Sweet Christmas Kisses (149 page)

If Holly hadn’t latched on to her hand, Noelle might have run screaming from the hospital.

Her mother made a soft cooing sound. “Oh Nicholas, look what you’ve done to yourself.” She drifted toward the bed, leaning down to kiss his face. “My love, you’re not allowed to go before me. I couldn’t live without you.”

Holly took her place on the other side of the bed. “Dad, we’re here. We love you so much.”

Noelle couldn’t move. Could barely process that her father had almost died. She somehow managed to walk toward him and kissed his weathered cheek. The antiseptic scent on his skin assaulted her senses. Wrong. So wrong. Her father smelled like aftershave and evergreen trees. He didn’t smell like a sick, old man.

After several tense, quiet moments, their mother spoke, “You two go home and rest. I’ll stay with him tonight.”

“Mom, no,” Holly said. “I can stay. You’re already spent. You need to keep up your strength for when Dad comes home.”

“You should to be with your babies. The girls saw their grandfather collapse, and they need you,” she said.

“Then I’ll stay,” Noelle said. Certainly there was no one waiting at home for her.

“I want to do this.” She reached for both of their hands. “Please, I need some time alone with your father.”

Noelle followed her sister back downstairs where Drew stood waiting to drive them home. Holly went straight to him, throwing her arms around his neck. Then she started weeping. The mantle of calm efficiency disappeared as sobs wracked her body. Helpless, Noelle could only watch as her take-charge sister fell apart.

“I love you,” Holly told Drew when she’d finally regained control again. “Don’t let me forget to tell you. Every day from now on.”

Drew kissed her on the lips. “I love you, too.”

Noelle had to turn away from the unabashed display of devotion. She hated that even now, when her father lay in a bed recovering from a heart attack, she couldn’t escape her own crushing sense of loss and betrayal.

Holly and Drew walked out to the car hand in hand. Noelle trailed behind them, trying not to intrude on what had become an intensely private moment. A cold blast of near December air smacked her in the face as they walked outside. She hadn’t thought to grab a coat earlier. Noelle shivered and tried to huddle deeper into her sweater.

A little beep-beep sounded as Drew unlocked the car, but before Noelle could open the door, her sister stepped in the way.

“What are you doing?” Noelle asked, scowling. “It’s freezing out here.”

“We have to talk,” Holly said, her gaze unflinching.

“Fine. Let’s talk… in the car. On the way home.”

Holly didn’t budge. “I think you need to hold off your move till after the holidays. Mom and Dad need us. You heard the doctor. Dad isn’t going to be able to make Christmas happen in Covington Falls this year. There’s no way he’ll be able to handle the store, plus all the town’s activities without bringing on another attack. We’ll have to take over.”

In the back of her mind, Noelle had known this was coming. She’d known it the moment her father had collapsed at the table. Adrenaline and fear hadn’t allowed her to process the implication of Dad being ill, but now she did.

“I have a job waiting in Atlanta,” Noelle said. “I’m supposed to start Monday.”

“Can’t you call and tell them there’s been a family emergency? Who wants to train someone before Christmas anyway?”

Noelle made a last, desperate attempt to stave of the inevitable. “I already leased my apartment. The tenant is supposed to move in next week.”

“There are three empty bedrooms at Mom and Dad’s house.” Holly paused, rubbing her extended stomach. “I’ll help too, of course, but with the kids plus Junior waiting to make an appearance, I won’t be able to do as much.”

Panic threatened to engulf her. Noelle focused on the empty parking lot while she tried to shove it down. She was horrible to even be dwelling on her heartache when her dad had almost died tonight.

“I don’t know how to face the prospect of another Christmas here… alone,” Noelle said.

“I understand your was heart broken,” Holly said. “I know how you feel—”

“No, you don’t!” Noelle cut in. “How could you? You met Drew your freshman year of college and married right after graduation. He’s the only guy you ever seriously dated. You don’t know what it’s like to read a note from the man you’re supposed to marry saying he’s run off with your best friend. You don’t know what it’s like to have everyone whisper about you and look at you with pity. I’m barely holding it together. I
have
to get out of here.”

Noelle could hear the sharp edge in her voice, and she slapped a hand over her mouth to stop the vicious words.

“I’m sorry,” Noelle whispered. “I’m so sorry. It’s horrible of me to want to leave when Dad needs me, but I don’t know what else to do. I can’t go on feeling like half a person. I’m terrified that if I don’t get out now, this black pit will swallow me whole.”

Instead of yelling back, Holly grabbed her and hung on. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have ordered to you stay. And I’m sorry to put all the pressure on you. Believe me, I want to rip Doug’s intestines out and stomp them into the ground.”

A gurgle of laughter pushed back her fear. “That’s really… serial killerish. And gross.”

“You’re my baby sister,” Holly said, a grin curving her lips. “I get a little overprotective now and then. Listen, I totally get that you need to escape. I’d want to run and hide, too, but maybe running isn’t the answer. Maybe you need to face the demons head on so you can heal. You were pretty dead to the world last year.”

“I didn’t think you’d noticed,” she said with chagrin.

“Trust me, we all noticed. Maybe this Christmas you can finally put the whole tragedy behind you. Besides, I think it’ll be fun.”

“For you maybe, Mrs. Three Kids And One On The Way. You’ll pop in a few times a week, looking all beautiful and glowing while I’ll be a mess.”

“It won’t be like that.”

Yeah, it would be exactly like that. Anxiety squeezed her insides again at the thought of the parades and the decorating and the store managing… and the baking. She could never forget the baking. Cookies, tarts, pies, chocolate, breads. Noelle’s mother could have challenged any television chef when it came to sweet holiday treats. Holly’s apple, of course, hadn’t fallen far from the tree. The baking gene seemed to have skipped Noelle entirely, however.

Blissfully unaware of her sister’s growing horror at the prospect of facing a rolling pin and an oven, Holly continued speaking, “Everything will be fine. And listen, if you still feel like leaving in January, I won’t say one word against it.”

“Do you promise?”

Holly made a little X across her chest. “Cross my heart.”

A despairing sigh escaped. “All right. Dad needs me, and what’s one more month anyway? Besides, maybe I’ll be so busy I won’t have time to think about Doug.”

“My offer to rip out his innards still stands,” Holly said, rubbing her hands together like Igor about throw the switch and light up the monster.

“Bloodthirsty lately?” Noelle said with a roll of her eyes. “Come on and take me home. If I have to start bringing Christmas to Covington Falls tomorrow, I’m going to need some sleep.”

The next thing she knew, Noelle was engulfed in a bear hug. “I’m so proud of you. And don’t worry. Everything is going to be fine.”

Despite feeling as though a thousand pounds of sand had been dumped in her eyes, and her own innards had been stomped on, sleep proved elusive. Every time Noelle closed her eyes, visions of Dad keeling over assaulted her senses. She’d jerk awake from a near doze, chills racing across her skin like tiny ants. 

At four-thirty, after checking the clock for the twentieth time in as many minutes, Noelle gave up. She threw back the covers and then pulled on her oldest jeans, a comfy sweatshirt, and shoved her feet in clodhopper work boots. She didn’t dare glance in the mirror, staying in the bathroom only long enough to twist her hair in a knot on top of her head.

This time she remembered her coat, but even so, the well-before-sunrise icy air crawled up her back to send shivers along her spine. The Campbells’ driveway was still empty. They wouldn’t be back until later in the day. Noelle suddenly missed Michael with a fierceness that surprised her. She hadn’t realized how much she’d come to rely on their friendship over the last year. He probably didn’t even know what had happened. For a moment, she contemplated calling him and then rejected the idea.

No need to dump her problems on him, especially when he was several hours away and could do nothing to help.

Her hometown was empty and silent, the only illumination coming from porch lights and the occasional streetlamps. Noelle guided her car toward downtown, although she supposed the word
downtown
might have been a generous description. The shopping and commerce district of Covington Falls encompassed Main Street, which was intersected by 1 Avenue. Framing the corners were four churches, and the wide sidewalks linking them were lined with cute-as-button shops. At the crossroads of Main and 1 was Rice Circle, which was dominated by a picturesque park. On one side of the park stood City Hall and opposite was the Main Library.

The store awnings swayed in the breeze like colorful ghosts as Noelle drove past. She doubted even the mice were stirring at this early hour, though she did notice lights on at Jessie’s Treats. Just before the intersection at Rice Circle, she pulled into a parking space in front of St. Nick’s Closet, her parents’ Christmas store.

Dashing through the cold, Noelle stumbled inside, slamming the door behind her before an arctic breeze could invade the warmth. For a moment, she stood rooted to the spot. The darkness cast long shadows over the nooks and crannies of the store. Christmas cheer exploded from the shelves and overflowed across tables. Hand-painted ornaments, nutcrackers of all shapes and sizes, figurines, and toys vied for space with candles and potpourri. In one corner were the tools for preparing every kind of baked good imaginable, from cookie cutters and pans to complete baking sets with pre-packaged dry ingredients in decorated tins and bags.

One area was devoted entirely to different types of nativity scenes, and in the back corner was a giant Christmas tree that remained decorated all year long, although the theme changed according to the season or holiday. Right now, the tree was decorated with cornucopias and pilgrims. Under the tree were dozens of pumpkins, squash, and dried Indian corn.

As a little girl, Noelle had loved coming to the shop with her brother and sister. There’d been so many treasures to discover. Now the crammed shelves and dark corners seemed to loom over her like the Ghost of Christmas Future, pointing to her demise. She had to bring Christmas to Covington Falls… by herself.

“You can do this,” she whispered to herself. “You grew up here. What’s the big deal? It’s only stocking shelves and ringing things up.”

Today anyway, and that didn’t even begin to cover everything else she’d have to do over the next month. Saturday, the real work began, with the setup of the Christmas Village in Rice Circle, which included Santa’s workshop and house, a living nativity, and the town’s Christmas tree. Then there was the parade, the candlelight procession, story time with Mrs. Claus, and…

Noelle’s throat tightened, threatening to cut off oxygen supply to her brain.

“Get a grip, Noelle.”

The firm admonition seemed to work. She took a few calming breaths and then went to the storeroom. After about fifteen minutes of pushing and shoving, Noelle managed to get to the Christmas decorations and hauled several boxes to the front.

First task: setting up the train set in the window.

Everything went well at first. She spread out the white bunting material on the floor of the display unit. Next came the pre-formed risers and the painted, papier-mâché rock that stood in for a mountain. Then she turned to the box with the train set and tracks.

Noelle’s breath caught when she flipped the lid open. She reached in and removed the locomotive from the molded foam. The green, cast-iron train engine was about a foot long and painted with holly leaves and red berries. She spun the wheels, watching them turn in the slowly growing light. Next, Noelle unearthed the coal car, or in the case of St. Nick’s Closet, the raisin car. There were also several passenger cars, a lumber carrier that usually hauled candy bars, and finally the red caboose.

Noelle hugged the engine to her chest as she gazed at the other pieces scattered across the floor. Her dad had gotten the set for Christmas as a child. He’d set it up under tree with Grandpa Robinson every year. When he and mom opened St. Nick’s Closet, the train had become the focal point for the store window. Everyone in town stopped to watch the locomotive make its way around the mountain, winding along a path surrounded by miniature buildings that looked like they could be stand-ins for a Dickens’ novel.

While Holly and Mom had always decorated the Christmas tree and organized the shelves, Noelle’s favorite thing had been putting together the train with her dad and twin brother.

Now, Nicky was fighting for his country half way around the world, and Dad lay in a hospital bed fighting for his life. While her almost-husband would no doubt be putting up a tree with Alicia.

Hot tears welled, stinging her eyes and clamping around her throat. She sank to the floor of the display window, sobs wracking her body.

“God… I can’t feel like this anymore,” Noelle prayed. “Please take it away. I’m so tired. Help me!”

A sudden rapping at the window made her jump, and she nearly tumbled off the riser. Holding a hand to her heart, she glanced up. Michael Campbell stood on the other side of the glass. She blinked in shock, wondering if her earlier thoughts had magically conjured him up. He was supposed to be in Augusta. Except, somehow he was here, brows pinched together in obvious concern. He looked like an avenging angel, although she doubted the holy creatures generally wore blue jeans faded in all the right places.

Wait…
what?