by Olivia Miles
Grace’s pulse skipped a beat. “Just wishful thinking,” she said.
“I haven’t been in much of a Christmas spirit this year,” Kathleen admitted.
“You have your reasons. Though I think everyone in town misses your gorgeous decorations.”
Kathleen’s lips twisted in pleasure. “I did waver a bit when I saw the judging panel for this year’s contest.”
“No one has a better eye than you,” Grace agreed. “Is it too late to judge this year then?”
Kathleen nodded. “But…” she trailed off, tutting as she shook her head. “Silly.”
“What?”
Kathleen wouldn’t meet her eye. “It’s not too late to enter. The judging is Christmas Eve, if you recall.”
Oh, she recalled all right! She could remember how nearly every Christmas Eve of her youth was spent sitting in the living room, she and her sisters wearing identical holiday dresses, her mother perched on the edge of the armchair, barely breathing as she watched the judging panel drive slowly up to the house. When Grace was very little, she used to think her mother was waiting for Santa, but she soon realized that to her mother, the judging panel was Santa.
Later, Grace had claimed to be relieved when her mother took on the role of judge, and the family was spared the palpable nervous energy Kathleen would exude until the phone inevitably rang in triumph, but deep down she missed the excitement. The thrill of waiting for the phone to ring, the camaraderie and the celebration.
“Are you thinking of entering?” she asked carefully.
“What? Oh, no. No… It’s silly, really. Just…” Kathleen darted her eyes around the room, lingering on the teddy bear North Pole arrangement in the children’s corner. “Well, there wouldn’t be time, anyway. And really, what’s the point in entering if you aren’t going to win?”
Grace grinned. “Aha! I knew you still had it in you!”
“Grace!” Her mother looked panicked, stricken, as Grace grabbed her coat and bag.
“We have a lot of work to do, Mom.”
“You mean you’re going to help?” Kathleen’s eyes danced with excitement, but she clasped her hands nervously, searching Grace’s face.
“Of course.” Grace made for the door, but Kathleen stopped her.
“Wait. Grace.” Kathleen heaved a sigh, her expression collapsing. “Do you think… do you think your father would mind us doing this?”
Grace stared at her mother quizzically. “Mind?”
“It doesn’t feel right to celebrate when he isn’t here with us.” Her voice broke on the end of her sentence and she drew a shaky breath. Her eyes were wet when she met Grace’s once more. “So do you think… he would mind?”
Grace swallowed hard, willing herself not to cry. She reached out and took her mother’s hand, giving it a tight squeeze. “I don’t think anything would make him happier, Mom,” she said. “Now come on. This time Wednesday night, everyone is going to know that the Christmas Queen of Briar Creek is back in business.”
“They’d better watch out!” Kathleen giggled.
“They don’t stand a chance,” Grace said through a grin. And as she and her mother stepped out in the quiet street, she felt a chill that had nothing to do with the wind whipping down the block.
CHAPTER
25
I can’t get over that jerk,” Anna hissed, after Grace finished telling her about the way things had ended with Luke the night before. She swiped her dust rag furiously over the last bookcase. “And here I actually thought you two might find a way back together.”
Grace paused from the holiday selection display she was creating on the circular table near the center of the shop. Wouldn’t that have been nice? She and Luke, together again… She sucked in a breath and squared her shoulders, focusing on arranging the books in neat stacks. There wasn’t time to think about this nonsense right now. Luke had cost her too much already. She owed it to herself and her family to keep it together now.
“I think we’re nearly ready,” she announced, turning swiftly to glance over the room.
“It looks great,” Anna said, following her gaze. From the festive window scenes to the twinkling lights that framed every doorway and window, to the welcoming bowls overflowing with candy canes and chocolates, it certainly was the best effort they could make under the circumstances.
“I’ll put on some music,” Grace suggested. The truth was that she was stalling, even if it was only for a minute. This was it—their last chance to save the store. Without the possibility of expanding, and with the lease expiring in a little more than a week, everything was now riding on this day, and the few more remaining.
“I’m a little nervous, Grace,” Anna admitted, coming up behind her.
Grace looked up from the pile of CDs stacked behind her father’s old desk. “Me too, but I’m glad you’re here with me. It helps, not feeling like I’m the only one who wants to hold on to it.”
Anna gave a small smile. “I gave you a hard time before, and I’m sorry about that. It’s been hard, Grace.”
Grace nodded. “I know.” She set the disc in the stereo and pressed PLAY. Soon the soft sound of Christmas music filled the shop. “Now or never,” she said to Anna, and the girls clasped each other’s hands and ran over to the front door, each taking one side of the heavy sign they had garnished with tinsel and carefully dragging it down the front steps to the snow-covered street below.
Open! Main Street Books needed a second chance, and this was their way of giving it one. One last effort to see it through, to raise the funds to turn it around, to remind people of why it should be kept alive.
Now there was nothing else to do but wait. Wait for someone to come into the store and turn it all around for them.
Grace stared down the empty sidewalk. “You don’t think this is a bad idea, do you?” She popped a peppermint in her mouth. Anxiety was leaving her queasy.
Anna rubbed her arms. “It might not work, I guess. I hope it does. And not because this store meant so much to Dad but because—” She paused. “Because I’d really like you to have a reason to stay.”
Grace didn’t want to think about that right now. She’d thought too much of staying, decided she might be able to build a life here, and then last night had sent her reeling in confusion all over again.
She shivered. “Come on. We’ll catch colds standing out here without our coats.”
Inside, the girls perched themselves behind the counter, staring silently at the door. After a good amount of time had passed, Grace fought back a sigh and announced, “I’ll go make some fresh coffee.”
She ducked into the back room and went through the task. If she didn’t keep moving forward, she was in danger of sliding into the past. And she didn’t want to think about the past anymore. Not any part of it.
When the pot was filled, she poured them each a mug and carried it into the storefront, halting in surprise when she heard Anna conversing with someone. A customer! Carefully, she set the mugs on the counter and wove her way through the stacks, feeling more hopeful already. If one person had already decided to stop in, surely more would follow. Books were a great gift for Christmas, after all, and maybe now that the shop had been closed for a few months, people would realize how much they had come to miss it.
Her face fell, however, when she noticed the person her sister was speaking to was only Ivy.
“Oh. Ivy.” She tried to mask the disappointment in her tone. Of course her friend would be here to support her. The problem was they needed more than friends and family to help them now. “It’s so nice of you to come in,” she tried again, feeling the truth in her words. If only everyone who was supposed to have cared about her made the same effort.
She gritted her teeth as an image of Luke swam to the front of her mind.
“You mentioned you were hoping to try to save the store,” Ivy said. “I didn’t realize you were going to follow through.”
Grace gave a modest shrug. After all, it was a modest
effort. “Well, we’re trying.”
“It’s wonderful!” Ivy gushed. “Honestly, I was just telling Anna how great the place looks!”
Grace couldn’t help but smile. “Well, thanks. That means a lot. As does your support.”
“So you’re open then?”
“Not exactly.” Grace hesitated. “We had hoped to expand, but that plan was thwarted.”
Ivy turned in confusion to Anna, who explained, “We wanted to expand into the space next door, with a bookstore and café, but it seems that someone else has the lease on that store and isn’t willing to relinquish it.”
Ivy nodded slowly. “Luke,” she said, her eyes flashing on Grace.
Grace straightened in surprise. “You knew?”
“I’m sorry, Grace,” Ivy said softly. “I remember a few people mentioning that Helen had plans to open a boutique.”
Silence fell over the room as the women took in the information. “Well, what’s done is done. On to plan B.”
“And a wonderful plan it is!” Ivy enthused. “In fact, I plan to buy all that I can carry. How much do I have here? Ten, eleven. I’ll get a few more.”
Grace laughed. “Ivy, it’s fine. You’ve done enough.” She didn’t have the heart to tell her friend that it would take a lot more than ten or fifteen book sales to save the store. More like a few hundred. A few thousand.
This was really pointless.
While Anna guided Ivy to their children’s book section, Grace walked over to the door and stared through the glass, out onto the sidewalk. Crowds of shoppers clutching shopping bags barely even looked through the windows or stopped to notice the sign. They’d given up on the bookstore. Maybe she should too. She didn’t know why she had thought this could work. Her family had been right. Hell, the account books had been right. People had stopped shopping at Main Street Books a long time ago. It couldn’t survive without a total transformation.
“No one’s going to come in,” Grace said, stepping back behind the counter. “People buy their books online now.”
“Oh, don’t say that!” Ivy said. She started placing stacks of books on the counter. Grace eyed them warily; it didn’t feel right to take money from her friend, even if Ivy wanted to offer it. “After I pay for these, I’ll go and tell everyone I know to come over.”
“Even then, they wouldn’t be back tomorrow. Or the day after. We need people shopping here every day. Every single day.” She shook her head. “It’s just not possible.”
“They would have,” Anna said. She started ringing up the items and placing them in paper bags. “If we could have turned this place into the type of establishment you described, with the café and the energy, they would have come. I know it. The moment you described it, I knew.”
Grace looked at her sister. “Thanks, Anna.”
“Well, every little bit helps,” Ivy said, collecting her heaving shopping bags. “I’ll go find a handsome gentlemen to carry these for me and let him know all about this fabulous sale you’re having at the new and improved Main Street Books!”
Grace watched as Ivy struggled through the front door, barely managing an awkward wave goodbye. New and improved was a stretch. A little tinsel didn’t go as far as she had hoped.
The sisters finished the entire pot of coffee and then started another. Grace knew Anna well enough to know they were both sharing the same thought. Each was wondering when they could admit defeat. When they could speak up and voice their opinion.
Grace decided it was her place to put an end to this.
“Oh, for God’s sake,” she heard Anna hiss. “It’s Mark. Please don’t tell me he’s coming in here.”
Graced perked up. She rather hoped he would. Mark was always up for a good time, and he had a knack for lifting her mood. The same couldn’t be said for Anna, however. They hadn’t gotten along since they were kids.
“Oh, come on, he’s not so bad,” she said, watching as his figure grew close.
“He’s…” Anna trailed off. “I don’t feel like dealing with him right now.”
“Then let me,” Grace said, plastering a genuine smile on her face as the bell above the door jingled and Mark poked his head around the door.
“Am I allowed to enter?” He grinned, and Grace felt her smile widen.
“Of course,” she said. “So long as you’re a genuine customer, that is.”
“I seem to remember giving you pancakes on the house the other morning,” he bantered, stomping the snow off his boots.
“Fair enough.” She handed him a candy cane. “On the house.”
“Thanks.” His eyes shifted to Anna, his smile faltering slightly. “So,” he said, giving Grace his full attention. “How’s the sale going? Ivy came into the diner and told us all about it.”
Grace frowned. Ivy had left the store nearly two hours ago. “No one else stopped by.”
Mark looked momentarily panicked, realizing the impact of her words. “Oh. Oh, Grace. I’m sorry. I know how much this place means to you.”
“And did you know?” Anna accused. “Did you know about Grace’s plan to expand, about the way we had planned to save the shop?”
Grace fell silent. It was the most she’d heard Anna say to Mark in… years. Something had turned between them in culinary school. No one knew what happened, and neither Anna nor Mark was offering to tell.
Mark looked from one sister to the next, and then to the door. Despite her fury, Grace bit on her lip. He hadn’t changed one bit. When he was faced with something serious, Mark fled. He ran from relationships, from houses, everything. But unlike her, he’d never run from Briar Creek. She’d give him that.
“And did you know,” Anna pressed, “about Luke’s attachment to the storefront next door?”
Mark’s jaw flinched. “So he told you, then?” he asked softly, and Grace nodded. He tossed up his hands, shaking his head. “For what it’s worth, I’ve been telling him to let it go. I’m on your side here.”
Grace shifted her gaze to Anna, who was staring stonily at Mark. “Do you think he’ll change his mind?” Grace asked.
Mark shrugged. “I hope so, Grace. I wish I could tell you he would. But…” He stopped talking. There was nothing more to say.
“Well, you don’t need to worry about buying anything,” she said. “We’ll be wrapping up here soon and the inventory will be donated to the Forest Ridge Hospital.”
“It’s really sad it’s come to this,” Mark said. He looked around the room, frowning. “You really did a nice job with the decorations.”
“Well, it wasn’t enough.” As if it could have been. As if Christmas decorations alone could change the situation.
“At least let me buy a book.”
“No,” Grace said, her heart beginning to feel heavy. “Really, don’t worry about it. Just give me a free cup of coffee next time I come into the diner.”
Mark grinned. “Always.” He edged back to the door. “There’s still time, you know. Anything is possible.”
“I’d rather not get my hopes up,” Grace replied flatly.
“I get it.” Mark paused. “Well, bye, Grace. Anna,” he said, with a curt nod.
Grace turned around and leaned on the counter, hearing the door close. She stared at her sister, whose expression was the picture of displeasure. And disappointment.
“I feel a little sick,” she admitted.
Anna nodded. “Me too. I mean, I run a business. I know how this works. I saw how the bookstore went downhill in the past few years. Somehow I still hoped something amazing would happen today.”
After a pause Grace said, “I should probably get home and let you get back to the café.”
“I suppose so,” Anna said.
They walked around the room, collecting the candy dishes, and then worked together once more to haul the sign back into the storage room.
“Well, we tried,” Grace said, as she flicked off the last of the lights and the room grew dim.
“Maybe Mark was right,” Anna offe
red, but Grace knew she was only being kind. Anna never thought Mark was right about anything. “It’s not over yet. Anything is possible.”
Grace forced a smile. Maybe her sister needed to believe it, even if she didn’t.
CHAPTER
26
Jane still couldn’t believe it.
She had thought her mother’s voice sounded strange when she called that morning and asked if Sophie could come over for a few hours to help with some stuff around the house, but sitting here now, in the driveway of her childhood home, she felt like she was a kid all over again. For a split second, all her troubles were gone, the pain of the past nine months had vanished. The magic of Christmas had appeared.
She hadn’t thought it possible.
Still in shock, Jane climbed out of the car and quickly unfastened Sophie from her car seat. Hand in hand, they followed the cobblestone path to the front porch, which was wrapped in a fresh pine garland and holly berries. Matching wreaths hung from every window and door by a neat red velvet ribbon and from the corner of her eye, Jane spotted a ladder propped against the side of the old Victorian house.
Surely her mother hadn’t climbed that herself! In this weather?
Jane narrowed her eyes. Grace. This must have been Grace’s doing—she’d seen what her sister had done to the store. She could only hope she hadn’t pushed her mother too hard into this. If the woman needed to wallow, let her. Jane would love nothing more than to do the same.
The door opened before she could knock and Jane took a step back at the sight of her mother. Her shoulder-length hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail, dust was on her face and clothes, and she hadn’t looked this happy since before Jane’s father had died.
“Mom?”
“Well don’t just stand there gaping,” Kathleen ordered. “You’re letting in the cold air!”
Jane pushed Sophie into the front hall and swept her eyes up the ornately decorated banister. The sound of Christmas music was coming from somewhere, and was that gingerbread she smelled?
