CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Hannah Leigh and Aunt Winnie climbed into the SUV, shivering while the heater coughed to life. “This is when I wish I drove one of those little cars that heats in thirty seconds.” Hannah Leigh rubbed her hands briskly together.
“Head straight to Bringleton’s,” Aunt Winnie said, blowing into her palms. “I need something hot enough to thaw me clear down to my toes.”
And she did just that. Hannah Leigh hopped out of the car, jogged inside and came back a few minutes later with two steaming cups. “One cocoa, extra marshmallows, the way you like it.”
Aunt Winnie wrapped her hands around the cup and pressed it to her cheek. “Lordy goodness, I could climb right inside this.”
They sat for a moment, the hum of the heater and the carols on the radio softening the air between them.
“Clarence,” Aunt Winnie said finally. “I can’t believe the person Margaret Jane described is the same Clarence as our mayor. It’s mind boggling.”
Hannah Leigh turned the locket in her pocket, feeling the cool metal slide against her fingertips. “One and the same.”
“It’s hard for me to think of that man as romantic,” Aunt Winnie said.
“But he’s carried something heavy. You can see it in the way he stands when people cheer too loud.
Like he doesn’t know how to accept joy. His daddy was a hard man to please.
And losing Elaine near broke him. Still, choices are choices. ”
Outside, the square shimmered in evening light.
A couple stopped by the Love Left Behind board to pin a note.
Across the way, Birdie popped up near the nativity scene as if conjured from thin air, then darted off toward Harper’s Jewelry, a ribbon of news trailing in her wake.
Silent Night floated through the air, soft and sure.
Hannah Leigh thumbed her phone and typed:
HANNAH LEIGH: Found answers. Found more questions. Can you meet?
The typing dots appeared, paused, then:
NATE: Give me twenty. Fixing lights before the tree lighting.
Her mouth lifted into a smile. “I’m going to meet Nate.”
“You should. Go.” Aunt Winnie shooed her with a mittened hand.
“I’ll bring the rest of this cocoa to the Chamber and bully the mayor into tasting the pralines again.
He needs sugar if he’s going to admit hard things.
He knows Margaret Jane is back. There’s no way he didn’t recognize her when she came right out and told him she should smile for the camera. He’s just playing coy.”
“Or hiding from the truth. I agree.” Hannah Leigh hugged her. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being you.”
“Always.” Aunt Winnie’s smile made her look lit from the inside. “Now drop me off at the office so you can scoot.”
The whole town hummed with holiday activities as Hannah Leigh zipped back across town where Nate was stringing the last row of lights on the huge town tree. He climbed down the ladder, brushing off his hands. “You good?”
“Better,” she said, and told him everything. The living room that smelled like cinnamon, the cardinal sparking red when they left, the ribbon and the program, the way Margaret Jane’s voice had trembled when she spoke of her lost love.
He whistled. “Love can be messy. And confusing.”
“Yeah,” she said. “When you find the right one, hang on tight.”
He nudged a coil of wire with his boot. “Did any of it have to do with the dogwood?”
“It did. The man she said was the most romantic and handsome she’d ever known, the one she waited for, is someone you know very well.”
He arched a brow. “Not me, I hope. She’s way too old for me.”
“It’s your uncle,” she said.
Nate froze. “What?” He let out a breath, half disbelief, half resignation. “You know, I can see it. He and Elaine had an odd marriage. Very formal. So, Margaret Jane being back must be what’s got him winding tighter in the cranky department than normal. Guess that explains it.”
“I think so,” Hannah Leigh said. “I promised not to share her side. Still, them both pretending not to notice each other is crazy. I just want the truth to stop running.”
“Then let’s invite the truth to them.” Nate reached into his jacket pocket to pull out a small envelope. “If anyone can make that happen it’s you. You’re the best woman I’ve ever met. I made you something. Nothing fancy. Just something to help you keep confident in that bravery I so admire.”
“What?” She opened it carefully. A coin-sized hand carved wooden dogwood blossom lay inside, simple and sure. The words ‘Work your magic’ written in Sharpie around the edge. The woodgrain raised like quiet words under her fingers. “It’s beautiful,” she said. “Did you make it?”
“I did. Carved it out of some maple I had in my workshop. I was thinking about you.”
“It’s perfect. I’ll keep it in my pocket so when I need it I’ve got it. Thank you.”
He nodded toward the tent where the mayor worked on his speech. “He’s in there, writing talking points for the ceremony. We could wait till morning, but I know him. He sleeps worse with secrets than with truths he didn’t plan for.”
She looked toward the tent, then back at Nate. “Let’s do it now. No fuss. Just let him know Margaret Jane’s here. He can’t pretend he doesn’t know then. After that, it’s his move.”
Nate smiled, that steady, quiet kind that always settled her nerves. “I’m with you.”
They walked over to the makeshift festival office which was really just a small wall tent with a little ceramic heater fighting to warm the air.
Inside, a single lamp that cast a soft circle across the desk. Papers stacked in careful piles next to a cup of coffee.
Clarence looked up as they entered, his posture stiffening. “Evening,” he said. “Getting ready for the tree lighting. I hate speeches.”
“You’ve done a hundred of them,” Nate said. “You’ll be fine.”
Hannah Leigh stepped forward. “Short and sweet. Finish talking before they finish listening. Always works.”
“Yes, yes. What’s up?” he asked.
“Well, I’ve learned that once a promise got lost, and I’d…we’d…like to help set it back on its feet.”
Clarence blinked, eyes wary. “Is this about that darn Love Left Behind stuff? I told your aunt I thought that was bad news.”
“I think I know why you’ve been so determined to keep attention off the dogwood and the board,” she said.
He tried to hide his confusion, but the tremor in his jaw gave him away.
Hannah Leigh’s heart sank, but Nate touched her arm, giving her strength to continue.
“I think you know Margaret Jane is back. She moved into the condos by the dogwood. You might’ve already known,” she continued.
“And it’s thrown you off balance. You’re both acting like you don’t see each other, but it’s plain as day. ”
His voice dropped. “She said that?”
“Not my story to tell,” Hannah Leigh said. “But I’d love to hear yours.”
For a long moment, the room was still. Then Clarence let out a breath that trembled at the edges. “It’s been a long time coming. Too long. She was my first love. I never got over her. It near killed me when she left town.”
The words filled the quiet like a confession. “I was going to marry that girl,” he said.
Hannah Leigh folded her hands and gave the moment the respect it deserved.
Christmas had come to South Hill with more than twinkle lights. It had brought truth, too. The kind that aches a little before it heals. The kind that gives a woman back her peace, a man back his heart, and a town back its story.
She looked over at Nate. His expression was steady, proud, and full of something she didn’t dare name yet.
“Let’s hear it,” she said to the mayor.
And they did.