White Christmas
WHITE CHRISTMAS
Tanya Stowe
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
White Christmas
Copyright 2011 by Tanya Stowe
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or Pelican Ventures, LLC except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
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Contact Information: [email protected]
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament (c) 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Cover Art by
Nicola Martinez
White Rose Publishing, a division of Pelican Ventures, LLC
www.pelicanbookgroup.com
PO Box 1738 *Aztec, NM * 87410
White Rose Publishing Circle and Rosebud logo is a trademark of Pelican Ventures, LLC
Publishing History
First White Rose Edition, 2011
Electronic Edition ISBN 978-1-61116-153-3
Published in the United States of America
Dedication
To my family. You are always my biggest inspiration.
Praise for Tanya Stowe
Tender Touch
:
I loved this book, and can say in all honesty that it is one of the best I've read in the past year...and possibly longer. - Delia Latham, author
Destiny's Dream
TENDER TOUCH raises some thought-provoking questions while sharing a love-story that will melt your heart. You won't want to miss this one. I recommend TENDER TOUCH to all who love romance. - Mary Manners, author
Mended Heart
It takes a powerful writer to find something so beautiful in some of the harshest years in history. Once I started it, the story just jumped out at you and it was difficult to put down. Ms Stowe is a master storyteller. -The Romance Reviews.
1
“I don’t know why you insist on wearing those ridiculous things. How can you see?” Aunt Nell asked, rubbing her hands against the cold evening air.
Chad Fletcher pulled his baseball cap lower and pushed the large, black-framed lenses further up his nose. “These were the biggest, ugliest, glasses I could find in the store,” he said, studying the nearby Christmas carolers dressed in scarves, mittens and matching earmuffs. “People usually don’t recognize me when I’m wearing them.”
Nell made a sound that, if Chad didn’t know his proper little white-haired great-aunt better, sounded almost like a snort. “If you spent more time focusing on your job as state assemblyman and less time in the social pages, you wouldn’t have to disguise yourself.”
“Ex-job, Aunt Nell, ex-job. My term has ended, remember? I’m a free man, here to rest, relax, and recuperate before I get back to real life.”
“Real life,” she said. “As if we don’t live real lives here in White.” She made the sound again and Chad smiled.
The small rural Arizona community was as far removed from the high profile life he lived in Phoenix as it could be. Even as a child, visiting his mother’s aunt had been his favorite way to spend the summer. Time with Aunt Nell and working as a teenager for the local ranchers had taught him more about life than all of his family’s country club years in Tucson.
His aunt knew how he felt, so when he took her arm and squeezed, she smiled and patted it back.
“Come on,” he said. “Tell me about the festivities. I’ve been hearing you talk about White’s Twelve Days of Christmas for so long, I can’t wait to see it.”
“Well, as you can see, this is the kick-off event. Main Street is blocked off. We’ve got carolers on this side, a brass combo over there, and Santa Claus right next door. He’ll be giving out bags of treats and hot chocolate. The line started forming to see him about five o’clock.”
“I don’t remember those Victorian light posts.”
“They weren’t here last time you were. At first, I thought they were an expense we didn’t need but when they put them up, well, I’ve grown quite fond of them. They remind me of my childhood.”
“Which wasn’t such a long time ago,” Chad said.
“Hush! It’s a wonder they let you talk at all on the chamber floor. You’re so full of nonsense.” This time she slapped playfully at his hand and he grabbed it.
“You’re freezing,” he said, worry for his seventy-year-old aunt filling him. “Why don’t you put on your gloves?”
“I left them in the car.”
“It’s cold enough to snow. I’ll go back and get them.”
“No, don’t worry about it. I don’t want you to miss the lighting ceremony. They turn everything on at the same time. The lamp posts, the giant snowflakes attached to them and those two huge Christmas trees over there. All the houses for blocks around Main Street turn on their lights, too. It’s my favorite part.”
He turned to see the two trees, situated in the large plaza called Pioneer Square. The trees were well over fifteen feet and decorated with lights and multi-colored bulbs. “You said they start at six? That’s ten minutes away. I’ll be gone and back before then.”
“You might miss it. Just wait a few more minutes.”
Chad studied his aunt’s face and realized she was searching the crowd for something…or someone.
“Aunt Nell, what are you up to?”
Suddenly, her face lit up and she smiled. “Look, there’s Sophie and Jim Conway. Their grand-daughter’s here for Christmas, you know.”
“Aunt Nell, you promised. No more matchmaking.”
“I didn’t promise. I know myself better than that. Besides, you need a good, small-town girl who will keep your feet firmly planted on the ground.”
“I’ve had enough romance to last a lifetime,” he said, his tone tight.
She shook her head. “Your engagement wasn’t a romance. It was a circus complete with performing monkeys and paparazzi.”
He winced, thinking of the things he and Carly had endured before she called off what the media had dubbed “the match of the decade.” Carly was the daughter of a prominent Phoenix businessman and they had become social fodder for newspapers across the country. The pressure had been incredible and Carly simply hadn’t been up to the challenge. He wasn’t sure any woman would be.
“Circus or not, Aunt Nell, I learned a very valuable lesson. A career in politics and marriage don’t mix. At least, not my career.”
“Nonsense again, Chad. It’s a good thing you’re staying for a month. It’ll take me that long to knock some common sense back into that brain of yours. Besides, Sophie’s girl is in politics. She’ll know what to expect.”
Chad doubted it, but he wasn’t going to waste time arguing with Nell. He knew of only one way to put a stop to her efforts. “I need time to heal, Nell. A guy just doesn’t jump back into the playing field after getting his heart broken.”
“Broken?” she said and one eyebrow rose in a quirk.
“OK, maybe not broken. But definitely damaged. I really do need some time to recover. So,” he said, wrapping her long red scarf tighter around her neck. “You go over and visit with your friends and I’ll run back to the car for your gloves. I’ll meet you by the Christmas trees in Pioneer Square and we’ll watch the lighting together. Deal?”
“Deal,” she said with a heavy sigh.
Chad jogged down the blocked-off street, moving around folks crossing back and forth. He couldn’t help but smile as he heard friends calling to each other and joking. The comfortable, friendly attitude was just what he needed. He congratulated himself on his decision to spend the holidays with his aunt.
She called it hiding out, and she was probably right. He needed time to regroup. He couldn’t think of a better place to do that than right here where the pace was slower, and the important things like family and friends were everyone’s priority. He was even looking forward to the peaceful services in Nell’s little church. In spite of what she thought, he did need some healing after his very public, very painful break-up.
As he left the crowd behind and ran into the quieter, cooler part of the street, he shivered. He’d forgotten about the cold. During the summer months, the cooler temperatures of the White Mountains were a welcome break from the blistering heat of Phoenix. In the winter, however, those same higher elevations could lead to snow. As he thought about it, not such a bad image. White, Arizona covered in snow.
It felt good to stretch his legs out. He’d missed his daily run and the short trip back to the car actually helped work out some of the kinks. He found Nell’s red gloves on the front seat and jogged back in less than five minutes. Nell had not yet returned to Pioneer Square so he waited, watching the people gathered around the tree.
One young woman was surrounded by four or five children. Something about her struck Chad as familiar. She had long, strawberry blonde hair and it curled, uncontrolled beneath her purple knit cap.
Naturally curly. He smiled, seeing the way it tried to frizz around her face in the cold damp air. It gave her an uninhibited quality he liked. She turned at that moment and caught him staring. Though she was a red-head, he could only see a sprinkling of freckles across her heart-shaped face. Even from a distance of ten feet, a pair of the brightest blue eyes he’d ever seen sparkled back at him.
He returned the smile before lowering his gaze. Now that was exactly the kind of small-town girl Aunt Nell wanted him to meet. Glancing back at her laughing face and bright eyes, the idea didn’t seem half bad.
She chose that moment to glance his way again and they caught each other’s gaze. Another half-smile and Chad turned away, feeling his momentary pleasure slip away. The last thing he needed was to give this young woman any ideas. Besides, the two- or three-year-old standing next to her had the same curly, strawberry-blonde hair. Probably her daughter.
He looked around, hoping to see his aunt, but she was nowhere in sight. His gaze drifted back to the young woman and once again, she looked at him, this time with a slight frown between her eyebrows.
Great. She’d recognized him. Sooner or later, she’d work her way to his side and casually introduce herself. He looked around again. Where was Nell?
With his back to them, he heard the children around the woman say, “Santa.” One little girl squealed and clapped her hands.
Fortunately for Chad, he turned just at that moment, because the little girl spun and charged right into him. She bounced off his legs and landed flat on her bottom.
Sitting splayed out with her hands behind her, she stared up at him with blue eyes wide. Her hair curled rebelliously around her navy-blue knit cap. She looked so adorable, Chad bent to pick her up before he remembered her mother had recognized him.
“Emma!” The other children came running up. “Say you’re sorry,” said the oldest girl, who looked to be about ten.
“Sorry,” mumbled little Emma, who ducked her head and looked up at him through the longest, darkest eyelashes he’d ever seen on a blonde, let alone a red-head. Did her mother have the same eyelashes?
“It’s all right, Emma,” he said. “It was an accident.”
She nodded and strawberry curls bounced. “We’re going to see Santa,” she exclaimed and flashed a smile that captured Chad’s heart. “He’s going to be so glad to see me!”
Chad almost laughed out loud, but thought better of it. “Well, than I guess you need to get over there.”
He looked up in time to see the woman joining them.
“It looks like the Santa line is finally moving,” she said to the oldest girl. “Why don’t you take the kids back?”
“OK.” The girl started towards the road.
“And hold Emma’s hand while you cross the street. I don’t want any accidents on my watch.”
Chad couldn’t help noticing that her eyelashes were as long as Emma’s. Even with the dark mascara covering them, they looked luxurious. He was so amazed by them, he spoke without thinking. “Your watch?” he asked.
She smiled. “I love my oldest sister to death but she’s a safety Nazi. I always feel like I’m on duty when I’m watching her kids. Frankly though, I don’t blame her. Emma can be a handful.”