Texas Christmas

by Nancy Robards Thompson

  “Pepper, hello! Come in,” said Shane Harrison, AJ’s fiancé. The couple had met in September when Shane was stationed at Fort Hood. It had been love at first sight, resulting in a big, fat diamond engagement ring and plans for a Valentine’s Day wedding.

  “Hi, Shane.” She leaned in and gave him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek.

  When she pulled away, he held on to her shoulders with both hands and looked at her with brotherly concern.

  “You doing okay?” he asked.

  Shane was a tall, handsome guy whose blond crew cut inexplicably made Pepper think of another tall, good-looking blond guy she’d recently met and hadn’t heard a peep from.

  She blinked away the thought of Robert Macintyre.

  “Well, honestly, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’ve been better, but you know what they say...the show must go on.”

  She forced herself not to wince at the self-deprecating pun.

  Shane shrugged and had the good grace to change the subject. “Come on in. AJ’s in the kitchen. Do you mind showing yourself in? I’m actually heading out to the office to finish up some work. You girls can get as rowdy as you want.”

  He held the door open for her while she crossed the threshold.

  “Thank you. It was good to see you, Shane.”

  “Good to see you, too, Pepper. You hang in there, okay?” he said, as he closed the door behind himself.

  It was warm inside. There was a fire burning in the fireplace in the living room. A Christmas tree stood in front of the window, decorated with lights and an eclectic mix of traditional ornaments. On top, an angel perched with outstretched arms.

  As she made her way toward the kitchen, she knew she’d be lying if she wasn’t a little bit worried that somehow this new turn of events might change the dynamics of their friendship. After all, she was the odd woman out. The fact was, the three of them were continuing on the show and Pepper wasn’t.

  She took a deep breath and reminded herself that her girlfriends had her back. Their friendship was solid. She had to stop the negative thoughts so she didn’t turn this get-together into a big pity party.

  As she stepped into the kitchen, she resolved it wouldn’t go that route.

  “Hey, gorgeous,” she drawled, infusing as much sunshine into her voice as she could muster on this cold December day. “That handsome man of yours let me in.”

  AJ looked up from the counter where she was putting the finishing touches on a tray of something delicious that looked like canapés and beamed at her. “Hey, yourself. You look fabulous!”

  She dried her hands on a towel and met Pepper with a warm hug.

  AJ did look gorgeous, with her sleek, chin-length bob styled to chic perfection. She wore red lipstick that matched her red apron, which had Celebrations, Inc. embroidered across the bib in bold white script. Pepper had given each of the girls matching aprons on the day they’d signed the contract for Catering to Dallas. The memory made a lump form in Pepper’s throat.

  She set the bag on the closest bar stool at the granite island. Giving herself a mental shake, she shrugged out of her coat and removed her gloves. Chin up, buttercup. This was not a pity party.

  Mustering another brave smile, she rattled the paper bag. “I brought chocolate. Maya’s chocolate.”

  “Oh, give me that bag now,” AJ insisted.

  Pepper rifled through the bag until she came to the box with the tag for AJ.

  “Don’t eat them all in one sitting,” she said as she handed over the confections. “Wait, scratch that. Enjoy them in the fashion that brings you the utmost pleasure.”

  AJ squealed and hugged Pepper again. “It was so sweet of you to bring these back. You know how we all crave Maya’s chocolates.”

  “Hey, I may be broke, but there are some necessities in life a girl just can’t skimp on. You know, I was thinking, you all should do a segment on the show where you feature her chocolates.”

  “Or maybe we want to keep the secret of Maya’s delicious chocolates all to ourselves.” AJ laughed as she tore into the box. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea.”

  AJ eyed the assortment and selected a truffle. She raised it to her mouth, but stopped before biting into it. “It just wouldn’t be any fun without you. I don’t want to make you feel any worse, but Pepper, I don’t want to do this show without you.”

  Pepper waved her off. “That’s just crazy talk and I don’t want to hear you say that again.” She pulled at the cuff of her sleeve. “Because it does make me feel bad when you talk like that. This is the chance of a lifetime for Celebrations, Inc., and if you pass it up you’ll make me feel terrible. So enough. Okay?”

  AJ nodded and bit into the candy. “Mmmm,” she said, closing her eyes. “This is fabulous. Have a piece.” She gave the box a gentle nudge toward Pepper.

  “Oh, no, that’s okay. These are all yours. Maya made a special batch for me. White chocolate with rose petals and edible gold dust. They were almost too pretty to eat but too delicious to pass up. That’s what made me think about featuring her on Catering to Dallas.”

  “I offered to share my box,” AJ said. “Did you save me one of yours?”

  Pepper shook her head and her thoughts drifted to Rob Macintyre and how she’d given him one of her precious dozen. “Are you kidding? They didn’t last two days once I was back in Celebration.”

  Not to mention the one she’d shared with Robert.

  “I don’t blame you one bit. I wouldn’t have shared them, either.” A thoughtful look passed over AJ’s face and she pulled out a stool and sat down, motioning for Pepper to do the same. “Have you given any thought about what you’re going to do now?”

  Pepper took the remaining two boxes out of the bag, set them on the plates at the two empty places AJ had set, then took a seat. “I have no idea what I’m going to do. But I do need to get a job because I have to do something. And I need the money. Ha! Did you ever think you’d hear me say that?”

  AJ was staring down at what looked like a business card in her hands. She was holding it by the edges as if it might burn her. “All right, I don’t mean to pry... Actually, I should be apologizing for my grandmother, who has refined prying to a fine art. But she wanted me to give you this.”

  Pepper took the card from AJ, and almost dropped it when the overhead light reflected on the gold embossing, giving Pepper a strange sense of déjà vu that crystallized into Oh, wow when she read the name Robert Macintyre on the card. The same gold-embossed Macintyre Enterprises and Macintyre Family Foundation logos, the same name, address and phone number engraved in bold black in the body of the card. The only thing that was different was the handwritten message on the back: Send résumé and call for an interview.

  “What is this?” she asked, looking from the card to AJ, who looked a little embarrassed.

  “Apparently, my grandmother has brokered a job for you.”

  A job? With Macintyre Enterprises? A sense of free-falling whooshed through Pepper. “I don’t understand.”

  And she really didn’t. She wasn’t sure if she’d reacted that way because she saw Robert Macintyre’s name on the card—was this his roundabout way of finally getting in touch with her almost a week later? Or was it because a job might have fallen into her lap without her even having to search for it?

  What kind of a job was it? Macintyre Enterprises was a huge company. Was she supposed to send him the résumé? Surely not. The CEO didn’t collect résumés, even if he had saved her from a drunk bully, given her an identical card and kissed her until her lips throbbed.

  “Who understands my grandmother? But if she says she got you a job, you know it’s true.”

  AJ popped the cork on the bottle of prosecco and poured it into the green glass pitcher that Pepper was sure contained peach puree. What would a girls’ brunch be without th
e traditional Bellini toast? Only, usually they waited until they were all here before they got into the drinks.

  This was as good a time as any to tell her she had already made Mr. Macintyre’s acquaintance. Sydney knew, and once word got out about the job, she’d start talking about the 3:00 a.m. phone call and how Robert had given Pepper a ride home. But no one but she and Robert knew about the kiss, so she didn’t have to tell everything she knew.

  “You know, this is the weirdest thing,” Pepper mused. “I sat next to Robert Macintyre on the plane home the other night.”

  AJ stirred the concoction in the pitcher. “You must have made quite an impression.”

  “Not a good one, I’m afraid.” She gave AJ the concise “History of Pepper and Robert” as AJ poured two flutes full of Bellini.

  “Even when you think you’re at your worse, you never fail to dazzle ’em, babe. Maybe someone has a little crush?”

  “I don’t.”

  Liar.

  “I wasn’t talking about you. I meant him. He’s the one with the crush. On you.”

  “He’s the boss. He can’t have a crush on me.”

  Yes, and then there was that issue.

  “He’s a billionaire, baby. He can do whatever he wants.”

  Pepper remembered his warm brown eyes and the way she’d felt in his arms. The way his shoulder muscles had flexed and the way he’d protected her when Mr. Drunk-and-Nasty had hassled her. And his smile when he’d told her to call if she ever needed rescuing again. The adrenaline rush whooshed again. This time it swept up the butterflies like a riptide. The sensation was so strong, she had to resist putting her hand on her stomach.

  Instead, she reached out and took the Bellini that AJ offered her.

  “So, should we call this a toast or a shot of liquid courage?” AJ asked.

  Pepper shrugged. “Both?”

  The friends clinked glasses. “Cheers!” said AJ. “To a new job. And to Robert Macintyre.”

  “But how exactly did this happen?” Pepper asked. “Your grandmother is the one who gave you the card to give to me?”

  AJ shrugged and nodded. “That’s all she said. And you know how she can be when she doesn’t want to elaborate.”

  That was true. AJ and Agnes had recently made amends after years of AJ going against Agnes Sherwood’s grain. Agnes hadn’t approved of AJ’s choice to go to culinary school over a traditional education at an Ivy League university. But AJ had persevered. She won her grandmother’s respect after she’d successfully set up Celebrations, Inc., Catering and began building a solid reputation on her own. AJ had learned that despite her grandmother’s reputation for being a stern dowager, she had a secret soft spot for helping people help themselves.

  Was that what was happening here? Pepper knew if Agnes Sherwood had taken her on as her special project—as much as she hated thinking of herself as a special project—then she at least had to investigate the opportunity further. It was a matter of respect. It didn’t mean she had to take the job...but she couldn’t deny the thought of having a legitimate reason to set foot inside Macintyre Enterprises thrilled her to the core and unleashed the butterflies all over again.

  “Hit me with another shot of liquid courage, AJ. I think I’m going to need it.”

  Chapter Seven

  Rob received Pepper Merriweather’s résumé a week after his lunch with Agnes Sherwood. That same day, his office manager, Becca, had set an appointment for her to come in for an interview.

  Obviously, Pepper didn’t have a problem with Agnes serving as her employment broker. The interview was today at three o’clock. Rob couldn’t remember a day when the minutes had ticked away any slower.

  As he sat at his desk leaning back in his leather chair reading over her résumé—again—preparing for the interview, he reminded himself not to judge. There had been a day when he would’ve been grateful for any means to earn an honest paycheck. Sometimes circumstances demanded that people not be choosy. Pepper had followed through and sent in the résumé, which didn’t contain any formal employment experience, but it did boast a roster of volunteer positions that could’ve commanded salaries a lot higher than what he was prepared to pay her.

  So she really wanted to work as his personal assistant?

  Well, experience like this meant she was dependable and resourceful. It was worth an interview—and a chance to see her again.

  * * *

  Pepper had narrowed it down to two suits for the interview. She stood in her closet weighing the pros and cons of each one, holding up one and then the other as she scrutinized herself in the mirror. At least she’d invested in classics. She felt good in her clothes and that should boost her confidence, despite the fact that she’d never interviewed for a job in her life.

  Well, it was about time she did. She wasn’t above working for a living, especially if it helped prove that the Merriweathers didn’t think they were above life’s rules.

  She’d prove the critics wrong—

  The doorbell rang, pulling her out of her mental pep talk.

  She returned the suits to the rack and made her way into the foyer where she saw Ethan Webster through the beveled glass on the front door.

  Pepper’s heart raced. Maybe this was finally the good news she was waiting for. Maybe her father had finally agreed to see her.

  She threw open the door. “Ethan, hello!” she said, a little too enthusiastically. “Please come in.”

  There was a pause that lasted a few beats too long, but he stepped inside and she closed the door.

  “Hello, Ms. Merriweather.”

  The split second after his somber tone registered, she thought, Oh, no, he’s not here with good news. Had something happened?

  She braced herself and turned, trusting he would follow her into the living room. He did.

  “Please have a seat.” She motioned to the sofa. “May I get you something to drink?”

  “No, thank you.” Now that she could see him in the afternoon light streaming in through the windows, she noticed he looked a little ashen. She had a crazy thought that if she didn’t speak that maybe the two of them could simply sit there in companionable silence. If he didn’t speak, then whatever it was he had come to say wouldn’t be real. Unless his words breathed life into—

  “I’m sorry to be calling on you with bad news.” Ethan Weber stared at his hands in his lap, then he looked up, snaring her gaze and holding it unwaveringly as he said, “Your father suffered a heart attack this afternoon. I regret to inform you that he didn’t make it. I am so very sorry.”

  She’d known before Ethan had formed the first word—before he’d even drawn in his breath preparing to speak. She’d known what he was going to say. Even so, in the nanosecond that she’d allowed herself to fathom the nightmare, her heart denied it. It was a contradiction of logic, much in the same way that she couldn’t speak, yet inside she was screaming, No!

  “Are you okay, Ms. Merriweather?”

  No!

  Ethan Webster blinked rapidly and shifted in his seat. “Due to the fact that he died in prison, it will be necessary for them to perform an autopsy. In the meantime, might I suggest that you make necessary arrangements for him? He recorded his wishes in his last will and testament. I have that here for you.”

  Ethan stood and cleared his throat. “Are you okay, Ms. Merriweather?”

  No!

  Pepper nodded, even though she couldn’t swallow past the stone of silence lodged in her throat.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said, looking at her, then bowing his head. “If I may assist you in any way, please don’t hesitate to call.”

  * * *

  Macintyre Enterprises was housed in a huge twenty-five-story glass-and-chrome building in the heart of downtown Dallas. Actually, the empire wasn’t
simply housed there, Pepper realized, as she reached for the door handle. Macintyre Enterprises owned the building, as evidenced by the name etched into the glass of the massive front door.

  Still numb from the devastating blow of her father’s death, she had accepted the interview with Macintyre because it seemed like what she should do—what he would’ve wanted her to do.

  Dammit, he wouldn’t even see her when he was alive. Yet here she was still trying to please him even after he was gone.

  She reframed her thoughts. Since she was still not in possession of her father’s ashes, she might as well force herself to do something constructive. There was no use rescheduling the interview so she could sit and mourn. Once his body was released to the funeral home, there would be no funeral. No burial. After her bereft mother found her way home, the two of them would scatter his ashes...somewhere meaningful.

  Further proof that she was a bad daughter: she had no idea what he considered somewhere meaningful.

  So, here she was in limbo. Each day that ticked by without progress was another day further from securing her future. Who knew how long her father’s estate would be tied up in the courts—if there would even be an estate left after the justice system was finished. That meant it was all the more important that she secure her own future.

  With a heavy heart, she stepped into the massive glass lobby and looked up. The ceiling seemed to stretch miles above her head. All around a green-tinged light poured in, reflecting off the chrome furniture, fixtures and giant fountain in the center, which sprayed a fine mist. Great—now her hair would frizz. Everything about the space was sleek and cold and slightly damp. Exactly the way she felt.

  She consoled herself with the thought that being here was the right thing to do. Not only did she have herself to support, but she would have to pay for father’s cremation.

  Pepper pulled the collar of her coat together at her throat to stave off the cold that seemed to be part of her bones now. As she smoothed her hair into place, she spied a receptionist stationed behind a desk over to the right in front of a bank of elevators.