Page 57 of The Christmas Keepsake
No one seemed to notice her at first as she stood there, assessing the situation. Then Hollis looked over, seemingly midconversation with Evan, who was an understudy. She couldn’t decide if she was angry with him for taking over as the director or grateful for the fact that he cared enough to try to help.
He patted Evan’s shoulder and headed toward Mallory, his gaze unwavering.
She shifted uncomfortably, averting her gaze and trying hard to rein in her feelings. And her attraction. It wasn’t easy to do, with monarch-size butterflies flapping around inside her stomach.
“What’s going on?” she asked when he was only a couple of feet away.
Hollis gestured, holding his arms out to his sides. “We’re having play rehearsal. There’s no time to waste, given that we’re less than two weeks from opening night.”
“I’m the director. I canceled,” she said as he stood in front of her, folding her arms tightly over her chest, feeling the beat of her heart against her forearms. Hard and rapid.
Hollis’s voice was soft in response to her raised one. “I had no right to take over the schedule, and I’m probably way out of line,” he admitted. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
She inhaled through her nose, realizing that people around them were watching. “You heard about the inspection?” she asked in a near whisper. Of course he had. “So you know how bad it is?”
Hollis gave a one-off nod. “Sounds worse than I’m guessing it actually is. I can take a look if you want.” A small glimmer of a smile lifted the corners of his lips. “This play is important. To your family. To the community… To you.” He ran his tongue along his bottom lip.
If she had a Christmas wish list, the top item would be that she didn’tmelt at the sight of his tongue on his lip. Or the little scar on his temple. He had several scars, reminding her of his younger, wilder days.Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas is for you to numb my heart to this man in front of me.Because she wanted to be mad at him right now. Angry, even.
“And because this play matters to you, it also matters to me,” he continued. “Canceling the production is rash.”
“I didn’t cancel the play. I canceled rehearsal. One rehearsal.”
He lifted a brow. “And you disappeared all afternoon. Are you telling me you weren’t going to throw in the towel on the whole thing?”
She heaved a breath. “No stage, no play. What choice do I have?”
He stepped in closer. “Well, if you would have answered my calls, we could have gone over your choices.” He leaned farther in, making her heart swell and lift into the base of her throat. “Emphasis onyourchoice. You are the director, after all.”
She flung her arms out to her sides and shook her head simultaneously, on the brink of tears. No crying. Nope. Not happening, especially with all the cast here, pretending not to watch her interaction with Hollis right now. “This inspector is the final nail in the theater’s coffin. I have no hope of keeping my promise to put on this play this Christmas. Much less future Christmases.” Mallory pressed her lips together. This is exactly why she hadn’t wanted to meet with anyone tonight. Her emotional state was paper thin.
Hollis lowered his head, dipping closer so that only she could hear what he had to say. So close that she could feel his breath on her skin. “Nan is the one who once told me this. When you have no hope left inside you, that’s when you borrow a little from the person beside you.”
That did it. Mallory began to tremble as she tried with all her might to hold her tears at bay. Nan had never said that to her. Mallory felt like she was losing her grandmother but gaining her at the same time. How was this even possible? She was losing control of her world. It was spinning out of orbit, but then, here was Hollis, offering his big, calloused hand for her to take. A lifeline.
He offered his hand.
She understood the question. If she took it, she was in on whatever options he had up his sleeve. If she didn’t, her answer was no, and she was giving up. She’d never been one to give up easily. “Okay,” she said, placing her hand in his, feeling the warmth of his fingers wrap around hers.
“I wasn’t always the guy with the most hope, but I’ve stored some away in my old age. More than enough to offer you this Christmas.”
“You’ve already done so much over the last couple of weeks.” Her gaze slipped past him, bouncing among cast members, new and old.
“Honestly, I’m not offering a whole lot. My proposal is that we have the play here, in Pop’s barn.” Hollis rubbed the back of his head. “When I mentioned that Nan’s granddaughter needed help finding a place for the Christmas play this year, you should’ve seen his face light up like a Christmas tree. First time I’ve seen him that happy in weeks.”
Mallory searched Hollis’s expression, trying to decipher if he was joking, but she didn’t think so. “You want to hold my grandmother’s play in a barn? No offense, but…?”
“Use your imagination, Mal. Obviously, the theater is where everybody would prefer to gather. But outdoor productions are popular, you know. And we have space heaters in every corner to make sure everyone is warm and cozy.” He pointed them out. “This is where you use that imagination again. Visualize chairs and a makeshift stage. The crew and I can make that in half a day’s work.”
Mallory was surprised that she caught his vision, a little glimmer of light in the darkness. “It could work,” she finally said.
Hollis’s grin came in full force. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
“With the space heaters, we wouldn’t be cold. And we could have hot cider.”
“And cocoa.” His eyes twinkled as his voice dipped. Hot cocoa was their thing. They’d only been on one official date, and already they hada thing. “This would only be for this year, of course. Next year Bloom Community Theatre will be back in working order. I’ll see to it myself.”
Mallory wasn’t so sure of that. Somehow she felt like nothing would ever be normal again. Staring up at Hollis though, maybe change wasn’t always a bad thing.
