The Most Wonderful Time

by Fern Michaels

  “I’ll get it.” It was in the mudroom, where she’d wiped out the dust and cobwebs from last year.

  Within a few minutes he had the tree in the stand and centered inside the bay window.

  “Looks great.” She smiled. “That was a nice ceremony they had today at the VFW for Josh.”

  “Yep. He enjoyed it.”

  She fixed him with a look. “Liar.”

  “He was hurting some. But he appreciated the sentiment.”

  “Come in the kitchen.”

  She found coffee in the cupboard and made a pot. Colt leaned against the doorjamb, letting his shoulders fill the entryway.

  “It’s weird not having Sabine in this kitchen,” he said. “She used to make that damned fine pecan pie.”

  Hannah let out a sigh. “I sure do miss her.”

  “You going home to Nugget for Christmas?”

  “Not this year. My parents are taking a cruise.” She laughed because it was so out of character for them. Their last vacation had been a doll convention—her mother was an avid collector—in Irving, Texas. After Sabine died, Hannah had pleaded with them to do something special for the holidays. In part, she wasn’t ready for a big family gathering. “My brother’s going to his wife’s family. Same with my sister.”

  “Why don’t you come to our place? There’s always room at the table.”

  “I’ll probably do something with Deborah but thanks for the invite, Colt.”

  “I just thought it would be nice for Josh to have some of his friends around.”

  Apparently, Colt hadn’t gotten the memo that she wasn’t one of Josh’s friends.

  “You’re coming to the party, right?” Every year the Garners held a Christmas Eve open house at their adventure company for the community. They had it catered and hired a DJ.

  “I wouldn’t miss it.”

  The coffee was done and she poured him a cup. “You want cream and sugar?”

  “Nah, black is good.” He sat at the breakfast table and she joined him.

  “Are you off duty?”

  “Yeah, but I’m on call. I plan to have supper over at my folks’ house. You’re welcome to come too.”

  Colt was full of invitations today. She couldn’t remember him being this attentive. “I’m gonna pass. I’m looking forward to a nice quiet night in.” Perhaps tomorrow she’d have a few people over to trim the tree.

  “The store doing okay?”

  “Mm-hmm, this is our busy season.”

  “I hear that crazy clothing woman, Delaney Scott, is selling things in your store now.”

  Hannah gave him a questioning look. She’d found Delaney to be quite sane, delightful, actually. “She’s not crazy.”

  Colt shrugged, and drained the rest of his coffee “She’s not exactly cut out for mountain life and should get herself back to LA.”

  Hannah supposed there was a story there but before she could ask, Colt rose and took his mug to the sink.

  “I better get going.”

  “Thanks for bringing my tree.” She walked him to the door.

  “No problem. Pop in at Garner Adventure Monday and say hi to Josh, wouldya?”

  “Sure. Is he working there now?” She couldn’t imagine him leading tours, not with his leg.

  “Yeah. He’s starting on Monday so say hello.” He pulled her in for a hug before striding down her walkway to the street, where his police cruiser sat, leaving her to wonder what that was all about.

  * * *

  On Sunday, much to her surprise, Josh came in the store. At first he didn’t say much, just limped around, thumbing through the postcards and T-shirts. Eventually he tested a new glider she was selling, moving it back and forth. She suspected he just needed a place to sit and rest his bad leg.

  “Where did you get this?”

  “A Nugget furniture maker named Colin Burke makes them.”

  “Nice,” he grunted. “I need a gift for my mom.”

  Ah, that explained why he was here. “For Christmas?”

  “Secret Santa. All the employees at Garner Adventure draw names. I got Mary. I’m out of time and you’re the only game in town.”

  She sat on the glider with him and ignored his gruffness. He made it sound like he’d rather be anywhere else but here, which she suspected he would. “Does your leg hurt?”

  “A little,” he said, and she thought that probably meant a lot. “It’s sore right now from therapy and the cold . . . it hurts worse in the cold.” It had snowed overnight and they continued to get a few scattered flurries.

  “You go to therapy on Sundays?” That surprised her.

  “Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I do it myself the rest of the time.”

  She wondered if he was supposed to do that. “In the gym?” Garner Adventure had a nice workout space with a rock-climbing wall and a lot of fancy equipment.

  “Yep,” he said, and paused for a second, looking out the window. “It must be hard for you, watching them work on that gazebo.”

  The statement threw her, it was so blunt—and out of the blue. “Not really, why would you think that?”

  “Wasn’t Chip the love of your life?”

  “No. What, you think I’m still pining for him? I’m not. But for the record, he left me.” She didn’t want Josh thinking that she’d dumped her husband for having a drinking problem. She’d stuck to her vows. In sickness and in health. “And it wasn’t like I didn’t try to make it work.”

  “I’d never suggest that you didn’t.”

  “But you were thinking it. You’ve always thought it. But I have news for you, Josh, Chip struggled with alcoholism long before he met me.”

  “I know that.”

  She jerked her head, startled. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “Like what? Your boyfriend’s a lush? I thought it was pretty evident.”

  It had been obvious that Chip liked to drink. To someone as naïve as Hannah she thought it was a choice, not an addiction, and that he could quit whenever he wanted. By the time she realized her mistake it’d been too late. They’d already gotten married—and she’d loved him. Boy, had she loved him.

  There had been so many wonderful things about Chip. Like the time she’d gone to a gift show with Sabine in San Francisco for five days and he’d surprised her by refinishing the hardwood floor in their kitchen to seamlessly replicate a picture she’d cut out of a magazine. Or the time he sold his prized Yamaha dirt bike to take them on a romantic trip to Hawaii because she had never been and had always wanted to go. It was those sweet, considerate moments that had kept her clinging to the hope that he’d sober up and they’d have a life that was good.

  “Whatever you might think, I tried to get him help. I tried every damned day.” Her eyes misted and she got up so he wouldn’t see.

  He followed her, propping his hip against the counter for support. “I never blamed you for his drinking, Hannah. Chip had a sickness. I tried to get him to stop too and had about as much luck as you.”

  “I guess Val is special.” Hannah knew the comment was petty but couldn’t help feeling like a failure. It hurt knowing that Chip loved Val so much that he got sober for her but couldn’t do it for Hannah.

  The door jangled and the UPS man carried in two big boxes. “Morning, Hannah. Where do you want ’em?”

  She pointed to a spot on the counter and thanked him as he left.

  Once he was out the door, Josh continued, “I wasn’t judging you, Hannah. I just simply wanted to know,” he hesitated again, “if you were still in love with him.”

  She got the sense that there was more to the question than he was letting on but didn’t press. “I’m not in love with him. In all honesty, the love was gone before he left.” She surprised even herself by admitting that.

  Grabbing a box cutter, she opened one of the cartons, lifted out a stack of sweaters, and scrunched up her face. “This isn’t what I ordered.”

  Josh chuckled. “Glad to hear it because they’re ugly.”


  “Hideous is more like it.” And she laughed too, especially at the 3-D Christmas tree one with blinking lights. There was another one that played “O Tannenbaum.” She couldn’t imagine walking around with her chest singing.

  Hannah came out from around the counter, rushed to the door, and looked down the street for the UPS man. Gone. “Shoot. I would’ve sent them back.”

  “There has to be like twenty in these boxes,” Josh noted, going through the pile she’d taken out and holding up the particularly heinous ones.

  “Well, I’m definitely not keeping ’em.” She refolded the ones Josh had looked at and packed them back into the box. “I’ll take them to UPS on my way home.”

  “Maybe I should give one of them to my mom.” He started to grab a sweater from the box but she stopped him.

  “Uh-uh. No way would I let you do that to Mary. I know what she wants.”

  “Oh yeah, what’s that?” He bobbed that strong jaw of his at her and once again Hannah realized how good-looking he was. Too bad he was so often sour. She preferred him like this.

  She made her way across the shop to the woolens and showed him an angora cowl. “This.”

  He followed her, holding on to a few of the racks to steady himself. Josh filled her roomy store like a giant.

  Peeking at the price, he said, “We’re only supposed to spend twenty bucks.”

  “Well, you’re in luck. This just went on sale.” She walked back to the counter, found a Sharpie pen, scribbled out the old price, and wrote “$20.” “Would you look at that?”

  He shook his head but his lips curved up. The first smile she’d seen from him. “Don’t do that, Hannah. I’ve got to play by the rules. I’ll get her the scarf . . . or whatever it is . . . for Christmas at the real price. But help me find a twenty-dollar secret Santa gift. Maybe a snow globe or something.”

  “Ick, not a snow globe.” She pawed through a large basket by the socks. “What about these slippers?”

  Josh rocked his hand back and forth. “Meh. How about a Glory Junction cap?”

  “Uh, yeah, that would certainly be original,” she said. “If you want something with ‘Glory Junction’ on it, how about a phone case?” She walked over to a rack and passed him one of her new acquisitions from a company that did custom orders. “We just got them in. Yay or nay?” she asked, ready to move on to the next item.

  “Yay,” he said, and handed her back the case, letting his warm hand linger in hers. “I’ll take one too. Show my hometown spirit.”

  “Okay.” She gazed up at him and he was staring at her mouth, his head slightly tilted like he wanted to kiss her. It would’ve been an audacious thing to do right there in the middle of the store, where anyone could see. Furthermore, he didn’t even like her, so the notion that he wanted to kiss her had to be Hannah’s imagination. Crazy as it was, though, she wanted to feel Josh Garner’s lips on hers.

  The door chimed. “Do you by chance carry batteries?” someone asked.

  “Nope, try the hardware store,” Josh said, and they continued to stand there frozen until they heard the customer’s retreating footsteps and the door click closed. Josh snapped his head up and backed away.

  “I’ll get the other case for you.” Just like him, she gathered some distance and went over to the rack to grab another one. “Want me to wrap your mom’s?”

  He checked his watch, seemed torn, but finally said, “Sure.”

  She swiped two pretty holiday gift bags from the card aisle and some tissue paper from behind the counter, and packaged up the phone case and the cowl.

  “Colt says you’re starting work tomorrow at Garner Adventure.”

  “I’m answering phones,” he said, his voice terse.

  “Nothing wrong with that. I’m sure as your leg continues to heal you’ll take on more.”

  His eyes fell to the counter and he didn’t say anything.

  She walked around the cash register and handed him the bags. “There you go.”

  “Thanks.”

  He made his way out of the store and she could tell he was struggling for a normal gait. Despite his churlish behavior, it made her chest squeeze into a tight ball watching him try so hard.

  * * *

  Josh didn’t know why he’d listened to TJ. He could’ve just as easily driven to Reno to get the goddamn secret Santa gift for his mom. Hell, he probably would’ve found something at the hardware store or even the supermarket—a cooking gadget from the baking aisle.

  But TJ had insisted, practically pushing him into the store. Josh would’ve looked foolish protesting, since Glorious Gifts was the obvious place to buy a present. And if he wanted to be honest with himself, he’d been curious. About the store . . . about Hannah. In Sabine’s time, Glorious Gifts had been a cluttered hodgepodge. Now, it was organized . . . and high-end. It reminded him of one of those shops you’d see in downtown Aspen or Vail, filled with expensive clothing and furnishings, all artfully displayed.

  Going in there, though, had been a bad idea. If the battery guy hadn’t walked in, he would’ve kissed Hannah sure as day and she would’ve let him. He’d seen it in her face. Longing. Why, was beyond him. What would she want with a cripple, especially one who’d never been that nice to her? Even today, he’d been up in her grill, asking hyper-personal questions. “You still in love with Chip?” It was none of his damn business.

  “You get it?” TJ asked as Josh shambled into Garner Adventure.

  Josh held up his bags. “You finish your work?” Dumb question since his brother, a workaholic, was never finished.

  “Just have to return a few calls. How’s Hannah?”

  “She’s at Glorious Gifts, why don’t you go over there and ask her?”

  TJ brushed off the sarcasm, sneaking a look at Josh’s leg. “You up for lunch at Old Glory?”

  “Sure. Why not?”

  “Let me just close out the computer.”

  To kill time, Josh watched out the window as the noon crowd bustled into the restaurants and shops along Main Street. Hannah exited her store and headed down the sidewalk, Josh presumed to grab lunch. He noted that she was a single ray of sunshine in an otherwise dreary day.

  Chapter Four

  On Tuesday, Hannah called Deb after work to see if she wanted to meet at Old Glory for a drink but got voice mail. Probably for the best. Hannah’s house could use some TLC. She’d gotten down the Christmas decorations from the attic and they were strewn across her living room. Yet, the tree was still bare.

  As usual, Hannah stashed the cash box in the safe—she’d have to do a bank run tomorrow morning—grabbed her purse and coat, and locked up. On her way to her car she noticed that Garner Adventure still had its lights on, which was unusual. By five, the place cleared out like a bank. The Garners did offer night tours but they typically met off-site for those adventures.

  All the shopkeepers looked out for one another so Hannah searched inside the windows to make sure everything was okay. It was a big space but she could see all the way to the back, to the gym and simulated rock wall. There, she spied a lone figure working with leg weights.

  She didn’t know what got into her but she rang the after-hours bell. Josh wouldn’t appreciate her interrupting his workout, yet she couldn’t seem to help herself. A few seconds later he answered the door in nothing but a pair of exercise shorts, his chest and six-pack glistening with sweat, his arms popping with veins.

  “I just wanted to make sure everything was all right,” she said. “The lights were on and I got worried.”

  “All good here,” he said, and started to close the door.

  “What are you doing?” she blurted, and immediately realized the stupidity of that question. “I mean, can I come in?” Hannah couldn’t remember ever being this pushy.

  He moved out of the way, ushered her in, and shut the door. Then, without another word, he walked back to the gym and resumed his exercises. Some kind of leg curl on an exercise ball. She sat on one of the weight benches and watc
hed him. Josh seemed to know what he was doing and she wondered if these were calisthenics he’d done as an Army Ranger or exercises recommended by his physical therapist.

  Next he did deadlifts with dumbbells. Each time he did one his face scrunched up in pain.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t do those,” she said, and realized her mistake as soon as the words left her mouth, because he glared at her.

  “If you want to stay, no talking.” He didn’t say it meanly, just made it clear that this took all his concentration and that he didn’t appreciate any meddling.

  When he completed the deadlifts, he moved on to the leg press machine. By now his entire body was drenched, and with each press, both legs trembled like a newborn foal’s. She couldn’t tell how much weight he was using, though it looked like a lot.

  Again, she wanted to say that maybe he was doing too much, but didn’t dare.

  He switched to a series of seated calf raises. At this point she really wanted him to stop. The agony etched on his face told her he’d gone beyond breaking. Still, he kept pushing himself until she thought he would pass out. Finally, he finished with a set of barbell hip thrusts and just lay on the exercise bench, breathing hard, perspiration running into his eyes.

  If it hadn’t seemed so excruciating for him, Hannah would’ve appreciated watching a man as fit and ripped as Josh perform feats of strength. For a person who had been gravely injured, Josh was in better shape than anyone she knew. Just watching him, she was struck with the certainty that he wasn’t someone you wanted to physically tangle with. Even with his leg, he’d win.

  “Did you need something, Hannah?” Josh had apparently caught his breath.

  “I was just curious. That’s an extremely rigorous workout you do.”

  “In the Seventy-Fifth Ranger Regiment that would’ve been considered a Mommy and Me class.”

  “I think you’re being ridiculously hard on yourself,” she said. “Most men wish they had the kind of strength and stamina you have.”

  “I’m not most men.”

  “No, you’re not. Most men wouldn’t have overcome the injuries from that explosion or have saved as many men as you did. The way I see it you were one of the lucky ones.” She got up to go when his arm reached out to grab her.