Page 14 of Candy Cane Dreams
"Lilly, would you like to come over here and put a sticker on the board? I believe we forgot to do that earlier," Miss Jones said, giving Kate a look that said "If you want to talk to her dad, I'll take her away for you for a few minutes."
Reluctantly, Lilly walked away from her dad, throwing a last look over her shoulder.
"She doesn't like to let you out of her sight," Kate observed, wondering what Mr. Henderson would say about that.
"Ever since her mom died, I'm all she has left. It makes sense to me that she'd want to stick pretty close."
"Do you have trouble getting her to go to school in the morning?"
"Not really." He didn't elaborate.
"Has she spoken at all?" Kate asked, wondering how she could get him to talk about his daughter, or if he even wanted to.
"No. Not a word that I've heard." He drew in a breath and blew it out. "Principal Stevens said that you might be interested in working with her. If you are, I'd definitely be open to it."
"I would love to. She seems like a bright young lady, but... she's been through a really tough time."
"She sure has. She's a lot different at home than she is here at school. If you need to observe her in her... natural habitat," he said with a grin, "you're certainly welcome to come to the candy shop. That's usually where we spend our time after school."
"I saw it when I drove through town the other day," she said, not elaborating on the fact that she had indeed seen it and him as well.
"The shop was in her mother's family. It was her mother's dream to pass it down to Lilly and have Lilly be a candy maker."
"How does Lilly feel about that?"
"I don't know; she doesn't really talk about it." He grinned, not making a joke of his daughter's muteness, but showing by his smile that he had accepted it and knew there wasn't a lot he could do to change it.
"Interesting. If you don't mind, I'd definitely like to take you up on that. I would love to see her with you, and if I'm being honest, I'd love to take a look at the candy shop. The display in the window is absolutely fantastic."
"Lilly helped me with it, but... I learned a lot from Lauren before she died. It's not nearly like what she could do, but nottoo bad for a man who thought he was going to be a farmer but turned into a candy maker by accident."
Interesting. It didn't sound like Lilly's dad necessarily wanted to be a candy maker. Was he only keeping the shop open for Lilly? Or because of the memory of his late wife?
"I don't officially start as school counselor until after the break, but... I could come by the shop anytime."
"Absolutely. Today is fine. This is our busy time of year, and I'll be there early in the morning and late at night. Stop by anytime."
"All right, I will," she said, and then watched as Lilly finished up quickly with Miss Jones and hurried back to her dad, again pressing herself against his side.
"Interesting.”
A child came up then and Jack and his daughter walked away. It was just as well. Kate had a lot to think about.
Chapter Six
Kate adjusted her purse over her shoulder and closed her car door carefully.
She glanced up at the sign above the sidewalk: "Mistletoe Meadows Candy Canes."
Maybe a little creatively uninspired, but descriptive.
Had she heard somewhere that it had been in his family for five generations?
Not his family—hers. His late wife's. Jack's late wife.
No wonder he was working so hard to keep it for Lilly.
At the thought of Lilly, her heart clenched a bit. She really wanted to help the child. How difficult it must be to lose one's mother. Of course, at least she had a caring and loving father who wanted the very best for her.
