“It was Madge.” Ellie and Rory both said at once.
Gabe’s eyes widened. “Your accountant?” Without waiting for an answer, he asked, “Was she looking for the will?”
Ellie sighed “She was. But I think there was something else wrong with her. She kept shaking and talking about how bad her head had been hurting her. In fact, I sent her home a few days ago because of a headache. She just couldn’t function to work. And she seemed the same tonight.”
“Yeah,” Rory agreed moving his arm a bit, then wincing. “She kept jabbering on about a doctor in Puerto Rico that was going to cure her.”
“She said something else,” Ellie said. “Charles Sinclair used to say something like, “tap your toes and hum a tune to find my will.” She’s been looking for music boxes, but Rosa had a large collection of old player pianos. I think someone ought to check inside of them. I even have one in the storage room that Mr. Sinclair gave to my grandmother as payment for piano lessons.”
Cal came to stand beside them. “We’ll get the whole story from her, once she wakes up. And I’ll be talking to her cousin, Bart, as well.” He turned to Rory. “That was quite a wallop you gave her.”
Rory nodded and swallowed hard. “I didn’t want to kill her or anything. And I forgot what good quality chairs Mr. Weaver makes. I hope she’s OK.”
Cal nodded. “Her vital signs were good when the ambulance left with her. I think she’ll pull through.”
Rory looked relieved. “Don’t get me wrong. She was threatening to kill Ellie and if I’d of had a gun, I would probably have shot her. I’m just glad I kept her from hurting anyone.”
“You did a fine job, son.” Cal held his hand out to Rory, shaking it gently, so as not to hurt the boy. “If you ever decide on a career in law enforcement, we’d be proud to have you here in Candle Cove.”
***
After the crowd of law enforcement and locals had finally left, including Betty Jo and her photographer husband, Ellie locked the front doors and turned to see Gabe pouring two cups of coffee. Exhausted as she was, a warm cup of brew was just what she needed.
“Thank you,” she said, taking the cup from him and sitting down. “She smiled and scooted the chair. “I don’t think I’ll ever look at these chairs the same again. And poor Mr. Weaver will be distraught to know one was used as a weapon.”
Gabe sat across from her, his eyes meeting hers. “Ellie. . . .”
She looked down, willing herself not to meet his gaze. Whatever he was trying to say wasn’t going to come easy. Knowing Gabe, he would find a way to change the subject before he finished. “I’m glad you came tonight,” she finally offered to cover the silence. “It’s nice to know that our friends care about us.”
***
How could he explain to her that it was more than concern for a good friend. He had been unsure of his own feelings. He had convinced himself that he was in love with Marisa, but what he felt for Marisa seemed so shallow compared to what he was feeling for Ellie tonight.
He gave a short laugh. “It seemed like it took me forever to get here, even though it’s only a few blocks.” That wasn’t what he meant to say, but putting his feelings into words had never been his strong suit. He could write all the fiction he wanted, but talking face to face with someone about his feelings was hard for him.
She nodded. “I understand. Madge and I were probably standing there, facing each other for only a minute or two, but it seemed like an hour.”
“I’m glad that Rory was here for you.”
She blew across the hot liquid and took a sip. “I couldn’t see what he was about to do, until I saw the chair in the air. He’s a smart boy. He has good instincts. He was on the right trail from the beginning, concerning all these break-ins.”
“I think Cal’s serious about his offer,” Gabe added. How did they get on this subject? He needed to tell her how he felt, how much he cared for her. How his whole world had stood still when he heard the news on the police scanner.
“Mom?”
They both turned to see a sleepy-eyed boy standing in the kitchen doorway.
Ellie got up and went to him, wrapping her arms around him. “Everything is OK, Danny. Sorry we woke you up.”
He stared into the front of the store. “Why is that yellow tape over there?”
Gabe grinned. “We’ll wait until tomorrow to tell you about it. I think you need to get to sleep. C’mon.” He stood and held his hand out to the boy. “I’ll walk you and your mom upstairs, OK?”
***
Ellie listened to Danny chatter as they climbed the stairs.
“And I’m going to be the best shepherd in the play, you just wait!”
“I’ve no doubt of that,” Gabe agreed. “Listen, Danny— ”
“And there aren’t going to be real camels in the play. Just fake ones. Same for the sheep, ‘cept some of them aren’t paper, they’re kids dressed up like sheep.”
“It sounds like it’s going to be a great play,” he agreed. “But there’s something—”
“And same with the baby Jesus. He won’t be a real baby. In fact, it’s a baby doll that one of the girls is bringing. Probably a girl doll.”
“Danny! Stop interrupting Gabe,” Ellie scolded as they got to the door and she inserted the key. She opened the door and Danny rushed inside.
“Gabe, thank you so much. For everything,” she said, daring to look into his eyes. Those beautiful eyes that she used to love. That she still loved.
“I didn’t do anything, but rush in at the last minute,” he argued. “Rory is the one to thank.” He cleared his throat. “Listen, Ellie, about the play. Marisa is sick, so I’m going to have to fly back to Memphis and I won’t be here to see it. I was trying to explain to Danny, but. . .”
But you’ll let me explain to him. And break his heart. “I’m sorry to hear that. But I hope Marisa is better soon,” she told him, hearing how clipped her words sounded.
He cleared his throat. “Yeah. Probably just a bad cold, but she can’t fly. I’m, uh, I’m going to have a talk with her. About, well. . .there’s some things that I want to. . .” His words wavered for a moment
So he was leaving his mother alone for another Christmas. Anger sparked in her chest and she interrupted. “Maybe Danny and I can walk over and see Cora on Christmas afternoon. We’ll take her some cake or something.”
Gabe sighed. “Thanks. That would be nice.”
***
Back in his car, he stared up at her lights. As usual, nothing had come out of his mouth the way he wanted it to. But at least they were safe. Thank you that she and Danny are OK, Lord. Thank you that Rory was there to save her.
Maybe it was best he hadn’t told her how he felt. Whatever he wanted to tell Ellie, it was only fair that he talk to Marisa first.
Chapter 27
“Danny, hurry or we’ll be late!” Ellie checked the boxes of cookies again, re-counting the rows, making sure there was two dozen in each. Willa had arranged them pretty enough for the pickiest of eaters. “We have to get there early to set up the reception area downstairs.”
“I’m coming,” he said, racing down the hall with his plastic staff.
She glanced at him and then back. “Be careful. What is that other thing you’re carrying?”
“It’s my stuff.”
“Shepherd’s don’t need stuff. Now take it back to your room.”
“Please let me take it. Please?”
She stared at the faded bundle in his hand. What could it hurt? “I guess it will be OK.”
“Thanks, Mom!”
She grinned and watched him run to the door. With all the things that had happened in the last month and a half, how much more surprised would anyone be? A kid with a stocking that said DAD on the cuff was nothing compared to everything else.
Only yesterday, Cal had found the original will. And it was as she had suggested, in one of the many player pianos up at the Sinclair mansion. And Bart Sinclair was named the heir, so a
ll of Madge’s scheming had been for nothing, poor woman.
“Mom! C’mon!”
***
The church was quiet and seemed deserted when they first entered the basement hall. But in the kitchen, several women, including Willa were busy with preparations.
“You go play with the others by the tables,” she instructed Danny.
“Here are the three boxes from my freezer,” she told Willa as she set them on the counter.
“Oh, good. That makes over three hundred cookies,” Willa said, taking them to another area of the counter. “And Mrs. Hill has made four pecan pies and two pumpkin. Plus some other women are bringing some cakes.”
“My goodness,” Ellie declared, removing her scarf and coat. “How many are we expecting tonight?”
Willa shook her head and pulled some trays down from the cabinet. “The pastor thinks we might have two hundred.”
Ellie opened a drawer and pulled out a container of wax paper used to line the trays. “It’s a good thing it will be dark when the children come on stage. Else, they might be frightened by all those faces watching them.”
“Have you seen Cora?” Willa asked. “She said she was bringing some cookies tonight, too.”
Ellie shook her head. “Maybe she is running late.” Or maybe she is saying good bye to her son, knowing he won’t be home for Christmas.
Willa pulled another tray from beneath the counter and opened a storage container of chocolate chip cookies someone had left nearby. “Kenna will be glad to see these,” she grinned. Then her expression sobered. “Ellie, thank you for your advice. I had a long talk with Aunt Velma and Uncle Ollie. I think they understand how important it is to me to raise the girls. And they are looking forward to helping whenever I need them.”
Ellie gave her a quick hug. “I thought they would understand. I’m glad you talked it over with them.”
Willa nodded and handed the tray to Ellie. “The plastic wrap is out there on the tables by the trays of cookies and pies. We’ll keep them covered until after the play.”
***
“Let me carry those out to the car for you,” Gabe offered as his mother came through the living room, several small boxes in her arms.
“Thank you,” she smiled, following him to the door. He held it open and she went down the stairs. “We’re going to miss you tonight.”
Gabe swallowed back the lump in his throat. “I’m going to miss everyone, too.”
His mother was silent for a moment. “Don’t you have time to come to the play? You know, Danny has been counting on it. He loves you, Gabe.”
Gabe looked away, his eyes out on the water. “I know. But if I go to the play, I’ll never make my flight to Memphis.”
“Just do what your heart tells you,” his mother said, heading around the car. “And don’t forget to pray about it.”
***
He watched her drive away, the tail lights dimming in the cold, foggy air. The weatherman was predicating snow on Christmas Eve and the ring around the moon meant it might come sooner. He turned and stared at the lake for a moment. It was always beautiful in the snow, and if he was gone, he would miss it.
When they were teenagers, he and Ellie had built a huge snowman down on the bank and decorated it with pinecones for eyes and mouth, and an old scarf of his father’s had gone round its neck. Later Cal and Tuck, and their girlfriends, had come over and they’d had a huge bonfire. It had been Christmas Eve.
Well, no time for memories, now. He’d better get inside and finish packing. Marisa was waiting for him.
***
“It’s too tight,” Danny whined.
“Be still and stop complaining!” She winced at the sharpness of her words. He was just a small boy. And he was impatient and disappointed. “I’m sorry, just be still a minute and I’ll be finished.” The headband to the shepherd costume was flimsy and hard to pin.
It had been so many years since she’d had a true lovesick kind of heartache, that, at first, she hadn’t recognized it for what it was. But there was no other explanation. Taking it out on Danny would only make her feel worse.
“I don’t want to do it,” Danny announced, his fingers digging into the band that held the cloth on his head. “I don’t want to be in the play.”
Ellie pried his fingers loose. “Of course you do. You’ve been practicing for weeks. You’re going to like it. It will be lots of fun.”
“I wanted Gabe to come.” His eyes were watery when they met hers. “He promised.”
So they were both suffering from the same hurt. She should have known. Danny was as crazy about him as she was. And that only made the pain worse. She swallowed back the lump in her throat. “Gabe will be back in a few days. And Mrs. Ridge has talked Rory into videoing the play for everyone. So, we can show it to him next week.”
Danny seemed to brighten at the thought. “You mean, like a movie?”
She laughed in spite of herself. “Yes. It will be like a movie on our very own television.”
His expression became solemn, again. “And Gabe will come?”
Would he? She would do her best to persuade him. And if he brought Marisa back from Memphis with him, she would be invited, too. It would be best for Danny to see the impossibility of what he really wanted for them as a family. She nodded. “We’ll invite him for supper and then the movie. OK?”
He smiled. “I really will try to be the best shepherd in the play. And tell Rory not to hurt his arm while he is filming. OK?”
She squeezed him to her. She could hold him like that forever, and never let him go. “I’m sure that Rory knows what he is doing. The doctor said his arm is fine.”
He pushed her away and quickly looked around them. “Mom! Don’t do that in front of people!”
He was so adorable. How could she help it? “I’ll try to remember,” she laughed. “Now, give me your bag and then you better go over there with the other shepherds. And I need to get out front with the rest of the audience.”
But he held tight to the bundle, as if it contained a treasure he didn’t want to share. Covered in faded gold stars, it was a pillow case from his babyhood. And now, stuffed with something soft, it was clutched tight in his hands. “I need it,” he insisted.
Ellie frowned. No doubt the stocking that Willa had mentioned was rolled up inside. How would she ever explain it if anyone else saw it? “Well, all right. But don’t go dropping it on the stage.”
***
Squeezing past a young couple on the end of the long pew, Ellie found a seat next to Cora Chandler. She had looked for Willa, but couldn’t find her in the crowd of parents and grandparents. The old auditorium was full of people, young and old, and buzzed with different conversations. Ellie waved as Charity Tucker walked past.
“Is he excited?” Cora asked, leaning in so she could hear.
Ellie smiled and patted her arm. “I think so. At first, I thought he was going to back out, but he changed his mind, once I told him that Rory was making a video of it.”
Cora laughed. “That sounds like him. I just wish Gabe would have stayed for it. He’s crazy about Danny, you know.”
Ellie nodded. “I know,” she whispered as they all stood when the pastor walked to the podium.
He cleared his throat. “I have a special prayer request from Chief Burns tonight. It seems that the woman arrested earlier this week, a woman many of us know, Madge Warner, is suffering from several illnesses, and is being evaluated at the state hospital. She has requested that the church pray for her.”
Everyone bowed their heads as the prayer began. Ellie pulled a tissue from her purse. Poor Madge. How could she have not noticed how the woman was suffering?
After the congressional singing of ‘O Holy Night’, Reverend Wilder motioned for the lights to be turned down. As he began to read from Luke 2: 1, his voice resonated loud and clear in the stillness of the room.
***
Gabe dropped his toothpaste and toothbrush into the bag and zipped it shut
. The cold wind hit his face when he stepped out to his car. Dropping the bag in the trunk, he turned to look at the lake. It was always pretty in the moonlight.
There should be enough time to walk down to the shore, if he kept it a short walk. The lights across on the other side shone bright in the darkness of the night. The marina that was opposite the cove had been decorated with Christmas lights that sent shimmering waves of red, green, and gold across the water.
He lingered only a moment. It was time to get in the car and head to the airport. For what? Marisa had sounded indifferent to his impromptu visit home when he’d talked to her earlier today, as if the long, ‘I’m sick’ conversation hadn’t happened. Her voice had been much improved, as well. He swallowed. Memphis hardly seemed like home these days. And the thought of the woman there waiting for him didn’t tug at his heart the way it used to. From the conversations they’d had lately, he got the idea that he wasn’t that important to her, either. Except when she was feeling needy, wanting his exclusive attention because there was no one else there to coddle her.
He headed for the car. He would give her, and their hearts one more chance. Else, he had wasted the last two years of his life. In the car, he pulled his phone from his pocket. One more phone call to her before he drove to the airport.
He listened to her phone ring. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe she was too sick to even answer the phone. What kind of almost fiancé was he to disturb her when she was sick and sleeping?
Christmas in Candle Cove Page 13
