Sunday it snowed again, and Sugar worked all day at the bakery making batch after batch of fudge and caramels. Grant arrived at lunch to help. By the time they finished in the afternoon, she had boxed the entire order for Crystal Valley and made a good start on her other orders for the week.
Grant’s schedule eased during the week, and Sugar was able to use his kitchen starting in the mid-afternoon. He delivered her orders to Crystal Valley after the storm had passed through the area. She worked late each night, trying to get ahead of the massive number of boxes she had to have ready for the fundraiser.
On Thursday, Grant talked Drew and Hope into joining them to form a team for trivia night at the Tipsy Moose. Sugar cut her evening of candy making short and met them at the bar.
The tables were full, and the place was bustling with tourists and locals. She stopped at the bar and told Danny how much she appreciated him helping out the arts center. “It’s been terrific for business. I had tried doing these trivia nights before, but they never gained much traction. Believe me, you did me a favor. I’ve never been busier.”
She took her water with lemon and made her way to Grant’s table. “I was getting worried. Thought you were going to stand us up,” he said.
“Never,” she smiled. “Are you guys ready to win?”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” said Drew. “I can’t believe how many teams are registered.”
The hostess interrupted with an announcement for the teams to ready themselves for the contest. There were five rounds of ten questions. The foursome had no problem with the first round. They got them all correct. The difficulty increased with each round.
They whispered to each other, heads close together, so other tables couldn’t cheat. Drew and Grant handled all the sports questions, while Hope and Sugar excelled in art and literature. Sugar was the best at pop culture and celebrity queries. Hope was the star when it came to television and movies.
Lots of laughs and two hours later, their team, dubbed Sugar’s Cookies, took home the second-place award. Hope took the ribbon home for Jake and reminded Sugar about dinner at Dottie’s Saturday night after the fireworks.
Ginger and Luna were waiting at the door when Sugar and Grant arrived at the house. Sugar bent down to ruffle Ginger’s ears. “I forgot to tell you, I got a call from George today. He said two of his guys are out with some horrible flu, so he’s going to be delayed. I’m going to need to stay another week, I think.”
Grant flipped on the television. “Not a problem. Like I said, I’ve enjoyed having you here. I’ve had fun these last couple of weeks.”
“Me too,” said Sugar, continuing to pet the dogs as she stared at the Christmas tree. “I spend most of my time alone, so it’s been nice to be here. It’s comforting. You and your family. Being here in Silver Falls. Home.”
She paused as she focused on the tree. She jerked her head in the other direction and stood. “I better check my emails and get to bed. See you in the morning.” With quick steps, she took off down the hallway.
Grant hollered, “Good night,” and then turned to the dogs and whispered, “I think Silver Falls might be working its magic on Sugar.”
The dogs thumped their tails against the floor and nudged closer. He put his face close to theirs. “She might be figuring out what she’s been missing.”
Friday, as Sugar was getting in the Jeep to head to the bakery, the box she had been expecting from her assistant arrived. She stashed it in the guest room and hurried downtown.
The sidewalks were full of tourists in town for the last weekend of the festival before Christmas. The bakery was bustling with people picking out snacks and ordering hot drinks.
She got to work in the kitchen and had several batches made by the time the bakery closed. Grant grabbed some gloves and started boxing the fudge that was chilled. “Did you talk to your mom this morning?”
She nodded, “Yes, and she’s doing great. The doctor and therapists agree if she keeps it up, she can come home on Christmas Eve. I was going to ask Drew if he might be able to pick her up, with that being the day of the gala.”
“I’m sure he’ll do it. He’s closed that day, so it should be fine. Mom was mentioning having Peggy stay with her so she would have some help.”
“I’ve had so much on my mind, I haven’t even thought about what she’s going to do at home. She can’t do stairs, which is a problem at her house.” She let out a sigh. “I’m going to have to go back to work after Christmas. There’s no way I can take more time off to stay with her.”
“Mom’s business at the guest house tends to slow way down after Christmas, so she’ll have time to dote on her.” He smiled. “Mom is best when she has someone to help.” He finished a box and slid it to the end of the counter with the others. “Actually, we all are.”
“I’ll call Mom again this weekend and raise the idea. She loves Dottie but will probably worry she’s a burden.”
“Tell her how much my mom is looking forward to it. Make it sound like she’ll be helping her and keeping her company during the slow season.”
She tilted her head in admiration. “Good idea. You’re sneaky.”
He wiggled his brows at her. “Sneaky and tired.” He finished the last box and took the stack to the walk-in cooler. “I’m beat. I’m going to stop by Mom’s for dinner and head home.”
She waved goodbye and started her next batch. With the bakery’s equipment and pans, she was able to double her batch sizes and produce more candy each night. Her goal was to get as much done as possible before Monday, when the setup and decorating for the gala would commence.
She didn’t get home until midnight and found the dogs asleep next to the Christmas tree. With quiet footsteps, she went to the kitchen for a glass of water. She saw a note on the counter. Mom sent me home with soup for you. It’s in the fridge.
It was way too late to eat, but she smiled as she took the note, extinguished the lights on the tree, and tiptoed to her bedroom.
Her extra work on Friday afforded Sugar the opportunity to take a break for the fireworks display and dinner with the Fishers on Saturday. She captured more incredible photos of the fireworks surrounding the Christmas tree on Main Street and posted them to social media.
Jake had spent the day ice skating at the ice rink they built at the park each year and had won a prize in the gingerbread house decorating contest. He was full of excitement at dinner, giving a blow-by-blow of his day.
After dinner, Drew took his family home, Grant offered to do the dishes, and Sugar carried a cup of tea into the living room and sat next to the fire with Dottie. “I talked to Mom today and planted the seed for her staying here with you when she comes home.” She shrugged and took a sip. “She didn’t say no and seemed to think it made sense.”
“Wonderful, I’ll call her and talk to her some more about it. It really does make the most sense.” She rested her hand on Scout’s head. “I know what it feels like to be helpless and dependent on others. It’s not easy, especially when you’re trying to run a business.”
“At least she won’t need to worry about that. She has been doing more business around Valentine’s Day, but not near as much as this time of year. She could take a break and heal until summer when the tourist season starts. I told Grant I’ve got to get back to work, if I expect to still have a job.”
Dottie pursed her lips and shook her head. “You’d think your boss would understand the situation and cut you some slack.”
“He’s been very understanding, but I can tell by the tone of his emails and by what my assistant has said, his patience is wearing thin. If it wasn’t the holiday season, I’m not sure I could get away with being gone for so long.”
Dottie patted Sugar’s arm. “We have loved having you here. I daresay I haven’t seen Grant so happy in a long time. I think it’s done him a world of good to have a friend staying at his place.” She brushed a tear from under her eye. “It’s not easy being alone.”
Sugar curled her fingers around Dottie’s hand. “Being here has been wonderful for me. I realize what I’ve given up by not coming home for so long.”
“I sure hope you come back and visit again, Sugar. You’d make us so happy, not to mention your mom.”
“You can count on it,” said Sugar, moving to retrieve her coat. “I’ve got to get back to the bakery and do a few more batches.”
After working late Saturday night and putting in twelve hours on Sunday, Sugar skipped dinner at Dottie’s and went to Grant’s instead. She heated up the leftover soup, started a fire, and vegged out in front of the television.
When Grant returned, he found her on the couch with both dogs sprawled across her, all three, sound asleep. He left her where she was, and the dogs elected to forgo their beds and stay with her.
She slept there until morning. The sound of Grant’s truck leaving woke her, but she drifted back to sleep. Her phone alarm sounded at seven, reminding her she was meeting Annie and Ryan at the old school building in an hour.
She got ready, gulped down a smoothie, gave the dogs ear rubs and a couple of cookies, and stopped by the bakery on her way to the school. She picked out a box of pastries, and Grant poured coffee into a portable air pot he loaned her.
He secured the lid on the pot. “How did you sleep last night? I hated leaving you there, but you were completely out.” He carried the pot to her Jeep.
“Yeah, I was exhausted. I started to watch something and didn’t make it five minutes.” She put the box in the back seat. “The good news is, all the orders for this week are done. I’ve got a good start on the fundraiser candy but will probably have to work tonight and tomorrow to finish it.”
He held the driver’s door while she slid into the seat. “That’s a huge accomplishment. We’ll get those orders delivered. See you this afternoon.” He shut the door and tapped the roof of the Jeep, waving as she pulled away from the curb.
Sugar had time to turn on the lights and set the coffee and pastries on a table before Ryan and three young men arrived, followed by Annie with her notebook. “Good morning. Help yourselves,” said Sugar, gesturing at the table.
Each of the men grabbed something from the box and headed out the side door where there was a ramp. They got to work unloading tables and chairs. Annie and Sugar started testing and organizing hundreds of strings of white lights that would decorate the area.
Annie picked up another stack of lights. “I came in last week and noticed all the classrooms look so nice. All neat and clean and decorated. I have our janitorial staff scheduled to come in Thursday morning and clean everything to have it ready for the gala, but the classrooms won’t need much.”
“That was all volunteers and students. They did a great job of getting all the artwork hung and displayed. Everyone is excited about it.”
“Your posts on social media have been fantastic. We’ve had more comments and interest related to the festival and Silver Falls than we’ve ever had. It’s been great. Are you getting donations?”
Sugar beamed as she plugged in another string of lights. “It’s been wonderful. More than I thought. The calendars have been popular, and we’re getting donations from purchases at local businesses.”
The men finished unloading and started bringing in huge ladders. Sugar showed them her sketches and explained how to use the supplies to create the setting she envisioned. She spent most of the day providing guidance to the men on the ladders as they strung lights and hung fabric. The crew worked until mid-afternoon and promised to be back in the morning.
Sugar used the office to spread out her folder and notes. She checked off her list as she called the florist, caterers, music teacher, and bartenders to confirm things for Friday. With that done, she made her way back to the bakery with a quick stop at the diner for a late lunch. She took a stool at the counter.
Josie took her order and asked, “How’s your mom feeling?” She turned and filled a teapot.
“She’s doing much better. She’ll be here for the gala.”
Josie brought her a bowl of homemade soup and a pot of tea. “Your gala is the talk of the town. It’s been years since we had a community-wide event on Christmas Eve. I even ordered a new dress.”
“I’m glad people are enthused about the gala. I just came from the arts center where we’ve been getting it ready. Wait until you see it.” Sugar’s eyes flickered with excitement.
“My daughter is in the choir at school, and they’re practicing this week to make sure they’re ready.” She added more hot water to the teapot. “You’ve done a wonderful thing, creating something memorable for everyone.”
Sugar held the warm cup to her mouth as she gazed out the window at the decorations. “It’s been terrific for me. It’s reminded me what’s special about Silver Falls. I’ve missed it.”