Shenandoah Christmas. Lynnette Kent
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boy!” Maddie clapped her hands. “That means you’ll be here for the holidays. Won’t that be cool, Daddy? Miss Cait is going to help us with the Christmas pageant!”
With a roaring in her ears, Cait stared at the little girl.
Christmas pageant? I don’t do Christmas.
Not for the last ten years. Not this year…
Not ever again!
CHAPTER TWO
OH, DEAR. Anna saw resistance dawn on her sister’s face at the mention of Christmas. She’d planned to present the idea gradually, easing Cait into the role of directing the annual holiday program. When the doctor had ordered Anna to stay home and take things easy, she’d known she would have to find someone to take over her responsibility for the pageant. Cait had seemed like the perfect answer—for both their sakes.
But not if she got stubborn. “I hadn’t mentioned that to you,” she said, catching Cait’s eye across the table. “We usually start preparing around the beginning of November.”
“It’s lots of fun,” Maddie said. “We have angels and shepherds and wise men and a procession on Christmas Eve.”
Cait made a visible effort to relax. “We used to have a Christmas pageant when I was growing up. I remember how exciting it was. But—”
“The pageant has been a Goodwill tradition since I was a girl,” Peggy said. “Most of the children in town participate. When I was ten, I got to be the announcing angel.” She smiled at her granddaughter.
Maddie nodded. “That’s what I want to be. I already started learning the part. ‘Fear not…’”
Cait pressed her lips together and lifted her chin, a sure sign she was on the defensive. Anna sat up straighter, trying to think of a distraction. This was not going well at all.
“First, we have to get through Halloween.” Ben Tremaine’s calm voice came as an answer to prayer. “Have you decided on your costume yet, Maddie?”
The little girl nodded. “If we got a angel outfit, then I’d be all set for the Christmas pageant. That’s a good idea, isn’t it?”
There was a second of silence, during which Anna imagined all the adults—herself included—grappling for a way to deal with that question. The very existence of the pageant was in doubt this year. And there would be other children wanting the angel’s role. If she counted too much on getting the part, Maddie might be severely disappointed.
“My favorite Halloween costume of all time was the year I dressed as Zorro,” Cait said.
“You had Zorro when you were growing up?” Maddie’s eyes widened. “I love that movie.”
Cait grinned. “Zorro’s been around a long, long time.”
“But can a girl be Zorro?”
“Why not? Black cape, mask, sword…poof! It’s Zorro.”
“Yeah.” The little girl was obviously taken with the idea. Anna chuckled. Leave it to Cait to come up with the solution nobody else could see.
“And I’ll tell you a secret.” Cait leaned over Shep, pretending to whisper to Maddie. “I taped a crayon to the end of my sword, so I could slash real Z’s everywhere I went. It was incredibly cool.” She imitated the motion with a few flicks of her wrist.
“Wow…”
“And what should we think up for Shep?” Cait’s hand rested lightly on his blond head for a second.
“He likes that guy in X-Men.” Maddie served as her brother’s voice most of the time. “The one who’s sorta like a wolf.”
“Wolverine? I met him at a party once. He’s really cool.” Cait looked down into Shep’s upturned face. “That would be an excellent costume.”
Shep nodded decisively, as if the issue were settled.
“Amazing,” Ben commented, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, “how an outside perspective can simplify the most complicated problem.” His emphasis on outside was slight, but noticeable, nonetheless.
Another silence fell. “Dessert?” Peggy said at last, a little too brightly.
As the rest of them tried to restore some semblance of civility over brownies and ice cream, Cait stayed quiet, her smile stiff, her cheeks flushed with temper and, Anna knew, hurt pride. Tonight was her first real social venture since she’d arrived in town, and persuading her to come hadn’t been easy. In her frequent phone calls and e-mails, she’d rarely mentioned friends, or even casual acquaintances. The guys in her band—all of them married—were the people Cait spent most of her time with. This visit to a stranger’s house for dinner was an effort on her part.
But then, she wasn’t the only one acting out of character. In the three years she and David had lived in Goodwill, Anna had never known Ben Tremaine to be anything but kind and caring. Even right after Valerie’s death, when he was nearly paralyzed by grief, he’d reached out to express his concern over Anna’s first miscarriage.
Judging by their interaction so far, though, he and Cait seemed to bring out the worst in each other.
And Anna had hoped for something very, very different between them.
She sighed, and David’s hand immediately covered hers. “I really think it’s time for us to go. You should be in bed.”
“I’m fine.”
But David wasn’t listening. “Peggy, Harry, it’s been a great meal.” He was standing behind her, waiting to pull out her chair as she got to her feet. “But I do think Anna’s had enough excitement for one day. Will you forgive us if we don’t stay to help with the dishes?”
Peggy shook her head. “I wouldn’t have that, even if you stayed all night. We’ve been delighted to share your company. And to meet Caitlyn.” She smiled. “Please feel free to drop by any time for a cup of coffee and a chat.”
“Thank you for everything. I’ve enjoyed meeting you.” Now Caitlyn had turned on her “professional” smile—a little too bright, rather unfocused. She turned to Maddie and Shep. “I’ll look forward to seeing you on Sunday at church and at choir next week.” Then she moved away from the table, without a word or a glance in Ben Tremaine’s direction.
“I’ll get your coats.” Harry led them to the front hall, with Peggy and the children following. Anna looked back to see Ben standing just inside the opening between the living and dining rooms.
He lifted his wineglass in a silent toast and gave her a warm smile. “Take care of yourself.”
She didn’t return the smile. “I don’t understand—”
David wrapped her coat around her from behind. “Here we go, sweetheart. Night, Ben.” And then her husband was easing her down the porch steps and into the car like an ancient statue that might break if he set it down too hard.
“We can’t be careful enough,” he said later, in their bedroom, when she told him how she felt.
“The doctor didn’t say—”
“The doctor said you should have as little stress as possible.” He came out of the bathroom wearing a clean white T-shirt and soft flannel pajama bottoms. Brushing her hair, Anna watched her husband moving around the bedroom, getting ready for sleep. David wasn’t handsome, and he wasn’t a big man, or obviously muscular, but he had a lean strength that had always excited her. She loved the smell of the fresh cotton T-shirt combined with David’s own, unique scent. Just the thought was enough to raise her pulse rate.
“Having dinner with Harry and Peggy is not stressful.” Which wasn’t exactly true, considering the way Ben and Cait had behaved, but she wanted David to think so. If he thought she was feeling really