Christmas Comes to Main Street (4 page)

“First prize this year gets a front-page picture in the paper, ten thousand dollars, and—”

“Wow.” Nate pulled back against his chair. “Ten thousand dollars? Really?”

His aunt's expression turned triumphant. “And a write-up in a travel magazine. Henry Birch runs the paper now, but he used to write for the magazine. He's arranged it all. Can you imagine what that would do for my business?”

Nate could. He could also see just how much this meant to his aunt. “Why don't you enter then?”

“Oh, but I couldn't do it all on my own.” She studied him under the hood of her lids.

Nate shrugged and thought,
What the hell.
What else did he have to do with himself for the next two weeks? “I could help.” How hard could it be to add a bit more garland to the front steps or add another Christmas tree in one of the other rooms in the house?

“Oh, you will? But of course you will!” His aunt leaned forward and gave him a good hard squeeze, and Nate sputtered against the force of her arms. “Oh my,” she said standing, suddenly noticing her audience. “It's time for tea! Come in, everyone, come in!”

She set two firm hands on Nate's wrist as he pushed in his chair. “We'll talk about this later.”

Nate laughed under his breath as he left the room. Crisis averted. His aunt was healthy, and all that silly drama was over a few decorations.

Tea wasn't really his thing, but a cup of coffee right now sounded delicious. He wondered if the bakery where Kara worked served it. Quickly shrugging into his coat, he hurried out the door to find out.

The bakery was farther up Main Street than he recalled from his drive into town. Nate recognized the pink and white striped awning up ahead and lengthened his stride on the icy sidewalk. The lights were on inside, illuminating a glass display case and peppermint-themed decorations, but the sign on the door read
CLOSED
, and the door, when he tried it, was locked.

Nate stepped back, lingering for a moment to see if Kara appeared from the back door to what he assumed was the kitchen. He glanced down Main Street, but there was no sign of the red winter coat or the glossy dark hair. Disappointed, he stepped back and walked a block until he came to a diner on the corner. It was cold, and the wind was picking up. Deciding it was here or tea at the inn, which was way too hoity-toity for his comfort level, he pushed through the door, immediately rewarded with the sounds of upbeat holiday tunes and chatter from the crowded room. He followed the smell of coffee, feeling a little out of his element in a room full of people who all seemed to know each other so well, but then he perked up when he recognized the girl standing near the counter.

His heart sped up a notch as he moved quicker to the end of the room, noticing the long legs in black pants, the boots that hit just below her knees.

“We meet again,” he said, coming up to stand next to Kara.

She turned to him, her blue eyes bright with surprise. Her cheeks were pink from the cold, a stark contrast to her porcelain skin, and it heightened the rosy color of her full lips, which parted into a smile.
Slow down there
, he warned himself. So she was pretty. Wholesome and fresh-faced in a way that made her seem approachable, friendly. Unlike most of the girls he met at bars or through friends or work. It was the small-town thing, he considered. The country air. But there was something else, something different about her than the women he'd met lately. He couldn't help it. He was curious.

“I'm happy to run into you, actually. I owe you an apology for how I behaved earlier.”

Nate held up a hand. “Consider us even. You did have to face the wrath of Maggie Griffin on account of me.”

Kara smiled. “Oh, she's not so bad.”

No, she wasn't. Intense, yes. A little nutty, sure. But she'd been good to him all his life, even though he didn't see her much. Good to his parents, too. Even though Maggie wasn't a blood relative, she was his family. He liked that Kara didn't misunderstand her more difficult side.

He leaned in, close enough to catch a hint of her sweet scent. Vanilla and sugar and something he couldn't quite put his finger on. “So, uh, now that she's out of earshot, level with me. What has she said?”

“About you?” Kara's blue eyes twinkled. “You mean other than your MBA?” She laughed, and he joined her. “Oh, all good things, Nate. All good things.”

He liked the way she said his name, casually, as if they were old friends. He didn't have many of those. Growing up, he didn't have the time. And now he had even less of it.

“Here you go, hon,” a woman said as she slid a paper cup to Kara. “And what'll it be?” the woman asked Nate.

“Just a coffee,” he said, turning over a mug.

“Aunt Sharon, this is Nate Griffin,” Kara began to explain.

“Maggie's nephew!” the woman behind the counter exclaimed. Her eyes roamed his face in wonder as she held out her hand. “Pleasure to finally meet this man we've heard so much about.”

“All good things, Kara has assured me,” he muttered, internally rolling his eyes at whatever perfect and probably half-false image of himself his aunt had given over the years.

“Oh, of course.” Sharon grinned. “Well, except…” Seeing the horror that flashed across his face, she leaned over the counter and patted his arm. “Just joking with you. Coffee it is. On the house.”

“Thanks,” Nate said, feeling a little humbled. So many people knew about him, and he couldn't say the same. He didn't keep in touch with his aunt, at least not directly. His parents called her and relayed information to him, but that was it. He glanced over his shoulder at the groups of people who seemed to know each other so well, and for a moment he started to realize why his aunt loved this town so much. It was a community. Something he'd never had, or at least not something he'd ever been embraced by. “So, do you know everyone who works here?” he asked Kara when Sharon had moved on to the next customer.

“Well, Sharon's my aunt. And she owns the place. And I tend to come in here about four times a day for a refill. And some company,” she added, her cheeks pinking a bit more.

“But don't you own a bakery?” Nate asked.

Kara ripped open the tops of two sweetener packets and stirred their contents into her cup. “Yep.”

He frowned, confused at her simple response. “And you don't sell coffee there?”

She blinked a few times, seeming taken aback by the question. “Well, it's a cookie bakery, really. I just make cookies.”

Nate shrugged. “So?”

She pressed the lid onto her cup and turned to him, clutching her coffee with two hands. “So, I make cookies. People come in for cookies.”

Nate stared at her, confused. “Yes, but don't people want something to drink with their cookies? Coffee seems like the natural choice. Or tea.” Hot chocolate. Something. He tipped his head. “If you serve coffee, they may stay and linger, have an extra cookie. It might seem like small change, but the orders can add up, and so could the revenue.”

Now her face was as red as her coat. Her chin was lifted, her arms crossed, and her gaze hard. “I'm doing just fine, thank you.”

“Yes, but one small change could make a big difference.”

Kara began gathering her handbag. “Perhaps. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work.”

“I didn't mean to offend you,” Nate said, reaching out a hand to stop her. “I was just trying to help. It seemed like the obvious combination. Cookies and coffee. Cookies and tea…” He grinned, but she didn't even meet him halfway.

“Well, we can't all have MBAs, can we?” Kara asked brusquely. She waved to her aunt as the woman poured his coffee, and before he could register what had just happened, she was walking through the door.

“Cream and sugar?” Sharon asked as Nate dropped onto a stool.

“Sure,” he said absentmindedly.

Sharon slid him the bowl. “You should check out the bakery on your way back to the inn. Best cookies in town!”

Nate grunted a response and brought the mug to his lips. Something told him stopping by the bakery wasn't such a good idea today, but he'd find out what time Kara planned to bring over the inn's delivery tomorrow. And he'd be waiting.

M
olly flicked through a tabloid she'd bought at the bus station yesterday afternoon and tossed it to the side. She'd hoped the glossy cover with the promise of celebrity gossip would distract her from this growing knot in her stomach, but all it had done was make her restless and agitated.

She should have known there would be questions last night when she'd made the big announcement, hoping she sounded more convinced than she felt. But of course everyone wanted to know where Todd was, would he be joining them for the holidays? And she had to go and lie and tell them he was working over the holidays—a big case and all—and chivalrous guy that he was, he'd told her to go ahead and enjoy a few weeks in her hometown.

The truth was that Todd was enjoying a few weeks of his own, on a ski trip in the Alps with his buddies. A trip she'd encouraged him to take. A trip she'd pushed for, even when he'd suggested joining her in Briar Creek instead. She'd told him he deserved a little fun, that absence would make the heart grow fonder. But so far, their time apart was only making her second-guess her future more than ever before.

Molly tossed the magazine across the bed and frowned. Honestly, this was crazy talk! Todd was everything she'd dreamed of when she was a little girl. Everything she pictured when she wrote her monthly article for the bridal magazine. Tall, dark, dashing… He was perfect, really.

Just as perfect as the three-carat brilliant-cut stone on a platinum band she now wore on her left hand ever since the day she'd picked it out, with his input of course, even if his contribution had been more of the reaching for the credit card variety.

Molly twisted the engagement ring on her finger. She had to admit, it was pretty, and she did like wearing it, but when she looked at it, all she saw was a nice piece of jewelry, hardly the sentiment she should be feeling right now. Hardly the sentiment of a blushing bride-to-be.

She pulled another magazine from the stack, hoping this would do the trick, trying to visualize herself walking down the aisle, committing to Todd forever.

She closed her eyes, but the image did not come, at least not easily. And her stomach started that twisting, queasy, nauseous churn it did every time she thought about what she was doing. Was she really going to go through with this?

She shook her head. Of course she was. So they'd had problems. So he hadn't been the most faithful early in their relationship. Yes, he'd taken a year away. But then he'd realized he missed her. Decided that she was the one. That he couldn't live without her. Those were his words! He couldn't live without her.

Once she had thought she couldn't live without him. But now…

She closed her eyes and replayed his words from the day he came back to her, proposed to her… It was so unexpected. So shocking. She'd dreamed of that moment, never thinking it would happen, and then there he was. Apologizing. Promising. It
was
really romantic when she stopped to think about it…

She hurried through the last few pages of the magazine. She just had cold feet. A common problem with their readers… One she could recognize and expertly handle.

Molly shut the magazines into a drawer and threw herself back down against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling. It was only late afternoon, but it was already dark. She hated this time of year. It made her tired long before it should, and she still had things to do before her mother got home from the dance studio. She'd promised to get the giant nutcrackers set up in the front hall, anchoring the front door, and then one character per stair, all the way up to the landing, so the judges would have a “feast for the eyes” when they entered the house. Where her mother had found those dolls, Molly would never know, but they sort of creeped her out, not that she'd tell her mother that. Rosemary Hastings had a vision, and just like with her dance studio, Molly knew better than to argue. Besides, it would keep her busy.

Really, did she not want to marry Todd? Did she want to throw away a candlelit Valentine's Day wedding and all the roses that would go along with it? She'd written on the subject enough times to know that you did not walk away from a handsome man with a summer house and a damn good job, all because your tummy hurt at night when you started thinking about the future and all its unknowns.

She'd have to be a fool to turn down a proposal laced with all those possibilities.

Molly hauled herself out of her bedroom and went down to the front hall, where boxes of decorations were just waiting to be cracked open. Most her mother would want to do herself, to be sure it was done right, but a few things Molly could handle. She started with the creepy dolls, drawing special fascination from the Mouse King, with its beady eyes and scratchy whiskers.

Soon, the toys were arranged as instructed.
Well, that took all of ten minutes,
Molly thought with a frustrated sigh. She peeked into another box, knowing better than to get a start—her mother had very particular ideas, and apparently this year's contest was more important than previous ones. Honestly, Molly wasn't even sure why her mother was bothering. Everyone knew Kathleen Madison was going to win, as she did every year she entered. But who was she to argue…

Besides, if her mother let her help, it would give her something else to focus on. Something other than the fact that Todd, her fiancé, had called twice that morning and she had yet to call him back. He didn't even know that she'd set a date.

A date that was close. A date that didn't allow for doubt.

A date she wasn't sure she could stick to.

The arrogance of that man! Kara was still reeling from her conversation with Nate Griffin—who clearly liked to boast about his MBA as much as his aunt did—when Molly pushed through the bakery doors.

The storefront was quiet. Only a group of mothers and toddlers sat near the corner, and they'd be leaving soon. The youngest boy had already dropped his sugar cookie to the floor and then stomped all over it during a tantrum. Kara was eager to sweep up the mess and get back to the kitchen. She had four gingerbread kits to finish before she could go home, and she also needed to work on the finished houses she'd be selling at the Holiday Bazaar.

“I was going to stop by the house for dinner tonight,” Kara said. “Unless you'd rather grab a bite together.”

Molly rolled her eyes. “Mom needs my help for the Holiday House contest. Fair warning, if you come by, she'll put you to work.”

The thought of doing more work on her night off made her almost want to come up with an excuse, but Kara just shrugged her shoulders. It would be fun to help decorate the house. It might help put her in the Christmas spirit, and she did want to spend more time with her sister before she went back to Boston.

Boston. Just thinking about the city made her think of Nate. Nate with his big degree and his even bigger opinions.

She'd switched majors four times. She'd switched jobs plenty more times than that.

She lowered her voice and leaned across the counter to Molly. “Do you think I should be selling coffee?”

Molly looked confused. “You mean you don't?”

“I guess I just assumed everyone in town got their coffee at the Annex. I mean, I do.” Kara sighed, thinking of Main Street Books' café. They sold coffee. And tea. And all sorts of food items. Okay, so she was messing up. Just as she had feared. She'd been open for over a month and she was selling cookies and milk and nothing else to drink. And she made a mean hot chocolate. What had she been thinking?

It was an oversight. A big one. She'd been so focused on her cookies and the decorations, she'd overlooked the obvious.

Dread coated her chest like an icy bath. She could picture the shop, boarded up, the awning faded, the sign taken down, the
FOR LEASE
sign in the window right where her candy cane decorations now hung, sparkling against the setting sun. She could picture her mother, Mrs. Griffin, even Nate, that know-it-all, walking by, shaking their heads, saying yep, they knew it, no surprise there. It was just a matter of time, after all.

Well, that cemented it. Tomorrow morning she'd be offering coffee. And tea. And hot chocolate. With a candy cane tucked to the side for good measure.

She'd get mugs made up with her logo, too. For now, she'd have to borrow some from her mother's house. And hope they didn't break. And hope her mother didn't ask questions, like why she didn't have her own mugs yet and why, so long after opening, had she only just begun to offer beverages?

The group in the corner finally left, and Kara picked up her broom and dustpan and walked over to the table. “Mind turning the sign on the door?” she asked her sister as she began cleaning the mess. “I doubt anyone else will be stopping in before I officially close in five minutes.”

She needed some time to think, to focus on her baking, doing what she loved. She needed to get Mrs. Griffin's arrogant nephew out of her head… every last bit of him, down to that cocky grin and those perfect teeth. He'd probably be Molly's type—she loved the preppy, well-bred look—if she wasn't already engaged to Todd. Molly liked the city guys, but then Molly had always been more confident. Maybe it was because she was the baby, always doted on and told she was cute, whereas Kara had always floated, a little unsure, wary of her role as eldest daughter under their mother's somewhat critical eye. Rosemary Hastings had a strong personality, and she wasn't shy with her opinions.

Not unlike someone else Kara knew… Oh, how she dreaded the thought of delivering those cookies to the inn tomorrow. She bent to pick up the crumbs with the dustpan, trying to recall how long Mr. MBA planned to stick around town.

“Hey, you busy tomorrow?” Kara asked Molly.

Molly shrugged. “Not especially. But please don't tell Mom that. She'll put me to work on the decorations again, and you know I won't do it right.”

Kara gave a little smile. “She obviously has a vision.”

“You should have seen her trying to pry the information out of Grace last night, to see what her mother is planning. We all know Kathleen will win. I'm not sure why Mom is even trying.”

“Because it's fun for her. And because she loves it.” Kara knew their mother could be competitive, but the ballet studio's performance of
The Nutcracker
was far more important to her than the version she had going on at the house. “It's a way to get into the spirit of the season.”

“I suppose.” Molly didn't look convinced. “Anyway, what did you have in mind?”

“I was wondering if you could do some deliveries for me tomorrow. I'll pay you.”

Molly's blue eyes softened. “No payment required. That's what sisters are for. Besides, I owe you a bit of my time if you're going to be helping me so much.”

Kara led them into the kitchen and deposited the crumbs in the trash bin. “You sure you won't be busy with wedding planning?”

“Oh.” Molly turned away, falling silent for a moment. “You know me… I've had my wedding planned for years. I was just waiting for the right guy to come along and fulfill the fantasy.” Her laugh seemed a little hollow.

Considering that Molly was in the wedding industry, it made sense, Kara thought as she washed her hands and dried them on a towel, but Molly seemed distracted, distant almost. “Are you sure everything is okay?” she ventured, giving her sister a hesitant smile as she leaned against the counter. “I don't mind taking a break if you'd like to talk. We could have some tea? Or hot chocolate? We can even splurge and go for extra whipped cream.”

Immediately, Molly smiled, but it didn't seem to quite meet her eyes. “Of course everything is okay. Why wouldn't it be? I'm engaged. I have a gorgeous ring, a gorgeous fiancé, and I'm going to have a gorgeous wedding. And it's Christmas. What's not to be happy about? Besides, look at how busy you are! I'm here to help
you
, remember?”

Kara tried not to frown as she pulled some dough from the refrigerator and reached for her rolling pin. If Molly said everything was okay, she'd go along with it for now. “So, when is Todd arriving?”

“Oh.” Molly looked a little pale. “He's not coming for Christmas. I thought I told you that.”

Kara did her best to keep her expression neutral, even though warning bells were going off in her mind. Her sister was uneasy, that much was clear, and Todd wasn't coming for Christmas. There were many things wrong with this picture.

“No, you didn't mention it.”

Molly wandered around the kitchen and stopped to pick up a few cookie cutters. “Oh, I thought I did. He's tied up with work. A big case. He has a really important job.”

Kara nodded politely, telling herself to stay out of it. If Molly was happy, then she would be happy for her, especially if her decision was already made. And who knew, maybe Todd really was busy with a big case. Maybe he had altruistically insisted that Molly go back to Briar Creek on her own.

Kara highly doubted this.

“You didn't want to stay in the city with him?” she asked.

Molly seemed momentarily stricken. She studied the cookie cutters, then set them down. “Oh, no… He'd be busy at the office the whole time anyway. Besides, we'll have lots of Christmases together. In the future…” She seemed to gulp.

“Well,” Kara said, deciding not to press, “Ivy makes the best bouquets. We can go over to Petals on Main together while you're in town.”

“Perfect.” Molly grinned. “So what about you… any men in your life? You know you're welcome to bring a date to my wedding.”

Kara gave her sister a long look, but she couldn't deny the pang in her chest when she considered a date on her arm. For some reason she envisioned Nate Griffin. Nonsense!

“Oh, no, I don't have time to date,” she said, brushing away the twinge of hurt she felt. She'd never had a serious boyfriend, and the men she'd gone out with off and on over the years never really made her feel that spark. She cut herself some slack; after all, who could really feel something all that magical with the man she'd watched pick his nose all through English class from first through fourth grade, for example?