Harlequin Heartwarming March 21 Box Set

by Claire McEwen

  That might be one of the best compliments she’d ever received. “What about you, Aidan? What do you think?”

  She tried to see it through his eyes. Sure, it was a little gaudy and over-the-top, but a country didn’t celebrate its birthday every day. The silence stretched out until it was almost overwhelming.

  “You brought everyone together, and it works.” Admiration laced his voice, and that approbation also meant the world to her.

  She approved, too. She was proud of this, and hoped the volunteers were, too. It might only be around for one day, but what a day.

  To celebrate the moment, Natalie motioned for Danny and Aidan to stand together in front of the float. “I’ll take a picture of the two of you.” The photo could act as a bookend for the one she already had on her mantel of Shelby and Danny.

  She snapped the handsome pair and viewed the result on her phone. The handsome visage of Aidan’s strong features, his stoicism on full display, almost leaped off the screen. Even now Danny showed signs of being a heartbreaker, so like his uncle. Their family resemblance revealed much more on her screen than in the flesh.

  A sobering thought, indeed.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  AFTER YESTERDAY’S COOL, refreshing rain, Aidan didn’t quite know what to expect on this Fourth of July. His morning jog had promised the beginnings of a sunny day, and now walking along the group of floats and past the high school band congregating in the parking lot of Hollydale High, the starting point of the parade, he checked the skies. That promise had come to full fruition. Blue and clear. The same as Natalie’s eyes.

  He reached Natalie’s float, and he couldn’t help his broad smile. There, atop the float, stood Natalie in a red dress with white polka dots. Somehow, those blue ankle boots should clash but, on her, they didn’t. Instead, everything eccentric and quirky about her fit together, and he liked what he saw more and more every day. Returning to Fort Lewis a few weeks from now would be a sight harder. Either he’d break Natalie’s heart by taking Danny with him or he’d break his own if he left Danny with Natalie.

  Before he was able to herald Danny to join him in the lead grand marshal convertible, Aidan realized his cell phone was ringing. Speaking of the military, it was Lieutenant Colonel Thrasher, his superior officer. Aidan ducked behind a utility pole and answered the call. Minutes later, he pocketed his phone, his new orders clear. He and Danny were expected to return on Wednesday, two weeks early. A top-level security meeting requiring his translation skills was scheduled for Friday at the base. Lieutenant Colonel Thrasher had ordered him back. Aidan had no choice. That was all there was to it.

  There’d be no day trip tomorrow as he and Natalie would have to make a decision.

  Around him, people waved flags, popped in and out of shops, carried coolers and camp chairs, staking out their spots on the parade route. They blurred. How was he going to break the news to Natalie?

  He caught sight of her emptying bags of candy into a pillowcase and knew he couldn’t ruin her day. She’d put so much work into this, and Danny deserved a holiday to remember. He’d tell her tomorrow morning.

  They’d work out what was best for Danny, maybe a transition where she accompanied him to Fort Lewis before school started, so Natalie could see Danny was in good hands.

  Guilt ripped through him. He should just tell her now. That way, they’d both have time today to think about Danny’s best interests.

  Emerging from his spot, he swallowed that lump in his throat. Natalie waved at him, her smile lighting up his day more than any firework finale.

  “Aidan!” She jumped off the float. “You look like you’ve lost your best friend.”

  In a way, he had. He’d be losing this town sooner than anticipated, and that loss was almost as devastating as not spending the next two weeks with her. He’d lost his chance at a future with Natalie. However, he was a soldier. He’d made sacrifices before. He’d make sacrifices again.

  He tightened his facial features into a faux smile. “That wasn’t the right look for the grand marshal?”

  Natalie’s eyes sparkled even brighter. “Only if you want to scare everyone. This is the Fourth of July, not Halloween.”

  “Aunt Natalie, help me down.” Danny’s voice tugged at Aidan’s heart as Natalie lowered him to the gray asphalt.

  “We have an important job, Danny. We have to give your uncle real smiling lessons so he makes a positive impression on Hollydale as the grand marshal. Come on, show him a Murphy smile.”

  Danny rolled his eyes in the age-old expression of humoring an adult. “Okay. Funny faces are always good.” Then he lifted one side of his face and stuck out his tongue. “Natalie’s dad likes it when I make good funny faces.”

  “That would leave an impression alright.” Aidan nodded and folded his arms, his blue Oxford shirt stiff and starched. He’d decided against his full-dress uniform. “Not quite the one I’m going for, though.”

  “I’m the queen of funny faces.” Natalie wiggled her fingers above her ears, twisted her tongue and scrunched her face.

  He snapped a picture, and she reached for his phone. “No fair! Delete that!”

  “It’s totally fair, Harrison. Come on, Danny. We have a parade to lead.”

  Natalie’s protests followed him. He merely grasped Danny’s hand and led him to the front of the procession, where Georgie stood beside the beauty of a restored Ford Thunderbird he’d seen once before at the Harrison family barbecue.

  Danny squeezed his hand. “I wish my mommy could see this, but I’m glad you’re here, Uncle Aidan.” He gazed at him with big eyes. “Is it wrong to be happy without her?”

  Aidan’s heart clenched at the concern and depth pouring forth from such a young boy, a mirror image of him as a child, only wiser and more accepting. This time he accepted the lump and merely shook his head, adding a mental snapshot of Danny to the actual one he’d taken on his phone of him and Natalie.

  * * *

  “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, thank you for coming to the twenty-seventh annual Hollydale pie contest.” The mayor’s announcement brought cheers from the crowd.

  Aidan met Natalie’s gaze, her happy smile buoying him for what was coming. It wasn’t going to be popular, but it was the best solution he had come up with and the mayor had agreed on. He braced himself for the crowd’s reaction.

  The mayor introduced Aidan, and a hushed silence fell over the crowd as he stepped onto the dais and the podium.

  “First, thanks for the privilege of being your grand marshal this morning. It was an honor I’ll never forget.” He came close to letting his secret about his new departure date slip from his mouth. He couldn’t tell Natalie this way, though.

  “Get on with the pie judging. Who’s it gonna be, Hyacinth or Belinda?” someone yelled from the crowd.

  Seven pies sat on the long table, only identifiable through a number, with slivers of slices already precut. The rest of the slices would be sold later with the proceeds going toward park improvements. Aidan had loaded up on protein this morning to combat the sugar rush the mayor warned him about. Between the slices sat a small tumbler of coffee and a few saltines so he could judge each pie on its own merits. One by one, he sampled pie, the stares of the crowd on him the entire time. Somehow, he kept it together when he bit into an egg shell in one piece and then discovered something that tasted like vinegar in another.

  The bite of pie with colorful cereal circles was more sugar than he normally ate all month, and he deserved all the credit for widening his fake smile and keeping it intact.

  Natalie mouthed something and pointed to her left cheek. He squinted until her message of no dimple came through loud and clear.

  No one had ever known him this well.

  He shook it off as he arrived at the last three slices. Plump cherries winked out of lattice work that looked like it came from a 3D printer. The smooth velvety
texture slid down his throat. Without thinking, he reached for another bite, flavor filling his mouth with delight. This was heaven on a plate. After the third bite, he stopped with two slices awaiting him.

  While he sipped the coffee, his gaze fell on Belinda, her plain blue shirtwaist dress offset with a red-and-white scarf tied around her neck, preening like the cat who came upon an unattended koi pond. A few yards away, Hyacinth stood, her gauzy red scarf a headband in her hair with her light blue tank top flowing into a white vintage flared skirt with yellow lemons, concern overriding her usual laid-back features.

  The penultimate slice was lemon meringue and, from all accounts, this must be Hyacinth’s contribution. He slid his fork and expected another bite of hometown goodness; instead, he tried to keep his composure. Someone forgot to add sugar. This was lip puckering failure at best, plain awful at worst.

  The pressure must have gotten to Hyacinth. That was the only explanation he came up with that made any sense.

  It also made his decision easier.

  At last, he came to the final slice, his childhood favorite, strawberry chiffon pie. He hadn’t had a slice of this in years. To be exact, since a few days before his mother passed away unexpectedly. He glanced at Natalie, wondering… As expected, she seemed able to read his mind, and she shook her head. I didn’t enter the contest. She formed the words so clearly he had no trouble at all reading her lips this time.

  Hints of fresh strawberries peeked out of the sides with one plump strawberry half atop the sliver. His first taste brought back the last pie his mother had ever baked for him, and he hurried for another bite before letting out a soft sigh. Then he took one final bite. Perfection in a flaky graham cracker crust.

  Aidan walked along the row of pies and handed the results to Mayor Wes behind the curtain. Then he approached the podium with the mayor, who adjusted the mic.

  “The moment you’ve all been waiting for.”

  Before the mayor announced anything, it was as if the crowd separated in half, with half standing behind Belinda and the other half behind Hyacinth. Natalie and Danny stood in the middle, not taking either side. She smiled at Aidan, a slow, steady current of calm in a sea of turbulence.

  The mayor joked for a couple more minutes, prolonging the suspense before holding up two envelopes. “The blue ribbon for best fruit pie goes to number five, cherry lattice pie.” Grumbles and a few boos could be heard as people patted Belinda’s back. The mayor opened up the envelope with a big five printed on it. “Belinda Chastain, come get your blue ribbon.”

  She jogged up the steps and clutched the blue ribbon to her heart. “Number fourteen is as sweet as number one. Thank you. Enjoy the fireworks, and I’ll see you next year.” Victory tinged her words, and the crowd started dispersing with several patting Hyacinth on the back and murmuring words of consolation while shooting Aidan daggers.

  The mayor leaned over. “Wait a minute. I’m not finished. That was the award for best fruit pie. There’s another award.”

  Gasps filled the crowd with everyone filing back into the area. Belinda shook her head. “For twenty-seven years there has only been one blue ribbon. There can’t be another one.”

  The mayor arched his eyebrow. “Are you arguing with me and the grand marshal of our fair parade?”

  Belinda gripped her blue ribbon, her lips turning almost as blue as the ribbon. “I won this fair and square.” She lifted her chin. “Besides, I saw him taste that lemon meringue pie. Hyacinth won’t win this year.”

  The last part was for his and the mayor’s ears only. She left the stage to cheers and whistles from her friends, and she raised the blue ribbon in victory.

  “This year there will also be a blue ribbon for best soft pie.” The mayor looked at the index card and then at Aidan. “There’s been some mistake.”

  He approached Aidan and whispered in his ear. “Hyacinth always makes lemon meringue pie. This says the strawberry chiffon is the winner.”

  Aidan shrugged. “No mistake.”

  The mayor pled with his eyes. “This will cause a huge rupture in the town. I agreed to this compromise to keep the peace.”

  “No mistake.”

  Mayor Wes glanced at the sky before resuming his place behind the podium. “The winner for best soft pie is number seven, the strawberry chiffon pie.”

  “What?”

  “No way!”

  “He needs his taste buds examined.”

  “Hyacinth was robbed!”

  Aidan shifted his weight on the podium, but resolve flowed through him. He’d made the right choice, despite the protests. The mayor ripped open the envelope, and his jaw dropped. “Hyacinth Hennessy.”

  Hyacinth breezed up to the stage and shook Aidan’s hand. “I might have taken advantage of the fact that a certain redhead smells like strawberries.”

  “That fact had nothing to do with my decision.”

  His gaze met Natalie’s as murmurs of reluctant approval rippled through the crowd. More than one person’s face relaxed, and it was as if peace settled the feud for this year. Accepting change fashioned a compromise that crowned two winners. Somehow, he and Natalie had to hammer out such a solution to benefit Danny.

  If she was still talking to him after he announced his new departure date and how long he’d known about the new orders, that was. Sunlight reflected off the golden glints of her red hair, same as her happiness radiated out of her and spread to others, including himself.

  He was betraying the one person who had accepted him, external scars and all.

  If she took his news as expected, he’d be returning to Fort Lewis nursing an internal scar much deeper and painful than the one on his arm.

  * * *

  DUSK FELL OVER the town square, excitement building for the main event. In front of the gazebo, families and couples rested on blankets while children played Frisbee and tag, or lit sparklers. Glow stick necklaces illuminated the night.

  “Loved your float!”

  Several people held up their thumbs while others waved. Some of her students from last year came over and hugged her, their parents waiting for them to rejoin them. This town was the best.

  The pink and orange ribbons streaking the horizon faded, leaving only the dark firmament of night. The time for fireworks was fast approaching. Where was Aidan? Natalie searched the crowd while Danny played with Lucie’s twins. She wanted to spend time with the soldier and give him a sneak peek at some of her plans for tomorrow. He’d discover an invigorating but relaxing family day in front of them.

  Family. For a long time, she hadn’t dared dream of her own family, content with popping in and out of everyone else’s. Why be a legal guardian when ol’ Aunt Natalie was so much more fun? Why care on a deeper level when something might be ripped away from you on a minute’s notice?

  Aidan was part of the answer, but the truth came from something inside her she’d buried long ago. She could care and still let herself be attached to something real and worthy. Look at Aidan. He’d lost his mother and sister when they were so young. In spite of that, he went out of his way for others and attached himself to matters of weight and significance. He could have come to Hollydale and kept to himself, yet he got involved in float preparation, the parade’s security plans and the pie contest. The balance between him and her worked well, so well she wanted to see if they could work on something permanent instead of a temporary stopgap for Danny.

  With a nip cooling the mountain air, she reached into her tote for a light sweater and shrugged it on. Aidan came toward her, carrying two necklaces with red, white and blue light-up stars similar to Christmas bulbs. She patted a space beside her on the blanket, while Danny ran over. Aidan handed him one necklace and her the other.

  “For me?” She reached for it, downright giddy at receiving an unexpected gift. “What does this button do?”

  “Don’t know. It looke
d like you.”

  Natalie pressed a button, and a patriotic song played. Giggles filled the air. Goose bumps dotted her arms under her sweater. She wasn’t laughing. She glanced at Aidan, the sound not coming from him either. Her gaze fell on Danny, who slipped onto his bottom as waves of laughter came out of him as though every pent-up giggle from the past few months wiggled out of him.

  Danny was laughing.

  A loud boom filled the air before she could hug him. She started to move down when Danny snuggled into his uncle’s side, the necklace looped around his neck. Immediately Aidan relaxed and gripped Danny’s hand in the twilight.

  The sky flashed as ribbons of white light spiraled down with plumes of red on the outer edge. Several bursts came together, and Danny leaned into his uncle again. Green and red flares burst into spectacular displays of color until multiple pops in succession heralded the finale, light coursing across the sky in a magnificent array. Wonder and awe filled Danny’s face, and there were no two other people she wanted to share this moment with as much as the two Murphy males.

  Once the last ribbon faded into a plume of smoke, people folded lawn chairs and gathered their supplies for a quick mass exodus. Danny rolled over and reached out his arms to her. “I’m tired. Let’s go home now, Aunt Natalie.”

  Her heart lifted as the little boy managed to bridge her and Aidan.

  Smart little boy.

  “You set up. I’ll clean up.” Aidan took charge, but she didn’t mind as it was her turn to snuggle with Danny.

  In no time, they headed toward their houses at a slow clip, staying to the side as others passed them. The twinkling white lights strung overhead flicked on. They must have been on a timer for after the fireworks display. Surprisingly, even Aidan managed a turtle’s pace in keeping with Danny’s sleepy progress. Natalie stopped when her phone pinged with a text. She responded with a smile emoji and caught up with Aidan.