A Texas Christmas Homecoming

by Nancy Robards Thompson

  “Polly, could you do me a favor, please?”

  Polly had been leaning on the tall cookie case, but she stood up straight. “Sure. Anything.”

  “Would you take Katie back to the kitchen and give her a snack? I have some apple and cheese slices in the refrigerator.”

  As Polly started to come out from behind the counter, Katie cried out, “No, Mama! The park. You said we could take my snack to the park.”

  She had indeed said that. While she trusted Polly enough to leave her in charge of the shop, she didn’t know the girl well enough to ask her to take her three-year-old to the park. The cash or anything in the shop could be replaced, but Katie was too precious to leave it up to chance.

  “I’m sorry, Eli—”

  “I’d love to go to the park,” Eli said.

  Rachel frowned at him and gave what she hoped was a very unobvious shake of her head. “Why not, Mama?” Katie asked. “Why can’t Mr. Lane go to the park? Was he bad?”

  Oh, baby, you have no idea. He’s so bad he’s good.

  Katie turned to Eli. “You have to be good or no park.”

  “That’s good to know,” Eli said. “I’ll have to remember that. I’ll try to be very good.”

  “Mr. Lane is going to try, Mama. Poor Mr. Lane.”

  Oh, for God’s sake. Now they were both ganging up on her.

  Maybe she was being a little overprotective…of Katie…or herself?

  Rachel didn’t realize that Polly had disappeared into the kitchen until she returned with the small container with Katie’s apple pieces and cheese and a bottle of water.

  “Here you go,” she said. “I’ll hold down the fort while you three go to the park.”

  There was a certain knowing sparkle in her eyes that said she might have an inkling that Mr. Lane was more than just a customer.

  But was he more than just a customer?

  He seemed to be trying to be. Why else would he have come all the way from Logan’s, which was a good forty-minute drive?

  “I’ll bring the cookies,” Eli said, holding up the small white bag with the Cookies and S’more(s) logo on it.

  “What kind did you get?” Rachel asked as he held open the door for her.

  “Chocolate peppermint.”

  “A seasonal favorite.”

  “That means, I have impeccable taste, or I’m just one of the crowd. Which is it?”

  Katie picked that moment to squirm out of Rachel’s arms. She bent to set her down and grab ahold of her hand. “Katie, you know you have to hold my hand until we get to the park. There are cars around here.”

  She complied until they set foot on the grass. Rachel let go of her hand and the little girl ran with all her might to a piece of multi-function playground equipment that had a sliding board coming out of a little hut that looked like a fort, which was attached to a metal frame that held four swings.

  The playground was otherwise empty. Rachel and Eli walked to a park bench that was situated right in front of the playground equipment. It gave parents a chance to sit while the kids played within eye- and earshot.

  As they sat down, on the bench, a couple of older women who Rachel didn’t know dressed in warm-up suits slowed their speed walking as they approached.

  “She is a precious little girl,” said one of the women. “How old is she?”

  “Thank you,” said Rachel. “She’s three years old.”

  The women cooed.

  “It’s just lovely to see a beautiful young family together in the park without someone’s head down in some sort of an electronic gadget,” said the one with close-cropped silver hair.

  “I know,” said the other one. “Everyone is so preoccupied these days. You don’t see this kind of family togetherness much anymore. It does a heart good to see such engaged parents. Good on you.”

  Rachel waited for Eli to correct them, to distance himself by quashing the notion that he was in the family way. But he just smiled at them and she tucked her left hand under her leg so they wouldn’t notice that she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. Soon the ladies were speed walking away, gushing about what a handsome couple they were.

  For a moment Rachel shut out the rest of the world and imagined that they were the perfect little family taking their daughter to the park. Katie was their little girl. Eli was her adoring father and her husband.

  This was what it would be like to be married to him.

  Well, at least in her perfect world.

  But she wasn’t married to him. He wasn’t Katie’s father. She had no idea whether he even wanted kids or would have any time or interest in sitting in the park during the middle of the day.

  “Want a bite?” Eli’s words pierced her bubble. He was offering her one of the cookies he’d bought.

  “Chocolate peppermint,” he said. “It’s delicious.”

  “If I eat another one of those, my skin will start growing little pieces of peppermint.”

  Eli smiled. “More for me.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to say, there’s a whole lot more where that came from, but she bit back the words just in time and reminded herself that he still hadn’t offered an explanation for his visit.

  Rachel asked, “To what do I owe this surprise?”

  He chewed and swallowed the cookie bite. “Do I need a reason? And these really are delicious. Wow.”

  “Thanks, but Eli—”

  “Actually, I do have a reason. I’m here on official Barrels Winery business.”

  “Really?” She was aware that he’d stretched one of his arms along the back of the bench. If she relaxed and scooted back so that her back touched the bench, he could put his arm around her just like they used to do. A long time ago.

  “This place looks different,” he said. “Is that playground equipment new? Not that I would’ve remembered it from before. It just looks different.”

  “Maybe you’re seeing it through new eyes. Places always look different after you’ve been away for so long. Why did you stay away for so long, Eli?”

  “You left, too.” He sounded defensive.

  “But I came back,” she said.

  “You were married to someone else. There was no reason for me to come back.”

  “Yet here you are,” she said.

  “Here we are,” he said.

  “And now what?”

  She was baiting him. She wanted him to say definitively whether he was here just for the winery or for—

  No, she didn’t. She didn’t want him to say that. She didn’t want to know.

  “So, tell me about this official business that brings you here today,” she said, infusing a little too much sunshine into her voice.

  Eli laughed a little. But it wasn’t completely humorous. There were notes of frustration laced in.

  “Right. Business.” He took his arm off the back of the bench and sat up straight. “Yesterday, Logan and I went to the property where we’re going to plant and build the winery. We’re going to open a restaurant, and we wanted to see if you were interested in opening and running the place for us.”

  Rachel blinked. Surely, she hadn’t heard him correctly.

  “Are you saying you want to talk to me—” she pointed to herself “—about opening a restaurant for you?” She pointed to him.

  “Yes. That’s exactly what I said.”

  Rachel shook her head, unsure if this was just a continuation of that crazy Felicity dream she’d had Saturday night.

  The text message. She needed to tell him about Donna confessing to deleting the message. But first—

  “Eli, that’s wonderful of you, but I own a cookie shop. I’ve never opened a restaurant before.”

  “But you said you wanted to. You said it was a dream of yours. I’ve never planted a vineyard from scratch, but Logan is trusting me to take what I’ve learned working for someone else and to improve upon it. That’s what we want you to do. The food you cooked for the ball was delicious. You can do this.”

  Rachel�
�s mouth fell open. She closed it. Her gaze found Katie, who was happily sitting along the side of the sand box scooping sand into a bucket with the toys that were part of the playground equipment.

  A cool breeze blew, but the afternoon sun in the clear sky took the edge off the chill.

  Opening a restaurant was a lot different than catering a charity event once a year. But it had always been her dream to open her own place. Eli knew that. She’d told him that and now—

  And she had the buyout offer from Mama Bear Cookies. It wasn’t a lot, but it would be a safety net.

  But what if that safety net didn’t hold? Restaurants were risky. Were they wanting her to invest her money in the winery? Then again, he didn’t know about the offer from Mama Bear.

  “Oh, my God, Eli, I don’t know what to say.”

  “Then don’t say anything right now. Think about it.”

  They sat in silence for a moment. She was thinking about it. She was weighing all sides.

  “How much would I have to invest? All my assets are tied up in Cookies and S’more(s).”

  “Cash is not a requirement. Logan and I are more interested in creativity and expertise.”

  She winced. “Expertise? That’s daunting. I haven’t been to culinary school. I don’t know—”

  Eli held up a hand. “Then think about it and we’ll talk about it later. It doesn’t have to happen tomorrow. We’re not even planting the vineyard until the spring. Then it will take three years, until we harvest our first crop. So, we have time.”

  We have time.

  Did they?

  “Does that mean you’re staying for…years?”

  “Looks that way.”

  She watched Katie dump the bucket of sand and run over to the sliding board, where she climbed up and slid down. She ran around to the ladder to do it again.

  “Donna deleted your message,” Rachel blurted, keeping her gaze pinned on her daughter as she changed the subject.

  “What?” Eli asked. She glanced at him just in time to see the realization dawn on his face.

  “I remembered that she had grounded me and taken away my phone when she had offered you the California option. Last night, she was over helping Katie and me decorate our Christmas tree and I asked her point-blank if she had deleted a message from you asking me to meet you at the park. At this park.”

  Her eyes found the gazebo, the place where Eli had wanted to meet, but then went reflexively back to Katie.

  “She owned up to it right away. Like it was her right to do it because I was seventeen years old.”

  Eli nodded. For a moment, he didn’t say anything. Until he did. “Now you know I didn’t leave without saying goodbye.”

  He didn’t sound angry or vindicated. Just…relieved?

  “I do,” Rachel said. “I would’ve gone to you had I gotten your message. You know that, don’t you?”

  He shrugged.

  “But why did you let my mother drive you out of town? Who were you covering for, Eli?”

  “Mama,” Katie called. “Come push me on the swing.”

  “I’ll be right there, Katie Bug.” She turned back to Eli.

  “You need to take care of your daughter,” he said. “Have dinner with me Friday night. Let’s go look at some of the other wineries in the area and we can talk. About everything.”

  *

  Two days later, Rachel was running late for her volunteer shift at the Send a Card to the Troops event sponsored by the Association of Downtown Merchants on the Square. Regina Taggart, the executive director of the merchant’s association, had set up a table on the grassy area in the center of the square, right next to the statue of Booze Kelly.

  “Sorry I’m late, Regina.” Cursing herself for taking the early shift, Rachel hadn’t even taken time to stash her purse at the shop. She had come straight from her car after dropping off Katie at preschool.

  “Well, you are here now,” Regina said, the irritation clearly evident on her face. “At least you didn’t forget. I was worried you had.”

  “Nope.” Rachel gave Regina her brightest smile. “I’ve been looking forward to this.”

  Send a Card to the Troops was a long-standing Whiskey River tradition. For as far back as Rachel could remember, the merchants’ association had sponsored the event once a year on the first Wednesday of December. The Whiskey River merchants’ association had strung lights along the eaves of the shops and offices. Lampposts sported garlands in a variety of shapes like boots, bells, angels, Santas, and snowmen. Kelly Boots sponsored special decorations: LED boot motifs that hung from the lampposts and other prominent public areas.

  The merchants on the square had gotten into the spirit of the holiday season by decorating their storefronts to support this year’s theme: cowboy boots, a nod to Whiskey River’s very own Kelly Boots. Christmas cowboy boots in all shapes and sizes were visible all around the square. There were banners and ornaments and wreaths hanging on the doors. In her shop, Rachel had decorated a tree with cookie boots and hung a lighted wreath in the shape of a boot on the front door.

  Two doors down, her mother had hung a wreath made of wooden boots on the door of Whiskey River Realty.

  Regina was the new executive director, having been hired on in June after long-time director, Peggy Clemons, retired.

  Rachel didn’t blame Regina for being annoyed. She didn’t like being late. When she said she was going to do something, she made a point of following through and being on time.

  It had been one of those mornings. One step forward, two steps back. Her alarm did not go off. Katie had been particularly strong-willed, wanting to dress herself. The outfit she’d chosen was her green, sequined Little Mermaid Halloween costume. She hadn’t wanted to wear a coat over it because it covered up the picture of Ariel silkscreened in the midriff area of the flimsy polyester.

  Rachel was going into her busy season with Christmas on the Square starting next week. The last thing she needed was for Katie to get sick. She’d had to be the mom and veto Katie’s wardrobe choice in favor of corduroy pants and a warm sweater. By the time they were ready to get out the door, Rachel couldn’t find her keys, which ended up being in the side pocket of her purse, right where they should’ve been. She’d probably looked right at them.

  She’d hustled an already unhappy Katie into the car and beelined to the preschool. She hated to leave her upset. This was one of those tough-love mornings that hurt her more than it did her daughter, who was probably warm and happily playing with her friends while Rachel was still stinging over the morning’s chaos.

  Now that she was here, she had a chance to catch her breath. Polly was going to open the shop at nine. Thank goodness there wasn’t a crowd. It could have happened. Whiskey River had a lot of patriotic residents, who participated in the annual Christmas cards for the troops drive. But this year it was apparent that they would be able to ease into the event.

  Thank God for small favors, she thought as she sipped the lukewarm coffee from her stainless steel mug—coffee she’d brewed three hours ago.

  “Here,” Regina said as she handed Rachel a stack of cards. “These cards are all mixed together. Would you please separate them by type and distribute them in the coordinating boxes on the table?”

  She took the cards and walked down to the far end of the table.

  “There you are.”

  Rachel looked up to see Avery walking toward her. “Savannah told me you’d be here. Are you upset with me?”

  Rachel smiled. “Why would I be mad at you?”

  Avery bit her bottom lip and frowned. “Over the Eli thing.”

  Eli?

  Rachel’s heart thudded at the mention of his name. But she also glimpsed Regina not even trying to hide the fact that she was listening to their conversation.

  Rachel laughed. “No, I’m not mad at you, but come here. Regina, I’ll be right back.”

  Regina frowned and glanced at her watch as if Rachel was on the clock. But Rachel acted like she didn
’t notice.

  When Rachel returned to Whiskey River, she’d decided the best way to make the town feel more like home this time around was to get out of her comfort zone and meet people. It seemed logical that the best way to do that was to get involved in something bigger than herself, something that served the community. Even though it took every ounce of introvert courage she possessed, she’d volunteered to work the annual Friends of the Library book sale.

  Savannah had signed up for the same timeslot as Rachel and they’d hit it off right away. When Avery arrived for the second shift, Savannah introduced them. Regina Taggart, the person who was supposed work with Avery, was a no-show. So, Rachel and Savannah stayed to help her. They had such fun bonding over the unreliable and flaky factor of Regina Taggart, after she’d blown off the shift.

  Avery and Savannah assured Rachel they weren’t trying to be mean, but Regina, who was the niece of social maven Paloma Kelly, was never nice to them. She took every opportunity to put them down and claimed credit for things she didn’t do. Maybe she had a competitive streak; maybe she was insecure. They weren’t quite sure, but it was clear as day: Regina wanted all the glory, but didn’t want to do the work and usually came up with an excuse to get out of getting her hands dirty.

  Since that day, the three of them had been best friends. It was like they’d known each other forever. That was another thing that seemed to be stuck in Regina’s craw. They’d become best friends while Regina seemed to have a difficult time maintaining friendships.

  “Is this okay?” Avery asked. “I can come back later, after your shift, if this is going to cause a problem.”

  “We’re not exactly busy.” Rachel gestured to the empty table. “And Regina obviously had her big ears on. She was listening.”

  Avery put both hands over her mouth. “I didn’t even think about that.” She slanted a glance at Regina who had moved a little closer and was sorting the stack of cards she’d given Rachel. Avery angled her body so that she was facing away from Regina. “Yeah, that one was all over Logan at the ball on Saturday. Did you see her?”

  “Was she really?”

  Avery nodded and Rachel could sense there was something else going on with her friend.