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Darcy tried to appreciate the beautiful November weather as she stood with her back against the brown brick of the hardware store. She blinked in the sunshine as the sounds of the high school marching band echoed down the block. The parade was on its way.
People set up chairs on the sidewalk between the street and the store, and children milled around with excitement. Some of their faces were painted like scarecrows and some had pumpkins on their cheeks.
The crowd cheered as a firetruck cruised past with lights spinning to open the event. Some of the firemen were dressed like scarecrows, too. One of the firefighters wore a vintage fire coat and held a stuffed dalmatian dog.
Darcy chuckled. She watched float after float roll by and picked up a piece of candy thrown to the sidewalk that the children missed. It was taffy, her favorite, and she unrolled it and stuck it into her mouth.
The band marched by with their brass instruments reflecting in the sun. The color guard waved their flags, and Darcy smiled as she thought back to the football games and other moments in high school she'd enjoyed. It hadn't been all bad. She'd just been super sensitive. "An old soul," some people called her.
Some old souls took things too hard. It took a while for her to grow a tougher skin. Art had helped that—the rejections and the critiques. They'd made her a better artist, and she was a stronger person now, too.
Darcy realized she'd made no effort to reconnect with the kids from high school that she'd considered friends since she moved back. She hadn't gone with Raelynn to her parties and study groups. Maybe it was time to make a little more effort.
Like Wade Spears. He'd practically met everyone in town, and he'd only been around a month or so. Thinking of him made her sad so she tried to focus on the next float. It was hers.
A man in a camp chair a few feet away turned around and grinned at her. It was Mr. Wagner from church. She hadn't noticed. "You did a great job," he shouted over the fanfare.
Darcy beamed. She walked up to stand closer to his family and to see the float. It looked wonderful. She'd put hours into the planning, and the little pilgrims and the bountiful arch over their heads looked classy and festive. The pumpkins and gourds looked fresh, too, and her calligraphy letters stood out in 3-D against the side of the float just like she hoped they would.
Mr. Wagner tugged on her arm, and she leaned down. "They say you're one of the best art teachers they've had in years, and they're right. That's beautiful!"
"Thank you." Darcy's throat knotted up, and she thought she would cry. It was very kind of him to say it, but he was just telling her what'd he'd heard from others.
The students on the float saw her and waved with excitement, and she waved back. They looked thrilled to see their teacher and even shouted her name from the float. Coach waved to her from the driver's window as he passed by.
The group of teachers and office staff walking behind the float were dressed up in pioneer outfits. The principal, Mr. Peterson, waved when he saw her and then dropped his mouth in pretend surprise. He pointed at the back of the float.
Darcy waited until it passed, hoping they hadn't lost a letter or a corn cob. Everything looked fine, except there was a new bow and a tag on the back corner. She leaned forward, rocking on her toes.
Mr. Wagner pointed. "Look at that!" He stood up and snapped a picture with his phone. "Second place," he said, giving Darcy a gentle nudge in the ribs with his elbow.
She grinned and squinted. He was right. The plaque read, "Second Place Float." Her cheeks flushed with pleasure. Take that, Mrs. Darlington!
She watched the teachers file by. A few of them noticed her and waved—even Mrs. Gavel. The last teacher in the crowd was stomping more than marching. She looked hot, tired, and annoyed like she'd stepped in gum.
Darcy couldn't force a smile, but she raised her hand in a small wave at Mrs. Darlington. The old grouch narrowed her eyes and looked away.
"Looks like someone didn't know the parade route was a whole mile long," Raelynn snickered into her ear. She'd hurried out of the store to join her just in time.
Darcy grinned. "Either that," she replied, "or she wanted the school to win first place."
Raelynn looped her arm through Darcy's and whooped at the next parade entry of clowns on bikes. She suddenly stiffened. "Oh my word," she whispered in a low tone, "tell me that's not Bob on the tricycle wearing makeup."
Darcy burst into giggles and waved. "Look, Mom. Your date's already dressed up for the ball."
***
"SO WHAT DO THEY DO for Thanksgiving out West?"
"The same thing they do in Tennessee."
"I hope the trip was worth it."
"I stayed a couple days down in Santa Fe, so yes," said Wade as he turned the volume up on his earpiece to hear his brother on the phone.
"We're missing you here."
"I know." Wade let out a small breath as the long highway stretched ahead. "Tell Mom I'm sorry again, okay? I left her a message, but she never called back."
"She's not upset," promised Grant. "She's totally behind you, just busy making pies. I'm sorry you're going to miss it."
"So am I," said Wade, "but I'll be home soon. Christmas is just around the corner, and this is something I need to do." He glanced at the empty passenger seat beside him. There was no itinerary now, only gaps between the mile markers on a cross-country trip. "I re-examined Santa Fe and saw my old college roommate. We met for dinner."
"You haven't had enough fast food and truck stops?"
Wade grinned. The afternoon sun slanted across the sky making the orange, red, and yellow treetops in the distance look like they were under stage lights. "I wanted to wrap up a few loose ends. The book is finished, and I have to get it back to the editors. We'll see what happens next."
"It'll do great," Grant promised. "I'm glad you've been able to make a decision. We're bummed you don't want to take the professor job, but if writing is what you want to do, you have my support. I have a shed in the backyard we can turn into an author cave if you can't make rent."
Wade chuckled. "Thanks."
"Maybe you can set up a book tour next year and take the same route again," Grant added.
Wade nodded although his brother couldn't see him. "That's not a bad idea. I think I'm done logging miles though. Maybe I could just fly out and hit a few spots."
"When can we expect you then? I need help stringing Christmas lights on the roof."
Wade thought about his dad's old steel ladder and his own height anxieties. "You can expect me home after you do that," he joked. He glanced at the highway sign he'd been searching for and hit the brakes to exit the freeway. "Tell everyone Happy Thanksgiving for me."
"I'll do that," promised Grant over the car speakers. "I'm sorry you're not going to have turkey and pie."
Wade hung a left and sped over the freeway past a familiar red barn glowing blood-orange in the late afternoon sun. "Don't worry about me."
***
DARCY PLOPPED INTO her chair at the long dinner table and let out a whoosh of breath. The turkey looked amazing. The gravy tasted perfect. The vegetables steamed. Raelynn ordered one of the cousins to keep his hands out of the bread basket, and everyone laughed.
At the head of the table, Uncle Chuck clapped his hands together, and they all quieted down. "Thank you, honey," he told his wife, "and Raelynn, too," he said then he nodded at Darcy. "We appreciate all of the hours all of you put into this meal."
"Days," Raelynn called, and everyone laughed again. She elbowed Darcy. "We made all but one of the desserts, and Darcy peeled twenty pounds of potatoes."
Everyone gave Darcy a round of applause. She diverted the attention back to her uncle. "Thank you for frying the turkey."
He beamed.
"It wasn't like he had a choice," Raelynn chimed in. "Turkey fryers are seventy-five percent off all this week." Everyone chuckled.
"It looks pretty good to me," said Aunt Sarah.
"I agree." Darcy gave Uncle Chuck a thumbs-up.
They all settled down for a special prayer, but before he began, Uncle Chuck slapped his hands together over his belly. "Oh, I forgot." Darcy realized Raelynn was eyeballing him. He gave her the floor.
"We received a special letter in the mail yesterday," Raelynn said. She looked around the table then stopped to stare at Darcy. From beneath her seat, she pulled out a large white envelope.
Darcy wrinkled her forehead. It looked like a packet from a university, but she hadn't applied anywhere.
"Open it," said Raelynn. She looked impish for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry. You were asleep, and it came certified mail, so I had to peek."
Darcy raised a brow at her. She'd moped around all week and even burned a few pies. Thanksgiving was a distraction, but it didn't help the hurt and disappointment in her heart. Somewhere in her daydreams and an overactive imagination, she'd pictured Wade sitting beside her at the Thanksgiving table.
"Well, go ahead, open it!" cried Uncle Chuck.
Darcy lifted the flap from the envelope and pulled out a few papers folded neatly together. Her heart began to thump when she saw stationary from the Kansas State Art and Photography Society.
"Read it!" ordered Raelynn, and everyone laughed.
"Dear Miss Malone," began Darcy in a shaky voice. "Congratulations. You're the winner of the annual Kansas Life and Memories Art Contest."
Her throat gnarled up, and her eyes filled with tears. Blinking them away, she continued. "Your painting, Blessings on a Sunday Morning, is an exceptional piece of art and a perfect representation of Kansas life and its communities.
Her hands began to tremble. Raelynn pointed at the next line. In a choked voice, Darcy finished, "We would like to present your check for the artistic grant award at our annual Kansas Life and Memories dinner and awards presentation. In addition, we invite you to display your painting at the state capitol next year."
All of the family broke into wild claps and cheers as tears streamed down Darcy's cheeks. She won. She couldn't believe it. She'd entered this competition every year since her sophomore year of high school. She'd finally done it. She had grant money and could pursue her dreams of being a painter while teaching school.
Raelynn reached over and gave her a hard squeeze. "I'm proud of you, honey. Your dad would be too, you know—wherever he is." She rolled her eyes and grinned. Darcy gave a sharp nod. It was almost perfect.
They turned back to the turkey, and Uncle Chuck stood up and cried, "Can I pray now, Raelynn? I'm starving!"
***
WADE DROVE THROUGH downtown Blessings appreciating the stillness. The shops looked closed but the streetlights were lit, and the quaint little turkey banners ruffled in small waves from a brisk breeze. It seemed like time had stood still since he'd left. It'd only been a week. He'd finished the edits, declined the job in Missouri, and knew that he did not want to spend Thanksgiving alone or in Tennessee. Then like a heavenly blessing, his cell phone had rung.
His heart bounced around like a pinball in his chest as he left town and rolled down a country highway. Within minutes, the old train tracks he'd heard about popped up on the horizon, and he slowed down to let the car bounce over them. He rolled another half of a mile through the thick-treed countryside before the landscape opened up. Ahead, a faded square billboard with a giant black arrow announced he'd reached Falling Waters Homes and Park. He slowed and turned into the little trailer and RV subdivision.
He never planned to drive back home through Kansas, but it felt right. He'd assumed he was closing a chapter when he pulled out of Blessings, but the book had never snapped shut. Wade's feelings were still just as open and fiery as they'd been all over the pages of the last few weeks of his life.
He knew he'd been blessed with many opportunities and adventures. His family was amazing, and he had good friends and acquaintances, but nothing and nowhere he'd traveled or read about had ever made him feel so alive and present. History was wonderful, but he didn't want to live in it. He finally felt like he knew what he wanted and where he needed to be, and to be honest, with whom he needed to be with.
Whether or not that happened, it was all up to Darcy. It was time for her to use her brushstrokes to start new and quit looking back. Would she make room for him on the canvas of her life?
The driveway turned into gravel as rows of multi-colored mobile homes lined up on either side of him. Most of them had chain link fences. Dogs barked and children played in winter jackets out in the yard. He imagined if he opened the car window he'd hear football games coming from big-screen televisions.
He smiled. It wasn't that bad. Some of the homes were kept up better than others. There were lots of colorful fall flowers, bicycles, and backyard grills. Counting the address numbers, he slowed and pulled into a faded white double-wide trailer with a maroon tin roof. Small black shutters framed the windows. The fence around it was rusted but standing, and an old wooden porch looked clean and whitewashed. New clay pots held colorful flowers nodding against two uncarved pumpkins.
Wade climbed out and slammed the door. The trailer seemed still. He wondered what Darcy's reaction would be when he showed up at her house, and he swallowed. For the first time in his life, he didn't have a plan or an itinerary. This was all from the heart, and there was nothing left to do but leave it all on the table. She'd thought he'd wanted to leave, but she'd been wrong.
With a nervous swallow, he walked through the gate and climbed the stairs. Taking a deep breath, he pulled open a screen door and rapped on the trailer's front door.
Silence. He waited several seconds and knocked again. No one was home.
***
THE TELEVISION BLARED, the little cousins argued over a board game, and everyone else clinked their forks against their plates as they ate their choice of pie. The Wagners had promised to come over for dessert, but after waiting a while, the family started without them.
Darcy stared at her pumpkin pie. She'd forced herself to choose something traditional to help her feel a bit more festive, but her mind swirled with confusion over the unbelievable contest news and her aching heart.
How could she be happy about winning a contest when she wasn't sure if she'd have a job after Christmas? How could she enjoy her family when they all had each other, but she felt alone?
Worst of all, how could she enjoy pie when she wasn't sharing it with Wade Spears? She swallowed a lump of dry pie crust and tried to feel happy. She'd never eat at the diner again.
The doorbell chimed over the noise around her, and she waited for Uncle Chuck to shout for one of his kids to answer it. She pushed the last bite of pumpkin filling around on her plate. A distant knock on the door sounded, and she wondered if it was one of Chuck's hunting buddies. They'd invited all of their friends over for pie, too.
The tornado of activity swirled around her, and Darcy sighed. She pushed the plate away, full but unsatisfied. No one bothered with the door. With a huff, she stumbled out of the chair and plodded down the hall just as a tentative knock sounded again. She tugged open the door and looked.
"Any pie left?"
Her eyes expected Mr. Wagner, but it was a jaw-dropping, gorgeous man holding a bouquet of sunflowers.
Wade Spears stood on the welcome mat clean-shaven, dressed in perfectly pressed khakis, and smelling like a million bucks in his fresh sandalwood aftershave. His soft eyes watched her intently.
Darcy felt her knees melt. "Wade!"
She threw her arms around his neck and laughed to cover her surprise at her impulsiveness. To her horror, the waterworks started, and she brushed a tear away and stepped back. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just surprised to see you."
He held out the flowers never tearing his gaze away from her face. "Your mom invited me," he said with some hesitation.
Darcy froze. She felt her cheeks warm. Her mother had certainly left that little detail out during their talks the past few days.
"I went by your house but must have missed you both, but I had this address, too." Wade took a deep breath. "Look, I didn't feel like we got to say goodbye."
"You saw my house?"
"Yes. So? You have a nice porch by the way."
Darcy pressed her lips together and glanced over her shoulder back at her family. She reached for the handle and quietly closed the door as she stepped outside. Staring at Wade a few seconds, she made a soft clearing noise in her throat.
"I didn't mean to run you off. I mean," she shook her head to clear the muddle, "I knew you had to leave, I didn't want you to think I was trying to change your mind."
He held out the flowers, and she saw that they were perfectly arranged. "Why not?" he asked matter-of-factly. She looked up from examining the bouquet.
He studied her face. "Why?" he repeated in a whisper. "I can be pretty obsessive when it comes to following through with my decisions. I would've loved for you to have changed my mind."
"Really?" A tingling surge of happiness mingled with relief washed over Darcy's shoulders and lifted her heavy heart. Wade swallowed, and she watched his Adam's Apple bob nervously.
"Yes," he said, his voice almost hoarse. His eyes were slightly red around the baby blues.
"You look exhausted," she whispered.
He bit his lip. "I had a lot of thinking to do like I told you. Something you said came back to me a couple of days ago. Do you remember? You said history can't be changed, but we can."
Darcy furrowed her brow. "Yes. I've learned that." She looked around the yard polka-dotted with leaves tinted shades of autumn. The smell of a wood-burning fireplace drifted through the air. "Just because we have a history doesn't mean we have to live there. I'm not the person I was at seventeen. I've grown and changed. The float won second place in the parade and a few business owners have asked me about doing some freelance pieces to display around town."
"That's great." A tentative smile erupted over Wade's face. It lit up his eyes.
"I'm not sure if I'm going to get to keep the teaching job after Christmas, though. It looks good, but they still haven't let me know."
His smile melted away. "I'm sorry." He leaned in and hugged her, and when his arms went around her waist, Darcy's eyes fluttered shut. This felt like home. "How long can you stay?" she whispered.
His lips were warm against her neck and a jolt of pleasure zipped down her back to her trembling toes. He kissed her cheek and then pulled back until they touched noses.
"Forever."
"What?"
He smiled wide this time. "I could stay forever, and I'd like to be with you if you'll have me."
Darcy's heart took flight and met the crisp blue sky overhead.
"I turned down the job in Missouri." He gave a forced, nervous chuckle. "I'm going to rent a small studio here, and I'm going to write full time."
Darcy's jaw dropped, and her eyes watered with tears. "Wade, that's wonderful! And crazy and so—"
"Impulsive," he grinned, "I know. I've thought it through though and despite it's a completely different course than I set out on when I was like, twelve," he laughed, "I know this is what I'm supposed to do." He gave her a gentle squeeze with his warm arms and gazed into her eyes. "This is where I'm supposed to be."
Darcy felt like her heart would burst with happiness. She pressed her cheek to his warm, strong jaw. "That is the biggest blessing I've had all year!"
He chuckled, and she pulled away. "I'm serious, Professor. Maybe I should be looking for a studio myself."
His eyes crinkled around the corners. "You are an artist, Van Gogh."
She smiled and nodded. "And I won the contest and a grant."
"That's perfect! Do you even need the teaching job?"
Darcy hesitated. "I guess I've been afraid to let it go."
"You'll have the grant waiting in case you don't get to keep the job at the school."
She smiled at the feeling of complete joy surging over her. "You're right. Whatever happens, I have options." She grinned. "I'm an open canvas."
Wade gazed at her with soft tenderness. "A few good brushstrokes now, and you'll be on your way."
Darcy's eyes welled over, and a tear streamed down her cheek.
Wade leaned into her and kissed it away. Then as her eyes fluttered shut, he pulled her into his arms until his soft, determined lips touched hers and kissed her better than anyone had ever kissed a girl in history.
––––––––