Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Audrey moved slowly along the clothing racks in Common Thread, a local clothing boutique, bobbing her head in time to the Christmas carols that were playing over the loudspeakers.
She loved shopping at Common Thread, and she found it especially pleasant at Christmas.
The wax melters that usually released citrus and floral aromas were filled with peppermint, evergreen, and sugar cookie scents, and the effect was delightful.
Audrey was doing her Christmas shopping, and she’d been thrilled to find two beautiful scarves that she knew were perfect for Elaine and Michelle. She was on the lookout for more items she could buy for her mother, her daughter, her friends Penelope and Harper, and potentially even herself.
After a few more minutes of browsing, Audrey decided to wait on making any more decisions and come back in a while, when the shop was sure to have even more items.
She paid for the scarves and asked to have them gift-wrapped, since she knew that Common Thread always did a stellar job of wrapping presents, adding mini candy canes and tying the colorful boxes up with red and gold ribbons.
A few minutes later, with her presents held carefully in her arms, she stepped out the front door of the clothing boutique. She was met by a frosty winter wind and the sight of her dear friend Harper Clements, who was in the middle of hanging up a poster on the window of the shop.
“Hey!” Audrey shuffled the way she was holding the gifts so that she could give Harper a big one-armed hug. “How are you?”
“Great!” Harper said with her usual cheerfulness. Her bright emerald eyes were shining and tendrils of her long dark blonde hair were poking out from underneath her pink winter hat and blowing across her face.
Harper was a good friend of both Audrey and her daughter Michelle.
She ran the local animal shelter, and she always seemed to be lightly dusted in dog and cat fur.
Her warmth and kindness ensured that she took great care of the animals, and she often invited her friends to come visit the animal shelter and pet the animals.
“What’s the poster for?” Audrey asked curiously, noticing the eye-catching red and green border that surrounded a darling image of puppies, kittens, an adult St. Bernard and two sleeping cats.
“We’re hosting a holiday adoption event at the animal shelter,” Harper said, practically squealing.
“We’re hoping all kinds of people come in—tourists and locals alike—and decide to adopt one of our fur babies.
People are so busy this time of year, they’re not thinking about adopting pets.
But pets actually make perfect Christmas gifts, if I do say so myself, and I just want to make it Christmas for them too, you know?
There’s no better gift for an animal than getting a loving home. ”
Audrey smiled at her friend. She could just imagine Harper going into the shelter on Christmas morning and cuddling all the animals that were under her care.
Audrey’s heart gave a pang as she reflected that it probably was what Harper planned on doing for the holiday, since she wasn’t really on speaking terms with her family.
“This event is going to be amazing,” Harper said proudly. “There’s going to be hot cocoa and cookies, and games you can play with the animals to get to know them better. And of course everyone can pet the animals. That’s always the best way to bond with a potential pet.”
“That sounds incredibly fun,” Audrey said, meaning it sincerely. “I’m sure we’ll all be there. I know I wouldn’t miss it.”
“You definitely should be there,” Harper said, waggling her brows mischievously. “Who knows? Maybe it might be time to add a furry addition to The Birchwood House.”
Audrey laughed, shaking her head. “Oh Harper, I wish. I love animals. But I don’t think we need any more chaos right now, especially not at Christmastime.
The hotel is full to bursting, and we’re up to our ears in kids.
They take a lot of wrangling, especially in a house filled with valuable antiques. ”
“Oh, I’m sure the parents have got that handled, don’t worry.” Harper grinned. “You have to admit, guests would absolutely adore having a dog around. It’s the one thing The Birchwood House is missing. After you get a dog—poof! The mansion will officially be perfect.”
Audrey chuckled. “Well, I’ll think about it. I don’t want you to get your hopes up too much, though, Harper. Chances are a pet isn’t in the cards for us right now.”
Not at all deflated, Harper winked. “We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess.”
Laughing, Audrey gave her friend another hug and started to walk back to The Birchwood House.
A light snow was falling, and Audrey took deep breaths of the fresh, cold air.
She shivered a little, not from cold, but from a feeling of happiness and expectancy.
She could feel it in her bones that good things were around the corner, and that it was going to be a wonderful Christmas.
She reached The Birchwood House a few minutes later and walked around the side so that she could enter through the kitchen door.
She didn’t want to run into Elaine or Michelle, since the wrapping done at Common Thread was distinctive, and she had a feeling they would know she’d bought them gifts there if they saw the packages.
There was an old servant’s staircase that led from the kitchen to the second floor, where Audrey’s bedroom was, and she wanted to climb it so that she could keep the presents hidden.
I probably should have gotten a big bag to carry them in, she thought with a chuckle, enjoying the feeling of being sneaky as she crept inside the kitchen. But this is kind of fun.
She glanced around the kitchen quickly, making sure that Elaine and Michelle weren’t there. She started to tiptoe toward the entrance to the back staircase, and she was halfway across the room when she heard her mother call her name.
“Audrey!” Elaine called. “Are you in here?”
“Ahh!” Audrey squealed and raced toward the door to the staircase. She ripped it open and stumbled through. “Don’t come in!”
“What?” Elaine said, stepping into the kitchen.
“I have Christmas gifts!” Audrey cried. “Don’t look!”
Elaine laughed and covered her eyes as Audrey shut the door to the staircase.
“I’ll be right back downstairs!” Audrey called out, laughing breathlessly. “One minute!”
Audrey scurried up the stairs to her bedroom, still pausing in the hallway to make sure that Michelle wasn’t upstairs for any reason. Once the presents were safely stowed inside her closet, Audrey returned to the kitchen, smiling innocently.
“What on earth was that about?” Elaine asked with a chuckle. She was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of coffee.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Audrey said with a serene tone.
Elaine shook her head, grinning. “You were up to something. Didn’t I hear you squeal something about presents?”
“Hey! Shh!” Audrey said. “You don’t know anything. And that’s thanks to my stealth skills. Do you want to ruin your Christmas gift?”
Despite the fact that it was a joke, Elaine’s expression drooped and she let out a groan.
“Mom, what’s wrong?” Audrey asked, hurrying over to her. “I’m just joking.”
Elaine shook her head. “Oh, it’s not that, don’t worry. It’s just that the subject of Christmas presents has me all in a bother.”
“What? Don’t sweat it,” Audrey said in a teasing tone. “Just get me a box of chocolates and a couple of books and I’ll be happy as a clam.”
“Oh, I already have your gift. You were very easy to shop for. Unfortunately, Shep is decidedly not easy to shop for.”
“Ahh.” Audrey sat down next to her mother, nodding sympathetically. “That does sound tricky. Something with a baking theme, maybe? Or would he feel like that was putting him into a box?”
“That was my first thought too, but he likes to buy all of his pans and things himself. He’s so particular about what’s good quality, you know.
I don’t think getting him some kind of cutesy baking-themed thing would be right, do you?
I mean, I can’t get him oven mitts with little smiling pieces of toast all over them—although I did see those online and I thought they were just adorable.
But Shep isn’t silly like we are anyway.
And besides, I’m sure oven mitts are on his list of things he cares about buying quality versions of. ”
“Well, what about something else he likes? Baking isn’t his whole life, right? Doesn’t he like reading?”
Elaine wrinkled her nose. “He told me once that he likes to read on his Kindle and the library app has all the books he could ever want or need. I don’t think buying him a book would be the right move—besides, sweet romances and cozy mysteries aren’t really his thing, and I never read anything else besides the classics.
Last I looked at his bookshelf, it seemed like he owned most of those already.
So it wouldn’t make sense for me to buy him a book because I can’t remember what he already owns, and all of the newer books that I’m familiar with he probably wouldn’t like. ”
Audrey did her best to hide a smile as she listened to Elaine. Her mother was chattering on like a smitten teenager, gushing about all of her concerns.
She sounds like a teenager overthinking the first gift she’s ever going to give her boyfriend, Audrey thought with an internal chuckle. Like it’s the most important thing in the world and it could define their relationship.
“I’m sure he’ll love whatever you get him, Mom,” Audrey said with a smile.
“Well, I want him to actually like it.” Elaine sighed.
“You know? I don’t want him to just be glad I got him something, I want his gift to be something he’ll truly be excited about.
He’s given me such thoughtful presents, and I want to be able to do the same for him, especially at Christmas. But I don’t know what to get him.”