by Diane Bator
Leo gazed around the room, his mind wasn’t on Clancy. “And Christina?”
Silent hesitation from Danny. “I never knew Christina very well. While Clancy and I played football after school, Christina went to help their mom at the bakery. She always used to carry around a sketch book. I’d see her sitting on the bleachers once in a while, but never for long. Actually, I think Clancy said she went to school to be an artist.”
“An artist, huh?” He hadn’t seen any paints, pastels, or even paper in the entire Ryan apartment. “She didn’t hang out with anyone shady or get in serious trouble, did she?”
“Not like you and I used to.”
“Yeah.” Leo grinned. “The town didn’t like us putting soap in the fountains along Main Street, did they?”
“They also didn’t like the herd of goats we let loose from the farm up the road, either.” Danny chuckled. “The town wanted the farmer to build a six-foot fence around his yard, but he wouldn’t hear of it.”
Leo burst into laughter. “Not until he had to round up his goats three more times that summer.”
“What’s with all the questions about the Davidsons anyway?” Danny sobered. “Something I should know about?”
“Yeah.” Leo closed his eyes. “You don’t happen to know where she worked while she was in Newville, do you?”
Danny blew out a breath. “No, just that she was a student and a part-time model. Did you find something I won’t like?”
Leo pulled a single photo from his pocket. An image of Christina in oil and paint on canvas. The only photo he’d kept from Shelley. He stared at the photo, searing the image into his brain. “The Gage case. You know how I said she’s the model’s missing wife, Rose Ryan? Well, I’m sitting in their apartment right now.”
Danny blew out a long breath. “So you’ve already seen and talked to Brady. I imagine you’ve already been to the crime scene, the University, and now you’re in their apartment. What’s next?”
“You’ll have to take time to visit Brady one day. He’s an adventure.” Leo made notes to check out every place Danny mentioned. “Where did Christina work while she lived here?”
“I’d like to save you some time, but I really don’t know. She used to work on campus in the art department as an assistant to one of the professors, but quit.”
“I’ll get back to you when I find anything out.” Leo hung up before Danny could question him further.
Chapter 10
Christina found the next note tacked to the oven door. “On the third day of Christmas, someone gave to me three French horns.” She opened the oven and discovered three brass ornaments for the tree, as well as two small Christmas wreaths made of sequins and another bird, this time a small, red cardinal.
She cradled the ornaments in her hands for her walk toward the tree, then placed each ornament on its own branch. When she stepped back in admiration, a shiver ran through her. Being forced into celebrating Christmas this year gave her something to look forward to each morning.
The tree looked more loved than two days earlier. Several customers had already come in to hang their own contributions on branches. Grandma Teeny donated six shiny red apple ornaments. Mimsy Lexington brought a glittering gold heart. Mementos to Daisy, whom they all sorely missed, Christina reasoned. Rather than a glittering eyesore, the tree had become a shrine.
Christina wiped her tears away and turned to face the bare gingerbread house on the counter Lucy Stephens would pick up later. Hopefully she’d be happy with the end result. At least there were no bowls locked inside.
Leo had helped wrap the structure in cellophane to keep off the dust, then gave her one more hug before he left. The scent of his cologne had lingered on her cheek for hours and the warmth of his touch remained on her skin.
While she was glad the house still stood in one piece, she hadn’t been able to do build it alone. Her mother had built dozens of houses alone while her father... What had Mel done while Daisy struggled? Sure he’d worked at the car dealership up the highway and at his deli on wheels until he gave up, but on the weekends he disappeared while her mom baked and cleaned.
Christina poured ingredients in the vat and turned on the mixer. Bread dough first then more cookies. Dozens of cookies. The one thing she couldn’t keep up with baking was the sugar cookies. Once Mimsy had told all her writing friends where the sugar cookies came from, the shop was even busier than usual. Her father would be pleased he wasn’t losing money.
The phone rang and she fumbled the dozen eggs she’d pulled out for the cookies. She glanced at the clock and wondered who else was up at five in the morning.
“I wondered if you were still there.” Her father sounded relaxed. “The Christmas rush can be tough.”
How would you know? A rush of tears filled her eyes as she bit back the harsh words seated on her tongue. “How’s Florida?”
“Not as warm as usual. It got really cold last night, but today will be hot and sunny again.” Mel’s joviality seemed forced. “Your mother would’ve already been wrapped in that awful purple sweater and gone for her walk on the beach.”
“She loved the beach.” Her throat tightened. Grandma Teeny had knitted the purple and teal sweater as a gift at Christina’s request. “You didn’t get rid of that sweater, did you?”
Mel had banished the sweater to the house in Florida. “It’s on the guest room bed with a bunch of other things I’m giving to Goodwill.”
“Could you save it for me?” Not that she wanted a lot of mementos, but her mother wore that sweater for years. While Christina grew up, the soft purple and teal knit was the one piece of clothing she’d cried on the most.
He laughed. “You want that ugly old thing? What are you thinking?”
Again, she wrestled back harsh words. “I’m thinking I miss my mom and that’s one of her things I’d like to have.”
“Sure, but only if you don’t wear it around me.” He didn’t laugh. “Is there anything else you want? Her fuzzy pink elephant slippers? Her bright yellow sun hat?”
She set down the eggs and grabbed a large bowl. “To go back to my life.”
“I thought you liked the bakery.” He sounded disappointed.
“I do, but I have a life in the city.” Well, not any more. While she was away tending to the bakery, her life became reduced to rubble, just like her previous gingerbread house. She needed to get a grip and face the truth, but first she wanted to see Brady face to face and find out the whole truth. Maybe on Sunday, if Clancy would take her.
Her father groaned. “I guess I should’ve seen this coming. I’d hoped once you got home you’d want to stay and help for a while.”
For a while? She sat on the stool. “I thought you decided to close the bakery after Christmas.”
“Which is why I wanted you there.” He was too quick to point out.
She hesitated. “But what about what I want?”
“We can talk about it when I get back.”
“Dad, I don’t—” Left talking to an electronic hum, she closed her eyes, hung up the phone, and blew out a slow breath. At least she’d already managed to build one good gingerbread house, with Leo’s help. If she had to build the house now, she’d squash it more out of spite than anything else. She swallowed her tears and got to work.
Lucy came into the bakery at around ten o’clock with all three kids in tow. For a change, the kids didn’t press their noses against the display case. They studied the tree and, after several oohs and aahs, the little girl, Gina, came over to Christina and smiled. “Excuse me, Miss, can I hang my candy cane on your tree?”
Christina shrugged. “Don’t you want to save your candy for later?”
Gina shook her head. “No, we have lots at home. You can have this one.”
Lucy gave a small laugh and waved her off. “Leo said you had a bit of a struggle with the gingerbread house. Did you manage to get one ready?”
Christina flared her nostrils. Leo had a big mouth. “Yeah, he helped me get o
ne together yesterday.”
“Oh great.” Lucy’s eyes lit up when she saw the cellophane wrapped structure. “Oh, it’s beautiful. You even put on shutters and a sugar cookie door. I love it.”
Christina’s face burned. The details were Leo’s idea.
“At least it’ll keep the kids busy at the party. We’ll also get a couple dozen cookies. Just give me six of each and a dozen cream puffs if you have them.”
She hesitated. “I hear you and Leo are good friends.”
“Really?” Lucy raised her eyebrows. “I wasn’t sure Leo was good friends with anyone. He’s a bit of an enigma, but he is a gem. The kids think of him as their guardian angel. He and Clancy literally helped to save all our lives this summer.”
Lucy and the kids admired the tree while Christina boxed the cookies. The kids said nothing when they each grabbed a box, but three candy canes hung from the tree branches when they left.
“Thanks, Christina. I’m sure we’ll be back for more before Christmas.” Lucy turned to leave then took a step back when she noticed Clancy standing in the doorway. Her face flushed right to the roots of her dark hair.
Christina raised her eyebrows. She’d given Leo the exact same deer-in-the-headlights look when they’d first met. While she knew her brother was an attractive man, she hadn’t realized he had such an effect on women.
“Hey, Clancy,” Christina said. “You here for lunch?”
Lucy narrowed her eyes. “Lunch? You run a bakery, what would you serve for lunch?”
“My sister makes the best calzones in town.” Clancy nodded at the kids and leaned on the display case. “I keep telling her she should expand this place into a deli.”
“Not our sister.” The oldest boy groaned. “She makes mud pies.”
“Parker, stop.” Lucy scowled.
Clancy smiled. “You guys look like you have enough sugar there for a big party.”
“We do,” Parker said. “Mommy’s writing friends. You want to come too? There’s always a lot of food and stuff.”
“I see.” Clancy narrowed his eyes. “So how come I wasn’t invited?”
“You are now.” Gina beamed and turned to Christina. “Clancy’s our guardian angel. He saved our Mommy. We want Mommy to marry him, but—”
Lucy leaned over, gingerbread house in one hand, and clapped her free hand over her daughter’s mouth. “We were just leaving. See you guys later.”
Clancy rubbed the back of his neck and shuffled his feet then glanced at Lucy.
Amused, Parker paused in front of Clancy. “I saw the tattoo you gave Leo. It’s pretty cool. Can you teach me how to draw like that?”
The middle boy, Shawn, made a face. “I don’t like tattoos. Mom tells me not to draw on my arm. Didn’t your mom ever tell you not to draw on people?”
Clancy winced. “No, my mom liked my tattoos. She actually wanted one before she died. A blue butterfly just like Christina’s red one.”
Gina walked over to the Christmas tree and handed him a candy cane. “Maybe this will make you feel a bit better.”
Christina bowed her head and hid her smile. When she looked up, her brother shot her an ugly look.
“I’ll take six calzones to go,” he said, voice tight.
“You have a customer or just pigging out?” Christina asked.
When Lucy stifled a smile, Clancy’s ears turned red and he studied the candy cane. “Actually I was going to ask Lucy and the kids if they’d care to join me for lunch.”
“Sure.” Christina glanced at Lucy and her kids. “I think I have enough to feed the army.”
“Thanks.” He grinned. “What do you say, Lucy? Are you guys free for lunch? Christina makes these fabulous calzones and you already know I’m a fun lunch date.”
“Not to mention humble,” Lucy said.
He scowled. “Hey, I do have other people I could share my lunch with, you know. I’m only asking since you’re here.”
Lucy laughed. “Then you won’t be disappointed if I decline. I have to take the kids, the gingerbread and my desserts home for the Christmas party.”
Clancy drew himself up to his full height. “I will have you know—”
“See you later, Christina.” Lucy picked up her gingerbread house and rounded up her kids. They all walked around Clancy, who sputtered at the rejection.
“Lucy, wait.” Clancy ran into the backroom.
“She’s so cute.” Christina followed her brother. Suddenly, she liked Lucy even more. “What are you doing?”
“Did you really make enough calzones for all of us?”
Christina rolled her eyes. “Yes, but I think you should know Lucy’s far too classy for the likes of you.”
“What do you know?” He stuffed several calzones into two paper bags and opened the front door. “Lucy, wait. I’ll walk you home. I don’t have another customer for an hour.”
Christina shook her head. “You’re being a little obvious, don’t you think?”
“Get lost.” He glared at her then handed the bags to the boys and took the gingerbread house from Lucy.
As the door closed behind them, Christina rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “Do you see what your son’s turning into, Mom? You shouldn’t have left yet, he still needs you. He’s trying to be respectable.” She walked back into the kitchen and closed her eyes. “We all need you.”
Three hours later, Clancy was back on the stool watching Christina remove pastries from the oven. “Dad called me this morning.”
“Yeah, he called me too. Right in the middle of a batch of sugar cookies.” She sighed. “We didn’t talk long. He pretty much hung up on me.”
Clancy chewed a cookie. “So, I guess you never told him about Gage or Brady.”
She froze. “I guess not. Did you?”
He snorted. “Hell no, I don’t want him to cut things short just so he can come home and straighten you out. Besides, I’ve already got Leo working on things.”
Christina flared her nostrils. “What things? I told you I could handle everything by myself.”
“When? While you’re baking cookies and feeding half of Packham?” he asked around his mouthful. “How do you plan to be in two places at once? Clone yourself with gingerbread?”
“Me? I’m not the one stealing from the kitchen to feed Lucy and her kids. I hope it was worth it.” Look who was talking, she’d fed Leo all week. “I should be there with Brady. If I would’ve been there, this never would’ve happened. I would’ve been with Gage, not Brady. I would’ve—”
“You would’ve what?” Clancy snorted. “Would’ve been the one to kill him or would’ve been the one hooked on cocaine?”
That hadn’t been her concern despite Brady alluding to it the other day. She wondered if the cocaine, or withdrawals from the drug, was why Brady was so evasive on the phone. She frowned. “You went to see Brady, didn’t you? What the hell were you thinking?”
Clancy reddened. “I didn’t go see him. I sent Leo.”
“You what?” She gasped. “That’s even worse. Leo’s like a bull in a cookie shop. He’ll eat Brady alive.”
Her brother rolled his eyes. “Don’t exaggerate. He didn’t eat Brady alive, just made him cry a little.”
She paused from cleaning the metal table and met his gaze. “Brady doesn’t cry a little. He has these knock down, full out tantrums where he wails for hours until he gets his way.”
“It could’ve been something like that.” Clancy shrugged. “Whatever he did, Leo wanted to know what was wrong with you that you’d marry a clown like Brady.”
Christina growled. “It’s none of his business what’s wrong with me.” The door chimes rang. “Clean up this mess so I can go help my customer.”
“You ever think of hiring someone?”
“Do I look like I have time to interview people?” She wiped her hands on her apron. “I didn’t ask for this, Clancy. One of these days, I won’t even bother to come in. I’ll just hop a bus and go back to my real life. I need to go
see Brady, he needs my help.”
“No, he doesn’t. Let Leo deal with the crap. You can wipe away his tears later.”
“Brady’s or Leo’s?” She flashed a sarcastic smile.
Clancy’s eyes widened. “I didn’t realize there was a competition. Bravo, Christina. May the best man win. Oh, and don’t forget about the Christmas Promenade this afternoon.”
The tree lighting festival. She groaned. “Is that today? Maybe I should close early.”
“Nah. Everyone will come for cookies. Maybe you’ll sell out and get to bake all night to restock the shelves.”
She grimaced. “And what are you going to do? Free tattoos?”
“Nope, candy canes and hot chocolate. Lucy and the kids said they’d love to help so I’ll be busy.” He grabbed a brownie. “Have fun.”
When her cell phone rang an hour later, Brady didn’t bother with pleasantries, but launched into a full scale attack. “Did you send that Leo dude?”
Christina dropped her spatula. “Leo’s not exactly send-able. He kind of does his own thing.”
“He does it well too.” Brady cooed. “Is he seeing anyone? How can you resist that guy? Those shoulders, the mysterious gold cat eyes, I bet he’d be worth spending some quality horizontal time with.”
She scowled. “I’m so glad you have some great eye candy and can enjoy your prison vacation.”
“Oh, it’s not prison I enjoy, just the visitors. So how’s the real world? Are there any more like him in town?” Brady had to be stoned.
“No.” She clenched her jaw.
“Touchy. Do you like this guy or just have plans to shove him off a cliff somewhere?” He chuckled. “So, what’s he done to you lately?”
“Brady.” Christina sat on her stool and pushed back the stray hairs from her forehead. “How are things really going? Is your lawyer helping to clear your name or just taking your money? When will you get out?”
He gave a weak laugh. “Honey, I’ve got my pick of a lot of hunky men here. What makes you think I want to get out?”
Christina ran a hand over her face. “Because despite your stupid wise cracks, you sound scared. Do you think it makes me feel better to hear you like prison? It scares the hell out of me. Jail’s no place for someone like you. You’ll get killed in no time.”
