“Good evening everyone. I hope you are all having fun! We have two eight-year old girls, that may have wandered off. Vivian and Violet please come back to your snowman and your mother, immediately so that we can announce the winners. Thank you.”
Wade came back to her side and they both looked all around again and there was no sign of the girls.
“Now what?” Maddie asked miserably.
Wade surveyed the crowd, which had more than doubled in size since they’d first arrived. It was also getting darker too.
“Why don’t you wait right here and keep scanning the area for them. I’ll go look in the shops. Which ones do you think they’d start with?”
“Probably the bookstore. They’re both obsessed with Nancy Drew. But it’s just not like Vivian to wander off like that.”
“Well, she is with her friend. Maybe that clouded her judgment. I’ll be right back.”
Wade walked off while Maddie continued to survey the area. This was the first time that Vivian had ever disappeared on her. It was a horrible, frightening feeling and she didn’t ever want to go through it again. She couldn’t imagine how parents who lost a child that way ever truly recovered? How do you not blame yourself? It was the first time that Maddie had let her focus slip, and shift to another person that wasn’t her daughter.
It made her question if she really was ready to date or not. Was it fair to her daughter? Or to anyone she dated? They would have to understand that Vivian would always come first. Five minutes later, she turned at the sound of familiar voices.
“We’re sorry!” Vivian and Violet came running toward her, with Wade close behind. Vivian flung herself into Maddie’s arms. “Wade said we scared you. We didn’t mean to. We called out to you that we were going to run to the bookstore for a minute, but maybe you didn’t hear us?”
“A tractor drove by that was really loud. But we did tell you,” Violet said seriously.
Maddie pulled her in for a hug too and remembered seeing the tractor go by, pulling a load of hay and people that were laughing and talking.
“It’s okay. I’m sorry I wasn’t paying close enough attention to hear you both.”
Wade turned to the girls and grinned. “Now that you’re back, why don’t you come see the snowman we made?”
Vivian and Violet were suitably impressed.
"That's so cool. Come see ours, though. It's the best!" Vivian said.
They walked over and agreed that Vivian and Violet definitely had the better snowman.
A few minutes later, Bernie announced the winners of the contest and neither of their snowmen won.
"It was fun though, wasn't it?" Wade asked her with a twinkle in his eyes.
Maddie nodded. "It was except for that scare.”
She shivered and pulled her scarf around her tighter as the snow fell harder.
"We should probably head home," she said reluctantly.
"I'll see you both tomorrow night then, for the stroll? There's no snow in the forecast."
"We'll look for you."
* * *
"That week off really did agree with you," Bernie commented as she caught Wade singing along with the radio in his office Wednesday afternoon.
Wade grinned. "It did. Just practicing for caroling later at the stroll. Are you coming?"
"I don't know. I'm not much for caroling," Bernie said.
"It's okay if you can't sing. The chorus can carry you."
Bernie laughed at the idea. "I don’t know about that. I’m pretty bad."
"You’ll be surprised, you’ll see. Christmas stroll is the highlight of the week. It was my idea, of course."
"Of course." Bernie laughed. "Okay, I'll definitely come and check out your caroling skills."
Her phone rang and she returned to her desk, and Wade pulled his attention back to his computer screen as well. He was in a ridiculously good mood and knew it was mostly because he was looking forward to seeing Maddie again. The more time he spent with her, the more he enjoyed her company and Vivian's, too. It had been fun watching the snowmobile races with them the night before and building a snowman with Maddie, too. She'd been a good sport about that and really got into it.
The caroling officially kicked off at four, and there was already a sizable crowd gathered. Wade was glad to see it and to see traffic streaming into all the Old Town shops. He kept an eye out for Maddie as he trailed along behind the carolers. There were about a dozen of them, half men and half women, all with beautiful voices.
When he reached Sadie's Saloon, Wade saw Maddie, Vivian and Violet standing in the doorway. When Maddie looked his way and saw him, they all walked over.
"They really are good!" Maddie exclaimed.
"I'm glad you got here early enough to see them start."
"I switched shifts with another girl, so I was able to start and finish earlier than usual."
"I'm glad you did."
They joined the crowd that had gathered around the carolers and followed along from shop to shop, singing, and depending on the store, they went inside to look around and have a sip of cider or a cookie. Vivian and Violet were excited to run into The Book Nook again. Wade and Maddie followed them in and happily accepted small paper cups of hot tea and samples of chocolate peanut butter fudge.
"Just one piece, Vivian," Maddie cautioned her daughter. Both girls gobbled down their fudge and made a beeline for the Nancy Drew section.
"What do you like to read?" Maddie asked as she reached for a paperback on the new releases table.
"Mysteries, mostly, and a little history. What about you?"
"Not history," she laughed. "I think that is such a guy thing. I like mysteries, too, though. Harlan Coben is one of my favorites. And romance, of course."
"Of course." Wade grinned. "I like Harlan Coben, too. He always keeps me guessing."
Maddie nodded. "Lots of twists and turns." She set the book down and waved to get the girls’ attention. They left the store and caught up with the carolers, who had moved on to the next shop. They sang two or three Christmas carols in front of each store, which was enough time to attract attention and draw people into the store. They all sang along.
“You really do have a wonderful voice.” Maddie smiled up at him as they walked.
“Thank you.” He was used to people complimenting him on his singing ability, but it meant more coming from Maddie.
By the time they made a complete loop of the stores, and the girls had cast their votes, Violet went back to the Saloon to meet her mother and Wade turned his attention to Maddie and Vivian. He was hungry and guessed that they probably were, too—and he wasn't ready to say goodbye just yet.
"Do you have any plans for dinner? I thought we could walk over to the restaurant and get something. I don't know about you, but I'm suddenly starving."
"I'm hungry, too. Can we go eat with Wade?" Vivian asked.
Maddie hesitated. "I was going to cook up some chicken. But I suppose I could save it for another night."
"Great. It's still early enough that it shouldn't be too busy yet. It will be in about an hour or so, though. If we go now we can beat the crowds."
"Can we get pizza?" Vivian asked
"Maybe," Maddie said as they reached the front door.
Thirty minutes later, Barbi set down a large pepperoni pizza in front of them. They dug in and were almost done eating when Jaclyn stopped by their table with a friend that Maddie didn't recognize. They all said hello and Jaclyn introduced her friend, Helen. Wade got the impression that Jaclyn was pleased to see him with Maddie and Vivian and he had to admit, he liked that she seemed to approve.
"Helen and I go way back. This is her first time visiting Riston. Helen, meet Maddie and Vivian, and this is Wade, part of the Weston family that owns the ranch."
"It's nice to meet you." Helen smiled and glanced around the table. "Such a lovely family. How long have you been married?"
Maddie's jaw dropped and Wade almost choked on his water. Before either of them co
uld reply, Jaclyn spoke up. "They're not married, Helen. Just friends, as far as I know." She glanced at Wade and Maddie for confirmation. "Right?"
"Yes!" They both spoke at once and everyone laughed.
Jaclyn looked amused as she said, "We'll let you get back to your dinner. We're off to join the stroll."
Wade watched them go and then turned his attention back to Maddie and Vivian, hoping the moment hadn't been too awkward for them. But Maddie was smiling and Vivian was focused on the dessert menu.
"Are you hungry for dessert?" he asked them.
"I'm completely stuffed," Maddie said.
"And I really want a hot fudge sundae. But mom says it's too much for me."
"They are really big," Wade agreed. Vivian set the menu down and looked close to tears.
"What if I help you with it? We can share and you can have most of it, but it won't go to waste that way."
"Can we do that, Mom?"
Maddie laughed. "It's fine by me."
* * *
Maddie watched as Barbi set down a huge sundae between Wade and Vivian, along with three spoons. Vivian looked delighted.
"We can all share!" she said happily as she picked up her spoon. Wade had yet to touch his.
"Go ahead. Let me know how it is," he said. Not that Vivian needed any encouragement. Maddie took a sip of hot tea with lemon and enjoyed watching her daughter tackle the sundae.
Wade dipped his spoon in every now and then, but let Vivian have her fill. When she was done, she slid the dish to him and he polished off the rest. They both tried to encourage Maddie to take a bite but she declined. She was perfectly content to watch them and sip her tea.
It had been a bit of an awkward moment earlier when Jaclyn's friend assumed that she and Wade were married. She supposed it was because they had the familiarity and comfort that comes from having known each other for so long. It was nice, though, being out to dinner with both Wade and Vivian.
It almost did feel like they were an ordinary family having a meal together. It felt nice. Maddie had to remind herself not to get too comfortable with it, though. Or she and Vivian might want it to become more real than it was. And that would really be awkward.
Chapter 11
The girls were finishing up making Christmas ornaments when Maddie went to get Vivian the next afternoon. She and Violet had walked from the Saloon to where Heidi from the general store was overseeing the making of Christmas ornaments that would be exchanged and hung on the tree on Christmas Eve. Vivian was excited to show off her ornament. It was a candy cane, carefully covered in sparkling red and white glitter and with a bit of red yarn tied through a loop at the top. Violet's was a Christmas stocking.
"I made two more, too. One for you and one for Wade! What do you think?"
Maddie looked down at the two ornaments she was holding up and smiled. They were cute. There was a Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, both with round bellies and big smiles.
"They're lovely. That was very sweet of you."
"Will you give Wade his tonight? And tell him I made it for him?" She looked so excited about the ornament that Maddie just nodded.
"Of course, honey."
Vivian wrapped each ornament carefully in tissue paper that Heidi had provided and handed them to Maddie for safekeeping. They walked Violet back to the Saloon and then Maddie drove Vivian to her grandparents for the evening. She promised to give Wade his ornament when she saw him, and had it tucked into her purse.
She was a little concerned, though, as she drove home. Vivian seemed to really like Wade. He was easy to like, of course, but Maddie hoped that she wasn't getting any ideas about the three of them becoming a family. She didn't want her to be hurt or disappointed when that didn't happen. Especially as the thought had crossed Maddie's mind more than once or twice lately.
Her phone buzzed as she pulled into the driveway and she glanced at it quickly, hoping it was Wade and then disappointed when she saw who it was—Paul. He had said he would call that week, but she hadn't heard from him, and assumed she wasn't going to hear at this point. Which was perfectly fine with her. She let the call go to voicemail and then pressed play.
"Maddie, it's Paul. Sorry I missed you. I know you said you like trivia. I'm calling to see if you want to go tonight? Should be a good time."
Maddie deleted the message and shook her head. She hadn't heard from Paul in almost a week and he called an hour before trivia was due to start, to invite her out. Really? She was not impressed.
She went upstairs to freshen up and was just putting on some lipstick when she heard Wade's truck pull into the driveway.
"Are you ready to go defend our title?" he said when she opened the door.
Maddie laughed. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
"Dani's really good at trivia. Jaclyn and Simon will be glad to see her joining us," Wade said as he pulled into a spot and saw his sister walking into the restaurant.
Jaclyn and Simon were at their usual round table and Dani was just sitting down next to Jaclyn when Maddie and Wade joined them.
Jaclyn looked thrilled. "We are going to have such a good team!"
Maddie sat next to Dani, and moments later Bernie and Lily walked in.
"No Cody tonight?" Jaclyn looked disappointed.
"Not tonight. He and his brother are working late. He said to say hello to everyone, though."
They had such a fun night. Wade was right—Dani was very good at trivia and Maddie enjoyed getting to know her better. Wade's sister was on the quiet side but had a wickedly dry sense of humor and it was clear that she and Wade were very close and protective of each other.
"I think it really helped Wade to see you more than usual these past two weeks," Dani said.
"I agree. I was glad when you called to book the extra appointments. Massage is so good for reducing stress levels."
Dani looked at her thoughtfully. "That's true and is the reason why I called. But, I think it's more than that. Wade really values your friendship. I think he's enjoys your company as much as the massages."
Maddie glanced toward Wade. He was deep in conversation with Bernie so wasn't paying any attention to what they were saying. Dani was kind of hard to read and Maddie wasn't sure what she thought of her friendship with Wade. So, she smiled and simply said, "Wade is a good friend. I'm glad I could be there to help. He seems to be doing great."
"He does, doesn't he?"
"I see you got my message," a somewhat familiar voice said from behind her. Maddie turned and was surprised and disappointed to see Paul standing there. "Slide over..." he demanded as he grabbed a chair from an empty table nearby and wedged himself in between Maddie and Wade. Maddie and Dani both looked at him in horror. Wade was oblivious as he was facing Bernie and the two of them were chatting away, most likely about work.
"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner. I was tied up at the office. I'm glad you had some friends to wait with." Maddie's jaw dropped. Did he really think she was there to meet him? She tried to recall exactly what his message had said. Maybe it did say something about meeting here after work. She didn't pay very close attention. But how presumptuous for him to think she was there for him when she never even called him back!
"So, how are we doing?" he asked.
"I'm not sure how you are doing, but we are winning, young man!" Jaclyn's tone was frosty and Maddie could tell by her disapproving expression that she didn't think much of Paul. Wade turned around and did a double-take when he saw who was now sitting next to him.
"Hey, man, good to see you!" Paul said with enthusiasm.
Wade caught Maddie's eye and she shrugged, unsure what to do about Paul. He then proceeded to talk non-stop about his favorite subject, himself.
“So, I’d just parked when this massive maroon Dodge Ram truck pulls into the spot next to me. A little too close for comfort. I thought he might scratch the Beemer when he opened his door. So I watched him get out, but he didn’t.” Maddie tried to tune Paul out as best she could and was glad they
were on their last question, though it was hard to pay attention with him jabbering away.
“Did you say a maroon Dodge Ram?” Something in Dani’s tone got Maddie’s attention.
“Yeah, you think you know the guy?” Paul asked.
Dani was quiet for a moment and Maddie noticed that she seemed to be scanning the bar as if she was looking for someone.
“Probably not. Lots of people around here drive those trucks.” Dani glanced Maddie’s way and changed the subject. “What was the last question? I missed it.”
They won again, easily this time, thanks to Dani and her search and rescue expertise which came in handy for the final question. It was an obscure one and no one had any idea what the answer was, but Dani knew it immediately. Paul looked at her in surprise when she came up with the right answer so easily.
"Dani you must join us next week," Jaclyn said.
Dani laughed. "That was fun. We'll see."
"Want to move over to the bar and have another drink?" Paul put his hand over Maddie's and smiled. She yanked her hand away as if she'd touched a hot stove. The thought of touching Paul, of staying there with him, was that repulsive. She saw a muscle twitch in Wade's jaw and knew he'd seen Paul's move and didn't like it, either.
"No, I need to get going," Maddie said firmly.
"Maddie are you ready to head out?" Wade asked.
"Yes, I'm ready." More than ready. Maddie stood and said goodbye to Jaclyn and Simon and everyone else at the table. They were all on their way out. Except for Paul who looked up at her in confusion.
"You came here with Wade?" he asked.
Maddie nodded. "Yes, we already had plans to come and play trivia. That's why I didn't call you back when I got your voicemail."
"Oh. Well, have a good night, then. I think I will head to the bar and have another."
"Goodbye, Paul."
* * *
"Well, that was awkward," Wade said as they drove out of the lot.
Merry Manager: River’s End Ranch Series #17 Page 7
