A Sweethaven Christmas

by Courtney Walsh

  Jane sat across from him. “I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

  He raised a brow.

  “I didn’t meet the girls for coffee like I told you.”

  “Okay . . .” He frowned, a question in his voice. She’d never lied to him before.

  “I went to the doctor.”

  Graham closed the magazine and leaned forward in his chair, and Jane poured out the entire story from the glucose test to the prediabetes to storming out of Lori’s office only moments before.

  When she finished, she sat back, waiting for his disapproval—or his disgust.

  “So, we need to get more active.”

  She threw him a look. “You play basketball three times a week and jog every other day. You’re not the one who needs to be more active.”

  “Well, you don’t have to do it alone is what I’m saying.” Or we can do what we talked about before, and you can stay up here without any distractions. He smiled and took her hands. “You’re beautiful. You’ve always been beautiful to me, but I’m not willing to risk losing you a moment before I have to, so I’ll help you however I can.”

  Jane’s eyes filled with tears. “Thanks, hon.”

  “So, where do we start?”

  Adele

  When Kathy the editor had asked Adele to see a few of her recipes, Adele had laughed and told her she’d do her one better. Before she knew it, she had a date to cook for a cookbook editor, and now, with Kathy’s arrival imminent, Adele’s nerves were not happy about it.

  After tallying everyone’s votes, Adele had finally settled on two complete meals. She’d keep Kathy out of the kitchen to prevent her from seeing what a tremendous mess she’d created preparing for her arrival.

  “Mama? We’re here!” Meghan’s voice rang through the house. Seconds later, she and Jane appeared in the kitchen. The girls had agreed to help her serve the food so Adele could sit and answer Kathy’s questions without stressing out about keeping the food from burning or getting cold.

  Now, though, staring at the two of them, she realized she might not trust either one of them with her precious dishes.

  “Oh my.” Jane covered her mouth with her hand, looking across the spread of food. “This is terrible.”

  “Terrible? I cooked what y’all told me to cook.” Adele’s eyes darted from Jane to Meghan.

  Meghan pushed Jane toward the living room, but her eyes stayed on Adele. “Mama, maybe this is a bad idea. Jane’s on a diet.”

  “A diet? Whatever for?” Adele followed them into the living room, where Jane plopped down on the couch.

  “Because I broke a chair in front of the whole church.” Jane dropped her head in her hands.

  “Darlin’, you know everyone has forgotten all about that.” Adele sat down in the rocker across from them.

  “I haven’t.” Jane sighed. “It smells so good in here. Like heaven. I’ve been eating lettuce for two days straight.”

  Adele frowned. “That can’t be good for you.”

  “The point is, Mama, I’m not sure this is a good idea.” Meghan put a hand on Jane’s shoulder.

  “No, don’t be silly. It’s just food. I’ll be fine.” Jane seemed to put her brave face on. “I promised Adele, and I’m not going back on my word.”

  The doorbell rang and Adele gasped. “What do I do?”

  Meghan stood. “Answer the door?”

  Adele stifled a squeal. “I can’t believe this is happening.” She rushed through the entryway, smoothed her apron and pulled the door open, praying to the good Lord that the smells of her handiwork greeted Kathy.

  But when she opened the door, a man—not Kathy—stood on her porch. He wore jeans and a peacoat, and his nose was the color of strawberries.

  “Kathy sends her apologies,” he said. “She got called away on a personal matter. She sent me in her place.” He extended a hand in her direction. “I’m Seth.”

  She shook his hand, but her mind had already started spinning. She’d anticipated a lovely lunch with a woman she’d already met, but instead she’d be entertaining a stranger.

  “Come on in,” Adele said. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “It smells wonderful, and it’s a great idea to provide a sampling of some of your best dishes. Gives me a good idea of what we’ll be getting should we offer you a contract.”

  Adele’s heart jumped. A contract. What would Me-maw say?

  Seth took off the pea coat to reveal a crisp white button-down, sleeves rolled to the elbows.

  “I can take your coat for you.” Meghan appeared beside them.

  “Oh, where are my manners?” Adele said, snatching Seth’s coat. “Yes, here, Meghan, hang that up for the man, would you?”

  Meghan widened her eyes at Adele, as if to say “Calm yourself down.”

  Adele smiled. “Seth, you might recognize my daughter Meghan—”

  “Meghan Rhodes,” Meghan said, shaking the man’s hand. “And I’m sure he doesn’t recognize me, Mama. He doesn’t seem like my core demographic.” She winked, then turned her back to Seth and whispered, “This is about you.”

  Adele nodded. “Of course.”

  “I definitely know the name. My nieces are big fans.”

  “Where are you from, Seth?” Adele asked.

  “Chicago.”

  Jane appeared in the living room, face flushed but still in one piece.

  “Wonderful,” Adele said. “Why don’t we head to the dining room?”

  She showed the man to the table and disappeared into the kitchen, where Jane and Meghan stared at the spread of food.

  “We don’t know what to do with it all,” Meghan said.

  “I know what I’d like to do with it all,” Jane said.

  “Girls. What do I do? There’s a strange man in the dining room.”

  Jane and Meghan frowned in unison. “What are you talking about?” Meghan asked. “Just feed him, just like if it was that lady editor.”

  “You don’t understand, Meg. Kathy already liked me. This meal was just to seal the deal. This boy has no reason to recommend they give me a contract.” She said the word as if they were giving her the Ark of the Covenant.

  “Mama, get a hold of yourself. Get out there and charm the man like you always do.”

  “And let us take care of the food.”

  Adele eyed Jane. “Fine. I wrote everything down for you and labeled everything here.”

  They nodded and started with the salad while Adele returned to her guest.

  “I apologize for keeping you waiting, Seth.”

  Meghan appeared at the doorway. “Here is my mama’s famous Waldorf salad. I hope you enjoy it.”

  Seth looked at Meghan, then at Adele. “Do you mind if you bring out all of the food at the same time? I’m in a bit of a hurry, and I think I’ll just sample everything and be on my way.” He punctuated his sentence with a smile, but Adele couldn’t hide her surprise.

  Meghan rushed to her side. “Of course, Mama, let’s go make up a sampler plate for Seth.” She pulled Adele up off the chair and pushed her into the kitchen.

  “Do you believe this man?” Adele hissed. “Coming in here asking for a sampler plate after I’ve been slaving away for two solid days making sure everything is just right.”

  “Quiet, Mama, he’ll hear you.”

  “I don’t care if he does.”

  “Yes, you do, Adele.” Jane had placed an apple glazed pork chop on a plate beside a small helping of roasted red potatoes.

  Adele grabbed the plate and walked back into the living room. “Here you have pork chops and potatoes, just the way my Me-maw taught me to make them.” She plunked down the plate in front of Seth and forced a smile.

  “It looks wonderful,” he said. He took two bites of the meat and ate one potato. “You’re clearly a gifted cook.”

  Adele raised a brow, still standing beside him. “Thank you for that. I’ll get the rest.”

  Back in the kitchen, she grabbed the second plate from Jane, th
is one featuring Me-maw’s meatloaf, garlic smashed potatoes and bacon green beans. She set the plate down in front of Kathy’s poor replacement and watched as he tasted each item on the plate.

  He nodded. “Wonderful, thank you.”

  Why did she feel like he was humoring her?

  Meghan walked in carrying a plate. On it, two different desserts.

  “There’s a homemade apple dumplin’,” Adele said, ignoring Meghan’s glare, “and a Southern-style lemon cake with almond cream-cheese frosting.”

  Adele cringed when Seth pushed the two plates of barely eaten food away to make room for another wasted effort. He took two bites of each dessert and nodded. “Very good. I love your style, Adele.”

  She crossed her arms and stared at him. Meghan elbowed Adele, and Adele uncrossed them.

  “Thank you so much for your hospitality.”

  Jane appeared in the doorway with Seth’s coat. He took it from her, shook each of their hands and walked toward the door. Adele was too dumbfounded to speak. Her big chance and it was ruined by this child who wouldn’t know a good meal if it crawled into his mouth.

  “And I have to admit, Ms. Rhodes, I’ve been known to sing along with my nieces’ Meghan Rhodes albums before,” Seth said, glancing at Meghan.

  Meghan started to speak but simply nodded instead.

  “We’ll be in touch, Adele.” He closed the door behind him, leaving the three of them surrounded by uneaten food and staring at each other.

  “I’m so sorry, Adele,” Jane said, her voice hardly a whisper.

  “He didn’t say anything bad about any of it, Mama.”

  Adele plopped down into the chair. “That’s because he didn’t eat enough of it to even taste it. Do you believe the nerve of that man?”

  She picked up his dishes, piled them on top of each other and shoved past Meghan into the kitchen.

  Meghan and Jane followed her, watching as she dropped the plates into the sink and started boxing up the leftovers. “You girls have to take this food home. I don’t want to be reminded of what a fool I was.”

  “What’s foolish about going after a big dream, Mama?”

  Adele stopped. “At my age? It’s foolish.”

  Meghan took Adele by the arms and turned her around. “It’s never foolish to take a risk—especially if it’s something you’ve always wanted to do. You were so excited about this idea. If they’re too blind to see how amazing it could be, then we’ll find a new publisher.”

  Adele met Meghan’s eyes. “It’s easy for you to say. Your big dreams came true.”

  Meghan laughed and hugged her. “That man doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

  Maybe so, but one thing was certain—he’d wrecked Adele’s confidence. She wouldn’t tell Meghan, but she had no intention of going after another publisher. The only thing she’d do is close this chapter once and for all.

  And try to get over what a fool she’d been. “Maybe you girls can stay for dinner?”

  Jane frowned. “I wish I could, Adele, but being in your kitchen has me broken out into a cold sweat.”

  “Oh, darlin’, I’m sorry. Let’s go sit in the other room.” She led them to the empty table and forced herself not to dwell on the plates of uneaten food Seth had left behind.

  Instead, something else caught her eye, the computer.

  Like an obsessed teenager, she’d taken multiple breaks during her cooking marathon, looking for a reply from Henry.

  “Mama?”

  “What?”

  Meghan smiled. “Do I have to be worried about you? You seem lost in your own world.”

  “Oh no, don’t be silly. I’m fine.”

  “Were you thinking about Henry?” Jane’s face brightened.

  Adele tried to be casual. “I sent him a note the other day.”

  “You did?” Meghan looked shocked.

  “I did. Just to see how he’s doing.”

  “And?”

  “He hasn’t replied yet.”

  “Well, let’s check it.”

  Before she could protest, Meghan had moved toward the computer, brought it back to life and now waited for Adele’s page to load. “Mama, you have a new message.”

  Adele gasped and pushed Meghan out of the chair, staring at the screen, unable to move.

  “Are you going to read it?” Jane stood behind her, waiting.

  All those feelings of young love rushed back to her. Walking down the Boardwalk with Henry at her side. Waiting to meet him after he finished working on his parents’ farm. The first time he slipped his hand around hers as they stared out over the lake at dusk.

  “We’re going to go get some water,” Jane said. “We’ll be back.”

  Adele heard Meghan protest as Jane dragged her into the kitchen.

  Alone with the computer, she clicked and opened the message from Henry.

  Adele,

  What a nice surprise to find your message waiting for me. I’m glad you’re doing well. It looks like you have a beautiful family. I would love to catch up. I see you’re back in Sweethaven. Would you like to meet for coffee sometime? We can trade stories. I’ll be down that way next week and would love to see you.

  Yours,

  Henry

  Adele reached the end of the message and realized she’d been holding her breath. She re-read Henry’s words two more times before Jane and Meghan returned from the kitchen.

  “What’s wrong?” Meghan asked.

  “Is he okay?” Jane sounded concerned.

  Adele pulled her eyes from the screen. “He wants to meet. Have coffee.”

  Jane’s lips spread into a smile. “That’s good, right?”

  Adele scanned the words one more time. “Yours, Henry.” But he wasn’t hers. Not anymore. What was she doing? She wouldn’t have the foggiest idea what to say if she met him for coffee. And, truth be told, she didn’t want Henry to remember her old and plump—she wanted him to think of that girl he’d known all those years ago.

  And how could she face him after the hurt she’d caused him back then? She’d been so terrible. This was a bad idea.

  “Adele?”

  “I’m not going to go.”

  “What?”

  Adele clicked out of the Internet and walked away from the computer. They followed her into the living room.

  “This is a good thing, Adele. If nothing else, the two of you could be friends. You were good friends, weren’t you?”

  Adele’s mind wandered. They were friends, and so much more.

  “You have that wistful look on your face again, Mama.” Meghan sat on the couch. “Tell us about him.”

  Adele sat in her rocking chair and hugged a pillow to her chest. “It’s ages ago now.”

  “We don’t care.” Jane spotted the little journal on the ottoman across from where she sat. She flipped open to a photo of Adele and Henry sitting at the Sim’s soda fountain, one milkshake between them. “Tell us about this boy.”

  Adele took the little journal and studied the picture, remembering that day with stark clarity. “Henry and I were inseparable that summer. Once we met at the dance, we saw each other every day. This was taken a few weeks after that.”

  Sim’s brought in the teenagers every afternoon. The ones who’d spent the day on the beach and were ready to come in out of the sun, and the ones who, like Henry, spent the day working and were off the clock and ready for a little refreshment.

  They sat in a booth at the back of the restaurant, hoping for a little alone time, but it didn’t take long before their friends spotted them. Soon, their party of two had become a small group and it seemed to be multiplying every second. Adele joined in the conversation with her friends, but Henry stayed unusually quiet. She met his eyes and thought he seemed upset about something—or unsettled. It worried her. Had something happened?

  Had he changed his mind about her—about them?

  She leaned across the table. “Are you okay?”

  He took her hand and leaned forward. “Ca
n we go for a walk?”

  Adele held his gaze for a long moment. “Of course.”

  Together, they excused themselves and walked out into the steamy summer night. The moon led them to the beach, where Adele took off her shoes, letting the now cool sand squish between her toes as she walked alongside Henry toward the lighthouse.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked after too many moments of silence.

  “My parents were talking about the war again.”

  Adele glanced at him, then back to the sand in front of her. She didn’t like thinking about the war. They’d already gotten word that Ronnie Jenkins had been killed last month. And for what?

  “What are they saying?”

  “There’s going to be a draft.” Henry sighed. “It’s just got me thinking, is all.”

  “About what?”

  Henry stopped and leaned against the railing of the dock. “About you and me.”

  Adele faced him, her heart pounding at his words. “What do you mean?”

  “Everyone else pretends like everything’s fine. Like there’s nothing going on in the world. I can’t do that. And when I think about it, I think about you and what you mean to me. I just . . .” Henry’s voice trailed off, and Adele wondered what he wasn’t telling her. Up until now, he hadn’t made much sense.

  He took her hands and pulled her a little closer. “I was thinking about Ronnie and how he never got the chance to say good-bye. If that was me—I’d want people to know how I felt.”

  “But that’s not you, Henry. Ronnie was on the other side of the world in a terrible war. You’re here. You’re safe.”

  He reached up and put a hand on the side of her face. “I know, but I guess I just have a lot of time to think working on the farm.”

  His hand on her face stirred something inside and her breath caught in her throat. At sixteen, she was naïve and inexperienced. Henry was the first boy to ever show her this kind of attention.

  “Most of that time I think about you.” His hand cradled her neck now, the other hand wrapped around hers. “And I realized I haven’t told you how you make me feel.”