A Seagrove Christmas (South Carolina Sunsets Book 6)

by Rachel Hanna

  Finally, the photographer caught Vivi looking straight ahead for a split second and snapped the winning photo. Meg had been sure to dress her in a cute red and green plaid dress that flared out and had a black velvet top. She wore white tights and shiny black shoes. Now that she was walking without help, trying to keep her still was like trying to hold a pig that someone had slicked up with oil.

  Meg set her down and allowed her to explore the area of the Christmas tree farm where they were taking photos. She couldn’t imagine how hard getting a picture with Santa was going to be at the mall next week. She had plans to go Christmas shopping with her mother, her sister and her aunt Janine, and she was really looking forward to it. There was just something about the energy at the mall during Christmastime. The sound of people talking, the music playing in the stores, the smell of the coffee shop and the place that sold those huge cinnamon rolls.

  “There’s my adorable little niece!” Colleen said as she walked around the corner. Tucker was behind her, as always. Colleen swept Vivi up in the air and spun her around.

  “I wouldn’t shake her too much. She just had a bunch of cotton candy that her daddy fed her. She’s so pumped up on sugar that I worry she’ll never fall asleep tonight!”

  Christian shrugged his shoulders. “What can I say? I wanted to make her happy!”

  Tucker laughed. “That’s what we do, right? We like to make the women in our lives happy.”

  Colleen bumped his shoulder with hers. “Then where’s my cotton candy?”

  “Hey, Christian, do you mind showing me where you got that cotton candy?” he said, winking at Colleen. As the two men wandered off, the sisters went in the other direction, Colleen holding Vivi.

  “Those two are something else,” Meg said.

  “Yes, they are. It’s good to see you like this, sis.”

  “Like what?” They stopped at a picnic table and sat down. Vivi toddled over to the small playground nearby as both of them watched.

  “So happy. You have a real little family now. I’m so proud of you.”

  Meg smiled. “Thanks. It was a tough time for a while there, but I finally got my feet under me. I’ve never been happier in my life.”

  “So, do you think you and Christian will tie the knot?”

  “I hope so. He hasn’t asked in a long time, though.”

  “I’m sure he still wants to get married, Meg. You’re his world.”

  “I don’t know. I think I might have spooked him a few months ago. I just wasn’t in the mental place to say yes back then.”

  “But you are now?” Colleen asked as she stopped to pet a donkey that the local petting zoo had brought, along with an assortment of rabbits, goats and an adorable pig.

  Meg nodded. “I’m more than ready. I can see us building our family, owning a little house…”

  “With a white picket fence?” Colleen said, laughing.

  “Yes! I want the white picket fence.”

  “Then tell him, sis. He’s probably on pins and needles wondering if you’d say yes now.”

  Meg reached down to pet a goat. She knew she should talk to Christian and let him know that she was ready to get married, but what if he’d changed his mind along the way? What if he was happy with how things were?

  * * *

  “Now, you can put the gum drops all along the edge right here. And don’t forget to put some icing right there so that the licorice will stick,” Julie said as she helped Dylan build his very first gingerbread house.

  It reminded her of the days when her girls were young, and they would do all sorts of things around Christmas time. They made memories that would last a lifetime.

  Now that she got to see Meg do those things with Vivi, it caused those memories to flood back into her mind. Little did she know a year ago that she would sit at her dining room table, staring into the eyes of her new son, helping him build his very first gingerbread house. All she could hope was that this memory would be something he would think back on one day when he had kids.

  “Like this?” Dylan asked, carefully placing the last of the gum drops along the roofline.

  Julie smiled and touched his arm. “You really can’t mess it up. And you’re doing an outstanding job!”

  The sun had just set, and Lucy was back in the kitchen preparing dinner. If there was one thing Julie was excited about, it was seeing Lucy back at the inn. She had spent some much needed time with her family, but Julie had missed her food. Not that Julie was a terrible cook, but it also wasn’t something she enjoyed doing every single day. With a new little boy in the house who had a ravenous appetite, she felt like she needed to cook all the time.

  When it was just her, she could get by on some microwave meals and the occasional home cooked Sunday meal. Plus, Dixie would often bring a lot of the food, so she didn’t feel like she was doing it alone. And then when it was her and Dawson just dating, he would often help her cook.

  A new little boy with an enormous appetite had proved to be a challenge over Thanksgiving. It seemed like Julie couldn’t feed him enough. Every time she turned around, he was asking for a snack or she was making a sandwich. He didn’t have a big weight problem, although he was on the chubbier side. She remembered those days herself when she still had baby fat. It all melted off when she became more active in her teenage years.

  “Wow! You two are doing a fantastic job with that. Are you having a good time, Dylan?” Dawson asked, as he walked through the door. He had been outside, working on some project in the barn. Julie wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but Dawson had taken up an interest in building furniture, so she figured it had something to do with her Christmas present that he was being very tightlipped about.

  “It’s really fun!” Dylan said, sneaking one of the final gum drops and popping into his mouth. Julie pretended she didn’t see him.

  “Listen, I need to tell you something. I hope you don’t get mad, but a woman came into the bookstore today that really seemed in need. She’s visiting town for the first time, says she has some family here. Anyway, she kind of appeared down on her luck, and she was staying over at the motel.”

  Dawson smiled. “You offered her a room here, didn’t you?”

  Julie scrunched her nose and shrugged her shoulders. “Are you upset?”

  He leaned down and kissed her on top of the head. “Of course not! It’s Christmas, and we do for others at Christmas, don’t we?”

  Dylan nodded. “That’s what my Sunday school teacher said. We should do nice things for other people all year, but especially at Christmas time because that’s what God would want us to do.”

  Julie and Dawson had gotten Dylan involved with their church. He needed a foundation, and not just one with his family. They wanted to do everything they could to rebuild his sense of security after suffering so many losses in his young life. They wanted him to have a community of people surrounding him who loved him and would always be there for him.

  “We will always welcome people here when we have room,” Dawson said.

  Dylan giggled. “Like they had to welcome Mary and Joseph at the inn?”

  Dawson nodded. “I guess it’s a lot like that. Anyway, when is this lady coming?”

  “Tonight. In fact, I expect her to show up at any minute.”

  “Do we know her name?”

  “Tina Hobbs.”

  “I’ll go get her room ready. And if you can tell Lucy that we’re going to have an extra mouth to feed for the next little while, that would be helpful.”

  Julie watched her husband walk up the stairs and was again in awe of his giving nature. Dawson was truly one of those people who would give the shirt right off his back, and she knew he would never be mad about her inviting someone to stay. Still, she hadn’t quite started feeling like the inn was also her home. With Janine living at the cabin with Colleen, she sort of felt like a fish out of water sometimes. She loved living at the inn, with its space and beautiful, sweeping views, but in her mind it was still a part of Dawson’
s family. His heritage. She figured at some point, it would start to feel like her own home too.

  Before Julie had a chance to go tell Lucy, she popped her head out of the kitchen. “Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes.”

  “Thanks, Lucy. Listen, do you mind setting an extra place tonight? We have a new guest who should be arriving soon.”

  “Sure thing,” she said, smiling. Lucy never minded another person at the dinner table. She enjoyed meeting everyone and learning their stories.

  “Let’s get this cleaned up. Why don’t you carefully carry the gingerbread house over to the credenza in the living room?”

  Dylan looked at her quizzically. “The what?”

  Julie laughed. “That long brown table with the sliding doors next to the fireplace. It’s called a credenza. We’ll display our work of art right there.”

  “Ohhhh… Okay. Credenzer?”

  “Credenza,” Julie said, stressing the A at the end.

  Just as Dylan left with the house, she heard a knock at the front door. As she opened it, she saw Tina standing there, a nervous smile on her face. She had a simple black duffel bag in her hand and a brown paper bag in the other.

  “Tina, so glad you made it! Did you have any trouble finding the place?”

  “No, no trouble at all. Is it still okay if I stay here?”

  “Absolutely. We’re excited to have you. My husband is upstairs getting your room ready, in fact.”

  Dylan walked over to the door and stood beside Julie. She put her arm around his shoulders. “This is my son, Dylan.”

  “Nice to meet you, Dylan,” she said, smiling. “You’re a very handsome young man.”

  “Thanks,” Dylan said before darting off to the kitchen, most likely to sneak some early bites of chicken and dumplings out of Lucy’s pot.

  “He’s a boy of few words,” Julie joked. “Come on in.”

  Tina walked inside and looked around, her head turning from side to side as she took in the place. “Your tree is beautiful.”

  “Thank you. We had a fun time putting it up. Please, drop your bag here on this chair.”

  She set her bag down and continued looking around. “Is that a gingerbread house?”

  “It sure is. Dylan and I just finished it, in fact.”

  “Mind if I look?” she asked, softly.

  “Of course. Make yourself at home.”

  Tina walked over and looked at the house, a smile on her face. “My grandma did one of these with me when I was a kid. But this one looks so much better than mine did.”

  Julie laughed. “Trust me, it looks nothing like the perfect one on the box. But we made some memories, and that’s what counts.”

  Tina nodded. “Yeah, memories are most important.”

  “Hi there!” Dawson said, coming down the stairs. “You must be our new guest. Tina, right?”

  She nodded. “That’s right.”

  “Welcome to The Inn At Seagrove,” he said, reaching out his hand.

  “Thanks for having me here. I can pay you what I was paying the motel…”

  Dawson waved his hand. “We wouldn’t dream of it. It’s Christmas time, and we’re honored to have you stay with us.”

  Her eyes welled with tears. “I don’t know what to say. Nobody has ever been this nice to me.”

  “Well, you’ve never been to Seagrove. All the nicest people live here,” Dawson said, winking at her. “Come on, let me show you your room. I think you’ll love the view of the ocean.”

  Tina nodded and followed him, but not before Dawson took her bag from her hand. Ever the chivalrous southern man, Julie would never take him for granted. As she watched him disappear up the stairs with Tina following behind him, she had to wonder what life this woman had lived that would make her cry over the kindness of strangers.

  * * *

  “So, what’s the big news?” Janine asked. Colleen had come home from work very excited about something.

  “Tucker is getting an amazing opportunity. He’s been working on it all week with Jamison O’Malley!”

  “You mean the guy who owns the toy company?” Janine asked as she made herself a sandwich for dinner. She had never been a good cook, and not having her sister live there anymore had really cramped her style as far as her food choices went. Tonight’s menu was a turkey sandwich with mustard and a side of whatever chips she could find in the back of the pantry.

  “The very same one!”

  “Is he going to work for him?”

  “No. Jamison actually wants to pick up his toy and make it one of the main ones they are going to market in the new year. We didn’t quite make the Christmas cut off, but they believe they can build an entire marketing campaign around it for next Christmas.”

  “That’s great! I know Tucker must be excited.”

  Colleen laughed. “Tucker is a nervous wreck. I’m excited!”

  “Yes, Tucker tends to get nervous about these kinds of things. What an amazing accomplishment it would be to have his toy as one of the most popular ones next Christmas.”

  “I know. Of course, he wishes that it would’ve been for this Christmas, but it’s okay. Any progress is good progress.”

  Janine leaned against the counter and took a bite of her sandwich, washing it down with a big gulp of sweet tea. “William is nervous because he’s going to be in the Christmas boat parade.”

  “I didn’t know there was a boat parade.”

  “Yeah. The town council asked him to be a part of it. It’s going to be great for his business because he gets to have a big sign on the side of his boat as it moves through the marsh during the parade. But we need to go out and buy all the decorations for it. I think I talked him in to dressing up like Santa Claus and waving at the kids. I’m going to be an elf and throw candy.”

  Colleen laughed. “Aunt Janine, I love you, but you don’t have a powerful arm. How in the world are you going to get candy from the boat all the way over to the side of the marsh where the kids would stand?”

  “Let me show you what I got.” Janine put her sandwich back on the plate and trotted over to the living room. She reached into a large plastic bag and pulled out a long plastic thing that launched tennis balls for dogs.

  “You’re going to throw the candy at the children like they’re dogs?”

  Janine nodded her head. “Kids love candy. They don’t care how they get it.”

  * * *

  Dixie sat on the porch, the night air crisp against her skin. Even though it was December, she still couldn’t stop wearing her favorite pajamas. But they weren’t nearly thick enough. She’d have to move to her flannel PJs soon enough.

  When she heard the door open, she was expecting to see Harry standing there. Instead, it was Carrie. For a moment, she looked as though she wanted to back up into the house and pretend she’d never opened the door, obviously having assumed the porch was empty. Instead, she found Dixie sitting there on the swing, her slippered feet pushing off the concrete front porch.

  “Come on out. There’s plenty of room,” Dixie said, always trying to be the friendly host. Her mother had taught her to welcome everyone, especially the ones you really didn’t want to welcome. She had been a devout Christian woman, and the strength she’d shown over her lifetime was something Dixie still aspired to at her age.

  The last few days of Carrie being there had been difficult, to say the least. She barely uttered five words a day to Dixie, but Harry didn’t see it. Not wanting to cause a rift between Harry and his daughter, Dixie had smiled and played along.

  “Thanks,” Carrie said, stepping out onto the porch with a cup of coffee in her hand. She was still wearing her day clothes, a thick gray sweater and a pair of jeans. She sat down in one of the white wicker rockers Dixie kept on her porch and took a sip of her coffee, warming her hands on the sides of the mug.

  “I hope you enjoyed dinner.” Dixie had made her famous country fried steak with gravy and homemade biscuits. It was her favorite meal to make, and Harry sai
d it’s what kept “meat on his bones” even with Parkinson’s.

  “It was good. Thanks.”

  The silence was deafening. Those uncomfortable pauses in conversation had always been hard for Dixie. She liked to hear people talking, laughing, interacting. When it was quiet, she struggled with what to say and do.

  “So, any idea how long you plan to stay?”

  Carrie looked at her, as if she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. “Is there a time limit?”

  Dixie put her hand on her chest. “Of course not. I didn’t mean it that way…”

  “It sounds like you’re ready for me to leave.”

  Oh, now she’d really stepped in it. “No. Your father is really enjoying you being here.”

  “Just my father, though, right? I mean, let’s be honest, Dixie. You’re not enjoying my presence here at all.”

  Dixie bit her lips, trying not to let her feisty southern side out. That was a part of her personality she tried to keep under wraps unless she was fighting with a bill collector or talking to the IRS. “Carrie, I’d like to be honest with you.”

  “Please do.”

  The tension was so thick that Dixie was sure she could cut it with the dullest of butter knives. “I’ve felt very uncomfortable since you got here.”

  “Well, at least you’re admitting it,” she said, her voice monotone.

  “And it’s not because I didn’t want you here. I was quite excited, actually. And nervous. But, since you’ve been here, I feel anxious in my own home, and that just isn’t okay.”

  “Excuse me?” Again, Carrie looked at her like she’d never had anyone be honest with her in her life.

  “Honey, I love your father more than I can describe. I lost my first husband decades ago, and I swore to never marry again. It’s not like I didn’t have opportunities, you see. But, Harry just gets me. He understands me. He complements me, and I like to think I complement him too. And the one thing I wanted to give him was you.”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because, for some reason, you can’t stand me. I get it. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, but I am your daddy’s wife, and I won’t be disrespected in my own home.”

  Carrie scoffed and rolled her eyes before standing up. “Then I’ll leave in the morning.” She turned toward the door.