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By the time Leon reached his apartment, most of the damage had already been done. Marcy had stripped his tree of every ornament Kenna had made and had even tossed some of his family’s heirlooms.
“What are you doing here?” He asked, trying to keep his temper in check. Leon Jovino was not quick to react. He prided himself in remaining even-keeled, but this was pushing his limit.
“Well, since you decided to not come to me, I came to you.” She laughed as she swept her hand toward the tree. “What is this joke? If you wanted to decorate, you, of all people, could have done better than this.” She pulled Kenna’s stick star from the trash basket. “There might still be time to hit the store...oh wait, not here in small-townsville, everything’s already closed. This isn’t a problem in New York.”
“I told you, Marcy—”
“Merci. You need to get used to calling me by my new name. I’ll be horrified if anyone hears you calling me—”
“Nobody will hear anything,” he shot back, anger tinging his words. “Not from me, anyway. If you’d pay attention to something besides yourself for a change, then perhaps you would have heard me the first time. It would have saved you a plane ticket.”
“Oh, that’s no big deal. I told my manager I needed to make a quick trip to get a few things. She arranged the flight. Now listen, don’t blow this big chance, Leon baby. Everything is all set. There’s nothing here for you.” She moved around the couch and came to stand in front of him. Her hands rested on his chest and began sliding upward.
He grabbed her wrists to stop her. “Listen to me, Marcy. I. Am. Not. Going. I don’t want to live in New York. This is my home. My community. I have a job here.”
“No, you don’t. I stopped in at the Lakeshore before I came here. Your uncle and I had a nice little talk about your future. He agrees that he’s holding you back and has decided to let you go. So, see? Nothing is stopping you.”
“You did what?” His vision clouded as his grip tightened around her wrists until she jerked away from him.
For a moment, all Leon could see where fireworks exploding before his eyes.
* * * *
Kenna woke up late the following morning. Stretching in her rumpled bed, her foot hit against the box of wreath making accessories. Oh man, pack-up day. She had only a handful of trees left and no idea how close she was to matching Murry’s total sale. By the end of the selling season, Dad kept everyone’s totals a secret until he announced the winner during Christmas dinner.
With the cash she had from selling ol’ George, that two-thousand bonus would be a nice down-payment on a new car. She might not even need to buy used if she budgeted her payments right.
Would it be worth it to stay and try to sell the remaining trees? Kenna decided what she needed to do was get up and going. Leon let her use his shower in the mornings while he went in early to help his uncle at the restaurant. She checked the time and realized it was wasting. If she wanted that shower, she needed to get moving.
He promised to meet her for lunch. Last night...oh, last night, was it real? She stopped in front of the small mirror hanging over the also small bathroom sink. Her hair was rumpled but fell around her face in soft waves. Once again, she thought about Mom telling her to not compare herself to others. That God made her special, unique, a one-of-a-kind with great value and a purpose.
Kenna sighed and filled her toothbrush with paste.
God didn’t lie. The Bible said each and every person was made for a reason. Isn’t this what this season was all about? God sending his best gift because he loved humanity so much? Because they were important to Him?
One of the reasons she loved Christmas so much, aside from the presents, was the extra dose of love and joy people often expressed during this season. Giving more. Going all out on their decorations. The celebrations!
It was a time for miracles, and she needed a miracle more than she needed her wishes on stars granted. Her future depended on it.
She rinsed, then smiled at her reflection. “Don’t sell yourself short,” she told her image. Maybe the future was a blur. Maybe she was full of uncertainty, but she’d trust in the Lord and find her way through. And, maybe, just maybe, Leon would be a part of her future. Maybe.
Her smile widened in the mirror. She quickly turned away and hurried to collect the things she needed.
Kenna would definitely ask to return to Madison Creek next year. She already loved this town and the people who lived here.
The overcast sky threatened snow. Maybe those clouds would dump a couple of feet of snow and she’d have to stay an extra day or two.
As she walked across the street to his place, her bag of fresh clothes hanging from her shoulder, she wondered for the millionth time what he had been about to tell her. What did he wish for? Her mind had come up with a hundred possibilities that her rationale instantly excused.
They’d become friends. She hoped he’d be willing to stay in touch. Maybe she could come back next year. She’d exchanged numbers with Sage and Nick. They’d told her to come to visit during her break at school. Even Miss Haley told her she could stay at her Inn and had promised to buy trees from her first if she returned next season.
Kenna secretly hoped she’d be working for her parents, doing their bookkeeping for them. Why wouldn’t they let her work for the family business? She intended to broach the subject when she was home during their holiday break.
Unlocking the apartment door, Kenna entered and immediately stopped. Something was different. First off, was the heavy scent of flowery perfume. It hung in the air like a storm cloud. Then there was the darkened tree. Leon usually left on the lights for her every morning. But the tree looked odd. Bare. Setting her bag on the end of the leather couch, she moved toward the tree, wondering why the trash bin sat next to it.
Maybe something had happened. She hoped the lights hadn’t caused a fire, but there was no scent of smoke in the apartment. Only that perfume. It tickled her nose.
She turned in a half-circle, searching the living room when her gaze fell on a pair of silver gloves and matching scarf. Talk about flashy. Kenna’s nose wrinkled as she held in a laugh.
Perhaps he’d had an unexpected visitor and that’s why—Oh. Wait.
The smell. The sparkly accessories. Leon had told her about his girlfriend. Well, a little bit. He never seemed too eager to say much about her.
Except that she was a fashion model. The pictures all around the apartment told the whole story. She was petite, glamorous, beautiful, and everything Kenna wasn’t, nor really wanted to be.
That morning, she realized that Mom was right about comparing herself to other girls. Kenna had no desire to wear fussy clothes or paint her face with all that gunk. Too much effort. She had better things to do with her time.
But the girl who wore all that glitter and bright colors was the kind that turned Leon’s head and captured his heart.
Kenna swallowed down the remorse over knowing she’d never have the qualities he’d want in a girlfriend. Nope, she was fooling herself into thinking she even had the slightest chance with him. He was definitely taken and would probably forget about her as soon as she returned home, anyway.
Well, it was for the best. Kenna had no desire to change for anyone. Not even a stunningly handsome guy like Leon with his shy smile and gentle ways.
Was his girlfriend still here? The guest room door was open, and the bed undisturbed. Kenna thought maybe she needed to leave, just in case.
She grabbed the trashcan, planning to put it back in the kitchen for him when she saw several of her ornaments inside.
Her gaze shot back to the bare tree.
What?
All her handmade ornaments were all dumped in the trashcan! Even a couple of the ones she’d fixed for him.
Tears flooded her eyes. How could he...after pretending that he liked them? Probably his girlfriend showed up and they had a good laugh at her childish attempts at tree decor. If he didn’t like them, he didn’t have to act as if he did.
Her breaths came in short bursts. No, she’d not let herself cry. She’d not. This was a stupid thing to cry over.
Pain stabbed at her chest. She choked back the sob threatening to explode. Nope, not going to let it happen. Time to go!
But she didn’t want to leave her little creations. If he didn’t appreciate them, her younger siblings would. She hurried to the pantry where he kept a good supply of plastic bags and grabbed a couple. Fishing her ornaments from the trash bin, she filled both bags, then grabbed her change of clothes. She’d shower once she was back home.
As she hurried back to the camper, she sent a text to the man who worked at the Children’s hospital letting him know there would be a few trees waiting for him to pick up. She’d considered giving them to the children’s unit at the hospital anyway.
One thing was certain, she’d not spend another moment in this town. Soon as she was able to get the tent down and shoved inside the camper, she had the car rental agency drop off a vehicle to get her back home.
After leaving a few of the ornaments and her sample wreath on Mr. McCarty’s doorstep with a note thanking him for his help, she was pulling out of the tourist park well before noon.
* * * *
“Uncle Melvin, I don’t know what Marcy told you, but—” Leon followed his uncle through the kitchen.
Uncle Melvin held up his hands to stop Leon’s explanation. “She told me the truth. Leon, you know I love you like I do my own sons.” He rested his big hands on Leon’s shoulders. “But your girlfriend is right, you are being held back here. I’ve taught you everything I know. It’s time for you to fly.”
Leon opened his mouth to protest, but Uncle cut him off.
“Now listen, my youngest just graduated culinary school. It’s his turn to get some hands-on training. You,” he patted Leon’s arms. “You are meant for finer things than you’ll ever get in this crappy little town. That beautiful girl of yours has an opportunity for you. Don’t blow it, hear me?”
“Are you firing me?” Leon couldn’t believe this. He’d sent Marcy packing sometime around three in the morning after hours of arguing and her begging him to give her another chance.
Sometime around two, she finally began to realize they simply wanted different things. She’d grabbed her bags and rushed out to her rental, saying if she hurried, she could catch the first plane back in the morning.
Even still, she’d texted him once she did get a flight to tell him that if he changed his mind, she’d take him back in a heartbeat.
He had no intention of changing his mind.
Except now he had no job. Which meant that soon, he’d have no apartment.
Grasping an envelope with a severance check, Leon headed outside later that afternoon into the freezing rain. Uncle had been generous. He’d not only paid him until the end of the year but had given him a bonus to help pay for his plane ticket to New York.
But he wasn’t going to New York.
Uncle wouldn’t hear of it letting him stay on as a regular cook. His son was on his way to Madison Creek and would take up the slack left from Leon’s absence.
He’d been replaced. That easily.
There was nothing he could do about it now. Uncle’s mind had been made up. Leon got in his car and headed for the tourist park. He’d help Kenna pack up then take her to a late lunch and finish what he’d been trying to say last night. That he cared about her and wanted to keep in touch. That maybe, perhaps, they could be more than friends. He’d wait for her to finish college. She only had one more semester left, she’d said.
But now...what now?
He’d have to find somewhere to work and make a living. His head was pounding from trying to figure everything out. Marcy had come in like a monsoon, ripping his whole life to shreds. She’d even told him he could be replaced if he passed up this wonderful opportunity she’d given to him. That’s when he’d told her it was time to leave.
He’d heard enough and knew without a shadow of a doubt that she didn’t really love him. And he’d known for some time that he didn’t love her.
As he passed the tourist park, his heart slammed up into his throat. Kenna’s camper was gone! All that remained was a stack of trees with a large paper tied to the top that said reserved for the Children’s hospital. She’d not even waited for them to pick the donation up.
But why?
How could she leave without telling— his breath caught. No, he couldn’t have been so stupid...could he? Hitting the gas, he zoomed across the street and parked the car. Jumping out, he raced up the walkway to his apartment and hurried inside. The tree was still dark and bare as he’d left it. Leon had planned to return to put the ornaments back as soon as he spoke with his uncle. He’d been so panicked about his job, he forgot about Kenna coming over to shower.
His hands rested on top of his winter cap. “Stupid, stupid, stupid. You know she comes over early, every morning!” He knew because each day she’d leave another little gift. A new ornament she’d made. He picked up the trash bin to find it empty.
Kenna must have come in and found them all in the trash. What must she have thought? He fished out his phone to call, but there was only one ring before he was directed to her voice mail. Had she blocked his number?
Leon sat heavily on the sofa and buried his face in his hands.
“Now what am I going to do?”
His whole life was crumbling apart right before his eyes.