Home > A Seagrove Christmas(5)

A Seagrove Christmas(5)
Author: Rachel Hanna

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Nicky.”

He smiled, the corners of his weathered eyes turning up like little smiles themselves. “I want you to say you’ll go to dinner with me tomorrow night.”

She poked her lip out and cocked her head like she was deep in thought. In reality, she was about to bust a gut to say yes.

“Well, I suppose that could be arranged.”

Nick laughed. “I’ll pick you up right here at seven.”

As he turned toward the door, she struggled not to giggle like a schoolgirl. The man she’d dreamed about finding her one day actually had. Maybe second chances weren’t just for young people, after all.

* * *

Dixie laid her head on the table. “She hates me.”

“I’m sure that’s not true!” Julie said, rubbing her back. “She’s probably just protective of her daddy. That’s all.”

Dixie sat up and sighed. “I’m telling you, dinner last night was a disaster. I was so jittery that I burned the pork chops. You know I never burn food!”

Julie sat down beside her. “You’ve got to calm down, lady. You’re starting to aggravate your tremors.” Whenever Dixie got nervous, her left hand shook. It always worried Julie because she didn’t want her disease to progress any faster than it had to, and stress was one of the worst things for her health.

“Harry keeps telling me I’m overreacting, but I know when someone doesn’t like me. Especially another woman. You know, you can just tell.”

“Why don’t you talk to her? Clear the air? See what she’s thinking?”

“I don’t want her to think she’s gotten to me, but I might just have to talk to her. Something isn’t right.”

Julie couldn’t help but feel bad for Dixie. She was such an amazing person, and anyone who didn’t like her had to have a screw loose. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? Go get your nails done or something?”

Dixie smiled. “I appreciate it, honey, but I need to keep busy. I think I’m going to go in the storage room and go through that new shipment we got.”

“Okay, but if you decide you need to get out of here, I’ll mind the store.”

“I know you will. You’re an excellent business partner, Julie.”

She watched Dixie walk into the back room and decided she would go straighten up around the cash register. That area always seemed to get messy with coffee cups and stray pens.

As she walked behind the counter, a woman came in. She hadn’t seen her before, but that wasn’t unusual since tourists were always breezing through their quaint little town. Christmas time was her favorite time of year because it brought out many people in the holiday spirit. The town square was already decorated for the season, with lit-up garlands wrapped around the light posts, a nativity scene in the park area and lights strung in the trees dotting the area.

“Welcome to Down Yonder Books,” Julie said, as the woman entered. She was petite with dirty blond hair that was as simple as it was long. Her mother would’ve called it stringy, but Julie tried not to judge.

“Thanks,” the woman said quietly. She seemed anxious, almost skittish.

“Can I help you find something?”

“No thanks. Just looking.”

“Well, I’m Julie if you need anything,” she said, smiling. The woman glanced at her name tag for a moment and nodded.

“Thanks.”

She watched her walk around, occasionally touching a book and sometimes looking back at Julie. It made her wonder if the woman was planning to rob the place, but she had to believe that wasn’t true. Still, she monitored her as best she could just in case she was there for some nefarious reason.

A few minutes later, she walked up to the counter, no books in her hand. “You sell coffee?”

“We sure do. We have French vanilla, hazelnut, pumpkin spice…”

“You don’t sell plain coffee?”

Julie smiled. “Of course. What size?”

The woman leaned a bit and looked at the cups. “That small one.”

“Coming right up,” Julie said. She turned around and poured the coffee as the woman sat down at the table. Julie walked over and set it in front of her. “Are you new in town?”

She nodded. “Just visiting.”

“That’s on the house, then! Welcome to Seagrove.”

She smiled slightly. “Thanks. It’s my first time here.”

“You’re going to love it. Where are you staying?”

“At the motel down on route six.”

“Oh, that’s quite a way from here.”

“Yeah. It was all I could afford. I just came here to see some family.”

“I’ll tell you what… Why don’t you come stay at the inn I own with my husband? We’ll charge you the same price, but it’s a much nicer place and just over the bridge onto the island.”

Her eyes widened. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

“Of course!”

“But you don’t even know me.”

Julie smiled. “We welcome everyone to Seagrove, and a motel is no place to spend the holidays.”

The woman laughed softly. “It isn’t a very nice place.”

“Then it’s settled.” Julie picked up a brochure for the inn off the counter and handed it to her. “You go get your things and come on over to The Inn At Seagrove, okay?”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. I just need one thing from you.”

She looked a little hesitant. “What’s that?”

“Your name?”

The woman chuckled. “Tina. I’m Tina Hobbs.”

“Nice to meet you, Tina,” Julie said, shaking her hand. “And Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” Tina said, beaming.

 

 

Chapter Three

 

 

Meg held onto her wiggly daughter, keeping her firmly planted on her lap and trying to smile. “Smile, Vivi…” she encouraged, as the photographer tried in vain to get a good family Christmas photo. So far, he’d gotten a picture of Meg chasing Vivi, followed by a photo of Vivi’s behind sticking up in the air while she put her hands in the dirt next to the bale of hay they were sitting on.

“Come on, my darling,” Christian urged, his thick French accent still so attractive to Meg. She would never tire of hearing him speak, even when it was the most mundane of sentences. She even loved hearing him order fast food at the drive through they went to from time to time. The way he said pickles gave her the chills.

Finally, the photographer caught Vivi looking straight ahead for a split second and snapped the winning photo. Meg had been sure to dress her in a cute red and green plaid dress that flared out and had a black velvet top. She wore white tights and shiny black shoes. Now that she was walking without help, trying to keep her still was like trying to hold a pig that someone had slicked up with oil.

Meg set her down and allowed her to explore the area of the Christmas tree farm where they were taking photos. She couldn’t imagine how hard getting a picture with Santa was going to be at the mall next week. She had plans to go Christmas shopping with her mother, her sister and her aunt Janine, and she was really looking forward to it. There was just something about the energy at the mall during Christmastime. The sound of people talking, the music playing in the stores, the smell of the coffee shop and the place that sold those huge cinnamon rolls.

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