Harlequin Heartwarming March 21 Box Set

by Claire McEwen

  The rounded mountaintops didn’t quite touch the clouds but still stood regal and proud. There was something about the stillness of this early time of day that touched him, the fruition of the previous day’s work, the promise of new plans, new challenges.

  The biggest challenge in his current path had to be Natalie. He’d avoided her yesterday. Instead, he had met with Woodley and Sheriff Harrison and updated them on some needed measures for the parade route and future steps to fix the problems he’d already identified. They’d scheduled a follow-up meeting for next Wednesday. The work had helped keep his mind off Natalie as he’d come close to doing something spontaneous when his cheek was mere centimeters from hers the other night. Good thing he’d backed away at the same moment she had. Getting involved with the spirited beauty wasn’t in his plans.

  Aidan stretched his leg muscles on the gazebo steps, almost ready to resume his run. He was about to reinsert his earbuds when he heard someone call his name. He turned and found Hyacinth jogging on the path or, more accurately, being pulled along by two boxers that ran ahead of her.

  Hyacinth was a mass of color with a tie-dyed shirt and starburst leggings. “Good morning, Major M.! You don’t mind my calling you that, do you? Which do you like better, peaches or plums?”

  “Peaches, I guess.” The women in this town flustered him like no other, and the jury was still out on whether that was a good thing.

  “Good to know. Enjoy this glorious Saturday morning. I’d stay and chat, but Athena and Artemis prefer a nice, long run to start the weekend. Toodle-oo.” She raised her arm in a jaunty wave without breaking her stride.

  He blinked and tried a few more stretches before hitting the pavement again. This time, more early birds dotted the sidewalks, some running, others jogging. To his surprise, many shouted out greetings that involved calling him by his first name. In a town this size, he must be the story of the week after accepting the least popular job around, that of pie contest judge.

  He logged another couple of miles before he veered into the Eight Gables’ driveway. Only two more days until the gas and water were turned on at Shelby’s house so he could move in for the duration of his stay.

  Ginny bustled in the dining room, a large area that reminded him of his grandmother’s in that it was fussy with knickknacks but not ostentatious. An antique mahogany table seated fourteen, with the matching cabinet displaying bone china with little pink flowers. A gleaming silver tea service was the centerpiece of the sideboard, where Ginny arranged baskets of muffins—apple cinnamon if his nose was correct.

  He announced himself, and she turned around, her hands crossed against her chest. “Major Murphy! Did you have a nice run? Did you enjoy the sunrise? It’s so beautiful with the backdrop of the Great Smoky Mountains.”

  He nodded and waved, intending to get an early start to the rest of his day. Then he stopped, unsure of what that comprised. Until the rest of the utilities were turned on, sorting through Shelby’s belongings would have to wait. And he’d left Natalie’s house before making plans to do something with Danny on this Saturday.

  For the first time since, well, middle school, he didn’t have his entire day mapped out. While Natalie would approve, his fingers itched at the very thought.

  “Major Murphy?” Ginny came over and laid her hand on his arm. “Are you alright? You’re almost pale.”

  The owner, who was around the age his mother would have been if she were still alive now, seemed genuinely concerned about him.

  “Thank you. I’m fine.” Although his smile was a little rusty, he’d used it around Natalie enough for it not to be broken. Come to think of it, he’d smiled more around Natalie in these few days than he had since his last stateside visit.

  Ginny frowned as if he wasn’t convincing, but she tucked the empty silver tray under her arm. “Once you shower and change, there’s a continental breakfast available.” She hustled toward the door leading to the kitchen and called out, “Feel free to bring that nice nephew of yours to tea this afternoon.”

  Aidan breathed out a sigh of relief as he strode up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Something to do, and someone to do it with.

  * * *

  NATALIE TAPPED HER foot against the concrete slab of the picnic pavilion, a slight breeze ruffling through the piles of cut tissue paper next to her on the wooden bench. She adjusted the rocks so none of the paper would scatter and get ruined.

  “Earth to Natalie, come in Natalie.” Her sister-in-law’s voice broke through her reverie as Georgie waved her hand in front of Natalie’s face.

  “How do you know something’s a mistake or if it’s right?” Natalie reached back for her water and sipped it before adjusting the chicken wire alongside her legs.

  Georgie frowned and stopped sanding the two-by-four. “If this is about Danny…”

  “Never.” Why did everyone assume she was talking about Danny when she asked questions about the future? Her mother gave every impression Natalie was biting off more than she could chew, and now Georgie seemed to jump to the same conclusion. “I love Danny, and I’ll always treat him as my own.” Because he was hers. Shelby entrusted him to her, and she’d take care of him and love him always.

  “That’s a relief.” Georgie glanced at her watch and then wrinkled her nose. “Are you sure you’re asking the right friend? Wouldn’t Lucie be better with this emotional stuff? Now, if you have a question on which oil viscosity suits your car’s engine the best, definitely come to me and not Lucie.”

  Girl talk had always been a mainstay of Natalie’s life. She’d grown up with an identical twin, Becks, who was anything but identical in her approach to life. It was more like they were mirror twins than anything else. Then she’d roomed with Shelby at the University of North Carolina, and they’d formed a fast friendship that had endured through Francisco’s death and Shelby’s pregnancy.

  When she had returned to Hollydale without Becks or Shelby, Natalie had latched onto Georgie and Lucie, and the three of them formed a tight new bond. Natalie knew exactly who she was talking to and why, even if Georgie doubted herself. There was always a method to Natalie’s actions.

  “Although I sometimes question your choices when it comes to men, after you married my brother,” Natalie joked and giggled. “You’re the exact person for my question. I was there when Mike arrested you, remember?”

  Georgie groaned and placed the sandpaper and wood on the picnic table. “That’s the last time I help you on my lunch hour, even if it is after two, especially when a ’63 Lincoln Continental arrived in the shop this morning.” Her green eyes twinkled enough so Natalie knew she was in on her joke. “You had to bring that up, though. Mike’s acknowledged he made a mistake, and we’ve moved on.”

  Maybe she should be talking to Lucie after all, she thought, grinning. “So, is it better to acknowledge something was a mistake and move on, or is it better to ignore it altogether?”

  She threaded more tissue paper through the holes in the chicken wire, alternating the colors so the initials for Hollydale Elementary School would appear on the other side in red and blue with a white backdrop.

  Georgie stood and dusted off her baggy shirt and jeans, her standard attire for days when she was working at Max’s Auto Garage and even days when she wasn’t. “Unlike my teenage self, who should’ve admitted to Mike how much I liked him, I now prefer to get something out into the open. Better for all concerned. Honesty gets you further than keeping something back.”

  “Thanks, I think.” Natalie rose and stretched, wiggling out her stiff fingers from inserting so many strips of tissue through those tiny holes. “These last two-by-fours will finish up the apron brace so I can start unrolling the chicken wire and puffing out the tissue paper on the other side. Then we can attach this and get ready to build the rest of the structure next weekend.”

  “That’s all you’re going to tell me?” Georgie neare
d and poked Natalie’s ribs with her elbow. “If you think I’m letting you off the hook that easily, I’ll have to hide the chocolate chip cookies the next time you guys visit Rachel. What’s the scoop?”

  The student turned the tables on the teacher, and Natalie wasn’t sure if she’d created a monster. Threatening to cut Natalie off from her cookie supply was serious business for Georgie. Natalie started unrolling the chicken wire. “For that type of discussion, I’ll have to have your help puffing out the paper, so it looks like flowers.”

  Georgie tilted her head one way, then the other. “Who’s SEH?”

  “HES stands for Hollydale Elementary School.” Natalie laughed before she walked around the float. Her laughter died in the breeze. The blood drained away from her face. “Son of a sea biscuit, that spells SEH.”

  “I know.” Georgie patted Natalie’s shoulder and glanced at her watch. “The advantage of being the co-owner of my shop is being able to take a longer lunch when there’s an emergency. I’ll call Heidi and have her tell Travis and Max I’ll be back a little late.”

  The other employees at Max’s Auto Repair always had Georgie’s back, same as Natalie would always be there for her students. She looked at the ruined display and threw it on the ground, a whole morning’s work wasted. At least Danny wasn’t here. Instead, Aidan had picked him up and, of all things, the two of them were having tea at the Eight Gables bed-and-breakfast. Natalie swallowed her pride and thought of that boulder. “Don’t be silly, Georgie. You have that Lincoln Thing-a-ma-bob to work on. I’ll be fine.”

  “Continental. I’ll have it purring before I’m through. You sure?”

  The anticipation on Georgie’s face was priceless. “Go on with you. I have letters to correct.”

  “Only you would answer your own question. See, this is a mistake. Now you can figure it out all by yourself whether the other thing was right or a mistake or not.” Georgie grinned before her eyes narrowed. “Am I being totally oblivious? Is this about Danny’s uncle?”

  Natalie shifted her weight, today’s cowboy boots being her favorite summer footwear with light blue flowers etched into the brown leather. “Lincoln Continental. Lincoln Continental.”

  Georgie laughed and reached for her small purse. “Next time you want to talk, make sure Lucie’s around. I’ll provide the cookies, and she’ll provide the advice.”

  Natalie waved as her friend drove away. She unlocked the utility shed and found a box for the tissue paper she could salvage and reuse. Plucking out each strand of tissue paper from the ten-foot roll of chicken wire kept her mind off the handsome and infuriating soldier. Her fingers cramped, and she stopped for a minute.

  Kissing Aidan the other night would have been a mistake. No doubt about it. Getting involved with anyone else in the military was out of the question, let alone the one man who held Danny’s future, and her promise to Shelby, in his hands.

  Footsteps heralded a new arrival. Glancing up, she found Danny, plus Aidan, standing there.

  Danny threw his arms around her. “Aunt Natalie, I don’t like cucumber sandwiches,” he told her and stepped back. He wrinkled his nose. “But they were a lot better than salmon. Yuck!”

  “You tried new food. You can’t like something until you’ve tried it. I’m so proud of you.” Natalie wrapped her arm around Danny’s waist, keeping him close enough for the smells of tea and sugar to surround her. She might also be using him as a buffer from Aidan, so she let go of him.

  “He wanted to try every one of the desserts as well, but I limited him to two.” Aidan reached for the chicken wire and glanced around. “Busy morning, I see. Did you store the first roll in the utility shed? I’ll go ahead and start attaching that to the apron brace.”

  Natalie winced and rummaged through her tote bag for her car keys. “Danny, can you get my extra bottle of water out of the cooler in the back seat? Thanks.”

  Danny ran off, and she turned toward Aidan. “I messed up, okay? I have plenty of time to start over and get it done right.”

  She reached up for a quick pat of her necklace and gasped as her hand touched bare skin. Her necklace was gone. She clenched her hands.

  Aidan stepped toward her. “You don’t have to be that upset about the other night.”

  “That’s not why I’m upset.” She patted the sides of her dress in case she hadn’t clasped it correctly this morning and it had fallen there. Nope. She started scanning the area around her feet. “I lost my necklace.”

  The grass crunched under her ankle boots as she scoured the ground for any sign of the golden chain with Francisco’s medallion. Where is it? It had to be here somewhere. She approached the truck and the chassis and circled the area, her steps getting quicker, her heart beating faster.

  Danny returned with her bottle of water and handed it to her. “What’cha looking for, Aunt Natalie? I can help.”

  Her eyes burned, but she wouldn’t cry. “My necklace.” She choked out the words while grasping the cool, wet bottle, thankful for something to hold.

  “Is it the one you always wear? Are you sure you wore it today?” Aidan asked.

  “I don’t leave home without it. I remember making sure it was fastened securely in the bathroom this morning.” Her voice quivered, and she tightened her grip in an effort to stay calm. This necklace couldn’t be replaced.

  “Then it’s here, and we’ll find it.” He shifted his weight. After a moment’s hesitation, he reached out and rubbed her arm. The brief touch calmed her, his composure helping to settle her own nerves.

  Danny rattled her keys. “I’ll look in the car. I’m good at finding things. My teacher said so.”

  He trotted off. She and Aidan watched him make his way to her SUV before she turned her attention back to the grass. She wouldn’t even think about what creepy crawlies or, worse yet, snakes might make their home in this area.

  “Did you go anywhere else before you came here?”

  Collecting her thoughts was harder than her emotions. She glanced in his direction, a methodical plan written all over his face. She retraced her steps. “Home, then here.”

  “If we can’t find it at the park, I’m sure it will turn up at your house.”

  They kept searching, but nothing. Her phone played a familiar ringtone, and she considered letting her mother go to voice mail, but answered it instead. She scooped up her phone. “Hi, Mom. What’s going on?”

  “What’s wrong? You’re not your chipper self.”

  Her loss impacted her more than expected if her mother picked up on it that quickly. She wouldn’t lie, but she didn’t want her mom thinking she was freaking out over something seemingly simple. “Just a couple of things happening all at once. They should be resolved shortly.” She’d fix the tissue paper debacle after she found her necklace. “Danny’s looking forward to the picnic tomorrow.”

  “It’s not on the truck platform. I’ll keep looking.” Aidan’s voice carried over to her and she waved in return.

  “Did you invite Aidan? You should invite him.” Her mother’s insistence came through loud and clear. “We always have two to three weeks of leftovers. Make sure he has our address. See you tomorrow.”

  Natalie was grateful for her mom’s unusual brevity. Aidan kept his nose to the ground until he arrived at her side. “No luck so far. We’ll keep looking. It’s gold, right?”

  “Gold chain with a St. Michael pendant.”

  “That’s the air force good luck symbol. Did you serve in the military?”

  She shook her head as Francisco’s image, blurrier now, came into focus. “My fiancé was in the air force.”

  “Fiancé? Was?”

  Her chest constricted for a second before peace settled over her. “Francisco died in combat in Afghanistan seven years ago.” A lifetime ago, but she’d never forget. “His abuelita gave the necklace to him when he enlisted. On his last birthday, he
gave it to me. He asked me to marry him before he left for what would be his final mission. We were to be married after my graduation.”

  “I’m very sorry.”

  “Thank you.” His sincerity meant the world to her.

  Danny ran their way. He panted for breath before shaking his head. “Sorry, Aunt Natalie. It wasn’t in your car. I found thirty-eight cents.” He held out his hand, and she sent him a wobbly smile.

  “It’s yours. You did a good job.”

  “What about me? I found a bottle cap but I threw it away.” Aidan leaned against a wooden post while he continued to scan the ground.

  “You’re in luck. I have something better than that as a thank-you for helping me look for my necklace.” Natalie tried to inject her voice with its usual buoyancy. “My mother called. She wants you to come to the Harrison Family Barbecue tomorrow. It’s extra special this year because it’s their fortieth anniversary. What do you say? I can text her and let her know you’re coming.”

  Danny pulled at his uncle’s arm. “My new cousin, Rachel, told me it’s the most fun ever.”

  Aidan stopped scouring the ground and looked her way. She ignored the ripples of attraction as much as she ignored the faint trace of stubble on his jaw, which added another level of handsome to his features.

  “What about you? Do you want me there?” he asked.

  “The more the merrier.” The challenge was clear in his eyes and she shifted her weight, too aware her answer was evasive. She nodded. “Yes, I’d like you to come.”

  “Count me in. What can I bring?”

  “Yourself. There’s enough food to feed all of Hollydale. My mom goes overboard, and it’s really more of a community barbecue. There’ll be at least fifty people there.”

  The prospect of Aidan coming to a family event had her feeling conflicted. On the one hand, she liked having him around and, on that account, his presence boosted her spirits. On the other hand, he affected her like no one had in years.

  Normally, she grew on people the more she was around them. One look at Aidan’s profile proved she didn’t know where she stood in his estimation. That bothered her. Not as much, though, as losing her necklace forever. She headed for the shed, eager to lose herself in work, looking at the grass the whole way.