Page 39 of Christmas Cove

“You know, the normal, wholesome stuff. We danced the whole night, drank punch, and got to know each other. Oh, we laughed and laughed.” He chuckled at the memory. “At the end of the night, we stood outside the gym doors. The night was cold, and she had a white fur stole wrapped around her shoulders. It began to snow, and she looked up at the tiny flakes falling on her lashes. Then, she dropped the fur and walked out into the flurries. That’s when she slipped, and I caught her. I’m very chivalrous you know.”

“I have no doubt,” America smiled.

“She looked into my eyes, and I into hers. I wanted badly to kiss her, and I think she would have kissed me too, but just as I could feel the heat from her lips, her father drove up to the building, honking the horn. She kicked me in the shin and told me to let her go, as though I was violating her in some way. And that was that.”

America’s laugh bounced around the space. “That explains why she told me to kick you. And you’ve called her Scrooge ever since?”

“That’s right!”

“It seems like maybe there was more going on. Like she didn’t want to get in trouble with her father or something.”

“Either way, I never asked, and she never talked to me about it. Like I said, that was that.”

America laughed in disbelief. How easily a small thing can have ripple effects for years and years! Is that what she was doing, creating a ripple in Christmas Cove? Could she have a positive impact on this special place for the next generation? She thumbed the edges of the stack of fliers in her lap. Leo or not, her mission was clear.

“Uh-hem. You still didn’t answer my question, and I answered yours,” Edwin rightly pointed out.

“I was hoping I was off the hook.”

“You’re not. So, spill it.”

“When I saw how sad Leo was about the town no longer having a Christmas celebration, the way it used to, I knew I had enough holiday cheer, and enough free time, to help. But I would only help if that’s what the people here wanted,” she said. “And by the looks of things, all the people at the tree lighting, the bonfire, and the shops opening their dusty doors again, I think people are craving the feeling of joy now more than ever.”

“You’re not wrong there,” Edwin said and looked at her with a wink. “You breezed into town a few days ago with a kind of energy and light that we haven’t seen around these parts in an awfully long time. I’m thankful for you, dear.”

“Thanks, Pa. I only hope Leo feels that way, too.”

“What happened between you two, anyhow? I know that boy doesn’t have a sore throat. Worst fibber I’ve ever seen,” Edwin said.

“I’m not sure. I’ll need to speak with him later. I really like him, you know,” she admitted aloud for the first time. “I think he’s afraid that I’m using him for a story and that once I get what I need, I’ll leave and never think about him or this place again.”

“Is he very wrong?” Edwin asked.

America declined to answer. Because the reality was that she would leave soon.

“You can let me out here,” she said as the truck turned the corner onto Main Street.

“You know where you’re goin’?”

“I think so. I’ll meet you at the library in a couple of hours?”

“See you there.” Edwin pulled over, and she got out.

CHAPTER21

The waitingarea at the county municipal building couldn’t have been less appealing, like cold oatmeal. Leo’s eyes bounced from the beige linoleum flooring to the cream walls, and to the matching help desk positioned at one side. The cold surfaces did nothing to ease his nerves about waiting to see the county lawyer.

Leo checked the white clock on the wall and watched the seconds tick by. He hadn’t scheduled a meeting, and decided to stay and wait for a possible opening. There was a time when the dam had first blown out when he learned the importance of asking for things in person.

Leo had sat in the Land Commissioner’s office, day after day, waiting for an answer about the new property lines since the lake dried up. And by golly, the man got him an answer as fast as he could, just to get Leo out of there.

Even being at the lawyer’s office in person, Leo wasn’t sure the lawyer would have time to see him at all, but he was willing to wait outside her door for the chance. It’s much more difficult to say no to someone’s face, and he planned to stay all day if he had to.

A pang of guilt twisted his stomach. When he got back to his home after leaving America at the bonfire, Leo received an email that felt like a knife in his gut. His plans for the day had changed in that instant. Until he knew more about the situation, he faked an illness and called Edwin for help.

America needed to go to the library and pass out her fliers in Elizabethtown, and Edwin was already planning a trip in that direction. Leo canceled their plans for no real reason, in order to spend his day waiting. He owed her far more than just an explanation about the morning’s events, but also an apology for how he acted after their almost kiss. He was a fool and scared by the feelings he had for her. There would be time for penance later, but first, he had a different challenge to face.

Opening the email message on his phone, he read the signature line again: Janice Masters, Esq. The name matched the nameplate on the wall beside the door. He was definitely in the correct place. The only question was, would she see him or not?

---