Page 9 of Candy Cane Dreams
She wondered if anyone else had noticed.
"I've been watching for you two to make your move," a deep voice said, as the door opened behind Kate and Roland slipped out.
"I figured you would see us," Nelly said with a laugh.
So both Roland and Nelly wanted to talk to her?
She wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but she was definitely curious now.
"So..." Roland looked at Nelly.
"You go ahead."
"This was your idea," Roland said.
"You're the leader."
"Why do you throw that up every time there's some kind of question about who needs to go first?"
"Because you throw it up every time you want to go first," Nelly said, and they laughed together.
Watching the interplay between the two of them made Kate realize that it was probably a good thing that she and Edward had broken up. They hadn't had this kind of easy-going banter between the two of them. In fact, if she were being perfectly honest, she didn't really enjoy being with him that much. It was just the idea that her biological clock was ticking and she wanted children. She wanted a family. She wanted what she had just experienced in this house at the McBride supper table. And in order to have that, she knew she needed to get married.
Edward had been a good choice on the surface anyway. The problem was, he didn't seem to like her any more than she liked him.
"So do you remember when I told you about how Roland and I have something that we do, and it's absolutely top secret."
"You said something about being like a Secret Santa? As long as it's not illegal, my job requires that I keep secrets, so I'm pretty good at it."
She had wanted to talk about specific children at the dinner table, but she knew she wasn't able to. And even though she probably could have mentioned names and asked about the kids, and that wouldn't have been considered breaking the protocol of her job, especially since she hadn't even been officially hired, she just liked to use an abundance of caution. After all, if someone was considering working with her for any kind of counseling they needed, she would appreciate them being discreet and tight-lipped about her and her problems.
Not that she'd ever gone to a counselor, which was maybe odd, considering that she was one.
"Nothing illegal. My wife hasn't dragged me into a life of crime yet," Roland said with a raised brow at his wife and a look that could only be described as adoration.
It gave Kate a little shock of jealousy.
She tried to shove it aside. She was happy for her friend, and she definitely did not want anything to happen to their relationship, but she wouldn't mind having a relationship like that for herself.
But those kinds of relationships only came around once in a lifetime. Or at least that's what she thought. And sometimes they didn't come around at all. Maybe she wouldn't be one of the lucky ones.
Maybe it wasn't luck.
Probably not. Probably it had a lot to do with the Lord.
God? Is it too much to ask for me to have something like that?
"Yes. I’ve mentioned before that Roland and I are involved with the Secret Saints, which is basically a Secret Santa for the town of Mistletoe Meadows."
"You help someone who goes around giving gifts to people anonymously?" Kate said, remembering that they’d talked about it the previous year. But she had been blindsided by her fiance breaking up with her on Christmas Day, and she really hadn’t thought about the Secret Saint thing since.
"Exactly. There is a vast network of people who are willing to donate, and people that they can talk to who will help provide gifts and such. Although, most of them do not know who the actual Secret Saint actually is."
"That's really awesome," Kate said, loving the idea, although she was kind of confused as to what that had to do with her. Why were they telling her?
"Considering that you'll be working with a lot of children whose families might need a hand, and also you might have some extra time on your hands as you get to know people, we thought you might be interested in keeping an ear out."
"Your job is perfect for knowing who might need help. Because that's a big part of the equation. Not just gathering gifts and figuring out things they can do to help people, but knowing who needs the help."
