The Christmas Key To Her Heart (McCormick's Creek Series Book 5) Read online

  “I guess.”

  “Besides,” Nora added, glancing at the photo of her and Gary, “it’s sometimes what gets you through if the unthinkable happens.”

  “Okay,” Cat conceded. “I guess we can make it pretty. But I still don’t want anything over-the-top.”

  Nora wanted Justin and Cat to have beautiful memories, but it was hard not to push.

  They talked about possible plans: church (yes), cake (a small one), finger food (yes), and flowers (maybe). And the reception at the McCormick Inn, of course, since Cat and Justin were the ones who remodeled it.

  “A party, not a formal reception!” Cat insisted.

  “Whatever you want. Dancing?”

  “Only if it’s casual. No mother and groom, father and bride stuff.”

  Nora wrote it down.

  “You’re doing too much,” Cat said.

  Nora smiled. “But I want to. I love Justin, and I love you.”

  Cat blinked back tears and leaned in for a hug.

  Nora finally brought the conversation back to what was on her mind. “What about your dress?”

  “A wedding dress…I don’t know.” Cat shook her head. “I was at a friend’s wedding and she looked beautiful, but it’s so much money. And you have to do it months ahead of time, right?”

  “About that…” Nora left the room and returned with her own wedding dress, draped over her arm. “I still need to talk to Robin, but I wondered if you might consider wearing mine.”

  Cat shook her head sharply and backed away. “No. I can’t. That’s what a mother does for her daughter, and Robin needs to wear it, not me.”

  “I don’t even know if Robin wants to—it may not be her style at all. It might not even be yours, but I imagine we could alter it.” Nora started to lay the dress out so Cat could see the sweetheart neck and puff sleeves.

  “No,” Cat repeated. “I’m sorry, but no. And I have to get to work.” She hurried for the door, leaving Nora with a mass of lace in her arms and her mouth hanging open.

  After a moment of trying to convince her heart it wasn’t hurt, Nora hung the dress carefully back on the hanger and hooked it on a curtain rod in her bedroom. Was Cat so averse to a white wedding dress? Styles were sleek and smooth now—was Nora’s dress too obviously frothy, too much?

  Was it because it was second-hand? Or simply because it was Nora’s?

  A desperate need to bake pressed against her. Cinnamon rolls? A pie? Anything to soothe the anxiety tumbling in her.

  She didn’t have time, though. She needed to gather the ornaments for the restaurant’s tree in the commercial contest, buy more ribbon for the family tree since she couldn’t find the red plaid she knew she had somewhere, and haul everything over to the high school.

  Chapter 4

  Nora waited until the last school bus pulled out at two-thirty before she parked behind the cafeteria.

  Would Forrest show up? Did she want him to? Would he measure up to Gary, or would he be more like the previous guys? She didn’t know what Forrest expected from a date, but her standards hadn’t changed. For all she knew, he might be in for a big surprise.

  She shrugged. Decorating a tree could actually turn out to be a great date activity—no expectations of romance and plenty of time to talk and learn about each other.

  Raine DiMarco had set up two divisions in the tree decorating contest: one commercial, one personal. For the restaurant, Nora had borrowed a nine-foot artificial tree from the elderly Beaumont sisters—she’d get it back to them on Sunday evening so they could decorate it for themselves. Nora found the square taped off with her name, set the tree up quickly, and spent a long time stringing tiny white lights in and out of the branches, filling it with sparkles.

  “Wow, Mrs. Cooper, that’s gorgeous!” Raine said, a roll of duct tape in her hand. “I have water bottles for everyone in the cooler over there.”

  “Thanks,” Nora said. “And we’ll see if it’s still gorgeous when I get everything on it. I’ve never done a themed tree before.”

  “I’m sure it will be incredible,” Forrest said, approaching with a smile. “What are the decorations like?”

  “Here, you can open a box and find out. This one first, I think.”

  “I’ll tape the extension cord down once the tree is facing the way you want,” Raine said. “Let me know if you need anything else, Mrs. C.”

  “She seems nice,” Forrest said, watching Raine walk away.

  “She is. She’s back home and becoming the girl I used to know.”

  Forrest raised his eyebrows, but Nora didn’t elaborate. “So what did you do today?” she asked. Then she caught the look on Forrest’s face as he looked at her ornaments. “A little crazy, isn’t it?”

  Forrest held up a giant white ball swirled with red. “It looks like one of those mints,” he said. “The kind you only see at restaurant check-outs and Christmas.”

  “It’s supposed to.” Nora grinned. “Look in the other boxes.”

  Forrest opened the totes, showing three different sizes of candy canes and a whole box of cellophane-wrapped red candied apples. “Your whole tree is candy?”

  Nora shrugged one shoulder. “I run a restaurant, but I couldn’t very well decorate with meatloaf or pies!”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He lifted a handful of candy canes out. “What do you want first?”

  “The balls that look like mints. Then we’ll fill in between them.”

  Forrest handed her two, got two for himself, and gave her a sideways glance. “So…pies. Do you have any favorites to make?”

  “I have a lot of fun with berry pies—I like to do fancy details with the crust—but they take too much time for the restaurant.” Her voice trailed off as she caught the glimmer in his eyes. She smiled. “I guess my favorites to make are the ones that someone really enjoys. Justin’s is lemon meringue. What’s yours?”

  He grinned. “I thought you’d never ask. Have you ever made a chocolate silk pie?”

  “One of my specialties.”

  “Rich and smooth, with chocolate shavings on top?”

  “Of course. Otherwise, it would just be a pudding pie.” It felt like flirting, but she hadn’t flirted in years. Decades. What was she supposed to say now? She hung her second striped ornament and reached for more, stalling.

  Forrest reached for another as well, and his hand brushed hers. Nora’s heart raced, and she drew back quickly. What was she thinking? She had to stay focused on her tasks—these trees, the restaurant, the wedding, and the groundbreaking for Robin’s animal shelter. The kids needed her, as always. She shut off her thoughts and concentrated on the decorations.

  “This is your first themed tree?” Forrest asked after a few minutes of silence.

  “The one I do at the restaurant is pretty generic, and I like to use all the family ornaments at home.”

  “My wife used to do a different tree every year, all matchy-matchy.”

  “Your wife?” Nora felt the flush rise up her cheeks.

  “Yeah, she was all designer-this and designer-that. One time she decorated a Christmas tree with chihuahuas and cactus!” He shook his head. “I never could understand her.”

  “Sounds interesting.” As non-committal a statement as Nora could make, especially with the tightness in her chest.

  “Thank goodness she took those blasted dogs with her. The yapping, the biting—I didn’t hate little dogs until she got those two.”

  “Have you been divorced long?” She may as well get things clear now. Not that she was sure about opening her heart, but it was best to know.

  “Six years, and it’s been peaceful ever since.” Forrest looked at the tree. “What do you want next? And what’s that tree?”

  Nora looked where he was pointing and saw Raine decorating a tree with glittery stars and shiny balls. One or two had encircling rings cleverly attached. “A solar system? She must be doing the tree for someone else—she can’t enter herself.”

  “It�
��s very creative,” Forrest said.

  “Hey, a little loyalty here, please!”

  “But not as creative as yours, of course. Or as delicious.” His eyes were sparkling again. “What are you going to do with all these candy apples?”

  “Besides hanging them?” she teased, dangling several cellophane-wrapped apples from the branches. “I suppose I could sell them in the restaurant when the contest is over, but I was thinking we could give them out to kids or hold a contest or something.”

  “Candy-apple eating? Hard to enjoy them when you’re trying to scarf them down as fast as you can.”

  “True. Maybe a cake-walk type thing at the very end.” That plan actually sounded good.

  She hung the last apple and walked over to Raine. “I have an idea, Raine, but first, who’s the tree for?”

  “Brandt,” Raine said with a sigh. “He wanted to do this for his store, but he can’t be here.”

  “Will he be able to come at all? How’s his pain level?”

  “Really good—only Tylenol. I’ll get things started tomorrow, and then bring him in a wheelchair. What was your idea?”

  “I’m going to be loaded with candy apples after this, and I thought we could do a game to give them away before we shut down on Sunday.”

  “Sure! Maybe at three o’clock? I’ll have the ticket-takers let people know when they come. We’ll stop charging admission at two, and people will be able to come back.”

  “Thanks,” Nora said. “Brandt’s tree is going to be spectacular. You’ve got a flair for this.”

  Raine smiled widely. “That means a lot, thanks. Even if me doing it takes him out of the running for the grand prize.”

  “He’ll love it anyway.” Nora returned to her tree and Forrest. “We’re set. If you want to see some fun, stop by Sunday afternoon for a candy apple walk.”

  He handed her a fistful of candy canes, his hands relaxed and warm.

  “If you’re going to be around, that is.” Her heart was fluttering again, but she shouldn’t make assumptions.

  “I wouldn’t miss it.”

  He really did have enticing eyes. Deep brown. Chocolate brown. Pools of melted chocolate. Nora shook the silly thoughts out of her head—she’d been reading too many romance novels.

  “Oh look, Robin and Cliff got here,” she exclaimed, grateful for a reason to change the subject.

  “And who are they when they’re at home?” Forrest asked, still smiling. Did the man never stop?

  “My daughter and her boyfriend. Besides waitressing for me, Robin is starting an animal shelter soon. Cliff works at his uncle’s ranch a few miles away. The shelter will actually be on ranch property.”

  “Sounds like they have a purpose in life.”

  Nora nodded. “And they’re happy as clams while they’re at it. Cliff’s been really good for her.”

  She watched them laugh and tease as they brought boxes into the gym. Cliff pulled Robin in for a kiss over the top of the stack. Robin glowed with happiness, something Nora had almost given up seeing.

  Robin and Cliff made a perfect couple—the type of relationship Nora had had with Gary before they got married. She had no doubt her daughter would build a solid future with this handsome cowboy.

  Pride and satisfaction welled up within her. Her kids had grown up to be responsible, contributing adults. They were settling down and moving on to the rest of their lives. There was no better feeling a parent could have.

  “Nora?” Forrest asked, pulling her out of her reverie. “Do you want more candy canes, or is that enough?”

  She circled the tree and studied it. “Maybe one more here, and here. And then the garland.”

  Forrest followed her instructions until he took loops of garland from her. He looped one end around her before stringing the rest on the tree, turning her into a Christmas ornament.

  Nora stiffened—this was major flirting. Did he do this with everyone? Then she relaxed, laughed, and ducked out. The analysis could wait—she could simply have fun tonight. “Just for that, you get to eat broken candy canes for dinner.”

  He picked one off the floor, broke through the packaging, and crunched it. “Like this?”

  Definitely major flirting, and she could join in. “No, like this.” Nora dropped a candy cane, stepped on it, then opened it and tossed it in her mouth.

  She grinned at Forrest, then glanced over at Robin and Cliff. Maybe her kids didn’t need her so much. Maybe it was time for herself.

  Chapter 5

  Nora would wait to see the rest of the decorated trees at the end of the competition—she had a double shift at the restaurant on Saturday. By the time she fell into bed, she and her tired feet were supremely grateful to have Sunday off. She slept in, then slipped into a nice dress and an extra-wide pair of flats she kept just for these swollen-feet days.

  She worried a bit about getting older. Justin’s work on the mansion had cleared a chunk of the restaurant’s debts, even if she hadn’t liked him going behind her back to do it. They should be back in the black in another few months, especially if the Christmas season was good. And if things kept their upward trend, maybe she could hire another chef in the spring and cut her own hours a bit.

  She joined Justin and Cat at church and gave herself over to the opening Christmas carol, singing with all her heart. She somehow wasn’t surprised a few minutes later when Forrest slid into the pew next to her.

  “Fancy meeting you here,” he whispered over the music.

  Nora’s voice cracked on the high notes of ‘with angelic voices sing.’ “Behave yourself,” she whispered back before the next verse.

  Forrest grinned. Justin gave her a sideways look.

  She refocused on the music and the joy of Christmas. Surely that was the reason for the delight rising inside her.

  Forrest stayed by her side during the coffee time afterward, but cast a dubious eye on the powdered donuts. “Would you like to go for a proper brunch?”

  He really was interested in her, not just hanging around because she was the only one he knew. The thought of brunch with him made the joy rise up again, but…

  “I’m sorry. I’m just exhausted and I really need to go home and take a nap.”

  She could Forrest make an effort to school his expression. “Then you should do that,” he said with a false note of cheer.

  Nora laid a hand on his arm. “I’ll be heading back to the school about two-thirty, though. Would you like to meet me there?”

  His eyes twinkled. “Two-thirty on the dot.”

  She patted his arm in farewell, tamped down a giddy anticipation, and went home to rest.

  * * *

  When Forrest escorted her into the high school gym that afternoon, Nora was speechless. She’d left Friday evening while most other people were still setting up and had no idea it would be transformed so completely.

  The walls were festooned with swaths of garland and twinkling lights, while fourteen perfectly decorated trees filled the floor.

  “This one’s my favorite,” Forrest said, standing in front of the tree Raine had decorated for Brandt. “Besides yours, I should say.” Tiny spaceships and rockets peeked out from between planets, moons, and stars on the tree. There was even a galaxy created from tiny star tinsel.

  “She did a beautiful job,” Nora murmured. A bright red rosette proclaimed it the Most Imaginative.

  Forrest offered his arm as they wandered between trees, and she slipped her hand in, ignoring the quiver it sent through her.

  Robin’s tree was covered with stuffed dogs of all sizes and glitter-covered bone-shaped treats. Nora chuckled. “She won’t be feeding her pups those!”

  Another tree sported red, white, and blue decorations, and one had more angels than she could count.

  And then there was Mac’s. He’d highlighted his hardware store by literally decorating with nuts and bolts, with interlocked pairs of pliers in place of a star. Nora laughed when she saw the Most Useful award. “At least he didn’t
put a saw blade up for the tree topper.”

  She spent a long time examining the tree with delicate teacups and miniature rocking chairs. Eventually, Forrest found the tag. “I knew it,” he exclaimed. “The McCormick Inn.”

  Nora smiled, amazed at the ingenuity around them. “They’re all beautiful and unique.”

  “And yours isn’t?” Forrest squeezed her hand. “I certainly couldn’t have put together what you did.”

  She shook her head. The others were all so creative. “All I did was put candy up.”

  “Those striped ‘mints’ aren’t candy. And look.” He steered her back to her tree, to where she could see the rosettes.

  “Most Delicious. Of course, it’s the only edible one,” she laughed. “I’d be in trouble if they gave this one to any other entry!”

  Forrest silently pointed at another award.

  “People’s Choice,” Nora read slowly. “Mine? People’s Choice? But it’s just regular stuff.”

  Forrest turned her toward him. “Listen to me, sweet lady. You don’t give yourself enough credit.”

  She shook her head, not meeting his eyes.

  He tilted her chin up. “I’ve only known you a few days, but you are warm and caring and helpful to everyone you meet. You’re a creative chef, and that creativity can’t help but come out when you decorate a tree.”

  Nora gave a rueful smile. If she were truly creative, she’d find something other than melting chocolate to describe Forrest’s warm eyes. But it fit, and he was just as sweet himself.

  She pulled away before she could blush. She hadn’t had a crush on anyone for a long, long time, but she could certainly identify the feelings. Never in the fifteen years since Gary had died had she felt like this. Sure, there had been men she’d considered attractive, but nobody who lit the tiniest switch in her.

  It was confusing, to be honest. And Nora, who prided herself on being practical and forthright, shoved the feelings aside. “Shall we go see the family trees?”

  Forrest offered his arm again, and she took it, not allowing any flutters. Grown women didn’t have flutters.