Chapter 4
Chapter Four
“Now that’s a Christmas tree. I think it’s even bigger than last year’s.” Hanna studied the huge Fraser fir that filled one corner of the library. She had been the Applegates’ housekeeper since Jolene was a child and was more family than employee.
Jolene stood next to her and looked up at the top of the tree, which was only inches from the fourteen-foot ceiling. They studied the tree for a few more moments before they looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“Your daddy is going to have a fit,” Hanna said as she dabbed at her eyes with the hem of her apron. “What did he call last year’s tree?”
“Embarrassingly vulgar.” Jolene wiped at her own laugh tears.
Hanna shook her head. “That man worries too much about his image. There’s nothing wrong with having a big Christmas tree. I say the bigger the better. Although I don’t know how we’re going to get the lights all the way to the top.”
“That’s why I had the delivery men place it in the corner. We can use the library ladder. But you don’t need to help. You have dinner to worry about. I’ve got this.”
Hanna nodded. “You holler if you need me. And be careful on that ladder.”
As Hanna left the room, Jolene started digging through the boxes they’d brought down from the attic.
She hoped they had enough lights. It would take quite a few strands to cover the large tree.
She had just found the box with all the lights when the doorbell chimed.
Since Hanna was busy in the kitchen and her father was still at the bank, Jolene hurried to answer it.
She thought it would be one of her book club friends who stopped by occasionally to borrow a book from her library. But it wasn’t one of her friends.
It was Cal Daily.
It had been raining on and off all day, and his black Stetson was beaded with raindrops and his worn jean jacket damp at the shoulders. Her heart did a strange little flutter.
“Mr. Daily?”
He pulled off his hat and held it in front of his chest. His light brown hair was combed back from his forehead and smoothed behind his ears. “Miss Applegate.”
She waited for him to explain what he was doing on her front stoop. When he didn’t, she asked, “Can I help you?”
He shifted his weight and cleared his throat. “I was wondering if we could talk.”
The only things Jolene could think of that they had to talk about was the tire he’d fixed or the loan she’d approved for him.
Since she couldn’t see him dropping by her house to talk about a tire when he could easily have called her, it must be the loan.
And she’d just as soon not talk about the loan when her father could show up at anytime.
Her father had rejected Cal’s loan application because of his bad credit.
But rejecting Cal’s loan after all he’d been through had seemed like a grave injustice to Jolene.
So for the first time in her life, she had overridden her father’s decision and given Cal the loan.
If her father found out, all hell would break loose.
But she couldn’t leave Cal standing on her front stoop in the rain either.
She stepped back. “Please come in, Mr. Daily.”
Cal wiped his feet on the mat, and then stepped inside, bringing with him the smell of fresh rain and some kind of spicy soap.
It was a heady combination that left Jolene feeling a little lightheaded.
Or maybe it was Cal’s proximity that made her dizzy.
For the last week, he had occupied the majority of her thoughts.
It seemed that their last two encounters had fueled a plethora of fantasies.
With him standing so near, all those wicked fantasies came flooding back.
“Miss Applegate?”
She blinked away the wicked thoughts and held out a hand. “Here, let me take your hat and coat.”
He handed her his hat, then shrugged out of his jean jacket.
Beneath he wore a black western shirt that fit his lean, muscled body to perfection and brought out the gold in his hazel eyes.
As he handed her his jacket, their fingers brushed.
Just like the times before when they’d touched, she felt like she’d touched a live electrical wire that fried her brain and melted her body.
“Is everything okay, Jolene?”
She stepped away and turned to see Hanna standing in the hallway that led to the kitchen. “Everything is fine, Hanna. Mr. Daily is just here on business.”
Hanna smiled. “Hello, Cal. I sure appreciated you coming out when my car broke down on the highway. My friend Berta said she had to wait three hours for her auto club to send someone from Abilene.”
“No problem,” Cal said. “And tell Berta to call me next time and I’ll be right out.”
“I sure will.” Hanna walked over and took Cal’s hat and jacket from Jolene. “I’ll take care of these. You two get on with your business.”
“This way, Mr. Daily,” Jolene said as she led Cal to the library. On the way, she glanced back to find him looking at the family portraits that hung on the wall.
The Applegates were a dreary lot. They’d all been serious, stern people who didn’t socialize with the townsfolk because they didn’t want people thinking they’d get special treatment at the bank.
Banking had made them the richest people in Simple, Texas.
It had given them the biggest house and the best educations and the most power.
What it hadn’t given them was happiness.
Jolene couldn’t remember one ancestor who’d been happy.
The Applegates didn’t believe in living life to the fullest and having fun.
Every Applegate but Charlotte.
Something that Cal easily spotted when he stopped in front of Jolene’s and Charlotte’s portrait.
“Your sister was always smiling.”
Jolene looked at the picture. Charlotte looked like a smiling ray of sunshine while Jolene looked as somber and boring as the rest of their relatives.
“How is she?” Cal asked.
“Living happily in Austin, working as a physical therapist. She’s dating a pediatrician who she’s madly in love with.
They’re leaving on Saturday for a three-week vacation to Maui.
” Jolene was sad that Charlotte wasn’t coming home for Christmas.
Without her sister, the holidays would be dismal.
And maybe that was why she’d gotten such a large tree.
She was trying to make up for her sister’s absence.
But when Cal halted in the doorway of the library with wide eyes, she wished she’d gotten one a little smaller.
She felt her face heat and quickly held out her hand.
“Please come in and sit down.” Except there was no place to sit.
The couch and chairs were filled with boxes.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I forgot about all the decorations. Let’s go into my father’s study.
It will be more appropriate for business. ”
Cal looked at her and cocked an eyebrow. “Business?”
“Isn’t that why you’re here? To talk about your loan?”
Instead of answering, he wandered further into the room and studied the shelves of books that covered two of the walls from floor to ceiling. “No wonder you always walked around with your nose in a book when we were in school. You had plenty to choose from.”
“Actually, I wasn’t reading as much as hiding.”
He glanced at her and his brow creased. “From what?”
“People. I didn’t exactly have the social skills my sister did. I still don’t. It was easier to pretend I was engrossed in a book than try to socialize. Although I do love to read.”
He nodded. “I do too. I just haven’t had much opportunity to dive into a good book in the last few years.” He paused, and his golden gaze took her hostage. “Or do other things I’d like to do.”
She didn’t know why those words made her suddenly feel flushed and overheated. He was probably just talking about other manly hobbies—like fishing, hunting, drinking beer with his friends. He was certainly not talking about what she was thinking about.
She looked away and fidgeted with the pearl necklace her grandmother had given her for her sixteenth birthday. “It must be hard being a single parent and running your own business. The bank takes almost all of my time. I don’t know how you father a teenager too.”
“It’s not easy, but I wouldn’t trade it for world.” There was another long pause before he spoke. “But lately I’ve realized I have some needs that I can’t continue to ignore.”
The loan. He had to be talking about the loan. He obviously needed more money.
“I wish I could help you, Mr. Daily. But I’m afraid I can’t loan you any more money.”
He gazed at her for a long moment before he picked up a strand of lights that spilled out of a box. “So just how do you plan to get these all the way up there?” He looked at the top of the tree.
“With the library ladder.”
His eyes squinted at the tree. “I hate to ruin your plans, but you still won’t be tall enough to reach the top of that tree.” He held up the lights. “Do these work?”
“I assume so.”
He carried the lights to an electrical socket and plugged them in. When the entire strand lit up, he unplugged them and carried them over to the ladder.
She followed him. “You don’t have to help me, Mr. Daily. I do it by myself every year.”
“All the more reason for me to help. No one should have to decorate a Christmas tree all alone. And it’s Cal.
Boone is right. We’ve known each other too long to be so formal.
And I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I let you fall off a ladder and kill yourself.
” Cal slid the ladder over to the tree and climbed it.
“Check the rest of those lights and then bring them over. It looks like we’re going to need every single strand. ”
It took every strand to cover the massive tree. When they were finished, Cal hung the ornaments on the very top branches while she decorated the lower ones. As they decorated, they talked about everything from people they remembered from school to the most recent town gossip.