Page 79 of The Merry Matchmaker

“I did not!” Frankie snapped at her phone.

“The whole Santa Walk thing was her idea, wasn’t it?” Carly Rae continued.

“Oh, many of us were involved,” Barbara lied.

“Not you, until you wormed your way onto the committee,” Frankie said.

She could almost hear Mitch saying,Sharing is caring.

He was right, of course. Frankie had started the Santa Walk to benefit the town and local businesses. People loved it, so really, what did it matter if she wound up sharing the credit for making it happen? Lots of people had gotten involved, and without their help, she couldn’t have pulled it off.

“And Mitch Howard will be Santa again this year, right?”

Without Frankie helping him. But she’d feel a lot less grumpy if Elinor was the one to take her Mrs. Claus cape.

“We’re all excited to see who wins the Mrs. Claus pageant,” said Carly Rae. “So, everybody come to the VFW hall this Friday and root for your favorite contestant. And bring money so you can bid on those amazing gingerbread houses. It’s all for a good cause. Then on Saturday, be sure to visit our downtown shops, which will be offering all kinds of holiday specials. We have added entertainment this year, too, right, Barbara?”

“We do. We’ll have strolling carolers to entertain everyone.”

“And the Santa pub crawl for the grown-ups on Saturday night,” put in Carly Rae. “Is that happening again this year?”

“Yes, put on your best Santa suit or elf hat. Our local restaurants and pubs will be offering discounts on drinks and appetizers.”

“Bring your kids to see Santa before he starts hitting the bar,” joked Carly Rae. “Right, Barbara?”

“Yes. He’ll be at the gazebo in the town square from noon to three.”

Hearing all the fun that was planned blew away Frankie’s crankiness. She had started this event with pure motives. She didn’t need to be undoing that by letting her ego get in the way. And she wouldn’t, darn it all. This was for the town and the people she loved, and seeing others catch the vision was a good thing. There. See how good it felt to be noble?

She wrapped her nobility around her like a warm blanket and kept it there when three different customers came in that morning to report that they’d heard Barbara on the radio.

“But it was your idea. She should have given you credit,” said Mrs. Whitworth, who always bought Natalie’s candy.

“Yes, it was,” Frankie said, glad that someone remembered. “But I’m happy to see it growing and getting better every year.”

“I think it still sucks that Barbara took over,” Natalie said when she brought in more candy to replace their diminishing supply.

“Oh well. I can live with it.”For this year. Don’t plan on being in charge next year, Barbara.Sharing was caring, and it was about time Barbara learned that.

So much for nobility.

The day flew by. Then it was time to grab a quick sandwich at home and head out the door for her grandson’s concert. Of course, Warner would be the cutest snowflake of all the little snowflakes on the school’s stage.

It took Stef longer than she anticipated to recover from her monster headache, and she barely made it to the school in time for Warner’s concert on Wednesday evening. The program was about to start when she stumbled to the end of the row where her family was seated. Thankfully, Frankie had saved her a seat on the end.

“I was just about to text you,” Frankie said. “How are you feeling?”

“Better. At least I finally pulled the ax out of my head.” Stef leaned over to wave at Natalie, who was seated farther down.

That was when she saw him, seated in the same row, on the other side of the aisle. “Oh my gosh, that’s him,” she said to Frankie.

“Him who?” Frankie asked, following her gaze.

“The man from the coffee shop.”

Frankie looked. “Wow, he’s cute.”

There was an understatement.

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