Page 16 of Christmas in His Arms

12

RYAN

The busiest shopping day of the year and I was in the thick of it. Our Black Friday sale at the dealership meant all hands on deck. I had twelve salesmen, including Sam and me, and we'd been so slammed with customers, there were people waiting in line to speak with one of us.

I was light on my feet, though, bopping through the day with a happy energy. Not only was it the official start of the Christmas season, but Carrie and I had really connected. After dinner with her parents yesterday, we exchanged phone numbers and we'd been carrying on a conversation. I slipped in a text every now and then between customers, and it made me feel like a kid again, anticipating every new message.

Sales were going well too. We'd already sold seven cars today, which was already two above our average, and we weren't even at lunch yet. We were moving inventory off the lot, which was exactly what we needed to do in preparation for January's arrival of the new models and yet another sale.

After my current customers walked out happy, I took a short break, ducking into my office to pull my phone from my pocket.Carrie had sent three messages since the last one I sent her, which was a compliment on how beautiful I thought she was. I read them with a smile on my face before responding.

Carrie 10:17 AM: You should see me when I first wake up.

Carrie 10:17 AM: I look like the Bride of Frankenstein.

Carrie 10:18 AM: Is the sale going well?

Her first two were punctuated with smiley faces, and the third had a thoughtful expression emoji. I could never picture her being anything but radiant, even if she woke up with dragon breath and hair going all directions. Her beauty came from the inside out, which made it even more cruel that people judged her by her past and not after getting to know her.

Ryan 10:32 AM: I think Frankenstein would definitely marry you… And I'd be happy to try waking up next to you to see for myself.

My thumbs hovered over the keyboard before hittingSendon that one, trying to decide whether I was crossing a line or not, but we had already had sex, and that gentle kiss in Walt's kitchen yesterday encouraged me. It meant Carrie wasn't freaked out by a man my age liking her. She seemed to have been comforted by my actions, which was what I was going for. I saw how Helen bit into her and I felt bad for bringing up her job. I knew it was a sore subject.

In order to soften the edge in this text conversation, I opted for replying to her question too. I didn't want her to think I was the type of man who only wanted sex. Sex was great, but she had an incredible mind. It was the real treasure.

Ryan 10:33 AM: Sale is going great. If we keep up at this rate, we won't have any cars left.

"Boss, we need you on the floor," one of my salesmen said, and I looked up from my phone. My flirting could wait. The dealership needed me, and if I was going to finish the day and the year strong, I needed to focus.

"Sure thing," I told him, and I followed him across the sales floor to a smiling couple who appeared to have just purchased a new car from us.

Plunged back into the job, I was so busy taking pictures with car buyers and their new keys that I hardly noticed time passing. At just after one in the afternoon, I realized I hadn't messaged Carrie in hours. I was on my way to the bathroom to hide for a second and send a message when I noticed a few older women staring at me with looks of disapproval. They stood between me and my goal of a toilet break—literally. The hallway was narrow and they crowded it.

"Excuse me, ladies," I said as I tried to slip past them, but one of them huffed out a sigh and scowled.

"You know, Mr. Hawthorne, it's bad enough what happened with your wife…" I didn't recognize the woman, but my face was a household image. I had commercials on the local stations, billboards up around town displaying my smile next to an image of the dealership's logo. Everyone knew who I was, and I felt like I was at a grave disadvantage here.

"Excuse me?" I asked, stopping to face them. Most people just whispered their hateful comments to themselves, but this woman with her turned-up nose and bright red lipstick was direct about it.

Her silver hair was coiled on top of her head in tight curls, silver-rimmed glasses perched on her nose, and a cross necklace dangled around her neck. Probably one of the church ladies who felt they were better than everyone else because their religion made them holy.

"You heard me. Kate didn't deserve what happened to her. A man is supposed to love his wife, and you left her. And she just couldn't take it. The poor dear, she ran her car right off the road over it all."

My chest constricted and I felt my jaw tightening. Never in my life had I been so insulted that this woman who knew nothing about the situation thought she could speak to me like this. The woman next to her harrumphed and scowled, but before I could open my mouth to defend myself, the first one continued.

"And then you're seen out around town with a child?" She glared at me then lifted her chin indignantly. "You should have more tact than that. You know how people talk. Shame on you."

I'd had enough. Carrie was young, yes, and she looked young for her age too. But she was an adult—almost thirty—and very capable of making her own choices.

"With all due respect, ma'am, you pride yourself on your good Christian values and then have the nerve to speak about things of which you know nothing." I raised my eyebrows at her and pursed my lips. I wasn't overly religious, but even I knew this wasn't how Christians were supposed to act. This wasn't even the way a decent human should act. "Talking about other people so openly or harshly is about as vile as it comes. You should be ashamed of yourself."

I was feeling more and more connected to Carrie and her disdain for this town by the minute. It must have been awful for her being Walt's daughter, under such scrutiny.

"Well," she huffed, and the two of them turned and stomped off.

I watched them walk out of the dealership, and I wondered if they'd driven all the way down here just to give me that piece of their pea-brained minds. It never ceased to surprise me how horrible humans could be. And just when I was finally getting into the Christmas spirit. Maybe Carrie was right, and moving to a bigger city was better than staying here where everyone knew everything about me.

I didn't even bother stepping into the bathroom. I just leaned on the hallway wall and pulled out my phone. The battery was running low, but I had three new texts from Carrie, which made me smile again, even if the old biddies were judging me from wherever they went.

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