Christmas with the Sheriff

by Victoria James

  “Good to see you, Julia,” he said gruffly.

  She stood, wondering why now it felt so awkward. She had cried on his shoulder what must have been hundreds of times. He’d held her in his arms. He’d carried her away from her darkest thoughts on her darkest days. And yet now, five years later, she hesitated a few seconds before rounding the table and then into his arms. He folded her up against his hard chest, and the weight of his arms around her sheltered her like no one else could.

  “I’m so damn happy you came home for Christmas,” he whispered against her hair, and the raw emotion in his deep voice rapped quietly against all the closed doors inside her soul.

  There was a tug on her sweater. “Auntie Julia, it’s me, Maggie!”

  Julia stepped away from Chase and looked down at the little girl who looked very much like her daddy. She knelt down to give the little girl a big hug, her heart swelling as Maggie’s small arms wrapped around her neck. Julia pulled back to look at her.

  “You have grown so much! You’re so much bigger than last year’s Christmas card!”

  Maggie nodded rapidly. “It’s true, I’m growing up! I’m going to be as tall as Daddy.”

  Chase chuckled, ruffling the top of her shiny head with his hand.

  “I’m in grade two now,” Maggie continued, her eyes glued to Julia’s. Matthew would have been in grade two as well. Chase’s wife had gotten pregnant with Maggie a few months after Julia. Julia smiled at the little girl, silencing the voices of her memories. She had prepared herself for seeing Maggie again. It had taken a long time to be able to look at a child without wanting to curl back inside herself. But Maggie was different. Julia sensed everyone watching her, worried that seeing Maggie would sadden her.

  She straightened up and smiled down at her. “And how’s grade two going?”

  “Tough. There’s homework and stuff.”

  “Maggie, I saved you a piece of pie,” Gwen called, placing a plate of pie and a glass of milk on the kitchen table. Maggie skipped over to the chair beside Gwen and sat down. “Thanks, Auntie Gwen.”

  “She inherited my sweet tooth,” Chase said, shooting her a lopsided grin as they settled back into their chairs.

  Cassandra passed Chase a plate filled with pie and a cup of coffee. “Thanks, Cassy, this is just what I needed.”

  She patted his shoulder before sitting down.

  “You better eat all that pie, Julia,” Cassandra said, wagging her fork at her. “You’ve gotten far too thin.”

  She felt Chase’s eyes on her and she looked down at her plate. The weird, fluttery feeling in her stomach had nothing to do with wanting more pie. “I eat, I eat,” she said, picking up her fork. Of course she ate. But eating for one was different. Not having anyone to cook for, bake for, fuss for, took the joy out of eating. She hated cooking for herself.

  “Julia looks great. I wish I had that problem,” Gwen said with a laugh. Julia caught the hint of embarrassment in her voice as she spoke. She had noticed that her sister-in-law had put on weight since she’d last seen her. But Gwen was as pretty as ever and she wouldn’t have guessed it was an issue. She had the same coloring as her brothers—brown hair with streaks of blond and hazelnut colored eyes. All three Bailey children were stunning, extra pounds or not.

  “You’re as gorgeous as always, Gwen,” Chase said.

  Gwen rolled her eyes and gave him a light punch on the side of his arm. “And you are as charming as always.”

  “Guess what, everyone?” Maggie was sitting on her knees looking around the table and she clanked her fork against her glass.

  Chase reached over with a groan, holding on to the glass as it tipped precariously to one side. “All right, Maggie, I think you have everyone’s attention now,” he said, his deep voice laced with laughter.

  Maggie nodded. “Since I’m in grade two this year, I get to have a real serious part in the Shadow Creek School Christmas pageant! I get to be an angel!” she yelled out, almost toppling out of her chair. Edward leaned over to steady her, chuckling.

  Everyone offered their congratulations as Maggie efficiently lapped up the pie and the attention with obvious delight.

  Chase smiled, whispering under his breath, “I already heard the news on the drive over here, five times, complete with arm gestures and a rousing rendition of ‘O Holy Night.’”

  Julia swallowed her laugh. “When is the pageant?”

  “December first,” Chase said.

  “You’re coming too, right, Auntie Julia?” Maggie asked, stuffing a forkful of pie in her mouth. A glob of apples slid down her face and onto the table.

  Julia smiled at the little girl and leaned forward, wiping her face with a Santa napkin. “I’d love to, Maggie.”

  “We’re all going. The night of the pageant is the highlight of the season at the stage in the park, followed by the candle and tree lighting in the town square,” Cassandra said. The candle lighting ceremony had been a Shadow Creek tradition dating back to the founding of the town. Each year, in December, people would gather in front of the old courthouse dressed warmly for the winter night. A candle would be lit by the mayor and then slowly, one by one, the flame would get passed until everyone had a lit candle. Choirs would stand on street corners, townspeople would stroll and shopkeepers would keep their doors open until midnight. Julia hadn’t been in six years but the ceremony held some of her dearest Christmas memories.

  “And my dad is the sheriff so he has to go all dressed up in his uniform and everything,” Maggie said. “He’s really important around here. Catches bad guys and stuff.”

  Chase was shaking his head. “Well, in a town like Shadow Creek, Maggie, there’s not many bad guys.”

  “Not just this town, the entire surrounding area. Don’t go being modest on us, son. You’re the youngest sheriff in history for this area.”

  Chase shrugged, almost looking uncomfortable with the praise. “Thanks, Edward. You can see I come here because of my fan club,” he said, a small smile tugging at one corner of his mouth. “And the food. Definitely the food,” he added, giving Julia a wink.

  Julia smiled, the warmth from his stare a soothing balm on her conflicted feelings. “I came for the food too,” Julia said. It was good to laugh with these people again.

  “Good. I don’t care what it was that brought you back, my dear. But we’re happy to have you home,” Cassandra said. The tears in her eyes drowned the laughter at the table.

  Julia placed her fork down gently. “I’m here because of all of you. I’ve missed you so much,” she whispered, wanting to say more, but knowing that if she did, she would cry. But it was as though everyone knew because no one said anything.

  “Don’t worry, Auntie Julia. We’re all here so you don’t need to miss us anymore,” Maggie said with a big grin. “And Daddy said he’s really happy you’re home. He even said it to the pretty picture of you hanging on our fridge. It’s right beside the Luigi’s Pizza delivery magnet so first I thought he was ordering pizza.”

  “Maggie.”

  Julia choked on her coffee while Chase attempted to reel in his daughter’s dialogue. A rush of heat flooded her insides. It shouldn’t have. The comment was innocent. Chase would never think of her in that way. But the blue eyes that connected with hers for a moment flickered with…something.

  “That’s right. Happy you’re back. Love Luigi, he’s saved us many times.” He stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. “We need to get going though, just wanted to stop in and say hi. Tomorrow is a school day, Maggie.”

  Maggie nodded. “I have a spelling test tomorrow,” she said, jumping off her chair. Her dark hair bounced around her as she hopped out of the kitchen. Everyone stood and followed them to the door. Spelling tests and Christmas pageants. It all sounded so wonderful, so warm. Emotion constricted her throat as Chase crouched down and helped his daughter into her pink puffer coat and adjusted her Hello Kitty hat on her head. Then he stood and pulled on a black leather jacket and gloves.
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br />   Everyone said their good-byes and Julia stood there, watching as he and Maggie made their way down the front walkway. Cassy, Edward, and Gwen walked back to the kitchen chattering about the candle lighting ceremony. She looked down at Lola, who sat quietly by her side. Julia placed her hand on the doorknob, for a second feeling a connection to the man that had been holding it moments before. She watched as Chase made sure Maggie was buckled in and then shut her door. He rounded the front of his SUV and paused. She squeezed the doorknob, her palms turning sweaty as he made eye contact with her.

  Chase stood there, stoic and tall, motionless as flakes of white snow drifted around him. He raised his hand a second later and gave her a wave before climbing in behind the wheel. She forced a smile on her face and awkwardly raised her hand. The image of him that day at the funeral tiptoed into her mind and dashed through her body, finding refuge somewhere in her heart.

  Chapter Two

  “Hey, Sheriff!”

  Chase muttered a curse under his breath and turned to look at the young officer jogging over to him. “Meyers, unless you’re about to tell me that the Grinch is robbing the bank, hit the road. Today is the first afternoon I’ve had off in three months. I’ve got no intention of getting lured back to work.”

  “Uh, no, no, of course not,” the young man stuttered, almost tripping over his feet as well as his words. Chase leaned back against his Expedition and crossed his arms. He tried to look extra intimidating, in an effort to speed along the verbal rambling.

  Downtown Shadow Creek was about as bustling as a little town could get at Christmas. It had all the things that tourists loved—cedar strung over shop windows, wreaths hung from each black coach lamp on the main street, and shopkeepers that outdid themselves with store displays. Even he had to admit, if he was into the whole Norman Rockwell scene, and he was not, it was pretty nice, and his daughter got a kick out of it. Seeing her face, hearing her laughter, made all of it worth it.

  “So then what can I do for you?” Chase asked after a few seconds of Officer Meyers standing still, staring at him like he was going to ask him out on a date.

  “I need to ask you something.” Chase frowned as Meyers kicked some snow around with his boot, and didn’t continue.

  “Meyers, out with it. I gotta pick up my daughter in five minutes.”

  “Right. Right. Um, so, the thing is, Mayor Mayberry came by the station and asked if you’d be willing to dress up as Santa Claus on the night of the candle lighting.”

  Chase stared at the top of his head, his words not sinking in right away. “Excuse me?”

  “You know, Santa. The man who dresses up in a red suit.”

  “I know who Santa is.” The only problem with small towns, he’d discovered, was the sense of amity everyone had. So much so apparently that the mayor actually thought he would dress up as Santa Claus. He loved his job, but not that much.

  Going into law enforcement had been a no-brainer for him. To serve and protect. That’s what he’d always done as a kid, as an adult. The town was small, the regional area rural and comprised of mostly decent people. There were aspects, certain people and types of crimes that made his gut twist and kept him up some nights, but that was all part of the job. “So why didn’t Mayberry ask me himself?”

  “I think he might have been scared to, Sheriff.”

  Chase scowled. “Why the hell are you here asking me?”

  “He didn’t think you’d go for the idea and all the guys nominated me to come and ask you.”

  Of course they did. Ask the rookie to come out and do their dirty work. That and probably the fact that Mayberry was Meyers’s uncle. If you weren’t related to someone in Shadow Creek, then your neighbor definitely was. Or your parents grew up together. He sighed as the young constable looked at him with a rather hopeful stare. Obviously, Meyers didn’t know him well enough. Santa, my ass. “I’m the sheriff, not a freaking sideshow. The answer is no. I’ll talk to your uncle.” Chase added that last part when it looked like the young officer was about to cry at the thought of having to speak with the mayor. He understood. Mayor Mayberry was a walking-talking Roly Poly doll. And once the man started talking, the verbal diarrhea continued indefinitely. The only one who talked more than the mayor was his wife, Marlene Mayberry.

  Meyers smiled with relief and backed up a step. “Thanks, Sheriff.”

  Across the street, a familiar brunette in a red coat entered his line of vision, slowing outside the Christmas tree lot. His gut clenched, a familiar feeling whenever Julia was around. “Go back to work, Meyers,” Chase said, jogging across the street without waiting for a reply.

  When he’d seen Julia last night, the first time in five years, the love he’d had for her hit him in the gut. And then, as he’d done in the past, he’d swallowed it down.

  He’d come to the conclusion before she came home for Christmas that he needed to stop feeling guilty about his feelings for her. He’d never done anything to let on that he was in love with Julia. Never to Michael, Jack, or Julia. It had been his secret and he’d been willing to go on his whole life without ever letting it out.

  More than anything, more than his feelings for her, his wanting her, he wanted a happy ending for her. He wanted their little boy to be alive. He wanted Michael to be alive.

  Nothing had ever come close to hurting more than when he found out about the accident. And then witnessing the pure hell Julia went through. He vowed to his friend the day of the funeral that he would watch out for her. But then she was packing up and tearfully trying to tell him why she couldn’t stay in Shadow Creek, and hell, he couldn’t blame her one bit.

  But now she was back. And God, he’d missed her.

  “Looking for a Christmas tree?”

  She shot him a surprised glance, looking over at him. “Oh, hey, Chase.” Her full lips pulled into a gorgeous smile and he cursed himself. He didn’t need to be noticing her mouth. He turned away to look at the lot full of trees.

  “No, I just love the smell. I was out for a walk and thought I might do some Christmas shopping.”

  “You walked here?”

  She nodded. The tip of her nose was pink and her cheeks were rosy. “I had to. They have all been force-feeding me pies and cookies. This morning, I walked into the kitchen to find Edward sitting alone at the kitchen table eating pie. Minutes later Cassy comes in and he shoved the pie at me, and I had to pretend it was mine and eat it! I’m not going to fit into my clothes by Christmas.”

  Chase laughed and tried not to sound like he was choking. He didn’t want to think of her figure. Julia thought it was some nonchalant ha-ha comment, while he thought of beautiful curves. Perfect curves. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” He wanted to add that he thought all her pounds were in the nicest places, but he had no intention of coming off like some sort of creep. Or someone who’d been in love with her since high school. Or like someone who hung her picture on the front of his refrigerator door next to Luigi the pizza guy. Dammit.

  “I was thinking of dropping into Jack and Jill’s to pick up some gifts for Maggie.”

  He shook his head. “Don’t worry about—”

  “Are you kidding me? I love that old toy shop and I love that little girl of yours. It’s still there, isn’t it?” she asked, turning around to look in the direction of the town’s only toy store.

  He clenched his teeth hard. He didn’t want Julia going into a toy store buying gifts for his daughter when she should have been going in there to buy gifts for her son. She had never stopped communicating with them, even the first Christmas after she left she always sent a card and a gift for Maggie. He followed her gaze and they stared at the little yellow building. The large window showcased a vintage model locomotive and even from across the road he could make out the elaborate toy village surrounding the moving train. “Yeah, that place is practically a landmark. Mrs. Bowman retired last year, but her daughter, Sabrina, took it over.”

  Julia was smiling when she turned ba
ck to look at him. “Great, I haven’t seen Sabrina in years, I’ll be sure to stop by. Hey, aren’t you working today?”

  He shook his head. “No, my afternoon off. I’m just waiting to pick up Maggie.”

  She tucked her hands into her coat. “Oh that’s nice. She’s so sweet, Chase. I mean, you’ve done a great job raising her.”

  He smiled back, thinking of his daughter. Maggie was the best thing in his life. She had drawn out all the good in him, forced it out of him until he became the father he was meant to be. And he owed it to her. He’d failed her once, by picking the wrong woman. He would never make that mistake again. “Thanks. She’s a pretty incredible kid, despite her father.” He laughed.

  Julia looked down, her smile faltering. “I owe you an apology.”

  He frowned. “For what?”

  She looked up at him. “You were there for me and I wasn’t around when Sandy left.”

  Wind whipped her red scarf around her neck and her dark glossy hair swayed just enough that it almost begged him to touch it. He stared into her eyes, into the most genuine eyes he’d ever seen. He shook his head.

  “No. No you don’t owe me an apology. We were fine. We made it through. Edward, Cassy, and Gwen helped us more than I ever expected. They helped give Maggie the stability and the security she needed. They took on childcare and told me they would be the family I needed. Don’t you dare feel bad for leaving. I get it, Julia. You needed to survive and you did what you had to.” He owed the Baileys so much. They were the family he’d never had. They were the grandparents he could never give his daughter. He took a step closer to her, taking in the perfect skin, the tip of her nose pink with the cold.