Holiday Kisses

by Anna J. Stewart

  But in recent months, she’d come to appreciate the camaraderie and support of the women who had turned into her friends. People she could rely on in times of need. People who respected her privacy and space while pulling her into the circle of warmth that affection and kindness could provide.

  “Well, if that isn’t a picture I don’t know what is.”

  “Jason.” Abby abandoned her overflowing basket and welcomed him with a hug and blush-inducing kiss. “Wasn’t sure when I’d be seeing you today. You’re not avoiding me, are you?”

  “Of course not.” Jason turned that charming smile of his on Abby and kissed the tip of her nose. “Nothing I want more than to choose the perfect napkins for our wedding reception.”

  “And if she believes that, she’s even further up in the clouds than I imagined,” Paige muttered.

  As someone who’d spent many hours observing people, Calliope wondered if Abby had any idea how she glowed in Jason’s presence. Abby had always been a bit of a sprite, with energy to spare and an attitude to match, but when that special connection between two people was made, it changed something inside of them.

  It had with Jason, who, for want of a better term, had gone through his own catharsis since his arrival in Butterfly Harbor. Those harsh edges, the lines around his eyes, the weight of the past pushing him down—they were all gone now. He walked lighter these days. Seemed happier despite the added pressure of his business ventures.

  Not that there wouldn’t be difficulties or struggles. No relationship would ever be so free, but Calliope held no doubt that this was a match that would survive whatever challenges were thrown their way. The same held true for the other recently married couples in town.

  Their unions, the love they’d found, had strengthened the weakening spine of Butterfly Harbor. The town had been through its own tests in recent years, but with all the bonds of marriage being forged, Calliope felt safe in believing the town—her town—was going to be just fine.

  Even while Calliope remained unattached. And alone.

  “Anything special for me this week, Calliope?” Jason hugged Abby against his side as he headed her way. “I’m looking to change things up, so if you have an overabundance of anything—”

  “The cauliflower is doing particularly well. It should be ready in a few days.” Calliope made a mental note to add a half-dozen extra heads to his Tuesday morning order. “Although I’m just about overrun with parsnips and carrots.”

  “Perfect. Load me up. I feel a soup week coming on.”

  “With your homemade sourdough bread?” Paige asked in an almost reverent tone.

  “Absolutely.” Jason looked offended she’d think otherwise.

  “No fair. We have bridesmaid dresses to fit in to. Oh, which reminds me...” Paige snapped her dirty fingers and pointed at Calliope. “We have our final fittings this week. Are you going to be able to get away?”

  Still a bit disbelieving she’d been asked to be an attendant at Abby’s wedding, Calliope nodded. “I have it on my calendar.”

  “Great. The seamstress is coming to the inn, so if there’s a problem here at the farm, we’ll still be close.” Abby rested her head on Jason’s shoulder. “You just have to make yourself scarce.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Jason assured her. “You want me to take any of this with me now, Calliope? Save Paige a trip tomorrow morning?”

  “Certainly.” Calliope caught a glint in the chef’s eye. Abby and Paige weren’t the only people up to something this morning. She heard loud squeals coming from inside the house, but before she could get to her feet, Paige waved her hand.

  “I’ve got them. You finish with Jason.”

  “Not sure I like the sound of that,” Jason mumbled as Abby headed inside with Paige.

  “But it gave you the excuse you were looking for.” Calliope waved him over. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

  “Yeah. Well.” He bent down beside her, his handsome, angular face caught between a grimace and smile of approval. “It’s about Xander Costas.”

  Calliope groaned. “Not you, too.”

  “Not me, too, what?”

  “You’re not helping Abby and Paige play matchmaker, are you?”

  “Ah, no.” Jason chuckled. “That’s their bailiwick for sure.” He started pulling carrots free of the soil and dropping them in the basket at Calliope’s side. “I just think there might be a bit more behind Xander’s decision to take on this project than he’s saying. You know I go back east fairly frequently. And that I worked in Chicago for a time.”

  “I do.” She refrained from asking anything further, choosing instead to wait for whatever it was Jason thought she needed to know.

  “I just remember when I first came here, you helped me see some things I’d been ignoring. I wasn’t in a really good place.”

  “I remember. Things change.” Calliope couldn’t imagine Butterfly Harbor without Jason now. He just...fit. Unlike some people.

  “That’s the kind of thing Xander’s looking for. I don’t know how much you know about him and his family—”

  “Only what he’s told me. That he’s the second oldest of five and his mother has the patience of a saint. I inferred that,” she added with a smile.

  “He has a lot riding on this sanctuary design, Calliope.”

  “So do we.”

  “No, I get that, I do. It’s just...how would you describe me when we first met?”

  “Lost.” Grieving. She could only imagine how difficult losing a sibling must be, but for Jason to have lost his twin brother? Yes, lost was most definitely the word.

  “Not all of us are lost in the same way. His family’s really gone through it the last year. And Xander’s taking the weight of most of it. I know you’re working with him on this project. Word is the two of you don’t exactly agree on things.”

  “That would be an accurate assessment.” At least where the sanctuary was concerned.

  “Just do me a favor, Calliope? Go easy on him.”

  “Are you calling me pushy, Jason?”

  “I’ve never known you to be, no. But I’ve also never heard of you arguing with someone in public before. At the diner.”

  She’d be lying if she didn’t admit that day hadn’t brought out her best qualities. Becoming town gossip wasn’t on her list of things to do, however. She didn’t want to inadvertently turn other people against Xander when she was the one who had issues.

  Even if she wasn’t entirely certain what those issues were.

  “You’re telling me it’s time to sit down and have a talk with him.” She finished filling the baskets and pushed to her feet. “A real conversation, not a battle of wills or ideas.”

  “I’d never tell you to do anything.” He stacked the baskets and picked them up. “Just making a friendly observation. As important as the sanctuary is to Butterfly Harbor, I think it might be just as much if not more important to Xander and his family. Food for thought. So to speak.”

  “That you would come to me like this after knowing him such a short time says something, Jason.” She brushed her hands on her skirt. “And I do not take that lightly.” She felt her schedule for the day tilt on its side. “Is he still up at the site?”

  “He is. Looked to me like he was planning on settling in for the better part of the morning. Probably out of coffee by now.”

  “Hmm.” Calliope angled a glance at the suddenly innocent-looking Jason Corwin. “You’re taking lessons from Abby after all. I appreciate your advice, Jason. Now I’m going to give you some.”

  “Okay.”

  “Let Abby choose whatever napkins she wants for the wedding.”

  Jason laughed as they headed back to the house. “Way ahead of you.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  HE SHOULD HAVE brought his headphones.

  The land set aside for
the butterfly sanctuary was surprisingly impressive. A blank slate, for the most part. He’d heard about the dispute over where to settle the education center the town hoped would attract visitors fascinated with the migratory habits and preservation plans for the monarchs and other butterflies. The vista of trees that stretched before him and up the main road was thick and enticing, giving the observer the feeling of being swallowed by a force of nature.

  He wasn’t the greatest identifier of flora and fauna, but he could smell the eucalyptus in the air, and as he looked up, the lush leaves and enticing branches seemed to flicker in the sunlight. Not that any of this was spurring his imagination.

  He tried to follow Calliope’s advice, but “listening” in a silence he wasn’t used to left him feeling antsy. His ability to focus was shot. All he saw was dirt, trees and the faint hint of light filtering through the branches and treetops.

  He’d been staring at the same blank page for more than twenty minutes. Wasn’t being here supposed to boost his creativity?

  “You being here must mean you’re now open to all possibilities.”

  He should have been startled to hear her voice, but somehow it made sense. The anxiety clawing inside him eased. Every time he saw her, he was struck by her beauty—a beauty that radiated from the inside out. “Good morning.”

  “You look as if you could use a refill.” Calliope lowered herself to the ground beside him, one of her handwoven baskets in her arms. She pulled out a large metal thermos and refilled his coffee. How a woman could move so smoothly, so fluidly, like a mermaid in the water, was beyond him. She wore a dress of fire colors today—orange, yellow and red. The combination put the sun to shame as it warmed him and made him shiver at the same time.

  “Now that’s service.” He sipped gratefully and appreciated the faint taste of chicory. “Let me guess. Jason told you where I was.”

  “I probably would have guessed eventually.” She pulled back the napkin in the basket to reveal thick slices of homemade bread. “In case you get hungry.”

  “Thank you.” The worry on her face had faded, but her melancholy made his stomach clench. He lifted a hand, brushed his finger over her cheek. “You okay?”

  “Mostly.” Her sad smile broke his heart. “You, on the other hand...”

  “Me, what?” Because it was the perfect distraction, he drank more coffee. “Those plans I drew up will work perfectly here, you know. All it’ll mean is moving forward with the excavation of the trees—”

  Her sharp intake of breath cut him off. He glanced over at her. Given the way the muscle in her jaw pulsed, he figured he’d said the wrong thing. Again.

  “It’s impossible to build what you need without clearing the way. And this isn’t just about the structure itself, Calliope. There will be outer buildings as well, and a parking lot. And there will need to be a clear path to that view—”

  “Have you seen the view yet?”

  “Well, yeah.” He leaned over and pointed dead ahead. “It’s right there through those trees.”

  He swore he heard her tsk at him.

  “No wonder you’re clinging to your original plans. You haven’t seen this place yet. Not for what it really is.” She set aside the basket and stood up, reaching for his hand. “You need a different viewpoint.”

  “That doesn’t mean I’ll agree with you.” He grabbed hold before she changed her mind. The second his hand clasped hers, he had the odd inclination to never let go.

  “If we are going to work together, we need to try to see things from the other person’s point of view.”

  Had she tried to see his? “Yeah, I was just looking at your point of—”

  “No.” Calliope shook her head, sending the long curls lying against her back to swaying. “You weren’t. Come. Leave those. And that.” She tossed his cell phone onto the top of his bag. “I want you to see with your eyes. Your soul. Not through a lens.”

  “You really should give nature tours, you know that?”

  “I’ve been known to.” The smile she tossed him over her shoulder as he followed her into the stand of trees made his heart skip. “I know I’ve no right to ask.” She stopped beside a thick eucalyptus. “Not after the kindness you provided yesterday, but I’d like for you, just today, to put everything aside. All your worries, all the concerns you brought with you. Those obligations that are weighing so heavy on your heart.”

  She stepped closer and pressed her palm flat against his chest. He looked down and tried to stop his pulse from jumping. She had felt so warm, so...perfect against him. It was all he could do not to grasp her wrist and keep her connected to him forever.

  “Try to stop dwelling on everything out there and see what I do. What I’d like everyone who comes here to see. This isn’t just a building we’re talking about constructing, Xander. It’s going to be a home.”

  The smell of eucalyptus surrounded him here. Inhaling, he caught the fragrance of damp earth and grass. A cleanness that carried just a hint of the ocean he could hear far below them.

  As they walked through the close-knit trees, the light faded, replaced by thin beams that made the leaves and air glisten. Whatever silence had been pressing in on him a few moments before increased. But not in that uncomfortable, deafening way that made him uneasy.

  “Here.” Calliope tilted up her chin to the sky and drew him into a circle of trees with an opening barely big enough for the both of them. “Here. Sit with me.” She clasped both of his hands and sank to the ground.

  He followed, not that she gave him much choice. His jeans provided little barrier to the damp earth and a chill dropped over them. Still she clung to his hands, twining her fingers with his as she continued to gaze up into the endless cascading branches and leaves.

  “Look, Xander. Really look and tell me what you see.” Her words were a whisper in the breeze, but her face was alight with a happiness and peace he didn’t think he’d ever encountered before.

  What did he see? He saw a woman who could have passed for a muse, an inspiration for beauty and joy and peace.

  “As flattered as I am, stop looking at me.” She leaned forward and for a moment, he thought she might kiss him. Instead she pressed her finger beneath his chin and tilted up his head. “Now look.”

  It took a moment for his eyes to focus, to see beyond the crisscross of limbs and leaves and branches that had probably been here long before he’d ever heard of Butterfly Harbor.

  “Listen.” Her whispered command sent a shiver down his spine.

  A flicker of movement caught his eye, within...no, around the outcropping of branches overhead. He could hear a vibration of sorts, a gentle buzz or hum that danced along the edge of the air. The trees were moving. Beneath the roof of sky barely visible through the thin cracks between the trees, they moved in time with his pulse. Like wings beating...

  Wings.

  “Those aren’t leaves.” He didn’t know why he thought he needed to tell her. Clearly, she knew that the clusters of paper-thin flittering and fluttering leaves were the late season monarchs that called the eucalyptus trees home.

  Calliope’s fingers tightened around his. He held on, clung to her as he wished he could climb closer, examine every detail of the creatures piled on top of one another in orchestrated rest. For a moment, he swore he could. For a moment, he felt as if he’d been lifted out of his body to float up and around and through the hundreds...thousands of countless winged creatures clinging to vines and each other in gentle promise.

  The stained-glass windows of their wings were more intricate and delicate than any created by man. Had he ever taken a moment to look closely at a butterfly? Let alone a cascade of them? Antennae flickered, and tiny, thread-thin legs twitched. Wings beat a soothing rhythm that he could feel brushing against his heart.

  “What you propose will damage this grove,” Calliope whispered. “Will damage the refuge they
’ve sought for longer than either of us has lived on this earth. Which of these creatures would you cast out, Xander? Which does not deserve to exist in this world we’ve already made so dangerous for them?”

  Blinking, he snapped out of what he could only describe as a trance. “What would you have me do, Calliope?” As much as he appreciated the sentiment and concern, as much as he was certain he could come to agree with her, practicality and reality stood in his way. “I was hired to do a job. With or without me, someone is going to build this facility and I can guarantee, they won’t be willing to sit in this grove with you and listen to the butterflies.”

  She smiled and was about to turn away, when he caught her hand in his.

  “I will admit,” he continued, “what I’ve seen here gives me pause. But I don’t see a solution that will make you happy. Some of these trees will have to go.”

  “Some.” She tilted her head and he swore he saw a spark of triumph in those amazing eyes of hers. “But not all.”

  “No, not all.” And perhaps not as many as he once thought. “Show me the rest.” He tugged her to her feet.

  “The rest?”

  “Don’t sound so surprised. This is what you wanted me to realize, isn’t it? That I have to take other things into consideration besides location and ease of construction. And I acknowledge there’s more to this project than I first thought.” More than he wanted to consider. He wasn’t supposed to care so much. He wasn’t certain he could afford to, from either a scheduling or financial perspective. Which begged the question, was it the project he was feeling a strong connection to? Or was it the woman determined to make him see things her way?

  “You make me sound manipulative.” She stepped away from him, attempted to tug her hand free of his, but he held on. Clung to her in the same nature-induced way the butterflies far above them clung to their perches.