4. Mallory
MALLORY
Mal carefully carried one of her large wooden cutting boards over to the big table in the bakery where Ana and Valerie waited, ready for a fun night of putting together trays for the community college’s Winter Faculty Mixer.
Ana was curled up in her seat with her legs folded under her. She wore a cozy green and white sweater that her mom had probably crocheted for her and a pair of faded blue jeans.
Valerie, on the other hand, looked exquisite in a black cashmere turtleneck with gray trousers and a shimmering pair of diamond drop earrings.
“These professors don’t know how good they have it,” Valerie said, eyeing the mountain of cheese on the cutting board.
“Thank you so much for helping with this,” Mal said. “It’s so much more fun with you two here.”
“I love these nights,” Ana said with a smile.
“Well, there’s not much of a nightlife in Trinity Falls,” Valerie joked, winking. “Makes putting together trays and baskets feel like an outing.”
“Hey, there’s a book club at the library and at the shop,” Mal said setting the board down. “And every kind of exercise class you could think of.”
“Like the Seniors’ Silver Tai Chi classes?” Ana teased.
“Oh, I can’t believe I did that,” Mal said, sinking to her seat and burying her face in her hands.
“Why did you think he was old?” Valerie asked.
“Well, he lost his wife,” Ana said. “He’s kind of young for that. And…”
“And what?” Valerie asked.
“Well, doesn’t Harrison seem like an old-fashioned name?” Mal moaned.
“I guess that’s true,” Ana said kindly, while Valerie laughed.
“But, Mal,” Valerie said, still smiling. “He was messaging you, right?”
“My grandmother messages me every day,” Ana retorted. “She has all the best gossip, and she sends me pictures and memes.”
“She’s a pistol,” Valerie said fondly.
“Anyway,” Mal said. “It was so embarrassing. I’m just lucky he took it so well.”
“He’s a good sport,” Valerie said with a funny little smile. “And a good-looking one. And he calls you Mallory.”
“When did he lose his wife?” Ana asked with an innocent expression.
“A couple of years ago,” Mal told them.
Valerie and Ana exchanged a meaningful glance.
“He’s not over her,” Mal said firmly. “And he told me the first time we spoke that he’s sworn off women, and will never marry again. Besides, he has a little girl. The two of them are just trying to survive their loss.”
She didn’t bother to say out loud that a man that attractive wouldn’t waste time with boring Mallory Fisher.
“Well, I’m glad he was nice about your misunderstanding,” Ana said. “He seems like a good friend.”
“We’re her good friends,” Valerie said firmly. “He’s just a guy.”
“He’s not a guy,” Mal said. “I mean… not the way you’re thinking. Let’s get started.”
She went over a basic idea of what she had in mind for the trays and the two of them got to work while she popped back to the counter to turn on the radio.
Don’t think about him, she told herself.
But it was useless.
Could that tall drink of water really be the man she had been pouring her heart out to all year long?
She shook her head, willing herself not to go down that rabbit hole right now. She flipped on the radio and headed back to the table, enjoying the children’s choir’s rendition of “Carol of the Bells” that followed her.
The local station played nothing but Christmas music all the way through the New Year and Mal always looked forward to it every year. Spring, summer, and fall in Trinity Falls were all beautiful, and had their beloved traditions.
But Christmas had always been Mal’s favorite.
“How’s Theo?” she asked Ana as they finished placing the brie circles on trays and began fanning out small slices of Swiss cheese.
“He’s amazing,” Ana said, her sunny smile saying as much as her words. “I can’t believe he’ll be four soon. Speaking of, when you have a minute, my mom and I want to order a cake.”
“I’d be honored,” Mal told her friend.
Ana’s cousin in Chicago had passed away last winter and Ana had taken custody of her son. With her mother’s help, they were raising the little boy with so much love and care. They made it look easy, but Mal knew it had to be tough to adjust so quickly to a whole new set of responsibilities.
“How’s the car, Ana?” Valerie asked, ever practical.
“Still misbehaving,” Ana said. “I know I need a new one, but we can’t really afford it.”
“Who could afford a new car?” Valerie said, shaking her head.
“Well, a new used one,” Ana amended. “If Mom and I didn’t bring in so many supplies from the city, I wouldn’t even bother with a car. Theo’s preschool is so close by, and even the elementary school is an easy walk when he’s ready for that.”
“Maybe you just need a friend with a motorcycle,” Valerie said lightly, winking at Mal.
Ana pretended to ignore the remark, but her cheeks darkened.
Mal was pretty sure Ana knew that Rory Dunn had a thing for her.
The hunky young man with the big motorcycle had moved to town last year after his sister fell madly in love with Grayson Ward and decided to stay in Trinity Falls for good.
Rory and Evangeline were super close siblings, and it was honestly really nice to see such friendly new faces in town.
Whenever they all got together for a party or a town event, it was hard not to notice that Rory seemed to hang on Ana’s every word. And since both of them were so quick to pitch in whenever help was needed, it kind of made sense that they got thrown together a lot.
But Ana never, ever wanted to talk about Rory.
“Any luck with the missing bracelet?” Mal asked Valerie.
Ana gave her a grateful look, clearly relieved about the change of subject.
“No,” Valerie said, a furrow in her brow as she slapped down slices of Swiss with a little more force than was necessary. “And I can’t even figure out why anyone would take it.”
“It’s really not worth much?” Ana asked.
“It’s a tiny copper pinecone charm on a waxed cord,” Valerie said. “The materials are hardly worth anything at all. And it didn’t take long to make.”
“Was it easier to access than your other stuff?” Mal asked. Most of Valerie’s jewelry was displayed in beautiful glass cases.
“It was out on the spinning display,” Valerie said. “Along with my turquoise, jade, and lapis pendants, all of which are actually worth something.”
“That’s so strange,” Ana said, shaking her head.
Trinity Falls didn’t really have much crime to speak of, and Mal couldn’t picture any of her neighbors actually stealing something. She was sure Valerie would get to the bottom of whatever was going on, but it sure was a mystery.
“How’s business otherwise?” Mal asked, passing down dishes of Stilton infused with fruit and honey.
“You guys know I had that one weird year,” Valerie said, “where the pipe burst and then the deer smashed through the front window. It took me two years to come back from that loss, and I thought this Christmas I’d finally get ahead and pay down the mortgage on the building a little.”
“Well, one missing bracelet isn’t such a bad thing,” Ana said gently. “Especially if it wasn’t worth much.”
“One missing bracelet is where it starts,” Valerie said darkly. “Just like one drop of water.”
“Let’s hope not,” Mal said, passing down sleeves of gourmet crackers.
“Did you report it?” Ana asked Valerie.
Mal tried to hide her smile as she arranged crackers on one of the trays. They all knew exactly what would happen if Valerie called the Trinity Falls Police Station.
Sweet Chad Stransky, with his golden hair and laid-back smile would rush over to the jewelry store to check on his favorite person in Trinity Falls.
Chad had carried a torch for Valerie for years. And every time it seemed like maybe Valerie would relent and let him take her out, she chickened out at the last moment and said they were just friends.
Valerie had told Mal a long time ago that she couldn’t take Chad seriously because he was just a handyman down at the inn, without any ambition for his future.
But since then, he’d gone to the police academy and then joined the tiny Trinity Falls force. And this fall he had been made deputy.
It would be impossible even for Valerie to deny that the man looked absolutely gorgeous in his uniform with that shiny star on his broad chest.
Mal sometimes wondered if it was the fact that Chad had a little girl that kept Valerie from letting him into her heart. But he didn’t even have custody of her, he just visited with her and occasionally brought her into town.
“The bracelet isn’t really worth anything,” Valerie said without really answering. “And I’m not going to invest in cameras and all that for a trinket. But I don’t like it.”
“Me neither,” Mal said. “If you made it, then it was special.”
“We’ll keep an eye out for anyone wearing it,” Ana said. “I’ll tell my mom too.”
“Thanks, girls,” Valerie said.
“These look good so far,” Mal said, admiring the large trays. “Anyone want coffee or chocolate before we do the next part?”
As if she really had to ask.
“Have you done any more signature treat experiments?” Ana asked hopefully.
“Yesterday, but I brought it all to Carla’s Place,” Mal said. “It was chocolate biscotti, and they didn’t really go wild for it. I need to keep trying.”
“You’ll come up with the perfect thing,” Ana predicted. “I just know it.”
“Thanks, Ana,” Mal said, hoping her friend was right.
She headed back to the kitchen to make a really rich hot chocolate for her friends.
The space wasn’t overly large, but she smiled every time she saw the gleaming stainless-steel appliances and counters, and remembered that this place was really hers, at least for now.
Unlike Valerie, Mal didn’t own her building. She rented both the bakery and the apartment above from Simon Webb. But he had given her a fair enough price and a long enough lease that she could afford to put in the kitchen. And she dreamed of making him an offer on the place one day.
Soon, the concoction of melted chocolate, milk, heavy cream, and a dash of vanilla extract was ready. She added just a pinch of salt to make the flavors pop, then poured it carefully from the pan into her grandmother’s silver kettle and headed back to join her friends.
“Is this the chocolate?” Ana asked excitedly.
“It sure is,” Mal told her as she set down the tray with the kettle, plus three pretty teacups and saucers and a bowl of fresh whipped cream. “I used one of the bars your mom brought back from Costa Rica.”
“Amazing,” Ana sighed.
Mal poured out the gorgeous, thick chocolate and topped each cup with a dollop of whipped cream.
“Nice, Mal,” Valerie said appreciatively.
They all sat back and sipped at their treat, the only sounds an instrumental version of “White Christmas” playing on the radio and the whistle of the radiator by the big front window.
“Are you really going to make a wedding cake for Julie and Declan?” Ana asked quietly.
“I need the business,” Mal admitted. “And besides, if I say no, where are they supposed to go? I can’t make a big deal out of it. I just have to move on.”
Ana nodded.
“You know what?” Valerie said suddenly, placing her cup down on the table. “We talk about men way too much.”
Ana and Mal looked at each other.
“Maybe,” Mal said, shrugging.
“Definitely,” Valerie said, nodding to herself and sending her earrings shivering. “If we had men in our lives, it might be different. But we don’t. And that’s fine. Let’s not act like it isn’t.”
“Okay,” Ana said. “So no pressuring each other about the guys that like us?”
She was obviously talking about Rory Dunn. And the hope in her eyes made Mal feel bad for ever bringing him up with her.
“Nope,” Valerie said.
“And no moaning over what-could-have-beens?” Mal offered, with Declan Hawkins on her mind.
“None,” Valerie said.
“And no talking about a possible Mr. Right, or Deputy Right?” Ana asked, her eyes twinkling at the obvious hint at Chad Stransky.
“Absolutely none of that,” Valerie said firmly.
“I don’t actually know if we can hold to this,” Mal admitted, trying to imagine a friendship where they didn’t talk about romance at all.
“We could do it until New Year’s,” Valerie sniffed. “And at least take off all this pressure to pair up for the holidays, when we’re all busy with our shops and the community events.”
“That’s still a long time,” Mal said. “But it does sound kind of nice.”
“What if we had a code?” Ana offered. “We could do a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down.”
“Oh, like How’s your love life?” Mal offered.
Both of her best friends gave her a quick thumbs-down and she had just enough time to add her own before all three of them cracked up.
“Yes,” Valerie said, nodding in a pleased way. “That’s as much as I want to talk about romance this Christmas. It’s my gift to myself. Who’s with me?”
She lifted her teacup of chocolate again and held it out.
After a moment, Ana lifted hers to touch it.
Mal laughed and clinked her own teacup to Ana’s and Valerie’s.
“To a nice, peaceful Christmas,” Ana said.
“Where we focus on our town,” Mal added. “And our shops.”
“And there’s no romance whatsoever,” Valerie declared in a satisfied way.
No romance whatsoever.
Mal definitely wouldn’t have a problem with that.