12

LEAH WAS SICK and tired and aggravated and couldn’t stand it any longer. She truly hated to ask Lulu to help her out with it, considering she’d already asked so much of the generous woman. But by closing time a week after Thanksgiving, she saw no other choice.

“Lulu, I can’t take this another second or I think I may have to scream.” Leah raised her casted arm.

Lulu laughed. “I’ll see what I can do about that.” She went back to reheating a large bowl of her famous tomato herb soup and grilling two cheese sandwiches.

“Who is that for? It’s closing time.” Leah paused before heading up the stairs.

“Crowley. He had a long day. He should be here soon.”

Before Leah could ask why, a tall man dressed in an expensive dark-blue suit sauntered through the door and relocked it behind him. She was taken aback to realize it was none other than Crowley Mason.

“Someone die?” Leah asked Lulu.

Crowley said, “No, but I’m sure the defense lawyer is going to wish he had, by the time his client gets done cussing him out.”

“I take it the judge ruled in your favor,” Lulu said.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Well, congratulations, young man,” Lulu said as she served him his late lunch.

“Thank you. I’m starving.” Crowley loosened his designer tie and quickly tucked into his meal. Leah just stood there, shocked that he actually had shoes on that covered his toes. His unruly locks had been styled with gel.

She had noticed his unusual greenish-blue eyes before, but they seemed especially striking without his trademark ball cap pulled low over them. She had to admit that he had a certain rugged handsomeness. His sandy-blond hair was several shades lighter at the tips, due, she supposed, to sun exposure at the beach. His square jaw, usually accented with a touch of beard stubble, was clean-shaven. She stared for a moment and then made her way upstairs, thinking her cast could wait. She had felt slightly intimidated by Crowley from the get-go, but now she felt completely overwhelmed by him.

Leah headed straight for her after-work shower. Forty minutes later, she was freshly dressed in a favorite pair of yoga pants and a wide-sleeved black tunic. She was about to cozy up on the sofa to read when she heard a knock. She opened the door to find Crowley leaning on the doorframe. He was holding a mini Dremel rotary tool and a pair of scissors.

“Someone order a cast removal?” he asked as he waved the tools in front of her.

Leah held her hand out to take the tools. “Thank you.”

He ignored her and walked on into the apartment. He pointed to one of the chairs at the dining room table and told her to have a seat. Crowley set the tools on the table before removing his suit coat and neatly placing it across the rocking chair. He removed his tie and tucked it into one of the coat pockets.

Leah noticed the Hugo Boss label and tried not to be impressed. “You’re a little overdressed for a cast removal.”

“I can manage a cast removal just fine in a suit.” Crowley rolled his shirtsleeves up.

“You and Lulu are a lot alike.”

“From spending too much time together.” He pulled his seat closer to her left arm and sat down. He tried to lay her arm on the table so that he could get a good look at the cast, but she was hesitant at letting him.

“It’s okay. I’m an expert. I once removed my own cast the very same way,” Crowley reassured her with a slight smile that reached nowhere near his vivid eyes.

“How’d you break your arm?” She reluctantly placed her casted arm on the table.

“Skateboarding accident. I was trying to be like Tony Hawk and pull off this epic stunt,” he said. “Lesson learned.” He nodded meaningfully as he turned on the battery-operated tool, which whined like a dental drill.

“What lesson was that?” Leah cautiously eyed the little saw closing in on her arm.

“I’m not Tony Hawk.”

“So you broke yours when you were a teenager?” she asked, a little worried that it had been a long time since he performed his cast removal. The saw blade looked dangerously sharp. She was no wimp but had no desire for unnecessary pain. She felt she had already endured enough of that mess to last a lifetime.

“Nope. Just last year,” he said. “And no, I’m not too old to skateboard.” Crowley flashed a mouth full of perfectly white, straight teeth, causing Leah to hold her breath without realizing it. “How’d you break your arm?” he asked with a look that revealed he knew he wouldn’t receive a proper answer.

Leah answered him as honestly as she could afford. “Stupid accident.”

“How ’bout we get rid of this stupid reminder then.” Crowley pushed the little saw blade into the cast. Once the saw passed over the length of the cast, he used the scissors to snip through the protective gauze wrapping between the hard outer shell and Leah’s arm.

With the cast removed, Leah sighed and satisfyingly scratched over her itchy arm. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Before Leah could pull her arm off the table, Crowley caught a glimpse of the burn scar on the palm of her hand that had been hidden under the cast. It covered a good portion of her palm. He gathered her hand, palm side up, into his hand to inspect it. Running his index finger along it, he asked, “What on earth caused that?”

Leah tugged her hand free from Crowley’s hold. “Another accident. Happened over four years ago. It’s all healed up now, but I just can’t get rid of its reminder.” Unable to meet his intense gaze, she tried to laugh, but it fell miserably flat.

After a long moment passed in silence, Crowley shook his head and stood.

“Thank you again, Crowley. I know you’ve been working all day and have to be tired, so it was kind of you to do this for me.”

“No big deal.” He picked up the cast and threw it away in the kitchen trash.

“How long have you been a lawyer?”

He paused by the table to gather up his tools. “I was born a lawyer, but I’ve been licensed for ten years. I battled my way through being a criminal prosecutor for nearly six years before I hit a complete burnout. Being surrounded by scumbags day in and day out is for the birds. I just handle your run-of-the-mill law stuff now like divorces, wills, and estate settlements. Sometimes my lawyer buddies upstate talk me into taking second chair on a big case they are tackling.” He scooped up his jacket and draped it neatly across his arm.

“Is that what you did today?” Leah asked. The guy had totally surprised her. A skateboarding lawyer . . .

He opened his mouth to answer but stopped. “What’s this, twenty questions? Is my turn next?”

She shut up quickly. “Thank you again,” she said.

Crowley took this as his dismissal and headed out the door. “No problem.” He waved without turning back and was gone.

The following week, it hit without warning in a pretty remarkable way. The full-blown Christmas season had entwined its way into every nook and cranny of Rivertown. The entire town was full of tradition and festivity. The paper devoted an entire section to reporting all the coming events. There would be a cookie swap at the bookstore with free coffee served to the participants, a live Nativity scene would be on display each Thursday and Friday night at the First Baptist Church, and the annual floating Christmas parade on the river would be the night of the Christmas Jubilee. The festivities list was endless.

The town was all abuzz about the traditional Christmas decorating contest. Leah discovered that Lulu took the contest very seriously. Lulu even hired a few part-time holiday helpers. She had Leah and the helpers drape twinkly white lights from every surface, inside and out. The dining tables were covered in beautiful patchwork tablecloths, made up with various deep reds, olive greens, creams, and golden tones. The café staff wore matching aprons with rows of color-coordinating ruffles at the bottom and Merry Christmas, Y’all embroidered across the front. Elegant salt and pepper shakers, shaped like Christmas trees, sat on top of each table. Lulu also ordered Crowley to shuffle the tables around a bit to make room for an enormous tree to be placed up front. It took several days to cover with lights and ornaments and ribbons. Old-fashioned Christmas carols spilled from the café’s speakers from the day after Thanksgiving until New Year’s Eve.

Leah was astonished at the town’s transition. Lulu went the traditional route with her decor, and Ana went completely in the other direction. Her main color scheme was hot pink and lime green with accents of zebra print and silver. She had incorporated brightly colored feathers and beads in the same color scheme in her artificial white tree and wreaths. Leah loved it and had secretly cast her vote for Ana. A large voting booth had been set up by the bank, where security cameras could keep an eye on it. Yep, the town took their decorating contest very seriously.

The bookstore was another one of Leah’s favorites. Nick, the owner, decorated several three-foot trees in various book themes. Leah’s favorite was the apple tree, with lots of different herbs tucked along the branches, created to honor Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. Leah had fallen in love with her magical stories. There were many more book-themed trees on display, and people enjoyed grabbing a cup of coffee and walking around, admiring the trees like they were pieces of artwork, which Leah considered them to be.

The drugstore, bank, church, and library went with the simple tradition of green garlands and white lights.Not a storefront —or home, for that matter —went bare.

Crowley jumped on board too. Multicolored icicle lights hung from the roof and porch of the brick town house. Green garland, with more multicolored lights, neatly draped from the porch banisters and around the doorframe. In the small yard off to the side, he had placed three Christmas trees in a staggered triangle —one twelve-footer, an eight-footer, and a four-footer. He had the local teens decorate them in different themes. The girls covered the eight-foot-tall tree in all glitter and gold. Crowley commented that it could be used as the disco ball at the holiday dance, causing the girls to giggle. The boys tackled the smallest tree quite literally with sports-themed decorations Crowley had personally ordered at their request. They also wanted blue twinkle lights on their tree. The grandest tree was a group effort covered with multicolored lights and all types of toys. Leah and Lulu watched in amusement as the kids, resembling a bunch of elves, surrounded the giant tree with stepladders of various heights. Each tree had a sign posted in front identifying it, to the kids’ delight. The girls’ tree was “The Disco Tree,” the boys’ tree was named “The Sports Fan Tree,” and the group tree was called “Santa’s Workshop Tree.” The project took an entire Saturday to complete. After the youth revealed their creations at sunset, Lulu and Leah treated them to homemade popcorn balls and warm mulled apple cider.

Leah tried to isolate herself from all of the holiday cheer to no avail. Lulu would have none of that and dragged her out into the midst of it all. Leah gladly stayed after closing to help prepare the treats for the youth but insisted on not helping deliver. Of course, she ended up doing as Lulu said and stood in Crowley’s yard for several hours getting to know some pretty great kids. One of the kids cranked up some music at one point, and everyone broke out in dance around the trees. Once that began, Leah snuck back to her apartment.

Her heart weighed heavily throughout that holiday season. Although the town merrily twinkled, the only things twinkling in Leah’s apartment were the endless tears shed each night. Leah was haunted by the never-ending, tormenting thoughts of how different this time could have been.

Her belly should have been protruding impressively out with the ripening of her healthy baby, but instead it was sadly deflated. She should have been tucking presents under her tree for her soon-to-be-born daughter. She would have had the nursery ready by now, stocked full of diapers, wipes, and frilly outfits . . . if only she had lived in a different world than the one she had unbearably gotten stuck in. She should have been gazing at a Christmas tree as she rocked, happily placing her hand on her belly to feel her baby bumping and kicking. Instead, Leah was wrapped in a tight ball of withering despair, in a dark, lonely bed with her head on a damp pillow.

On Christmas Eve, the town’s youth, children and teens alike, participated in the traditional Christmas Carol Hayride. Piled into the back of a long trailer filled with hay bales, the youth were pulled by a decorated antique red Farmall tractor, driven by none other than Crowley Mason.

Lulu had roped a very unwilling Leah into participating in the event. Lulu always provided refreshments, which included every cookie you could imagine and rich hot chocolate, in the riverside park for the carolers. Both women had spent the better part of the day baking cookies and prepping large silver urns full of Lulu’s secret recipe for hot chocolate, which she gladly shared with Leah. Lulu also did her best to make the cookie recipes as healthy as possible, but she admitted to Leah that there was just so much you could do.

“It’s the holidays, so some splurging won’t hurt,” Lulu said as she arranged the treats on beautiful silver platters.

They loaded two large urns on top of a rolling cart and placed the platters underneath. Then they pushed it over to the park, having to make two trips for all of the cookies and urns, to where they had earlier draped foldout tables with patchwork tablecloths.

The two ladies tied on their decorative aprons and manned their stations. Leah gladly volunteered to serve the hot chocolate. She was sick of looking at cookies. Leah had splurged a bit too much when Lulu wasn’t looking and had earned herself a minor bellyache. Lulu handed her a small basket of Christmas-themed ceramic coffee mugs to place on the hot chocolate table.

“We may need more mugs than this, don’t you think?” Leah looked down at the mere half-dozen mugs.

“Oh . . . no, dear. Everyone knows to bring their own. These are just in case someone forgets theirs.”

Leah heard the tractor and carolers singing in the distance for a good five minutes before spotting them. As the tractor pulling the group rounded the corner, Leah caught herself before laughing out loud at the sight of Crowley. Perched atop the tractor, he was wearing a frumpy knit beanie cap and a matching bulky scarf that was knit in a variety of Christmas colors. Boy, someone sure is in the holiday spirit. Seeing that he had replaced his flip-flops for a pair of well-worn work boots, she thought he would make a fitting model for country boy Christmas attire.

The youth eagerly filed out the back of the trailer and headed to the cookie table. They stood in front of the two ladies and serenaded them with “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” As they sang sweetly, Leah noticed people coming out from everywhere, coffee mugs in hand. So much for a short and sweet event. She plastered a friendly smile on her face and filled mugs for the next hour.

Crowley made his way up to the hot chocolate as Leah set out the third urn.

“Merry Christmas, Leah,” he said as he handed over an enormous travel mug.

“Merry Christmas to you too. You wouldn’t happen to like hot chocolate, would you?” She grinned as she held up his mug.

“It’s one of the very few times of the year that Lulu lets this town enjoy sugar, so I like to take full advantage of that,” Crowley said. He took several sips from his mug and then had Leah top it off. He leaned over the table and whispered, “I even sneak into the café after I return the tractor every Christmas Eve and swipe the leftover cookies. So if you hear someone later on tonight downstairs, it ain’t Santa.”

As Leah handed him the mug for the second time, her eyes focused on the slouchy cap and scarf. “Nice getup you’re wearing tonight.”

A huge grin lit up Crowley’s face as he mockingly straightened his cap. “Yeah? I was hoping you’d like it.” A group of teenage boys called for Crowley to join them over at the cookies. He held up his mug to Leah and said, “Thank you” before sauntering off.

Leah couldn’t stop watching him walk away. His broad shoulders seemed so relaxed as he stood over the crowd.

“Hmm . . . Yum, yum. Looks like pure hotness walking,” Ana whispered at Leah’s side as she admired the view. Leah blushed at being caught and turned to offer Ana some hot chocolate.

“Dang, Ana. Talk about hotness.” Leah stepped back to take in Ana’s Christmas attire. Her shimmering white bodice, which pushed her best assets forward, peeked out from underneath a fitted red jacket that had a white fur collar and cuffs. Dark designer skinny jeans and black knee-length stiletto boots rounded out the outfit. Ana’s ensemble was completed with a silver sequined headband shimmering in her wavy brunette locks. Leah glanced down at her own black tunic that bulked out around the holiday apron and tugged at it self-consciously. She looked back at Ana and noted that even the girl’s makeup was flawless.

“You like it?” Ana asked as she did a little twirl.

Leah giggled. “You are so girlie.”

“I have a Christmas party to attend at my parents’ beach house,” she said.

“Now you’re making me even more jealous.”

“Sorry, honey, but I’m going to have to make you a little more jealous.” Ana laughed and pulled out a small bundle of mistletoe. “Really, I don’t mean to . . . Maybe you should just look away.” She laughed some more, with Leah joining in.

Leah watched as Ana sashayed over to the group that Crowley was towering over and playfully demanded kisses from all of the young boys. She accepted each kiss on her cheek and planted one on theirs in return. It didn’t slip Leah’s attention that Ana deliberately left Crowley for last. Leah was jealous of how confident and sure Ana always seemed to be about herself.

Leah watched as Crowley bent to place a kiss on Ana’s cheek, but she strategically turned her head at the right moment, and their lips locked. The crowd responded with whoops and hollers. Ana delivered a slow, dramatic kiss to Crowley. The males stared at Ana’s backside as she strutted away toward her car. Leah could hear the group hound Crowley about Ana, and his good-natured attempts to laugh it off.

The festivities were torturous. The people in Rivertown just seemed too darn happy for Leah’s taste. Ten abusive years with Brent had left her bitter and lonely, and all the cheer left her feeling like an outsider. Her loneliness intensified as she stood in the midst of the park that night. During the event, the thought that maybe it was time to move on nagged at her.

Leah was relieved when the kids started climbing back into the trailer. She insisted that Lulu should finish out the hayride with the carolers, while she cleaned up. Lulu hesitated, but Leah could tell the older lady really wanted to go.

“Go ahead, Lulu. Let me clean up as a Christmas gift to you,” Leah said.

“Only if you’re sure . . .” Lulu lit up like a Christmas tree as a teenage boy helped her climb into the back of the trailer, with the youth cheering. The singing started before the tractor was even cranked.

Crowley stood on top of the tractor and let out an earsplitting whistle to get the crowd’s attention. “Being that we have ourselves a special guest that most of you know has never had the opportunity of accompanying us on our hayride . . .” He paused and cut his eyes over to Leah, who was cleaning but listening. “Thanks to Miss Leah Allen . . .” He paused again as the crowd applauded. “I do believe we need to welcome Miss Lulu with a special song.” Crowley cleared his throat dramatically and began belting out “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.” After the roars of laughter ebbed, the crowd joined in with the silliest rendition of the song. Leah laughed so hard she had to hold her side.

Appearing quite satisfied with himself, Crowley hopped down into the seat, tipped his cap mockingly in Leah’s direction, and drove the carolers off into the night.

It took Leah a little over an hour to move everything back inside and wash out the empty urns. She placed the few leftover cookies in a plastic container and set them on the counter, with a note saying Merry Christmas, for Crowley to pick up later. After she locked the café, she headed upstairs, contemplating whether she was ready to pack up.

She opened her apartment door and suddenly stopped. In the living room corner stood a Christmas tree, fully decorated, that lit up the entire space and filled the room with an inviting scent of spicy forest. Presents were tucked underneath. She made her way over slowly and stood before the beautiful tree as tears spilled down her cheeks.

“My very own Christmas tree,” she whispered as she admired the tree. Hundreds of multicolored lights twinkled amid Christmas ornaments as the tree shimmered with a light layer of silver tinsel. It was perfect. Leah had never had a tree to call her own. The group homes where she was raised would have artificial trees put out on display. Usually some organization would donate a tree, adorned with large plaques announcing the name of the sponsor. Some of the foster homes she had briefly lived in wouldn’t even bother putting one up, claiming Christmas wasn’t part of their culture. Leah had been troubled that the child service system would even allow people to be foster parents if they didn’t celebrate the holiday that all children held so dear. Of course, Brent refused to have such tackiness, as he put it, cluttering up his personal space.

Leah wondered who had pulled off sneaking a tree and presents into her apartment without her knowing about it. She slowly knelt in front of the tree and studied the mystery gifts underneath. Each tag stated it was from Santa Claus. Curiosity finally won out, so she picked up the smallest one, wrapped in lime-green paper with a hot-pink bow on top, and carefully unwrapped it. To her delight, the gift was two beautiful fabric headbands, one black with white swirls and the other turquoise. “Thank you, Ana,” Leah whispered as she slid the black-and-white swirly one in her hair. She then pulled a rectangular package out and peeled the candy cane–striped wrapping away to reveal the first three books from the Stephanie Plum series. Leah smiled and whispered a thank-you to Nick from the bookstore. He was a jolly old man who resembled Santa a bit. The next gift was in a green gingham bag. She pulled it into her lap and peered inside. To her joy, it held her very own Lulu’s apron. She took off her Christmas apron and replaced it with the whimsical black-and-white floral-patterned apron, complete with a hot-pink cursive L embroidered on one of the pockets. Black, white, and hot-pink tulle ruffles adorned the bottom, resembling a tutu. Leah adored it. She did a girlie twirl so she could admire the apron fully.

The wrapping on the last present depicted swimming fish wearing Santa hats. The silly paper and the gift inside made it obvious who it was from. It was a floppy knit beanie hat and scarf that were identical to the ones worn by Crowley earlier. Laughing out loud, Leah placed the cap on her head and wrapped the scarf loosely around her neck.

She stood up and scooted the rocking chair over to the tree. She sat down to rock and to enjoy her gifts in the glow of the luminous Christmas tree lights. The gifts were the most special she had ever received, for they were from the heart.

After rocking for a while Leah became drowsy, but a noise downstairs followed by a “Ho, ho, ho” roused her enough for one more chuckle. She contemplated going downstairs to thank Crowley but figured he wouldn’t want to be bothered by her at that late hour. Instead, she grabbed several quilts and pillows and made a makeshift bed beside the Christmas tree. After placing all her gifts back under the tree, where she could continue to admire them, Leah snuggled into her blankets and allowed the twinkling lights to lure her into a peaceful sleep.

Leah had been invited to Lulu’s house for a Christmas brunch. She awoke early and prepared an apple cinnamon French toast casserole to contribute to the meal. While that was baking, she wrapped Lulu’s gift, a specialty cookbook full of healthy recipes. Nick had ordered it last week when Leah was unable to find one among his selections. She was excited to see Lulu’s reaction to it. Lulu always had Leah look up healthy recipes on the computer, and Leah couldn’t wait to do the same task with the cookbook. It was a thick volume, and she was sure they’d both be content for a while. As she thought about this, Leah discovered she had already grown some roots here without realizing it.

Leah dug around in her luggage and found a burgundy tunic top and a pair of dress pants. She thought the scarf and hat would go pretty well with her outfit. The pants were a little on the baggy side, but she didn’t mind.

After dressing, Leah headed out the café front door and veered to the right. She took a few deep breaths and was thankful that the pain in her side was finally gone.

“Nice getup you’re wearing there, young lady,” Crowley said as he walked up behind her.

“Yeah? I thought you might like it,” Leah said in her best Southern accent. She noticed he was wearing his silly beanie hat and scarf too.

“Merry Christmas, Leah.”

“Merry Christmas to you, Crowley. And thank you for my gift.”

“What gift?” He winked. “Let me carry that for you.” He pulled the covered casserole dish and gift out of her hand.

“Thank you, sir. That’s mighty gentlemanly of you.” Leah smiled.

The two neighbors walked on over to Lulu’s house, where they feasted on a Southern Christmas brunch spread of sweet potato biscuits with ham, French toast casserole, spinach quiche, and cinnamon rolls with plenty of fresh-brewed coffee to wash it all down. The trio enjoyed a lazy morning of eating and visiting. Leah observed Lulu and Crowley together; it was like watching an adoring son with his very wise and loving mother. Leah was content to just sit, smiling and observing them, without adding much to the conversation. It felt like she was seeing what a true family was meant to be like.