Sleigh Bell Dreams (Mistletoe Meadows Sweet Christmas #1)

Chapter 9

For a small town, Mistletoe Meadows sure did have a lot of things going on, and Terry was extremely curious about the whole Secret Saint thing. It almost seemed like it had to be a group of people. Maybe that was why they hadn’t figured out who it was, because it was a bunch of people working together.

But it wasn’t just about money either, although she figured that whoever was doing it had to be rich. Or maybe it was a rich person teamed up with someone who had time on their hands. Since it had to be someone who was able to take the time to do things like get the doughnuts and hot chocolate and figure out who needed money and how they could best help.

Someone who knew the town well. That almost said it had to be someone who lived in town or possibly someone who was related to someone who lived in town. Which opened up an immense amount of people. She could hardly imagine the time it would take to go through all of them trying to figure out who it was.

It didn’t sound like she would be able to catch them in the act, since they seemed to get other people, at least in the case of the hot chocolate and doughnuts, to do things for them, although...who had handed out the hot chocolate and doughnuts? Maybe he just said that an anonymous source had contacted him, when it was actually him.

It wasn’t a terrible idea, but again, Terry had other things she needed to do and could hardly spend her time thinking about the Secret Saint.

Her clinic wasn’t far from Judd’s duplex, and Terry had walked to it that morning. In the winter, or if she wanted to stop and get her groceries or something after work, she’d drive her car, but it was not quite a mile and a good way to get exercise.

She stopped at the local butcher shop and grabbed some vegetables and hamburger for supper.

She was tempted to get enough for two, but not only did she not know Judd that well, but she also didn’t know his schedule.

He was such an odd person, but...there was something about him that made her curious, she supposed. Or drew her to him. Maybe it was an attraction, but not one that she was going to act on. After all, they had nothing in common except the shared living space.

He didn’t seem like a serial killer, and neither was she, so they had that in common as well, she supposed. But two people who were so opposite could hardly find enough common ground to make any attraction between them worthwhile.

On the way home, she nodded to a few people and waved at more. She had no idea who most of them were, but that’s what happened in a small town. You just waved at everyone. Either you already knew them or figured out you knew them from somewhere. And if you didn’t, you learned who they were somehow, either at a community event or through a friend or relative. That’s just how small towns were.

By the time she’d gotten home, she’d realized how out of shape she was. She had been working so hard the last month, she hadn’t taken time for exercise, and the mile, especially carrying groceries for half of it, seemed to drag on forever.

She stepped up on the porch, her stomach growling. She had the clinic all ready and just had a few little odds and ends to straighten up, which she could do tomorrow afternoon after church and the meal with her parents.

She walked in, kicking her shoes off at the door and walking down the hall, noticing when she was halfway down that the light in the kitchen was already on.

It had started to get dark outside, and as often was the case in November, it was cold and overcast.

A cozy kitchen with supper on the stove would be just the thing after a long day of working in her clinic getting it ready.

But if the light was on...either Judd was in the kitchen, or he’d forgotten to turn the light out. For some reason, she was hoping that he’d just forgotten to turn it off, not because she didn’t want to talk to him, but because...he made her a little nervous with his long silences and odd sense of humor.

Not uncomfortable; she felt totally comfortable around him, which didn’t seem to jive with the fact that he made her nervous.

But as she stepped into the kitchen, it was obvious that she was either going to be sharing the space, or she would have to wait to cook her own meal until he was done.

“Good evening,” she said, putting a smile on her face and admitting to herself that there was a sort of thrill that went through her to see that he was here. Maybe she just didn’t want to be alone. She’d spent plenty of time by herself in various apartments and housing situations over the course of her education, and she had good roommates and bad, but she never lived with a man.

She hadn’t thought she was “living” with a man when she asked to rent the other side of his duplex.

This house was not the kind of duplex she was used to.

“Hey. I made some extra if you want some.” Judd had turned and looked over his shoulder, and then he nodded to the stove where he had cooked chicken and roasted vegetables.

It smelled divine.

“I can’t eat your food. And I bought some of my own, it’s just going to take me a little bit to cook it. Is it going to bother you if I’m in here while you are?”

“It doesn’t bother me at all, but if that’ll wait until tomorrow night, you can cook it then. It’s up to you. I’ll eat my leftovers tomorrow, but I didn’t want to cook without including you.”

She nodded her head, her lips working up just a bit. She’d never shared a place with a roommate who had ever said that they hated to cook for just themselves. Sometimes they would cook for others if they had to, and sometimes they traded back and forth, with one person cooking on one day and one person cooking on another day, although the problem with that was sometimes people didn’t keep their days or cooked something that was inedible. But it was almost like he made it knowing she would be busy, and he wanted to lighten her load.

“I’m not going to be offended if you say no,” he said as he walked over to the cupboard. He paused, then looked back over his shoulder. “Should I get one plate out or two?”

It should be one. She should say one. She didn’t want to get into a situation where she ended up doing all the work, because that’s what ultimately happened. She was the one who kept her word. She was the one who did what she said she was going to do, and she was the one who ended up cooking and then getting burned by people who dropped their end of the bargain.

But he wasn’t offering a bargain. He wasn’t telling her that she had to do anything in return.

“I don’t think we have to eat together every night.”

“I’m not always home this time of night, especially in the summer, but if I’m here, I don’t mind cooking, and I don’t mind sharing. No reciprocation necessary. It’s just an offer.”

“All right. No reciprocation necessary, but I’ll do it if I happen to be around.”

“Sounds good. Although, I figure you’ll be working nine to five and not be around much.”

“Actually, I can’t do it right now, but I’d like to change the clinic hours to Monday through Thursday ten to seven. I feel like those would be better hours for people, and then I would have the morning hours if I needed to add anything, and Fridays if necessary.”

“That actually sounds good. I don’t know why more doctors don’t do that—have hours that are outside the norm.”

“Probably because they want to spend the evenings at home with their families. But I don’t have that right now, so I can offer it. Eventually I might not be able to, but who knows what the future holds.” She didn’t want to get into whether or not she would ever get married and have a family. They didn’t know each other well enough for that, although if they were going to eat together tonight, she would hopefully know him better than she had.

He pulled two plates out while she put her groceries in the refrigerator and went to the sink to wash her hands.

There was silence between them, but it didn’t feel awkward, and she didn’t feel the need to fill it. Rather, she looked at him covertly, thinking about what she had thought earlier about the pull that seemed to be between them. At least for her. He wasn’t unattractive, but she wouldn’t consider him classically handsome. He had deep blue eyes, almost black, which is probably how she got the impression that he was dark. That along with the dark hair and the dark brows that rose over those deep-set eyes.

He wasn’t skinny, but she wouldn’t label him fat either. His BMI was most definitely under obese, but if he were her patient and she had to give him a recommendation, she would probably tell him that it wouldn’t hurt for him to lose a little weight. The same could be said for her. Maybe walking to and from work would help her with that.

Regardless, she didn’t find him unattractive and wondered again if renting from him was the best idea.

“I just wanted you to know that I’m still looking for a place, and I won’t be here bothering you for long, if I can help it.”

Those words just tumbled out of her mouth, without her planning on saying them. But she knew that was for the best. She didn’t want to stay here any longer than she had to. He was intriguing and attractive to her, and that was probably dangerous.

Especially since he didn’t seem to notice her looking at him and didn’t seem the slightest bit interested in looking at her.

He lifted his shoulder, as though it didn’t matter to him whether she stayed or left, and went back to the drawer to grab silverware.

She opened a couple of cupboards until she found glasses and walked to the sink. “Is the tap water okay to drink?”

He lifted a big shoulder. “It hasn’t killed me yet.”

She laughed. Although, the doctor in her wanted to cringe. Lots of people thought that, but sometimes death didn’t happen right away. But the changes that led to death, or more likely cancer or some other disease, weren’t such that a person could see when they drank water that shouldn’t have been drunk or ate something that shouldn’t have been eaten. Such as hot chocolate and doughnuts.

She thought again of the Secret Saint. If Judd were more personable, she might think that he might be a good person to keep an eye out for her. If she was actually trying to figure out who it was, but she wasn’t. Since Judd did odd jobs all around town and probably ran into a lot of different people in his line of work.

“Excuse me,” he said as he set the small casserole dish with chicken in it on the table.

She walked over and grabbed the roasted vegetables. It looked like he might have put olive oil or something on them, and some salt, and they looked perfectly done. Carrots, onions, peppers, and mushrooms.

“These look really good. Did you season them?”

“A little bit of garlic, nothing else. But if you want something, there are a lot of spices in the cupboard, pick your poison.”

She laughed, wanting to argue, since spices were often very good for a person. There were very few spices that a person had to eat in moderation and that didn’t have some kind of health benefit. In fact, she wasn’t sure if there were any.

“Garlic sounds just perfect,” she said. She liked simple, and it looked like Judd did too.

The kitchen seemed well lit, but with the darkness outside the windows, it also seemed cozy, not too bright, just perfect for a fall evening together around the table.

“I always pray over my food. I can do it aloud if you want me to, or you can. Or, if that’s not you—”

“If you want to, I would appreciate it.”

Sometimes she already had food in her mouth by the time she remembered she was supposed to pray. Mostly that happened in residency and med school, where she was eating between studying and taking care of patients and trying to figure out difficult cases and navigate her way through all of that with very little sleep.

She sat down, and he bowed his head. She waited for a beat, looking at him with his head bowed and feeling that stirring in her heart that had happened several times already when she was around Judd.

“Lord God, thank you for the beautiful fall day You gave us and the way You provided for us. Thank you for a warm home and good company. Please bless the food and help us to use it to bring honor and glory to You. Amen.”

His prayer was sincere, and it felt like it was coming from his heart, while not corny or sentimental.

Okay, so he’d impressed her. Silly that a prayer should do that, but it did.

“You must be used to cooking for yourself,” she began as he grabbed one piece of chicken and she took some vegetables.

“Yeah,” he said and then lapsed into silence again.

Did he know that it was his turn to make a comment or ask a question to keep the conversation flowing?

Maybe he just needed to get warmed up.

She waited until he picked the vegetables up before she grabbed a piece of chicken.

“This looks a little crusted, did you put some kind of seed things on it?” she asked, not really because she cared, although she was curious. It smelled so good.

“Just something I’ve made up myself. Some breadcrumbs and I dipped it in egg. And a few other seasonings. It works for me.”

“It smells delicious to me,” she said, feeling awkward. The conversation just felt stilted, like he didn’t want to talk, and she couldn’t pull words out of him. Her voice sounded too bright and cheerful for the winter evening.

“You don’t need to feel like you have to talk, if you don’t want to. Although you can.” He paused and then said, “How did things go at the clinic?”

He had given her permission not to answer before he even asked the question. And she appreciated that, but she appreciated even more that he didn’t sound like he was asking the question because he was trying to make conversation. It sounded like he was asking the question because he was truly interested in what she might say.

She wasn’t sure how she could put her finger on the difference, but it was there. Again, she knew from her work, not necessarily her studies, that sometimes the brain-heart combination was more powerful than the intellect.

Hmm. Somehow Judd had a way of touching her that made her want to draw closer to him.

“We got all the walls painted in the waiting room, and I have things organized in my office. I took some of my medical books and put them on shelves, although so much stuff is online that it was more for decoration than for any actual necessity.”

“Doctors, too, huh?”

She laughed a little. “We’re not immune.”

He didn’t say anything more, and after she chewed a bite of chicken, she said, “I went through the exam rooms, there’s three of them, and familiarized myself with where everything is. I just feel a little restless, you know? Like, maybe I should be doing something more.”

“I think that’s normal. You’re settling in.”

“Yeah. It was very nice not to have to cook this evening. I don’t really enjoy it.”

“I find it soothing. Just something to do after a long day of work. I think about what will nourish my body, and it’s just mindless work that you can sit and think about whatever you want to.”

“I get the feeling that you do a lot of thinking.”

“I think your feeling is correct,” he said with a little smile that maybe was slightly self-effacing.

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Well, thanks,” he said, and this time, there was irony in his voice.

“Sorry. Maybe I have a tendency to talk too much. I do like to talk things out to work them through, to figure out what I want to do, especially issues or problems where the answer isn’t obvious to me.”

“I guess I like to figure things out in my head before I open my mouth. So often what comes out of my mouth isn’t ready.”

“I guess that’s where we differ, because the stuff that comes out of my mouth isn’t ready either,” she said with a laugh. “But that’s why I say it. I guess maybe so I can hear it and think about it.”

“I see,” he said, nodding his head thoughtfully. Like he really was paying attention to what she said and was chewing on her words.

She thought about the Secret Saint and about asking him to help her, but something held her back. She hadn’t been asked to do the social media posts and maybe she wouldn’t be, and when she started on her clinic, she probably wouldn’t have time to give any thought to that anyway.

“It seems odd, you going to school for years and studying to become a doctor, and then you end up coming back here. I would have thought you would want to go do something big somewhere. Is there something else that drew you back?”

It was an intelligent question, and thankfully, one that was fairly easy for her to answer.

“The whole reason I became a doctor is because I wanted to have a clinic here in my own hometown. That was my dream. Not really becoming a doctor. I know that’s strange and almost opposite from what normal people do. But that was my goal. That was the whole thought behind everything I’ve done.”

“You don’t really care to be a doctor?” he asked, sounding mildly surprised.

“I do! I found that I love it! Although, I think you can love whatever you do, you know? You just decide that you’re going to enjoy your life. You’re going to make the most of what you have and have fun doing it. And it’s a mindset thing.”

“Yeah. I can agree with that. Think positive.”

“Yeah. It goes beyond thinking positive, because you can think pretty preposterous positive things, like we’re going to have Florida summer weather all winter long. You know?”

“Wow. The climate alarmists would be here with bells on if that were to happen. I definitely don’t want that.”

“It would kind of ruin the small-town vibe, wouldn’t it?”

“It would make Christmas not as fun either,” he said, and again his tone was mild, although it was laced with a note of humor.

“Anyway, coming back here is almost like a dream come true.”

“But you weren’t planning on living in a duplex,” he said, lifting a brow at her as though daring her to contradict that.

“I don’t know. I guess I never really thought about where I would live. I suppose my plan was to move back in with my parents and help them while doing my clinic.”

“Didn’t you want to buy your own home?”

“I’m single, by myself. What’s the point of buying a big old house? Especially when my parents live in a big old house and have plenty of room.”

“Why didn’t you do that then?”

“Maybe you haven’t heard, but my brother Gilbert and his wife have moved back in with their three kids because Sally had cancer, and it’s returned. It’s in her bones, she’s...taking treatments, but it doesn’t look good.”

“I see.” He nodded, looking sad but not surprised. She got the feeling that he already knew that, and that’s what made her add, “I could have moved in there anyway, but it just felt like it would be crowded, you know? It also felt like I would be taking attention away from my brother, who needs it. He needs Mom right now, his kids do, too, and Mom has a tendency to want to nurture everyone around her. I’m just one less person she needs to nurture and worry about.”

“Oh, I’m sure she still probably worries about you whether you’re in her house or not.”

“I imagine you’re probably right,” she said. “Mom always said that I would understand better when I had children. Although I don’t know if that’s going to happen.”

“Why wouldn’t it?” he asked easily, and she realized again that it was so easy to talk to him.

“Well, I’m single. And I don’t sleep around, so it’s not going to happen unless I get married, and since there are no prospects, at all.” She shrugged her shoulders, tilting her head. “I just don’t see it.”

“You’re coming back to your hometown. Surely there’s a whole new dating pool.”

“Do you realize how small our town is? And most people our age are married.” As she said that, she realized she was staring at someone who wasn’t.

That was awkward. She looked quickly back down at her plate, but not before she thought that he probably had been thinking about the same thing.

He didn’t say anything, so as she industriously cut her vegetables into extremely tiny pieces, she said, “Why haven’t you married?” She felt pleased with the way her voice didn’t sound as flustered as she felt.

“I guess I just haven’t met the right one yet,” he said.