by Norah Wilson
She’d enjoyed working on the barn with the girls. They’d all been so busy lately, they hadn’t had much time just to hang out. She’d missed their chatter, not to mention the trading of stories about their respective romances. Ocean had even pried a story out of April. Just the memory of that conversation made April grin.
April had learned something else from the chatter. Ocean was indeed expecting a friend from New York to visit over Christmas. It was a done deal. That should be interesting. According to Ocean, he was pretty famous. A sort of star-maker like Simon Cowell, but without the TV show.
April looked at her watch. Okay, more than looked at it. She counted down the seconds. Just a few more. Five, four, three, two, one. “Ta-done, Ladybug!”
“Done?” With her little friend gone, Sidney had gone back to work. Currently, she was opening yet another box of April’s Bootilicious Dawn to put some more bars out. That had definitely been their best seller. “Sorry to disappoint you, Mom, but the market doesn’t close for another three hours.”
“I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about how—as of right now—that Montreal credit card thing is behind us. You’re all paid up.”
“Oh, that was paid up last week.”
It was? “Really?”
“Really. Do the math, Mom.”
She did. And Sidney was right. “Well, that was anti-climactic.”
“I sent a card,” Sidney said.
“To whom.”
“To Dr. and Mrs. Boisvert. I was feeling bad and I sent them a Christmas card apologizing.”
April felt a lump in her throat. She was proud of her daughter. “That was really good of you, Sid.”
She went to her daughter and gave her a hug. Sidney pulled back.
“After I put out this stock, mind if I take an hour off? I have some Christmas shopping to do.”
“No problem, Ladybug. Need some money?” April had been giving Sid her allowance right along and her little girl was pretty good at saving, but still, she was guessing her gift-giving list was expanded considerably this year. April reached below the counter for her purse.
“Naw, I’m good.”
She straightened. “Really?”
“Really.” Sidney was smiling, but her eyes were no longer on her mother. They were on the football-jacket-wearing eleven-year-old approaching the booth.
Sidney crawled under the counter and joined up with him.
“Hi, Roy,” April called.
“Hi, Ms. Morgan.”
April watched the two of them until they disappeared from sight. Her daughter seemed pretty enamored of Roy. If she extended her stay, those bonds could deepen, as would her attachment to the Standishs, her friend Danika, the old dog Axl. The town. And if she left sooner rather than later…
Oh, who was she kidding? Whether they left after Christmas or in June, it was going to hurt like hell, for both of them. They might as well stay. The idea of building the business was too powerful a lure. And she could avoid uprooting Sidney during the school year.
Maybe she could build the business to the point that it could sustain the two of them without her having to hold down a full-time job. In which case, maybe they could stay in Harkness. Obviously, she couldn’t stay on with the Standishs, especially after Scott left. But surely she could find a place for her and Sidney.
Could she really do that? Stay in Harkness, where she’d see Scott once or twice a year when he came home. Naturally, they’d break it off before he left. She had no expectations that he would live a celibate life between visits, and she had no desire to be his Harkness hook-up.
But would she have the strength to deny him if he waltzed back into town and decided he wanted her back in his bed?
Two elderly ladies approached her booth, saving her from any more soul-searching. Pasting on a smile, she threw herself into sales mode. When they left, she refused to let her mind go back there. Instead, she thought about the coming party.
She’d bought a new dress for the event. Just the thought of it gave her a little flutter of anticipation. She couldn’t wait for Scott to see her in it.
She’d found it in a second-hand shop for gently used clothing a few weeks ago, on a trip to neighboring Crandler with Ember and Ocean. While Ember had scored a couple of huge hair clips and Ocean had picked up an antique broach, April had come face to face with the dress of her dreams.
She’d tried to resist it, enumerating all the problems: Too red. Too expensive. Too fancy. Too gorgeous for you!
Then Ember had declared it “Too perfect to pass up.”
She could barely wait to slip into it tomorrow night. Scott would be so—
“Excuse me, are you April Dawn Morgan?”
The words jerked her out of her daydream. She hadn’t even noticed the handsome young man approaching. “I am,” she said. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m Stone Thibault.” He passed her his card, identical to the one he’d left for her with Jace. “I’ve been expecting your call.
Whoops. “I’m sorry.” She shrugged apologetically. “I meant to call back straight away, but things have gotten a little hectic around here.”
“My employer is a very adamant that we make contact, Ms. Morgan.”
“Please, call me April.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Not April Dawn?”
“That’s my business name.” Though come to think of it, more and more people in Harkness were greeting her as April Dawn. “But I’ll answer to either. April, April Dawn.”
He smiled, revealing even white teeth. He really was a very good looking man. Not in a rugged way, like Scott, but in a more polished, urbane way.
“As I’ve said, my employer is very anxious to make contact with you. She’s a businesswoman, and she’s had the opportunity to sample some of your product.”
“At the market?” Her mind whirled as she tried to place who it could be.
“No, not in Harkness. Elsewhere.”
Now she was really confused. “Mr. Stone, who exactly is your employer?”
He smiled. “K.Z. McCoy.”
Chapter 29
SID SAT on the edge of the bed in Scott’s room, turning a small box in her fingers as she watched her mom get ready.
Her mom had never been happier. Sid was sure of it. She’d been happy all day. Actually, since yesterday afternoon. When she’d come back from her break with Roy, her mother had seemed almost dazed. Then a little excited.
Her mother had never looked more beautiful either. She looked more like a princess than a cook. Her new red dress had long sleeves and a high neck, but it was definitely sexay, as Danika would say. And thank goodness, she’d left her hair loose for a change. It looked really, really good. Ember had helped her do it so it had big, loopy curls liked a model on a shampoo commercial.
“Hey, Mom?”
“What is it, Ladybug?” Her mom had been checking her makeup in the mirror, but she turned to Sid.
“Can you come here for a minute?”
“Sure.” She came to sit down beside her. “What’s up?”
“I know it’s not Christmas yet, but mind if I give you your gift early?”
“Mind? Sid you know I wouldn’t.”
Sidney pulled the box from behind her; she handed it to her mother.
It was earrings. In Sidney’s mind they were the most beautiful earrings in the world, but would her mother like them?
Her mother opened the box and lifted one of the earrings. They were dangly silver stars on French hooks.
“Oh, they’re gorgeous!” Her mother put them on. “How do they look?”
Sid smiled. “They’re beautiful. Almost as beautiful as you.”
“Oh, baby girl, thank you!” Her mom caught her in a hug.
Sid hugged right back. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, Sidney.”
Chapter 30
SCOTT SHOOK David’s hand. “Congrats, man. I’m glad Sally said yes.”
“Me too.”
>
“It’s a big step.”
“I know.” David nodded his head gravely. “But I’ve loved Sally since fifth grade.”
“Good stuff.”
David shoved his hands in his pocket. “But her folks say we can’t get married till after we’re done high school.”
“That’s not a bad deal.”
“Yeah, I know,” he allowed. “It’s just that…you know, we’re both sure.”
“Then you’re a lucky man. Sally’s a lovely young lady. I know you guys will be happy together.”
David studied him earnestly. “Got any advice? Besides that we’re too young to know what we want? We’ve heard a shit-ton—I mean, a lot of that already.”
Scott smiled. Yeah, he just bet they had. But he wouldn’t be piling on. Yes, they were young, but it was a rare thing to know your mind that well, at any age. Apparently, some people just knew. Hell, Ember might have been married right out of school if Terry hadn’t sabotaged things between her and Jace.
“Take good care of her,” Scott said. “That’s about the best advice I can give a man. Take good care of the woman you love.”
“I will.” David looked across the room. “Hey, there’s my aunt, Connie. I haven’t seen her since Halloween. Mom told her about the engagement; I’d better go say hello.”
“You’d better.”
Seconds later, Scott watched as David got wrapped up in a huge hug from Connie Lemon.
“Scott?”
He felt a tentative tap on his shoulder and turned to see Mrs. Budaker and a gentleman. “Mrs. Budaker. Hello.”
“Um, is your brother around?”
He gestured across the room. “He’s over there, talking to Ocean and her guest.”
Mrs. Budaker brightened. “Oh is that the New York fellow?”
Scott nodded.
“Which one is Titus?” the man with Mrs. Budaker asked.
“The hulking one,” Scott said.
Mrs. Budaker grabbed the gentleman’s arm. “Do you really think this is necessary, Marcel?”
“No,” he said. “It’s not necessary. But it is the right thing to do. Tell him man to man.” He patted Mrs. B’s hand. “Now that you’re mine again, he should know. I want the world to know.”
“Do be magnanimous, Marcel,” Mrs. B said.
“Of course, my dear,” Marcel said, tucking her arm beneath his. “It’s easy to be magnanimous when you’re the winner.”
Scott shook his head as he watched Mrs. B and her new beau head toward his brother. Poor Titus. How awkward was that conversation going to be?
Trying to hold back a grin, Scott watched a series of expressions cross his brother’s face. Confusion. Incredulity. Horror. Then he produced a suitably chastised expression for Mrs. B. Mollified, Mrs. B and her beau strolled off.
Titus lifted his gaze and searched the room, stopping at Scott when he saw his wide grin.
“You knew?” Titus mouthed.
Scott shrugged, letting his grin widen. But then Titus’s fierce frown dissolved and he started smiling. Scott didn’t trust that smile one bit. Suspicious, he turned to see if someone was doing rabbit ears behind his head or something. That’s when he saw her.
April stood there, holding Sid’s hand. His breath stalled in his chest. Jesus, she was gorgeous. She wore a sinfully red dress that hugged her slight curves like a glove, and her hair was loose and full and soft looking. Her lips were touched with red gloss and her eyes looked huge.
With difficulty, he shifted his gaze to Sid. She wore a beautiful dress too. The long-sleeved top was black velvet and the skirt fell in tiers of white. Between the bodice and the skirt was a black velvet sash tied in a big bow.
“Wow. You two are the most beautiful ladies in the place. Wait, did I say in the place? I meant in the whole wide world.”
Sidney beamed up at her mother.
“Like my earrings?” April asked. “An early Christmas present from the world’s greatest daughter.”
Scott winked at Sid. He’d actually taken her to the mall last week supposedly to pick up pizza for movie night later on with Uncle Arden and Faye. They’d gotten pizza, but they’d also made a quick stop at the mall’s jewelry store. Sidney had picked out the dangling stars right then and there. Do you think she’ll like them?
He’d been pretty sure she would.
“Oh, there’s Danika.” Sid nodded in the direction of a half dozen excited kids gathered around the dessert table. “And a bunch of my friends from school.” She was off.
Scott watched—almost nervously—as Sid joined the crowd. She slid right in with the others and they made room for her as naturally as though she’d always been one of them. Beside him, he felt April relax a smidge to see Sid taken into the fold like that.
Music filled the air and April’s gaze shot to the source. “You hired a DJ?”
“Ember did. That’s Tara Lee Doyle.”
“She looks young.”
“She is. But she has a great feel for music. Give her time; she’ll have everyone in the place dancing.”
“Why’s she in a wheelchair?”
“Cerebral Palsy,” he answered. “It affects mostly her legs.”
“It’s so cool that she DJs. Does she play mixes all night?”
“Just for an hour or so, until the talent show.”
“That’s right, the talent show! I’d forgotten.” She smiled up at him. “So, do you and Titus have an act? A brotherly clog-dancing duo, maybe?”
He rolled his eyes. “Hardly. It’s been a lot of years since I was up on that stage.”
“Oh, I would have loved to have seen that! What was your talent?”
“Who said anything about talent? I was in charge of working the curtains.”
Her gaze went to the stage, which was very obviously bereft of any type of curtain. “What curtains?”
“Well, here’s the thing. I figured it would be so much more efficient if I motorized the whole operation. Unfortunately, the old curtains started smoldering. Talk about fabric coming down in a hurry.”
“Omigod, you started a fire in the barn?”
He shrugged. “It didn’t have time to turn into a fire. Uncle Arden saw what was happening. Those curtains got yanked down, rolled up and hauled out in no time flat. And they were never replaced, of course. Too much potential for disaster.”
“Did the show go on, just like on Broadway?”
“Absolutely. With Mom running things, we barely missed a beat.”
“I can just imagine.” April smiled. “What about Ember or Titus? Do they participate?”
Scott snorted. “What would Titus do? Recite the Motor Vehicle Act regulations?”
She grinned. “I don’t know. Bench press Ocean?”
He barked a laugh. “That he could do. Or tear a bike engine down and put it together again. But somehow I don’t think that would hold anyone’s attention but mine.”
“So you Standishs really aren’t going to participate in your own talent show?”
“Nope. But there’s plenty of talent without us. Just wait till you hear Maddison Escher.”
“Oh, I met her at the market. She works at the hospital or something, doesn’t she?”
“Close. She has a social work background and works with a home for disadvantaged teens from all over the region.”
Titus chose that moment to dim the lights, which made the red and green frosted bulbs running along the beams stand out all the more. Young David had strung them up and he’d done a fine job. Of course, Sally had come over and helped him do it. Had she held the ladder for David as April had for Scott when he’d put up the Halloween decorations?
The whole barn looked great. He had to hand it to Ember. She’d gone over and above this year. He especially liked the alder branches with the white mini lights. She’d used bales of straw as bases to “plant” the branches, placing them strategically to divide up the room. It was pretty damned magical looking, especially the grouping behind the punch table.
<
br /> Punch. Crap. Where were his manners? Margaret would box his ears for neglecting a lady this long. “Can I get you a glass of punch?”
“Would you?”
“Of course.” He squeezed her elbow, mainly because he couldn’t resist touching her. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
By the time he got two glasses of punch, the DJ had segued into a fast Christmas song by some rock-and-roll artist and the younger kids had started dancing. Sid included! April’s eyes were lit up with pleasure as she took the plastic punch glass from him.
“Oh, this is fun!”
Scott glanced around, trying to see things from her perspective. Dozens of kids, dressed in their Christmas finery, jumped and gyrated in front of the stage. The dance floor itself was ringed by tables and chairs, all fully occupied. The tables were all collapsible card table propositions gathered from around the community, but they looked so much better in the gauzy fabric Ember and Ocean had draped them in. And each table held a glowing candle. Not real ones, of course. Just the LED variety. But they looked quite elegant. Apparently that had been April’s contribution.
Up on the stage, right in the center, sat Santa’s chair. Santa had yet to arrive, but when he did, the little ones would queue up for a chance to sit on his knee and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Scott looked around, noting that Chief Buzz Adams, who’d been there earlier, was now conspicuously absent, as were his deputies. He grinned. Santa would be putting in his appearance soon. It was a running gag, how the Chief of Police always managed to miss the big guy’s appearance.
Suddenly, the young DJ changed things up. The soft strains of waltz music replaced the frenetic tempo of the earlier song. The kids drifted back to their tables and some of the adults got up. Scott wasn’t much for dancing, but April looked so damned delectable in that dress. He would dance all night if it meant being able to hold her in his arms.
