Page 14 of The Snuggle is Real
Charlie giggled. “He’s not a boy. He’s a man.”
Dottie smiled down at her. “Well, when you get to be an old gal like me, everyone’s a little boy or girl.”
“Really?” Charlie’s eyebrows drew together, as if she was really putting hard thought into the significance of Dottie’s statement.
“Oh, yes. I saw Ford grow up right here in Christmas Falls. I remember when he was your age.”
Charlie’s mouth dropped open. “Whoa, that must have been areallylong time ago.”
“Hey!” I protested with a laugh just as the doorbell rang.
“Oh, can you get the door for me? That’ll be the fixin’s for dinner. Sorry I couldn’t get started earlier.”
“Hey, no complaints here. We wouldn’t have a dinner at all without you and your friend. Charlie and I almost just ate cereal all day. Right, girlie?”
“Ford wouldn’t let me,” Charlie said, not playing along. “He wanted his turkey.”
“Well, he’s a hungry boy,” Dottie agreed.
I left them talking and reached for the door. I didn’t know what I expected. One of Dottie’s friends from her knitting circle, maybe.
But the man in a Santa hat at the door, with an honest-to-godsleighon the street behind him, was not it.
“Happy holidays!” he said brightly, lifting two tote bags, which I took off his hands. “I know it’s late to get started cooking, but we made sure everything in here can be prepared within a few hours.”
“Thanks,” I said. “You must be Dottie’s friend? Are you staying?”
He blushed, a spray of freckles standing out across his cheekbones. “No, I’m not… Uh, I’m Mason West. We met briefly at the treelighting?”
“Right, yeah.” I remembered him now. The hat covering his hair had thrown me at first, but there was no mistaking those freckles. “You’re thatcharityguy.”
“I run the Holiday Hope Foundation, yes. When Dottie called, we were happy to help.”
Ah, geez. Now, I got it. Dottie didn’t have afrienddelivering a meal. She had called a charity.
Damn it. I should have just put the groceries on my credit card. I could have figured something else later. Maybe it wasn’t too late to pay?
“Anyway,” Mason carried on gamely, “we loaded up the sleigh with goodies and hit the town!”
“How much for all the groceries?” I asked, half turning to put them down in the entryway behind me.
“Oh no, there’s no charge.”
“But what if I want to pay?”
Mason blinked. “Um…sorry, we’re not set up for that. Folks contribute to our organization, and in return, we fulfill requests when people need a little help.”
“I know how charity works,” I said tightly.
He smiled tentatively, a puzzled tilt to his head. “I’m not sure you really do,” he said gently.
“But—”
“Have a wonderful holiday, Ford.” He turned and went down the steps. “Enjoy dinner with your family. That’s what’s important today.”
A half-dozen objections jumped onto my tongue.
Someone else probably needs this more than me.
