Sleigh Bell Dreams (Mistletoe Meadows Sweet Christmas #1)

Chapter 31

“And the winner is,” Robert Galigher, mayor of Mistletoe Meadows and currently standing on the makeshift platform beside the hot chocolate competition, held up a cup of hot chocolate and said, “Geraldine McVey.”

The crowd cheered, and Geraldine grinned from ear to ear.

Mr. Galigher waited for the applause to die down before he said, “And here is your trophy. Rather than some useless thing you’re going to put on a shelf and have to dust every week or so, we had custom mugs made, with Mistletoe Meadows’s name on it and the year and announcing you’re a hot chocolate contest winner. You get a pair of them, so you can enjoy hot chocolate with your significant other.”

She came to the booth, and he handed her the mugs. “You also get a gift card that’s good at any store in Mistletoe Meadows.” The second and third place winners had already been named and had gotten their prizes. “Now, if you’d like to taste the winning hot chocolate, go to her booth and buy yourself a mug.”

The crowd cheered again, and Mr. Galigher said, “I’d like to thank the judges for their time and expertise.”

Judd grinned. His only expertise was that he loved hot chocolate, but that seemed to be the only thing that was necessary.

“And I’d like to thank all the volunteers for their time and efforts today. They erected these little huts in record time, put the tables up, and had everything ready to go. We wouldn’t be able to have this without them. Let’s give them all a hand.”

Judd leaned down to Terry’s ear. “This is where I was today.”

“Getting things ready for the parade?”

He nodded. “Along with Dana and her daughter, and going over the mountain to get candy for the kids to throw.”

“Is that it?”

“And the tree. I did the tree this morning.”

“I saw some pine needles on your coat and could smell it when you walked in. I figured what you’d been doing when I heard in my practice that it had been done. I understand why you didn’t tell me, but I did feel like you didn’t trust me.”

“I can’t tell everyone, otherwise it wouldn’t be a secret. And there’s enough people who know, like Dana, today. I didn’t have enough time to get someone else to do it for me. And usually I have some lines that I use, and cash I can give, but I needed to talk to you, since I couldn’t pay for it without making a trip to the bank, and I didn’t have time.”

She nodded. “I’m sorry I pressured you. But I didn’t understand.”

“Thank you guys for judging. You did an excellent job. I know it was a sacrifice.” The mayor came over and slapped his hand on their shoulders.

“It was actually really hard. There was so much good hot chocolate, it was tough to make a choice.”

“Yeah. You probably had to taste a couple three or four times to really make a good decision,” he said, totally joking with them.

They just smiled, and he moved away as his phone buzzed.

I’ll take care of the horses and wagon.

He glanced up to see Terry looking at him as he wrote OK and hit send.

“Wilson is going to take care of the horses and wagon.”

“Oh, that’s nice of him.”

“Are you ready to go home?” Judd asked Terry. “Or would you like to walk around some?”

There were a few other booths set up, vendors that were selling things like freshly made doughnuts and cinnamon buns, and there was even someone selling Christmas cookies and funnel cakes.

“I’d like to go home,” she said, and it made his heart smile to think that she might be eager to talk to him. Although, talking wasn’t the only thing he was hoping for.

They turned up the sidewalk, and to his surprise, her fingers slid around his.

He looked down and then looked at her. She was smiling up at him, her eyes glowing.

He thought that was probably a really good sign and curled his hand around hers, cradling it and squeezing.

Loving the feel of her beside him and hoping that this was the start of something that lasted for a very long time.

They reached the porch, and the Christmas tree that they put up the day before shone happily in the window. It had been a long time since he’d come home to the happy lights of a Christmas tree and the warmth and welcome that it gave.

He saw that she had also hung a wreath on their door.

“I like it,” he said as he opened it.

“They were selling them on the sidewalk as I walked home, and I couldn’t resist.”

“I would have hung it up for you if you’d have said something.”

“I know, but it came with a hook, and there already was a nail on the door, so it wasn’t hard.”

He liked the little touches that she made to make their house welcoming.

They walked in, and he said, “I’d suggest we make some hot chocolate, but...”

“I think I’ve had my fill of hot chocolate for...today. I want to say for the season, but I think I’ll be ready for more tomorrow.”

“That’s exactly how I feel. Let’s wait until tomorrow and see how it goes.”

They laughed together, and then she said, “I have a confession to make.”

“Yeah?” He paused in the act of hanging up his hat. He had had to let go of her hand and had been hurrying, because he wanted to take it back.

She looked serious though, and his heart fell. What was she going to admit to?

“Today when I came home, the door to your living room was cracked.”

“I guess I didn’t get it shut tight when I left. I was kind of in a hurry.”

“So I peeked in.”

He was quiet. Knowing what she would have seen when she looked.

“I couldn’t quite see anything, so...I pushed the door open a little wider.” She pressed her lips together. “That’s what I was apologizing for. It was one thing for you to let me in and for me to see, but I pushed it so I could see. The crack was a good two inches wide. I saw...”

“All the gifts and wrapping paper and stuff that I have on the floor for the Secret Saint things that I do.”

“Yeah, that.”

“You already know it’s me. I can hardly be upset about it, especially since I left the door cracked.”

“But I snooped. I...didn’t really mean to, but I shouldn’t have. It was wrong, and I’m sorry.”

“No. You’re right. If I want to be more, if you are special to me, there shouldn’t be any secrets between us. You’re welcome to look wherever you want to. You’re welcome to see whatever you want to see. I’m an open book, except... I can’t be to the town.”

“I know. I understand now. I’m sorry I pushed you.”

“I’m glad you did. It made me feel like you care.”

“I do. I wasn’t expecting to. This is surprising to me,” she said, twisting her fingers a bit, before deliberately unhooking them and putting them down at her sides.

“Terry,” he said, his fingers coming up and tracing down her cheek.

“Yeah?”

“It’s surprising to me too. But not in a bad way. I... I’ve always admired you, and you’re right, I didn’t expect to fall for you. But...”

Was it too much? He couldn’t really stop the words as they started to come out. “I love you. I think I’ve been falling in love with you since the day you first walked in and I showed you around the house. I couldn’t think of anything to say, because I was a little overwhelmed. You were so compelling to me. I just felt a pull toward you.”

“That’s me! That’s how I’ve been feeling. I keep thinking about this weird attraction, and I didn’t want to label it attraction, but it’s there, along with admiration for what you do, for your character, for the compassion that you show the people in the community. I have to say, it’s inspiring.”

“You don’t think I’m lazy because I don’t have a job?” he said, because he knew how the town talked. He knew that was how they thought about him. Some of them anyway.

“Mrs. Tucker gave me a lecture. And it made me realize that maybe you’ve chosen something that not a whole lot of people think is a good idea, but maybe the world would be better off if more people chose that way.”

“Thanks. I don’t know about that, but I just know that I wanted to do something different than what I saw growing up, but wanting and doing are two different things. You know? You have to make deliberate choices every day to be the person that you want to be, because it’s so easy to get sidetracked.”

“That’s the way it is as a Christian too. You have to set boundaries for yourself and then not cross them. Otherwise, you end up doing a whole lot of things that you didn’t plan on, just because you didn’t take the time to make the choices that would take you in the direction that you want to go.”

“I agree completely, life’s like that. But I feel like being here with you is the right choice. I know we talked about this a bit on the wagon, but I’m not doing this lightly. I see us together for the rest of our lives.” That was crazy. Nobody said that. It was too soon. He opened his mouth. “I know that’s scary. That’s probably such a weird thing to say—”

“No. I don’t need to see more. I see that you’re a good man, I see that you have integrity and character. I see that you keep your word. Maybe you don’t know me as well, but I am perfectly comfortable with the idea of thinking about forever.”

“I don’t need to see more. I’ve known you all my life. And I love just the fact that you came back to your hometown and opened a clinic where you knew you weren’t going to be making the big money that you could have made somewhere else, just because you wanted to be near your family. That says everything I need to hear.”

She smiled, and they stared at each other for a moment.

“So, is tonight my night to kiss you first?” he asked, grinning a little, because she hadn’t given him a choice yesterday.

“Are you asking for permission?” she asked, tilting her head a little and stepping closer.

“Yes. I’m asking for permission.” And if she said no, he wouldn’t be fine, but he would definitely listen to her. “If you think I’m moving too fast, it’s okay.”

“No. I was just laughing because I didn’t ask permission yesterday, and I thought maybe you were asking because you were afraid I was just going to grab you and kiss you and you wanted to get a jump on me.”

“I feel like I’m going to have to be pretty fast if I want to stay ahead of you.”

“I’ll let you lead,” she said easily, and he could see in her eyes that she knew she could lead if she wanted to, but she was giving the privilege to him. If it was a privilege. It felt like a responsibility. And maybe a heavy one, since it was one thing to get oneself off track, it was a completely different thing to lead someone else the wrong way.

But kissing Terry was definitely not the wrong thing.

He lowered his head, and her hands slipped around his shoulders, and he pulled her closer, kissing her the way he’d wanted to for a long time.

And that time when he lifted his head, she didn’t run away.

“I like the ending of this one better,” he said after a moment of them staring at each other and maybe getting used to the idea of their new normal.

For him, he was thinking about lowering his head and doing it all again.

“I think I like the ending of this one better, too. Perhaps we should have an encore.”

He grinned. “I was thinking the same thing.”

And he lowered his head again.