Page 14 of The Blessings of Christmas
“I’ll just check the shop.” Pushing through the door, she did a thorough sweep of the shop out front. Everything was in its place. Mom had always been tidy. Sarah turned off the coffee pot and took a deep breath. Was she making a big deal out of nothing? Probably.
Holding that thought, Sarah returned to the work room where Ryan was shaping mounds of bread dough. “I might stay a bit later tonight.”
“Why? You can finish the bread in the morning.”
“But don’t we have cookies to finish?” Ryan came closer. He smelled of yeast and flour, and they’d never smelled better. “What’s up next?”
“Next?” she echoed mindlessly.
He glanced toward the blue binder. “Will we make thimbles again?”
Almost tripping over her feet, she snapped up the recipe. “For starters, tomorrow we’ll bake the Mexican hot chocolate cookies.”
“What are they?” He looked perplexed.
“The best chocolate cookies you’ll ever taste. They’re made with cocoa and just a pinch of chili powder.” She licked her lips.
His eyes followed. “Sounds great.”
“They are.” Her grip tightening, she crinkled the recipe in her hand. “I’m sorry, but this day had been upsetting.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Something’s going on with my mother.” Her voice ended on a squeak.
“Don’t do this to yourself.” For a second she thought Ryan might take her in his arms. She could almost feel their warm comfort around her. But instead of reaching for her––and holy moly, hadn’t they done that once already today?––he locked his hands together. Muscles twitched in his arms. “So your mom likes the librarian. Can’t you just let things roll?”
Her lips trembled. “But what do we know about him?”
Ryan heaved out a breath. “Well, for one thing, he’s probably not Jack the Ripper. The guy’s a librarian, for Pete’s sake.”
He had a point. Was that her, cackling? “Oh, Ryan, what would I do without you? You put together the boys’ bikes, fixed the leak in the roof, brought me groceries when I had the flu.” Sarah dug a tissue from an apron pocket.
“Look, I’m glad to help. I’m, well...” Glancing down at his boots, Ryan seemed to be out of words. He’d never been a big talker. Wisecracks? Sure. Conversation? Not really. Then he tossed his head back. “Why don’t you let this thing with your mother slide for awhile? See what happens.”
He made good sense. After jabbing at her nose, she tucked her tissue away. “You’re right. It’s not a big deal.”
His brown eyes softened to velvet. “Sarah, you’re a good daughter and a great mother.”
She never thought she’d hear that fromhim.“If you keep that up, I might cry.” Then she noticed the clock. “I have to pick up the boys. I'll leave this recipe here so you can take butter out. You may want to double the batch. Mom might be going to the library again.”
She ran for the door and reached for her coat. “See you in the morning?”
“You bet.” He was studying the recipe and glanced up. “One more thing. Would it be okay if I take some cookies to Stanley Branson?”
“Well sure.” She pulled on her coat. “Let’s get these cookies out of here. Otherwise they go straight to my hips.”
“I like your hips.” The words came fast and so did Ryan’s furious blush.
“Why, thank you, Ryan.” She could hardly get her gloves on .
They were standing at the back door. The cold air outside battered the old wooden panels. Taking her red scarf that probably matched her face right now, she twirled it around her neck.
“Don’t worry so much.” Reaching over, Ryan tucked some of her hair under the scarf.
“Okay. Thanks.” This guy had never been anything but a thorn in her side. But he just made her feel like she could take on the world. “See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah. See ya.” He stepped back but he didn’t turn away.
