She straightened. “Come with me.”
Micah checked with Lizzie. She glanced up and smiled at him. She had one cookie, and Jenny had the other, and they were both coloring on Jenny’s picture. He waved goodbye, and she shooed him off.
He went to the hallway and found Mrs. Thornton waiting for him, her hand on her hip. “The bell will ring shortly. Let’s hurry.” They went to the teacher’s lounge, where four boxes of books lined up on the table. There was another box of wrapping paper. He gulped. This felt all too familiar.
“These are the books from Santa. They need to be wrapped and returned before Friday. Now where’s the–” she cut off as she searched the upper cupboards.
He let out a sigh. At least there wasn’t any …
“Ribbon!” she pulled out a shoebox. Opening the top, she frowned at the contents. “Feel free to take the boxes home and do this in your spare time. I’ll count it for your first semester volunteer hours, but I expect to see you here after the New Year.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he grunted as he lifted a box to take to his SUV. He glanced inside to see a copy ofSanta’s New Suitstaring back at him. He shook off the chill that raced across his skin at seeing the book he and Jonah had wrapped over a hundred times through the years.
“If you run out of ribbon, stop by The Christmas Shop on Main Street. Charlotte will hook you up.”
He nearly dropped the box of books. “Charlotte?” Not his Charlotte. She hadn’t spoken about owning a Christmas store when they were at her house. He’d seen the shop Mrs. Thornton talked about–it looked like an elf went crazy.
Mrs. Thornton smiled fondly, and he got the feeling Charlotte had been a model student, teacher’s pet, and a goodie two shoes rolled up into an adorable little girl with braids. He probably would have put a frog in her desk because she was too cute for her own good.
“Charlotte Morris,” she confirmed. The bell rang, and she bustled past him. “Excuse me.”
In the hallway, kids sprinted to their classrooms while the sixth graders with orange sashes that said safety patrol yelled at them not to run in the halls.
Micah made several trips to his car. The pathetic box of ribbon wasn’t going to cut it. He’d have to stop in, but he was on deadline, and it would have to wait.
One deadline turned into two and then three, and it was just as many days before he found time to stop on Main Street.
A red awning hung over the door. It looked brand new. The store’s name was plastered across the front window in gold lettering, and no less than five Christmas trees made up the window display.
Gag.
Inside, the scent of vanilla and cinnamon wafted from a candle by the register. A few shoppers were in the store, people he didn’t recognize—a couple carrying a box with a fake tree on the side.
A woman in a fringe wrap and cowboy boots browsed the decorations. She looked oddly familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on— “Holy cow! You’re Valerie Remmington!” he exclaimed. Instantly embarrassed by his outburst, his face reddened, and he scowled.
Valerie nodded, a polite public smile in place. She considered him for a moment before her eyebrows came together. “Do I know you?”
He shrugged. “I worked at a recording studio in Nashville. We may have seen each other in passing before.” They had! But he didn’t want to come across as an over-eager fan. After introducing himself and shaking hands with her, he couldn’t help but add, “My daughter loves your Christmas album.”
Valerie’s smile went from polite to sincere. “How old is she?”
They chatted for a few minutes about Lizzie. Charlotte came out from the back room, pushing a dolly in front of her. “I think that’s it.” She wore a white long-sleeved fitted shirt and a red apron over dark skinny jeans. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail that was simple and elegant at the same time. Her gold earrings flashed in the overhead lights, and he had to force himself to look away.
“Hi, Micah,” she chirped like a bird.
Micah bit back the desire to tell her about Lizzie and Jenny, the cookies, and all she’d done to help his little girl make a friend. The fact that Charlotte was a link between them seemed to make as much of a difference as the cookies had. It wouldn’t do to make a scene in front of Valerie Remmington. He wouldn’t mind working on a future project with her and needed to remain professional.
Valerie stepped to the counter and handed her credit card to Charlotte. “Not like you don’t have this on file…”
Charlotte laughed, the sound ringing out like bells. It made Micah feel funny in his chest, lighter. He put his hand over his rib cage and pressed down, trying to stop it.
Charlotte rang up the purchase, her eyes darting to Micah, who waited his turn. “Cody will deliver this after school. Is that going to work?”
Valerie agreed. “Thanks for your help. I left all the decorations for the Christmas room at Uncle’s house as a thank you for letting us have the wedding there last year. I’m starting from scratch–again.”
“Well, this will be a good start. Although Ethan’s place isn’t as big as your uncle’s, I’ll be here if you need to bring anything back.” She glanced at him again.
Valerie reached across the counter, and they hugged. “I’ve missed you.”
