Mollywood (34 page)

“I can’t believe it’s our first Christmas and I’m going to spend it without my husband.” Stacy sighed glumly, and I felt my cheeks grow hot. Dr. Myers had advised me not to travel and I’d sent Sanchez out of town earlier in the week to train the staff for the Galveston location. He was supposed to leave directly from there and go to New Orleans to help set up the kitchen and interview staff.

Stacy had hinted, in her subtle as a billboard manner, that she wanted to go along. She could have been useful to them, but I needed her with me. We’d had a surprising amount of business considering the time of year. A senator had requested we special cater a committee meeting he was chairing at the state capitol building. He was one of our die hard regulars and he was obsessed with my lemon bars, which I named The Sour Puss. He also wanted me to make enough Cranky Carpenter Wraps for everyone there. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

Then there was Stacy’s bright idea to announce on Facebook and Twitter that we’d do special dessert orders for the holidays. I’d been baking mini Derby and cherry pies and some of my other signature desserts around the clock in the commercial kitchen I rented and the truck itself.

Thankfully, the other employees were all happy for the extra pre-holiday overtime since we’d taken a vote and decided to be closed from Christmas Eve until January second. Even Isaac and Stacy, who didn’t cook, helped package the treats in festive wrapping. They also pulled orders off email and took them over the phone. We were in the final push, as it was December 23
rd.
The cold and damp weather was keeping most people away from the food truck. Almost everyone we’d seen all day had come to pick up their baked goods orders. Though a few got tempted and ordered lunches. After two, the crowd completely died and we’d let Carly go home early. We’d spent the next two hours cleaning the truck from top bottom for the long break and I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Stacy I can’t tell you how grateful I am for your help these past few days. I know you are bummed about not spending time with Dirty S. But hopefully my present will help cheer you up.” I said, pulling out an envelope and handing it to her.

“Molly…you didn’t need to…” She began, but gasped when she opened the envelope and saw a plane ticket and cash inside.

“Of course I did.” I replied as she jumped up and down and hugged me. “If it weren’t for y’all I’d be screwed.

Stacy fanned the envelope in front of her eyes as if it would stop the tears pooling there. “If it weren’t for you, I’d still be working in that stupid sports bar in a push up bra having my ass grabbed 24/7.”

“No you wouldn’t. You’re too smart and creative for that. David told me it was your idea about the café and the merchandise.” Her eyes flew wide and she went pale. David admitted during a conference call that Stacy had been a resource for all of his market information about Wrapgasmic. Many of the great features about the Galveston location had actually been her idea, including the t-shirts and merchandise. Fortunately, he’d let this information slip before we signed the contracts and I was able to have Robbie make one final change.

I smiled to myself when I thought about the other surprise I had in store for Stacy and Sanchez. They’d learn about it in an email that would be delivered to them Christmas morning. I’d arranged that three percent of everything I made from Galveston and New Orleans to be deposited into their account. Three seemed like the perfect number, with us being the three musketeers and all.

“You’re not mad, are you?” She said, twirling a strand of hair tightly around her finger. “Molly, I swear I didn’t know he was already building the place, I just told him about the profit margin difference between the truck with and without the bar and mentioned how cool it would be to sell merchandise, since people are always asking if they can buy our shirts. Then he asked to take me to dinner the night of the 5-K so he could pick my brain. It seemed a little weird, but I learned in my online business class it’s better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. When he started asking me about who did your website and to talk him through our Twitter and Facebook, I started to get nervous.”

I nodded, long over any feelings of betrayal that may have flickered at the time. I knew Stacy always had my interests at heart as well as her own. It wasn’t her fault that David had actually put the ideas into place before getting my okay. I suppose he had the same lesson she had in business class.

Stacy glanced at the plane ticket and squealed. “Oh my God! I’m meeting him in New Orleans tomorrow! Christmas Eve in the French Quarter. That’s so romantic! Does he know I’m coming?”

“Nope” I took a sip of my sweet tea, and sighed happily. It was such a refreshing change to have a slow day. “That’s
his
Christmas present. They’re putting him up in a four star hotel, so it should be really nice. I stuck a copy of his itinerary in there so you can surprise him at the hotel.”

“I can’t wait. I have to go home and pack! What’s this money for?” She asked, clearly shocked and delighted.

I shrugged. “Buy something naughty to wear for him.”

She tilted her head to the side and the tears she’d been staving off started up. “Molly, I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’ll lock up the truck so I can get home to Joe. He promised we’d take a break from hanging pictures and organizing the damn house. Tonight, I just want to drink cocoa and watch ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’”

As I drove down the surprisingly vacant streets, I allowed the full weight of work to drop away. What landed in its place was the very real fact that it was our anniversary. One year ago today my ex-husband’s crazy ass was hauled off to jail and Joe asked me to move in with him. It seemed impossible to believe that it had been so long ago, but as I did the math and broke it down by milestones it added up. You know that they say. “Life is what’s happens while you’re busy making plans.”

I pulled into the driveway of the house and saw Joe’s truck parked out front on the street. As I turned off the ignition, Joe came out the front door and shot me a naughty look.

“Hey there little girl. You’re home a little earlier than I thought. Want to go take a nap with me?” The exaggerated wink he gave me made me laugh even as his words sent a rush through my body. Letting him help me out of the car, I pulled him against me, reveling in the feeling of holding him.

“Mmmmm,” I groaned in pleasure. “You have no idea how good it feels to be home in your arms.” Taking him by the hand, I led him inside where it was warm. Sitting on the couch, I admired how cool it looked settled in its spot in our new yellow living room. He pulled my boots off and spent twenty minutes rubbing my feet and listening to me prattle on about my day. He chimed in that the shop was running like a well-tuned machine, and that Nick and Mac had somehow developed a decent working relationship. When I told him about Stacy’s reaction to the present, he got quiet. For a minute I thought he was going to lecture me for throwing money away.

“Baby,” he murmured. “You’re so good to the people around you. Sometimes I wonder how I ever got so lucky.”

I was about to object and counter that I was the lucky one when he twisted his thumb under the arch of my foot. His technique evoked a moan of pure pleasure from me.

“Mostly, I use you for getting things off tall shelves. And for foot rubs. And for other dirty things.” He responded with a seductive smile and ran his hands further up my legs. His mouth hungrily found mine, and the foot rub quickly dissolved into a completely different kind of rubbing. Once again, Carpenter Joe demonstrated how talented his hands were, amongst other things. I did my best to show my appreciation, and to reciprocate.

After we’d redressed and regrouped, we cuddled under a blanket and discussed our apprehension about the upcoming holiday festivities. Tamryn had graciously offered her house for Christmas dinner. For
everyone
…both the Hildebrandts
and
the Jensens. She was clear that she wanted a Mulligan for Thanksgiving. Surprisingly, everyone agreed to come. As usual, she was having it catered, so I was only on the hook for a few desserts. I cheated and had the staff make a few more than we needed for our orders, so I could truly relax.

“What sounds good for dinner, Joe?” I ran through my mental inventory, revisiting what we had in the pantry and calculating a couple of different things I could make us. Not that I was looking forward to getting up off the couch. Joe slid from beneath me, ignoring my cry of protest.

“Don’t you worry about dinner. I got it covered.” I heaved a sigh of relief and snuggled back down into the couch. I heard him in the other room flipping through the binder and then talking on the phone.

Grabbing the remote, I flipped through the channels looking for a good holiday show to watch and settled on ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’. Joe came back in a few minutes later and hunkered down in front of me.

“I have to go outside and take care of a few things in the yard. You stay in here and relax for a bit, okay?” I stuck my lip out and shook my head, trying to pull him back onto the couch with me.

“No, come back and snuggle with me. You promised.” Kissing my forehead he easily resisted the force I exerted on him.

“I know, but first I need to clean up a few things outside so that the delivery guy doesn’t break his neck on the way up the walk. Plus, I want to make sure everything out there is put away so we can focus on relaxing. Sound like a plan?”

“I suppose. So what did you order for dinner?” He shook his head at me and smiled.

“I’m not telling. You’ll just have to wait and see. Now do you need anything before I head outside? I want you to stay on this couch and rest.” I had him fetch me some cocoa in my favorite mug and then settled down to watch the rest of the show. My tired eyes swept the room and I smiled. Joe had picked the ideal paint color, and the mix of our furniture looked perfect together in it. We’d picked out a few new mission style pieces, and the house already felt homier than anyplace I’d lived since leaving my parent’s house. Soon, I was drifting pleasantly into dreamland beneath the cozy throw.

I woke up to the wonderful scent of smoked meat filling the room. Joe rounded the couch and brought me a plate of mouthwatering food. He’d outdone himself again, reading my mind and ordering exactly what I was in the mood for. Pork ribs from The Salt Lick and Dark Chocolate with Olive Oil and Sea Salt ice cream from his new favorite dessert place, Lick.

“I’m noticing a theme tonight.” I remarked, purposely sucking some of the sauce off my fingertips. “Lots of
licking
.”

Joe’s eyes lit up and he leaned in for a delicate kiss with just the slightest hint of tongue. We chatted more about how to organize the nursery as we enjoyed our delicious dinner. I looked over at my wonderful man with his fantastic lips covered in barbeque and I reveled in how right the moment felt.

After Joe cleared the plates, he put in the movie. Grabbing the remote, he turned it up almost too loud. Snuggling under the covers with me, he resisted my efforts to unzip his jeans, as I innocently suggested it would make him feel more comfortable. He continued to block my passes throughout the impossibly long movie, and I was starting to get a complex by the time it ended. I saw him texting a couple of times on his phone and felt a little defeated. Was I finally too fat for him? Before I could find a way to broach the subject he pulled me to my feet.

“Let’s go out back and look at the stars.”

Grabbing my new winter coat off the rack, he helped me into it. He was so careful with me, so gentle, I felt foolish for even questioning how much he cared for me. Pulling on his jacket, he took me by the hand and led me toward the back door. Just before we got to the threshold, he paused and his eyes searched my face. Then he opened the door and whisked me outside. As soon as we stepped onto the patio, I froze in absolute shock with my eyes locked on the ground. The white, frosty ground.

All around the yard were piles and piles of white snow. I gaped around in disbelief. The trees and bushes were flocked in white. Our entire back yard was awash in drifts of the pure white powder. Turning to Joe in disbelief, I tried to find the words.

“Snow? How…?” I’ll admit it wasn’t the most eloquent use of the English language, but I’d dreamed of a white Christmas for as long as I could remember. Even during the decade that I lived in the Pacific Northwest, I’d never had one. Draven hated the snow, and refused to take me to the mountains. Now here I was, living my dream smack dab in the middle of Texas. I was struck speechless.

Joe smiled at my reaction, his eyes twinkling with obvious joy. Taking my hand, he carefully led me over to the bench in the middle of the yard and helped me sit. Taking a seat beside me on the bench, he took both my hands and turned to look into my eyes.

“Molly…do you really like it?”

I looked at him in confusion and then gestured around the back yard. “Wait…you mean…you did this?”

Joe laughed and I felt my heart skip a beat. It was
the
laugh. The one that I remembered from when we were younger.

The laugh of a carefree and happy man
.

I felt a stinging sensation in my eyes.

“Yeah, I did. Or I should say I know a guy who knows a guy. I realize it isn’t the same as being somewhere with real winter…” He looked so nervous at that moment that I almost couldn’t stand it.

“It’s amazing! It’s even more beautiful than I imagined.” The snow glistened in the moonlight like thousands of stars. Joe seemed to exhale a long sigh of relief.

“I’m glad that you like it, baby.” He wrapped his arm around me and I rested my head against his shoulder. The absolute wonderment I felt at his romantic gesture left me completely at a loss for words. Pure, raw love overwhelmed me, and I clung to him as we sat in silence enjoying the winter wonderland around us.

Suddenly, Joe turned to me and took my hand again. “Mac told me a while back that you always wanted a white Christmas. I knew right then that I wanted to give it to you, to take you somewhere where we could go and sit by a fire and look out at the mountains. But with the babies coming, I knew it wasn’t the right time to drag you to Vale. I know this isn’t The Rockies, but it was the best I could do.”