“He looks like a real-life stuffed animal,” Levi added with a tickled grin.
They all just knew they would be able to pick up the little brown dog with the white splotch around his nose and take him home right away.However, Scout wouldn’t come to them, and they ended up chasing him like a cat pursues a mouse.
That’s when Cavin came up with the idea to bring treats along moving forward.Rudy told Levi and Laney that Scout always shied away from strangers, probably from spending so much time isolated on the boat, but he promised if they caught the dog, Scout would only lick them to death.They saw him a couple of days later but still couldn’t get their hands on him, and at least one of them thought they spotted him in the distance on a few other occasions.
Georgia gave Noel and the kids a hard time about the sidewalk stand again on Monday after she learned no one filed an application for a permit, but Noel pulled her aside and told her if she spoke another discouraging word to her children, they would file a harassment lawsuit.As a seasoned attorney, the threat of being sued didn’t scare Georgia one bit.However, Cavin spent part of his time on Monday researching the town rules on storefront selling, and he printed the document showing that owners had a right to the space in front of their businesses.Noel hugged him tightly that morning after he brought the document to her along with a cup of her favorite coffee.Of course he remembered to bring one for Mrs.Madelyn as well.With the kids back at school, he couldn’t bring them hot chocolate, so he ordered hot chocolate from them every evening, providing a generous tip.
“The language in this document is open to interpretation,” Georgia told Noel.“We can’t have peddlers on the streets hawking their goods.”
“Try me,” Noel barked.
Noel spent her days making and selling candy, serving fudge, restocking the shelves, maintaining the display windows, and sharing the Christmas spirit with all who crossed through her threshold.She wore her Santa hat without fail even when out with Cavin and the kids.They picked out a Christmas tree from the local tree farm and decorated it at home while watchingRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; they made gingerbread houses, sang Christmas carols at the local retirement home, went on a Christmas lights scavenger hunt, and even painted homemade ornaments.
Near the end of the week, Mrs.Madelyn asked Noel what she wanted for Christmas this year.Noel listed all the normal things, including the kids.
“I mean what do you want that you don’t already have?”Mrs.Madelyn clarified.
Noel closed her eyes and let her mind drift to the thoughts that occupied it all week.“Someone to experience the magic of Christmas with,” Noel shared with a telling grin.“Someone to hold and kiss and do all the things with that Fletcher and I used to do, but in our own way building new traditions with the kids that also include keeping Fletcher’s memory alive in our hearts.”
This week for the first time, Noel felt hope again while enjoying a healthy balance between her home and work life.Feeling inspired she stopped working after closing time, and she gave the fate of the candy shop to God during her quiet time each morning and at night while lying in bed following her unforgettable evenings with Cavin and the children.
“Might that someone be Cavin?”Mrs.Madelyn asked with twinkles in her eyes.
“I would really like that,” Noel revealed.“I am just afraid that I am going to fall in love with Cavin and then he’s going to head back to Atlanta where he’s lived his whole life and where his family’s business is.He has no reason to stay in Beaufort.”
Mrs.Madelyn placed her hands on Noel’s shoulders as they stood in the kitchen alone.“I believe he has three reasons to stay here,” she claimed.“I have been watching you two this week.I see the way you look at each other, and the way the kids adore Cavin, and the joy you all spark in his eyes.”
“You actually think he might stay?”Noel inquired doubtfully.
“I told you I have been praying for a Christmas miracle,” Mrs.Madelyn reminded her.“Talk to him about it, sweetie.That’s the only way you will ever know.”
Knowing Noel and Cavin needed some alone time together to sort out where things might be leading, Mrs.Madelyn offered to let the kids stay with her and Jack again on Saturday night so that Noel and Cavin could spend an evening without distractions.
Noel subsequently asked Cavin if she could surprise him with something special on Saturday evening, and he agreed.She then got permission from the elderly couple who owned the home he was renting to decorate it for Christmas.They said they planned on doing it themselves after Thanksgiving, but getting the month-long rental request at the last minute left no time.
Noel took Cavin out for dinner at Clawson’s, and then they went to the Christmas tree farm for a second time to pick out a tree.She found out his favorite Christmas song, “Mary Did You Know,” and invited him to attend church with her the following day.Noel actually talked him into getting two trees—one for the living room and another for the spacious front porch.The two of them decorated both, draped live green garland across the railing, and wrapped the trunks and low-lying branches of the live oaks in the front yard with thousands of white lights.
When they finally plugged in the cords, everything lit up at once.The yard resembled a Christmas paradise.Standing there wearing long coats and thick toboggans, Cavin wrapped his arms around Noel and kissed her lips for the very first time.He wanted to kiss her every day that week, but the timing wasn’t quite right.The kids were almost always around, and Cavin also didn’t want to rush Noel’s first kiss since losing Fletcher.She talked about him a lot, sometimes like he was still there.Cavin wanted to allow her all the time and space she needed before things turned romantic.
The tender way Cavin kissed Noel made her melt on that cold December night in Beaufort, North Carolina.With glove-covered hands she held his face as their mouths moved together and their bodies became flush.Noel felt a warmth she longed for this last year, and she was glad Cavin waited until this very moment to kiss her.As he held her close, kissing her passionately under the moonlight, she felt certain that he granted her Christmas wish.
But then beneath the glow of all the bulbs when Noel asked Cavin if he could see himself staying in Beaufort long term, she watched his gaze fall to the ground between their boots.The conversation fell silent for an awkward moment, and it wasn’t what Cavin said next that scared Noel but what he didn’t say—yes.
Cavin told her that he loved spending time with her and the kids and wanted to continue seeing her while in Beaufort through Christmas but implied he wasn’t certain where life would take him beyond that.He brought up his family and the family business as Noel expected, but for some reason he didn’t seem to share the same hope as her.
22
As Cavin walked toward a crowd of people huddling near two large doors that led to a sanctuary, he realized he couldn’t recall the last time he stepped into a church.However, when Noel invited him last night to hear her sing a solo Christmas carol this morning, he couldn’t say no.She said her song would open the service, and afterward she would find and sit with him.
This past week Cavin silently wrestled with the connections he formed with Noel and the kids, and that’s why her question about the future caught him off guard.He usually enjoyed time with women on his extended business trips—several weeks, maybe a month, but he never spent time with any of their children.He found something uniquely authentic about this woman who, rather than letting him into her bedroom, allowed him into her life, her whole life.Cavin didn’t need to make love to Noel to know he was falling for her in a way he never fell for anyone.However, he knew that when Christmas came, this project would soon be over, and he wasn’t sure what that meant about the bond forming between them.
During his drive, Cavin’s mind bounced back and forth between fear of disappointing his family and missing out on this new budding romance when he slowly became aware that every house in the neighborhood was painted white, and the church he now stood in front of wore the same distinctive resemblance.He imagined there must be a significant reason, and most likely the historical society required the paint color.The well-preserved historic homes with a matching white aesthetic and beautifully lined by trees held a charming effect overall.
In a way the crowd congregating at the church reminded Cavin of the variety of people he saw at the restaurant where the band played the night he met Georgia.Some dressed in suits and ties while others donned jeans and sneakers, and the rest of the people fell somewhere in between.No one seemed bothered by the choices in apparel of the others as evident in the intermingling of each group.Of course Cavin wore a suitcoat, buttoned-up shirt, and tie because he learned that dressing nicely demanded attention and respect.
Cavin shook hands with strangers introducing himself to as many people as possible.He ran into the chiropractor with whom he played golf, and the man introduced him to his family and the pastor.Cavin spoke to the latter near the entrance and came across a few other familiar faces from his short time spent in Beaufort.Everyone seemed to remember him, and he knew his dad would be proud.
“Make a strong first impression,” his father insisted, “and people will remember you the rest of their lives.”As the years passed, Cavin realized his dad’s words rang true.
