Sweet Joymaker (Indigo Bay Christmas Romances #3) - Jean Oram Page 0,17
a football game, you know.” She had a history of successful matchmaking at the games. If she had her sights on getting Ryan and Carly together, then it was pretty much a done deal as far as Maria was concerned.
“I know you did. Let’s hope she sticks,” Maria said. “I’m going for a walk. Tell Myles to eat some vegetables, and y’all do whatever you feel is best with the tractor.” She let out a sigh, hoping Ryan didn’t do something stupid in the name of love. Or whatever was developing over at the neighboring Lucky Horse Ranch.
“Oh,” Levi blurted, before she could end the call, “and Carmichael was wondering where you put the extra string of lights for the path. Brant said he’ll put them up for you.”
“Can’t it wait?” Maria asked with another sigh. The guys were careful and meant well, but she wanted the lights strung evenly, and despite their best efforts, they didn’t have much of an eye for design.
“Brant found a home for another one of Tootsie’s kittens,” Jackie announced from the side again.
“A good home, I hope.” Maria’s heart squeezed with worry. “The Fredericks wanted one, but their dog will kill it.”
“No, he knows that.”
Of course he did. He was a top-notch veterinarian and would ensure the cat found a safe home. She needed to let go of her worries. They weren’t kids any longer. They were adults, perfectly capable of taking care of themselves and those around them.
“Enjoy your date with Clint!” Fiona called from somewhere in the background, no doubt alerting the whole town in the process. “Text me when he kisses you!”
“It’s not a date! It’s supper. Maybe. And there will be no kissing.”
She went to hang up, but Levi interrupted her goodbyes with a quick, “I almost forgot. The accountant called. He needs some paperwork from last year’s grant. He said you’d know about it.”
“I’ll get him the file when I return home.”
Maria ended the chat before there could be more interruptions, then leaned back in her chair, exhausted. She missed Sweetheart Creek and being in the center of things, but not nearly enough to want to go home. Not yet.
Did she really deal with that much stuff each day? No wonder everyone kept telling her she needed a break.
She left Kittim’s condo, enjoying the evening sunshine. It wouldn’t be long before dusk settled in, bringing cooler temperatures, but at the moment it was perfect. Not too hot, not too cold.
After a few minutes of wandering, she found a giant Christmas tree set up in the downtown square.
“Hang an ornament on the tree on Christmas Eve and make a wish,” a young woman said as Maria passed. She had a small stand with handmade ornaments for sale.
Maria continued a few more paces before the words sunk in. Make a wish?
She stopped walking, a wish immediately coming to mind. She turned, facing the tree and the person who had spoken.
“The tradition is if you make a wish when you hang your ornament here on Christmas Eve, it will come true. They light the tree at five o’clock that day, and supposedly that’s when the magic begins to happen.”
“The wishes have come true?”
She shrugged. “There’s no risk in trying.” Seeing Maria’s hesitation, she came a little closer, saying in a quiet voice, “I made a wish and it came true. So did my sister.”
Maria opened the change purse she kept in her jeans back pocket. “I’ll buy one. How much are they?”
The woman gestured to her small display of different-sized ornaments, with prices to match. There were hand-painted lighthouses, animals, beach scenes, and a few quotes from poems she recognized. The artist had patience and a steady hand. It was a talent Maria had long ago ignored in herself. How had Clint known she was an artist? Had he merely guessed? And was she an artist? She didn’t feel she could call herself one.
She lingered over the ornaments, finally choosing one that said Family Is Where the Heart Is.
She paid for it, then silently held the painted clamshell between her hands, breathing slowly as she faced the giant tree. She inhaled its pine scent mixing with the salty air around her. Overhead a gull cried, and she continued to breathe and hold the ornament as though transmitting her hopes, fears and dreams into it.
When she was ready, she made her wish, then reached up to hang the shell deep in the branches, where it would be safe. A small bird flew out