Harlequin Superromance December 2013 - Bundle 1 of 2: Caught Up in YouThe Ranch She Left BehindA Valley Ridge Christmas

by Beth Andrews

  “And?” he prompted.

  “Zombies,” she admitted as if confessing to a horrible vice. “A good zombie apocalypse makes me happy.”

  He studied her for a moment, and shook his head. “You are an odd woman.”

  Maeve nodded. “Yes, I’m afraid that’s the truth.” She glanced at the clock. “I don’t want to be rude, but I work tomorrow.”

  “Right, I’d better go.” Aaron picked up his bag of books on the way to the door. “Thanks again.”

  “See you next Tuesday. Don’t forget to bring a riddle.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  Maeve closed the door and locked it. That was totally unexpected. She didn’t like Aaron. After all, he’d been rude to her and then he’d called her Red. But tonight he’d been perfectly charming. She glanced at Mrs. Anderson’s cross-stitch. I can’t save the world, but I can try.

  She switched off the kitchen light and noticed there was still a light on in the RV. She hoped everyone inside was okay. She worried about them, even though it had warmed up—warmth being a relative thing. The temperature was now in the upper thirties, which wasn’t too bad for Valley Ridge in November.

  Then the light blinked out and the RV was dark.

  Josie thought that she, Maeve, was an angel and that everything happened for a reason.

  I can’t save the world, but I can try.

  What more could she do for the nice family? She’d given them a place to park their RV, helped Boyd find a temporary job and offered to help with Carl.

  She’d done what she could.

  An image of Aaron, on his way back to Jerry’s, popped into her head. And from there, her mind flashed to the old Culpepper place.

  It was a home without a family.

  She thought of Scrooge, buying that Christmas goose and embracing the true meaning of the holiday.

  Round and round her mind went. Old Christmas movies, the romance novel she was reading, homeless people, peopleless homes...

  It occurred to her that she’d read something about the Culpepper place going up for sale next week to pay for back taxes.

  How much money did it cost to buy a run-down property to cover back taxes?

  Probably more than she had.

  She hadn’t checked her bank account lately, but it had to be pretty sizable. At least, for an average person it was. She lived very frugally and Gabriel paid her a good salary, most of which she put into her savings account.

  Not that she could spend that. That money was her safety net. If her mother had had money put away, they might have been able to hold on to their house all those years ago.

  Everything happens for a reason.

  I can’t save the world, but I can try.

  She thought of the movie and Scrooge buying gifts and dinners for people.

  How much could the Culpepper place cost? And how on earth did someone buy a house that was meant to cover back taxes?

  And even if she could make something like that happen, there wouldn’t be any way to make it happen in time for Josie and Boyd.

  It was a pipe dream.

  She looked beyond the RV to the library. Reopening it had been a pipe dream. She’d been sitting in her kitchen on a night much like this, looking at the deserted building and suddenly knew that she had to do something about it.

  Convincing the town council to give her permission had been a battle. They’d talked about insurance premiums and liabilities. Told her that soliciting donations for books would be next to impossible in these tough economic times. Yet she’d done it. There it was. Tonight it had been full of people who loved to read.

  “I can’t save the world, but I can try.”

  Upstairs in her bedroom, she pushed the crazy idea and picked up her current book. Reading had always been her means of coping. She could get lost in a good book and life’s problems faded.

  The Secret Santa Club. It was a book of loosely connected short stories. Sweet romances. Exactly what she needed.

  Maeve turned to Ava’s story.

  Christmas might be a season of giving, but all it was giving Ava Jones this year was a headache.

  Maeve slammed the book shut. She was giving herself a headache. She couldn’t stop thinking about the down-on-their-luck family in her driveway.

  Even if she bought the house, Boyd would never accept it if she tried to give it to the family. And he’d never be able to afford it if she bought it, fixed it up and sold it to them.

  But what if he could afford it? What if the mortgage payments were set on a sliding scale?

  Then again, Boyd couldn’t afford even a minimal payment, unless he had a job.

  What if the house wasn’t from her?

  What if it was from a foundation? A foundation that took old houses with good bones, renovated them and sold them back to low income families, with a low interest rate and a sliding scale mortgage? Money would go back into the foundation in order to buy more houses.

  Those were a lot of what-ifs and a lot of opportunities for Boyd to say no. But what if the house was a gift from a Secret Santa? Who could say no to Santa?

  Still, it could all go wrong.

  Maeve opened the book again, not to escape this time, but rather, to be inspired.

  * * *

  AARON WALKED ACROSS the bridge and down Park Street, hugging his bag of books to his chest.

  What an unusual woman. She cared about her books almost as if they were living things. He found himself fantasizing about her, caught himself and shut down the thought.

  He had not come to Valley Ridge to start a relationship with anyone. He wasn’t ready to be in a relationship with anyone. And even if he was, it wouldn’t be in Valley Ridge. As soon as the weather warmed up his uncle would come home and Aaron would be on the first plane to Florida.

  He trudged on through the slush, wishing for the umpteenth time that he’d worn boots. As soon as he got home he was going to take a hot shower and hope that he hadn’t caught pneumonia.

  He was cold, but he had actually enjoyed himself tonight.

  Maeve was an enigma.

  She took in homeless families. She single-handedly opened a library, and then volunteered her free time to keep it open.

  No one could be as pure of heart as she seemed to be. She had to have some agenda he couldn’t see.

  What made a woman like her tick?

  He shivered and hugged the books tighter to his chest.

  He never had to worry about pneumonia in Florida. Heatstroke in the summer, maybe, but not blizzards before Thanksgiving.

  Thanksgiving.

  His whole family would be at his mom and dad’s in Key West. Everyone except him. He’d skipped out on family holidays for the past couple of years. Not that he didn’t like his family—he did. He liked them more than he liked anyone else.

  Family was family—they stood by you no matter what. No, he’d stayed away because he couldn’t stand their sympathetic looks. He couldn’t stand to have them ask questions he couldn’t answer.

  Worse than their concerned looks and awkward questions were his younger sisters picking on him and driving him crazy. The last time he’d seen them they’d been so...nice. Sweet, even.

  Miri had gone so far as to embrace him and tell him that she loved him.

  He knew his family loved each other. He loved his sisters and they loved him, but he didn’t go around telling Helen, Miri or Nan as much.

  Likewise they never said the words to him.

  Until two years ago.

  And then he’d stopped going to family events.

  He’d made up excuses. Plausible, possible excuses.

  He’d thought several months ago that maybe he’d be safe to go to the Fourth of July picnic, but his sisters had been kind
to the point of making him sick.

  He couldn’t stand the thought that he’d made them worry about him. Even after they’d stopped asking questions he stayed away because he knew that even though they hid it well, they still worried about him.

  This year, he had an excellent excuse. Family is Family—that was the Holders’ motto. Well, everyone in his family would understand that he couldn’t be there for the holidays since he was helping his uncle.

  Maybe next year he’d make an appearance.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  THE WEEKEND FLEW by. In addition to her regular commitments, Maeve had found time to see Valley Ridge’s mayor, Ray Keith. She didn’t know him well. He was Mattie’s little brother, not that there was anything little about him. Maeve wasn’t especially short, but she needed to crane her neck to look up at him.

  The mayor not only liked her idea, he’d called everyone on the town council and explained what she was proposing. They’d all agreed to help.

  She felt excited, and a bit sick at the thought of draining her savings.

  I can’t save the world, but I can try.

  She kept coming back to that saying as a touchstone. She could save more money. She could rebuild her account. Even if she lost her job or her house, she had her mother and Herm...they would support her until she was back on her feet again.

  She was lucky. Some people didn’t have anyone to turn to.

  The Culpepper place would go on the auction block tomorrow. The day before Thanksgiving. Ray had managed to get the paper to run a notice on Saturday in order to comply with the town’s public notice ordinance.

  One more day. In one more day she’d know if it was hers. Ray didn’t think she’d have any competition. No one else had expressed an interest.

  Once she won—assuming she did—there would be work. And she’d have to find donations of furniture and housewares. Donations of paint and whatever other things the house needed. The porch was an issue, but hopefully she’d have enough left over in her savings to buy new wood for that.

  She’d didn’t mind doing the work. A few weekends of painting and other touch-ups, and the house should be ready before Christmas.

  If Jerry were in town, she knew she could go to him for paint. She wasn’t so sure she’d be able to convince Aaron to help. Well, she’d figure out something.

  In the meantime, she had to get the library ready for tonight’s Riddlefest. It seemed odd to prepare for book club on a Tuesday. Maeve’s weeks had a certain rhythm to them, but Thanksgiving was throwing her off. And worrying about Wednesday was making it worse.

  She arrived home from work, made herself a quick PB&J for dinner and dashed out the door.

  Josie poked her head out of the RV as Maeve approached and asked, “Are we still on for tonight?”

  “I’m on my way to the library now. I’ve got to set up the chairs and start the coffee. Mattie’s bringing Zoe and she’s got treats from the coffee shop.”

  “I’ll be over as soon as Boyd gets here,” Josie said, looking thrilled at the prospect of getting out of the RV.

  “As long as you understand that I’ve got strict orders that you’re to keep your feet up the whole time. You know Boyd’s welcome to come with Carl. There are going to be a ton of kids at this one.”

  “If the discussion was going to be about a murder mystery or biography, I might have been able to convince him, but he assured me that he doesn’t do hobbits or riddles.”

  “He doesn’t know what he’s missing. Now, you should put your feet up, or Boyd’s not going to let you come out.”

  Josie laughed. “Okay. See you in a bit.” She shut the door.

  The doctor had said as long as Josie rested a lot, she could handle Riddlefest and Thanksgiving at Maeve’s. Normally her family had dinner at Maeve’s mom and stepfather’s house because it was bigger. But this year, they would have it in her house even though it was smaller, so that the Myers family could join them.

  Her mom had been over the moon at the prospect of more people to cook for. Maeve wondered if her mom missed working at the diner. Renie Lorei loved to cook, but more than that, she loved to feed people. Maybe it came from all the years of worrying whether or not she would be able to put food on the table for the two of them.

  Thinking about those times depressed Maeve, so she pushed the thoughts aside.

  There was so much to be excited about. The riddle contest tonight. Thanksgiving was in two days.

  And then there was tomorrow.

  Tomorrow would be the beginning of her paying back to the community what she owed the people who’d helped her out in the past. The big opportunity she’d been looking for was finally here.... A car pulled into the parking lot as Maeve unlocked the door to the library.

  Aaron Holder.

  She tingled with excitement. She’d enjoyed their evening together. But when Aaron looked over at her, he frowned. As if he’d forgotten she’d be there, or maybe he simply regretted watching the movie with her the other night. He waved and called out, “Hey, Red.”

  The flame of excitement sputtered out, replaced by annoyance. “It’s Maeve,” she said as he approached.

  “Sorry,” he said innocently. “The hair’s a sore point?”

  “Having a nickname based on something you do, well that’s one thing, but I was born with this hair.” She picked up a hunk and let it fall. “It always made me stand out.”

  “And you don’t want to stand out?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “No, not most of the time. Not ever, to be honest.”

  He studied her, and then nodded.

  She went into the library and switched on the lights. “What brings you out so early?”

  “I saw Lily at the diner. She was on her way over here to help you set up, but she got a call from a patient. So I volunteered.”

  “There’s not much to do,” she said. “We have one book club or another almost every week, so I’m well practiced at moving a few chairs,” she added.

  “Then it won’t take us long, will it?” he said, and offered up a smile.

  His calling her Red was still too fresh in her mind for her to smile back. “Okay, fine. I was going to take the couch out of stacks and bring it up here. Josie’s still on bed rest and I promised her husband I’d make sure she doesn’t overdo it.” She added, “Her husband’s the guy who came with me to get the propane after the storm.”

  “Oh.” Aaron seemed pleased at the news. “I thought he might be a boyfriend.”

  Maeve looked at Aaron. She realized that he’d been wondering who Boyd was to her, and for some reason, her initial annoyance faded away and she felt...pleased.

  Boyd was a good guy. On Friday and Saturday he’d been working at Gabriel’s while Josie and Carl had spent time with her. Despite the fact they’d recently met, Maeve felt closer to Josie than she’d felt to anyone in a long time.

  Maeve wished she’d faced her own adversity with the same sense of optimism and wonder as Josie. She knew she hadn’t. She was also aware that meeting her was no compensation for Josie and for what she’d lost.

  Maeve led Aaron into the stacks.

  “Is this the couch?” Aaron asked.

  Maeve pushed aside her thoughts and nodded. “Yeah, this is the one.”

  It wasn’t very heavy and she managed her end just fine.

  “So, I was thinking about our movie,” Aaron said, “and—”

  He was interrupted when the door to the library opened. As much as Maeve wondered what he had been about to say, she was happy to see Josie walk in, holding on to Boyd’s free arm. The other arm was holding Carl.

  “I’ll walk her home, if that’s okay,” Maeve offered.

  “I’m not an invalid,” Josie huffed.

  “You are, however, sitting down on t
he couch and not moving until after book club or I’ll call Boyd,” Maeve said.

  Boyd smiled at her mock bossy tone and said, “Thanks.” At the same time Josie said, “Snitch.”

  People started to arrive for the meeting. Generally, it was a small group who came to the general fiction club. The romance club was always the most popular one. But tonight was jammed. It helped that the high school kids were obligated to attend in order to get their bonus marks.

  If this kept up, the library wouldn’t be big enough to host the book club anymore. Maybe she could talk to Ray about finding some space at city hall, or maybe one of the schools would let them meet in their cafeteria. That actually sounded like a viable plan. If she could keep the younger generation interested in reading and attendance kept growing, then after the holidays, she’d investigate the idea further. Of course, she’d already asked Ray for a lot.

  Gabriel had given her tomorrow and Thursday off for Thanksgiving. She couldn’t wait.

  But right now, she had book club.

  She smiled at Josie. “Make yourself comfortable and if you need anything, I’ll get it for you.”

  Aaron was already ahead of her. He walked over with a cup of coffee. “Decaf,” he told Josie with a grin. “I might not know a lot about pregnant women, but I know it’s a caffeine-free condition.”

  He pulled up a chair and entertained Josie as Maeve finished setting up.

  She was about to start the meeting when Sophie’s daughter, Tori, came running up to her, squealing her name. The teenager gave Maeve a hug. “We’re in town for Thanksgiving,” she said. “Joe told me what the book was. I read it years ago, but I decided to reread it even though he said tonight was more about the riddle scene than the rest of the book. Anyway, I’m good to go.”

  “I’m so glad you’re in town,” Maeve said, hugging the girl back. Tori had stolen her parents’ car and driven from Ohio to Valley Ridge last summer, looking for her birth mother. She’d found Sophie and introduced herself in a dramatic way. Maeve and the rest of the Valley Ridge would be telling the story of that introduction for years to come.