Christmas in Cupid Falls (20 page)

She opened the door and he held out a bag. “Happy St. Nicholas Day,” he said.

It was December sixth. She’d totally forgotten. She hadn’t known about St. Nicholas Day until she became friends with Val. Her parents and Aunt Betty had never celebrated it. But it didn’t surprise her that Val did. Val looked for any excuse to celebrate.

Thinking of her friend didn’t bring the same degree of pain that it had at first. Now there was more a sense of wistfulness at the happy memory.

“So are you going to invite me in? Turns out St. Nick didn’t have a key to your house, so he left your booty at my house.”

She laughed. “Come in. And you really shouldn’t have,” she said as he set the bag down on her table.

“I think Mom would like to know we’re carrying on the tradition. I’m hoping that we can do the same for our baby.” He reached in the bag and pulled out two oranges. “One’s for you and one’s for the baby. I thought since you were eating for two, you could eat the second one for him.”

She smiled. And he reached back in the bag. “And this is for the baby.”

He pulled out a tiny red-and-white romper, then added a tiny cotton Santa-looking hat. “It’s for a newborn, so it should fit. I thought it was in keeping with the season.”

She picked it up. It was a thick, soft cotton. “It’s wonderful. We can put him in it on Christmas Da
y . . .
if he’s here by Christmas Day. Frankly, if he’s not here by Christmas Day, I might explode.”

“I was afraid you’d go into labor while I was Pittsburgh yesterday. We haven’t really talked about it, but I’d like you to call me. I want to take you to the hospital. I want to be with you for as long as you want m
e . . .
I mean, I know some parts may be uncomfortable for you to have me ther
e . . .
I jus
t . . .
”

Kennedy was touched. Malcolm had asked her to marry him, but they hadn’t talked about the birth. She wouldn’t have known if she should call or not. “I’d like to have you take me to the hospital. And as for staying with m
e . . .
let’s leave it at, you can stay until one of us feels uncomfortable.”

He nodded. “That’s more than I hoped for.”

He sighed and reached in the bag one last time. “Well, St. Nick brought you something as well.” He pulled out a large leather book. “Baby’s First Year” was embossed on the cover.

“Oh, Malcolm, it’s beautiful.”

“I thought you might accept a present that was baby related. My mom had one for me. She wrote all these notes in it. I pulled it out the other night and was looking through it. I thought you might enjoy doing the same for our baby.”

“Thank you, Malcolm.”

“You’re sure about marrying me?” he asked with a grin.

“Yes. But I will treat you to breakfast.”

“What’s on the menu? Eggs? Bacon?”

“Granola and yogurt.”

He looked like a little boy whose balloon had floated away. “Really? I’d take you out for eggs, or waffles. I mean, everyone loves waffles.”

“Your baby needs nutrients, not syrup.” She sighed a bit because her craving for coffee was now replaced by a craving for syrup. And it turned out it was easier to ignore the craving for something she
couldn’t
have than it was to ignore the craving for something she
shouldn’t
have, but could.

“Hey, it’s St. Nick’s Day. I think waffles are going to be our new addition to the tradition. And if we want to introduce it to the baby as our tradition, we need to start on it.”

Kennedy couldn’t help herself. “Your logic is impeccable. I mean, how can I say no when our family’s future tradition is at stake?”

“You can’t. I’ll wait while you get dressed, then we’ll go see Tavi.”

She started for her room, laughing at Malcolm’s logic. She sobered up as she realized that their talk of their own tradition simply emphasized the fact that they were not together. She’d referred to it as their
family’s tradition
.

Like it or not, he was part of her life now.

She waited to feel trapped or scared he’d try and take the baby from her.

All she felt was a sense of rightnes
s . . .
and hungry for those waffles.

Something changed after St. Nicholas Day. Mal wasn’t sure if it was the waffles or the presents or some other factor he couldn’t put his finger on. But Kennedy seemed far more at ease with him.

She didn’t protest when they spent time together.

They’d worked together on the annual Comstock pre-Christmas party.

They ate most meals together and had coffee together every morning—decaf coffee.

They set up the baby’s nursery together. They watched a movie from Kennedy’s doctor’s office titled
Giving Birt
h
—
The Unvarnished Truth
.

He’d stoically watched it with her. Every gritty, agonizing moment of it. When it finished, she said, “I could have used a bit of varnishing.”

He hadn’t been able to agree fast enough.

She didn’t mention him moving back to Pittsburgh.

He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t told her he wasn’t going back.

No, he took that back. He was sure why. He wasn’t sure how Kennedy was going to take it. After all, she wanted to buy the Center. But part of his plan involved keeping it.

Not that he had much of a plan. He was working to nail it all down so when Kennedy asked, or he simply told her, he could give her specifics.

He’d talked to a few law firms in Erie.

He’d put his condo in Pittsburgh on the market.

He hoped to have things up and running soon. He had enough in savings to allow him to take some time and set things up the way he wanted the
m . . .
but first he needed to decide how he wanted them.

He wasn’t sure of much, but he was sure that what he wanted was to be here in Cupid Falls with Kennedy and the baby.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

That Saturday, Kennedy walked into the Center and looked around. Malcolm had taken over the Everything But a Dog event and everything looked perfect. The new mats they’d bought for the floor were in place, along with small makeshift pens to hold the dogs.

A brunette walked up on the small platform just to the left of the door. Wires ran from it out to the radio station’s van in front of the building. There was already a good turnout at the event. Kennedy was hoping the crowd grew as the day went on.

“Hi, everyone,” the DJ cried out. “For my listeners, I’m here in Cupid Falls, Pennsylvania, at a very special event. And for those in the audience, I’d like to thank everyone for coming out today. I’m Angela Hart. That’s Hart—”

“H. A. R. T.,” a few voices in the crowd yelled.

“I see we have a few WLVH listeners out there.” Angela smiled at them. “And that’s right, I’m a disc jockey with WLVH radio,
where love is more than just a song
. And my last name is Hart. Yes, I do get some ribbing about it.

“WLVH has been partners with the Everything But a Dog Foundation for a couple years now. I adopted my own Sera at a Valentine’s event. I think you all will agree she’s a very special little dog.” She nodded at the little dog that was strapped into a dog wheelchair.

“Today there are a lot of dogs like Sera. Dogs who are looking for someone to love them. Dogs who are looking for their forever home. We’re hoping our listeners will come out to Cupid Falls today. It’s about a half hour drive from Erie, and Mother Nature has cooperated. It’s beautiful out. Just enough snow to remind us it’s almost Christmas, but not so much to make driving a pain. Come meet some of the dogs that are here today. Maybe you’ll find the one that’s meant to be yours. And to that end, let me introduce the woman behind Everything But a Dog, Nana Vancy Salo.”

Kennedy was standing at the right of the makeshift stage on the fringes of the crowd. She sensed Malcolm was behind her before he said a word.

She turned and he smiled at her. “You look beautiful today.”

She snorted. “I look like a water balloon that’s been filled to the max. And that’s how I feel. As if at any moment, if I’m jostled wrong, I’ll burst.”

Nana Vancy reached the mic and Angela helped her adjust it dow
n . . .
way down. “Thank you, Angel—”

“Angela,” the disc jockey said with a smile that told Kennedy this was an old argument.

“You’ll always be a Christmas Angel to me, and to your Sera. I’m Vancy Salo, but everyone calls me Nana Vancy. My friends and I are here today to help you find a pet. According to the Humane Society, more than two million animals are euthanized every year because they can’t find a home. That’s where you come in. Come visit us at the Cupid Falls Community Center and we’ll help you find your perfect match.”

“You can tell she’s done radio with Angela before,” Kennedy said to Malcolm.

“They’re like a vaudeville routine up there,” he said as the two continued their banter.

“Kennedy, do you have a minute?” Jenny asked.

“Sure.” She turned to Mal. “Pardon me.”

She walked over to Jenny’s kids. Ivy thrust a wrapped tube at her. “Here, Miss Mayor. I made this for the baby.” It felt like a cardboard tube that Christmas wrapping paper came in. “Mom helped with the words, but I did all the pictures and it was my idea.”

“
. . .
my own dogs, Clara and Curi
e . . .
” Nana Vancy said.

“Mom said your baby ain’t got no daddy, just like me and the boys don’t,” Ivy said. “And you don’t got no mom or dad, so it ain’t got a grandma or grandpa, too. My friend Alice is adopted, and she got a bunch of aunts and uncles, and so we’re adoptin’ it.”

Kennedy wasn’t sure what
it
was.

Jenny must have seen her confusion because she said, “Unwrap the paper.”

Kennedy did and found it was a cardboard tube. Inside there was a piece of paper. She took it out and read aloud, “This document certifies tha
t . . .
”

“See, it’s blank so you can fill in its name. Ivy’s a good name,” Ivy said helpfully.

“Ivy is your name, so that might get confusing,” Jenny told her youngest.

Ivy considered her mother’s point, then said, “Yeah, so not Ivy, Miss Mayor.”

“
. . .
Blank,” Kennedy read, “is hereby adopted by the Murray family. Jenny Murray will be known as Aunt Jenny, and Ivy, Lenny, and Timmy will be its cousins. They’ll teach it to do all kinds of fun things—”

“Lenny wants to teach the baby to spit, but Mom says they do that all on their own. He said
gross
,” Ivy said.

“
. . .
and they’ll help babysit when it’s older and won’t break.”

“I wrote that part,” Ivy said.

“And Aunt Jenny will babysit and kiss boo-boos—”

“She’s a very good boo-boo kisser,” Ivy said. “Even though the boys are too big to want her to, sometimes she does it anyway.”

“And the whole Murray clan will love
blank
forever and ever.”

“See, I drew all kinds of fun stuff so’s the baby knows what we’re talking about. There’s bubbles and balloons, and cookies and ice cream, and that’s a bike, but Lenny said it don’t look so much like one, but it is.”

Kennedy frantically wiped at her eyes, trying not to cry, but knowing there was no way she was going to succeed. Awkwardly, she knelt and held out her arms to Ivy. “If your mom is my baby’s aunt, then does that make me your aunt? Because I’d really, really like to adopt you all, too.”

Ivy threw herself at Kennedy, who almost toppled, but a firm hand caught her back. She didn’t need to turn around to know it was Malcolm. He seemed to be making a habit of catching her before she fell.

Ivy hugged her. “Yeah, I always wanted an aunt. You know, aunts buy kids presents for Christmas, right?”

“Ivy,” Jenny said, obviously shocked by Ivy’s blatant hint.

But Kennedy would willingly buy this little girl the entire toy department if she had the money. She nodded seriously. “Oh, they do. And aunts need to know everyone’s birthdays because they buy presents then, too. And I’m pretty sure that in the summer, aunts sometimes take kids into the Erie Zoo, or back to the swimming hole by the falls.”

Malcolm took Kennedy’s hand and helped her to her feet, unasked.

“You are going to be the best aunt ever,” Ivy said. “Come on, guys. Let’s go put together a Christmas list for Aunt Kennedy. She ain’t never had to shop for us before, so she’ll need help.”

“Ivy,” Jenny started, but Kennedy stopped her. “Please don’t. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me. Let them have their fun.”

“They’re demons, but they’ve got good hearts,” Jenny said with more than a touch of motherly pride. “You’d think with the boys being older they’d run the show, but truly, it’s Ivy who came up with this, and they were only too happy to follow her lead.”

“She’s going to be a handful as she gets older. She’ll need both of them, and a certain Aunt Kennedy, helping you rein her in.”

“You’re telling me,” Jenny said. “I’d better go find them, otherwise you might find them giving you the entire toy store catalog.” She chased after the kids.

Kennedy watched them go, holding the “adoption” papers. She was going to frame them and hang them somewhere.

She sniffed and wished she had a tissue.

“You okay?” Malcolm asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for saving me from toppling on my butt.”

“I didn’t mean the fall.” He reached out and gently brushed the edges of her eyes. It was a light, feathery touch. Kennedy knew he only meant it to be helpful. Just like she knew his marriage proposals were for the baby’s benefit, nothing more, but sometimes she forgot.

Now, she could almost imagine his touch was something more. That he had feelings for her that extended beyond the fact she was the mother of his child, and she’d been a friend of his mother’s.

“There’s Pap.” Malcolm pointed at the door, where Pap stood with a small older lady. They were holding hands.

Pap leaned down and said something to her and she blushed.

Malcolm studied the two of them. “That’s Pap’s mystery woman.”

“There’s no mystery there,” Kennedy said. “That’s Annabelle. She’s one of Nana Vancy’s friends.” Another taller, thinner woman came in behind them. “And that’s Isabel. The Salos call them the Silver Bells. They helped Nana Vancy with all her matchmaking couples, and now they help with Everything But a Dog.”

Pap spotted them and steered Annabelle their way. “Just the people I was looking for. Annabelle Conner, this is my grandson, Malcolm. And you know Kennedy.”

Annabelle gave Pap a small nudge with her elbow. “Of course I know Kennedy. She’s the reason we met, after all. Kennedy, sweetheart, you loo
k . . .
” She paused as if looking for the proper word to describe her.

“Huge,” Kennedy filled in. “And I am.”

Annabelle laughed. “How soon?”

“At my last visit the doctor said anytime, though he warned me not to get too concerned with when
s . . .
first babies take their time.”

“He sounds very wise. Is he married?”

“No—” Kennedy paused. “Oh, no you don’t. You all just match dogs to homes, not people. No more matchmaking people.”

Annabelle laughed. “Well, you could say Vancy helped match me and Paul here, so maybe we’re not totally out of the people matchmaking business yet.” She turned to Malcolm. “I’m so glad to finally meet you. Your grandfather has done nothing but brag about you since we met. I want to thank you for coming home and taking care of the Center. He was worried it was too much for Kennedy, along with her flower shop, being mayor, and having a baby. Have you made a decision about what you’re doing with it yet?”

For a split second, Malcolm had an expression that looked a bit like guilt to Kennedy, then it was gone and he said, “I’m weighing my options.”

“I hope you’re seriously considering my proposal,” Kennedy said.

“I hope you’re seriously considering mine,” he countered.

She shot him her
not in front of your grandfather and Annabelle
look.

He countered with his
whatever it takes to get my own way
look.

She glared at him.

He grinned.

Pap and Annabelle watched them both, saying nothing.

Kennedy decided that sometimes retreat was the better part of valor. “Why don’t I let the three of you catch up and I’ll go see if Nana Vancy and Isabel need a hand.”

Kennedy hurried toward Nana Vancy, who was surrounded by the Murray kids.

Mal watched as Kennedy made her way to the other side of the room. “What was that about?” Pap asked. And before he could answer, Pap added, “And how are you still here?”

“You and I both know there’s more to it than the Center.”

Annabelle said, “I’m sorry. This is obviously none of my business. Why don’t I go help the girls out while you two talk.”

She kissed Pap’s cheek, then surprised Mal by kissing his as well. “You and I will have plenty of time to get to know one another, but I already feel as if I know you through your grandfather. I know things are messy right now, and you don’t like messy, but it will all come out right in the end.” She started to walk away, then turned back. “Vancy always says that words have power. If the words you’re using fail you, then maybe you need to think about some better words.”

She smiled, gave a tiny wave, and walked toward her friends at the other side of the Center.

“She seems very nice,” Mal said.

“She is,” Pap assured him. “And I think she’s right, words have power, so I’ll say out loud right now, I am going to marry that woman.”

“Pap,” Mal said as he tried to wrap his brain around the idea of his grandfather remarrying. He settled for saying, “Does she know it?”

“Not yet. I’m planning to ease her into the notion.” His tone got serious. “But when I do marry her, I’ll be moving to Erie. She lives at this nice little retirement center on Erie’s bayfront. Right now, her and Isabel live together, but Isabel’s got her own beau, and him and me, we’ve talked. We’re hoping we can break up the dynamic duo. It won’t be tomorrow, but I’m not getting any younger and I don’t have time to waste, so it won’t be too long, either. When the time comes, I’ll be giving up the house here. You’ll have to go through it and pick out what you want, if anything. It’ll add an extra half hour or so on to your drive when you come see me, but son, we both know you don’t make the drive that often. It won’t be too much of a hardship.”

Mal felt off balance. He’d come into town four weeks ago expecting a normal visit with his grandfather, and he’d discovered he was going to be a father, and now, that his grandfather was moving out of his childhood home.

There was a certain sense of comfort knowing that even after his mother died, his grandfather was here. Mal had a place to go to. A place he belonged. But if his grandfather left, he’d lose his tie to the town.

No. He’d have the baby and Kennedy.

“Congratulations, Pap” was all he said.

“Thanks. You want to talk about you and our Kennedy yet?”

“There’s nothing to say yet.”