Page 8 of The Christmas Keepsake
“It’s fine. Our residents might be forgetful. But they still sense when something is missing.”
Somethingmeaning “family.” Meaning Mallory specifically.
Maddie’s husband, Sam, could have gotten a day pass for Nan. He could have picked Nan up for the celebration at their house. Why hadn’t he?
“Well, perhaps you can join us for some of the Christmas festivities over the next month to make up for it.” Francis winked. “There’s even a holiday dance next week to kick the whole season off.”
“A dance?” Mallory repeated, looking at the flyer behind Francis’s head.
“Our recreational therapist, Nancy, plans so many fun activities for the residents. Your grandmother doesn’t feel quite as comfortable coming to the activities though. Sometimes it helps for family members to come by and go with them. It gives them confidence.”
“You’re talking about the dance?” a woman asked as she walked by.
Mallory turned to face Nancy, whom she’d already met on prior visits.
“It’ll be fun. We’re not trying to play matchmakers here at Memory Oaks, of course. Just trying to get the folks up and moving. Movement and laughter are good medicine.”
As a nurse, Mallory could attest to that. “I agree.”
“So, you’ll come?” Nancy asked.
“Thank you.” Mallory gestured down the hall. “I’m going to go check on Nan.”
“Of course.”
Mallory watched the tiled floor pass under her feet as she walked, hearing the sounds of patients inside their rooms. In some ways, being here reminded her of working at the hospital. Some of the sounds were familiar, but also distinctly different. Someone was crying somewhere, and Mallory knew it wasn’t because they were in pain, which would have been the case at the ER or even the pediatric floor, where she typically worked. The cries here were emotional,mostly due to frustration and confusion. Loneliness. Suddenly, a familiar holiday tune blended into the mix.
“Barely past Thanksgiving, and now we can’t escape Christmas tunes,” Mallory muttered before stopping a foot short of Hollis’s chest.
“Never pegged you as the Scrooge type.” He grinned ear to ear as he stepped out of Nan’s room with Duke on a leash.
“Hi.” Mallory had forgiven Hollis a long time ago for what had happened when she was fifteen. They’d returned to being good friends, and that was all Mallory wanted out of their relationship. Except sometimes, in a moment like this, when her guard was lowered, a wave of attraction rolled over her.
She wasn’t blind after all. What all the matchmakers said was true. Hollis was handsome. Her kind of handsome. Not the pretty boy, polished type. No. Hollis was solid. He was tall, wide, and muscled. He also had twinkly eyes and the kind of stubbled jawline that made women want to lean in and rub cheeks.Or some women.
“How’s my grandmother?” Mallory gestured toward Nan’s door. “Looks like you visited her and your grandfather tonight.”
Hollis nodded. “She’s still got it.”
“Got what?” Mallory tilted her head.
“That spitfire meanness that puts me in my place with a single cut of her eye.”
“Yes, I know exactly what you mean.” Mallory checked the time on her Apple watch. “I better go on in. I can’t stay long tonight. I’m working on the theater. Doing a little cleaning out of things.” More like packing, but Mallory wasn’t ready to share her intentions for the theater.
Hollis nodded knowingly and shrugged his broad, quarterbackesque shoulders. “Big job. You’re doing that alone?”
Mallory nodded.
“Need help?” Hollis asked. “You know I don’t mind heavy lifting. I’m not busy this evening.”
She lowered her brows. The truth was that Mallory felt like she’dbeen doing everything alone lately. Everyone was too wrapped up in their own lives, and years of therapy had taught Mallory that her MIA biological mother had left her with not only abandonment issues but also a hesitance to ask for help and an inability to trust people to follow through with their promises. Mallory had long ago decided she’d rather be overwhelmed herself than disappointed in someone else. “No, that’s okay. I actually don’t have much to do,” she lied.
Hollis’s expression revealed that he wasn’t buying it. “If you change your mind, let me know. I’ll just be at Pop’s place, working with the new dog, Buster.”
Mallory’s gaze flicked to the bandage on his leg, instinctively knowing exactly what he’d done. “You didn’t.”
Something vulnerable flashed in his brown eyes. “It wasn’t the dog’s fault.”
