by Emma Miller
“He said he felt like he should warn me, and he asked if I was relying on the bookstore as a source of income. I think he was trying to help me.”
“Milton had no right.” David plunged his hand through his hair again then moved his fingers down to his neck and pushed against the tension spreading like wildfire.
“I’m sorry if I upset you,” she said.
“You didn’t. He did.”
She fidgeted with the strap of her purse. “Is it true?”
“The bookstore has been doing better than ever since you came. I’ve told you that, and I meant it,” he said, keeping his voice calm in spite of his anger toward his accountant. He didn’t want Laura feeling as though she’d done anything wrong by asking about the state of his business. Because of her, David thought he might actually make it into the black again by spring. “It’s been amazing since you’ve put your touch on the place.”
Laura lifted her brows and tilted her head as though waiting for the “but” that she knew was coming. And in order to tell her the truth, David had to say it.
“But the problem is, it hasn’t been doing that good for the past couple of years, ever since I inherited it. Or truthfully, it’d started going down years before. People are moving into the ebook market, and a lot of folks stopped shopping at a brick-and-mortar store. Or that’s what I’d thought. It turned out, they just needed the place to offer events of interest, get books they wanted to read and promote them. Everything you’ve been doing. If I’d have started that two years ago, everything would be different now.”
“You’re saying that our recent sales aren’t enough, though,” she said.
“You shouldn’t be worried about any of this,” David said. “And Milton may have just lost himself a client.”
“I really think he was only trying to help, David,” she said. “And I’ve...” She took an audible breath. “I’ve decided what I’m going to do.”
“What do you mean, what you’re going to do?” David feared what she was about to offer, for her to stop working at the bookstore, because that was the exact opposite of what needed to happen. He needed her there. More than that, he wanted her there. “You don’t need to do or change anything. You just need to keep helping me make it happen. We can do it together, Laura.”
He’d just started thinking that there could be something between them, more than friendship, more than a boss-employee relationship. This had been their first date! And, because of Milton, it’d gone from perfect to the perfect storm. Because he could see it in her eyes. Laura had made up her mind.
“You can run the things at the store on your own, and I can eliminate all of the expenses associated with my employment. Besides, I wasn’t going to be able to keep coming in during those weeks after I have the babies, and honestly, I still didn’t know how I was going to afford to put them in day care whenever I could start back to work,” she said, telling him exactly what he didn’t want to hear.
“I told you...” he said.
She interrupted him. “I know you said I could bring them to the bookstore, but there’s really no place there for babies, and I can’t do that to you.” Another deep breath, and then she set her thoughts free. “I’m going back to Nashville, to my parents’ home. Everything is going to be more settled there now that my dad has finally figured out what’s been bothering Mom all these years. And they’re happy to support me until I get a teaching job somewhere.”
“Laura, that’s not what you need to do,” he said, but she opened the car door and started out without waiting for David to help her this time.
“I’m sorry, David. I’m going home.” And then she closed the door to the car...and slammed the door of his heart.
Chapter Fifteen
Laura should’ve called her mother last night, but she didn’t feel like talking about everything and only wanted to cry herself to sleep, which she did. Reluctantly, she dialed the number this morning. The phone rang once, twice and then Marjorie picked up.
“Laura, how are you, dear!”
Laura moved the phone away from her ear to make sure she dialed the right number. Her mother always had a polite greeting, but today she was practically singing. Sure enough, the display showed she’d dialed Mom.
“I’m—” she didn’t want to lie to her mom “—I’ve been better.”
“Oh, honey, what’s wrong? Is it the babies? I can come right now. Early labor? What are you feeling? Have you called the doctor?”
Laura should’ve thought about how close she was to her delivery date, merely a month away, before she said she wasn’t doing well. “It isn’t anything physically, Mom.”
“Aw, bless your heart. It’s David?”
Over the past weeks, her mother had insisted that Laura had feelings for David. Laura never denied it, but she didn’t specify the extent of those feelings before. Today, however, she would.
“I think I may love him.”
Her mother got silent on the other end and for a second, Laura thought she’d lost the connection. Then her mother’s sigh echoed through the line. “Oh, honey, that’s wonderful. I’d been so afraid that your heart was so torn by Jared that you wouldn’t be able to fall in love again, at least not for quite a while. This, well, like I said, it’s wonderful. Does he feel the same?”
“I don’t know. I think he may feel the beginnings of something because he asked me out on a date.”
“When are you going out?” her mother asked.
“We went out, last night,” Laura said, and before her mother had a chance to start celebrating, she added quickly, “and it didn’t end well.”
“Wh-what? How did it not end well? What do you mean?”
“I’m fairly certain that he took me in as a charity case. The bookstore has apparently had some rough years, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to catch up. I don’t think he can afford to pay me. In fact, I don’t think he’s ever been able to afford it, but he’s been doing it anyway.”
“The bookstore seemed to be doing well when I was there,” her mother said, “and your father said it was packed on Black Friday.”
“It is doing well now,” Laura said, “but his accountant hinted that it happened too late. And from the way David acted when I asked him how the business was doing, I’m afraid it’s true.” She’d walked to the kitchen while they were talking then opened the refrigerator and stood there. Nothing looked appealing, and she thought she knew why. She didn’t want to go back to Nashville, but she also didn’t want to hurt David in any way. “Mom, I’m coming back home.”
“Here? To Nashville?”
“Yes. It’s still okay for me to stay with y’all, isn’t it? Until I have the babies and then find a job?”
Laura waited, and when her mother didn’t readily answer, she asked again, “Mom? It is okay, right?”
“Well, yes,” her mother said. “Or, it would be-e...” She drew the word out. “I was going to wait and surprise you with our news, but now I’m not sure how we’d surprise you. We thought you loved Claremont and would be there for Christmas, and then stay there when the babies are born. We were kind of counting on it.”
“Counting on it?” Laura asked, closing the refrigerator door. “What does that mean?”
“I guess I’ll start with the first part of our news,” her mother said. “I quit!”
“You quit what? Your job?”
“Yes, after twenty-one years of service, I left. Told them just last night. And I am so surprised at how great it feels to retire!” She paused. “Can you call it retiring if you’re only forty? Anyway, whatever it is, I did it, and I’m thrilled!”
Laura was floored. Her mother quit work? “I’m glad you’re happy, Mom, but why did you quit?”
“And that’s the second part of our news. Your dad,” she giggled, “it sounds so f
unny to say this, but your daddy asked me to marry him again! I know you saw the ring and all—he told me you were with him when he picked it out. But you should’ve seen the proposal. He took me to the Opryland Hotel night before last and got down on one knee right there in the middle by that big fountain. Then he announced to everyone that he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me.” She laughed. “Can you believe that, Laura?”
“Yes, but I thought he was going to wait until Christmas. He told me to keep the secret.”
“That’s the rest of our news. I quit because we want to enjoy each other more, and we want to enjoy those grandbabies we’re about to have. So I was planning to come to Claremont for Christmas and stay there to help you until the babies came and then also stay after they were born for a while. If I don’t have a job, I can do that. And your dad went ahead and asked me so I’d know his plans, and then I could decide whether I wanted to quit work and spend all of the holidays with you in Claremont. And—this is the best part—we’re going to renew our vows at the little community church there that you said you love so much!”
“Here? In Claremont?”
“Yes. Your father called and reserved the church this morning. It’s going to be extremely small, with the preacher there, Brother Henry I believe was his name, and you as my maid of honor and then David as the best man.”
“David?” Laura’s head spun. “Dad is asking David to be the best man?”
“It seemed only natural, since we’re having the ceremony in Claremont. Your dad has some good friends here, but none that want to travel to Claremont for us to renew our vows on Christmas. Everyone spends Christmas with family, and we’re going to spend it with you.”
“And David.” Laura didn’t plan to stay here more than long enough to pack her things. She couldn’t be here at Christmas. She couldn’t continue hurting David’s business—or David, period—by sticking around. And she couldn’t help but wonder if this wasn’t the best thing anyway, her leaving town and severing this “relationship” or whatever it was with him before it really got started. His business was struggling, and he loved that bookstore, and he didn’t need a dependent—a woman who was about to have two dependents of her own, no less. Talk about baggage.
“Honestly, when your dad mentioned him, I thought it’d be a great idea, since you two have been getting so close. Your dad is going to call him this morning. He may already have called, in fact. And you did say you think you may love him.”
“I also said I’m hurting him financially, and I have no way to fix that. David—” she swallowed “—he deserves so much.” Way more than she had to offer. Laura plopped down at the kitchen table and shook her head. What would she do now? “I can’t let him take me in like a charity case.”
“You aren’t a charity case.” David’s voice came from behind her, and Laura whirled around to see he’d entered the kitchen from the front of the store.
“Oh, is that David? Tell him I said hello,” Marjorie said.
“Mom says hi,” she said miserably. This phone call was supposed to cement her return home; instead, it seemed her mother wasn’t interested in doing anything but coming here. “I’m not going to stay and cause you to go further in the hole. I’m going home.”
“Oh, Laura, do you really think...” her mother began, but Laura cut her off.
“I’ll call you back later, Mom. I have to go.” She disconnected and looked at the tall gorgeous man invading her kitchen. “How did you get in?”
“It’s ten o’clock. Mandy opens the front door at ten, and I was waiting for her when she arrived. You’re supposed to be arriving at the bookstore now, by the way.” He smirked. “You’re late.”
“I just need to get my coffee mug,” Mandy said, entering the kitchen. She stopped in her tracks when she took a look at Laura. “Oh, uh, are you not working today?”
“No.” Laura then remembered looking in the mirror before she’d started down the stairs. Her hair was sticking out like a troll doll, and she’d been so upset last night that she hadn’t taken time to match her pajama top to her pants. Consequently, her hot pink and neon green plaid maternity pajama pants clashed severely with her oversize Vols orange nightshirt and purple slippers. But Laura didn’t care. She wasn’t going to work, and she didn’t invite David over. He could take her the way she came, which was messy. And fairly gross. Maybe this would convince him that he didn’t want to keep her around after all.
“Yes, she’s coming to work,” David said, deflating that idea, “if I have to drag her there.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Laura challenged.
“You think just because you’re a little pregnant that I couldn’t toss you over my shoulder and haul you down the street if I wanted?”
Mandy’s laugh came out with force, and Laura shot her a look that promptly shut her up.
“S-sorry, Laura,” she said. “But the thought of you, as pregnant as you are, being hauled down the street on his shoulder...”
“It’s not happening,” Laura said.
Mandy looked to David as if wanting affirmation.
“I’m not hauling her anywhere, especially when she’s dressed like that,” he said.
“Hey!” Laura snapped, and Mandy laughed again, then grabbed her coffee mug and retreated to the gallery.
“I need you to work,” he said, “at least until Christmas.”
“David, your accountant insinuated that you didn’t need to hire me, you don’t need to pay me. If I went back home, that would help you. You can still do everything without me.”
“No, I can’t. I need someone to run the Boxcar Children book clubs. I need someone to lead the women in their discussion this week about Rahab. They don’t want to listen to me do it, and you know you’re enjoying those meetings. Plus, there are the kids at the hospital. They look forward to you reading to them.”
“You could do that,” she said.
“Not like you. Are you really going to let them down? Could you live with yourself if you let Faith down? She looks forward to our visits each week, and she’ll ask why you aren’t with us. Seems to me she’s gotten even more attached to you, probably since you’re female, or maybe it’s because you’re having the babies. But in any case, I can tell Faith really likes you and enjoys your visits. I’m not going to tell her that you aren’t coming back. If you’re going to Nashville, you’ll have to be the one to tell her.”
“You know I can’t do that. I can’t hurt her.”
“But you can hurt me?”
“I am hurting you, your business, every day I stay.”
“We’ve still got the holiday season. You never know what could happen at Christmas,” he said. “What if we sold enough for me to catch up on my line of credit and even see the bookstore make a profit? What if we could make it work...together? There is a possibility, but there isn’t if I have to do it all on my own.”
“Milton Stott didn’t think so,” she reminded.
“Then that’s what we’ll pray for.”
She grabbed an apple from the bowl of fruit on the table, rolled it between her palms as she thought about his suggestion. “You want me to stay until Christmas.”
“I do. And you really should anyway. It’d be a shame for you to miss your parents’ wedding.”
She cut her eyes at him. “Daddy already called you?”
“I’m the best man. Of course he called.” He sat beside her at the table smiling as though he’d won first prize at the fair, then he reached for the apple in her hand, brought it to his mouth and took a bite.
“That’s mine,” she said.
“Say you’ll come to work, and I’ll give it back.”
She glared at the apple. She hadn’t really been all that hungry for it before, but now that David was teasing her, she wanted it. Now. “Just until Christmas
. I don’t want to let the kids down.”
He handed her the apple. “That’ll work,” he said, “for now. And get dressed. You’re late.”
Laura chomped a big bite of the apple, and he laughed, then turned and left the kitchen.
Chapter Sixteen
“I brought a Barbie for my book buddy.” Savannah Jameson placed her wrapped gift beneath the Christmas tree in the children’s area. “Daddy and I picked the one wearing a pink dress, since Faith’s favorite color is pink. And I made her a pink card, too, with a snowman on it.”
“She’s going to love that, Savannah.” Laura had been so excited about her idea to pair the kids at the hospital with the book-club children for Christmas. Each child that came to book club received the name and information about one of the children in the hospital and was told they could give their “book buddy” something for Christmas. It could be something they made, like a card or a poster, or a bought present. So far, each child brought both, something handmade and something purchased. She couldn’t wait to deliver the gifts later tonight with David and Zeb.
“I got Timmy some Hot Wheels cars,” Kaden said, sticking his gift under the tree, “and I drew him a cool car picture, too, that looks like one of the cars in the pack.”
“He’ll love that, Kaden.” Laura waited for all of the children to place their gifts under the tree and then opened the Boxcar Children book. But before she said anything about the book, she stared at the tree, her mouth falling open. “Hey, did any of you put all of those candy canes on the Christmas tree?”
Their answers came back in a flurry of excitement, because everyone in town knew what candy canes meant.
“I didn’t,” one said.
“Nope!” yelled Kaden.
“Wow, he was here!” Savannah gasped then placed her hand over her broad smile.
Laura held up her palms. “Now, wait a minute. Let me ask Mr. David.” She leaned out from the group and called toward the counter, where David was busily checking out customers. “David, did you put all of these candy canes on the tree?”
