A Christmas Dinner on Marshall Street (The Hills of Burlington Book 5)

by Jacie Middlemann

  “Thank you, Frannie,” Charlie said softly for only the two of them. “Thank you so much for coming to spend this Christmas with us.”

  Fran let out a quiet sigh. She met her cousin’s eyes over her aunt’s shoulder. Saw in her eyes what she felt deep within herself that she could no longer ignore. Her father’s words came to her, the wisdom of them, his voice a beloved echo in her mind. Home isn’t always a place…it’s the people who live there. He’d been right. She was home.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Cade stood up from the table and walked over to rinse out his coffee cup at the sink. “How about we take a walk?”

  Fran looked up from the Burlington newspaper spread out in front of her on the kitchen table. “Are you hoping to avoid Aunt Charlie before she talks you into sitting for her again?”

  “It would only be a temporary reprieve,” Cade said dryly but his amusement over the issue was in his voice.

  “I could talk to her if you’d rather get out of it,” Fran said. But she knew her husband would do as her aunt asked. In part because she knew despite whatever he said, he was getting a kick out of it. More importantly she knew it was because he was truly fond of her aunt. And had always been.

  “You don’t need to, Fran.” Cade reached out to take her hand and pulled her to her feet. “One reason we need to take this walk is because your aunt is baking more goodies today to make the sitting for hours on end worth my while.” He gave her a quick wink as he tugged her through the front door then closed it behind them. “I need to walk off the cinnamon rolls she fed me yesterday while I was sitting there listening to her tell me about your childhood antics while she painted.”

  “I imagine if nothing else that had to be entertaining,” she said but was wondering exactly what stories her Aunt Charlie was telling. With a sigh she let it go knowing when he felt the timing was right he would more than likely tell her in great detail. “Where are we going?”

  “For a walk around the neighborhood,” Cade said as he led her down one of the streets that ran off Marshall Street. He hadn’t spent the summers here like his wife had but from the few times they’d visited in the earlier years of their marriage, he still had a pretty sound sense of how to get from one street to the next.

  Fran decided to go along with whatever he had in mind. But she knew better than anyone that taking rambling walks simply wasn’t her husband’s style. If he wanted to work off a big meal he’d put on his running shoes and run. She was the one who took long walks and usually took them by herself. When the kids were still at home she’d drag one of them along with her depending on what was going on but more often than not she took them on her own. As they walked she paid little attention to the street signs but took in all the houses as they walked past them. She loved the older homes. All of them. Big and small, it didn’t matter. No matter the size, in her mind they each had a charm and unique character that simply was missing in so many of the homes built after the time these were. As they approached another corner she assumed Cade was slowing as he decided which way to go but when he nudged her to turn before the corner she looked at him in question first then at the house he was leading her up the sidewalk to. Only when they were literally walking up the steps to the porch and directly towards the front door did she notice the For Sale sign sitting slightly to the side in the small yard in front of the house. Postage stamp sized yard for all that, she thought to herself as she turned again to her husband. “Cade?”

  “I walked through the place earlier with Pete,” he said as he unlocked the door with the key he’d been given for this express purpose. “Come on, let’s get out of the cold.”

  Fran considered the irony of his words interesting since he’d been the one who wanted to take a walk in the first place. Of course, now she knew the reason behind it. Before she could say or ask anything else he was talking again. Because his voice was cautious, not his usual tone, she kept quiet and listened.

  “I saw the place yesterday when I drove into town to pick up some groceries,” he said. The quick smile that had a hint of sheepish in it signaled what followed. “I know what you’re thinking. This isn’t exactly on the route into town,” he said and the sheepish expression on his face could now be heard in his voice. “It’s been a while since we’ve been here and a lot has changed once you get out of the neighborhood. I got lost more than once.”

  Fran walked around the small front room as he spoke, listening even as she explored the interior of the small house. She gave him a silent look that told him she was listening without a single word spoken out loud between them.

  “Anyway,” Cade fumbled slightly. He couldn’t remember the last time he fumbled with anyone let alone his wife. He wasn’t going to see fifty again in this lifetime, and here he was fumbling with getting the right words out to the woman he’d been married to more than half of those years.

  “I imagine Pete was thrilled to hear from you,” Fran said softly, interrupting him. She’d heard the close to stuttering that she knew had to irritate her husband more than anything else could. And that alone gave her reason to listen differently than she had been.

  “Hell, Frannie, he offered to take me to the store of my choosing if I waited here for him. I think he got here in less than five minutes. I don’t know where his office is but that had to be a record.” He was relieved, more than he would admit to anyone including himself, when he heard the gentle laughter that told him whatever his wife was thinking, it wasn’t bad.

  “I have a feeling that in his mind, the family has something of a reputation to uphold when it comes to Burlington property,” Fran said thinking of the many houses Mary had bought since she’d moved here. Each of them had once upon a time, been a part of the family’s history. That didn’t take into account the homes that had been bought by her brother, another by Casey’s friend and former employer, as well as others who’d come to Burlington with the intent to do nothing more than visit then somewhere along the way…decided to stay.

  “Something certainly had him moving,” Cade said with the amusement that had always been such an integral part of his personality and now that he had a better sense of his wife’s mood, it was again finding its way back into his voice. “Anyway, he kept his word and took me to the store, got me back here afterwards, and gave me the key so I could bring you by to see it.”

  Fran gave him a quiet look over her shoulder as she walked through the doorway that led into the kitchen. Like the front room and even smaller dining room, it was simply charming. There might not be any furniture to make the house look lived in but it didn’t need it. She could tell someone had made this a home and taken care of it for the time that they’d lived here. “What is this about, Cade?”

  “We’ve always talked about getting a small place somewhere north so we could avoid the hot southern summers,” he said as he followed her through the small hallway into the first bedroom. Then followed her as she explored the other one and then the bathroom that was between them. Waited for her to notice what he had almost immediately even before Casey’s husband had pointed it out to him. When she walked back into the front room he knew the exact moment it came to her from the look on her face. He knew when she turned to him she would see the smile he couldn’t stop from sliding across his. The surprise and joy he saw there simply did him in. Especially since he hadn’t seen it all that often in recent months.

  “It’s almost exactly like Carrie’s grandmother’s house,” Fran said even as she made her way through the house once again. Almost as if she was making sure her initial assessment was right. “You knew,” she said when she turned back to him this time.

  “Same builder,” Cade said as nonchalantly as he could manage. But he knew he’d failed abysmally when Fran threw her arms around him and held tight. “But yeah, I knew.”

  “It’s wonderful,” she said. Then she let out a long sigh as she allowed herself to think of all the details that couldn’t be ignored. “But I thought we talked about a cabin in the woods, p
referably near a lake where you could spend mornings fishing.” They had talked a lot in recent years especially now that their children were grown and on their own. But Burlington had never figured into it. For either of them.

  “According to Pete there’s plenty of good fishing to be had around here if that’s what I want to fill my early mornings with,” Cade said as he rubbed her back. As far as he was concerned the look on her face was all the answer he needed. “It’s a nice place, Frannie. Even without dickering which Pete insists on, it’s a good price.” He looked around the room, thought about his earlier visit that day on his own, one that had been much more focused on the finer details that he knew his Fran would think about later. There were some minor issues that would need to be taken care of but the big stuff was in good shape and in some cases, such as the roof, was next to brand new. “All we have to do is give Pete a call and he’ll take it from there.” He felt her sigh, knew his practical wife was battling with the woman who really wanted this house. More importantly, the connection that would bring them back on a regular basis to visit family and friends.

  Then because it was important to both of them, he gave her the nudge much in the same way she’d done for him when needed over the years. He would never have gone out on his own if it weren’t for her quiet encouragement and steadfast support. She’d been his receptionist, hell, she’d been the whole damn office staff in the beginning until the clients he’d hoped would move in his direction, once they knew he had his own practice, finally did. Things might be good, actually better than good now, but they hadn’t always been that way. And in those first couple of years she’d done everything she could to help. Somehow she’d always known. He couldn’t think of a single time he’d asked. She probably knew he wouldn’t. With a deep sigh of his own he ran his hands up to her arms and gently set her back away from him just enough so he could see her face. After all these years he knew her expression often gave away a hell of a lot more than anything else when he was trying to gauge her thoughts.

  “Frannie, let’s do this.”

  “I’m almost afraid to ask but how much is it?”

  Cade smiled when he told her and saw the surprise on her face. “I told you it was a deal. This isn’t the big city, love. And let’s be honest, this is a small place. But isn’t that what we’ve been talking about all these years? Something small like this?”

  “Yes, but what about when we’re not here?” She knew she was doing nothing more than looking for excuses. They would have dealt with that same issue no matter where they looked and found a place…here in Burlington or a cabin in the middle of the woods. She leaned in closer to Cade. “I know, I know. But it’s a big step and I wasn’t expecting it.”

  “Who always says the unexpected can be a gift?” Cade knew he wasn’t playing fair but he knew too she wanted this. And he was finding that surprisingly enough, so did he. He didn’t know her family like she did but he’d enjoyed himself over the last couple of days more than he’d expected to. Somewhere along the way he’d realized that a small place near family and friends might be a better choice than buried away from everything and everyone. That had its place but he wasn’t certain he’d enjoy it after a week or two. If they needed that kind of refuge, they could find a place a couple of weeks out of the year and rent it. This was different though. They were talking about the entire summer…months at a time.

  “Are you sure?” Fran asked.

  Cade pulled her close, held her against him so he could nuzzle his face in her hair. He could still remember the first time he’d done so and thinking how it smelled like flowers. It still did he thought, grateful some things didn’t change. “I’m very sure.” Certain now that he’d been right, he pulled his phone out and hit the buttons necessary to send the text he’d written earlier and had saved off as a draft.

  “What was that about?” Fran asked as she pulled away.

  “I just sent Pete a text. It should be interesting to see how quickly he gets here this time.” He took her hand and pulled her with him towards a door in the short hallway. “I want to show you something before he gets here.”

  Fran followed him, not surprised when he opened the doorway to reveal a stairway shrouded in darkness. It was the same at Mary’s house.

  Cade flipped both switches at the bottom of the stairs. He tugged her along behind him. At the top of the stairs he led her around and waited for her reaction. He wasn’t surprised by it.

  “This is wonderful,” Fran said as she took in the open space that was well lit by the many overhead light fixtures that must have been turned on when Cade had flipped the switches downstairs. There were also several table lamps scattered around as well if additional lighting was needed. “It’s an office,” she said, her attention focused on the built-in desks towards the front of the house.

  “That’s what it looks like,” Cade said as he tugged her with him over to where the larger desk sat. It was an unmistakable testament to what the finished off attic had been used for. “We could drive up here when things are slow at the office. I can work remote in this office.” He gave her a knowing look. She knew as well as he did that there were times through the year things were slow. Times he could easily work remote. And this office would be a perfect place to do so. “What do you think?” He got his answer from the look on her face. It was a good thing too since he could hear Pete walking around on the first floor looking for them. “Let’s go talk to Pete,” he said as he held out his hand to her. As grateful now as he was the first time he had done so…and she’d taken it. He’d known from that very first moment that he’d never let her go.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The discussion with Pete didn’t taken long at all since much of what he’d needed had already been obtained during his earlier visit to the house with Cade. On his way to his office to do his own brand of magic he dropped the two of them off at one of the stores he’d told them about with the promise to pick them up as soon as he was done.

  Cade and Fran had decided rather than haul furniture from their home that they would rather try to find at least some of the larger pieces they’d need locally. Pete had suggested several options. Of those he suggested one to start with, saying Mary had found much of what she’d needed there upon her arrival in Burlington.

  Fran took in the interior of the store and knew Pete had been right. She could easily imagine that Mary had been able to find all that she might need in this one place. It was three floors of a mix of antique furniture and just about everything else one could imagine. After a brief discussion as they stood near the front of the store, Fran and Cade decided to focus on bedroom furniture for one of the bedrooms as well as a table and chairs for the kitchen. They already had a name and phone number that Pete had given them for another of his many acquaintances. This one could deliver whatever they wanted in terms of a mattress set either that same day or the next…regardless of the upcoming holidays.

  It didn’t take long at all to find a bed both were happy with. By the time Pete arrived to return them to wherever they wanted to go they’d also found a tall dresser made of oak and a couple of small night stands for the bedroom. Both had seen better days and needed some sprucing up but Fran loved the quiet and dignified style of the pieces. She’d refinished furniture before and could do it again. The house they were soon to be the new owners of had a long porch off the kitchen at the back of the house that would be perfect for doing just those kinds of projects.

  Cade had unearthed a table that had been buried in one of the corners of the store under a mound of quilts. It could have easily come out of an ice cream shop of the 1950’s. After deeming it sturdy enough and in need of nothing more than a good cleaning they decided on it as well. Chairs were found on the uppermost floor of the store that once painted would work perfect with the table.

  With their purchases complete and delivery set up for that same day, they’d asked Pete to drop them back off at the small house so they could walk through it once more. After he’d left
them on their own they’d wandered though it slowly this time, hand in hand much as they had through the very first house they had ever bought. While they were still there the furniture was delivered as were the mattresses that they’d purchased from Pete’s friend.

  Now they were slowly walking through the neighborhood back towards the house on Marshall Street.

  “There’s some smaller pieces at home that would be perfect in the living room,” Fran said as she pictured the room the way she could already see it in her head. “The small end table that’s sitting up in the hallway and maybe the little phone table too.” They’d already decided that any other larger pieces of furniture they needed would be purchased here in Burlington. The effort of transporting them simply didn’t seem worth it. And in all honesty she was enjoying herself making this a home for them as she had so many times before.

  “Sounds good,” Cade said as they turned another corner and continued walking at an easy pace. “Considering the only furniture that comes with it is the built-in desk in the attic I would say we’ve got a fairly good start on things. The bedroom we’re going to use is almost completely furnished and we’ve got a table and chairs for the kitchen. Who could ask for more?” he asked and shot one of his trademark smiles in her direction.

  “A couple of towels to dry our hands on?” Fran said dryly.

  “From what Pete said we should be able to find towels and just about anything else along those lines at that place down the street on the corner that he told us about.” In truth he wouldn’t mind checking out the place himself. He vaguely remembered it and the old man who ran it from their early visits to Burlington when they’d first gotten married. According to Pete it was now owned and run by the old man’s granddaughter.

  “It’s just down the block,” Fran said. “We could walk down there now and see if it’s open.”