Page 27 of The Christmas Cottage
Or she’s embarrassed abouthowshe got hurt.It made Vanessa wonder what her grandmother could possibly be hiding. Clearly it was something, since none of her stories about the accident matched up.
“Mama, I want to go build a snowman!” Katie exclaimed, already done with her elephant ear and with powdered sugar smeared across her face.
“That sounds like a great idea,” Jackson said with a grin. “In fact, let’s all go build snowmen. You up for that, Vanessa?”
She couldn’t bring herself to say no, not with three sets of eager eyes looking at her now, all ready to go build snowmen together. The enthusiasm of everyone here was infectious, and for the first time, she had friends who wanted her to be a part of things.
One of whom was, to use his words,very easy on the eyes.
She hadn’t been any more excited than Jackson to take on the roles of Santa and Mrs. Claus for her grandmother. But now, after this evening, she found herself looking forward to spending more time with Jackson.
Maybe it would be a good time, after all.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Mabel put the lid on the last of the totes of decorations that she’d pulled out of the hall closet to take to The Toy Chest for the Santa Claus event. Vanessa and Jackson had both said they would help take them over to the shop, and while she knew she probably shouldn’t have gotten them all out herself, she had a hard time just sitting around and doing nothing. It wasn’t in her nature, and having the wrist injury slow her down had been difficult to adjust to. She wasn’t really adjusting to it all that well, to tell the truth.
She heard a knock on the door as she straightened, and she frowned. Maybe Jackson had showed up first. He was a nice, gentlemanly boy, and he would definitely knock before coming in. Vanessa, on the other hand, she’d already chided about knocking. Vanessa was her granddaughter, and she should feel free to come and go as she pleased. If Mabel hadn’t felt sure that Vanessa would need her own space on this trip, she would have had her stay at her own home, instead of at Hearthside.
“Coming!” she called out, hurrying as best as she could to the door. She was startled, when she opened it, to see George on the other side, holding a covered dish.
“I made you a casserole,” he said gruffly. “Winter squash and ham, with a bit of sage. I remember you saying you liked it, at that one potluck that I brought it to.”
Mabel smiled, opening the door a little wider. “Paying attention to what a lady says? That’s a real heartstopper, George. Although at my age, I guess it wouldn’t take much.” She grinned, and George rolled his eyes playfully, carrying the casserole dish to the kitchen.
“Well, make yourself at home,” she teased, following him. He set the dish down on the counter, turning to face her.
“It’s a cozy place. I wouldn’t mind it a bit,” he teased back, and Mabel felt her heart flutter just a little. The flirtation was all in good fun, and neither of them meant anything serious by it, but it did make her feel young and vivacious again, and all of the feelings that went along with that. She wondered from time to time how she’d feel if George ever did find a woman he wanted to flirt with more seriously, and the thought stung a little. But she was too old to go starting a whole new relationship. She’d had all that, and now what she needed was something to spice up her days. Flirting with and playing pranks on George did exactly that.
“How’s Vanessa?” he asked, and Mabel leaned against the kitchen table, still smiling at him.
“She’s fine. She’s really gotten into the groove of things here. I think she likes it more than she’d admit.”
“I think Jackson likes her more than he’d like to admit,” George said with a grin. “He came by the Christmas tree farm the other day. I think he’s got a crush on her.”
Mabel hesitated, waiting to see if he’d say anything else, now that he’d brought up the farm. Surely he’d noticed what she’d done by now?
But he didn’t look annoyed, or even mischievous. He looked thoughtful, as if he were really considering how things might gobetween Jackson and Vanessa. She was interested in that too, but just this moment she was more interested in figuring out if he knew what she’d been up to.
“Have the owners of the Holly and Ivy Market been by to pick up their tree yet?” she blurted out, unable to keep quiet about it any longer. “I mean—I know Cindy was really excited about it,” she added, as George looked at her quizzically. “She was just talking about it the other day.”
“Oh.” George rubbed a hand over his beard. “No, they haven’t. I’m sure they’ll be by any day now though.” He glanced over toward the stack of totes in the living room. “Do you need some help with those?”
“No, Jackson and Vanessa are coming by to help.” Mabel waved a hand. “They’ll take care of it. No need to throw your back out, or anything.”
He snorted. “I work at a Christmas tree farm, woman. I can handle a few totes still.”
“Well, they’ll manage it,” she insisted, and George grinned.
“I’m sure you know what you’re doing, getting the two of them over here together to help.”
“They were more than happy to do it,” Mabel said with a smile. “Plus, they’re—” her smile fell a little. “Well, I can’t be Mrs. Claus this year. With the way my wrist is still hurting, it’s just too much to handle. I was hoping it would feel better in time, but it’s just not there yet.”
“So you asked the two of them to play the roles?” George guessed, and Mabel narrowed her eyes.
“Now, how did you figure that out?”
He shrugged, rubbing a hand over his beard again. “I know you pretty well. Known you a long time anyway.”
