1225 Christmas Tree Lane (16 page)

This was Sheriff Troy Davis's first Christmas with his wife, Faith. It was a second marriage for both. Each of them had been blessed with a long and happy first marriage and each had suffered the loss of their beloved partner. Recently, they'd found a renewed sense of purpose and love with each other.

As it was their first major holiday together, they'd divided the time between his daughter, Megan, and her family and Faith's son, Scott. Christmas Eve had been spent with Megan, her husband, Craig, and their infant daughter, Cassandra.

Today, Troy and Faith were headed for Scott's home.
Late Christmas morning, Troy loaded up the car with the Christmas gifts and treats Faith had prepared for her son's family. They'd delivered a carload of presents and homemade sweets to Megan the night before, as well. Faith had been baking for weeks, not that Troy was complaining. He hadn't enjoyed the holidays this much in a very long while. During the last years of her life, Sandy had been in a nursing home, and Troy hadn't bothered with decorating their house or putting up a tree. For the first time since Sandy went into the care facility, it actually felt like Christmas to him. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed all the fuss and bother.

“Can we make one stop?” Faith asked as she climbed into the front seat beside him.

“Sure,” he said. “Where?”

“The Beldons'. Peggy and Bob were so kind to bring us that plate of goodies. I'd like to reciprocate.”

“The Beldons probably have more than their fair share of candy and cookies.”

“This is a peach-and-raspberry cobbler. They can eat it now or put it in the freezer. Peggy's always thinking of others, and I wanted to do something nice for her.”

“Then of course we'll drop by.”

“It'll just take a moment,” Faith promised. “In fact, you don't even need to get out of the car.”

Troy reached for his wife's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He loved Faith. He'd loved her when they were in high school, and he loved her now. After Sandy died, Troy had never expected to marry again. And then… Faith came back into his life. Their courtship had had its ups and downs, but despite some confused and difficult times, Troy wouldn't change a thing. Faith was with him now. Nothing else mattered.

The Beldons' Thyme and Tide Bed-and-Breakfast on Cranberry Point was en route to Scott's house, so it really wasn't out of their way. Troy entered the long driveway and noticed three vehicles parked in the area reserved for guests. He remembered that Bob had mentioned that their children would be visiting from Spokane, which accounted for two cars. The other must be a guest.

“I'll be right back,” Faith assured him as he eased to a stop.

She got out of the car, opened the rear passenger door and took out the cobbler in its lidded plastic container. She'd put a bow on top, giving it a festive look. He hoped she'd tucked one in their freezer for him—and he didn't need the bow!

Bob Beldon answered the door and Faith went inside. Troy listened to Christmas music and sang along with
Burl Ives on the car radio. Two or three minutes later, Faith reappeared and motioned for him.

Troy turned off the engine and started toward the house. Something was definitely wrong. He could see it in Faith's stance as she stood in the doorway, waiting for him.

When he approached, Faith said, “Oh, Troy, I'm afraid there's a bit of a…situation here. I think you might be able to help.”

“What kind of situation?”

She moved aside and he walked into the house. The instant he did, he heard a woman shrieking and crying uncontrollably in the background. She seemed to be having some sort of temper tantrum. Troy heard things being thrown against the walls.

“It's one of our guests,” Bob said, coming toward him. “She arrived with Kent Morehouse, Beth's ex-husband. We thought they were a couple—but apparently not. Seems she was supposed to meet up with a sailor from the navy base, but something happened. She hasn't been able to tell us what.”

“So what's her relationship with Kent?”

“Friends, I guess. She works for him.”

Kent wandered into the foyer with his hands in his pockets. He looked completely baffled. “I'm sorry,” he
said. “I tried talking to Danielle, but she's too upset to make much sense. As far as I can tell, the young man she came to see has decided to dump her.”

“On Christmas Day?” Troy wasn't impressed with the sailor's timing.

“She hasn't stopped crying….”

“For hours,” Peggy inserted. “And throwing stuff. I don't know if she's broken anything but…”

“She refuses to answer the door,” Bob added. “She must have blocked it with a chair or something, because we can't get in.”

Troy could well imagine what this was doing to the family's celebration.

“I think all Danielle wants to do now is get back to California. I went on the internet to find a flight, but talking to her is impossible.” Kent shook his head.

Troy moved down the hallway to the guest bedrooms and knocked on the door. It wasn't hard to tell which room was Danielle's.

“Sheriff Troy Davis,” he announced authoritatively.

Silence followed, which was a blessing after the racket of the past several minutes. Then they heard the unmistakable sound of furniture being moved.

“What seems to be the problem here?” he asked when Danielle slowly opened the bedroom door.

“I have to get out of here,” Danielle said, dabbing her eyes with a wadded tissue. “I
hate
this place.”

“I found a flight that can get you to LAX, leaving Sea-Tac in a few hours,” Kent rushed to say. This was obviously the information he'd been wanting to tell her for some time.

“Fine,” she said, slamming her suitcase shut. It was on her bed, although little else was. In fact, the room looked as if it'd been hit by a hurricane. Bedding lay on the floor. So did a potted poinsettia, with dirt scattered everywhere, and a framed picture, its glass now broken. And that wasn't all….

“I'm really sorry about this,” Kent said, apologizing to the Beldons.

Danielle seemed to think he was talking to her. “Why didn't Hunter tell me sooner?” she wailed. “It worked out so well that I could come here for Christmas…. He said he'd be tied up, but I said that was fine because my boss invited me to visit his family until Christmas Day and then…then…” She broke into a fresh bout of tears. Angrily, she grabbed the tissue box from the floor and jerked out three. “Then Hunter waited until this morning to tell me…. He didn't even do it to my face. Instead, he sent me a text message and said he was seeing someone else. He let me come all this way and make a
fool of myself.” She dabbed at her eyes again. “Now all I want is to get away from this horrible town….”

“We'll need to get her to the airport.”

Kent shifted uncomfortably. “I had plans with my family but I feel responsible for her. I'll drive her to the airport.”

“I want to go home!” Danielle screamed. “I don't care who takes me to the airport. Isn't there a taxi or something?”

“I have a friend who owns a car service,” Troy offered. “He can drive you to the airport.”

“Fine!” Danielle shouted. “I want to leave
now.
”

“Please call your friend,” Kent said. “And I'll pay whatever it costs.”

The small group watched as Danielle finished gathering up the last of her things, stuffing them in her carry-on. Kent seemed relieved not to be taking her to the airport. She swung the suitcase off the bed, and it landed on the floor with a loud thump. Straightening her shoulders, she wheeled her bag out of the room, ignoring everyone.

As soon as she'd left, Kent slumped on the edge of the bed and heaved a sigh. He lowered his head and plowed his fingers through his hair.

“You all right?” Troy asked.

Kent nodded. “I've made a big mess of things.”

“It's not your fault the sailor broke it off.”

“No,” Kent said. “My mistake was taking her out to meet Beth and the girls. I let them assume Danielle and I were romantically involved. It was a stupid thing to do and I regretted it almost immediately.” He looked disgusted with himself. “Danielle went along with it, since she knows I still love my ex-wife and she wanted to do me a favor. But she totally overplayed her role.” He sighed again. “I wanted to tell Beth last night, but before I had a chance Danielle phoned in hysterics because she couldn't get hold of her boyfriend. After that, the situation went from bad to worse.” He gestured around him. “I've botched everything.”

“Don't be so sure,” Faith said, coming to stand next to Troy.

“Do you think there's a way to salvage this?” Kent asked hopefully.

“Troy and I were in the pew behind you and Beth at the service last night. I believe if you speak to Beth honestly, you'll discover she feels the same way.”

Kent's eyes brightened. “Really?”

Faith nodded.

“First let me see if I can arrange this airport ride,” Troy said, reaching for his cell. He punched in the ap
propriate number and waited. Logan, the son of a friend, had recently started a car service, focusing on airport transportation. He was hungry enough to take the fare, even if it was Christmas Day.

After a short conversation, Troy closed his cell. “He'll be here within thirty minutes.”

“Have you ever done anything so stupid you wonder what you could possibly have been thinking?” Kent asked Troy.

The sheriff wasn't sure whether this was a real question or a rhetorical one. He decided to answer it anyway. “We all have, at one time or other. All you can do is learn from it—and you've certainly done that. And like Faith says, things will probably turn out okay.”

Kent looked up and gave a slight nod. “I appreciate the encouraging words.”

After a few minutes, Troy returned to the kitchen. The Beldons had gathered there. Danielle sat in the living room next to her suitcase, crying quietly. He did feel sorry for her. This couldn't be easy; no broken relationship was.

Kent wanted to pay for the damages, but the Beldons refused. And at their insistence, no charges would be laid. They, too, sympathized with Danielle, despite their exasperation with her out-of-control behavior.

To be on the safe side Troy and Faith remained at the B and B until Logan arrived and Danielle departed.

They left a few minutes later. Faith sighed as Troy turned out of the driveway.

“Well, that was an unexpected interlude,” she said in a good-humored voice. “I don't know what would've happened to that poor girl—and Kent—if we hadn't got there when we did. You're my hero, Troy Davis.”

“And you're my sweetheart,” he returned, smiling in her direction.

“Now what?” Will Jefferson asked. He held his gloved hands upright like a surgeon about to enter the operating theater.

“It's a turkey,” Miranda Sullivan teased, “not an appendectomy.”

Will lowered his arms.

“We're going to stuff it,” Miranda said.

“You mean I'm actually going to put my hands
inside
that bird?” His look was incredulous.

“Yes.” It was difficult to keep a straight face when Will took everything so seriously.

“I've never done this before.”

Miranda rolled her eyes. “Really? You could've fooled me.”

“Are you making fun of me?” he asked, eyebrows raised.

“I'm doing my best not to.”

Will grinned. “Well, this is hard work. First time in my life that I've cooked a turkey.”

“We'll do fine.”

“I'm glad you're with me,” he said, “and not just because of the turkey.”

“I'm happy to be here.”

Quite unexpectedly, Will had invited Miranda to spend Christmas Day with him. They'd worked together at the Harbor Street Art Gallery for the past several months. She'd started as part-time help, working a couple of days a week. Gradually, Will had increased her hours.

In the beginning they hadn't gotten along. He thought she was too opinionated; she thought he was stubborn and dictatorial. But as the weeks progressed they'd formed a strong friendship. She'd taken a step toward compromise and he'd taken one, too, and they'd met in the middle. Recently…well,
very
recently, that friendship took
another turn. Miranda wasn't ready to put a name to it; she wasn't sure it was safe for her heart to define it. Not yet. But…there was definitely a sense of excitement that sizzled between them.

They'd kissed. She'd kissed him once, shocking herself far more than she'd shocked Will. And he'd kissed her. More than once.

Will had moved into his childhood home a few weeks earlier, purchasing the residence on Eagle Crest Avenue from his mother. This made it possible for Charlotte and Ben to move into the Sanford assisted-living complex without the additional worry of what would happen to their home.

Will and his sister, Olivia, had come up with the idea and coincidentally the move had benefited Miranda, too. She lived near Gig Harbor, a twenty-minute drive from Cedar Cove. The lease on her apartment was up, and she'd been hoping to move closer to the art gallery when Will approached her about living in his apartment on the premises. He'd had it remodeled and she could move in whenever she wished.

It was an offer too good to refuse. Her best friend, Shirley Bliss, had urged her to accept. Miranda grew a bit sad as she thought about Shirley. They'd become close after they'd both lost their husbands. Miranda had been
married to an artist and Shirley was one herself. They'd helped each other adjust to widowhood.

Shirley had remarried a couple of months ago, and as soon as Tanni, her daughter, graduated from high school, Shirley planned to move to California with her new husband, Larry Knight, who was a nationally known and highly respected artist.

It would be hard to see Shirley leave the area and yet Miranda couldn't begrudge her friend this happiness. They'd stay in touch, of course, but…it wasn't the same.

Will had been attracted to Shirley. His ego had taken a beating when she chose Larry Knight over him. The fact that he'd introduced Shirley to Larry had made the whole situation especially galling for Will; Miranda understood that. When he'd first started paying attention to
her,
Miranda had reason to think he was trying to make Shirley jealous. She wouldn't stand for that and made sure Will knew it.

Lately, however, there'd been a shift in the way he treated her. But his first tentative attempts to deepen their relationship didn't work, mainly because Miranda didn't trust him. He'd invited her to dinner and she'd refused. Later, she felt bad about that and she'd taken him a store-bought chicken. So they'd ended up hav
ing dinner together, after all. That was the night he'd invited her to spend Christmas Day with him.

“Now what?” Will asked. He was pushing the homemade stuffing into the cavity.

“Keep going until you can't get any more inside.”

“Okay. Although this is kind of a revolting activity.”

She laughed. “Will, why did you buy a twenty-three-pound bird for just the two of us?” she asked.

“I don't know… At least there'll be plenty of leftovers.”

“Enough to feed an army,” she muttered.

“And a navy,” he added.

He finished with the stuffing, and washed his hands while Miranda basted the turkey and placed an aluminum-foil tent over top. “Okay, it's ready for the oven,” she said.

She held open the oven door and Will slid the turkey inside. “How long will it take?” he asked.

“Twenty minutes a pound, so do the math.”

“Seven and a half
hours?
”

“You'll build up an appetite,” she said. “And we can have some crackers and cheese while we wait.”

“And a nice glass of wine…” Will pulled off his oven mitts. “Any other suggestions?”

“As a matter of fact, yes.” She left the kitchen and
went into the living room to collect her bag. Reaching inside, she took out a wrapped gift. “For you,” she said playfully, handing him the large square box.

Will looked a bit uneasy, which told her what she already suspected. He hadn't purchased her a gift. She hadn't really expected him to. Besides, this was more of a thank-you for having her over.

“It's small, just a token,” she said. She didn't want to embarrass him or make him feel guilty for not reciprocating.

“Go ahead and open it,” she urged.

“You shouldn't have,” he said theatrically. He sat down on the sofa and tore away the paper. When he saw the jigsaw puzzle, he grinned. The picture was a seascape, with dolphins and tropical fish swimming in a blue, blue ocean. “Hey, good idea! We can put it together this afternoon.”

Miranda stood and started to clear off the table. “I used to enjoy doing puzzles,” she told him. “This table's big enough to lay out all the pieces.”

“Here. Now you open my gift,” Will said.

Miranda turned around, leaning against the table's edge. She frowned as Will gave her the small, beautifully wrapped gift. The shape and size hinted that it'd come from a jewelry store.

“Is this a marriage proposal?” she joked, and then laughed nervously, wondering how she could have asked something so idiotic.

“Not yet,” he returned quite seriously.

Miranda stared at the package, almost afraid to remove the wrapping.

“Open it,” he said.

Reluctantly, she untied the ribbon. “You didn't wrap this yourself.”

“You're right, the store did.” He stood next to her and nudged her to continue unwrapping.

“I…wasn't expecting anything like this,” she said. “All I got you is a puzzle.”

“I know you'll be surprised, which makes it all the more special.”

Her hand trembled as she carefully slipped off the paper. Holding her breath, Miranda lifted the lid of the small blue box. Inside was a gold coin, a very old one, she guessed, framed by a gold bezel.

“It's from a sunken treasure ship found off the Florida coast,” Will explained.

Taking it from the box, she saw that the coin was attached to a fine gold chain. Will took it out of her fingers, placed it around her neck and secured the clasp. She could feel the coin resting at the base of her throat,
the metal smooth and cool. Automatically, she pressed her hand over it.

“It's treasure, Miranda,” Will whispered. “Just like you are to me.”

She blinked a couple of times, hardly able to fathom that Will Jefferson would do this for her. Or that he'd say such a thing.

“I…” Speaking seemed impossible, and whatever she said, whatever words of appreciation she managed to form, would never be enough. “I don't know how to…thank you.”

“You're kidding. You, speechless? I don't believe it.”

“Don't joke, Will. I mean it. I don't think anyone's ever done anything like this for me.”

Will kissed her then. Really kissed her. He was gentle and loving, and when he raised his head, his eyes were filled with promise.