanned the room, but didn’t see Brandy an
ywhere.

  It was none of her business, but she couldn’t help but be a little bit curious about the relationship between the woman and Scott. Whatever it was, or had been, he hadn’t looked any too happy to see her. And if she was still in town, he hadn’t mentioned it on the drive to the restaurant.

  “Is this table OK?” the hostess motioned toward one near the windows in the back.

  “Perfect,” Scott nodded. He pulled a chair out for Macy.

  She stared for a moment. Most of her dates in recent years had been too occupied with their phones to offer the courtesy. “Thank you,” she smiled.

  “What are you going to have?” Sammie wanted to know, her eyes busy on the menu photographs of the different dishes.

  Macy scanned the menu. “I’m thinking maybe chicken and dumplings. As I recall, they’ve always been very good here.”

  “Oh, yummy! I’ll have some, too,” Sammie grinned.

  “Sounds good to me, too,” Scott agreed. “We’ll just make sure and save room for dessert. I’m pretty sure that Macy wants some strawberry ice cream,” he winked at her.

  Macy felt herself blush. He had remembered the little joke from earlier this afternoon. Nothing more had been said of it, after Brandy had arrived.

  He was seated straight across from her and the lights from the hanging lantern chandelier made a perfect spotlight on his blond head. She was happy to see that he had worn jeans and boots, too, and Sammie was still dressed in her Annie Oakley outfit; the red hat Macy had given her was out in the truck. Before entering the restaurant, Scott had managed to talk her out of bringing it inside.

  “I’ll have ice cream, too,” Sammie insisted.

  Macy laughed. “Strawberry ice cream is OK, but the hot fudge cake is pretty good, as I recall.”

  The waitress arrived at that moment. “What can I get you to drink before you order?”

  Scott and Macy both ordered iced tea. Referring to his daughter, Scott grinned and told the waitress, “The munchkin here will have milk.”

  “Milk! Daddy, please let me have something else,” Sammie begged, her sweet face puckered as if she might cry.

  Macy bit her lip to keep from grinning. That girl sure knew how to work on her daddy and get what she wanted.

  “When she drinks the glass of milk, then she may have a Sprite,” he relented, closing his menu.

  “I’ll be right back to take your orders,” the waitress said.

  ***

  “Well, you were right. Best chicken and dumplings I’ve had in a while,” he said, patting his full stomach. What there was of it. He might be a writer by trade, but all of his hard work outdoors kept him in shape.

  Macy did her best to suck in her own stomach. She had eaten a lot more than she had intended. Why were the servings so big?

  “Dessert?” he asked her.

  She glanced at Sammie. Poor baby, her head was drooping and in another moment, her face was going to fall into her plate. “I think maybe somebody is ready to call it a night,” she grinned.

  He looked at his daughter and nodded. “I guess it’s been a long day. Are you ready?”

  She gave a reluctant nod. And hoped it didn’t look too reluctant. Time spent with Scott and Sammie was something she had started to look forward to. Each time it ended, she had to hope that it wouldn’t be the last of it.

  When he pulled the truck into Macy’s driveway, Sammie was fast asleep in the back seat. “Looks like she’s worn out,” Macy remarked.

  He nodded and put the truck in park, before he switched it off. “Once she’s out, it’s hard to wake her.” He cleared his throat. “I owe you an explanation from earlier this afternoon. About Brandy.”

  She started to shake her head, then stopped.

  He stared straight ahead, his hands on the steering wheel of the truck. “I knew her when we lived in Kansas City. We worked for the same paper. It was before my column was syndicated. We went out to dinner a time or two.” He glanced at her. “Her invitation both times. Anyway, she sort of decided there was something between us. I had to let her know right away that there wasn’t. But, you could see today that my words didn’t mean much to her.”

  Macy took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  He nodded and looked at her. “I don’t think she’ll be back. After telling me how close she and ‘Sandy’ had been, I reminded her that her name was Sammie. She left about that time,” he chuckled.

  Well, all’s well that ends well. But maybe best not to voice it. “I understand.”

  He reached for the truck door handle. “C’mon, let me walk you to your door.”

  She glanced at Sammie, still sleeping soundly. He took her hand as he came around the truck. A slight trickle of electricity ran up her arm. And another when he gave her hand a squeeze.

  At the door, he waited, still holding her hand while she dug around in her purse and found her key with the other. “I had a nice time tonight, Scott,” she said, looking up into his face. A face she would think about all night.

  He let go of her hand and his fingers brushed her cheek. “Me, too,” he said as he leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. “Good night, Macy.”

  Chapter 18

  Macy stepped into the back door of the store. It was nine o’clock Saturday morning.

  “Well, you look like the cat that caught the mouse,” Janet said, busy re-folding quilts displayed on a table. “I take it you had a good time last night?”

  “The best,” Macy answered, embarrassed to realize her cheeks were beginning to heat up. “Sammie is so cute,” she added.

  Janet shook her head and reached for a Flying Geese patterned quilt. “I don’t think it’s Sammie’s cuteness that’s giving you that look,” she teased.

  Macy refused to acknowledge the statement and made her way back to her office. Shrugging off her blue, lightweight jacket, she hung it on a hook. She was just settled at her desk when Janet appeared at the door.

  “There’s something we need to discuss,” she said, a serious expression on her face.

  Macy felt her heart sink. Was Janet going to quit? Maybe working for Aunt Alta had spoiled her. After all, the woman was practically a fixture in the shop. Every local customer that walked in the door called her by name. How would she ever get along without her?

  “Come in,” Macy said, making sure to keep her voice steady.

  Janet entered and took a seat in the small wing chair next to the desk. It was then that Macy noticed the small stack of money in her hand.

  Janet cleared her throat and smoothed her long, dark calico skirt. “For a week, or so, the money has been coming up a little short in the cash register. I just thought that I’d made a mistake when I counted it out the evening before, or something, and I covered it.”

  Macy shook her head. “That’s not likely, Janet. You should have just told me. And I’ll pay you back,” she added. “How much short are we talking about?”

  “I’d say five to seven dollars a day. Sometimes it skips a day, but usually that amount. Most of the time we are already short in the morning, when I count before we start. Sort of like it disappeared overnight, which I know is not possible. This evening, I want you to count with me.”

  Macy nodded and chewed her lip. “I don’t know how it could happen. There’s only the two of us, and I know it’s not you or me,” she emphasized. “Is there any way a customer can open the cash register?”

  Janet shrugged. “How could they? One of us is always close.”

  Macy leaned back in her office chair. “Well, at that amount, it’s not much to worry about, just yet. Maybe there is an explanation for it. And don’t you cover it anymore,” she ordered. “I’ll make it up to you on your paycheck,” she said, as Janet headed back to the desk.

  The phone rang and she heard Janet answer out at the desk. “It’s for you,” she called.

  Macy picked up the phone and glanced at the clock. They would be opening in another fifteen minut
es. “Hello?”

  “Hello, Macy,” Scott’s voice came through the receiver.

  “Good morning,” she said, feeling self-conscious, even over the phone line. It had been a long time since a man kissed her goodnight.

  “I’ve got a lot to do today, meetings on the phone, some other work around here, but I was thinking maybe we could have dinner on Monday night. If you’re free?”

  She took a deep breath and ignored her galloping heart. “Yes. I’d like that, Scott.”

  “Good. I’ll try to call you before then. Bye Macy.”

  “Bye.” She hung up the receiver and sighed. There was no denying that she was starting to feel something for him. She smiled. It was a good thing Aunt Alta was safe on her honeymoon, or she’d be planning a wedding for the two of them.

  She pulled her cell phone from her purse and hit #1. It was time she checked up on the honeymooners.

  ***

  “I don’t believe it!” Janet declared, her voice echoing through the store.

  “What?” Macy stuck her head out of the office door. Hopefully, it wasn’t more trouble. The disappearing money didn’t amount to much, but it was puzzling, and she would like to get that problem solved before another cropped up.

  “The clock,” Janet said, standing in front of the large, ornate cherry grandfather clock that dominated the front corner of the store. “The time is right, and I believe it is about to strike ten. It struck earlier, but I didn’t pay much attention.”

  As if on cue, the clock began its melodic announcement of the hour. It struck exactly ten times.

  Macy came from the office and stood in front of the magnificent piece of art. Aunt Alta had purchased it years ago, when Macy was a teenager, with the knowledge that it no longer kept time or chimed the right hour. She had wanted it solely as an ornament for the store. The timepiece was kept wound and set to the right time each day, but it slowed almost immediately, and it did not seem to affect the way it kept the time, even if reset several times a day. But now. . .had it fixed itself?