Page 154 of The Blessings of Christmas
“What are your plans for Christmas?” she asked as they drove toward Amblebury. “Going back to New York, I suppose.”
“Heck no, I just got here.” She caught his eyes in the rearview mirror. They were filled with disbelief.
“But it’s the holiday season.” He couldn't be serious. Engaged but not going home?
Malcolm hitched up a shoulder and shifted gears. “My mother is used to me doing my own thing.”
“You mean, like your stint in the Amazon?”
That made Malcolm laugh and she did love his laugh. “That's pretty much what I meant,” he said, with a rueful grin. “She wasn't too excited about that.”
“You mean she didn't approve?”
“That's putting it mildly. My mother and I are often at odds. Time has taught me that much.”
Yet you let her choose your fiancée?Good thing she didn't say that out loud.
“And of course when I came back…” But here his laughter stopped. “She's helped me out a lot.”
She turned to look at him. “You mean when you came back and your mother set you up with Darcy?” Although she’d only met Malcolm’s mother once when she’d visited Sweetwater Creek for Malcolm’s birthday, Josie’s impression had been that Aurelia Sutter was one strong-willed woman. She’d seemed puzzled by Sweetwater Creek. What was her son doing here?
His forehead wrinkled. “Yeah, that was one thing that happened. Seeing Darcy again. We went to high school together and dated for a while. After we chose different colleges, that pretty much ended it. But now we've had a chance to catch up. And that's been nice.”
Nice. Josie sure hope that being engaged––when miracle of miracles, she ever did become engaged––would be a lot more exciting thannice.She wanted a dizzying, exciting engagement that felt like a merging of two souls. And the groom? Josie longed for the sweet certainty of knowing that her future was with the man who would be the father of her children. As thoughts coursed through her mind, she couldn’t even look at Malcolm.
How would she ever get past him? “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas” was playing on the radio and Josie tried to get into the mood. The Christmas classic was such a joyful, bouncy tune. But she didn't feel joyful or bouncy. The pain in her ankle was holding her hostage.
Or maybe it was the pain in her heart.
“So how's the planning for the wedding coming?” Josie asked once she had her head together again.
This time Malcolm's chuckle was more of a snort. “I really lucked out. Darcy's taking care of the wedding planning. Well, Darcy and my mother.”
Did all grooms feel this way? Maybe. “You're just going to walk into the picture?”
Instead of answering her, he turned up the volume. The old Christmas song “Silver Bells” had come on. Something about city sidewalks, busy sidewalks. Maybe Malcolm liked hearing about busy cities at Christmas time. That would be his life at some point.
“Are you thinking of living in New York?” She might only have him at the library for six months or so. Hadn't he mentioned a summer wedding? Hiring him may have been only a short-term solution.
“Oh no. We're going to live here.” He sounded amazed that she’d even asked.
Josie took a deep gulp. Although she hadn't met Darcy yet, the possibility of having her around made her feel nauseated. “Will she be visiting Sweetwater Creek soon to see if she likes the town?”
“I suppose so. The wedding isn’t till summer. We have lots of time.”
Lots of time.Lots of agonizing time for Josie. Then her chin went up. Wasn't she a woman with a plan? Emily's advice rang in her ears. When she’d gotten home after her jogging incident, she’d ordered different mascara and eye liner online. Maybe the second time would be the charm. Josie had been horrified when she’d limped into the bathroom and saw her raccoon eyes in the mirror.
They’d reached Amblebury. Gearing down, they drove along the main street of small shops and restaurants. Christmas decorations packed every window and prancing reindeer danced overhead. The clinic was easy to find. On its wide porch peoplesat in rockers, visiting with each other. Many held cups of coffee. “This looks like a friendly place,” Malcolm said with a smile.
“Derek’s done a great job.” And although she hated to admit it, Victoria had too. Josie has been amazed at what the clinic had done for Victoria. Or maybe it was loving Derek that had brought the entitled owner of Victoria’s Pantry to a recognition that life was about more than shopping.
Malcolm parked along the street. Coming around the front of the pickup, he opened the door and helped ease her from the front seat. Every time he touched her, she melted a little more. Handing her the crutches, he kept his head down. As they climbed the stairs to the porch, Josie took it slowly with Malcolm steadying her. Josie was pleased to see that she recognized a few people on the porch, including Big Mac and his dog Friskie. Big Mac had become the unofficial greeter for the clinic. Seeing them, he jumped up to open the door.
Once inside, Josie waved to Phyllis, the manager. It was still lunchtime and sandwiches were arranged on trays, along with bags of chips. Pitchers of lemonade sat at the end of the table. “So I hear one of your helpers came down with something,” Josie said as she drew closer, her crutches thumping.
Her hair a fuzzy mess, Phyllis nodded. “A bad case of the flu. I really appreciate you helping out. Our weekends are so busy, especially with the holidays coming up. People seem to need more…of everything. And we don't have a lot of backups.” Josie did some quick introductions, while Malcolm eyed the place.
A Christmas tree stood in the corner, hung with construction paper ornaments. She'd forgotten about those Christmas Wishes. At the top of the tree stood a straw star. Red ribbons cascaded from the star down the front of the tree. After Victoria started volunteering, she’d initiated the tradition of Christmas Wishes. All of the clients wrote their gift wishes on one of the construction paper ornaments. Then they hung the ornamenton the tree. Those wishes were taken to Victoria's Pantry, where her customers eagerly snapped them up and got shopping.
