Mistletoe and Mischief (Cedar Cove)

Chapter 20

20

“Now what?” Will Jefferson asked. He held his gloved hands upright like a surgeon about to enter the operating theater.

“It’s a turkey,” Miranda Sullivan teased, “not an appendectomy.”

Will lowered his arms.

“We’re going to stuff it,” Miranda said.

“You mean I’m actually going to put my hands inside that bird?” His look was incredulous.

“Yes.” It was difficult to keep a straight face when Will took everything so seriously.

“I’ve never done this before.”

Miranda rolled her eyes. “Really? You could’ve fooled me.”

“Are you making fun of me?” he asked, eyebrows raised.

“I’m doing my best not to.”

Will grinned. “Well, this is hard work. First time in my life that I’ve cooked a turkey.”

“We’ll do fine.”

“I’m glad you’re with me,” he said, “and not just because of the turkey.”

“I’m happy to be here.”

Quite unexpectedly, Will had invited Miranda to spend Christmas Day with him. They’d worked together at the Harbor Street Art Gallery for the past several months. She’d started as part-time help, working a couple of days a week. Gradually, Will had increased her hours.

In the beginning they hadn’t gotten along. He thought she was too opinionated; she thought he was stubborn and dictatorial. But as the weeks progressed they’d formed a strong friendship. She’d taken a step toward compromise and he’d taken one, too, and they’d met in the middle.

Recently...well, very recently, that friendship took another turn. Miranda wasn’t ready to put a name to it; she wasn’t sure it was safe for her heart to define it. Not yet. But...there was definitely a sense of excitement that sizzled between them.

They’d kissed. She’d kissed him once, shocking herself far more than she’d shocked Will. And he’d kissed her. More than once.

Will had moved into his childhood home a few weeks earlier, purchasing the residence on Eagle Crest Avenue from his mother. This made it possible for Charlotte and Ben to move into the Sanford assisted-living complex without the additional worry of what would happen to their home.

Will and his sister, Olivia, had come up with the idea and coincidentally the move had benefited Miranda, too. She lived near Gig Harbor, a twenty-minute drive from Cedar Cove. The lease on her apartment was up, and she’d been hoping to move closer to the art gallery when Will approached her about living in his apartment on the premises. He’d had it remodeled and she could move in whenever she wished.

It was an offer too good to refuse. Her best friend, Shirley Bliss, had urged her to accept. Miranda grew a bit sad as she thought about Shirley. They’d become close after they’d both lost their husbands. Miranda had been married to an artist and Shirley was one herself. They’d helped each other adjust to widowhood.

Shirley had remarried a couple of months ago, and as soon as Tanni, her daughter, graduated from high school, Shirley planned to move to California with her new husband, Larry Knight, who was a nationally known and highly respected artist.

It would be hard to see Shirley leave the area and yet Miranda couldn’t begrudge her friend this happiness. They’d stay in touch, of course, but...it wasn’t the same.

Will had been attracted to Shirley. His ego had taken a beating when she chose Larry Knight over him. The fact that he’d introduced Shirley to Larry had made the whole situation especially galling for Will; Miranda understood that. When he’d first started paying attention to her, Miranda had reason to think he was trying to make Shirley jealous. She wouldn’t stand for that and made sure Will knew it.

Lately, however, there’d been a shift in the way he treated her. But his first tentative attempts to deepen their relationship didn’t work, mainly because Miranda didn’t trust him. He’d invited her to dinner and she’d refused. Later, she felt bad about that and she’d taken him a store-bought chicken. So they’d ended up having dinner together, after all. That was the night he’d invited her to spend Christmas Day with him.

“Now what?” Will asked. He was pushing the homemade stuffing into the cavity.

“Keep going until you can’t get any more inside.”

“Okay. Although this is kind of a revolting activity.”

She laughed. “Will, why did you buy a twenty-three-pound bird for just the two of us?” she asked.

“I don’t know... At least there’ll be plenty of leftovers.”

“Enough to feed an army,” she muttered.

“And a navy,” he added.

He finished with the stuffing, and washed his hands while Miranda basted the turkey and placed an aluminum-foil tent over the top. “Okay, it’s ready for the oven,” she said.

She held open the oven door and Will slid the turkey inside. “How long will it take?” he asked.

“Twenty minutes a pound, so do the math.”

“Seven and a half hours? ”

“You’ll build up an appetite,” she said. “And we can have some crackers and cheese while we wait.”

“And a nice glass of wine...” Will pulled off his oven mitts. “Any other suggestions?”

“As a matter of fact, yes.” She left the kitchen and went into the living room to collect her bag. Reaching inside, she took out a wrapped gift. “For you,” she said playfully, handing him the large square box.

Will looked a bit uneasy, which told her what she already suspected. He hadn’t purchased her a gift. She hadn’t really expected him to. Besides, this was more of a thank-you for having her over.

“It’s small, just a token,” she said. She didn’t want to embarrass him or make him feel guilty for not reciprocating.

“Go ahead and open it,” she urged.

“You shouldn’t have,” he said theatrically. He sat down on the sofa and tore away the paper. When he saw the jigsaw puzzle, he grinned. The picture was a seascape, with dolphins and tropical fish swimming in a blue, blue ocean. “Hey, good idea! We can put it together this afternoon.”

Miranda stood and started to clear off the table. “I used to enjoy doing puzzles,” she told him. “This table’s big enough to lay out all the pieces.”

“Here. Now you open my gift,” Will said.

Miranda turned around, leaning against the table’s edge. She frowned as Will gave her the small, beautifully wrapped gift. The shape and size hinted that it’d come from a jewelry store.

“Is this a marriage proposal?” she joked, and then laughed nervously, wondering how she could have asked something so idiotic.

“Not yet,” he returned quite seriously.

Miranda stared at the package, almost afraid to remove the wrapping.

“Open it,” he said.

Reluctantly, she untied the ribbon. “You didn’t wrap this yourself.”

“You’re right, the store did.” He stood next to her and nudged her to continue unwrapping.

“I...wasn’t expecting anything like this,” she said. “All I got you is a puzzle.”

“I know you’ll be surprised, which makes it all the more special.”

Her hand trembled as she carefully slipped off the paper. Holding her breath, Miranda lifted the lid of the small blue box. Inside was a gold coin, a very old one, she guessed, framed by a gold bezel.

“It’s from a sunken treasure ship found off the Florida coast,” Will explained.

Taking it from the box, she saw that the coin was attached to a fine gold chain. Will took it out of her fingers, placed it around her neck and secured the clasp. She could feel the coin resting at the base of her throat, the metal smooth and cool. Automatically, she pressed her hand over it.

“It’s treasure, Miranda,” Will whispered. “Just like you are to me.”

She blinked a couple of times, hardly able to fathom that Will Jefferson would do this for her. Or that he’d say such a thing.

“I...” Speaking seemed impossible, and whatever she said, whatever words of appreciation she managed to form, would never be enough. “I don’t know how to...thank you.”

“You’re kidding. You, speechless? I don’t believe it.”

“Don’t joke, Will. I mean it. I don’t think anyone’s ever done anything like this for me.”

Will kissed her then. Really kissed her. He was gentle and loving, and when he raised his head, his eyes were filled with promise.