Page 22 of Candy Cane Dreams
He didn't like his little girl being scared.
He put a hand on her shoulder and drew her to him, hugging her tightly and not caring that her sticky fingers were touchinghim as she hugged him back. Sticky fingers were a normal thing to a candy maker anyway.
"Do you mind if Mrs. Abernathy comes to put you to bed?" he asked gently, looking down at her as she pulled back and looked up at him.
"I know you love her, and she thinks you're just the best thing since sliced bread."
That got a little bit of a smile out of his daughter, and she nodded, although he knew she would rather not. He thought she looked forward to their time together in the evening as much as he did. They were in the middle of reading a good book, and they usually prayed together as well as talked about their day. At least he talked, and she listened. It was the best he could hope for, and honestly, he appreciated the help of all of the experts, but he wondered if his daughter would ever talk again. Something told him that she probably wouldn't.
Regardless, she had nodded, so he pulled his phone out and dialed his neighbor.
Chapter Nine
Kate shoved her hands deeper into her pockets and hunched down in her coat. A cold front had moved in overnight, and while it hadn't brought any precipitation with it, it had definitely brought lower temperatures. It made it feel like Christmas.
The twinkling lights of the town, the Christmas displays in the windows, and now the weather combined to make Mistletoe Meadows truly feel like a Christmas town from a storybook.
Kate smiled at the cozy feeling.
School had gone well today. She had been enjoying not having a whole lot of pressure on her as she followed the principal's suggestions and visited every classroom. Today she'd spent the entire day with the fifth graders and met some of the McBride children—Marjorie's grandchildren. They were impish boys, growing up into teenagers, but also sweet and kind.
There were some other kids she had her eyes on as well, and while she would have preferred to be making money this month, she was grateful that she could spend the time learning about the children she was going to be helping come the new year.
She looked up and realized her feet had stopped in front of the candy cane shop.
Could she go in again? Jack had been on her mind since she left his store the night before. She didn't particularly want him to think that she was stalking him or anything of the sort, but she couldn't help feeling that there were things that she could do to help Lilly. Plus, she had enjoyed Jack's conversation.
It wouldn't hurt to pop in the way Ben, the sheriff, had popped in the night before.
She wasn't going to stay long.
As she turned toward the door, she almost bumped into an elderly lady who used a cane and leaned a good bit of her weight on it as she reached out to open the candy cane shop door.
"Excuse me," Kate said, reaching for the door to open it for the lady.
"No, excuse me. I've gotten a little unsteady on my feet in my old age. Of course, that's not the only thing that happens in old age." The lady smiled, showing that she wasn't exceptionally upset about old age, just making conversation.
"I know the older I get, the more I realize that I did not appreciate my youth while I had it."
"Oh goodness, girl, you still have youth." The lady, instead of reaching for the door, held out her hand. "I'm Mrs. Abernathy. I'm headed here to help watch Lilly because Jack's going to an emergency town business meeting."
"I'm Kate, the new school counselor, although I don't start until the new year."
"I've heard about you," Mrs. Abernathy said as Kate opened the door and she slowly walked in.
There was an emergency town meeting? Kate didn't have any business in the town, so it made sense that she wouldn't have heard about it, but still, she had wanted to get involved. And she could have watched Lilly, although it seemed like Mrs.Abernathy knew her way around, so Kate guessed that she probably watched her a good bit.
"It's a double blessing," Jack said as Mrs. Abernathy walked in, followed by Kate.
Mrs. Abernathy waved her hand in an "aw shucks" kind of way while Kate grinned. She wouldn't have called Jack a flirt, or even a charmer, but he did seem rather charming as he moved from around the counter where he was stacking boxes to help Mrs. Abernathy take her coat off.
"I appreciate you being able to watch Lilly on such short notice," he said to Mrs. Abernathy, and then he glanced at Kate. "Are you planning on going to the town business meeting?"
"I didn't know about it until a couple of seconds ago," Kate said. And then she remembered her vow to get involved in the town as much as she could. "But I'd love to go if anyone's invited."
"Anyone can go who wants to," Jack said. "I have a vested interest in things, but honestly, all the citizens do, if you shop in any of the town businesses. So it's not just business owners who have a monopoly on stuff."
"Then I'd love to go. But I have no idea where it is or when it is, although I assume it's soon since you already have your babysitter here."
