Operation: Married by Christmas. Debra Clopton
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Esther Mae chimed in, nodding. “And we need just a little, teeny bit of drawing, too.” She waved toward the chalk scene. “And everybody knows you can draw anything.”
Will was no greenhorn, and he knew these two were only getting started with their persuasive tactics. He didn’t have time; he was telling the truth. For despite the snow job, he had great respect for the two ladies in front of him and felt guilty turning them down. After all, he’d moved back to Mule Hollow because he’d read about the way the ladies and their friends were trying to keep their town on the map, and he admired their efforts.
He’d also felt an obligation to come home. He had a business that could thrive from any locale, so it just didn’t feel right to stay away any longer. He figured the least he could do was give back to the community that had given him so much growing up. In truth, he’d missed Mule Hollow. He’d decided it was high time to put the ghost of his past behind him, and that could only be done if he came back to Mule Hollow and faced at least part of it.
He studied their beaming faces. “Well, maybe I could find some extra time—”
“That’s our boy!” Norma Sue exclaimed and slapped him on the back so hard he choked. “We knew you’d come through for us.”
His eyes watered as he struggled for air, nodding along with them. He was a wimp and they knew it. Still, he couldn’t help smiling back at them…after he finally stopped choking.
On her second morning in Mule Hollow, Haley was awakened at sunup by Applegate. He was on his way to Sam’s but wanted her to come to the diner around nine for breakfast with him. Sam’s Diner had been the mainstay of the community for as long as she could remember. She agreed to breakfast without a fight. Sam’s eggs were to die for and his coffee…Well, there wasn’t anything like Sam’s coffee.
At eight o’clock she called her office and spoke to her assistant. Sugar relayed the consensus of the office—it was exactly what Haley had believed it would be. “Girl, if you’re crazy enough to walk out on a free ride like Lincoln Billings,” Sugar said, “then you’ve obviously gone off the deep end and need a break. And a therapist!”
Financially, Haley could afford the time off, but career-wise she felt vulnerable. She imagined that her employers were wondering if the stress of working with their high-end clientele was getting to her. Sure, they were being cooperative, but she knew they wouldn’t wait long for her to return. Haley knew firsthand how competitive the market was. They had to keep up or lose out. If she couldn’t cut it, they’d be forced to find someone who could.
Haley pushed the pressure aside and focused on taking it one day at a time. She’d been working at the speed of light for so long it was going to be hard for her to slow down, even for a little while. But something deep inside of her was telling Haley she had to back off. And she was just tired enough to listen.
Promptly at nine she drove into town and was shocked at what she saw. Mule Hollow had changed so dramatically that she was rendered speechless. Main Street had always been a straight shot of wood-fronted buildings dissected by a county road with a few adjacent buildings and anchored on the far end by the majestic turreted home of Adela Ledbetter. It had always had the look of an old western town. When one was approaching Mule Hollow, it stood out on the horizon like a weathered plank fence with a few broken boards. When she’d left, most buildings had been vacant and so worn that it was depressing. Today, her first glimpse of the rainbow of color was so vivid she gasped with shock.
There was the bright pink building she’d read about in Molly Popp’s weekly newspaper column—it still amazed her that her home had a syndicated weekly column written about it. Not only did she read it, but it was sometimes breakroom talk at the office. Haley stared at the pink hair salon surrounded by all of the other colorfully painted buildings. It had taken a newcomer, Lacy Brown, to help liven up Mule Hollow. Her building, the one that had sparked the change, stood out like a flamingo in a spring bouquet. Haley was floored and saddened by the new upbeat appearance….
Not saddened that such a wonderful thing had happened, but that she’d been in such a hurry to leave the dying town behind ten years earlier that she hadn’t seen any value in it. It saddened her that it took an outsider to see the potential. It saddened her to realize that she hadn’t stuck around to help revitalize her home town. Guilt at her selfishness began to leak in around the corners of the memory. Then again, she was the town’s little Haley Bell, who would have listened to her if she’d suggested that they paint the town blue and pink?
No one would have. They would have patted her on the head and had a good chuckle.
Cutting the thought off, she turned into the parking space in front of Sam’s Diner. She had gotten where she was in her career by adhering to a strict set of rules. She didn’t look back…. At least she tried not to look back. Still, memories stole up on her at times, forcing her to push them away in order to focus on achieving her new goals. Looking back stole energy away from her forward progress, from achieving her future. Looking back was not productive. And Haley was very productive.
Aside from that, she knew firsthand that sometimes looking back hurt far too much.
Then why had she come home?
That question was ridiculous. She’d come to see her grandpa. Hadn’t she? She’d come home to rest. Or was she searching for something? Something that had caused this restlessness that had stolen over her in the last few months.
She was almost to the steps when she heard someone call her name. Spinning around, she saw Brady Cannon striding across the street. Brady had been ahead of her in school and loved to pick on her growing up. He was now the sheriff of the town and had recently married. Applegate said he was as happy as a rabbit in a carrot patch. Looking at him now, Haley believed it.
“I heard you were in town, Haley Bell, Haley Bell,” he said, smiling.
Despite how she’d hated the teasing “Haley Bell” chant growing up, Haley laughed as he swept her into a bear hug. It seemed like a thousand years since she’d heard the familiar chant that he and his friends—including Will Sutton—used as they followed her around tugging on her pigtails. Nothing had given them more pleasure than to tease her when she did something they thought was funny.
“How are you?” he continued as he let her loose and stared down at her.
Brady was one of the tallest men she’d ever met. A giant of a guy who had always wanted to escape Mule Hollow the same way she did. He’d done it, too, and now he was back. She wondered what had changed his mind and brought him back. She wanted to ask him, but now wasn’t the time.
“I’m doing okay,” she said, tipping her head up to see his face.
“Okay? From what Applegate tells us, you’re setting the world on fire out there in the land of the rich and famous. Just like you dreamed.”
“Yeah, well, it’s a living.”
He studied her. “Is that a little disenchantment I hear in that reply?”
What could she say to that? “Maybe. Not sure,” she admitted. “But whatever you do, please don’t tell Applegate or he’ll start a campaign to get me to move back home.”
“And would that be so bad?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.” She glanced down the street. “Things certainly have changed since I left.”
Brady smiled. “Things are looking up for our little metropolis.”
He looked so happy. Haley studied him. “Sheriff, I believe marriage agrees with you.”
“God has really blessed me, Haley. I don’t regret being a cop in Houston, but it took coming back to Mule Hollow for me to find my heart.”
“Are you sure you’re the same guy who used to torment me and dream of leaving Mule Hollow behind?”
He grinned. “Do I sound sappy?”
“Oh, yeah.