Christmas Kisses: An Echo Ridge Anthology (Echo Ridge Romance Book 1)

by Lucy McConnell

  Reese paused. If she could do this, really do it well and make a profit, she could not only create a safety net in case the lease wasn’t renewed; she could show her mom that she was capable of being a part of the decision-making team. That was it. She was going to do it for the betterment of The Candy Counter and for herself. She was taking a leap of faith.

  “Mom doesn’t want to be bothered with it.” Which was technically true. Mom wanted nothing to do with expansion. Reese just left out that Joy didn’t want Reese involved with it either. If she could keep it under wraps until January, when the December statement arrived, then she could make her point.

  “Well, then I guess I’m the lucky one.” Andy stood.

  “Lucky?” Reese tipped her chin up to look into Andy’s face.

  “Yeah, I get to take you home with me, heiress.” He lifted his cheek in a one-sided smile that made it impossible for Reese to stand— her legs had turned to marshmallow fluff. Andy held out a hand to help her up.

  Reese had to break eye contact in order to figure out how to make her legs work again. She slipped her fingers over Andy’s and held on tight as she got to her feet. Her knees stood firm, and she held back a giggle. She hadn’t even minded when he’d called her heiress; not when he said it all cute and deep like that.

  Reese’s cell phone rang, and she dug it out of her coat pocket. “Sorry,” she said to Andy. He waved off her concern and took a step back to give her some privacy. “Hello,” Reese said.

  “Hi, sweetie.”

  Reese dropped Andy’s hand and gripped the phone. Grandma never called her during the day. “Hi, Grandma. What are you doing?”

  “I’m making suckers and I need the long-handled spoon.”

  Reese felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. “Do you have the stove on?”

  “Of course I have it on, how else would I make suckers?”

  “Is Dad home?”

  “He ran to the bank or somewhere. Oh, here it is. You should put the spoons back where they belong, sweetie.”

  Reese groaned. Grandma was the one who put the spoons away. With Mom and Clark in the store, that left Reese to hurry over and put out the fire. Heavens, she hoped there wasn’t a fire! “Okay, I’ll do that. I’m on my way over. I can’t wait to see what you’ve made.”

  “See you soon,” said Grandma, and the line went dead.

  Reese grabbed Andy’s hand, ignoring how strong and protective it felt when he laced his fingers through hers. She hurried towards the exit. “Grandma’s cooking, and she can’t cook alone. I have to get over there.”

  “I’m coming with you.” Andy gave her hand a squeeze as they hit the front doors.

  The security alarm went off. Both of them froze and looked around in confusion. Reese pointed to the box tucked under Andy’s arm. He went to set it on the floor, and Carl, the security guard, was at Reese’s elbow.

  Reese bounced. She needed to go, now. “Sorry, Carl, Grandma called—”

  “I forgot I was carrying it,” Andy said at the same time. They stopped talking and gestured for the other one to go first.

  Carl looked back and forth between them. His gray slacks and white shirt were expertly pressed and his black tie was crooked. “Were you planning on purchasing that, sir?”

  Reese refrained from rolling her eyes. Carl lived four blocks from her house and she knew he knew who Andy was. If he was in one of his moods, this could take time, and time wasn’t something Reese had a lot of.

  Andy must have sensed her stress, because he hugged the box to his chest and said, “I am. I was just showing this lady to the door when the alarm went off. I’ll go pay for it right now.” He took a step back, toward the cashier.

  “I think I’ll go with you,” said Carl.

  “Just give me one second.” Andy handed the box to Carl, who grunted when it hit his chest, and stepped up to Reese. “What can I do? What about your website?”

  Reese shifted from foot to foot. “It’ll have to wait. I’m sorry.”

  “How about I make a few mockups and email them to you?”

  “That would be great. Thank you so much. I’m sorry to rush off this way and leave you with Carl.”

  “Go.” Andy held the door open.

  Reese waved behind her as she rushed to her car parked on the street. Andy would be fine. Carl was vigilant and serious, but he was also a good guy. Her real worry was that Grandma would burn their business to the ground before Reese had a chance to take it to the next level.

  REESE BURST THROUGH HER PARENTS’ FRONT DOOR, running all the way to the chocolate kitchen. What she found made her gasp and grab her chest. Grandma stood over the counter, a huge knife in her hand, breaking off hunks of chocolate and dropping them into the top of the double broiler. Her shoulders and arms shook and the knife weaved and waved as she worked at her task.

  “Well it’s about time, lazybones. Get in here and make yourself useful.” Grandma waved the knife to beckon Reese into the room.

  Reese dropped her purse by the door and shed her coat. Remembering the advice she’d read online about not challenging someone with dementia, but instead working into their reality so as not to upset them, Reese asked, “What are we working on today?”

  “I’ve got a batch of caramels cut and ready to go, and two batches of cherry fondant are setting in the fridge,” replied Grandma.

  Reese stared at the double broiler with two parts horror and one part admiration as Grandma finished dropping in the hunks she’d chopped off the ten-pound block. Reese had never seen the pot so full. She discreetly checked the temperature setting and found it was correct. Breathing a sigh, she took a moment to stir the brown liquid. It appeared to be all right. Grandma hadn’t cranked up the heat to melt it faster and therefore separate the milk from the cacao. They could use this batch, but how on earth were they going to use this much chocolate?

  “I’m going to wash my hands, and I’ll be right back.”

  “Hurry up. There’s work to be done.”

  Reese stepped into the dining room and dialed her mom’s cell phone. “Mom,” she said when Joy picked up, “Grandma’s got three weeks’ worth of chocolate going.”

  “She what?!”

  “Yeah.” Reese told her about Grandma’s phone call and what she found when she arrived. “She’s got some fondant and caramels. I can do a batch of Santas, but we’re still going to have extra.”

  “Nut clusters! There should be four bags of nuts in the cupboard.”

  Reese gagged. She hated making nut clusters. Hated the mess. Hated the peanut smell. Hated the oils on her hands. Hated the repetitive work. She supposed it was because she was forced to master nut clusters before she could move on to dipping proper, so she resented the little buggers for keeping her away from her true calling.

  Joy sighed. “Your dad won’t be home until later on and it’s still busy down here. Can you stay until she goes to bed?”

  “Yeah. It’ll take me that long to do all this anyway.” Reese shuddered. Nut clusters. Blech.

  Reese used her hip to push open the door. Grandma was in the dipping chair, working her way through the caramels. Reese got out the cherry fondant, which was extremely red. Grandma must have doubled the food coloring. She sprinkled powdered sugar on the counter and began to roll the fondant into long ropes, which she would cut into equal sections before rolling into balls for Grandma to dip.

  “When is your young man stopping by?” asked Grandma.

  Reese paused before answering. Was this one of those times Grandma was confused, or was she trying to tease? Deciding to keep it light, Reese tipped up her nose and replied, “I’m sure I don’t know whom you mean.”

  Grandma scowled. “Oh, you know very well who I mean. That boy who stomps into my kitchen and steals my chocolates.”

  Reese smiled, grateful Grandma was thinking clearly. “Oh, him? He’s not mine to claim.”

  “Why not stake your claim?” Grandma shimmied her shoulders. “You two would make beautiful
babies.”

  “Grandma!” The ball of fondant in Reese’s hands plopped onto the floor.

  Grandma put her hand on her hip. “Why are you always so shocked at what I say? I didn’t land your grandpa by being shy.” Grandma looked heavenward. “That man could get my kettle bubbling.”

  “Uh.” Reese most certainly did not want to hear about her grandma landing her grandpa. She picked up the fondant and threw it in the garbage.

  “I’m not saying you have to do anything improper,” Grandma went on, as if she didn’t see the look of horror on Reese’s face. “Men need a little push now and then. A nudge to let him know you’re interested. Andy has come over here every other day for months and you barely say five words to him.”

  Dusting the sugar off her hands, Reese moved her tray over to Grandma’s side of the counter. “He blows in and blows out. It’s not like we have time to talk.” She moved Grandma’s finished tray out of the way. Since Grandma was in a talkative mood, something that hadn’t happened for a few weeks, Reese wanted to keep it going. “I did run into Andy after work.”

  “Oh really? He’s stopping by The Candy Counter? That’s how it started with your grandpa, ya know.”

  Still not interested in the details of her grandma’s boiling kettle, Reese took out the other batch of fondant and got to work. “It wasn’t like that. He was Christmas shopping.”

  Grandma shook her chocolate-covered finger at Reese. “Listen here. I’ve had enough of your excuses, and I’ve lived a long enough life to know it goes by too fast. If you don’t grab something good when it’s going by, it doesn’t come around again.”

  Reese played with her apron strings. The last time she’d allowed herself to think of Andy that way, she’d been in middle school and much too young to do more than admire him from afar. Was it really possible Andy was interested and just needed encouragement, like Grandma said?

  “I’m wiped.” Grandma moved to brush her hand across her forehead. Reese was able to stop her before she smeared chocolate on her face again. Grandma looked at her hand and laughed. “That would have been a mess!” she said.

  Reese laughed too. “I can clean up here if you want to take a nap.”

  Grandma’s glassy eyes went around the room covered in dirty dishes, powdered sugar, and trays of chocolates. “There’s not much to clean up. I’ve already done the dishes.”

  Her body might have been in this time period, but her mind had slipped to another.

  “The place looks great,” Reese agreed. “Let’s get you settled and then I’ll come turn out the lights.”

  “Okay.”

  Reese took Grandma’s elbow and directed her through the house door and to her old room, which had been repainted and refurnished with Grandma’s things. Reese flipped on the electric fireplace and turned down the sheets while Grandma changed into her nightgown in the adjacent bathroom.

  After handing Grandma her pills and a cup of water, Reese tucked the blanket around her.

  “You’re a good girl, Grace.” Grandma patted her cheek.

  Grace? Reese smiled and kissed Grandma’s cheek.

  “You need to shake things up around here.” Grandma patted her hair. It had been bright white for as long as Reese could remember. Her blue flannel nightgown had tiny white flowers and a trail of lace across the bodice.

  “I’ll work on that.”

  Reese backed out and waited until she heard Grandma’s not-so-soft snoring. Glancing at the clock, she knew she had another two hours before anyone was home. She went back to the kitchen and picked up where Grandma left off. It didn’t take long to pour the Santas, and Reese was encouraged by the amount of chocolate it took, because that meant fewer nut clusters. They still took two hours to complete. When she was done, Reese flopped on the couch for a much-needed break.

  Reaching over, she grabbed her dad’s laptop off the desk in the living room, which also doubled as their home office, and brought up her email. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling when she saw a message from Andy with the subject “Candy Counter Website.” He’d been as busy as she was this afternoon. She clicked on it and checked the two images he’d sent. Both were good. One had a white background, was clean, and reminded her of the chocolate kitchen, with silver lettering and a dash of color. The other reminded her of The Candy Counter with its shiny brass. The background on that one was a dark brown. It looked rich and expensive.

  Andy was incredible. Both sites were stunning. Each one offered a specific image. She contemplated the different looks, clicking back and forth between them rapidly. In the end, she decided to go with the one that reminded her of The Candy Counter, because that was the image they presented to customers and it would be familiar to those who had come in and tasted their chocolates.

  Reese hesitated to respond. She wanted to show her mom the website, to get her blessing. But Reese already knew what the answer would be. Remembering Grandma’s admonition to shake things up, Reese typed a reply telling Andy to move forward with the second design. Her hand hovered over the keyboard. Could she do this? Not only would she be going behind her mom’s back; in order to get Andy’s help, she’d lied to him. Because of her lie, he’d spent the afternoon designing an online outlet for her. An outlet they might not even use after the holidays. She felt awful for tricking him into helping her.

  Grandma let out a loud snort in her sleep.

  What would Grandma do? Grandma would make waves. She was never one to sit down and let life pass her by. Maybe it was time for Reese to grab the reindeer by the horns and, instead of waiting for her inheritance, act like the heiress to a corporation with a vested interest. She hit “send” before she lost her nerve.

  Reese sat back and grinned. Her skin tingled. She’d done it. She’d leapt into the future.

  Contemplating the first image, Reese was once again impressed that Andy had caught the essence of the dipping kitchen. He paid attention to the little things. Of course there was a lot of white in the space, but the red clock on the wall and the teal dish towels showed up in the colors for buttons in the webpage.

  Reese stared at the swirly-curly additions across the upper corners. They almost reminded her of the way she’d braided her hair this morning. Her palms warmed. Andy did pay close attention. Maybe Grandma was right. Maybe he was interested. Reese could test that by tossing out a few hints and seeing if Andy caught on.

  She just wasn’t sure what kind of a hint to toss.

  WITH GRANDMA’S RECENT EPISODE, Reese ended up switching shifts with her mom and worked evenings for the next couple days. Grandma seemed to do better in the morning, and as the day wore on and she got tired, she had a harder time remembering things.

  The bright spot in the change was working alongside Clark at The Candy Counter. As things wound down, he started chatting, and Reese loved the glimpses he offered into his life.

  “It started out as a landscape and then evolved into this art deco piece. My teacher says it reminds him of a Chicago World Fair poster he saw once. He thinks it has a good chance of selling at the show. Can you imagine? Me, selling something I painted.”

  “I bet it’s awesome.”

  “I think I’ve finally found my voice. All this time I’ve been doing assignments and painting in other’s styles to learn technique, but this piece is the first one I really let myself explore what’s inside of me.” He scrunched up his lips. “Do you ever feel that? Like what you’re putting out there is an extension of yourself?”

  Reese nodded, remembering the semester she spent learning how to make show pieces when she was in school. She would spend hours in the lab without noticing time had gone by. “I have.”

  “It’s Zen,” said Clark.

  Reese agreed, but Clark’s reverent look made her laugh. “You’re so dramatic.”

  “I can’t help it— it’s the artist in me.”

  By closing time at Kenworth’s on Thursday night, the display case was nearly empty and Clark’s eyes were bloodshot. “Were you up l
ate texting Marci again?” Reese asked.

  “I wish.” Clark rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. “Applications for scholarships are due before Christmas break, and I’ve been staying up to write essays and fill out forms.”

  “I’ll do chocolate if you’ll do hard candy,” Reese offered.

  Clark’s shoulders dropped in relief. “Thanks.”

  Reese and Clark went to the storage room, where The Candy Counter had a walk-in closet to keep their stock. Reese used her key to unlock the door and Clark stepped inside to pull out the flatbed dolly. They spent a few minutes selecting the candy they needed. The chocolates were stored in airtight containers on the upper shelves, while the hard candies were in five-gallon buckets on the lower shelves.

  For the seventh time that day, Reese wondered if she should call Andy. No bright ideas as to how to encourage Andy— if he was actually interested in her, which she didn’t fully believe— had come to mind. He didn’t come around during Wednesday morning dipping. The longer he stayed away, the less Reese believed her grandma. However, there was that whole conversation about dropping hints, and Reese wondered if she could pull it off.

  Glancing at Clark out of the corner of her eye, Reese wondered what guys really thought when a girl called them.

  “Reese. Ree-eese?” Clark waved his hand in front of her face.

  Reese blinked. “What?” She scowled.

  “You ready?” Clark had the dolly ready to go.

  Reese grabbed one of each of the boxes on the eye-level shelf and set them on the cart. She then took as many as she could carry from the next level and shut the door behind her. She’d lock it when she brought the dolly back.

  “Hey, Clark.” She tried to sound light, as if she didn’t care about the answer. “Do guys like it when girls call them?”

  Clark shrugged. “Depends on the girl.”