Happy New Life (6 page)

“Mom is going to call and ask where you’ve been.” She threatened, as
though Liz was going to cave.

“Great. I’d love to hear from her.” Liz loved toying with her. “So, how
did you say Hayes was?”

Liz wanted to get back to more important issues. Not that Cole wasn’t
an important issue, he was, and on so many levels.

First she had to figure out how he knew Jenna and why they refused to
talk about each other, and secondly, the feelings he stirred inside of her were
uncharted territory.

“They were at the concession stand. I told him about Mike’s birthday
party and told him I’d get with you about it.”

Liz laughed at the thought of her poor nephew’s birthday party. Kristen
was always planning these elaborate events. When Mike turned one, she had a big
bouncy house and slide. What one year old can jump in a bouncy house? He was
the first grandchild/nephew to come along, so there were no other children
attending. People talked for years about how Liz jumped around the big plastic
house.

“When is the party and what are we doing? Going on a cruise?” Liz
always made funny remarks about Mike being spoiled and getting outlandish
parties.

“Funny, Liz. Mike just wants to have a party here. Low key with friends
and a movie. I’m planning on having it on your weekend so you can come home.
Where you belong.”

Liz hadn’t been able to get home much over the past year. Starting a
new business and trying to lay some roots down for Hayes had taken up any free
time they had. Plus, Hayes had made some really great friends, and in his spare
time, he was usually playing with them.

It was only two hours away, why hadn’t they come see her,
she
wanted to argue, but didn’t. It was much easier to keep the peace.

“I’ll drop Hayes off for the weekend and let him stay on his own. He
doesn’t really want mommy around for a sleepover, even if it is with family.”
Good excuse, she smiled. She loved how she made an excuse at her son’s expense
to see Cole again—alone. “I put Tramp in obedience classes and they’re on
Saturdays.”

A few grunts and groans later, the plans were made and Liz finally hung
up.

Guilt…guilt had become Liz’s constant companion. Guilt was the Yin to
her Yang. When her Yang was flying high, guilt reared its ugly head to remind
her. Just like today with Cole. It was a happy time for her, and then the phone
call from Kristen reminded her of the guilt.

“Okay Tramp, I am going to be really lazy and let you run around the
back.” Tramp jumped up from the woven rug in front of the wood burning stove
when she said his name.

Knowing she’d regret it later, she let him out the kitchen door to run
around in the back yard. Her leg was hurting too much to walk him, but she felt
energized enough to get some work done. As a matter of fact, she hadn’t ever
felt this energized when Hayes was away. She spent those weekends in bed
watching old Doris Day movies and eating popcorn. Anything to fill the empty
void left in Hayes’ absence.

“Hurry up. It’s cold.” She yelled out into the bitter cold.

She watched Tramp take his sweet time, and had a strong urge to hit The
Busy Bee before Clarice closed it. There were never any set hours. Like most
shops in Grandberry Falls, they closed when the owner wanted to go home for the
day.

For a moment, she thought about Cole, and how glad she was that he had
stopped by. She put her fingertips up to her mouth. No one had made her smile
like that in a long time. She did deserve to have fun. She did deserve to be
happy. This might be her time.

FOUR

“I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in
jars and open a jar of it every month.”

~Harlan Miller

The twinkling lights in all the shop windows were so inviting. She
really did want The Mole Hole to survive, even if the eminent domain was
successful, and that was a big if. She wasn’t sure if Hazel Greenlee was going
to let that happen or not.

Jenna had been begging for Hazel to contact Maggie, but Hazel didn’t
want to bother her.

“She has enough on her plate,” was Hazel’s reaction, according to
Jenna.

But Liz sure could use some reassurance that everything was going to be
okay.

All the parking space in front of The Busy Bee were taken. She knew all
of Grandberry Falls was not taking knitting classes. They were bellied up to
the bar at The Thirsty Turtle, watching the latest sporting event on one of
their 55-inch flat screens.

Whether you drank liquor or not, The Thirsty Turtle was the place to be
after a long day of work, or late at night on the weekends.

She had to get some materials from The Busy Bee first, but thought she
might pop her head in for a quick hello. It would be good for business.

The bell above the door jingled more than usual. Liz looked up and saw
that Clarice had tied a bunch of jingle bells to it to add to the festive
spirit.

The shop was empty except for Hazel and Clarice, who were sitting at
one of the back tables with take out from The Fatted Pig.

“What brings you in again?” Clarice gestured Liz over.

“I don’t want to interrupt your dinner.” She checked her watch. “I’ll
come back tomorrow.”

“Don’t’ be silly.” Hazel slid her take out box over a little to make
room for Liz to sit next to her. “We were just talking about you.”

“What were you talking about?” Liz asked Hazel, who had a curious smile
on her face.

Everyone in town loved Hazel. Who wouldn’t? The seventy-year old was
just as feisty as a twenty year old. Besides, what seventy year old could pull
off the long wavy silver hair and bohemian style clothes? She never left home
without bangles lined up and down her arm, long head scarves, and a cup of
sweet tea in her hand.

Hazel was known for three things in this community. One, they were the
wealthiest family, but you’d never know it. Two, she made the best tea this
side of the Mississippi, and three, she was a match-maker whether you liked it
or not.

“Well, it sure isn’t any of my business, but I sorta know things.”
Hazel looked at Clarice, who was nodding her head agreeing with Hazel. “And I
think you might have a male suitor.”

“Male? Who?” Liz didn’t understand.

Jenna had told her many times that Hazel had great intuition and it
never failed her. One of those times was right before Jenna’s husband was
killed by the drunk driver. Hazel had told them two days before that she wanted
them to stay home all weekend. She said that she had a bad feeling about
something but couldn’t pinpoint it. Jenna had rented all their favorite movies,
ordered delivery food, but they didn’t have enough coffee to last, and so Dan
went to Benton’s IGA. That’s when the drunk driver hit him.

“A certain Cole Michaels.”

“What?” Liz’s wide-eyed expression was merely a smoke screen. She
laughed nervously.

“You heard me.” Hazel’s eyes were sharp and assessing.

Liz couldn’t look at her. If Hazel was as good as Jenna claimed, Hazel
would be able to read her like a book, a New York bestseller at that. Her smile
told the story.

“Oh, you mean the dog trainer?” Liz thumbed through the yarn samples to
go on the Mayor’s new sofa.

She needed something masculine, dark.

“Yep, that’s the one. I saw him in The Thirsty Turtle boasting about a
new client.” Hazel looked into her eyes, causing her to look away.

“Boasting?” Liz was confused. Was she wrong about him? Was he one of
those men who try to get the “new” gal in bed?

“You are his first client since he’s been home.”

“Where has he been?” This was Liz’s chance to find out something about
him.

“Now I don’t go around spreading gossip.” Hazel wagged her finger in
the air. Her bangles jingled more than the bells on the door. “But I know he’s
a great catch.”

“Oh no, Hazel Greenlee.” Liz shook her head. “You aren’t going to be
playing match-maker with me.”

Hazel was known as the town’s match-maker. After all, she had
introduced Jenna and Dan on the first day of school, and Mayor Mitch and Maggie
on the day Mitch’s family moved into Grandberry Falls when he was five. Only
Maggie and Mitch were the only couple that she has tried to set up that hadn’t
worked out—yet. And from what Liz gathered from Jenna, Maggie was hot and heavy
with some financial bigwig in New York City, and Hazel was none too happy about
it.

“Clarice, I’ll take this fabric for the Mayor’s sofa pillows.” Liz
picked up her purse. “I will see you ladies later.”

She waved to them over her shoulder before walking out the door.

Roaring laughter could be heard on the sidewalk before she even got
near The Thirsty Turtle. From the windows, she could tell it was packed.

She’d had a long day and didn’t feel like fighting the crowd for a
single drink.
Maybe another time
, she thought, and none too soon. The
snow was starting to fall faster and the cold wind howled. She’d much rather be
in the comfort of her own home, curled up with her quilt in front of her wood
burning stove, with Tramp by her side.

FIVE

“Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what makes
the ride worthwhile.”

~Franklin P. Jones

Liz patted the empty space next to her when she woke up. She sighed
heavily as the empty cold space reminded her that her dream of being in Cole’s
arms was just that, a dream. It’d been a long time since she’d wished there was
a man there. Her body tightened at the thought of Cole lying next to her. She
woke up several times throughout the night with images of his biceps around
her.

“Ridiculous,” she muttered, and then stumbled into the bathroom.

Tramp lifted his head, looked at her, and laid it back down.

“You think I’m ridiculous too, don’t you?” She flicked the bathroom
light on.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she glared at her image.

“Yes, you are ridiculous; thinking a man like Cole is going to be
interested in a single mother.”

She shook her head and shuffled down the hall with Tramp following
closely behind, ready for their morning ritual.

Mmm
. Coffee smells so good in the morning. Especially on cold
mornings like this one.

She glanced out at the snow. At least it had stopped snowing.

“Well Tramp, Hayes gets home today.” She always talked to Tramp as if
he was a human.

She poured a cup of coffee and walked over to let Tramp out the back
door.

The freshly fallen snow looked so pretty and undisturbed. But not for
long. Tramp turned the snow upside down as if ten children had been playing in
it.

It made her cold watching him run around like he didn’t have a care in
the world. She walked back in the house and into the family room. The hearth
was still hot and toasty.

She sat her coffee on the table next to the couch and put a few more
pieces of wood in the stove.

With a flick of the light switch, the Christmas tree lights lit up the
room. All the colors sparkled as though they too were waiting for Hayes to get
home—too.

The phone rang. She was sure it was Paul.

“Hello.” She answered, and picked up her mug to take a sip.

If she was going to fight with Paul this early in the morning, she
needed to be armed with caffeine. Plus, this was the first time he was bringing
Hayes all the way to Grandberry Falls. He was going to take a quick trip south
before the holidays and it was on his way. She wasn’t going to complain. With the
price of gas, she’d let him drive the extra miles.

And it would be just like him to prolong Hayes’ visit with him.

“How was dog class?” Jenna belted out on
the other end.

“Tramp was a genius.” Liz had never
thought she’d be a proud parent of a dog.

“That’s what all moms say about their
babies.” Jenna laughed.

“Really? Cole had this agility course and
Tramp knew exactly what to do.”

“Cole?” She asked.

“Yeah.” Liz had momentarily forgotten how
cold Jenna had become when they were at The Trembling Cup. “The guy from the
Trembling Cup. He’s the teacher.”

“Cole, huh?” There was anxiety in Jenna’s
voice. “One thing you need to learn is that this is a small town. Everybody
knows everybody. And everybody isn’t always what they seem.”

This was not the Jenna that Liz has grown
to love. She had never beat around the bush about her feelings about others. So
why was she doing it with Cole? What was she hiding? And why hadn’t anyone ever
mentioned his name before?

“Hayes comes home today. I’m going to work
on the fundraiser and make his favorite dinner. What are you doing today?” She
loved her friend and didn’t want there to be any tension between them, so
changing the subject to Hayes was a good way to keep Cole out of the
conversation.

No man was worth that.

“We are making cookies over here. I’ll be
sure to bring you some.”

With a little small talk and a few details
about the fundraiser, Liz got off the phone. She wanted to finish her morning
coffee and get her to-do list done before Hayes got home.

Sunday had become a special day, sort of a
tradition.

They ate pizza in bed while watching a
movie. Lately, he’d wanted to put the featherbed in front of the wood-burning
stove and snuggle in front of the TV while they ate.

Throughout the day, between getting the
week’s cleaning taken care of completing her work on the fundraiser, and
tending to Tramp’s needs, her mind would wander back to Cole. Her heart danced
with excitement thinking about the time they had spent alone together. There
was no way she was wrong. There was no denying the attraction between them.

When she heard a car door slam, she looked
out the window. Hayes was running through the snow, bolting to the door.

“Mom, I saw Aunt Kristen at the Bengal’s
game.” Hayes came bursting into the house and slammed the door. “Mike’s
birthday is next week.”