Home for Christmas, page 13
The tilt of his lips flipped her heart like a pancake. She leaned toward him, matching his gentle strokes with her own. “Ben, I…”
“It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” wafted from her phone, breaking the tender connection with one tenor melody.
She pulled her hand from his. “I should get it.” Harper reached into her coat pocket and unlocked her phone. “Hi, Mom.” She shrugged toward Ben and walked toward the kitchen.
“Harper, when will you be back? Mayor Donaldson is worried he won’t know which button to push to light up the main tree, and Jane Barrett is walking through the community center making tweaks to your layout. Did you want me to stop her? This is your event, Harper; I won’t have somebody else butt in. Even if Jane is a lovely young woman, she isn’t you. I can tell her to stop right this minute if you want. One doesn’t raise five daughters and one son without knowing how to put one’s foot down.”
Harper shut her eyes and leaned her forehead against the smooth white cabinets. “It’s fine, Mom. Jane is helping the festival committee ensure everything is perfect for the dance next Saturday. She probably is making certain that the layout accommodates the band, tables, food…that kind of thing, without having to move too many of the booths the night of the dance. You know they tend to do a great business even during the dancing.”
“Well, I was just being protective of my little lamb. Sometimes you can get pushed over. I want to make certain everyone knows this festival’s success is because of your design vision.”
“Thanks for protecting me, Mom. There’ll be plenty of well-deserved credit to share. But thanks for making certain I get my fair share.”
“It’s what mothers do. I’m very proud of you. The town simply shines with the care you’ve given every nook and cranny. Your daddy would be very proud of you.”
Tears burned in Harper’s eyes. She couldn’t help but smile at the simple thought. Dad would be proud. “Thanks, Mom.”
“Yes, well, when will you be back? I do want to let the mayor know.”
Harper chuckled. “Should be back in about an hour. Let Mayor Donaldson know I’ll head straight to the community center. I have a fool proof color-coded system for the lights.”
“Well, dear I’ll leave any comments alone on who might be a fool, and look forward to seeing you soon. And that sweet Bennett.”
Mom’s tone was clear, but Harper was unable to be angry or frustrated. She thought Bennett was pretty sweet herself. She hung up the phone, and sucked in a deep breath. “Ben, we’ve been ordered to make double time.”
Ben stretched his arm long against the back of the couch. “Double time?”
“Apparently the mayor can’t figure out my color-coded light cheat sheet and my mother is convinced there’s about to be a design coup.”
“Sounds ominous.”
“Just a typical Gibson’s Run festival.”
36
“Are you sure you’ll be all right, Aunt Lulu?” Darcy asked, as she double wrapped her favorite scarf. The supplemental clothes from the lost and found, and her aunt’s closet had been a welcomed help, but having her own things made the world feel more right side up.
“Of course, my darling. And I won’t be by myself. Isabel will be here torturing me, won’t you, my dear?” Aunt Lulu winked at the willowy physical therapist who was typing notes on her tablet.
“Well, I prefer to think of it as helping you be ready for the walk-a-thon in April,” Isabel Wright, Aunt Lulu’s physical therapist, said with a wink to Darcy. “But if you prefer torture, Mrs. Penhearst, I can accommodate. Don’t worry. We have plenty to keep us occupied until you return.”
“But you don’t want to miss the festival opening, do you?”
Isabel shook her head as she set the tablet on the coffee table and reached for a compact TENS pain reduction unit. “The Christmas Festival will last twelve full days. I’ll have my chance to eat too much and throw a few rings around a soda bottle. Trust me.” She began attaching the electrodes to Aunt Lulu’s injured arm.
The device looked terribly wicked, but Darcy knew the relief such a small device could bring. She wasn’t sure she could have recovered after tearing her rotator cuff without those little electrical shocks.
Attaching the final pad to Aunt Lulu’s arm, Isabel glanced toward Darcy. “After a few months in this town, I’ve experienced my fair share of festival opening ceremonies.”
“Well, if you’re sure. I won’t be too long.” Darcy zipped up her coat, hoping the fluffy white scarf hid her smile. Darcy’s inner six-year-old was nearly bursting at every edge to see the light display, eat a funnel cake, and win a ridiculous stuffed animal that would be cheaper to buy in any drug store.
“No rush. Besides, once I finish my, umm, ‘torture,’ I think I might be able to beat your aunt at a board game if she is only one handed.” Isabel set the TENS unit on the table beside Aunt Lulu’s bed. “I am zero for seven in our Wednesday evening battles. And someone missed our date this week by falling off a ladder. I think she was just trying to avoid her inevitable loss.”
“Hmph!” Aunt Lulu snorted. “My dear Isabel, I could beat you with both my hands injured and one eye knocked out.”
“And how would you get to the pieces?” Darcy asked.
“Darcy darling, I would use my teeth. I have excellent core strength. I take an exercise class with Eloise.”
“Of course, you do.” Darcy shook her head, as she leaned forward and kissed her aunt’s cheek. “Well, why don’t you take it easy on Miss Wright? Hmmm. We’d like her to get you ready for the walk-a-thon.”
The gong clanged, announcing a visitor.
“I’ll get it.” Bennett’s lumbering footsteps echoed his holler as he shuffled down the front hall steps.
Aunt Lulu pursed her lips. “You better hurry. The lighting of the tree will be exactly at six o’clock. Mayor Donaldson is nothing if not prompt.”
“Love you.” Darcy turned to Isabel. “I shouldn’t be more than an hour.”
“Take your time.”
Darcy hustled to the entryway, but what crossed over the threshold locked her breath in her throat. Finn stood just inside the front door. His hair was tousled by the wind, and a wide grin spread across his face. Darcy’s lungs forgot how to expand or contract.
Breathe, girl. Breathe. Sucking in a deep breath, her chest rattled with a cough. Heat spread from the middle of her chest, up her throat, and surely flooded her cheeks.
“Hi.” His greeting was low, deep, and rumbled through her like a drumroll.
“Hi.” She slid a step closer, unable to break her focus from his clear blue gaze.
Earlier, Darcy saw him during practice, but he seemed to be constantly moving in the opposite direction. While he zipped through the church, she had convinced herself the space was good, ignoring the hurt pricking her heart with his neglect. Rationally, she couldn’t be trusted to be within touching distance of Finn or her lips would superhumanly attach to his. She needed to maintain her resistance. Her life was in a state of barely controlled chaos. She was in no position to be placing her lips on anyone else’s, especially a lovely pastor with whom she was co-directing a children’s pageant.
But now, with him kissing distance close—his enchanting, fresh, woodsy sent filling her senses—she wasn’t sure of her middle name, let alone all the excellent reasons why her lips shouldn’t be pressed against his. When Aunt Lulu said she’d invited Finn to join Darcy and Ben at the Christmas festival opening Darcy tried to bury her pleasure under the blanket of rational reasoning. Her time in Gibson’s Run was temporary. He was staying. She was leaving. All they should ever be was friends. But all the wonderfully sound, scientific logic flittered out the open door with one glance from Finn Tarrington.
Darcy heard a click, and moved a step closer to Finn, who seemed to be floating toward her. She heard another click, followed by the slightest whisper of her name.
“Earth to Darcy.” Bennett’s booming voice cut through her haze.
Darcy glanced toward her brother who stared in Finn’s direction. Her cheeks flared under the broiler level heat of Ben’s single eyebrow lift.
“Well, what’re we waiting for?” Without waiting for an answer, Darcy ripped open the front door and stomped across the veranda to the three wide steps. Ben’s rumble of laughter chased her as she jogged to the sidewalk. Stupid twinning.
“Wait up,” Ben said.
But she lunged forward trying to drown herself in the crisp December air, hoping her cheeks would simmer and sanity would return. She refused to look behind her to see if Finn followed with her brother. She needed to resist temptation. She refused to be Lot’s wife reimagined.
37
Darcy’s long legs gobbled the sidewalk toward Main Street. The distance between them allowed breath to revisit Finn’s lungs and his heart to slow its rapid speed. All day he had battled against his yearning to kiss and hold her. His only defense was keeping at least ten feet between them. Each time he entered the sanctuary during practice, he kept his gaze averted and stayed an assured, clear distance. He worked behind the sound board tweaking the tone on the mics for each of the play leads. He cleaned already tidy pews. He rearranged the life size Nativity in the narthex. And, when Darcy asked if he could give his opinion on where to stage Eloise during Emma’s monologue about the Baby Jesus, he kept his gaze on the podium, and then claimed he needed to take a call on his non-ringing phone. His antics were near rom-com level, but Finn did whatever he could to resist Darcy.
He committed to God and to himself to simply be her friend. He couldn’t be more. Their lives were moving in opposite directions. The temporary intersection where they found themselves would be over before the needles on his Christmas tree started to fall. And, in order to be only a friend, he needed to stay at least two arms lengths distance. If he couldn’t touch her, if he couldn’t breathe in her intoxicating aroma, he could be the friend Darcy needed without intrinsically engaging his already tender heart. With the self-imposed distance, he was able to maintain his commitment to the friend-zone, until Lulu called and asked him to extricate Darcy from her presence.
“My dear Finn, Darcy’s driving me crazy. You need to get her out of my house.” Lulu hadn’t even said hello. Instead, she dropkicked her demand through the phone. She complained Darcy was hovering around her like a mother hen with new baby chicks. “I’m not senile or feeble, Finnegan. I might be a little banged up, but Darcy has me with both feet in the grave and teetering on the edge of extinction. If I don’t get a break from my loving niece, I am liable to strangle her with my sling.”
Lulu was overacting for Finn’s benefit. Darcy had been at the church most of the day working on sets and rehearsing. But he couldn’t resist playing along with Lulu’s charade. He would have a guilt-free reason to be within an arm’s length of Darcy Langston outside of a children’s play. Even if the reason was contrived, he was thankful for any excuse—as friends only, of course.
“How did Lulu guilt you into escorting us to the tree lighting?” Ben asked as they walked the quarter mile to the hub of the opening night festivities.
In her overacted zeal, Lulu had neglected to tell Finn he would have a chaperone in the form of Darcy’s oversized twin brother. “Lulu said Darcy was making her crazy with her fussing and she needed a break from your sister.”
Ben shook his head. “She’s not even trying to hide the set-up, is she?”
“Well, I’ll be sorry to disappoint, but I don’t believe your sister and I are well matched.”
“Are you dead?”
“Huh?”
“You’d have to be dead to not feel the heat simmering between you and Darc in the hallway. I clapped my hands twice and neither of you broke your stares. Man, if you don’t think you two are a match, the rest of humanity should hang up its mating rituals because we’re sunk.” He patted Finn’s shoulder. “But fair warning. And I’ll only say this once. She’s my sister. And to the outside world she might seem a little too controlled and self-sufficient. And tougher than most. But she’s currently in the middle of one of the worst crises she’s faced since our mother died. From what I’ve seen these past few days, she’s barely holding life together by a string. If you hurt her in anyway, I’ll have to break my twenty-year streak of not getting into a fight.”
Finn swallowed against the knot lodged in his throat.
“Do we understand each other?”
Finn nodded.
“Good. Now let’s catch up. I helped hang some of those lights. I’d like to see the show.”
Ben lengthened his stride, closing the wide gap between them and Darcy. But as quickly as Darcy’s brother found his sister, Ben disappeared into the growing crowd. Finn shifted his focus and caught sight of Darcy’s dark hair. She turned and locked her gaze with his. A soft smile tilted her full mouth stopping Finn in midstride.
He felt frozen.
He couldn’t possibly hurt Darcy.
But he was fairly certain she would devastate him.
38
“Blue, white, gold, red, and then green? Is that right, Harper?” Mayor Donaldson asked, scanning Harper’s color coded “cheat sheet” dictating the order to flip each switch for the choreographed lighted wave effect she was trying to achieve.
“Yes, sir, the lights will start on the north end of Main Street.” Harper lifted her gloved hand pointing in the general direction of Columbus, Ohio. “They’ll roll around the fountain. Then to the trees lining the path leading up to the community center entrance. The outside of the community center will light. The big finale will be when you push the green button to light the tree.”
“It sounds simply stunning, Harper. Here’s hoping it all works.” The mayor handed Harper her color-coded guide, pivoted from the stage, and began shaking constituents’ hands.
“Ignore him.” Jane Barrett said as she stepped onto the platform designated for the mayor’s opening speech. “He never believes anything will work until after everything is complete and successfully over. Last year he spent the entire three days of the Labor Day Carnival convinced someone would be stranded on the replica of the original Ferris wheel the historical society brought in for their display. The ride worked perfectly and the whole event was written up in Southeast Ohio Sightings. Donaldson has the article framed in his office and mentions the success of the Labor Day Carnival before any meeting on any town event or festival. I imagine your light display will be an equally lovely feather in his cap.”
“Thanks Jane. I’m grateful you gave me the opportunity.”
Jane waved her hands. “I didn’t give you anything. I’m in charge of the dance and happen to be an advisor to the Christmas Festival committee. The committee selected you as the design lead based on your excellent presentation and your extensive body of work on other events. I do have to say I am thankful another Gibson’s Run girl is making an impact at home. I know you’re in Columbus, so am I most days, but isn’t it nice to come home and make our little town shine bright?”
Harper nodded, unable to speak through the tears welling up in her eyes.
“I have a few things to check on for Saturday. I’ll see you after the lighting.” Jane walked toward the community center.
Harper’s heart warmed when she saw Jane slip her hand through the crook of her husband, Lindy’s, thick arm. The two were a near perfect couple. Harper hoped she would have a similar comfortable easiness with someone someday.
On a sigh, she turned to scan the crowd and her gaze locked with Bennett Langston. The butterflies that awoke the prior night flapped their wings, stirring awake every cell in her body.
“Hello, Harper.”
“Hi, Ben.” She stepped off the platform, her neck tilting back to catch his gaze.
“You ready?”
She shrugged. “As ready as I can be. Only thanks to you and your help.”
“My pleasure. When is the official lighting?”
Glancing at her watch, her stomach churned at the time. “In about two minutes.”
Ben wrapped his long arm around her shoulders and squeezed, showering her frame with a shiver of tingles. “Don’t worry. I saw the preview last night. It’ll be perfect.”
“Aunt Harper!”
Harper spun and squatted as her niece Emma launched her four-foot frame into Harper’s waiting arms.
“Oof.” Harper let loose a puff of air. “Ems, how many of Grammy’s cookies have you eaten this week?” She pushed the tight, knit cap back from Emma’s smooth forehead and smacked a kiss.
“She’s eaten my body weight in sugar since Sunday.”
Harper glanced up as her brother, Ryland, and his fiancée, Tessa, closed the final steps to her. The couple’s hands were intertwined, and the glow of joy-filled happiness radiated off them like a bonfire. The three-dimensional reality of Ryland’s contentment filled her with immense pleasure, but no matter how hard she tried to stifle the green-eyed monster, she felt jealousy burn a hole in her heart each time she thought about her single status. She loved her life. Being single allowed her to pursue her career and her dreams without the worry and consideration of a husband or a family. But, as she was now the only non-coupled Jessup sibling, her mother’s disappointment was heavier than a weighted blanket.
Shaking the green-eyed monster off, she stretched to stand and stepped into her brother’s open arms. “Thanks for coming, little brother.” She snuggled into Ryland’s oversized embrace. If she squeezed her eyes tight, she could almost imagine she was in her father’s wide arms.
“You know you’re only eleven months older than me, Harp.”
She stepped back, looping her arms across her middle. “Yes, but wise beyond my years.”
“Aunt Harper, who dat guy?” Emma pointed her mitten covered hand toward Ben.
Harper swallowed against the thickness challenging her clear airway. “Umm, Emma, Ryland, Tessa, this is Ben Langston, Mrs. Penhearst’s nephew.”
Tessa extended her hand to Ben. “Hi! It’s so nice to finally meet you. Lulu has told me so many stories about you over the years. She’s very proud of you.”
“It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” wafted from her phone, breaking the tender connection with one tenor melody.
She pulled her hand from his. “I should get it.” Harper reached into her coat pocket and unlocked her phone. “Hi, Mom.” She shrugged toward Ben and walked toward the kitchen.
“Harper, when will you be back? Mayor Donaldson is worried he won’t know which button to push to light up the main tree, and Jane Barrett is walking through the community center making tweaks to your layout. Did you want me to stop her? This is your event, Harper; I won’t have somebody else butt in. Even if Jane is a lovely young woman, she isn’t you. I can tell her to stop right this minute if you want. One doesn’t raise five daughters and one son without knowing how to put one’s foot down.”
Harper shut her eyes and leaned her forehead against the smooth white cabinets. “It’s fine, Mom. Jane is helping the festival committee ensure everything is perfect for the dance next Saturday. She probably is making certain that the layout accommodates the band, tables, food…that kind of thing, without having to move too many of the booths the night of the dance. You know they tend to do a great business even during the dancing.”
“Well, I was just being protective of my little lamb. Sometimes you can get pushed over. I want to make certain everyone knows this festival’s success is because of your design vision.”
“Thanks for protecting me, Mom. There’ll be plenty of well-deserved credit to share. But thanks for making certain I get my fair share.”
“It’s what mothers do. I’m very proud of you. The town simply shines with the care you’ve given every nook and cranny. Your daddy would be very proud of you.”
Tears burned in Harper’s eyes. She couldn’t help but smile at the simple thought. Dad would be proud. “Thanks, Mom.”
“Yes, well, when will you be back? I do want to let the mayor know.”
Harper chuckled. “Should be back in about an hour. Let Mayor Donaldson know I’ll head straight to the community center. I have a fool proof color-coded system for the lights.”
“Well, dear I’ll leave any comments alone on who might be a fool, and look forward to seeing you soon. And that sweet Bennett.”
Mom’s tone was clear, but Harper was unable to be angry or frustrated. She thought Bennett was pretty sweet herself. She hung up the phone, and sucked in a deep breath. “Ben, we’ve been ordered to make double time.”
Ben stretched his arm long against the back of the couch. “Double time?”
“Apparently the mayor can’t figure out my color-coded light cheat sheet and my mother is convinced there’s about to be a design coup.”
“Sounds ominous.”
“Just a typical Gibson’s Run festival.”
36
“Are you sure you’ll be all right, Aunt Lulu?” Darcy asked, as she double wrapped her favorite scarf. The supplemental clothes from the lost and found, and her aunt’s closet had been a welcomed help, but having her own things made the world feel more right side up.
“Of course, my darling. And I won’t be by myself. Isabel will be here torturing me, won’t you, my dear?” Aunt Lulu winked at the willowy physical therapist who was typing notes on her tablet.
“Well, I prefer to think of it as helping you be ready for the walk-a-thon in April,” Isabel Wright, Aunt Lulu’s physical therapist, said with a wink to Darcy. “But if you prefer torture, Mrs. Penhearst, I can accommodate. Don’t worry. We have plenty to keep us occupied until you return.”
“But you don’t want to miss the festival opening, do you?”
Isabel shook her head as she set the tablet on the coffee table and reached for a compact TENS pain reduction unit. “The Christmas Festival will last twelve full days. I’ll have my chance to eat too much and throw a few rings around a soda bottle. Trust me.” She began attaching the electrodes to Aunt Lulu’s injured arm.
The device looked terribly wicked, but Darcy knew the relief such a small device could bring. She wasn’t sure she could have recovered after tearing her rotator cuff without those little electrical shocks.
Attaching the final pad to Aunt Lulu’s arm, Isabel glanced toward Darcy. “After a few months in this town, I’ve experienced my fair share of festival opening ceremonies.”
“Well, if you’re sure. I won’t be too long.” Darcy zipped up her coat, hoping the fluffy white scarf hid her smile. Darcy’s inner six-year-old was nearly bursting at every edge to see the light display, eat a funnel cake, and win a ridiculous stuffed animal that would be cheaper to buy in any drug store.
“No rush. Besides, once I finish my, umm, ‘torture,’ I think I might be able to beat your aunt at a board game if she is only one handed.” Isabel set the TENS unit on the table beside Aunt Lulu’s bed. “I am zero for seven in our Wednesday evening battles. And someone missed our date this week by falling off a ladder. I think she was just trying to avoid her inevitable loss.”
“Hmph!” Aunt Lulu snorted. “My dear Isabel, I could beat you with both my hands injured and one eye knocked out.”
“And how would you get to the pieces?” Darcy asked.
“Darcy darling, I would use my teeth. I have excellent core strength. I take an exercise class with Eloise.”
“Of course, you do.” Darcy shook her head, as she leaned forward and kissed her aunt’s cheek. “Well, why don’t you take it easy on Miss Wright? Hmmm. We’d like her to get you ready for the walk-a-thon.”
The gong clanged, announcing a visitor.
“I’ll get it.” Bennett’s lumbering footsteps echoed his holler as he shuffled down the front hall steps.
Aunt Lulu pursed her lips. “You better hurry. The lighting of the tree will be exactly at six o’clock. Mayor Donaldson is nothing if not prompt.”
“Love you.” Darcy turned to Isabel. “I shouldn’t be more than an hour.”
“Take your time.”
Darcy hustled to the entryway, but what crossed over the threshold locked her breath in her throat. Finn stood just inside the front door. His hair was tousled by the wind, and a wide grin spread across his face. Darcy’s lungs forgot how to expand or contract.
Breathe, girl. Breathe. Sucking in a deep breath, her chest rattled with a cough. Heat spread from the middle of her chest, up her throat, and surely flooded her cheeks.
“Hi.” His greeting was low, deep, and rumbled through her like a drumroll.
“Hi.” She slid a step closer, unable to break her focus from his clear blue gaze.
Earlier, Darcy saw him during practice, but he seemed to be constantly moving in the opposite direction. While he zipped through the church, she had convinced herself the space was good, ignoring the hurt pricking her heart with his neglect. Rationally, she couldn’t be trusted to be within touching distance of Finn or her lips would superhumanly attach to his. She needed to maintain her resistance. Her life was in a state of barely controlled chaos. She was in no position to be placing her lips on anyone else’s, especially a lovely pastor with whom she was co-directing a children’s pageant.
But now, with him kissing distance close—his enchanting, fresh, woodsy sent filling her senses—she wasn’t sure of her middle name, let alone all the excellent reasons why her lips shouldn’t be pressed against his. When Aunt Lulu said she’d invited Finn to join Darcy and Ben at the Christmas festival opening Darcy tried to bury her pleasure under the blanket of rational reasoning. Her time in Gibson’s Run was temporary. He was staying. She was leaving. All they should ever be was friends. But all the wonderfully sound, scientific logic flittered out the open door with one glance from Finn Tarrington.
Darcy heard a click, and moved a step closer to Finn, who seemed to be floating toward her. She heard another click, followed by the slightest whisper of her name.
“Earth to Darcy.” Bennett’s booming voice cut through her haze.
Darcy glanced toward her brother who stared in Finn’s direction. Her cheeks flared under the broiler level heat of Ben’s single eyebrow lift.
“Well, what’re we waiting for?” Without waiting for an answer, Darcy ripped open the front door and stomped across the veranda to the three wide steps. Ben’s rumble of laughter chased her as she jogged to the sidewalk. Stupid twinning.
“Wait up,” Ben said.
But she lunged forward trying to drown herself in the crisp December air, hoping her cheeks would simmer and sanity would return. She refused to look behind her to see if Finn followed with her brother. She needed to resist temptation. She refused to be Lot’s wife reimagined.
37
Darcy’s long legs gobbled the sidewalk toward Main Street. The distance between them allowed breath to revisit Finn’s lungs and his heart to slow its rapid speed. All day he had battled against his yearning to kiss and hold her. His only defense was keeping at least ten feet between them. Each time he entered the sanctuary during practice, he kept his gaze averted and stayed an assured, clear distance. He worked behind the sound board tweaking the tone on the mics for each of the play leads. He cleaned already tidy pews. He rearranged the life size Nativity in the narthex. And, when Darcy asked if he could give his opinion on where to stage Eloise during Emma’s monologue about the Baby Jesus, he kept his gaze on the podium, and then claimed he needed to take a call on his non-ringing phone. His antics were near rom-com level, but Finn did whatever he could to resist Darcy.
He committed to God and to himself to simply be her friend. He couldn’t be more. Their lives were moving in opposite directions. The temporary intersection where they found themselves would be over before the needles on his Christmas tree started to fall. And, in order to be only a friend, he needed to stay at least two arms lengths distance. If he couldn’t touch her, if he couldn’t breathe in her intoxicating aroma, he could be the friend Darcy needed without intrinsically engaging his already tender heart. With the self-imposed distance, he was able to maintain his commitment to the friend-zone, until Lulu called and asked him to extricate Darcy from her presence.
“My dear Finn, Darcy’s driving me crazy. You need to get her out of my house.” Lulu hadn’t even said hello. Instead, she dropkicked her demand through the phone. She complained Darcy was hovering around her like a mother hen with new baby chicks. “I’m not senile or feeble, Finnegan. I might be a little banged up, but Darcy has me with both feet in the grave and teetering on the edge of extinction. If I don’t get a break from my loving niece, I am liable to strangle her with my sling.”
Lulu was overacting for Finn’s benefit. Darcy had been at the church most of the day working on sets and rehearsing. But he couldn’t resist playing along with Lulu’s charade. He would have a guilt-free reason to be within an arm’s length of Darcy Langston outside of a children’s play. Even if the reason was contrived, he was thankful for any excuse—as friends only, of course.
“How did Lulu guilt you into escorting us to the tree lighting?” Ben asked as they walked the quarter mile to the hub of the opening night festivities.
In her overacted zeal, Lulu had neglected to tell Finn he would have a chaperone in the form of Darcy’s oversized twin brother. “Lulu said Darcy was making her crazy with her fussing and she needed a break from your sister.”
Ben shook his head. “She’s not even trying to hide the set-up, is she?”
“Well, I’ll be sorry to disappoint, but I don’t believe your sister and I are well matched.”
“Are you dead?”
“Huh?”
“You’d have to be dead to not feel the heat simmering between you and Darc in the hallway. I clapped my hands twice and neither of you broke your stares. Man, if you don’t think you two are a match, the rest of humanity should hang up its mating rituals because we’re sunk.” He patted Finn’s shoulder. “But fair warning. And I’ll only say this once. She’s my sister. And to the outside world she might seem a little too controlled and self-sufficient. And tougher than most. But she’s currently in the middle of one of the worst crises she’s faced since our mother died. From what I’ve seen these past few days, she’s barely holding life together by a string. If you hurt her in anyway, I’ll have to break my twenty-year streak of not getting into a fight.”
Finn swallowed against the knot lodged in his throat.
“Do we understand each other?”
Finn nodded.
“Good. Now let’s catch up. I helped hang some of those lights. I’d like to see the show.”
Ben lengthened his stride, closing the wide gap between them and Darcy. But as quickly as Darcy’s brother found his sister, Ben disappeared into the growing crowd. Finn shifted his focus and caught sight of Darcy’s dark hair. She turned and locked her gaze with his. A soft smile tilted her full mouth stopping Finn in midstride.
He felt frozen.
He couldn’t possibly hurt Darcy.
But he was fairly certain she would devastate him.
38
“Blue, white, gold, red, and then green? Is that right, Harper?” Mayor Donaldson asked, scanning Harper’s color coded “cheat sheet” dictating the order to flip each switch for the choreographed lighted wave effect she was trying to achieve.
“Yes, sir, the lights will start on the north end of Main Street.” Harper lifted her gloved hand pointing in the general direction of Columbus, Ohio. “They’ll roll around the fountain. Then to the trees lining the path leading up to the community center entrance. The outside of the community center will light. The big finale will be when you push the green button to light the tree.”
“It sounds simply stunning, Harper. Here’s hoping it all works.” The mayor handed Harper her color-coded guide, pivoted from the stage, and began shaking constituents’ hands.
“Ignore him.” Jane Barrett said as she stepped onto the platform designated for the mayor’s opening speech. “He never believes anything will work until after everything is complete and successfully over. Last year he spent the entire three days of the Labor Day Carnival convinced someone would be stranded on the replica of the original Ferris wheel the historical society brought in for their display. The ride worked perfectly and the whole event was written up in Southeast Ohio Sightings. Donaldson has the article framed in his office and mentions the success of the Labor Day Carnival before any meeting on any town event or festival. I imagine your light display will be an equally lovely feather in his cap.”
“Thanks Jane. I’m grateful you gave me the opportunity.”
Jane waved her hands. “I didn’t give you anything. I’m in charge of the dance and happen to be an advisor to the Christmas Festival committee. The committee selected you as the design lead based on your excellent presentation and your extensive body of work on other events. I do have to say I am thankful another Gibson’s Run girl is making an impact at home. I know you’re in Columbus, so am I most days, but isn’t it nice to come home and make our little town shine bright?”
Harper nodded, unable to speak through the tears welling up in her eyes.
“I have a few things to check on for Saturday. I’ll see you after the lighting.” Jane walked toward the community center.
Harper’s heart warmed when she saw Jane slip her hand through the crook of her husband, Lindy’s, thick arm. The two were a near perfect couple. Harper hoped she would have a similar comfortable easiness with someone someday.
On a sigh, she turned to scan the crowd and her gaze locked with Bennett Langston. The butterflies that awoke the prior night flapped their wings, stirring awake every cell in her body.
“Hello, Harper.”
“Hi, Ben.” She stepped off the platform, her neck tilting back to catch his gaze.
“You ready?”
She shrugged. “As ready as I can be. Only thanks to you and your help.”
“My pleasure. When is the official lighting?”
Glancing at her watch, her stomach churned at the time. “In about two minutes.”
Ben wrapped his long arm around her shoulders and squeezed, showering her frame with a shiver of tingles. “Don’t worry. I saw the preview last night. It’ll be perfect.”
“Aunt Harper!”
Harper spun and squatted as her niece Emma launched her four-foot frame into Harper’s waiting arms.
“Oof.” Harper let loose a puff of air. “Ems, how many of Grammy’s cookies have you eaten this week?” She pushed the tight, knit cap back from Emma’s smooth forehead and smacked a kiss.
“She’s eaten my body weight in sugar since Sunday.”
Harper glanced up as her brother, Ryland, and his fiancée, Tessa, closed the final steps to her. The couple’s hands were intertwined, and the glow of joy-filled happiness radiated off them like a bonfire. The three-dimensional reality of Ryland’s contentment filled her with immense pleasure, but no matter how hard she tried to stifle the green-eyed monster, she felt jealousy burn a hole in her heart each time she thought about her single status. She loved her life. Being single allowed her to pursue her career and her dreams without the worry and consideration of a husband or a family. But, as she was now the only non-coupled Jessup sibling, her mother’s disappointment was heavier than a weighted blanket.
Shaking the green-eyed monster off, she stretched to stand and stepped into her brother’s open arms. “Thanks for coming, little brother.” She snuggled into Ryland’s oversized embrace. If she squeezed her eyes tight, she could almost imagine she was in her father’s wide arms.
“You know you’re only eleven months older than me, Harp.”
She stepped back, looping her arms across her middle. “Yes, but wise beyond my years.”
“Aunt Harper, who dat guy?” Emma pointed her mitten covered hand toward Ben.
Harper swallowed against the thickness challenging her clear airway. “Umm, Emma, Ryland, Tessa, this is Ben Langston, Mrs. Penhearst’s nephew.”
Tessa extended her hand to Ben. “Hi! It’s so nice to finally meet you. Lulu has told me so many stories about you over the years. She’s very proud of you.”
