Christmas at Fireside Cabins - Jenny Hale Page 0,22

along the edge of the road and cut off her lights, not wanting to draw attention to herself. Cinching up her scarf against the biting wind, she snatched the garland and the box of supplies from the passenger seat and got out of the car, quietly closing the door. Then she walked across the small gravel lot, the darkness wrapping around her with the frigid cold of night. She tossed the decorations over her shoulder and blew air into her mittened hands to try to keep warm.

As she approached the coffee shop door, she had to check to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. She stopped in front of it, unable to slow her whirring mind.

There, on the door, was a Christmas wreath, and at the bottom it had a big red bow. Unexpectedly, hope swelled within her. Had she worked her very own Christmas miracle?

The crunch of gravel behind her registered just as she heard his voice. “May I help you?” he snapped.

The hope she’d felt evaporated in an instant at the harshness of his voice. “I was just bringing this over to you,” Lila said, holding out the garland. Like always, she couldn’t read him at all, and the last thing she wanted to do was to make a fool of herself. “We had extra when we finished decorating.”

He stepped up to her, closing the space between them. “And so you thought you’d bring it to me when the shop is closed?”

“Uh…” she said breathlessly, unable to find her words. She was usually quick on her feet, but her head was a jumble as she looked into his piercing blue eyes. “I was going to decorate your door as a surprise,” she said honestly, once she’d found the ability to speak again.

“Well, I don’t need it decorated anymore.” His tone was such that she couldn’t tell what he meant by it. Was he telling her he’d done it for her? Or was he telling her to go away?

“I see that.” She took in a steadying breath.

“I hate surprises,” he said, brushing past her to the door and putting his key in the lock.

Lila’s cheeks burned with unease, his brusque reaction stinging her. It was Christmas. And if he didn’t want her coming around, perhaps he shouldn’t have taken her on that ride. But at the very least, she was his customer. She deserved some common decency, surely.

She strode up behind him. “Tell me why you put that wreath up,” she demanded.

He opened the door and flicked on the lights, not answering.

“Tell me,” she pressed him, coming in behind him.

He shut the door, the two of them standing in the empty coffee shop. “Trudy was getting rid of it and told me to take it home—I live upstairs.” He pointed to a small stairway at the back of the shop. “Trudy couldn’t bear it dying on her.”

“Trudy?” she questioned.

He took in an annoyed breath, as if she were supposed to know the answer. “Trudy Johnson, Rex’s mother. She and her husband Judd own Pinewood Farm.”

“Oh,” she said, the word withering on her lips. So he hadn’t gotten the wreath for her… “Well, here’s some more,” she said, holding out the greenery. “We don’t need it, and your customers might like it.” When he didn’t take it, she put it on the bar. “Why don’t you like surprises?” she asked, as he headed over to the staircase at the back.

“Because sometimes they can rip your heart out,” he replied, heading up the steps. “Lock the door behind you when you leave.” His voice sailed down the stairs, echoing in the empty space between them.

Seven

“Should we go to the coffee shop this morning to see the look on Theo’s face?” Edie said to Lila as they all sat around the kitchen table having a big, over-the-top vacation breakfast like they always did—eggs, sausage, bacon, an array of muffins and biscuits, fruit, and cheesy homemade grits. She passed Lila the butter for her biscuit.

“Maybe not,” Lila replied, still rattled by the conversation, or lack thereof, that she’d had with Theo last night, the whole thing leaving her totally confused. She finished preparing her biscuit and nipped another piece of bacon from the plate in the middle of the table.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Edie said. “We shouldn’t start our day with Mr. Sourpuss barking at us because we wanted to spread a little Christmas merriment.”

“I wonder what he thought when he saw it,” Piper said, looking around the table as she delivered mimosas to