A Seagrove Christmas (South Carolina Sunsets Book 6)

by Rachel Hanna

  “Oh no, I hope Rudolph doesn’t catch it!” Janine said, laughing.

  “This is no time for joking. Kids are lined up already, and there’s not going to be a Santa Claus.”

  “Well, what are we going to do?”

  “Do you think William would…”

  “Absolutely not. William vowed never to put that costume on again. He’s glad to give it to someone else, but he’s not the jolliest Santa Claus I’ve ever seen.”

  “I don’t know what to do…” Julie looked around at all the people. “Wait. I have an idea.”

  She ran off in the other direction with Janine watching her in confusion. She had seen her mom and Nick walking around the square, arm in arm and obviously not having problems anymore. Now was the time to strike if she needed a favor.

  “Mom!” she said, running up behind them.

  “Julie? Dear, you are really messing up your hair by running around like this. Do you want to be sweaty in front of all the people in town?”

  Julie rolled her eyes. “Please. Not now. You must be Nick?”

  “Yes, I am. It’s very nice to meet you, Julie.”

  Julie smiled. “Nice to meet you too. Listen, I’m in a bind so I’m going to cut right to the chase. I can’t help but notice how much you look like Santa Claus.”

  “Julie! Honestly, remember your manners!”

  “It’s okay, Susie. Everybody says that.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude, but I’m kind of in a time crunch here and our Santa Claus just called out sick with the flu. I have a line of kids over there ready to sit on Santa’s lap and get their picture taken.”

  Nick chuckled. “And you’d like for me to put on a red suit and sit in that chair, right?”

  She put her hands in the prayer position. “Please? You’ll save the Christmas festival if you do this.”

  “No problem. I’ve played Santa Claus my fair share of times in my life. Susie, would you like to be Mrs. Claus?”

  SuAnn shook her head. “I think I’ll give you a no on that one. Besides, I have to get back and help Darcy at the store. We’ll be closing early today to take part in the festival, and I’ve left her there alone for a couple of hours already.”

  Nick leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you in a little while.” As Julie walked away with Nick, she saw him look back one more time at her mother.

  “You two are very cute.”

  He chuckled. “I have to tell you, I can’t remember a time in my life that I’ve been so happy to see somebody again. Your mom is just like I remembered her.”

  Julie had to giggle inside about that. There weren’t many men in the world who could handle her mother, so if this one loved her just how she was, he was good in her book.

  * * *

  “So explain to me again how this works? They just walk in a circle and then the music stops? Like musical chairs?” William asked.

  “Kind of. Except when the music stops, we don’t kick that person out of the game. We draw a number from this hat and we call it out. Whoever is standing on that number gets to pick one cake as a prize.”

  He nodded. “ And people enjoy this?”

  Janine elbowed him. “Yes, they do. Don’t be a sourpuss.”

  “I’m just really looking forward to the tree lighting later tonight.”

  “Oh yeah? Why is that?”

  “I don’t know. I guess it brings back memories from when I was a kid. I used to love watching them light the tree. Back in those days, we did it just after Thanksgiving, but I guess it’s okay that we do it at the Christmas festival now. When I was a kid, my dad would hoist me up on his shoulders so I could get the best view in town.”

  “That’s a sweet memory.”

  “It is. He always made holidays special. Not that my mom doesn’t. I guess I’m just missing my dad lately.”

  “Your dad would be so proud of the man you’ve become, William. I have no doubt about that.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I guess I need to get a tree for the yoga studio soon. Maybe you could help me pick one out?”

  “Of course. Now that the boat parade is behind us, I’ve got plenty of time on my hands,” he said with a laugh.

  “Did you meet Mom’s boyfriend?” Julie asked as she walked up, frazzled as usual.

  “I did. He’s the perfect Santa Claus! He seems like a really nice guy.”

  “He basically told me that Mom is his dream woman. Can you imagine that?” Julie said, giggling.

  “They say there’s a lid for every pot,” William said. The women looked at him. “What? My mom says that all the time.”

  “Still, it’s funny to hear it come out of your mouth,” Janine said, laughing.

  “What’s so funny?” Dixie asked as she walked up with Harry following closely behind her.

  “Your son is turning into you,” Janine said, putting her arm around his waist.

  Dixie reached up and pinched his cheek. “Good! I happen to think I’m wonderful!”

  “And modest.” William said, rolling his eyes.

  “So, how can we help?”

  “Well, if you and Harry don’t mind doing a little organizing of the cakes over on the table, that would be great. And William and I are going to start putting the numbers on the ground,” Janine said.

  Dixie did as she was told and started re-organizing the cakes and pies that were lining the long folding tables on the edge of the grassy area.

  Janine looked around at all the families enjoying the festival so far. Things hadn’t even gotten into full swing yet, and they would certainly get more festive when the sun went down. It was good to see so many cheerful people, laughing and smiling, and children running all over the place.

  Off in the distance, she could see Nick playing the part of Santa Claus, each little kid sitting on his lap and whispering in his ear what they wanted for Christmas. The photographer was steadily taking photos, and parents were happily paying to get their prints at the other end of the line. The money would go into the town coffers, probably to fix up some roads or buy school supplies.

  The great thing about Seagrove was that everybody did their part. People were so nice here that it was sometimes hard to believe, and Janine had traveled all over the world. To find a place like this to call home was special, which was why she never planned to leave.

  * * *

  Meg stood there, going over the words in her mind. It wasn’t like she was going to be singing a solo or anything, but she certainly didn’t want to be the person to yell out the wrong word during any of her songs.

  Christian, with his thick French accent, sounded like he should be a singer on the radio. She sounded like she should sing down in the sewers.

  “We go on in just a few minutes,” Christian said as he walked over. The men and women would sing separately and then coming together for a couple of songs at the end. The school had donated a platform from the chorus department for them to stand on. She felt like she was about to be on full display, which was something she had never overly enjoyed.

  “I’ll be so glad when this is over,” she said, nervously rubbing her hands together. He took both of her hands and squeezed them.

  “This is going to be a very special night, Meg.”

  “Do you think so? Because I’m just thinking about all the things that could go wrong.”

  “Have fun! It’s just Christmas caroling! Nobody is judging you.”

  “I am going to need a great big cup of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows on top when I finish singing these songs,” she said. Christian pulled her into a hug.

  “Just think that Vivi is going to be watching you, and she will be so proud of her mother.”

  “I just hope she gets your singing skills,” Meg said, laughing.

  A few minutes later, she found herself standing on the platform. Being so short, she was in the very front, of course. And that was the last place she wanted to be. No lip-synching was going to work in
this situation.

  Christian, being the tallest one there, was all the way on the other end of the platform in the very back. She desperately wished she could slowly slip into the back row.

  They started out singing Silent Night, and then the men sang a rendition of Jingle Bells alone. The women followed with O Holy Night. Things were going well, and it surprised her. At least she hadn’t fallen off the platform or sang a wrong note.

  The last song was finally coming up, and the choir director decided to say a few words. She wasn’t sure why the director was stopping the show, as they hadn’t practiced that in rehearsal. But at least it would give her a couple of minutes to suck on a cough drop.

  “We want to thank everyone for coming out to the Seagrove Christmas festival tonight!” the director, Beatrice, said. The crowd smiled and clapped. “Christmas is the most special time of the year for so many people, and we are thrilled to have something even more special happening tonight. So before we get started with our last song, I’d like to invite one of our members down to the front.”

  Meg was confused. Now she really didn’t have any idea what was going on. Craning her head, she looked down at the twenty-five or so members of the choir, trying to figure out who was being called to the front.

  When she realized that Christian was no longer standing in his spot, she was even more confused. She hadn’t seen him walk down front. But then there he was, tapping her on the back and taking her hand.

  “Christian, what are you doing? I don’t want to go over there.”

  He smiled. “Come with me, my love.”

  He pulled her out in front of everyone. Never in her life had she wanted to crawl under a set of bleachers so badly.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered, a fake smile planted on her face.

  “I’m doing something that I should’ve done long ago.” Before she realized what was happening, he started to lower himself onto one knee. It was at that moment that she figured it out.

  “Christian…”

  He smiled at her. “Meg, you are the most amazing woman I’ve ever known in my life. Not only are you a wonderful person, but you are an outstanding mother and partner. I can’t think of anything else that I would want this Christmas other than to hear you say yes. Will you marry me?”

  Her face burned, and she was sure that her cheeks were flaming red at this point. She could feel the adrenaline coursing through every vein in her body, causing her heart to practically beat out of her chest. She covered her face with her hands, trying to will away the tears that were threatening to fall.

  “Yes!” she said, jumping up and down. Christian grinned.

  His hand shaking, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box. When he opened it, Meg saw the most beautiful ring. It was perfect and everything she would’ve wanted if she had picked it out herself.

  He slid it on her finger before picking her up and swinging her around. The crowd cheered. The director walked over and congratulated them and then told them they didn’t have to take part in the last song if they would like to celebrate with family. Thankfully, Christian agreed that was the best course of action and they slipped off into the crowd as their choir mates sang a medley of Christmas songs for the finale.

  “Oh my goodness! Congratulations! “ Julie said, hugging Meg and Christian.

  “Congratulations, man!” Tucker said, shaking his hand.

  For the next few minutes, they went down a line of family and friends, giving hugs, high-fives and handshakes. When they finally were alone again under one of the large oak trees, Meg looked up at him.

  “I had no idea. I can’t believe you pulled this off.”

  He laughed. “Me either. I had to talk you into Christmas caroling just to do this!”

  “Wait. You mean that’s the only reason you made me do this?”

  “Yes, it is. I hope you’re not too mad at me.”

  She chuckled and then hugged him around his waist, pressing her cheek to his chest. “I could never be mad. I was so afraid you would never ask me to get married again.”

  “And I was so afraid to ask because I thought you would say no.”

  She pulled back and looked at her ring one more time. “And this is the most beautiful ring I could ever imagine. It looks so custom made.”

  He held her hand and looked at the ring. “It was my grandmother’s. I had my mother send it to me. She was so excited to hear the news. I just couldn’t imagine you wearing any other ring.”

  Meg hugged him again as Colleen brought Vivi over. She picked up her daughter and realized just how blessed she was. Her family had started in a very unorthodox way, but she wouldn’t have changed a thing.

  Chapter Ten

  As Julie helped Janine set up for the cakewalk, she couldn’t help but still feel giddy inside about her daughter and Christian getting engaged. As much as she already thought of them as a family, she thought it was wonderful that they would be getting married and making it official. Plus, it would be a great chance to celebrate and have a nice wedding.

  “That was one of the most romantic things I’ve ever seen,” Janine said, as she took payment from another person who wanted to take part in the cakewalk. They were raising money for the local homeless shelter just outside of Charleston.

  “I know. It was so sweet how he did it. They are lucky to have each other.”

  Julie continued writing out numbers to put into the hat as Tina walked up.

  “I told your daughter congratulations. That proposal was so cute and romantic,” she said, smiling.

  “Yes, it was. I had no idea he was going to do that. I’m glad you got to come to the festival. I wasn’t sure if you were here.”

  “Yes, I just got here about a half an hour ago. I wanted to finish up those last few wreaths. I delivered them to the booth.”

  “Thank you so much for helping with that. I never would’ve gotten all of that done without your help.”

  “No problem.”

  “Make sure that you enjoy all of the different vendors here. I know we’ve got some wonderful candles down there, and I’m sure there’s some great snacks. I think my mom is handing out samples of her poundcake over there too.”

  Tina rubbed her stomach. “Yes. I’ve already been by there three times since I got here. I think she’s starting to give me the evil eye.”

  Janine rolled her eyes. “Just ignore her. She can be a bit of a Scrooge.”

  “I don’t blame her. She doesn’t know me, and I’m sure she thinks I’m taking advantage of you. Julie, if you and Dawson feel like I’ve overstayed my welcome…”

  Julie held up her hand. “You haven’t. We have enjoyed having you there, and you’ve been so much help to me. She even helped Dylan write his letter to Santa Claus,” she said to Janine.

  “How long was that letter? He told me the other day what he wanted, and I swear that kid would never stop talking!”

  Tina giggled. “I didn’t mind. I really enjoyed spending some time with him.”

  “Well, would you enjoy spending more time with him? Dawson’s dragging him around the festival while he helps out, and I’m sure Dylan’s bored silly. Do you think you might have some time to take him to visit some different booths here? Maybe get his picture taken with Santa?”

  Tina nodded. “I would love that, actually. I’ll meet you guys back here when the tree lighting starts.”

  “Thank you so much. Hey, is that Amy over there?”

  Janine and Tina turned around and looked. “Yeah, it looks like it. Maybe we should see if she wants to do the cakewalk?”

  Tina turned back quickly. “Well, I’m going to go find Dawson and Dylan. I’ll see you guys later.” She trotted off before Julie could say anything else.

  Amy walked up to the table. “Was that Tina?”

  “Yeah. She ran off really quickly. I hope everything is okay. She was going to go help out with Dylan.”

  Amy looked slightly concerned. “Well, it’s go
od that you’re helping her. When is she leaving?”

  “We haven’t really talked about it, but I think probably the day after Christmas. I mean, she can’t exactly stay with us long term.”

  “Do you think she knows that?”

  “I think so. Amy, are you worried about her staying with us for some reason? I mean, she’s been really nice to Dylan.”

  Amy seemed uneasy but shook her head. “No. Not concerned. I just still feel like she looks familiar to me, but I can’t place her.”

  “Well, let’s not talk about all that serious stuff right now. Tell me you’re going to buy a ticket for the cakewalk?” Janine said, smiling.

  * * *

  Tina couldn’t remember a time when she had so much fun. Walking around with Dylan was putting her in the holiday spirit more than anything else could have. Between the music, the laughter and the enormous amount of Christmas food, she felt like she was in a holiday movie.

  “Can I get another one of those peppermint tree bark candies?”

  She squeezed his shoulder. “I think you’ve had quite enough. Your mom is going to kill me for letting you have so much sugar.”

  “I told Santa all of my Christmas wishes. He said he would keep them in mind, but how in the world is he going to remember all of those things? I don’t want him to get my list confused with somebody else’s.”

  “Oh, no?”

  “What if some nerdy kid wants a chemistry set? I don’t want to accidentally get that. I want the new gaming system, a rock tumbler, one of those all-terrain remote control vehicles…”

  Tina laughed. “I know, I know. I helped you write the letter, remember?”

  “Oh, right.”

  “So how do you like living with your new parents?”

  Dylan suddenly sat down on a bench, his little legs getting tired. “I like it. I especially like the beach and all the yard. Sometimes, me and Dad go out and throw the football. He’s teaching me how to be a fisherman too.”

  “How does it feel to call him dad?”

  “Good. I mean, I had my first dad, and Dawson is my second dad. But I think it’s okay to call them both Dad. Do you?”