Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
E llie stretched in the warm, comfortable bed. Spending the last several days at Mama’s made her realize just how much she loved this town. She even saw a shift in her parents’ house. There was a new lightness, almost like there had been when she was younger.
They had never been rich, but they had what they needed.
She thought about what Pops had said the night before after she had made them a gluten-free chicken Parmesan dinner. He said, A man needs a job. Without one, he doesn’t feel like a man, and that would make just about anyone surly.
What kind of job could her dad do without one hand? He wasn’t a numbers kind of guy, and sitting on the phone all day would drive him crazy. There had to be a solution, but for now, she pushed it back into the recesses of her mind.
Today was all about the Bake-Off.
Mama, too other-focused to stay home, was planning on attending the Bake-Off for the moral support of her friends who were judging in her place. Ellie’s stomach twisted as she thought of Mama surrounded by her favorite desserts and not being able to eat any.
That’s where she and Jim came in. He was going to pick her up right after breakfast. They would make a fresh batch of cookies at the ranch, so they were still warm and gooey when they brought them to the Bake-Off.
She jumped out of bed and hastily pulled back her curls. She had missed her wash-and-go style. Jim’s look of admiration when he saw her normal curls might have helped that realization. Her cheeks warmed as she thought of him slightly stuttering and fingering her curls, telling her how much he loved her hair.
This morning she purposefully planned a more savory breakfast, so Mama could really cherish the sweetness of her special, secret cookies. She and Jim had come up with three different types, but her all-time favorite one was the salted chocolate coconut cookies. Mama loved chocolate almost as much as she did. Her mouth watered thinking of them.
By the time Jim came to get her, she had cleaned up after breakfast and wrapped him a breakfast burrito with eggs, potatoes, and some veggies thrown in.
“Mmm, is that for me?” He licked his lips in anticipation. He eagerly ate the burrito on the way back to the ranch. “I have something pretty important to tell you,” he said in between bites.
“So?” She lifted an eyebrow, knowing his important sometimes was as simple as needing help to bake a cookie.
“It’ll wait,” he said, shoving the last bite of burrito in his mouth as he parked his truck at the ranch.
They spent the morning baking, and taste-testing, with small tweaks to the recipes here and there. She cleaned the kitchen, soaking in the sweet chocolate aroma, while he packed the cookies on a special platter for Mama to have at home and a separate one for the Bake-Off. After judging, they sold the remaining cookies as a fundraiser for the Christmas Care program—the program that helped get Santa Claus to her sisters.
Jim squirmed in his seat the entire way into town.
“You really that excited?” She watched him with a half smile.
“About the Bake-Off? Of course…and other things, but those will wait.” He gave her a wide grin, but his lower lip quivered just slightly, a sure sign something was causing some anxiety. “You got Mrs. Barnes prepared, right?”
Ellie smiled. “I did. She loves Mama so much, it took little to convince her.”
“Do you think they succeeded in keeping it a secret from Mama?” Jim asked as he parked in the church’s parking lot which hosted the Bake-Off.
“They better have.” Ellie bit her lip as Jim loaded her with trays of cookies. She glanced around to see if Pops’ truck was there, but it looked like they made it in time.
Mrs. Barnes greeted them at the door, ushering them in. “Good timing, dears. Come, we’ve set everything up over here.” She pulled off a red and white Christmas table cloth that had covered several platters of cookies and some signs saying, “Specialty Diet Cookies.”
“There are so many!” Ellie’s eyes teared up as she saw the half dozen platters of cookies all marked: sugar-free and wheat-free and nut-free.
“You gals,” Jim said, shaking his head and clearing his throat.
“We don’t have time for emotions. Get the plates set up and covered. She’ll be here any minute.” Mrs. Barnes directed, her hands fluttering. They finished just as someone sang a greeting to Mama.
“Perfect timing.” Jim wiped off his hands after repositioning the table cloth.
Ellie smiled up at him, and, noticing a spot of chocolate on his cheek, she wiped it off, letting her fingers slide down his neck and rest on his chest. “She’s lucky to have you, you know?”
He wrapped an arm around her. “And I’m lucky to have you.”
As they walked over to greet Mama, she wondered what it would be like if she stayed. Would Jim follow on his promise? And if he did, what would she say? Warmth filled her as he led her through the crowd, and people smiled at them. She didn’t have any doubt about what she would say.
Mrs. Barnes called the group to order, asking all the judges to come to the front of the room. Ellie glanced at Mama, who shifted her weight and pushed a brave smile to her face. She continued to watch her, not wanting to miss one facial expression, while Mrs. Barnes called out her surprise.
“Now where is our best Bake-Off judge? Mrs. Johnson, we can’t do this without you.” She waved Mama up, but Mama’s face fell. Mrs. Barnes moved to stand in front of the covered table. “For those of you who don’t know yet, we have a new section of cookies to judge this year.” She looked right at Mama. “A specialty diet category! Mrs. Johnson will resume her rightful place as a judge for this category.”
Mama’s hand flew over her mouth. Her eyes watered as she glanced around the room, trying to find whoever was behind such a thing.
“Go on, Mama.” Jim took her hand and led her to the table.
“Well, I’ll be, how in the world…you guys…I don’t even know what to say.” Mama fanned herself, looking from Mrs. Barnes to the other ladies, to Jim, to Ellie, and back to Mrs. Barnes.
“You can thank your son and his lovely gal,” Mrs. Barnes said, patting her arm. “But now it’s time to start the judging!”
The expression of complete gratitude left Mama’s face shining, eyes tearing, and her hand fluttering over her face. “You two…” Ellie handed her a tissue she had put in her pocket for just such an occasion, and Mama took it gratefully. It took her several moments to calm herself enough to start tasting, but once she did, she was all business.
Jim pulled Ellie aside, leading her to the back of the room, away from the mass of people. “Thank you, again, for doing this.”
“The look on Mama’s face was worth everything.” Ellie tore her eyes off Mama and looked at him, his eyes glowing in what felt like pure love. “Really, it should be me, thanking you.”
“Me?” Jim pushed his hat back and scrunched his brow. “It’s you that’s helped me.”
“Oh, you’ve helped me, too.”
“Oh, with getting that tree for your family.” He waved the thought away. “That was just a ploy to get you to go for a ride with me on the ranch.”
“Oh, really?” Ellie lifted an eyebrow. “Like Mama’s cookies being a ploy to get me back to Christmas Tree Hill?”
Jim looped his thumbs in his pockets. “Yep. So, did it work?”
Ellie couldn’t stop the smile from lifting her lips. “That’s how you helped me, silly. I’d forgotten how much I love this town.”
Jim dropped his hands and rubbed them together before taking her hands in his. “Does that mean…I mean, did you decide to…well, are you going to stay?”
Ellie licked her lips, tasting the remnants of chocolate cookies. The way Jim looked at her, she knew that her next words would drastically change their lives. “Yes…yes, I think so.”
“When you left, I made you a promise,” he said, shifting from foot to foot and putting her hands into just one of his. The free hand dug into his pocket, and he brought it out closed.
She stared at his closed hand, her heart hammering so loudly it closed out all other sounds in the chaotic room. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know what was in closed in his fist, and her eyes stayed on the back of his hand until he spoke again, drawing her to meet his intense gaze.
“I thought I had little to offer you, only the life of a ranch hand, and, even now, I doubt I’ll ever be a rich man, but I can promise that everything I do will be to keep the promise of showing you and our future children just how much I love you, giving you everything of me.”
His hand squeezed hers tighter, and she realized they were trembling as he lowered to one knee, right there, in the middle of the church.
“Eleanor Rose Watkins, I’ve waited so long for this day. I’ve loved you since before I even knew what love was and could never see life without you in it. The time while you were away only solidified my conviction even more. I can’t live without you. Ellie, will you marry me?”
The blood rushed in her ears so loudly that it sounded like she stood inside the ocean. Her head felt like it, too. Her knees wobbled and her lips felt numb as she formed the word. “Yes. Yes!”
Jim stood up in a rush, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her off the ground. Then he pressed his lips to hers, solidifying their commitment in a sense of wonder that had her feeling like she was in a dream.
As he set her feet back on the ground, the world rushed in on her, and she realized the sound that surrounded them was a roar of applause. With a small peek, she saw the crowd wasn’t applauding for the cookies, but for them.
She hid her face in Jim’s chest.
“You okay?” he leaned down to whisper, his breath warming her head.
“Hold me tighter, Jim. I can’t feel my legs touching the floor.”
“I can’t either.” He kissed the top of her head. “Guess we’ll have to fly together.”
She breathed in his horse and leather scent mingling with the sweet smell of chocolate and cookies while listening to the crowd shouting well wishes and whistling, but it was the steady sound of his heart that grounded her. Who knew what their future held, but somehow, being in his arms, she knew that wherever life took them, they’d come out okay—together.
T hey rode high on the whirlwind of congratulations and celebration of their engagement over the next couple days until Christmas morning arrived, clear and dazzling with a blanket of freshly fallen snow.
They spent the morning with Mama and Pops, eating gluten-free and sugar-free cinnamon rolls that tasted just as good as the real thing, and opening presents in front of the Christmas tree. He didn’t think he’d ever tire of the way Mama looked at them, so full of gratitude and love.
“I’m just so happy,” Mama said as they were leaving. “You two have made this Christmas the most special so far.”
Mama had a way of making people feel like they made a difference in the world, even if that world only encompassed Christmas Tree Hill.
Once in the truck, Jim looked over at his fiancée, still unbelieving that his dreams were finally coming true. “How about a sleigh ride before we go to your parents’?”
“Sure. We have a little time.” She smiled, always excited to share time with horses and the ranch, something that helped him have the courage to say what he needed to say.
In the sleigh she snuggled up to him and sighed, a sound full of contentment. “This all feels like a dream,” she said.
“A good one,” he said, swallowing and deciding the moment was now. “Ellie, I haven’t really had the chance to tell you…”
Ellie sat up and looked at him, her eyes widening in horror. “They’re selling the ranch, aren’t they? But where will we live…I don’t want you to work at the mill, Jimmy. Please, anything but that.”
Jim laughed, but quickly quelled the sound. He pulled the horses to a stop and took her mittened hands in his. “I won’t be working at the mill. I’ll be working the ranch…our ranch.”
“Our ranch?” The cute little line between her brows had him leaning over to kiss it.
“Yes, the Christiansens are giving me the ranch. It’s ours, Ellie. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around it.” Jim shook his head, then gazed at her again. “Could you be okay living here? Being a rancher’s wife?”
Ellie bit her lip, her eyes searching his, and it felt like forever until she said, “On one condition.”
“Which is?” Jim said, shifting his weight and hoping he could meet whatever it was she asked for.
“We start that Christmas Tree Farm like you wanted.”
The echo of his laughter traveled through the mountains, bouncing off the snow-laden trees, and landed on Ellie’s smiling lips. “Anything you want, my love.” He leaned in, pressing his lips to hers, loving the freedom to do that anytime he wished, knowing that she was his, and he was hers.
He sat back in the sleigh, urging the horses on with a slight flip of the reins. “So, where do you want to start this Christmas Tree Farm?”
Her eyes sparkled as she sat forward in her seat, sharing so many ideas that he wondered if she had been dreaming of this for days, if not months. She talked about the dynamics of selling the trees, of how they could advertise, and where people could park, and how they could make it a destination place.
“There’s one thing you’re forgetting, Ellie,” he said, looking at her as the horses pulled the sleigh back to the barn.
“What’s that?”
“Your bakery,” he said, feeling his grin. “You’ll have a home to start from, your own kitchen, a kitchen you already know so well.”
Her smile softened to one that made him feel more loved than he ever had. “You are so thoughtful to think of that, Jimmy. That might be a great way to earn a little extra money in the beginning. At least until I’m busy with other things.”
“Other things?” he asked, hearing a serious note in her tone and turning fully toward her.
“Yeah, like little things that fill the house with pitter-patters…?” She bit her lip, searching his eyes.
Realization dawned on him, and the knowing of what she hinted at settled deep within him, warming him from the soul out. “Those will be lovely days, don’t you think?”
She nestled in his arms and sighed. “Yes.”
“How many do you think you want?” he asked, wondering if things had changed since they were kids and wanting a half dozen or more.
“As many as the Good Lord gives us, Jimmy.”
He thought about that while playing with Ellie’s little sisters as she helped cook Christmas dinner. What would it be like to have their own passel of kids? And how many would the Good Lord put in their care? He glanced at her father, sitting in his chair, watching the girls as they played a new board game they had received that morning for Christmas, and a moment of fear prickled up Jim’s spine. What if something happened to him and he couldn’t take care of his family?
Mr. Watkins caught his eye and smiled. “Did you have something to do with Mr. Miller calling me, son?”
“I, huh?” Jim blinked and brought his attention back to the moment.
“Mr. Miller.” Mr. Watkins said again. “He offered me a job. Was that your doing?”
“No, sir,” Jim said. “But that sounds mighty fine. His hardware store and lumberyard are really growing, from what I hear. What will you be doing for him?”
“Mostly helping customers, he said, and answering the phones here and there.” He shrugged, looking a tad bit rueful. “I guess I can handle a few phone calls if I get to move around, too. I start the day after tomorrow.”
“I bet that feels good, sir,” Jim said with a knowing nod.
“Yeah, it does. I should have trusted that the Big Guy would figure something out. Maybe if I hadn’t been so lost in wallowing in self-pity, it would have happened sooner.” Mr. Watkins smiled and leaned forward. “We’re proud to have you join the family, son.” He glanced toward the kitchen. “Don’t you go tell the Missus, but I’m doubly grateful for you bringing our girl back home. I hated having her so far away.”
“Of course, sir. I did, too.”
Mr. Watkins gave him a conspiratory wink and sat back in his chair, and Jim knew then that he didn’t need to worry. That no matter what happened, everything would align just as it was meant to—just like it had for his Chocolate Covered Christmas.
J im looked over at the guests milling about the ranch as they waited for the wedding to start. He still couldn’t believe that the ranch was his—no, theirs. The Christiansens had signed it over last week after moving their belongings down to the city.
Gratitude filled his heart as he watched for Ellie to come out of the ranch house for the last time as Ellie Watkins. By the next time she entered it, she’d be Ellie Johnson, and they’d start their own legacy on their ranch, their Christmas Tree Ranch.