2 ACROSS: Vital; stimulating
Richard’s head was not in the task. He’d washed a selection of the vegetables he found in the refrigerator and begun chopping them, but his thoughts were like a plume of smoke floating toward an air vent.
It wasn’t the fact that Cassie was in the shower just a few yards away from him that had his brain humming; it was more to the point that she was undoubtedly going to emerge with her hair smelling like cookies. He’d caught a whiff of it when they were in the car that first night on the way to Benny’s and then again that very day when she’d tromped all over him during the fox-trot. The vanilla shampoo she used should probably be outlawed.
He wasn’t able to find parchment paper anywhere in the pantry, so he used aluminum foil to create a sack around the vegetables and then gingerly added a beautiful salmon filet overtop of them. Adding some chicken broth and a few slices of orange, he then sealed the packet and placed it in the baking dish.
Twenty minutes. That would give him time to touch up those edges Cassie had missed around the baseboards before cleaning the brushes and tapping the lid into place on the paint can. Since fresh paint fumes didn’t mesh well with Poached Salmon a la Richard, he decided to set the table outside on the deck. The collie followed him to inspect the choice.
“Good grief,” Cassie exclaimed when she emerged a half hour later and joined him on the deck, freshly showered and—naturally!—smelling like sugar cookies fresh from the oven. “You really know how to get things done.”
Her bangs feathered across her brow, and that beautiful silky hair looked slightly damp where it skimmed the slope of her freckled shoulders. He noticed perfect little cinnamon-frosted toes peeking out from the straps of simple leather sandals, and he tried not to stare at the silver ankle bracelet just an inch or two beneath the billowing hem of her colorful sundress, despite the fact that he wanted a closer look. He found himself brimming with curiosity about the charm dangling from it.
“I thought we’d have dinner on the deck to escape the fumes, if that’s all right with you.”
“Fine,” she nodded. “You found the filet?”
“I did. And you were right, it looks great.”
“Poaching it?”
“As we speak.”
“Water, iced tea, or pink lemonade?”
“Water, please,” he replied.
A gentle breeze wafted from the canal as the orange sun began to settle for the day. A boat floated down the river, and the hull was draped in bright Christmas lights. An enormous lighted wreath was displayed on the back.
“I have to get this recipe from you,” Cassie swooned. “This is just about the best salmon I’ve ever had. And I’m a big fan of salmon.”
“Mm, me too. All fish, really.”
“I also love a good shrimp cocktail,” she exclaimed. “Very cold, with a light horseradish sauce. It’s not an appetizer in my life; I can make a meal out of that.”
“We can pick some up at the fresh market,” he suggested. “Maybe next week.”
He thought she hesitated for a moment, and his stomach churned at the realization that he’d assumed too much. But then she smiled and nodded.
“Sounds good,” she said, and then she sipped from her glass of pink lemonade.
Richard looked away from her, focusing on the dog curled into a large sleeping ball at one end of the deck.
“What’s your dog’s name?”
“Sophie.”
She lifted her head at the mention, blinked twice, and then resumed her nap.
“She’s a nice dog.”
“She can be,” Cassie said with a chuckle. “And she can also be a terror.”
Richard glanced at the dog again. Hard to picture.
“Zan was on a golf day one Saturday in Tampa with some friends. They stopped afterward for lunch at this little hole-in-the-wall place they liked to go to, in one of those shopping centers. Also in that center was a Petco. Out front, a dog rescue group had about a dozen dogs that were up for adoption.”
“I see a surprise coming your way,” Richard commented.
“Oh yeah!” she replied, and her little nose wrinkled at the memory. “So he comes home and the dog beats him into the house, starts tearing through the place like she owned it. Which of course, right away, she did.”
Richard laughed. “All’s well that ends well, though, right?”
“Well, the road to the happy ending is littered with dog hair and nonstop barking. But the real happy ending is that she has a home after a pretty rough start in life, thanks to this local group called Lost Angels Animal Rescue. I really don’t know how those people do it.”
“I’ve heard of them,” he recalled. “My buddies and I have played in their golf tournament fund-raiser for the last couple of years. They seem to do good work.”
“It’s heartbreaking work,” she told him. “There are so many stray dogs and cats with terrible histories. That group is just dedicated to them. I don’t know if I could take it, but Zan and Debra would have enlisted in a heartbeat if we’d lived down here year-round.”
Richard nodded. “Your husband seems to have been a kind man,” he observed. “Having a heart for the downtrodden.”
“My husband was a big Greek marshmallow. Funny and charming. And his charm wasn’t lost on any female, even the canine ones. Sophie adored him. And he had Millicent across the street completely wrapped around his little finger. She and every geriatric woman, and every dog from Boston to Holiday, for that matter, grieved when he died.”
Richard let out a laugh. “My wife was like that with cats. Wherever she went, cats…kittens…they just gravitated toward her. It was a little creepy, actually, except that she was so great with—”
He noticed the mist in her eyes just an instant before she turned away and looked out at the water, and Richard leaned forward and touched the top of Cassie’s hand.
“Can I ask you something personal?” he said, deciding to nudge the subject away from their lost partners.
“I’m not sure,” she replied with a sniff. “Give it a try.”
“What’s the charm on your ankle bracelet?”
Cassie smiled and then crossed one leg over the other, gathering the skirt in her hands just enough to display her ankle to him. Richard leaned in for a closer look at the black-and-white enamel crossword puzzle charm with a silver-tipped pencil stretched across it.
“Zan had a thing for words.”
Well, that didn’t really change the subject at all.
“He created puzzles and jumbles and word searches. Every year on our anniversary, he would make a crossword puzzle just for me, and one year he gave this to me along with it.”
“I’m a bit of a crossword puzzle geek myself,” Richard admitted.
Cassie nodded her head, serious for a moment. “I can picture that,” she told him, and then she grinned. “I can see you on a Sunday morning with your coffee and the paper and a very sharp pencil, laboring over the crossword. Or do you do your puzzles in ink just to be”—she shook both hands over her head—“a little crazy?”
He laughed, and then suddenly Richard could visualize those Sunday mornings, too. But in his portrayal, Cassie was there as well, sipping coffee and looking over his shoulder and shouting out the answer before he ever had the chance to come up with it.
He shook the image from his mind and then sank back against the chair. Just about the time he thought he might recover, Cassie stood up, leaned across the table, and stacked the plates, leaving an aromatic trace of sugar cookies lingering when she carried them inside.
“So what do you think of your new kitchen?” James asked her, standing in the doorway. He took a sip of coffee from a silver travel mug.
“It’s fantastic, isn’t it?” she exclaimed. “I really love it.”
She didn’t mention that it had already been christened by Richard when he made them the lovely salmon dinner the night before, but the recollection made her smile.
“I see you were feeling energetic,” he observed, nodding toward the fresh paint on the dining room walls.
“Oh. Yes. A friend came over last night, and we ended up finishing it.”
“I’ll hang the new lighting today, and you’ll have one more room complete.”
“Well, not exactly complete.” She treaded with care. “I was thinking, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, that a chair rail might be nice.”
James focused on the wall behind her, and she saw the light dawn in his dark eyes. “That would probably look pretty good.”
“Oh, good! If you’ll measure for me, I’ll go pick it up today.”
James produced a metal tape measure from his toolbox and, while he took the measurements, Cassie went to the desk for something to write on.
Her eye was drawn to the crystal “Surprise Yourself” box that was angled into the corner of the desktop, and she smiled.
Yesterday’s surprise had resulted in a wonderful day. She’d danced the hustle, spent time with Millicent, and enjoyed a fabulous salmon dinner with Richard Dillon—and all of it had started with an effort to “surprise” herself and be a companion to someone who was feeling lonely. She wondered what might be in store next, and she creaked open the lid and pulled out the front card.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” Proverbs 3:5.
She flipped the card over.
Do something today that you said you would never do!
Cassie shrugged and placed the card into the box, at the very back. She felt certain that she hadn’t actually said she would never buy a chair rail, but that was her plan for the day just the same. Once James provided the measurements, she tore off the sheet of paper on which she’d written them down and headed out the door.
Just as she was backing down the driveway, Cassie’s cell phone rang. She put the car into Park and flipped open the phone.
“Mom?”
“Debra! How are you, sweetheart?”
“Really good, Mom. I have some news.”
Cassie’s heart thumped hard several times. “What is it?”
“We’re going to have another baby!”
Tears sprang to Cassie’s eyes as her hand flew to cover her mouth. “My baby’s having another baby,” she crooned. “That is such wonderful news, honey. But I thought you guys decided not to have any more kids.”
“I guess God had other plans,” Debra said on a chuckle. “It was a complete surprise.”
“How far along are you?”
“About four months, can you believe that? I thought I just needed to cut back on the ice cream treats.”
“That’s so great. Hey…do you think you might have a girl this time?”
Debra laughed. “I don’t know. They didn’t tell me that.”
“Well, think pink, will you, sweetheart? I’d love a little granddaughter to round things out.”
“Okay,” she promised. “I’m on my way to pick up Jake from school. He’s got a sore throat, but I’m thinking pink right now, Mom.”
“Good! Give all your fellas my love.”
“I will, Mom. Talk to you soon.”
Cassie closed up her phone and tossed it on the seat beside her. With both hands on the steering wheel, she clamped her eyes shut and sent a prayer of thanks upward. When she opened her eyes, drops of tears cascaded down her face.
She reached for a tissue from the package under the dash. As she dabbed her face, her eyes landed on the two large plastic flamingos in the garden. She’d always despised those things so much, from the very first day Zan had insisted they bring them home. One of them, the one balancing on just one leg, was cocked sideways, as if it was a little bit drunk.
“Come on, Mac. We’ll hang Christmas lights on the palm tree in the front yard, and these pink guys can stand underneath it, like presents under the tree.”
“We are not hanging Christmas lights on the palm tree, Zan.”
“Why not?”
“Well, for one thing, because we’re spending Christmas in Boston with Debra and her family. We’re going to have a traditional blue spruce tree, a turkey with chestnut stuffing, and snow on the ground, if we’re lucky.”
“Debra won’t care if we have a tropical Christmas instead! In fact, she’d be just the girl to love the idea.”
“No, Zan.”
“Think about it?”
“Okay, I thought about it. And we’re having a traditional Christmas at home.”
“Can the flamingos come to visit?”
“Alexander Constantine, I can promise you one thing. Those horrible flamingos will never be a part of our holiday celebration.”
“Never?”
“Not ever.”
“Well, now you’ve hurt their feelings.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Mutt will get over it, you’re right. But check him out, Mac. Doesn’t Jeff look sad?”
Cassie’s tears started again, and this time they were coming in streams. Wiping her face with the back of her hand, she reversed out into the street and drove straight to the home improvement store. Along with five sections of carved cherry chair rail molding, she also purchased two boxes of gaudy, colorful outdoor Christmas lights, three boxes of simple white twinkling ones, and a 25-foot extension cord.
While James unloaded the molding strips from her car and set about cutting and placing them, Cassie gathered her boxes of lights and the crisply rolled extension cord, and she headed straight for the front yard.
Do something today that you said you would never do! she was reminded. And what could be more never-never than draping Christmas lights on the five-foot-tall palm tree in front of the house?
Once she figured out how to conceal the extension cord in the low shrubs that outlined the front walk, Cassie plugged the cord into the outlet and flipped the switch. She clapped her hands when the palm illuminated with bright red and green lights, and she jumped from one foot to the other. If anyone saw her, she knew for certain they would send the men with the little white coats, but she didn’t care. She was thrilled. And Sophie was certainly entertained by her glee. The dog stood in front of her with her ears happily pinned back, panting in a way that made her look like she was laughing.
There was something exhilarating—in fact, liberating!—about what she’d just done. She couldn’t wait to call Rachel and tell her that she’d managed to “surprise” herself two days in a row now, thanks to that thoughtful Christmas gift. But the call would have to wait, she decided. First, there were a couple of pink flamingos that needed a new home under that palm!
Cassie plucked the drunken flamingo from the garden and dragged it by the beak across the sidewalk, through the shrubs, and over the lawn toward the palm tree. As she planted it into place, she glanced across the street and spotted Millicent sitting in the rocker on her front porch.
“Hey there, dance partner!” she called, before giving her neighbor a wave.
The older woman returned it, and it seemed to Cassie that it was a bit halfhearted. She was quick to drag the second flamingo from the garden, and once it was secure in its spot beside the other, she dusted off her hands and set out across the street.
“Afternoon, Millicent,” she said as she meandered up the sidewalk with Sophie on her heels. “How are you today?”
“Just dandy,” the woman replied, but her attempt at a smile didn’t quite make it to her eyes. “I see you’re getting into the holiday spirit over there.”
“Florida style,” Cassie admitted. “What about you? Is your tree up?”
“Oh, I didn’t get a tree this year.”
“Can I ask why not?”
“No reason, really. I guess I’m just not feeling very jolly.”
“Believe me, I hear that,” Cassie told her as she sat down on the porch step. “We’re nearly finished with the work on the house, with the holiday just a couple of days away, and I just realized that this is the first Christmas I haven’t spent with my daughter and her family.”
“Oh, that’s a shame.”
“But there was good news from them today,” she beamed. “Debra’s expecting a baby. This will be their third child.”
“You look far too young to be the grandmother of three,” Millicent told her. “I envy you that big family. Bernard and I missed out by not having children. I never thought so until after he was gone and I spent that first Thanksgiving alone.”
“Will you be alone on Christmas?” Cassie asked.
“Oh, yes. I usually am.”
“Would you be willing to come over and have Christmas dinner with me?”
The woman tilted her head away for a moment, and when she looked back again, her eyes were smoky and red. “I appreciate the thought, I really do. But—”
“Please say yes, Millicent,” Cassie interrupted. “I just hate the idea of being alone.”
“You…you do?”
“It would be so much fun to have that to plan for,” she went on, trying to interject as much enthusiasm as she could muster for Millicent’s sake. “I could make a turkey and all the trimmings for us. And maybe after dinner we could put one of those sappy Christmas movies into the DVD and watch it with our pie. What do you think?”
“Well…,” the woman said, and then she chuckled. “It does sound enticing.”
“And we’ve just finished the renovations on my kitchen and dining room, so you’ll be able to see what I’ve been doing over there! What do you say? Will you come keep me company on Christmas?”
Millicent looked very much like she was about to cry, but Cassie pretended not to notice. When she agreed, Cassie jumped to her feet and hurried over to her, wrapping her in an eager embrace, as if the woman had just done her the greatest favor of her life.
“Thank you so much!” she exclaimed. “I’m so excited for the holiday now.”
“I might just get excited, too,” Millicent offered. “Thank you, Cassie.”
“Well, I need to go over and check on James. He’s putting up the chair rail in my dining room, and then we’re going to hang the new chandelier.”
“That sounds just fine, dear.”
“We’ll decide later on a time for dinner,” Cassie said as she headed down the sidewalk. “Oh! What’s your pleasure for pie? Pumpkin or apple?”
“Either one will be delicious. How about I make the cranberry sauce? I have my mama’s recipe somewhere inside,” Millicent said. She pushed herself out of the rocker and wobbled to her feet. “I’m going to look for it right now.”
“Ooh, I love cranberries!” Cassie called back to her. “Talk to you later.”
Cassie’s heart soared as she and Sophie jogged across the street and up the driveway. If she hadn’t decided to light that dumb palm tree, she might never have seen Millicent sitting there…or uncovered those holiday blues the older woman wore like a woolen scarf.
She noticed that she had a much lighter step at the idea of spending Christmas with someone who really needed her. No one had needed Cassie for a very long time, and she’d forgotten how much she enjoyed the feeling.
Wondering if Richard Dillon had anyone to spend the holiday with, Cassie walked into the house and then stopped in her tracks with a gasp.
The copper grapevine chandelier illuminated the dining room with amber light, and James had moved the long rectangular dining table into place beneath it, with the eight chairs neatly hugging its edges. He’d placed the cherry molding at the perfect level, about one-third of the way up the wall. Aside from screaming out for appropriate accessories, Cassie’s dining room had been transformed into her original vision.
James came around the corner from the hallway and smiled at her. “What do you think?”
Cassie placed her hand over her heart and just sighed.
“I think that’s good?”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “It’s very good. It looks amazing, doesn’t it?”
“Well, I’m a chrome-and-glass kind of guy myself,” he teased. “But I think the place is beautiful, and it really does suit you.”
“Thank you so much, James. You’ve done such a lot of work.”
“Come and see the light fixtures in the master bath.”
“You’ve already hung them?”
“Yeah. Now I’m working on pulling up the floor. Do you need anything out of there before I get too far?”
“Probably. Let me move some things to the guest bath for a couple of days.”
James followed her down the hall and stood back as she leaned around the doorway to the bathroom. Simple pewter scrollwork accented the three-light fixture now hanging over the beveled bathroom mirror, and matching sconces stood alone on either side. Seafoam Blue had already been applied to the one wall where the new lighting was placed, and Cassie picked up one of the floor tiles and held it next to the painted wall.
“Ohhh,” she sighed softly. “This room is going to be exquisite.” She was already thinking of a shade of deep wine for the towels to accent one of the mosaic colors in the tiles and perhaps including a panel of leaded glass instead of a traditional window treatment so that the light would stream in through the window above the garden tub.
“I’ll pull up the rest of the flooring this afternoon,” he told her. “And then I think I can get the new floor laid on Monday. I hope it’s all right if I take the weekend off.”
“Of course,” she said. “Any experience I’ve had with renovations like this has taught me to expect nothing but delays and problems, James. You’ve been an absolute dream.”
“Tell that to my Tammy-girl,” he said with a grin. Cassie thought it was sweet to hear him refer to Tameka in such a loving expression.
“Do you and Tameka have plans for Christmas?” she asked him.
“We’re going to Tammy’s folks’ place in Ocala on Christmas Eve.”
“And for Christmas Day?”
“I don’t really know yet,” he replied with a chuckle. “I just go where I’m told.”
“Well, if the two of you would like to join me for Christmas dinner, I’ve invited a neighbor woman, and we’d love to have you with us.”
“I’ll talk to Tammy and let you know. Thanks, Cassie.”
She found herself hoping that they could come. Christmas was shaping up to be quite an unexpected event!
Cassie grabbed her shampoo and conditioner from the cubbyhole over the tub and a few toiletries from the counter. “I’ll put these in the guest bath and let you get back to work on the floor,” she told James. “Then do you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to hang twinkle lights out on my deck.”
“Aren’t you in a festive holiday spirit!” he teased.
“You know, all of a sudden, I kind of am.”