Welcome to Serenity

by Sherryl Woods

  “Me, too.”

  “I’d like to try to change that, if you’ll let me,” she said, taking on the risk of another humiliating rejection. “I’m not saying we should jump into anything, just keep seeing each other, see if we can have a fresh start. If it’ll help, I know I was a fool back then.”

  Sonny’s expression wasn’t encouraging. “I don’t know, Mary Vaughn. It’s taken me a long time to get over you. I don’t know that I want to get back on that emotional roller coaster.”

  “Not back to anything,” she insisted. “Forward, to something new. Build on what was good about the two of us and not repeat the rest.”

  He looked skeptical. “It’s not that easy to forget about the past.”

  “No, of course not. In fact, it’s important to remember, so we won’t repeat it.” She met his gaze and did something she’d vowed never to do. She begged for this chance she didn’t deserve, but wanted desperately. “Please, Sonny. All I’m asking for is another chance. Let me prove I’ve changed, that I can love you the way you ought to be loved. I think I’m finally mature enough to appreciate the man you are, the man you’ve always been.”

  “I don’t know,” he said, regarding her with wariness.

  “Are you hesitating because you’re seeing someone else?”

  “Dammit, it’s not about anyone else, Mary Vaughn. You’ve always been the only woman for me, more’s the pity.”

  She covered his hand with hers. “Then take this chance,” she said, then added simply, “Please.”

  He turned her hand over, twined his fingers through hers, staring at their interlocked fingers, then at her with a troubled expression. “It would have to be different this time,” he said quietly.

  She seized on the tiny opening. “It will be. I promise.”

  “Let me finish,” he said. “I won’t settle again, Mary Vaughn. I just won’t do it.”

  With that simple declaration, that refusal to settle for anything less than what he deserved, he won not only her respect, but the heart she’d once withheld from him.

  Unfortunately, with so many mistakes behind them—most of them hers—proving that she loved him with all her heart wasn’t going to be easy. Fortunately, years of clawing and scratching to get what she wanted had made her tough. She would win him back. She was as sure of that as she was that the battle would be worth it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  If Howard barged into his office one more time to ask if everything was ready for the festival kickoff tonight, Tom was going to shove his head in a vat of eggnog. He wouldn’t even have to go far to find it, since a supply had arrived in front of Town Hall a few hours ago courtesy of the mayor, who seemed oblivious to how inappropriate it was for the town to be serving an alcoholic beverage even if extra care was being taken not to serve it to minors. His attempt to explain that had fallen on deaf ears.

  “It’s tradition,” Howard had told him. “Get with it. Besides, there’s not enough alcohol in that stuff to hardly count. Ask the sheriff. Nobody in this town has ever driven drunk after one toast with a little eggnog. Look at the size of those cups. They don’t hold but a thimbleful.”

  Jeanette walked in just as Howard walked out, took one look at Tom’s expression and asked, “What’s our illustrious mayor done now?”

  “Eggnog,” Tom told her succinctly.

  She grinned. “Yeah, it’s a tradition.”

  “So he said. It’s a bad one. There’s no telling what kind of lawsuit we could be setting ourselves up for if someone got into an accident on the way home.”

  “That’s been discussed. The supplier barely waves the bottle of liquor over the eggnog. Nobody’s gotten drunk on it yet. They’d have to drink gallons of it, and personally I think it’s way too disgusting for anyone to even consider doing that. Nobody serves it to the kids. You’re getting worked up over nothing.”

  “It’s my job to protect the town,” he reminded her.

  She wrapped her arms around his waist. “And we appreciate your efforts.” She stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his.

  His bad mood was rapidly disintegrating. When she traced his lips with her tongue, he forgot what they’d been talking about.

  “You taste good,” he said.

  “I ate a candy cane before I came inside,” she said.

  He winced. “Someone’s giving away candy canes? Are they individually wrapped? Did I know about that?”

  “Molly Flint has been giving away candy canes during the festival for seventy years. Nobody’s gotten sick yet. And yes, worrywart, they are individually wrapped and meet all health department requirements. I’m sure of it. She buys them at the Piggly Wiggly.” She shook him gently. “Now, relax.”

  “I can’t. There are too many loose ends to worry about. The vendors—”

  “Are registering as we speak,” Jeanette assured him. “Dana Sue is showing them to their assigned spaces. They’ll be all set up by four o’clock this afternoon, well ahead of the five-o’clock starting time for the festival. Anything else?”

  “The choirs—”

  “Mary Vaughn has the schedule. She’s double-checked with all the choir directors. No one’s mentioned any glitches. Tully McBride will play the piano like always. The piano’s been tuned and is already right in front of the stage. Tully’s banging away on it right this second to make sure. The programs have been printed and Sonny will be here at four-thirty to hand them out.”

  He swiped his hand through his hair. “I hate this,” he muttered. “Have I mentioned how much I hate this kind of thing?”

  “More than once,” she told him. “It’s getting tiresome. Everything is going to go beautifully. The decorations are the best ever. Ronnie’s checked every electrical connection and switch. The tree will light up right on schedule. You know all this. Why are you in such a panic?”

  “It’s not panic. It’s annoyance that I have to deal with any of this. I was not hired to run Christmas. I was hired to run a town.”

  She frowned at him. “Well, in Serenity, Christmas is part of the job.”

  “It doesn’t mean I have to like it. I’m obsessing over the kind of stuff my mother obsesses over, inconsequential junk that doesn’t matter.”

  “It matters to the kids. It matters to the town,” she reminded him. “Therefore it needs to matter to you. As for your mother, maybe you should ask her why all these things matter so much to her. I think you’d be surprised.”

  “Well, none of it matters to me.” He frowned. “And when did you turn into such a cheerleader for the holidays? To say nothing of defending my mother?”

  “I think I understand her a little bit better since that talk I had with your father,” she said.

  The response only served to remind him of yet another thing that was still sticking in his craw. Before he could say anything, though, her expression turned nostalgic.

  “You know, I really do have a whole new outlook on the holidays,” she said. “I think it started when I finally made peace with my parents. I let all the rest go, too. I realized I didn’t have to be miserable during the holidays as some sort of penance for being alive when my brother wasn’t. The day we bought the tree helped, too. That tree farm smelled so good. And then you agreed to buy the perfect one for the festival.” She sighed happily. “That was a wonderful day.”

  Tom stared at her, thinking what an idiot he’d been today. “I’m sorry. Here I am going on and on about a bunch of nonsense and spoiling your enjoyment.”

  “You haven’t, trust me. A few weeks ago I would have been as grumpy as you,” she admitted. “The prospect of being involved with the festival literally made me feel sick, but now, I don’t know, it makes me feel hopeful. Like I’m reclaiming something special that was lost to me for a long time.”

  She looked at him worriedly. “I
just wish you could relax and get into the spirit of this, too. You promised me you’d try.”

  “Yes, I did. Let me get through the next couple of hours and I swear to you I will be the cheeriest man you’ve ever met.”

  “Because it’s the holiday season or because your part in the festival is over?”

  He grinned. “Do I have to answer that?”

  Her sigh now was one of frustration. “That’s what I thought. I’ll see you outside.”

  “Save me some eggnog,” he said as she left.

  He’d meant to make her smile, but instead she walked away looking sad, as if he’d just popped her holiday balloon. He’d have to find some way to make it up to her....

  * * *

  The giant snowflakes on the light poles in downtown Serenity were sparkling. Vendors lined the streets, selling arts and crafts, quilts, jewelry and homemade jams and jellies. Kids, excited in anticipation of Santa’s arrival, were inhaling cotton candy and hot dogs. Any minute now, Santa would arrive atop the town’s fire truck as a local choir sang “Here Comes Santa Claus”, the lights on the tree in the square would be turned on and the Christmas festival would be officially under way.

  Next to Jeanette, Maddie grinned and squeezed her hand. “You did good! It’s absolutely beautiful and there are more vendors than we’ve ever had before. I can’t wait for the choirs to start singing. That’s my favorite part. And the kids can’t wait to see Santa. At least Jessica Lynn can’t and Katie’s pretending she still believes for her sister’s sake. Kyle’s too old and Cole’s too young, but it’s nice to have at least one kid who still believes in Santa.”

  “Where’s Helen?” Jeanette asked. “I thought she’d be here by now with Sarah Beth.”

  “Last time I saw her she was in the kitchen at Sullivan’s telling Erik how to decorate the Christmas cookies he’s bringing over here for Santa to give away.”

  Jeanette chuckled. “How was that going?”

  “Erik just tunes her out and does his thing.”

  “Really?”

  “Oh, did I forget to mention that he gave her some icing and told her to do whatever she wanted with it? Last time I saw him, he was trying to get red icing out of his hair.” Maddie turned to her, her expression sobering. “You and I haven’t had much time to ourselves to talk lately. Right after the first of the year, we have to get serious about expanding the spa. Meantime, what’s going on with you and Tom? We’re taking bets he’ll be giving you a ring for Christmas, or Valentine’s Day at the latest. I know it may seem fast, but he doesn’t strike any of us as the kind of man who likes to wait around. And he has said he loves you.”

  Jeanette wasn’t quite as certain as Maddie that she and Tom were anywhere near ready for that big a commitment. They’d taken a huge step when they’d slept together and she’d taken an even bigger leap of faith after talking with his father, but marriage or even an engagement? It was too soon for that kind of talk.

  “I think you’re all jumping the gun,” she told Maddie.

  “Come on. I’ve seen you two together. Everything clicks.”

  Jeanette barely resisted the urge to sigh again. “It does, doesn’t it?”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  “If you can believe it, Christmas. The worst memories of my life are all tied up with the holidays and I’ve managed to overcome that and really find my way back to loving the season the way I did as a child. He’s still so cynical and jaded, it’s driving me nuts. You should have heard him going on and on a couple of hours ago. You would have thought the entire season was invented just to annoy him.”

  “Maybe he’s just the kind of guy who obsesses over details, and right now there are a hundred of them related to getting this event off the ground.”

  Jeanette shook her head. “It runs deeper than that. It’s all tied up with the phony excess his mother insists on, but please, that doesn’t begin to compare with what I went through.”

  “You’ve never explained about that,” Maddie reminded her. “I’ve hoped you would, but I swore to myself I wouldn’t pressure you to tell me.”

  Jeanette couldn’t help grinning at the pious note in her voice. “That must have just about killed you.”

  “You have no idea,” Maddie replied just as Cole began to wail. “Hold on. Don’t you dare leave,” she ordered Jeanette as she reached for her son. “Give me a minute to find Cal in this mob scene and turn our baby boy over to him. Then you and I can talk.”

  “Maddie, this isn’t the best time,” Jeanette protested. “It will only bring you down. Heck, talking about it will bring me down and I’m in a halfway decent place right now.”

  “You’re not if you’re thinking that you and Tom don’t have a future because you disagree about the holidays,” Maddie said, then turned to Kyle. “Take your brother.” She handed the baby over to the horrified teenager.

  “Mom!” Kyle protested, even as he snuggled the baby against his chest with the ease of someone who’d grown used to caring for his new siblings.

  “Find Cal,” Maddie ordered, giving him no sympathy. “He can take over for you,”

  “This sucks,” Kyle grumbled, but he went off in search of his stepfather.

  “You are putting a serious dent in your son’s social life,” Jeanette told Maddie, who merely grinned.

  “Don’t let him fool you. The girls are drawn to him like a magnet when he’s babysitting. He just hates admitting how much he likes having them fawn all over him and Cole.”

  “So the baby is a babe magnet?”

  “Absolutely,” Maddie said. “Last time Ty was home, he kept pleading to take the baby for a walk in the park. At first I thought it was all about bonding with his new brother, but then Kyle filled me in.”

  “Wait a minute,” Jeanette said. “Isn’t Ty dating Annie? I thought they were a couple.”

  “Something’s going on there, but I’m trying to stay out of it. So is Dana Sue. Those two kids have been thick as thieves for a while now, but over Thanksgiving they weren’t even speaking. I have no idea if they fought, broke up or what.”

  “It must be hard not going to the same college and trying to maintain a relationship,” Jeanette mused.

  “We all warned them about that, but Ty said they’d do okay. Annie’d adored him practically forever and he was great with her when she was dealing with her eating disorder, so we backed off. Whatever’s going on, they have to work it out for themselves. It won’t help for Dana Sue or me to get involved.”

  “Yet another of your frustrations, I’m sure,” Jeanette said.

  “Yes, and since I can’t fix their issues, let’s deal with yours,” Maddie said. “Why did you react so badly when I asked you to work on the festival? And what does that have to do with what’s going on now between you and Tom?”

  Since Maddie was as tenacious as a pitbull, Jeanette gave her the condensed version of the Christmas Eve accident and its aftermath.

  Maddie’s eyes welled with tears. “Oh, sweetie, I had no idea. I would never have forced you into doing all this if I’d understood why you were so against it. You should have told me right then.”

  “It’s worked out better this way,” Jeanette admitted. “I needed to face what happened and let go of all the pain. I actually think I can go to church on Christmas Eve this year with an open heart. I wish Tom were in the same place.”

  “Come on, sweetie. This is not that big a deal. You’ll figure this out. You two have too much going for you not to overcome your differences over the holidays,” Maddie said adamantly.

  Jeanette tried to come up with an explanation for her gut feeling that would make sense to Maddie. “It’s not the holidays, per se,” she said eventually. “It’s that I don’t think I can be with someone who’s so negative.”

  Maddie clearly didn’t buy it. She re
garded her knowingly. “You’re making excuses, Jeanette. This isn’t about Christmas or negativity. What’s really stopping you from grabbing on to what the two of you have found with each other?”

  Jeanette wasn’t really surprised that Maddie had called her on it. Maddie was an intuitive woman. The problem was, she didn’t have a straightforward answer. “It’s not just one thing,” she said eventually. “I could give you a whole list of reasons we don’t belong together.”

  “Starting with?”

  “His mother and I don’t get along.” She decided not to mention Mrs. McDonald’s attempt to get her out of Tom’s life permanently by sending her husband over here on a mission to buy her off. It hadn’t worked and now that she understood why it had happened in the first place, she could forgive the whole misguided incident. Maddie might not.

  “You planning to live with the woman?” Maddie asked wryly.

  “No, but come on, even if she and I find a way to make peace, she is not the kind of person to stay out of our lives. Do I really want a lifetime of dealing with her?”

  “If it comes with a man as great as Tom, don’t you think it would be worth it?”

  Jeanette thought of how Tom made her feel when they were alone and grinned. “Now that you mention it, maybe it does. Meantime, though, in the spirit of holiday goodwill I agreed to show up at some fancy dinner party at their house next weekend.”

  “Is that your punishment for existing?” Maddie inquired tartly.

  “It’s my pitiful attempt to extend an olive branch yet again,” Jeanette said.

  “Give it time. They’ll come to appreciate you for the wonderful woman you are,” Maddie assured her.

  “You are such an optimist.”

  “Well, of course I am. A few years ago, when Richard walked out on me, I thought I’d never be happy again. Then Cal came along and just look at my life. It’s better than ever. I have two little ones I’d never dreamed in a million years that I’d have at this stage of my life. I have a husband who adores me. I have a son who’s excelling in college and is destined to play pro baseball. I have two other kids who are getting smarter and more mature every day. And I have a business I enjoy and friends who support me and make me laugh. All that can be yours, too. You just have to reach out and grab what you want.”