by Katie Carver
Ginger read the words from Carol aloud:
Dearest Friends,
By the time you read this letter, I will have passed on. Please know that my heart is always and will always be filled with the love that I hold for each and every one of you. Over the years, I have given much thought to the people I will leave behind and not necessarily to the things that I will leave behind. I believe that my possessions will be completely gone when I leave this world, save my family home. My greatest wish would be for all of you to share in the joy and happiness my home has brought me during my long life, but sadly it would be impractical. For this reason, I have devised a contest. All the town: young, old, good friends, and those who I may never have had the great pleasure of meeting, will have an equal opportunity to own the house. To anyone interested, the rules are simply this; be generous, be compassionate and above all else, be kind. A town meeting may be held to choose the resident who best embodies these qualities during the contest. I present a difficult task to you, but my darling neighbors and friends, I believe there is no other town on earth that would do a better job. I am confident you are all up to the challenge.
All my love, Carol
Ginger finished the letter and carefully folded it back up. She looked into the faces of the crowd. “Carol’s last wish for us all was to be the town she knew we could be. The town I know that we are. By voting for Jake, we’ll fulfill Carol’s last wish for us, to be kind to one another. She didn’t make up the contest to have us compete against one another, she made up the contest so that we could join together in kindness and give the home to the person who needs it the most. She knew that she may not know who that was when it was time for the house to be given away, so she left it up to us to decide. Carol believed in us. Mayor Curtis once said to me that it isn’t always easy to do what is best for the town, but it is always the right thing to do. I didn’t understand what he meant then, but I do now. I may have wanted the house, but it isn’t what is right for the town. Giving Jake the house is the right thing to do. Christmas is about being kind and generous and in the spirit of that, I beg you, give your vote to him. Let’s welcome him into our town properly. Let’s show him what this town really is; a town full of good people and a place he can call home proudly. Just like we do. It’s what Carol would have wanted.”
The town stood quietly, absorbing what she had said. She looked at them all hoping they’d heard her meaning and would listen carefully. If there was ever a time for them to all pull together, this was it. She knew in her heart that they could, just as Carol had believed. Her heart was full of love for the woman who had meant so much to her and the entire town. Even now, she was still teaching all of them the meaning of being generous. Ginger didn’t know if it would be enough to make Jake stay, but their relationship began with a fight and there was no way she was going to let it end without one.
Chapter Thirty
Ginger placed her frozen meal in the microwave and hit start. It was a pitiful Christmas Eve dinner, but she hadn’t the energy or motivation for anything more. She’d declined to go to Andy and Leah’s party this year, even at Victoria’s insistence. Her heart just wasn’t ready to celebrate and she didn’t want her misery to bring anyone down. She watched as the microwave counted down to zero. She opened the door and pulled out the meager turkey dinner which made her yearn for Leah’s cooking even more. The time on the microwave changed to five o’clock and Ginger’s stomach did a small flip. The town meeting would just be beginning. Another reason she decided to seclude herself in her tiny apartment was to avoid the aftermath of the vote. For all she knew, the town had decided to bend to Mayor Curtis’ wish and bequeath it to the town for a new Mayor’s Office.
Ginger brought her meal to the couch and hit play and continued to watch It’s a Wonderful Life. She knew the night, like the two before, would produce a fair amount of tears and at least this way she figured she could blame it on the movie.
After finishing her meal, Ginger heard a sound and looked towards the door. She turned the down television. The delivery bell to the kitchen back door rang again and Ginger sighed. There was no chance it was a delivery at this time of night and it was Christmas Eve. The sound could only mean one thing, someone was visiting. She dreaded the thought of having to turn down another invitation for Christmas Eve dinner and she was even more concerned that it would be someone there to relay the news from the town meeting. She pulled her sweater tighter around her and walked down the stairs to the bakery.
To her surprise, she opened the door to see Jake holding a small Christmas Tree and smiling widely. “Jake? What are you doing here?”
“It’s Christmas Eve and I’ve brought gifts. Can I come in?” he asked and entered the kitchen without waiting for a reply. “These stairs lead up to your apartment?” He began up the stairs and Ginger followed closely behind.
“Jake? What are you doing?” Ginger asked as Jake charged into her apartment.
She watched Jake place the tree in the middle of her living room. He pulled the items he was carrying along with the tree from under his arm. “You also got a blanket and a broken clock. Seriously, how does that woman stay in business?”
Ginger took the items and realized what Jake had called a blanket was actually a beautiful quilt that could have only been handmade by Sue Murphy. With a turn of the attached key, she could tell the clock wasn’t broken, it was just old and an antique from Matty’s shop. Ginger knew these were the prizes awarded from the festival. “You raised the most money?”
“No, I came in second, apparently your notion of the location being the key to a successful booth was correct. Even my poor little booth did well, but you raised the most.” Jake pointed to the small tree. “Spencer told me to tell you that you can still pick out another tree next year, but he figured you could use that now.” A wide smile crossed Jake’s face before he continued. “You missed out on the best prize of all. You should have seen Franklin’s face when it was announced you raised the most money. It was amusing.” Jake looked around her apartment, ignoring Ginger’s look of confusion. “This is nice. Not what I imagined, but nice.” He walked over to the table against the window that displayed pictures of her family. “This is your mom?” he asked picking up the picture of her with her mother when she was seven. “You have her eyes.” Jake smiled at her and gently placed the picture back on the table. Ginger watched in awe as Jake walked around her place, room by room, taking stock of her belongings. When he got to the kitchen, he spoke again. “A galley kitchen?” he said and smirked. “How do you cope?”
“Jake you still haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here?” Ginger asked losing her patience. She was already uncomfortable enough having someone wandering around her untidy place, but watching Jake act as if nothing had happened between them was almost unbearable.
Jake once again ignored her question. He plopped onto her couch, covered himself with a blanket, and picked up the remote. “What are we watching?” he asked.
“Jake! For the last time, what are you doing here?” Ginger yelled.
Jake looked up at her, surprised by the forcefulness of the question. “I told you, I brought presents,” he answered casually.
Seeing Jake in her apartment had been very near to her Christmas wish, but she knew it wouldn’t last. If this was how he wanted to behave, then maybe he was right. There was no point in harping on the inevitable. Ginger gave in to Jake and decided to just play along. She took a seat on the couch and grabbed part of the blanket off him and covered herself. If she couldn’t have Jake, she could at least she could have tonight. She snatched the remote from Jake and pressed play.
“It’s a Wonderful Life?” he asked sarcastically.
“Shhh,” Ginger pressed a finger to her lips. “This is my favorite part.”
Jake stared at her and smiled sweetly. “Aren’t you curious about the vote?”
“Nope,” Ginger said and continued to watch the movie.
“Really?” Jake ask
ed incredulously. “After everything that happened, you aren’t even a teensy bit curious as to who won the Baxter House.”
Ginger hit the pause button and turned to Jake. “No, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you are here with me watching a movie. It’s Christmas and I want to enjoy that with you. You may be leaving town and I may never see you again, so I don’t want to talk about the vote. I want to enjoy being with you. That’s what I care about.”
Jake smiled, snatched the remote back from her and pressed play again. “Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. I’m not going anywhere. I declined the job offer. You’re stuck with me.”
Ginger grabbed the remote back from Jake and pressed pause again. She repositioned herself onto her knees, facing Jake. “You’re staying? You aren’t moving?”
“That’s what I just said.” Jake grabbed for the remote, but Ginger held it above her head.
“Explain. Now,” she demanded.
Jake sighed and rolled his eyes. “I’m not leaving. I’m in love with you and I want to be you with you for the rest of my life.” He reached for the remote again, but Ginger held it higher.
“No way, Mister. I need more. What happened to it’s for the best and you don’t work that way. What changed?”
Jake sat up so that he was eye to eye with her. “I caught your speech. It was pretty great by the way.”
“You did?” Ginger hadn’t seen him in the crowd.
“Yes, and it got me thinking. You are a very smart woman, one that I should listen to when she tells me that I’m wrong. So, you have a temper and sometimes you push my buttons and drive me crazy. I figure I can handle that if you can handle the fact that I’ll sometimes come off as arrogant and I’ll make a bunch of mistakes along the way. Since you obviously love me and I’ve acted like an idiot most of the time you’ve known me, there’s a good chance you love me because of it. I finally realized that neither of us may be perfect, but that is exactly what makes us perfect for each other.” Jake took Ginger's hand and kissed her wrist.
Ginger smiled at Jake. “So, basically you’re saying I was right?” she teased.
Jake sighed, dropped her hand and grabbed the remote. He pushed play again and propped his feet up on her coffee table. Ginger looked at his legs and gasped. “Are you wearing jeans?”
Jake smiled, but didn’t look away from the television. “When a beautiful woman gives you fashion advice, it’s a good idea to listen.”
Ginger threw her leg over Jake so that she faced him and sat down on his lap. “You think I’m beautiful?”
Jake put his arms around her waist, “Ginger, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life. You are smart and fiery and I am so in love with you. Happy?”
“Completely,” Ginger cooed and leaned closer to him. “You are definitely staying?”
“I can’t think of any place I’d rather live. This is where you are.” Jake kissed her lips lightly and then pulled away and smiled. “And where our house is.”
Jake went to kiss her again, but Ginger pulled her head back slightly. “Our house?”
“No one in town could agree on which one of us deserved it more, so Matty and Mayor Curtis joined forces and convinced the town to split the vote between us so that we’d tie.”
Ginger scrunched up her face.
“What?” Jake asked.
“That surprises me.”
Jake gave Ginger a confused look. “Why? Aren’t you the one who said the town would do the right thing and haven’t you always said they are good people? Why would it surprise you they did something like that?”
Ginger shook her head. “No, not the town. That Matty and Mayor Curtis joined forces and the town didn’t implode or switch to an alternate reality or something.”
Jake laughed. “I see your point.” Jake put his hand on Ginger’s face and drew her in closer. “But it wouldn’t have mattered. I love you, Ginger. In any reality.”
Ginger leaned in and kissed Jake. She didn’t know what the future held for them, but she did know one thing. Her Christmas wish had come true.
Six Months Later
Jake watched Kacie and Ginger baking cookies in the kitchen of the Baxter House. He stood back, not wanting to disturb their discussion about the merits of sprinkles and waited. It had been six months since he had won the house with Ginger and things were coming together nicely. Ginger still hadn’t moved in but he’d caught sight of her secret stash of delivery boxes and knew she intended to soon. He’d offered to take over the apartment and they’d discussed her moving in right away, but she insisted on waiting until Kacie was settled and they’d been together longer. Kacie and Ginger were busy with updating and decorating the new home most days. His input was minimal due to the fact that they had both decided he couldn’t be trusted after his Christmas display. Jake didn’t mind, it was better to let them do the decorating. Even though he had argued the display was intended to be over the top, he knew that he’d have done a miserable job of it even if it hadn’t.
The restaurant was doing extremely well. Ginger had talked him into hiring Spencer’s wife, Annie, who owned her own public relations business, to help him re-launch in the Spring. Annie did such a great job, he just hired a part-time cook because he was drawing in so many new customers. Sandy had helped him find and train her replacement before she went back to school. Now that she was back for the summer, he’d put her in charge of some of the day-to-day business and she was currently debating switching her major to business management. It was nice to have some free time to spend away from the restaurant, especially while Kacie visited. She was up for the week before leaving for her equestrian course, which he still referred to as horse school when they spoke about it.
Jake saw the cookies being placed into the oven and took the opportunity to interrupt. “How’s baking going?”
Ginger smiled at Jake from across the room. “Great! I think I may have found a new helper at the bakery.”
“No way. You can’t take my helper,” Jake said defensively and looked at Kacie. “You don’t want to help at the bakery, do you, kid? You want to help at the restaurant.”
“Hmmm.” Kacie tapped a finger on her chin. “Let me see. Help at the bakery and get to sample delicious treats or help at the restaurant and wipe down tables and roll silverware. It’s a tough decision.”
Jake chuckled. “Traitor.” He walked closer to the stove and peered in to see what they were making. “Snickerdoodles? It looks like you have dessert covered. What do you girls---,” he started to say but Kacie shot him a scolding look and he corrected himself. “I’m sorry. What would you young ladies like for dinner?” Jake raised his eyebrows and received a look of approval.
“I won’t be home for dinner. I’m going to the ice cream parlor, remember?” Kacie asked.
Jake had okayed it yesterday, but had completely forgotten already. He was glad she was making some friends in town. “Ah yes, you are having ice cream for dinner.”
Kacie rolled her eyes. “I better go get ready.” She rushed out of the kitchen leaving Ginger and Jake alone.
“Was she wearing lip gloss and why does she have to get ready to go get ice cream?” Jake asked.
“I think Timmy is going to be there. She might have a little crush on him,” Ginger explained.
“A crush?” Jake wasn’t ready for her to have a crush yet, he felt like just last week she was playing fairy princesses. “Wait a minute. Did you say Timmy? As in little Timmy Hawkins the stop sign stealer? Oh, no, no, no.” Jake turned to follow after Kacie, but Ginger grabbed his arm.
“If you try to stop it, it’ll make it worse. Trust me. Besides, there hasn’t been a stop sign stolen in months and all of them have been returned.”
“Really? He gave them all back?”
“Not exactly. According to the Sheriff, most of them were found strategically placed at intersections throughout the town. He said it actually helped traffic flow, so they kept the majority of them up. The others they had to
take down. They were placed every five feet on Mayor Curtis’ street,” Ginger said and laughed.
“I bet he loved that,” Jake said sarcastically. “Fine. Maybe he isn’t all bad, but I still don’t want him dating my daughter.”
“They aren’t dating, so you can relax a little. Plus, she’s leaving next week. You don’t have to worry long. What are you going to do without her?”
“I’m thinking of taking a bakery course at the library. I hear the instructor is a real knock out.” Jake wrapped his arms around Ginger’s waist and looked into her eyes intently. “What I’m really wondering is what we will do with our free time this evening?” he asked sweetly.
“Well, there is a town meeting tonight.”
He bent down and kissed her lips gently and then nuzzled her neck. He could never get used to the smell of her. The sweet smell of vanilla and sugar. Jake was happier than he’d ever been and it was all because of the redheaded baker who stole his heart. There was no question in his mind that moving to Spruce Valley was the best decision he’d ever made. But he knew wherever he was, as long as he was with her, he’d be home. Jake smiled at Ginger. “A town meeting sounds perfect.”
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Also by Katie Carver
Spruce Valley Sweet Romance Series
A Loan for Christmas
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