Holly for Christmas

by Lisa Prysock

  “Jill and Mrs. Wright were helpful with making sure I had everything we needed. I’d have had you over to my place, but for now, I’m just staying in a guest suite. It’s not really designed for entertaining, so I thought this room would be great for us. I think most guests are staying in their cabins and cooking today, so it’s pretty quiet around the ranch. We seem to have the place to ourselves.”

  “Yeah, I saw the Haven family walking down to Sadie and Jack Haven’s log cabin for Thanksgiving. I think Betty Anne Fontaine and Meredith Johnston were with them, too. They have such a great family.” Calvin sounded a little wistful.

  “Speaking of, do you have any siblings?” she asked.

  He shook his head as he ate some of the green bean casserole. “No, it’s just me. Enough about my family, though. Tell me about yours.”

  “My mom passed away after a bout with cancer about two years ago. Her name was Shiloh Anne Jacobs, before she became a Williams when she married my dad, Alfred Hezekiah Williams. What a name, right?” Holly chortled.

  He smiled and chuckled, nodding. “Sounds like one of those old-fashioned names out of the Bible or a novel or something.” Then he paused and his brow wrinkled as his voice took on a serious tone. “I’m sorry about your mom.” He paused and then covered her hand again with his own.

  She nodded, not knowing what to say, and drew her hand back quickly. It wasn’t a subject she wanted to linger on, especially not on Thanksgiving. She sipped her sweet tea, and continued. “Chad is my only brother. My mom had an older sister named Myra who is the best aunt ever, but she’s getting up in years. My mom was a stay-at-home mom all of her life.”

  “That’s a good thing to have your mom home with you. I didn’t always have my mom around after the divorce. That’s a huge blessing that the Lord gave you those years with her around,” he remarked. “What did your dad do?”

  “My dad worked for a steel company until he retired. We grew up in the same little house on boring but quaint Applegrove Street my entire life. I went to college as a journalism major, worked as a waitress, and eventually was hired to run the books and music beat for a local Canton newspaper after my internship.”

  “Was it the same paper you interned with?” he asked as he scooped up another bite of mashed potatoes and gravy with his fork.

  She nodded. “Yes, but after almost eight years with that job, I knew I needed to take a chance the Lord would find something more for me.” Holly smiled. “To my amazement, He’s done exactly that when I came here and opened a door for me to write my dream small town column, ‘Holly’s Happenings.’ And no, it won’t be gossip. It will be like history and interesting interviews about the people, places, and events around this area. Farming and gardening tips, ancestry information, ranching tidbits, upcoming special events...that sort of thing.”

  “I like the idea for your column. Catchy title. What does your brother Chad do?” he asked.

  Holly gulped, looking into Cal’s brown eyes, realizing he had such a strong jaw and massive muscles. She felt so small sitting beside him. She may as well tell him the truth about her father. “When he’s not trying to help our alcoholic father, Chad manages a book store for a large retail chain. He’s informally engaged to a sweet girl, Michelle. They’ll likely marry next year.”

  “That’s tough. Was your dad always that way?” he asked softly.

  “No, this happened after Mama died.” She sighed. “Chad certainly has his hands full, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to get away from it.”

  “I don’t blame you.” He placed a hand on hers comfortingly, reminding her of how he’d helped calm her the other day when they were standing beside her Miata.

  “It’s the best thing I ever did, moving to Wyoming, at least so far.” She smiled, attempting to keep the conversation light and moving forward. Now that they’d each shared some things about their families with each other, it was time to relax and enjoy the rest of the meal.

  Afterwards, Holly cleared the table, placing the dishes on a cart from the kitchen while Cal looked over the board games. They settled on backgammon and played at the table while listening to the football game on television, occasionally pausing to cheer and check the score.

  After they’d played a few rounds of the backgammon game, he noticed the newspaper Jill Haven had left for her on the coffee table as they moved to the sofa to finish watching the football game and watch movies. The ranch owner’s wife had turned the paper to her column. She’d left a sticky note on it reading, Congrats Holly on your first story for the Thanksgiving Day Edition! She’d signed it, Jill & Logan. The byline and headline, ‘Holly’s Happenings’ by Holly Williams stared back at them. The title of the article, ‘Heaven on Earth at The Sweetwater’ was in smaller type below that.

  “Say, this is really awesome, Holly!” Calvin picked up the article and began reading it over. She looked over his shoulder, smiling, happy with the way her first article appeared. The newspaper had boxed her feature to give it more prominence. “You’re on page three! That’s impressive.”

  She blushed, wondering how she hadn’t noticed it before now. “Thanks. It was nice of Jill to leave a copy here for me. In my relief meeting the deadline, after I turned it in, I’d almost forgotten about it until now.”

  “This is really good,” he said as he neared reading the end of her column. “I like it. I’m sure Jill and Logan are so happy to have this kind of great publicity. I mean, you mention how family-friendly this place is, how nice the amenities are, how welcoming and attentive the owners and staff are. This is exactly the kind of attention the ranch needs to keep growing.”

  She smiled wordlessly, watching Calvin read every word of her article. It meant a lot to her to have his approval for some reason. Maybe it was because of what had happened to his mom. Now he could see firsthand, she wasn’t the kind of writer who would do such a thing.

  Then the Steelers made another touchdown putting them in the lead and Holly jumped off the sofa with her yellow towel, making him laugh. He reached for his yellow towel, and soon they were both swinging their yellow towels around, carrying on with hollering, whoops, and high-fives. Holly was sure if anyone had walked in on them, they’d have thought a wild party was going on.

  “Are you always this rowdy?” he asked, chuckling when he had to duck to avoid being hit by her towel.

  “Only when my favorite team is winning,” she replied, swinging her towel around again with a teasing smirk on her face.

  He ducked again and chuckled. “Thanks for the warning!”

  After the football game, they quieted down and settled into a game of Chinese Checkers at the coffee table. They enjoyed saucers of pumpkin pie topped with generous dollops of whipped cream while watching You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out. She discovered Cal had memorized many of the lines and loved the movie. Each time he quoted a line from the movie, it made her laugh to remember the parts her mother had also dearly loved.

  Before long, it was growing dark outside and it was time for him to go. They’d had so much fun, she hated for the day to come to an end.

  “Before I go, may I ask you a question?” Cal shifted on the sofa and turned to face her as the movie credits rolled by on the screen.

  She nodded. “Sure.”

  “Holly, I’ve enjoyed our day together so much. I actually hate leaving. Would you grant me the pleasure of allowing me to court you?” He looked into her light-blue gray eyes, waiting for her answer.

  “As in date?” she asked, gulping. This question had taken her completely by surprise. No one had asked her on a date in years.

  He nodded, lifting her chin to look in his eyes. “Yes, as in date, with a purpose on the other end, if everything works out well between us. I mean,” he paused, looking around, “this is amazing. Other than my mom, no one has ever done anything like this for me before. I’m amazed that you went to all this trouble just because I did what any normal guy would do to help someone in trouble.”

  She bit her lip
and gulped again, blinking back tears from her eyes. She was finally being asked out on a date with someone she realized she liked very much. Not just a date, but a courtship. The Lord was answering one of her prayers, and oddly enough, He’d used Cole to bring them together. The Lord really did have a way of making all things work together for some good.

  “I guess maybe we could try to give it a go,” she heard herself say, her voice barely above a whisper as she stared into his brown eyes. She wasn’t getting any younger, and if she said no, she might not have another chance for a long time to come. In the back of her mind, she was thinking about the fact her biological clock was ticking. She needed to take this chance to embrace the possibility of something wonderful.

  Calvin grinned and leaned over, planting a soft kiss on her forehead. Then he drew her hand to his lips. “I’m not sure where our first date will be, but you won’t regret it, Holly Williams.”

  She felt her cheeks blush as she smiled softly, but didn’t dare breathe a word. Everything remained to be seen. She was content for now to bask in his affections and gentlemanlike behavior. If this was any indication of the future, this cowboy had been worth the wait.

  Eleven

  ***

  As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

  Proverbs 27:37, NIV

  Thanksgiving Evening

  Holly finally had a moment of peace and quiet to text her friend once she’d cleaned up and gone to her room. She could only hope and pray the delay hadn’t cost Lexie any trouble. She needed to get word to her about Cole showing up in Wyoming. A glance at her phone still showed that her friend may not have received her previous text. In a way, she was glad. Lexie deserved to have a peaceful Thanksgiving if at all possible. It was time however, to be sure this message got through—:

  Cole is in Wyoming. Please call me ASAP!

  She pressed the send button. Thankfully, Lexie called back a few minutes later. Holly answered on the first ring.

  “Oh, Lexie, I’m so glad you answered! Cole was here in Lander. He’s been following me.”

  Lexie gasped for a ragged breath. “Holly, get somewhere safe and then call the police. You could be in danger.”

  “I’m okay. Calvin came to my rescue. He punched him right in the nose! Can you believe it?”

  Lexie sounded a little confused. “Who’s Calvin?”

  “Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you about him.” Holly’s voice calmed and took on a dreamy tone when talking about Calvin. “He’s someone I met here in Lander, but I’ll tell you about him later. Right now, you need to know the rest of the story. After Calvin punched Cole, we called the police, but he snuck away before they could get here.”

  “Holly does he have any idea what town I’m in?” Her friend’s voice sounded serious.

  Holly paused, bracing herself before sharing the bad news. “He grabbed my phone and read some of our texts. I’m not sure how far he scrolled down before Calvin came. I’m so sorry, Lexie.”

  “It’s all right. I’m just glad you’re safe. When did this all happen?” Lexie asked calmly.

  “About three days ago. I’m sorry, I thought I’d wait until after Thanksgiving to say anything so you could enjoy the holiday,” Holly explained.

  “Okay.” Lexie sighed and Holly imagined she was attempting to calculate how much time she had before Cole might find her. At least she’d finally managed to get through to her, and now Lexie could be on the alert.

  “I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. Keep me posted on what happens.” Holly toyed with a lock of her brown hair, praying the Lord would send someone nice to watch over her friend.

  “Thanks, I did. We’ll talk soon. Bye for now.” Lexie disconnected the call. It was late, and they were both tired. Hopefully the police would catch up with Cole before he caught up with Lexie.

  Holly lay back in her pillow knowing she’d done everything possible to the best of her ability to help her friend. It was all in the Lord’s hands now. Then she smiled, thinking of how beautiful the day had been. A feeling of peace and joy washed over her as she prayed, the presence of the Holy Spirit comforting her, letting her know everything was going to be all right. Wasn’t that what Aunt Myra always said, that everything was going to be all right.

  “SO I FIGURED OUT WHERE our first official date should be,” Calvin said to her the next day at breakfast in the main dining room at the ranch. Somehow they’d found each other at about eight o’clock. They’d already exchanged cell numbers and now they couldn’t stop staring dreamily at each other. She’d barely glanced at her plate of bacon and fiesta style scrambled eggs.

  “Where?” she asked, unable to take her eyes off his.

  “Bubba’s Burgers. Do you like cheeseburgers?” He had a serious look on his face, but she was cracking up, unable to keep a straight face. Soft music from Hillsong played in the background with a song she happened to love called “Let Go.”

  She chuckled, nodding, her shoulders dancing lightly with the music. She found herself so happy that morning, she could hardly contain it. Nothing could upset her. She felt so much peace and joy still from her prayer time the night before and all the good things the Lord was doing in her life. A cheeseburger place was the last place on earth she thought he’d want their first date to take place, but it would be fun instead of going to a fancy restaurant. Some girls might get upset with him she supposed, seeing he was a billionaire and could afford to take her anywhere. Was he testing her? She started laughing, almost uncontrollably. “Y-yes, y-y-yes,” she chuckled. “I like cheeseburgers. You must really like them.”

  He nodded, a smile turning up the corner of his mouth. “Like them? I love them. Cheeseburgers and fries are my favorite.”

  “Okay then,” she said, her laughter beginning to subside. “Bubba’s Burgers it is. They do have really great food.”

  “Great, tonight at say, seven?” he asked.

  “Sure, seven for dinner is fine. What do you want to do today? Do you want to hang out all day? I’m off since the paper is closed. It’s snowing, but I heard the barns and trails are still open for horseback riding.”

  “Horseback riding it is,” he grinned, tasting some of the fried potatoes on his plate. “Yes, I’d love to hang out all day. But we should go riding right after breakfast. I overheard that tennis club group here on retreat is going there at ten. I’d like us to have a quiet, peaceful ride before it gets busy.”

  “Okay, I’m ready to hit the trails after we eat.” She grinned and stuck one of her red boots out from under the table so he could see she was ready to ride. She was wearing a fringed brown suede jacket with her favorite jeans, and she’d remembered her taupe leather gloves and a purple wool scarf. She had her only cowgirl hat on, too. She remembered how the group of librarians had swarmed him the last time they went riding, and she imagined he was trying to avoid the attention.

  “You look amazing, Holly,” he smiled. “Riding, followed by cheeseburgers for dinner, two of my favorite things. This day is going to rock. What else would you like to do after our ride?”

  “Well, it is Black Friday. There’ll be sales everywhere. Should we go Christmas shopping, and then maybe catch a movie before dinner? I heard there’s a new movie out about a race car driver that looks really good.”

  Calvin’s eyes lit up as he ate some of his waffle. “You saw that trailer, too?” He had a huge smile on his face.

  She nodded, tasting some of her eggs. “I did. I’d love to see it if you do.”

  “Absolutely,” he nodded. “We can take Old Betsy.”

  “Okay, sure. I’d love to ride in your truck. Do you collect antique and vintage trucks?” She bit her lip, wondering what his answer would be.

  “Yeah, I keep a few, like Old Betsy. But every year I restore a few to donate to an auction dinner I host in Montana for a Christian missions team each year.”

  Holly gulped silently, looking down at the food on her plate but not really seeing it. Calvin had just blown away her previou
s prejudice against him. This guy was spending his free time making antique cars into a work of art to raise funds to grow the Kingdom of God. How could she have missed that about him before? I’m sorry Lord. I shouldn’t have preconceptions about people, especially not this amazing guy. Please forgive me.

  Twelve

  ***

  “Truly charity has no limit; for the love of God has been poured into our hearts by His Spirit dwelling in each one of us, calling us to live a life of devotion and inviting us to bloom in the garden where He has planted [us], and directing us to radiate the beauty and spread the fragrance of His Providence.”—St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622), Bishop of Geneva.

  By seven-thirty on Friday evening, Calvin and Holly were seated at a table near a window at Bubba’s Burgers. The place was super packed out. Reece, the blond waitress with eyeglasses who’d waited on her a few times before, came to take their order. She recognized Holly at once and always came by to chat if she stopped in. Reece was friendly, dependable, and efficient.

  “Hey there, Holly. Nice to see you again. What can I get for you two? It’s packed out tonight, but I’ll make sure your order doesn’t take too long,” Reece assured them.

  “It sure is busy.” Holly looked around and noticed almost every table was full with customers and they’d had a twenty minute wait at the door.

  Turning back to Reece, Holly noticed she was studying Calvin. With her head tipped to one side, the waitress wore an expression which slowly blossomed into a wide grin. “Say, aren’t you Calvin Davis, that billionaire guy from the cover of the magazine our new waitress, LuAnne, showed me the other day?”

  Calvin smiled and nodded, appearing somewhat accustomed to being recognized occasionally. “That’s me. Nice to meet you.”

  “LuAnne is going to be so upset she didn’t get to wait on your table.” Reece sighed heavily.