Chapter 9
NINE
Hailey stood behind the counter the next afternoon, holding her breath as the hour for the cookie decorating event loomed. With Mandy’s help, she’d baked an extra six dozen sugar cut-out cookies, and there was more dough in the refrigerator, just in case.
Not that she wanted to get ahead of herself. Not when the only people who had shown up to support her so far were Mary and Violet.
“I’m going to decorate the one shaped like a tree first,” Violet was chattering as she inspected the tray of cookies.
The entire storefront had been transformed by pushing the tables together to form two long rows, and bags of icing and bowls of sprinkles were spread out on every surface. Bakery boxes were stacked and waiting for each person to fill with their creations.
If only there were people .
“It just turned two,” Mary said, reading the worry on Hailey’s face.
“You listed it as a two-hour event,” Mandy agreed. “People will probably drop in and then leave. And no one wants to be the first to arrive.”
“I do!” Violet said cheerfully, and the three women laughed.
“You’re right,” Hailey told her friends. “I probably have nothing to worry about.”
Except that as her gaze drifted out the window, beyond the people who walked by her café without so much as pausing to read the colorful sign she’d set up on the easel, all she could see was the busy traffic at the coffee shop across the street.
“You may as well get started, Violet,” Hailey told her with a smile she didn’t quite feel.
Violet frowned. “I can’t start yet. Not until my friends get here.”
“Your friends?” Hailey perked up.
“I told them all about it at my ballet class this morning,” Violet said proudly.
Sure enough, the door opened, and in walked a girl about Violet’s age with her mother—and two brothers.
Hailey had barely finished collecting their payment before another family joined the event. And then another.
Before she even realized it, every seat at both tables was filled with excited children, and she was almost relieved that no one else was stopping inside .
“I can’t believe this,” she whispered to Mary, who was watching Violet with a fond smile.
“I can.” Mary wrapped her arm around her shoulder. “Sometimes it just takes one thing to turn everything around.”
Or in this case, one person. Hailey made a mental note to give Violet an extra treat before she left today.
“Can I order a latte while I wait for my daughter?” a woman asked, approaching the counter.
“Oh, yes, please!” a mother behind her chimed in. She eyed the display case hungrily. “And one of those muffins, too.”
“I’ll take a slice of that crumb cake,” another woman said, hurrying over to the counter.
Mary gave Hailey a subtle thumbs-up sign as she scooted out of the way, and Hailey and Mandy went to work, filling orders, making coffee, and plating baked goods for every adult in the place.
“Can I take a dozen of those muffins to go?” the woman with four boys and two girls hopefully. “If I can have a morning off from breakfast duty, then Christmas will have come early for me!”
Hailey wanted to weep with relief but instead she nodded cheerfully and began packing up the box.
By the time four o’clock neared, they’d used up all the extra cookie dough, boxed the now decorated treats for each child, and said a content but tired goodbye to their young guests—just as Pete was walking in the door.
His eyes widened in surprise at the crowd as he approached the counter. “I just came in for a coffee. Mike drank everything we had left. And to get a refill of hot chocolate. It’s been a busy afternoon” He held up a tote bag of empty thermoses. “But it looks like you have your hands full.”
“Do I ever.” The café hadn’t been this full of conversation and energy since the summer, and Hailey realized now just how much she had missed it. Having customers in the room was part of what kept her going and not just because of the money they spent.
“I’ll take some more of those coupons, too,” Pete said as an afterthought.
Coupons! Hailey hadn’t even thought of them until now, but now, seeing all the young families bundling into down parkas, wool scarves, and mittens that held their special cookies, she knew that there was an opportunity to entice them to return.
She yanked open the drawer, pulled out her remaining stack, and hurried around the counter toward the door.
“Merry Christmas,” she said to every parent as she handed them a coupon. “And thank you for coming. We hope to see you again.”
More than they could ever know.
Then, before they were all completely out of sight, she called, “And be sure to stop by the tree lot! They’re fresh from the farm!”
“Thanks for that.” Pete grinned when she turned back to him. “If we were at the point of discounting trees, I’d have taken a page from your book and offered coupons. For now, I’m holding out until the day before Christmas Eve.”
Which wasn’t too far away now.
“Let me get that hot chocolate going,” Hailey told him, taking the bag of thermoses into the kitchen. Alone, but still buzzing from the energy of the event and, admittedly, seeing Pete, she did a little happy dance before collecting her ingredients and pulling out a big pot.
If the tree lot had already gone through a batch of her hot chocolate since she’d dropped off the thermoses this morning, then maybe things were looking up—for her and for Pete.
When she emerged from the kitchen, a now heavy tote bag in hand, she saw Mary and Violet deep in conversation with Pete near the counter. Mandy was busy cleaning up and, given the mess of sprinkles on the ground and it seemed every chair seat too, Hailey knew that she should help.
But first, she needed to do a little damage control.
“I see you two have met,” she said, shooting Mary a wide-eyed look of warning.
“Violet was just showing me all the cookies she made,” Pete said casually, but his eyes were full of mischief.
Hailey gave Mary another meaningful glance, but Mary refused to meet her eye as she focused on Pete.
“I was just telling Pete that we missed seeing him on Friday night when we stopped by the lot.” Then, tipping her head, Mary said, “I hear that you and Hailey had plans. ”
Now it was Pete who looked about as embarrassed as Hailey felt.
His cheeks turned a little ruddy and he cleared his throat before saying, “Hailey was nice enough to show me around the city.”
“Yes,” Mary said, giving Hailey a coy smile. “That was very nice of her. But then, that’s our Hailey. So nice. And welcoming. And pretty.”
Mary turned back to Pete, refusing to react to Hailey’s less-than-subtle expressions that were begging her to stop. “And did you have a nice time? Seeing the sites, I mean,” Mary added with a knowing laugh.
Okay, enough was enough here. Hailey thrust the bulging bag of warm thermoses at Pete. “I’m sure you need to get back to the lot,” she told him. “We don’t want to keep you from any potential sales.”
“Thanks,” he said, looking as relieved as Hailey felt.
“You work at the tree lot?” Violet hurried over to the tree she’d decorated. “Is this one from your lot?”
“It is,” Pete confirmed.
Violet took in this information thoughtfully, looking at the tree, then around the room. “Hailey! Your decorations are nice, but you’re forgetting one important thing.”
“What’s that?” Hailey asked.
Violet grinned. “Mistletoe!”
Hailey laughed nervously, not even daring to look at Pete. And she definitely wouldn’t meet Mary’s eyes, which she was sure were gleaming with amusement.
“You know,” Pete said when she finally thought her cheeks had cooled enough to turn and face him. “I happen to sell mistletoe. In the shop.”
Hailey didn’t know what to make of that statement, and her mouth felt a little dry as his curved into the faintest hint of a smile.
“Not real mistletoe, I hope,” she said. “Isn’t that poisonous or something?”
“I’m selling a ball of greenery with a red ribbon,” Pete said. “But you’re correct. Mistletoe is poisonous.”
“Ironic, isn’t it? That it’s associated with love?” But then, maybe it was more like spot-on. Love could hurt deeper than anything.
And she should know.
Tearing her eyes from the intensity in his deep-set gaze, she said, “Can I get you a coffee before you go?”
Pete shook his head. “I think I’d rather have some of that hot chocolate once I get back to the lot. It’s a busy day, so I probably shouldn’t leave Mike on his own much longer.”
Was that regret that she saw pass over his face?
She refused to read into that.
He said his goodbyes and she walked him to the door. “I hope that Mary and Violet didn’t run you off,” she said, only half-joking.
“Not at all,” Pete replied. “Violet’s adorable and Mary, well, it’s clear that she’s a good friend. And that you’ve made a nice home for yourself here,” he said, his voice edged with sadness.
“I have,” she said, knowing that it was true. The city had felt so lonely and huge at first, even with her cousin here, but now, it was home.
And thinking of home, right now, all she wanted to do was take a hot shower, put on some warm pajamas, and curl up on the couch with anything other than her baked goods for dinner.
And today, she could do just that, she thought, looking at the near-empty display case with satisfaction.
When Pete was gone, Hailey turned the lock and stared at her friend.
“What?” Mary innocently popped a piece of broken cookie into her mouth.
“You know what,” Hailey said, marching toward her, only she couldn’t be mad at Mary. Not when she was curious what her friend thought. Two worlds had collided this afternoon—her past with her present. A part of her heart tugged when she considered how in a different world, Mary would have known Pete for as long as she’d known Hailey.
“Is that man your boyfriend?” Violet asked loudly, and Hailey could only laugh, especially now that Pete was out of ear shot.
“What makes you say that?” Hailey asked, exchanging a look of amusement with Mary.
“The way he looked at you. Like the princes look at the princesses in the movies!” Violet’s eyes turned starry.
Hailey blinked a few times, wondering if this was true, and then wondering why she hoped that it was.
Silly, she told herself sternly. Violet was a child, one who was caught up in princess movies and fairy tales .
Not in real life.
Pete had just reached the tree lot when he realized that he’d left the coupons on one of the tables in the café. He turned to go back, dodging a car to cut across the street, just as Hailey was slipping out her door. When she saw him, she held up the coupons, laughing.
“I was just coming back to get them,” Pete said.
“And I was just coming to meet you,” she replied. Before he could get too swept up in that remark, she motioned inside another tote bag. “I only gave you half the batch!”
“I guess we were both distracted today.” Only Pete didn’t have a good excuse.
“I’ll walk with you,” Hailey offered. “These bags are heavy.”
He could have easily carried both bags across the street, but he wasn’t about to protest. It was only late afternoon, but already the sun had set, and the darkness was illuminated by the lights that framed every store window. Passersby chatted as they carried shopping bags, their chins tucked into their scarves, the snow falling on their hats.
“I love the energy around here,” Pete remarked as they waited for the crosswalk sign. “Being able to walk home at the end of the workday, pop into a restaurant for take-out, or a shop for a last-minute gift. ”
She slipped him a slow smile. “The city’s growing on you, huh?”
It was, but it didn’t matter. His home was back on the farm, where the only thing he could walk to was the house next door, and that took a solid ten minutes at a brisk pace. It was the opposite of this neighborhood in every possible way. Quiet. So quiet.
Too quiet most days.
“You know I would have been happy here,” he said, holding her gaze.
For many reasons, but most of all, because of her. And that was the thing that got to him every time, especially in the days after the breakup. He would have been happy anywhere, so long as he was with her.
But she didn’t feel the same.
“Well. Maybe not happy enough.” Her jaw seemed to tighten, and she hurried off the sidewalk the moment the light turned. She didn’t speak again until they were on the other side of the street, just outside of his lot, where, it would seem, business had slowed since earlier in the day. “Why did you give up the one thing you ever wanted?”
Regret landed square in his chest. He knew she was talking about med school, something he didn’t like to think about anymore.
“Not the only thing I ever wanted,” he said quietly. Silence stretched. He could hear the honking of horns at the intersection, a siren in the far distance. “The farm is important. It’s my family business. You have to understand that, Hailey.” He needed her to understand that. Then and now.
She nodded her head. “It obviously meant a lot to you if you were willing to give up so much for it.” There was hurt in her eyes as he locked her gaze, and she blinked quickly.
“Yeah, well, maybe I should have given up on it a long time ago.” His shoulders felt almost as heavy as his chest when he considered the current state of things.
She frowned. “You don’t really mean that.”
But a part of him did. He tipped his head, gesturing toward the holiday shop, and they walked inside. Hailey began unpacking the thermoses and then emptying them into the slow cooker, immediately bringing the sweet smell of chocolate to the room. Pete looked out onto the lot filled with trees that he’d grown for this exact purpose, only they didn’t seem to have any purpose at all.
And neither did he.
“To tell you the truth, the business hasn’t been doing well. Fresh trees are expensive. Some people just prefer to invest in artificial. Our suppliers started cutting back on their orders a few years back, and we had no choice but to raise our prices to balance the books. This year, even fewer people took the orders.”
“Hence your own lot?”
“Make that lots, plural.” He gave an unhappy laugh. Glancing over his shoulder, he noticed that Mike was guiding a family around the lot, sharing his knowledge about the selections. He took pride in his job, loved it really. More than Pete ever had, no matter how hard he’d tried. And oh, he had tried. To find joy in what he did. To find a way to keep it all going, before his dad passed and especially afterward.
“Do me a favor?” He turned to Hailey. “Don’t say anything to Mike. I wouldn’t want to ruin his holiday, and I haven’t given up yet.”
Hailey nodded. “Of course. You know I can always keep a secret.”
He grinned. “Oh, I do. But I hope that someday you’ll share the one that makes this hot chocolate so good. Seeing as this Christmas might be the last time we see each other and all.”
Her frown seemed to match his thoughts. “Will it?” she asked, a thread of hope in her tone. “Will this Christmas be the last time we see each other?”
Pete stepped back, not wanting to make a promise he couldn’t keep. He’d done that once before, and it had only ended in heartbreak.
“I should get back to the customers.” Jamming his hands into his pockets, he turned to go back to his duty, each step feeling heavy as it brought him farther away from the place he wanted to be and the person he wanted to be with.
“Pete?” she called out, giving him a wink when he turned to face her. “Don’t give up just yet. On anything.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. That was just the thing.
He’d never given up. Not even on her.