Hearing him call her that startled her. Was she really ready for a little dark-haired girl to call her Momma? Or a son?
Mercy! What would she do with a son? She’d never been around little boys that much, only at church and in very small doses. She understood girls better after being around April.
Creed came from a family of seven sons. From that standpoint, the odds were that she’d have boys and lots of them.
“What in the world are you thinking about? Noel and Angel will be fine, honest.” Creed gently squeezed her hands.
“Tell me more about their new little houses,” she said quickly.
Creed went on. “I’m buying insulation this afternoon so I can finish their houses. They’ll be done tomorrow and we’ll see how they do on the front porch. I think Angel is getting stir-crazy in the house. She sits on the windowsill behind the Christmas tree and I can see it in her eyes. She wants to be outside.”
“And Noel?”
“She’ll be happier on the porch. And pretty soon those puppies are going to open their eyes and scoot right off that blanket. Then there’ll be a puddle or worse everywhere you walk.”
“Yuck! I see your point.”
He picked up the silver salad tongs and filled her bowl first and then his. “They’ll still run in and out, and you can go outside to visit them.”
She took a bread stick and handed the basket to him. “What about your dogs? Will they kill the cats?”
He shook his head. “No, they might have a few issues with Noel, but they’ve been raised around cats. They’ll bark at them, but they won’t kill them.”
She swallowed hard. “What kind of issues?”
He laid his fork down and cupped her chin in his palm. “They won’t know if she’s a dog, a bear, or a miniature alpaca.”
“Never thought of crossbreeding a dog with an alpaca.”
“Well, Noel is living proof that it can be done,” he said.
* * *
Snowflakes the size of silver dollars drifted lazily down from the gray skies to rest on them as they left the restaurant. Creed threw his arm around her shoulder and together they hurried toward the pickup.
“More snow! We should have that white Christmas for sure.” She dusted the flakes from her denim duster when she was inside the truck. She switched on the radio as Creed stomped the extra snow from his boots and settled into the driver’s seat.
“Don’t put up your boots or sleds just yet,” the DJ said when Creed turned on the engine. “We’ve got another winter storm watch in effect. We won’t get as much snow as last time, but the weatherman says there’ll be another inch of accumulation. It will move on toward the east by morning. What’s one more inch when we’re already dealing with eight inches, folks? Just puts us in the mood for the season. And now for five uninterrupted Christmas songs to keep that mood going…”
Creed sang, “Sleigh bells ring, are you listenin’,” along with the singer as he backed out of the parking lot.
“Paint store?” he asked before he turned one way or the other onto the highway.
“It’s next door to the mall. We can go there afterwards.”
“And after the mall shopping, we’ll hit Home Depot for insulation and Walmart for supplies and pet food, right?”
She nodded.
“Navigate for me.”
She looked across the seat. “Do what?”
“Tell me when to turn and how to get to this mall. I’ve been in Amarillo a couple of times but it was for rodeos. We hit town, did the rodeo, went to a couple of clubs, and back to our hotel or to our travel trailers.”
“Turn right at the next light, then left at the one after that, and you’ll be able to see the mall on the next block. Park anywhere you can find a spot.”
The light was green so he made a right. The next one was red and Sage pointed toward the mall parking lot. It looked like an enormous car dealership. He made the turns and crept up and down the lanes until a red car finally backed out not far from the mall’s main entrance. He snagged the spot and unbuckled his belt. Before he could get around the truck, she was already outside with the door slammed. She grabbed his hand and set a long-legged pace straight ahead.
She had a list of presents she needed to purchase and he could tag along or he could go his own way and they’d meet up later. It was most likely the last time she’d get to Amarillo before Christmas day and every minute counted.
“Now what?” he said when they were inside out of the cold.
Christmas carols came through the central stereo system. A huge tree full of shiny decorations, gold tinsel, and blinking lights graced the center of the mall. Santa’s photo station had been set up in front of the tree and a line of kids snaked down the corridors for at least two city blocks.
She rose up slightly on her toes and kissed him. “I’m going shopping.”
“Me too. I haven’t sent a thing home and I see a place over there that will ship for me. I’ll meet you back here in one hour?” He looked at his watch.
Sage pushed up the sleeve of her fancy Western-cut shirt and nodded. She could buy for everyone on her list in that time because she already knew what she was looking for. The lines to check out would take longer than the picking out process.
The first store she headed for carried Western wear and the best flannel shirts in the whole state. She chose a red and black plaid one for Creed because she’d stolen his and had no intention of giving it back. Then she picked out a blue plaid for Lawton and headed to the ladies’ side of the store for something with lots of bling for Hilda and April. Hilda got a floral: black with red roses, with red pearl snaps. April got a pink one with jewels forming a longhorn bull on the back yoke.
She paid for them and was on her way to the next store for something for Grand when she passed one of the holiday kiosks on the way. It offered leather goods and there was a gorgeous hand-tooled man’s wallet complete with initials. She pondered a long time but finally picked up the one with a C on it and paid for it, shoved the box it came in down into her shirt bag, and went on.
Grand was getting a decent handbag that year. She wouldn’t ever part with the money for a good leather bag, but Sage had seen her admiring them several times that fall. The kiosk had offered a few styles but the one Grand had kept going back to was in a leather shop down one of the mall wings. Sage remembered the name of the store but not the exact location so she stopped at a mall map to find it.
It was down the wing housing Dillard’s, so she set a course for that part of the mall. Once in the store she went straight to the back shelves where the handbags were kept. She didn’t know she was holding her breath until she finally located the exact bag shoved behind some newer stock.
It was a hobo-type bag with a wide shoulder strap and made of the softest black leather she’d ever touched. No wonder Grand liked it. She could carry half her belongings in the thing and it would rest easy on her shoulder. She was halfway to the checkout counter when she remembered Aunt Essie.
“Shit! I almost forgot her. Well, if Grand would like this bag, then so would Aunt Essie.” Sage went back to the shelf and started to hunt for another bag like the one she’d just picked out.
“May I help you?” a sales clerk asked.
“I’d like another one just like this,” Sage said.
“That’s our last black one. It’s been a great seller this season. I do have a brown one but it’s just a little smaller. We also have the matching wallets and they are on sale.” She pulled the brown bag from a lower shelf and handed it to Sage.
She held them up, side by side. There they were, Aunt Essie with her lighter hair and smaller size. Grand with her dark hair and bigger-than-life attitude.
“I’ll take them and the wallets. Do you have those fur-lined house shoes?”
“Yes, ma’am!” The clerk was all smiles as she led the way to the shoe s
helves at the back of the store.
“I need a size eight in brown and a size nine in black in ladies,” Sage said.
“They’re not on sale today but they will be the weekend before Christmas,” the sales clerk whispered from behind her hand.
“I won’t be back again, so I’ll just have to pay full price.”
“Too bad. Our men’s slippers are on sale this week.”
Sage followed her. “Well, now that’s interesting. I’ll take a pair in a thirteen if you have them.”
“That’s a big foot. We ordered one special last week and the lady broke up with her boyfriend so we’ve got it. Normally we only stock up to a twelve. You are a lucky woman today.”
“Yes, I am,” Sage said.
* * *
Creed was buying for his younger two brothers and his mom and dad when he looked at his watch and realized he was out of time. He phoned Sage and she picked up on the first ring.
“I’m almost done. They’re ringing up Grand’s and Aunt Essie’s presents,” she said.
“Well, I’m not. I bought for each family member and then took it to the shipping place and I’ve still got at least half an hour before I’m done.”
“Great!” she said. “I’ll have time to look around and go to the paper store to buy wrapping supplies. Meet you at the Christmas tree in forty-five minutes?”
The phone went silent so he shoved it back in his pocket and went into the next shop and bought presents for his two younger brothers and his parents. He had them wrapped and took them to the shipping place and then it hit him. He had less than thirty minutes to buy something for Sage.
“God, I can’t pick out something that important in that length of time,” he groaned.
As if a higher being answered his prayers on the spot, he looked across the way from where he stood and there was a jewelry store. He’d never seen her wear jewelry except the night they’d gone to the Christmas party. She’d worn long dangling topaz-looking earrings and a matching necklace.
There were no customers in the jewelry store so he didn’t have to wait for a sales clerk to help him. He was on his way to the bracelets or earrings when the wedding rings caught his eye. It was as if he had stepped in superglue and his feet would not budge. His boots were filled with lead and his eyes couldn’t see a blessed thing but sparkling diamonds and matching wedding bands.
“Could I help you?” a petite blonde asked.
And he looked right into the eyes of Macy, his ex-fiancée.
“Creed?” she asked with a catch in her voice.
“Hello, Macy. What are you doing here?”
“Just a little job while school is out for the holiday. I teach down in Hereford, Texas, these days. What are you doing here?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Well, you are looking at wedding rings, Creed. I suppose that means you are doing something in the store.”
“I guess I am at that. How are you?”
He didn’t want to talk to Macy and he damn sure didn’t want to buy a wedding ring from her, but there it was: a set of matching bands. And right beside them was a little red velvet box with an engagement ring. One diamond set on a thin band. Sage could wear them both or just the wedding band when she was painting or feeding the chickens.
“I’m fine. My husband got transferred to this area last summer. It’s not home and it’s taking me a while to get used to the place, but it’s only for two years and then we’ll probably be going to the East Coast for a while.”
“Can I see those rings and that engagement ring beside them? I’m buying a ranch in the Palo Duro Canyon,” he said.
“What for? We drove through there one time. I hated it.” She pulled the rings out and handed them to him.
If the man’s ring fit his finger and if the woman’s ring fit his pinky, he would buy them. If not, it wasn’t meant to be. He picked up the smaller ring and it slipped on his pinky perfectly. The larger ring fit his ring finger just as well.
“Who is she?” Macy flipped her blond hair back over her shoulder.
“It’s complicated.” He put the engagement ring on with the band and held his hand up to the light.
“That’s a fine diamond. One of the best we have in the store. Not the cheapest or the biggest but the best for fire and brilliance. Personally, I’ve always liked gold but some women do prefer white gold. That’s platinum, by the way, and it’s expensive,” Macy said.
“I’ll take them and now I need to look at a bracelet.”
“Tell me about her and I’ll make a recommendation.”
Creed shook his head. He didn’t want to buy something for Sage that his ex suggested. He wanted something very special that only he would understand the reason behind the gift.
“Tennis bracelets are here. All women love diamonds,” Macy said.
He barely glanced at them before moving on. He checked his watch. He had fifteen minutes.
Macy pointed toward a plain gold bracelet and that’s when he got the idea.
“Show me some of those things that dangle on a bracelet like that.”
She pulled out a tray of gold and silver charms and set it before him. “Like these.”
“Do you have a bracelet like that only in white gold or platinum?”
She put a tray of white gold bracelets in front of him.
She pointed to one substantial enough to hold the charms he had in mind. “Then that’s what I want. Can you put these charms on it and have it ready to go in ten minutes?”
“I can put them on as you pick them out.” Macy reached for a tool under the counter and held it up.
Creed picked out a dog, a cat, a Christmas tree with a sparkling diamond at the top, and a round disk engraved with mistletoe in the middle. Tiny opals created the berries. It was a perfect gift. Each year he would add a charm to it that signified something wonderful that had happened in their lives.
“Wow! That is some present,” Macy said. “Really, Creed, tell me about her.”
“Like I said, it’s complicated. So you are happy?” he asked, changing the subject.
He hadn’t seen her since she’d come home from that trip and told him that their engagement was over. But now, looking at her and hearing her talk about how happy she was and what a wonderful marriage she had, he wondered why he’d ever fallen for her anyway. Nothing stirred inside him. Not anger. Not bitterness. Certainly not passion.
She handed him the bracelet tucked inside a long red velvet box that matched the engagement ring box. “There you go.”
Fingertips brushed together and still he felt nothing. She rang up his bill and he didn’t even flinch.
She handed him the credit card receipt. He signed the bottom and shoved his copy into his shirt pocket.
“Creed, I never meant to hurt you. I really did think I loved you when I accepted your proposal.”
“Macy, I’m over it. I’ve got to go now. Merry Christmas.”
He looked at his watch and hurried out into the mall before he realized that the small bag had the jewelry store logo on it. He had five minutes so he went to a kiosk that sold small-tooled leather items.
“Help you?” a lady wearing boots and a denim miniskirt asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “What kind of wallet are the ladies using these days?”
She picked up one that looked like an oversized old-time cigarette case and handed it to him.
“I’ll take it. And how about cell phone cases?”
She showed him a rack where dozens hung.
“This one. This one and this one.” He laid three out on the counter.
She rang up his bill and he’d barely gotten the items paid for when his phone rang.
“Yes?” He expected to hear Sage telling him that she had been waiting for ten minutes, but instead she was out of breath.
/>
“I ran into an old friend and we got to talking and I’m just now in the paper store. Give me ten more minutes.”
“You got it,” he said.
A window display caught his eye as he slowed his pace and took his time getting to the rendezvous place. He stopped and a wide grin spread across his face. There was the perfect gift for Sage. She’d all but stolen his favorite red and black plaid flannel shirt, and hanging right there on a mannequin was one very similar to his. The plaid was a little smaller and the flannel not as soft since it hadn’t been washed a hundred times, but she’d love it for a nightshirt.
He walked into the store and bought the shirt. It was the last one so they had to take it off the mannequin. They wrapped it for him in shiny red paper and slipped it down into an enormous plastic bag with the store logo on the front. He put his leather purchase bag and his jewelry store bracelet down in the bag with the package and tied a knot in the top. The two ring boxes were in his coat pocket.
* * *
Sage was on her way to the meeting point when someone ran up behind her and touched her on the shoulder. She whipped around and came face-to-face with Victor Landry.
“Sage Presley! It is you!”
“Hello, Victor. What in the world are you doing in Amarillo, Texas?”
“My folks moved here last year. I can’t believe after all this time that you are right here in front of me. I hear you are the next rising Western art star. I’ve got to be honest—when you left college, I didn’t expect much.”
She winced.
“Well, you did have commitment issues. I figured it was in all things, not just relationships, but I was wrong.” He ran a hand down her arm. “Let’s go to dinner and talk art.”
Dammit!
She hadn’t wanted to go to dinner with Victor when they were practically living in the same dorm room. She damn sure didn’t want to go to dinner with him that day.
“Hey.” Creed waved from ten feet away and quickly joined her.
“Creed, meet Victor Landry. Victor, this is Creed.”
Sage felt his eyes go to her left hand but it was holding so many bags that there was no way she could shove it into her pocket.
Christmas at Home Page 24
