Love on Main Street: A Snow Creek Christmas

by Juliet Blackwell

  “I wish I could get a tattoo,” Riah grumbled. “Joe won’t sign the permission slip. He says I can desecrate my body any way I want as soon as I turn eighteen, but not a second before. It’s so unfair.”

  Serafina was beginning to recall with fondness the silent, sullen version of Riah.

  “Riah, I know it seems like your uncle’s being unreasonable, but he only wants the best for you,” said Janet or Lorraine. “A tattoo’s pretty much permanent, and if you change your mind next year it’ll be too late. My boy’s twenty-five; he’s old enough to make that decision.”

  “I read an article in Parents magazine about new laser treatments to remove tattoos,” said Lorraine or Janet, joining the other women near the fire.

  “Sounds painful.” Peggy winced.

  “Hey, Serafina, I have an idea: how about you let me read your cards,” said Riah.

  “Oh, I don’t think so—” began Serafina.

  “That’s a great idea, Riah!” said Peggy. “Maybe you picked something up, spending all that time with Darlene.” Although Peggy was speaking to Riah she was looking at Serafina, as though to tell her something. “You should have seen how good Riah was to Darlene. Why, she was her right-hand woman, weren’t you, Riah?”

  Riah feigned a sudden interest in her chipped, black nail polish.

  “Okay, sure,” said Serafina, not sure what was going on but willing to play along. What could a reading of the cards hurt? “That would be great. Maybe I’ll learn a little something.”

  Riah sat in the old captain’s chair at the card table in front of the fireplace, where Darlene had always sat to read. Serafina took the seat opposite her and shuffled the cards before handing them back to Riah, who took a deep breath then began to set the cards down in the cross formation.

  Riah let out the breath as though centering herself. Slowly, deliberately, she turned over the first card. A ten of diamonds.

  “This right here,” began Riah, “means, you’re, um…means you’re going to get a promotion soon….”

  Wrong. It means I was just given something valuable, and I was. I was given this shop. Though its precise value was yet to be seen.

  “And here, I’ll…um…the Queen of Hearts must be an older woman who’s important to you, probably your mom, or Darlene,” continued Riah.

  Wrong again, thought Serafina. The Queen of Hearts was in the position indicating Serafina’s subconscious self. But how could it be me? The Queen of Hearts indicated a strong, caring woman, a woman worthy of love. That didn’t describe Serafina at all.

  As Riah continued to turn over the cards, one by one, the strangest thing happened. The flames of the fire seemed to cast an intense golden glow about the shop. Serafina glanced around, but the others seemed unperturbed. They were chatting, their knitting needles clicking cheerfully, and the fire seemed normal. It was the oddest sensation, and yet she felt as she had so many years ago, when as a girl she sat by Darlene’s elbow, watching while her aunt explained the cards. The numbers and the symbols—hearts, clubs, spades, and diamonds—started to bob and float in her mind, just as the numbers in mathematical equations always had.

  And Serafina saw, just as plain as day: danger in the snow, and romance in the light.

  What was going on?

  Upset and afraid, Serafina pushed back from the table and scattered the cards, sending them falling to the floor like oversized confetti.

  Riah gaped at her, shocked. “I’m no good at this, am I? I’m getting it wrong, I have no sight. I’m no good at anything!”

  “Riah, I’m sorry,” said Serafina. “You were doing fine, honest. It’s me, I—”

  “No, I wasn’t! I can’t see anything. I’ll never figure it out,” Riah cried. “I hate this. I just want to kill myself!”

  She jumped up and ran out of the store.

  “Riah!” Serafina called after her. “I’m sorry!”

  “Don’t worry about it, hon,” said Peggy with a shake of her head, not slipping a single stitch of her knitting. “Teenagers!”

  “You should have seen my Erin at that age,” said Janet or Lorraine with a nod.

  “She’ll be back,” Lorraine or Janet concurred. “She’s just being a drama queen. They all are, at sixteen.”

  Which meant, Serafina realized, she now had to worry about two queens: the teenaged drama queen, and the Queen of Hearts.

  ***

  It was only after Peggy, Janet, and Lorraine had left the shop that Serafina realized she had been so unsettled by what happened with the cards—and with Riah—that she had completely forgotten to ask them about Mr. Science.

  Serafina opened the door and looked to her right: sure enough, the Bench Boys were sitting in companionable silence, watching the world pass by.

  Their grey, balding heads whipped around to see who was coming out of the shop.

  “Hi,” began Serafina. “Could I ask you a question?”

  “Surely,” said one.

  “Happy to help,” said another.

  The third nodded.

  Serafina knew their names were Leo, Sully, and Ray but wasn’t sure which was which. She made a mental note: start learning names. It seemed of great import in a small town.

  “Do any of you know where I can find Mr. Science?”

  They chuckled.

  Serafina wasn’t sure how to respond. “Is that a…’no’?”

  “He’ll prob’ly come by this afternoon.”

  “I’d rather not wait.” Now that she’d told Joe she’d spoken with Mr. Science, Serafina felt a sense of urgency.

  “Well, in that case—” began the one in the Greek fisherman’s cap.

  “His ranch is on Sierra Drive north of town, up the road ‘bout five miles,” said the man in the middle.

  “’bout four and a half miles, is all,” said the one with the glasses.

  “I set my odometer one time, measured it exact,” said another. “It’s five miles if it’s an inch.”

  “How about I just start keeping an eye out at the four mile mark?” offered Serafina, hoping to cut the discussion short. “How will I know when I arrive?”

  “Read the sign,” said one.

  “What sign?” Serafina stifled a twinge of annoyance. Prying information out of these three was harder than shucking an oyster.

  “The sign for the hospital.”

  “There’s a hospital in Snow Creek?” Serafina asked, surprised.

  “Not the North Star Hospital." The men laughed. "The horse hospital.”

  “Mr. Science is…a veterinarian?”

  “Ah, yup. He’ll work on just about any animal, but he specializes in horses. Has a surgery out on the outskirts of town. Turn off the highway just past the sign, then follow Sierra Drive a bit. Can’t miss it.”

  Serafina thanked the men and left them debating the exact distance of the ranch from town. Since the town was so small it seemed to Serafina that it couldn’t possibly matter that much. Still, if nothing else she had given the “cotton-tops” something to talk about.

  Serafina started up the BMW and vacated the parking space with regret, hoping it would be there when she got back. She returned a few friendly waves as she drove slowly down Main Street, then sped up as she hit the town’s limits. The countryside was beautiful, Serafina had to admit. The highway had been plowed so the road was bordered by piles of snow, but the drifts in the woods were soft and serene, blanketing fallen logs and ravines and hillsides.

  Mindful of the directions she had been given, she kept a close eye on the odometer, and exactly 4.8 miles north of town spotted a large wooden sign:

  "Dark Horse Veterinary Center

  All Animals Welcome, Large and Small

  Equine Specialist"

  She turned up the drive and traveled a quarter mile before spying a ramshackle wood-frame farmhouse with a broad wrap-around porch, complete with rocking chairs and a rusty porch swing. Bright ceramic pots lining the porch steps hinted of a colorful spring to come. Lace curtains framed th
e windows, where a calico cat slept in the sun. The house was in desperate need of a paint job and a few other improvements, but overall the place reminded Serafina of a “before” photo in one of the home design magazines she liked to read. If it were fixed up a little, it would be her fantasy farmhouse.

  Serafina pulled to a stop next to a horse barn, where three parking spaces had been cleared of snow. She started to open the door but closed it again when three dogs—two very large, one very small—came running toward the car, barking and wagging their tails.

  Ugh. Too bad Mr. Science was a veterinarian. Animals made her nervous.

  Serafina hesitated. Should she brave the dogs? They looked friendly enough, but it was always hard to tell. One leapt up to put its front paws on the car door, and Serafina cringed at the sound of nails scraping the finish of her expensive rental car. She looked around the property, hoping someone would call them off. She noticed that unlike the farmhouse, the horse barn appeared to be new. Next to it was a small building similar in style to the old farmhouse, but new and updated. A sign out front indicated it was the Dark Horse Veterinary Center.

  Just as she was working up the courage to get out of the car and make her way into the office, a man emerged and ambled toward the barn. Boots, cowboy hat, sheepskin jacket…a sexy, self-assured stride….

  The Cowboy.

  Serafina swore under her breath and scooted lower in her seat. Just her luck her landlord would be here. She had figured the two men knew each other. Of course they would. The town was just too small; everybody knew everybody. She blushed, realizing Joe had probably known full well that she was lying when she claimed to have spoken to Mr. Science.

  Joe went into the barn, a leather bag in his hands. The barn’s broad door was open, and she watched as he placed the bag on a table, opened it, and took out a huge syringe, which he carefully filled before turning back to the horse. He patted the horse with his free hand, and appeared to be talking to the big animal.

  As she watched, the horse calmed, stopped its fidgeting and stood stock still, as though waiting for the procedure. Joe gave it the injection, murmuring to the horse the whole time.

  Serafina swore under her breath.

  The Cowboy was the veterinarian. The Cowboy was Mr. Science.

  Of course.

  Idiot. Serafina rested her head on the steering wheel and tried to think about numbers. No use. And he had seen her car, surely. She couldn’t just leave.

  Time to face the music.

  ***

  When Joe spied the big BMW turning down his drive through his office window, he didn’t even try to suppress a self-satisfied smile. He had wondered how long it would take Serafina to track down Mr. Science, a.k.a Dr. Joe. And he realized, with a start, that he was anxious for her to come see his place. He was proud of Dark Horse Veterinary Center. He had worked like a dog, first to get into vet school, then to complete his rigorous veterinary studies and pass the Board exams, and then to get his practice off the ground. For years it had been his priority—just this, and Riah. The old farmhouse was a bit rundown, but his clinic was first-rate.

  For the moment, he was ignoring Serafina, who was apparently afraid to get out of that ridiculously expensive rental car.

  “She’s scared of dogs, can you believe it?” Joe murmured to Fern, the lovely spotted Arabian who nuzzled him in response. “Think I should rescue her?”

  Fern’s muscle twitched. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes,’” Joe said and called the dogs to him. While he waited for Serafina to get out of the car and face him, he picked up a brush and started grooming Fern. Not that the beautiful horse needed it, but he enjoyed doing this. Always had.

  “Mr. Science, I presume?” Serafina demanded from the open barn door. “Doctor Mr. Science?”

  Joe peered around Fern’s flank and took a moment to enjoy her embarrassment. She looked lovely, even though she was apparently wearing every item of clothing she owned: a silk scarf and at least two sweatshirts under a light raincoat, and boots that were designed for fashion, not warmth. She must be freezing, he thought, as he watched her breath come out in white clouds and hang in the air.

  A slow smile spread over his face. “Told you I had fun for a living.”

  “And here I thought being a vet was a lot of work.”

  He shrugged. “I get to hang out with animals all day.”

  “You prefer them to people?”

  “Oh, I like people just fine.” He continued to stroke the animal’s thick winter coat. Serafina watched his big hands as he did so. “Besides, we’re all animals underneath, right?”

  “Some more than others, I’d say.”

  “Well, now, I’d have to agree with you there.”

  There was a pause in the conversation as Serafina took in the horse barn. “Nice place.”

  “Thank you,” Joe said, pleased. “I’m rather proud of it.”

  “So tell me, Mr. Science, why don’t you like my idea of a science store?”

  Joe realized Serafina was going to brazen it out, pretend neither of them remembered how she claimed to have met Mr. Science. She had guts, he’d give her that.

  “I like the idea just fine. But what I’d really like is a shop that stood a snowball’s chance of surviving in this town.”

  “Like what?”

  “Starbucks.”

  “What?”

  “Just kidding.” He let out a laugh. “The Main Street Diner folks would skin me alive. How about a boutique that carries ski clothes and supplies? Half the tourists coming through here don’t bring the proper attire.”

  “I’m not that into fashion. I don’t really see myself running a clothing store.”

  “Fair enough. Don’t suppose you know anything about computers?”

  “I’m good with math, but computer science is a different animal.”

  “Automotive supplies ever catch your fancy?”

  She shook her head.

  “Well, then, you tell me. What do you like?”

  “You mean besides science? I don’t know…I’ve always liked to read. How about a bookstore?”

  Joe let out a sharp bark of laughter.

  “What? You have something against bookstores?” Serafina demanded in high dudgeon.

  “I love bookstores. But we already have one that’s gone out of business, as well as a great library. I’d love for you to open a successful bookstore, but I’m afraid you might have to change society first. Anything else?”

  “Um…a tea shop?”

  Just then Fern took a step towards Serafina, who took a little hop backwards.

  “You don’t like horses?” Joe asked, noting the fear in her eyes.

  “I…um…they make me nervous.”

  “They’re just like big dogs.”

  “Dogs make me nervous, too.”

  Another smile. “What doesn’t make you nervous?”

  “Hey, I was raised in the city. This whole thing….” She gestured around the horse barn. “It makes me feel out of sorts. Even the sky last night…there are too many stars out here.”

  “Too many…? How do you figure that?”

  “I can’t help myself, I start taking quadrants of the sky and counting, estimating the number of stars in each… It’s exhausting. You don’t see even a fraction of those stars in the city.”

  He gazed at her, perplexed. “You don’t just gaze into the night sky and ponder the enormity of the universe and our place within it?”

  “I mostly count.”

  They shared a smile. A long moment passed.

  The horse whinnied softly and nuzzled Joe. He petted her neck.

  “What’s wrong with it?” Serafina asked.

  “Her. And this pretty girl’s going to be just fine,” he said. “Fern, this is Serafina. Serafina, meet Fern.”

  Fern tossed her head, and Serafina smiled. “Please to meet you, Fern. Don’t trample me to death, okay?”

  “You know what? She’d love a snack.” Joe left the stall, took a big r
ed apple from a wooden crate near the barn door, and came to stand next to Serafina. “Here, hold the apple in the palm of your hand, like this.” He demonstrated by balancing the apple in his open palm, his fingers flat.

  “I really don’t—”

  “Come on, anyone gutsy enough to try to open an educational science store in Snow Creek has got to be brave enough to offer a treat to a horse.”

  He stood behind Serafina and gently urged her toward the stall. When he spoke his voice was low, and he was so close his breath brushed against her hair, tickling her ear.

  “Horses are gentle creatures, gentle giants. They understand kindness and firmness. Just extend your hand and offer the apple.”

  When Fern neared, Serafina tried to pull back, but Joe wrapped his arms around her, keeping her steady.

  “It’s all right,” he murmured. “Keep your hand flat. Horses aren’t carnivores; she’s after the apple, not your fingers.”

  The big animal’s muzzle was surprisingly soft, the lips strong but tender as the horse lifted the apple from Serafina’s palm, as though aware of her fear.

  Serafina smiled.

  Joe studied Serafina’s face as she experienced her first close encounter of the equine variety. The wonder and fear, the amazement as the connection was made. In Joe’s mind, there were three kinds of people: horse people, people with the potential to be horse people, and those poor sods who would never understand the strange and wonderful connection between humans and horses. Like humans, horses were social animals. They lived in herds and cared for their young and craved affection beyond simply being provided with food. They made connections in their graceful, silent way.

  When Fern’s velvet lips grazed Serafina’s palm, Joe saw it: Serafina was a soon-to-be horse person.

  Serafina looked over her shoulder at Joe, a delighted smile on her face. Joe inhaled deeply. She smelled of lilac and roses. He felt his breath come faster, his heart speed up.

  Serafina was hyperaware of Joe. His face was so close, his chest against her back. She was several inches shorter than he, so she had to look up to see his eyes, which were blue and inscrutable. How embarrassing, she thought. I’m staring at him. He probably thinks I’m some desperate woman seeking attention from the “most eligible bachelor in town”, as Peggy had called him.