back the smart remarks that were on the tip of her tongue. She’d been in such a good mood when she went into the mall, but a demon had taken up residence on her shoulder when she came outside. The devil could go by any number of names: jealousy, anger, fear. But it was there, so she turned a cold shoulder to Creed and stared out the window.
He stopped at Home Depot and asked if she was getting out.
She shrugged so he went in and bought a roll of insulation without her.
He stopped at Walmart and she was out of the truck and practically jogging inside before he could put the vehicle in park. She bought the most expensive dog and cat food in the place and three of the biggest pots of poinsettias she could find. He loaded his cart with groceries, toilet paper, and laundry soap.
She helped unload the items when she got home, fed the dog and the cat, and went to her room. She slammed the door, picked up his flannel shirt, and threw it at the wall. The nightshirt she found in her dresser drawer was old and soft but it wasn’t as comfortable as Creed’s shirt.
Finally she threw herself across the bed and wept even though she didn’t know why she was angry or why she was crying.
* * *
Creed didn’t know what in the hell he’d done to make her mad. He’d been up front and told her about Macy. After all, he’d bought an engagement ring and matching wedding bands. If things worked out between them, he sure didn’t ever want it to come up that he’d actually bought the rings from his ex.
He turned on the Christmas tree lights, sunk down into the sofa, and picked up the remote control. He flipped through channels until he found reruns of NCIS.
“Understanding murder is simple compared to understanding a woman, Leroy Jethro Gibbs. You been married a bunch of times. What advice would you give me?” He talked to the character on the television.
Gibbs said, “Grab your gear.”
“That’s exactly what I probably need to do, ain’t it? Grab my gear and go back to Ringgold, Texas.”
Noel pushed the pie plate around the floor, licking the last crumbs of her dog food from the corners. Angel sat in front of the tree and washed her paws.
“All is quiet. All is calm,” Creed said. “Except in my heart. What in the devil made me think I could meet my soul mate and everything would work out just wonderful in two weeks? The season made me crazy is what happened. Blame it on Christmas.”
Noel jumped up on the sofa and laid her head on Creed’s lap. Angel pranced across the floor and curled up on his other side.
“Grab your gear,” he repeated. “Sounds like the best advice one man could give another in my predicament.”
Chapter 18
The whir of the sewing machine sounded through the whole house. The thing was old as God and sounded worse than a threshing machine. Well, almost, anyway! Ada remembered when her mother bought it in 1948. She was just a little girl that year, and Essie had already gotten married and moved away. It was probably just tired of working and ready to retire to the attic with everything else Essie couldn’t bear to part with.
Ada cut the small squares and Essie sewed them together. The pattern, showing them which colors went together, was tacked on the wall and provided plenty of fodder for arguments.
“That thing sounds like a threshing machine. You sure you oiled it?” Ada asked.
“Three times a year. On New Year’s Day. On Mother’s Day to remember Momma. And on Labor Day because I’ve made it work so hard,” Essie said.
“Why didn’t you ever buy a new one?”
“Didn’t need a new one and this one reminds me of Momma. We only got to go home to Oklahoma once a year at first because it cost so much to travel. And she’d always have the machine set up to make me a couple of new outfits.”
Ada laid the scissors down. “I remember. She’d get so excited when your letters came, and the week before you were supposed to be there she’d cook all kinds of things.”
“And send half of it back with me.” Essie smiled. “We’d eat on that food all the way home. We even shared with the folks on the train until we got our first car and could travel that way.”
Ada went back to cutting squares.