Chapter 25 #2
Wait—she was alone? “Well, if you don’t have plans for Christmas, you’re welcome to join us.” Finlay wanted to punch herself in the face. This isn’t a social call. It’s business.
“That’s nice of you, but I’ll be working. Someone’s got to run the place.”
“Well, I’m going to leave you my card anyway, so please know you’re very welcome.
We’ve got a lot of people coming, and you’ll fit right in.
Anyway…” She lifted the heavy tote. “I have something I think will be a good fit for your store.” In addition to food, they sold high-end kitchen and bath products.
“You’re my first pitch, so if I’m doing it all wrong, please forgive me. ”
Harley broke into a warm smile. “You’re fine. Show me what you’ve got.” She came around her desk, and they both dropped into comfortable chairs.
Okay, girl. This is it.
Finlay loved teaching, and she was good at it. The hard part was that, while the children changed each year, the job didn’t. There were only so many ways to make ornaments or to switch up the curriculum. Only so many age-appropriate songs to sing with her class.
And she really loved tinkering with essential oils and molding soap into fun shapes. But did she have something special, or was she just another person hawking a homemade product?
Only one way to find out…
Finlay pulled out her prettily wrapped boxes.
Since it would be months before anyone stocked her items, she’d chosen a spring design with flowers and raffia ribbon.
The perfumed scent swirled around them. Pride filled her.
It was all just so lovely. Wait till she sees the shapes.
“Now, I know you’ve got tons of fancy soaps on your shelves, but mine are different. ”
Harley closed her eyes and breathed in. “Smells divine.”
“Right? So first, I use mango butter and avocado oil to make it luxuriously moisturizing, but then…” This is the good part. “I create my own scents.”
“What do you mean?”
“I use what I learned in a perfume-making class to design soaps scented with essential oils.” She handed over one with dinosaur-wrapping.
“This is for kids, obviously. It’s my newest line.
” Thank you, Cody. “There’s a little plastic dinosaur embedded in it.
” She pulled out another one. “And this one…”
“Let me guess.” Harley reached for the package wrapped in colorful blocks. “Legos.”
“You got it.”
“Very cute.” The owner sniffed it. “It smells like cherry candy.”
“Yep. And inside, there’s a Lego person. And for adults, I have these.” She handed over a floral package. “There’s nothing inside, but it’s flower-shaped and smells like gardenia and tuberose. There’s no end to the unique scents I can make.”
Harley closed her eyes and sniffed the package. “Delicious. I could bathe in this. I want it in my sheets and my towels.” When she opened her eyes, she grinned. “I love this idea.”
“Can I leave some samples for you to try? I want you to see how moisturizing they are.”
“You sure can. I probably won’t get back to you until January.”
“Oh, of course. Believe me, I know I shouldn’t be hawking my soap two days before Christmas. I just wanted to start with Lu.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll drop some at her house and let her know you stopped by. But honestly, I can tell you right now, we’d be happy to stock it and see what our customers think.”
Finlay got up. “Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me. Have a great holiday.” Don’t invite her.
Keep it about business. But when she got to the door, she turned around.
“If you can’t come for Christmas, maybe you’d like to join me and my friends for a girls’ night out the first Friday in January? ”
“That’s really nice of you to include me.”
See? She’s totally noncommittal. She doesn’t even know you. “My contact info is on the card attached to the bag. I hope you’ll join us.” She headed out the door. “Happy holidays!”
By the time she’d crossed the street and entered the park, she’d swapped embarrassment with pride. I did it. I made my first pitch. She couldn’t wait to tell Jude.
The competition ended today, so while the judges made their rounds, the teams packed up their tools and loaded their trucks. As she headed to the McKennas’ section, she marveled at the sculptures. How did they come up with these ideas?
She loved the bear with a fish in its claws. Another good one was the mermaid wearing a beanie and scarf around her neck and eating what looked to be a take-out box of french fries.
But when she got to Jude’s entry, she knew without a doubt they’d win.
Their attention to detail was exceptional.
The gingerbread-style house had shutters, a bag of toys in the sleigh on the roof, and Santa’s booted feet sticking out of the chimney.
She couldn’t believe the artistry. Since the guys were nowhere to be found, she slipped inside.
In it, they had a fireplace with stockings hanging off the mantel and a dining room table with three mugs and a plate of cookies. Voices approached—probably the judges—so she turned to leave when something caught her eye.
Under the table rested a pair of moose slippers. She recognized the antlers of the ones she’d owned when she was eighteen.
Just like Jude’s tattoo.
She turned to go and found the man himself blocking the snow house. “You’re obsessed with my slippers.”
“I’m obsessed with you. Now, come on. We have to get out of here. They’re judging ours next.”
She stepped out of it and hugged him. “You’re so sweet.”
“Did you see it, Miss O’Neill?” Cody came running up to them.
“I sure did. It’s amazing.”
“We’re gonna win,” the boy said. “’Cause that’s what us guys do.”
“I sure hope so. But even if you don’t, it was a lot of fun working together, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah.” He broke into a shy smile. “It was.”
Gunnar, Wyatt, and Boone strode toward them, a wall of muscle, scruff, and motorcycle boots. Heads turned, and people froze as the bad boys of Calamity Falls parted the crowd.
“You guys, this is outstanding.” Finlay greeted each one with a hug. “You’ve outdone yourselves.”
“Thanks,” Gunnar said in his gruff way.
“Come on.” Boone rested his big hand on Cody’s head. “Ready for some hot chocolate?”
“We sure earned it,” Cody said.
Jude smiled, and as they headed over, she found herself in the middle of these men who’d so readily adopted her into their circle. She just loved being part of them.
That punch of adrenaline flooded her system—as it always did—when she thought of the text conversation she’d had with her mom that morning.
On the way to the tree farm, she’d invited her parents to Christmas Eve at Gunnar’s and Christmas Day at her house. Initially, her mom said she’d try to make it.
It had really grated on her, so when she’d woken up that morning, she’d pushed it.
Finlay: I get that you have to work, but I need you to know how it feels as your daughter to hear you say you’ll “try to make it” for a holiday as important as Christmas. It hurts. I don’t want to feel like a burden to my own mom.
Mom: You’re my daughter, and I love you very much.
You are not a burden. I’m sorry if I ever made you feel that way.
But I work with people 24/7, and I just don’t have the bandwidth to dive into a whole new family after spending two years getting to know the Joneses.
I know you need to be part of a big family, but I’m happy with our little one.
Why don’t we find a few hours to spend together, just you and me, and we can open our presents then?
She didn’t know if her mom meant it as a dig, but “I know you need to be part of a big family” had wormed its way into her brain and taken root.
Because she did want that. She’d had it with Matt, and there was no question she’d thrown herself right into the McKennas.
How did she know what was real and what was driven by the lonely little girl who taped pictures onto her vision board?
Her thoughts were interrupted when she entered the tent and ran into Eloise and her baby. Her friend looked a little frantic. “What’s going on?”
“I got hired to photograph Snowfest, but the sitter canceled at the last minute, and I don’t know what to do. I can’t just bail, but I also can’t take—”
Boone stepped between them and yanked the stroller out of Eloise’s hands. “I’ve got her.”
“I can’t ask you to babysit.”
“You didn’t,” he said pointedly.
“Don’t you have to work?” Eloise asked.
“I’m off for two days. Now, go. Before you lose the job.”
She held his gaze, two combatants unwilling to back down.
Finlay touched her friend’s shoulder. “Just go, okay? Your baby’s safe with us.”
Eloise sighed. “Okay. Thank you. I’ll try to get it done as quickly as I can.”
“Take your time.” Boone pushed the stroller to an empty table and sat down.
After her friend left, Cody tugged on Finlay’s arm. “Could we get cocoa now? I’m cold.”
“Yes, of course.” But as they got in line, she saw Matt and his little girl at a nearby table. Chloe stood on a chair, stomping her little booted feet, as she munched a chocolate muffin. Finlay couldn’t help but smile at him.
As she headed over, he stood, one hand gripping his daughter’s arm.
“She’s a firecracker.” Finlay noticed how much the little girl looked like him.
“She is.”
It was awkward for a moment. Neither knew how to greet the other. But Finlay wasn’t about to hug him. “How’s it going?”
“It’s okay. We’re living with my mom till I figure things out. She watches her while I’m at work.”
She’d never seen him so uncomfortable. Undoubtedly, he had a lot to say to her, but this wasn’t the right setting to get into it. “You’re lucky to have her.”
“I am, yeah. Eventually, I’ll get my own place, get a nanny or something.
I don’t know. I’m not exactly thinking clearly at the moment.
” He blew out a breath. “It turns out the only reason my ex decided to tell me about my daughter is because she’s going back to school full-time, so she needs my help.
I’ve been thrown into this. I haven’t had a chance to process anything else. ”
“That’s awful. I’m sorry she did that to you.”
“Yeah. It’s been an adjustment to say the least.” His gaze landed on Cody. “So it’s true, then? You’re engaged to that biker?”
A twinge of uncertainty hit her. It seemed cruel to let him believe a lie that would hurt him so deeply, but on the other hand, what choice did she have? “His name is Jude, and we’ve known each other a long time.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“What makes you think you deserve one?” She instantly regretted snapping at him in front of the children. “I’m sorry.” They lived in the same town and had to find a way to be pleasant with each other.
“Finlay, two weeks ago, we were getting married.”
“I’m well aware.”
“If you could move on that fast… It pretty much invalidates our entire relationship.”
I think you managed that one all by yourself.
But no matter what he’d done, she still couldn’t blame him for being upset.
If the situations were reversed, she’d be, too.
“We had a lot of cracks in it already.” But she didn’t see any reason to get into it.
He was the one who’d chosen to deceive her.
She didn’t owe him any explanation. “At least she seems to be adjusting well.” She smiled at the little girl who was happily chomping away.
“I Cwo-ie.”
“I know you are, cutie. And that looks yummy.”
The little girl nodded in an exaggerated way. She was adorable.
“I really wish you were doing this with me,” Matt said. “You’d be a great stepmom.” He studied Cody. “Well, I guess that’s what you are. Just to someone else’s child.” Tenderly, he brushed the hair off his daughter’s cheek. “I messed up.”
“Why, though?” she asked. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know. I guess part of me didn’t want to believe it.
I just wanted to marry you and get to the good part where we had kids and my buddies would come over to watch games.
We had plans, and she wasn’t in them.” He had the decency to lower his chin and shake his head. “That didn’t come out right.”
“No, I know what you meant.” And she was so damn grateful for the way things turned out, she really couldn’t be angry with him anymore. “Do you think you and your ex will get back together? Become a family?”
“Are you kidding?” Anger and disgust twisted his features. “She lied to me. I’ll never trust her again. Never.”
Finlay waited, not saying a word. It only took a moment for him to get it.
When he did, he drew in a deep breath. “Yeah. I get it.” He looked her right in the eyes. “I’m sorry. I blew up everything, and I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
His remorse softened her. “I think we’re both going to be okay.”
He lowered his gaze to her ring finger, and a bolt of fear sizzled through her.
Until she remembered. Jude had taken it off. Oh, thank God. Can you imagine if I’d still been wearing it?
On the other hand, what would he make of a bare ring finger? If he said anything to his well-connected mom, it could surely get back to the judge. She really needed to get out of there.
“Daddy, look.” Chloe raised both her chocolate-smeared hands and grinned with her muffin-covered teeth. “I’m a monster.”
“Yeah, punkin’.” He grabbed a napkin and made a useless attempt to wipe her mouth. “A cute one.” When he turned back to Finlay, he was smiling. “I guess we both got what we wanted—just not the way we’d expected it to go.”
That might be true for Matt. He had a daughter.
But for me? Right now, I’m just playing house.