Happy New Life (2 page)

“I might have something at home.” She laughed thinking about how her
jean jacket would look overtop the sequined dress. “I’ll let you know.”

Liz wrapped her scarf around her neck and carefully took the dress from
Beth. She decided to put the dress in her Mercedes SUV, a car she really
couldn’t afford, before she ran across the street to The Busy Bee.

The car salesman had promised her it would keep her and Hayes safe, as
they traveled back and forth between Cincinnati and Grandberry Falls every other
weekend. He was a good salesman. Using Hayes and safety in the same sentence
had worked like a charm. Since she had to take Hayes every other weekend to
visit his dad, she’d wanted something reliable. Granted, it wasn’t brand new,
but it had still been pricey.

Trying not to think about the credit card bill that would be greeting
her in the New Year, she wrapped her coat tightly around her and trotted across
the street to the yarn store.

Grandberry Falls had old world charm while still offering all the
luxuries of today. Frequently, Liz perused the independent stores for unique
treasures for her costumers.

The Busy Bee makes the most wonderful homemade tassels that she loves
to hang on door knobs or the switches of lamps, giving them the unique touch she
has a knack for.

“You better get in here before you freeze.” Hazel Greenlee cackled,
after opening the door of the knitting shop. “You’re going to love the new
tassels Clarice made.”

“She never disappoints me.” Liz hugged Jenna’s mom.

Hazel had become Liz’s home-away-from-home mom. Much different from her
real mom, Tammy Preston.

Hazel’s bohemian look was much different than Tammy’s country club
look.

“I love that shawl.” Liz ran her hands down Hazel’s arm.

“Home Shopping Club.” Hazel boasted.

It was no secret that Hazel loved the Home Shopping Club and that
Paula, the host, could sell Hazel anything.

“The colors really go great with your new hair cut.” Liz made sure to
compliment Hazel on her new do.

Jenna had told her that Hazel wasn’t completely happy with how Belle
Greenlee had whacked off Hazel’s hair. Of course Hazel trusted Belle; after
all, she was Hazel’s granddaughter and Jenna’s niece, who had gone to beauty
school and owned The Hair Pin, the only salon in Grandberry Falls.

Hazel’s fingertips picked at the short ends next to her ear. “Do you
really think so?”

“Yes, I love it.” Liz wasn’t about to tell Hazel that it was a tad bit
short, but she did like it.

“You know how Belle is. She takes whatever was going on in New York and
tries to use me as the guinea pig. She even tried talking me into getting hot
pink hair extensions.” Hazel rolled her eyes. “Anyway, aren’t you going to meet
Jenna?”

“I am, so I’d better find Clarice.” Liz looked around finally spotting
her in the back next to a group of knitters.

“Pearl once.” Clarice’s voice boomed. She grabbed the needles from the
middle-aged woman. “Not twice, once. Hold on, Liz. I’ll get those tassels for
you once I figure out how to get these needles back on track.”

Liz snickered. She loved that Clarice blamed the needles and not the
knitter, although the knitter’s face was flushed red.

“Take your time.” Liz walked around the room.

It might be cold outside, but the warm colors of all the different
yarns made the shop very cozy. She didn’t mind being there or waiting. It was
just one more thing she liked about Grandberry Falls. The slow life that made
her enjoy life.

She had never noticed all the different types of yarns before. Wool,
Mohair, Dishie, Swish Tonal… the spools went on and on. They were lined up in
seemingly endless rows all around the three-room house that Clarice had turned
into the cozy shop.

She thumbed through the wool cloaks hanging on a round display.

“Aren’t those beautiful?” Clarice broke the silence in Liz’s head.

“Yes.” Liz held up a black-lined one, thinking it just might go with
her new sequined dress. “Did you make this?”

“Honey, I can make anything.” Clarice handed the bag of tassels to Liz
after Liz put the cloak back on the rack.

“You do wonderful work.” The clock hanging behind Clarice’s head
couldn’t be right.

Liz didn’t have time to make a deal or dally any longer. She needed
another cup of coffee to warm her bones, and she could get that while meeting
up with Jenna.

“Put it on my tab.” Liz waved behind her. “Hazel, stop on over for a
cup of coffee.”

“Naw, I’m gonna run some errands. I think Maggie might be coming to
town soon.” Hazel’s eyes lit up like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

Maggie was Hazel’s other granddaughter and Jenna’s niece. Hazel
Greenlee raised Belle and Maggie after their parents were killed in a tragic
car crash when they were little children. From what Liz has heard and seen,
Hazel had done an amazing job.

“Oh, good. I can’t wait to meet her.” Liz hugged Hazel goodbye.

Maggie was a lawyer in New York City. She left for college and didn’t
come back. She does return a couple of times a year, but she hasn’t been back
since Liz had moved to Grandberry Falls.

The sound of the falls and the snow-capped rocks looked like a perfect
Christmas card. And the carriage lights lining both sides of the street made
the dangling Christmas decorations sparkle even more. Even with all this beauty
surrounding her, she had a hard time finding joy, but she had to, somehow for
Hayes.

“Over here,” Jenna yelled and waved her hands over the crowd in the
coffee shop. “Here’s a non-fat vanilla latte for you.”

“Yum. Just what I need.” Liz laid the bag of tassels on the table, and
brushed the snow off her coat. “The snow is really coming down out there.”

The blizzard outside wasn’t stopping the townsfolk from getting out.
The streets were filled with warm conversations and Christmas cheer.

“We’re supposed to get a couple inches.” Jenna handed Liz a menu.

She set it down. There was no reason for her to look at it. She ordered
the same thing week after week.

“I was afraid the snow might keep you away.” Kerri Ann McComb wiped her
hands down her Christmas apron, causing the bells decorating it to jingle.

Kerri Ann was an inspiration to Liz. She didn’t care what people
thought, and she always said it like it was.

She pulled a pen out of her hair and tapped the order pad.

“The usual?” Kerri Ann asked.

“Yes, please. And I’d like to add a bowl of your soup.” Soup was
exactly what Liz needed to take the chill out of her spirit. “Plus, I’d never
miss our weekly date. Are these from The Ladybug Florist?”

She picked up the bud vase, admiring the cream, white, and red
Poinsettia with holly sprigs.

“Mamie ordered one for each table. Didn’t Celia do an excellent job?”
Kerri Ann asked.

Celia Briggs was the owner of The Ladybug Florist. Her flowers
decorated all of Grandberry Falls, and beautifully so.

“I hope she’s back in time to get the fundraiser arrangements done.”
Jenna gave a cross look to Kerri Ann.

Kerri Ann should have the inside scoop since she dated Marty, Celia’s
father.

“Marty is in Los Angeles at the movie wrap party, and he said he has a
big surprise to tell me when he gets back.” Kerri Ann refilled the coffee cups.
“I still can’t believe Sam Barber was living in our town and we didn’t even
know it. Much less falling in love with Celia.”

What luck
, Liz thought, as she considered Celia Briggs.

Sam Barber, the famous movie star, was escaping his life and wound up
in Grandberry Falls of all places. He’d even applied to The Ladybug Florist to
be Celia’s delivery boy. Despite a few hiccups, Celia and Sam fell in love, and
she was doing all the flowers for his new movie’s wrap party in Los Angeles.

“Oh, she’ll be back in time. Then I’m going to spend some time with
Marty.” Kerri Ann winked, referring to the relationship she’d sparked with
Marty a few months ago.

Looking over Kerri Ann’s shoulder, Liz noticed a crowd gathered around
a table in the back of The Trembling Cup.

“Kerri Ann, what’s going on back there?” She strained her head.

Kerri Ann looked around, then back at Jenna, then at Liz. “Nothing,
nothing.” Her voice was tinged with anxiety.

“That was strange.” Liz watched Kerri Ann rush back toward the table to
quiet the crowd.

Kerri Ann couldn’t fool her. She was the eyes and ears of Grandberry
Falls. If there was anything new in town, she knew about it, and there was
definitely something new in the back of the coffee shop.

Liz wrapped her scarf around her neck.

“That’s Kerri Ann for you,” Jenna said as soon as she was out of
earshot. “Did you go to The Figure 8? I told Beth to expect you and set you up
with a great dress.”

The dress was the last thing on Liz’s mind. They needed to get the
fundraiser finalized. That way, she’d be able to put this holiday season behind
her.

“Yes.” Liz rolled her eyes. “What about you?”

“Me?” Jenna put her hand on her chest. “My situation was different from
yours.”

Liz laughed. Everyone in the coffee shop stopped and looked. All except
the table in the back that was still crowded with people.

“What? I’m a widow.” Jenna said, reminding Liz of the tragic drunk
driving accident that left her without a husband and Samantha fatherless. “You
are a divorcee. Let me guess, black dress?”

Liz moved slightly to the right so Kerri Ann could put the food down.

“Yes, but it’s different. You’ll have to wait and see.” Liz jabbed at a
bit of salad with her fork and dipped it in the dressing cup.

Jenna was going to have to wait.

“Fine. If you not going to divvy up the details, I guess we can work on
this.” Jenna slapped her hand on a stack of file folders.

With only two weeks until the benefit, Liz wondered how they were going
to get everything they needed to get done…done.

The New Year’s Eve benefit, Night at the Casino, was sponsored by the
local Mothers Against Drunk Driving chapter, and there are no alcoholic
beverages served at the function. They rented games and people had volunteered
to be table dealers, servers and show everyone that you can have a good time
without alcohol.

The Trembling Cup erupted in a burst of laughter. Liz looked up, but
Jenna continued sorting through papers and talking about a document she
couldn’t find.

The crowd parted from the back table. Why was everyone smiling and
laughing? And who were they patting on the back?

Ever since Sam Barber put Grandberry Falls on the map, you never knew
who would show up.

Liz couldn’t help but notice the handsome gentleman that emerged from
the crowd. He was definitely good looking, but she wondered what made him so
popular. She sat up a little taller as he headed for their table.

She was sure she’d never seen him around town. Anyone new in town would
be hard to miss since the town only consisted of one Main Street with several
side streets. The countryside was vast, but everyone’s names were known.

He stared back, but not at her. He was focused on—Jenna.

She tilted her head toward Jenna and whispered, “I think someone was
checking you out.” Her eyebrows lifted in curiosity.

Is Jenna hiding something, or someone from her?

Jenna looked up and then quickly back to Liz. “We have to get out of
here.”

She frantically gathered the files scattered all over the table. With
the flip of a piece of paper, Liz’s cup tumbled over and the coffee went
everywhere.

“Oh no!” Jenna screamed and scrambled to save what she could.

“Here.” A masculine hand dropped napkins on the table.

Jenna grabbed them and soaked up the mess.

“Good morning, Jenna.” His husky voice fit his tall and slender yet
muscular frame.

Liz was unable to move, lost in his milky big brown eyes, until he
turned and went out the door.

“Are you going to tell me who that man is?” Liz put her hand out to
stop Jenna from getting up so fast.

It had been a long time since Liz felt that kind of energy from a man
and she wasn’t about to dismiss it so quickly.

“Someone I haven’t seen in a long time,” Jenna whispered, while dabbing
at the papers with napkins. “Nobody, just someone from my past who needs to
stay there.”

After some mumbled words, Jenna shoved the papers in her bag and walked
out the door. All Liz understood was that Jenna would call her later, which
would give Liz time to get her emotions in check.

TWO

“I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give
unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.”

~Gilda Radner

Liz laughed as she drove down her neighborhood street. Everyone’s
driveway and sidewalks had been shoveled and salted. Everyone’s but hers.

She wondered if it was a hazard and if someone could sue if they slipped
and fell in front of her house.

Well, it was going to have to wait until after the appointment for
Tramp, the shelter dog. Actually Tramp was part of the bribe Liz used to get
Hayes to agree to move to Grandberry Falls.

They had never been able to get a dog because Hayes’ father was
allergic to them—but Liz didn’t have to worry about that now. Now she had to
worry if Tramp had chewed up her heels, her furniture, Hayes’ toys, or strewn
toilet paper all over the house every time she got home.

“Tramp?” Liz yelled as she opened the door with the sequined gown held
high in the air.

If she could turn off Tramp’s curiosity button, she would. His nose was
always in everything, and usually where it didn’t belong.

Uh, oh
. Liz thought walking down the hall to her bedroom when
she didn’t hear dog nails scraping up her wooden floors to get to her. No matter
what the time of day, Tramp was always up for a tail-wag that would prompt a
few ear scratches when anyone came into the house.