Sleigh Bells Ring in Romance

by Shanna Hatfield

  “Did you see the Esmerelda Theater has some wonderful Christmas shows planned?” Brooke asked, leaning back when the server brought their food.

  Jess couldn’t wait to slice off a bite of his carne asada. Accompanied with sides of rice and beans, it looked delicious. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been to the Mexican restaurant for a meal.

  “Do you need anything else?” the server asked, looking around their table.

  “This looks great, honey, thank you,” Doris said, smiling at the young woman.

  The girl nodded and left them to their meals.

  “I haven’t seen the movie list for the theater. When will they start?” Jess asked as he picked up his knife and fork.

  “The week after the tree lighting. I think Christmas in Connecticut and The Shop Around the Corner are the first two scheduled to run.” Brooke took a bite from her taco salad.

  “Julia loved to watch Christmas in Connecticut,” Jess said, feeling wistful. “I haven’t seen that movie in years.”

  The way Brooke nudged Doris with her elbow didn’t escape his notice, but he didn’t mention it. Perhaps with Brooke in his corner, and Blayne encouraging his interest in Doris, they could help him in his efforts to win her over.

  Jess asked Brooke about some of the other festivities planned during the holiday season which segued into a discussion about the various businesses in town.

  By the time they finished lunch, Jess felt less out of touch with his community thanks to Brooke’s knowledge of what was happening in town. With her shop in such a prime location, he supposed she probably saw a lot of what transpired in Romance.

  Not only that, but Blayne was involved with numerous committees and groups. Between the three Grundy family members, there probably wasn’t a lot that took place in Romance they didn’t know about.

  “Are you ready to head home, Jess? I’m sure it’s past your nap time,” Doris said, smiling sweetly although her eyes still flashed with indignation and anger.

  Irritated by the way she made him sound like a cranky child in need of an afternoon rest, he returned her glare. He’d never admit how tired he was or that he longed for the comfort of his recliner, though. “Is there anywhere you want to go? I hate to be the reason you cut your trip into town short.”

  Doris narrowed her gaze, giving him a long, observant glance. “I have nothing else I need to do in town today. It’s probably best if I take you home.”

  Brooke started to take the bill when the server brought it, but Jess snatched it from her with a grin. “My treat. It’s not every day I have the pleasure of eating lunch with two beautiful women.”

  “You are full of flattery, aren’t you?” Brooke said, smiling at him.

  “Full of something, all right,” Doris grumbled.

  Jess swallowed down a chuckle as he took out his wallet and paid the bill. Brooke handed him his walker and the three of them made their way outside into the cold afternoon air.

  Two women stood in front of Brooke’s shop peering in the windows, so she hugged Doris, smiled at Jess again, then hustled across the street.

  “Don’t you miss the days when you had that kind of energy?” Jess asked as they watched Brooke’s bouncing steps and the warm greeting she gave her customers.

  “Who says I don’t still have it?” Doris said, giving him a saucy grin as she snapped her fingers in the air and sashayed across the street. She glanced over her shoulder at him and his heart flipped in his chest.

  Jess shook his head and followed along behind her, wondering what she’d do if he took her in his arms and kissed her right there on the corner.

  The endless possibilities of how badly she’d react made him work to subdue a laugh as they made their way back to her car.

  Chapter Seven

  “Thanks for giving me a ride, Blayne. I sure appreciate it,” Jess said, as he slid onto the passenger seat of Blayne’s pickup.

  Doris noticed it seemed far easier for him to get in it than to fold himself into her car. The next time she had to take him to town, she’d make sure to bring Blayne’s pickup or drive Jess’s.

  The man looked over the front seat and smiled at her. “You look lovely as always, Doris.”

  His simple words of flattery made butterflies flutter in her stomach. If she’d been one of the twitterpated blue-haired ninnies who constantly tried to pry details about Jess Milne out of her, she might have batted her eyelashes at him or offered him a coy, encouraging glance.

  Nonetheless, she was far too sensible and determined to remain aloof to his attentions to partake of such idiocy. Instead of acknowledging the warm feeling his presence gave her or how much his compliment pleased her, she frowned at him. “And you look like you’ll freeze to death. Is that coat warm enough for you?”

  From spending time with him the past few weeks, she knew anytime she asked him a question like that, one an adult might ask a clueless child, it made him so annoyed, he’d turn quiet, almost sulky. She needed for him to be irritated at her. That was better than allowing him to stoke the nearly overwhelming interest she already felt for him. He didn’t usually pay her so many compliments, but he seemed intent on pouring on the charm this evening.

  Blayne glared at her in the rearview mirror, but Jess merely continued to smile at her. “Why, thank you for asking, Doris, but this is a warm coat. Janet bought it for me a few years ago. It’s got one of those fancy linings that can withstand cold temperatures to twenty below, so I think it should keep me plenty toasty for tonight. That’s sure a pretty coat you’re wearing. Is it new? It definitely sets off the beautiful color of your eyes.”

  Involuntarily, Doris’s hand brushed along the front of her sapphire blue wool coat. It had been a gift from Blayne and Brooke for her birthday. She wore the matching hat, scarf and glove set that went with it. Brooke had told her the color was positively made for her to wear.

  “It was a gift,” she said, then looked out the window. She wished Jess would turn around and leave her alone. Had he figured out she treated him like a misbehaving boy just to frustrate him? If he had, she’d have to come up with a new method for keeping him an arm’s-length away.

  The reason why she had to work so hard to do that was one she didn’t want to contemplate or examine. The less time she spent thinking about Jess, about how much he meant to her, how deeply she valued his friendship, the better.

  Since she’d been helping him after his surgery, she’d recalled all the reasons they’d been friends. Jess had a great sense of humor and could make her laugh like no one else. They shared the same morals and values, even if the rascal liked to tease her right up to the edge of her tolerance far too often. In spite of how much he could irritate the dickens out of her, he was intelligent and easy to talk to. He’d given her good advice about everything from some investments she’d made to his thoughts on a gift she wanted to get Blayne for Christmas.

  When she wasn’t pretending to be mad at him, Jess was about the best friend she’d ever had. She just didn’t understand why the man couldn’t leave well enough alone. Although he hadn’t asked her out on a date, he continued to hint he’d like to be more than friends.

  Surely he knew how utterly preposterous it was for them to consider a romance at their ages. It wouldn’t be long before they were heading for a care home. Then again, they’d never been typical senior citizens. Jess could have easily passed for a man fifteen years younger. Doris liked to think she looked younger than her age, too.

  The last time she’d gone to Portland with Brooke, a man who couldn’t have been more than fifty-five shamelessly flirted with her until he found out she was in her mid-seventies. Even then, he didn’t seem entirely deterred by her age. Brooke had teased her about it the whole way home.

  That man’s profuse words of adoration hadn’t meant a thing to her. And they certainly didn’t make her limbs feel weak and languid. Not the way a single look or a few genuine words of kindness from Jess could make her feel.

  “Isn’t tha
t right, Grams?” Blayne asked, looking at her in the rearview mirror again.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie. I didn’t hear what you said.” Doris leaned forward and placed her hand on Blayne’s shoulder. “What did you ask?”

  Her grandson gave her a knowing look, as though he could sense her thoughts about Jess. Blayne smirked at her in that infuriating way he had that made her long to smack him.

  “I just said the plan is for us to attend the tree lighting and grab a bite to eat before we head home. Right?”

  “Yes, that’s what we talked about at breakfast. I’m sorry Brooke is unable to get away from the shop until right before the tree lighting,” Doris said. With Brooke along, there would have been an additional buffer to draw Jess’s attention away from her.

  He and Brooke seemed to get along famously. For that matter, Jess and Blayne had always gotten along well, too. After Glen died, Jess had become more like a beloved uncle to Blayne than just a neighbor. She knew Blayne had often turned to Jess for advice when it was something he didn’t feel comfortable discussing with her.

  Whether she wanted to acknowledge it or not, their families had been not just merely connected but intertwined for years and years. Before she could give further thought to what that meant, Blayne drove into Romance and headed for the town square where it appeared people were already congregating. Some of the civic groups had set up booths selling hot chocolate, cider, and German sausages.

  He drove his pickup right up on the sidewalk and stopped.

  “You can’t park here,” Doris said, embarrassed when everyone looked their way.

  “I know that, Grams, but once you and Jess get out, I’ll go park behind Brooke’s shop. I don’t want Jess to have to walk any further than necessary.”

  “I appreciate that, Blayne,” Jess said, opening the door and sliding out. While Doris was still gathering her gloves and scarf, Jess opened her door and held out a hand to her.

  Hesitantly, she took it and allowed him to help her to the ground. He immediately released her fingers then reached into the back of the pickup and took out his walker.

  “Shall we go stake out a good place to watch?” Jess asked, closing the door and giving Blayne a quick wave as he backed up and drove down the street.

  “Yes, let’s do that, then I’m going to get a cup of hot chocolate.”

  Ten minutes later, Jess sat on the seat of his walker, sipping hot cider while she stood beside him with a cup of hot chocolate. Together, they watched Blayne and the other committee members rush around, making final preparations.

  Doris jumped and nearly spilled her drink when a hand settled on her shoulder. She glanced up at Brooke’s smiling face.

  “Hey, Grams.”

  Doris hugged the woman she loved like her own daughter or granddaughter. “You startled me, honey. I’m glad you could finish up and come over before things got underway.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t miss this, even if that hunky husband of mine wasn’t right in the middle of it all.” Brooke grinned and pointed to where Blayne worked with two other committee members. She turned to Jess and placed a hand on his arm. “How are you? Can I get you anything?”

  “I’m doing great, Brooke, but thank you for that offer,” Jess said. “Blayne mentioned getting dinner after this is over, but those sausages sure smell good.”

  “I don’t think Blayne will care if we eat here or somewhere else. I can get you both sausages to eat now if you want,” Brooke offered.

  “Let’s wait a bit,” Doris said, glancing to Jess for agreement. He nodded and went back to sipping his hot cider.

  “Is Chase performing tonight?” Jess asked as Blayne spoke with music star Chase Lockhart. The singer happened to be engaged to Izzy Sutton, a woman who ran a bed and breakfast in Romance.

  “You’ll have to wait and see,” Brooke said with a teasing smile. “I’m going to go get something hot to drink. Are you sure you two don’t want anything?”

  “How about some of those doughnuts the bakery booth has over there?” Jess motioned to a busy booth.

  “Done,” Brooke said. She refused the twenty-dollar bill Jess tried to give her and hurried across the square to the vendor booths.

  “She’s sure a nice gal, Doris. Blayne couldn’t have chosen any better.” Jess glanced over at her. “You seem to be fond of her.”

  “I am fond of her. I love that girl like she’s always been a part of our family. Brooke and her little pigs fit right in with us.”

  Jess grinned and turned toward her. “How are the pigs? I haven’t heard anyone mention chasing down Tigger for a while.”

  “They’re doing great. Winnie is as sweet as ever and Roo is about the most adorable little thing. She loves to cuddle and if you sing the theme song from Winnie the Pooh, she’ll grunt along with it like she’s singing, too.” Doris raised an eyebrow and leaned toward him conspiratorially. “She might be my favorite little piggy, but don’t tell the others.”

  “Your secret is safe with me. But what about Tigger?”

  “After Blayne triple-reinforced the fence in his pen last month, he’s only managed to escape twice, and both times were when one of the hands forgot to not just latch the gate but lock it.”

  “And here I thought Tigger was coming over and teaching Pigtails a few of his tricks.”

  Doris smiled. “I could bring him over if you want. I’m sure he has some escape maneuvers Pigtails has not yet mastered.”

  Jess chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t you go getting any ideas. My slab of bacon on the hoof doesn’t need any help finding trouble.”

  Doris playfully whacked his arm with her gloved hand. “You, and everyone else, know Pigtails is not going to end up as bacon. Janet said you’re turning into a real softie in your old age.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe I am. What of it?”

  “Well, maybe it’s not a bad thing at all, Jess Milne.”

  He turned his arresting, smoky gray eyes on her. She could see interest, curiosity, and hope mingling in their depths. Even in his current state of healing from a surgery, Doris thought Jess was a handsome, striking man.

  Tonight, he wore a black cowboy hat with his dark gray coat. His jeans were creased down the front of the legs and he wore a pair of thick-soled work cowboy boots. When he smiled at her, her traitorous heart began pounding and she felt like her breath had been sucked right out of her.

  Daphne, at the book club, was right. Doris needed to stop reading so many romance novels. They were starting to get to her. At least that was the excuse she used for the fact she couldn’t stop looking at Jess.

  “Blithering ninnies,” she muttered to herself. That’s what her book club members were turning into. A bunch of blithering, harebrained, love-starved ninnies.

  “What was that, Doris?” Jess asked innocently, although she had a good idea he’d heard her.

  She was saved from responding by Brooke’s return with a bag full of eggnog doughnuts and a cup of hot cider.

  “Mmm. This cider hits the spot, but it’s not as good as yours, Grams,” Brooke said, standing beside her.

  Doris wrapped an arm around Brooke’s waist and gave it a squeeze before she helped herself to a doughnut. The texture and taste were different, but delicious.

  “I might have to see if I can pry this recipe out of them later,” Doris said, taking another bite of the doughnut.

  “If you need someone to taste-test for you, I’ll volunteer,” Jess said, finishing his doughnut and wiping his fingers on a napkin Brooke took from her pocket. He nodded to her in thanks before his attention focused on Doris again.

  She wanted to squirm under his perusal but forced herself to hold still and watch Blayne and the others scurrying around.

  “Doris said you picked out this coat for her, Brooke. I don’t think you could have found one that matched her beautiful eyes any better and that hat really sets off her white hair.” Jess gave her a cocky grin. “Maybe she should audition for Mrs. Claus this year.”

  Do
ris scowled at him. She knew she was old and white-headed, but she wasn’t chubby like Mrs. Claus. Was he inferring something about her size? Or was she just prickly because of her own tumultuous feelings about the man?

  Rather than respond, she excused herself and walked through the gathering crowd. She waved at Lucas Chase and his wife, Dori. Lucas owned the local heating and plumbing business. After Dori started helping with it, business had really picked up for him.

  She watched several newly married or recently engaged couples. It seemed Romance had certainly been living up to its name in the last year.

  Doris turned around and nearly bumped into the protruding belly of Katie Mackall Elders. The young woman grinned as she held onto her husband’s arm.

  “Katie, honey, how are you?” Doris asked giving the girl a hug then smiling at Mike Elders. The couple had wed close to the same time as Blayne and Brooke last December. Only Katie and Mike hadn’t wasted any time in starting a family. “Are you counting down the days until this little bundle of joy is here?” Doris gently touched the mound beneath Katie’s coat.

  “I can’t believe we’ll be parents soon,” Katie said, smiling up at Mike in adoration.

  “Well, I’m ready for that baby to arrive. The rocking chair is polished and ready to put to good use,” Katie’s Aunt Viv said as she and her husband, Earl, approached.

  Doris spoke with them a few moments, then gave Katie another hug. “If you ever need a babysitter, give me a call,” she said, then left them as she continued wandering around the square.

  She watched Savannah Miller speak to a young man she thought was the Potter’s grandson, Baxter. Doris didn’t know he was back in town. From the looks on the faces of the two young people, they didn’t appear pleased to run into one another.

  “Hmm. Interesting,” she whispered to herself, then continued scanning the crowd. She waved to Brent and Nicole Todd and Nicole’s son, Tony. Brent owned Finding Forever Animal Rescue where Brooke had gotten her beloved pigs. Sometimes Blayne took animals Brent didn’t have room for, especially the larger ones.