Winter Magic: 4 (The Hawks Mountain Series) (14 page)

FOR A MOMENT, Andi stood frozen to the sidewalk. Her mind tried unsuccessfully to come up with an explanation as to who Sally was and why she’d mentioned being Andi’s student the year before.

She was still scrambling for an explanation when Jonathan called out to someone. “Yeah. I’ll be there in a minute.” Then he addressed her. “Gotta go, love. They want me back in the meeting. I’ll call you later. Bye.”

Nothing else he’d said registered except for the word
love
. He’d called her
love
. Did that mean—no, she couldn’t read anything into that. She’d heard lots of people call other people
love
, and they hadn’t meant anything romantic by it. Still, happiness sang through her veins like a shot of adrenalin.

Suddenly the sun seemed brighter and the air fresher. Her entire world took on a golden glow. The rest of the day passed in a fog, and all Andi could think about was Jonathan’s final utterance. It wasn’t until she was almost home that the specter of the lie that lay between them intruded on her happiness.

TWO MORE DAYS passed without Jonathan, during which time Andi busied herself with the preparations for the gala, which was now only days away.

With Nancy’s creative guidance, the false building fronts for Santa’s village were completed and ready to be assembled the morning of the big event. A dozen pine trees and table decorations had been ordered and were ready for delivery, and the lodge had agreed to allow the florists in the day before to begin putting up the decorations. The caterer had everything in place to present a sumptuous traditional Christmas feast to those attending. The guest list had grown to include some of the most important people in West Virginia, as well as almost the entire town of Carson. The children from The Wishing Place had been rehearsing for days, and a team of mothers had generously sewn elf costumes for them.

For someone who had felt totally overwhelmed with her task a few weeks ago, Andi was now feeling very satisfied with how it was all coming together, thanks in big part to Nancy.

Meanwhile, her spirits were buoyed even higher with Jonathan’s calls whenever he could break away from the contract negotiations. Each call got more and more intimate until Andi was dancing on air.

ANDI STOOD AT one end of the vast dining room and surveyed her work. Pride straightened her shoulders and brought a wide smile to her lips. For someone who had entered into this with so many reservations, she’d done really well.

The room was filled with round tables covered in snowy tablecloths and topped with gold overlays. In the center of each stood a flower arrangement of red roses, white cymbidium orchids, and green Christmas ferns. A few sprigs of Dusty Miller gave it a frosty appearance. Each table held ten place settings of white, gold-trimmed plates and gleaming gold silverware. Cut glass crystal goblets sparkled in the subdued lighting. The chairs were enveloped in white slip covers, their backs tied up with a huge gold bow.

As Andi adjusted one of the centerpieces, Nancy came in from the ballroom. “Looks great, Andi,” she said, looking around the room. “Can you check the village? The electricians finally got all the lights on the two trees next to Santa’s throne working.”

Andi glanced at her clipboard and checked “dining room” off her to-do list, then followed Miranda’s assistant toward the huge ballroom that overlooked Lake Hope. “What about the gifts for the children? Did our volunteers get them wrapped?” Reverend Thomas had asked the Ladies Aid Society to help them out, and Jonathan had donated the funds to make the purchases. When Andi saw the pile of boxes and bags they’d brought in earlier, she was sure they’d more than fulfilled their job.

Nancy nodded. “To the last one. They did a wonderful job donating their time to shop for them, then wrap them. The kids will be thrilled.”

It had been important to Andi to make sure the children enjoyed this night as much as the adults. Later, ten of the children from The Wishing Place would be circulating among the guests passing out large peppermint candy canes. Six other children would be dressed in Victorian carolers’ outfits, and they’d wander about the room singing Christmas songs. At the conclusion of the evening, Santa would hand out gifts to all of them. Any surplus gifts would be taken to The Wishing Place.

When she stepped into the ballroom, Andi’s breath caught in her throat. She’d been very pleased with the sketches the carpenters had made, but those drawings did not prepare her for the actual presentation.

Lining either side of the room were false shop fronts that made up Santa’s village: a candy cane maker’s store, a Christmas decorations shop, a reindeer barn, Santa’s sleigh shed, a gingerbread house dripping in fake icing, Mrs. Claus’s kitchen, Santa’s house, the elves’ house, and a doll shop. At the end of what was Main Street, stood an enormous gold throne, where Henry Prince would reign as Santa for the night’s activities. Two huge candy canes and two glittering Christmas trees with colorfully wrapped gifts stacked at their bases flanked the throne. Here and there small groups of tables and chairs and benches provided seating for the guests. Artificial snow lay in piles throughout the room.

“Wow!” The word emerged from Andi as a loud whisper.

“Breathtaking, isn’t it?” Nancy’s voice held the same awe. “You did a great job on this, Andi. Miranda would be so proud of you.”

Pleasure at Nancy’s praise rippled over Andi, but in the back of her mind she had to wonder if Jonathan would agree. But she refused to let that dampen the pride she felt in what she’d accomplished. The end result of all her work far surpassed anything she could have imagined.

“Thanks.” Andi checked off the last item on her to-do list. “I think we’re all set.”

Nancy looked at her watch. “And with time to spare.” They gave each other a high-five. “Now to pretty up the working stiffs, which would be us. I’ve had them reserve a room for you to change in.”

Andi sighed. “Thanks, Nancy, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to go home to dress. I forgot my shoes, and I’m afraid these,” she gestured at her winter boots, “will not go well with my gown.”

Andi hugged Nancy. “Thanks so much for all your help. I couldn’t have done it without you.” Andi stepped back and waved. “See you in a few.”

ANDI SLIPPED INTO her gown, thankful she’d bought one with a zipper up the side and not the back. Had it been on the back, she never would have gotten it closed.

She’d done her hair in an upswept crown of golden curls circling her head like a halo, hoping it made her look elegant and sophisticated. She’d pilfered Miranda’s jewelry box for a pair of crystal chandelier earrings and a matching choker.

The light glinted off her
#1 Teacher
necklace where it lay coiled on the dresser top. She picked it up and allowed the chain to sift through her fingers until only the gold number and letters lay cradled in the palm of her hand.

As she stared down at it, she made a long overdue decision. It was time to fess up to Jonathan about the masquerade she and Miranda had pulled off. Deep down, she knew their relationship had no future if she allowed the lies to remain between them. Given how he felt about being lied to, if Jonathan found out by accident, he’d never forgive her. If she told him herself, she’d at least have a chance of smoothing things over by explaining. Hopefully, he’d understand.

Carefully, she wrapped the chain around her wrist several times and fastened the clasp, then took a deep fortifying breath. The necklace on her wrist would help bolster her courage to tell Jonathan the truth tonight.

Think positive, Andi!

Jonathan was on his way home, and she’d soon be in his arms again. Everything for the gala was ready for the guests to arrive. Even Miranda had been discharged from the hospital. It would be a wonderful night
 . . .
at least until she told Jonathan the truth.

Andi checked the clock. She’d have to hurry. She was due to meet Sarah at the Prince mansion so that they could share a limo to the gala. Andi slid her feet into her shoes, gave herself one last appraisal in the mirror, grabbed the fake silver fox stole she’d also borrowed from her sister’s closet, and then headed out the door.

Holding her breath, she put the key into Bess’ ignition and turned it. The engine fired to life, and Andi sighed in relief. This was not one of those times when the orange VW refused to start.

As she headed down the road toward the Prince mansion it began to rain. Undaunted by the change in the weather, she hummed along with the Christmas carols blasting from the radio. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d been this happy. Her adventure had turned out far better than she’d ever dreamed it could. Come January, she could go back to her humdrum life as a kindergarten teacher knowing she had, for a few weeks, lived like a princess.

The long driveway leading to the house came into the beam of Bess’s headlights. At that precise moment, the gentle rain turned into a torrential downpour. Rain pounded on the roof of the car and poured over Bess’ windshield. Andi switched on the wipers.

Spit! Sputter! Cough!

The engine died.

“No, Bess, not now. Please.” Desperately, Andi turned the key, but got only a hollow
click
in response. She turned it several more times, praying beneath her breath, but each time, she heard the same
click
.

She’d have to walk the long driveway to the house. Reaching under the seat, she fumbled for the umbrella she always kept there, but it was nowhere to be found. Then she remembered using it a few days earlier and leaving it on the porch to dry before putting it back in her car. However, even if she’d had the umbrella, it would do little to protect her from the driving rain.

She smacked the steering wheel in frustration.

“What do I do now?” She reached for her purse to get her cell phone, but it wasn’t beside her on the seat. Just then, a mental image of it, lying on the coffee table at home, came to her. “Drat!”

If she sat here until the rain let up, it could be hours. If she got out and walked to the house, she’d be drenched before she went two feet. Andi stared out the rain soaked windshield and knew there was only one answer to her question. She’d have to walk to the house.

Resigned, she gathered the stole around her bare shoulders and slid from the car. The cold, icy rain hit her like tiny shards of glass, stinging her skin and stealing her breath. Lowering her head against the blowing torrent, she started walking.

After only a few steps, the saturated fox stole felt like a lead weight, and the wet chiffon overskirt encumbered her progress by clinging tenaciously to her legs. The silk beneath the chiffon encased her body in an icy sheath. Water sloshed in her shoes, chilling her feet to near numbness, and her drenched hair slipped loose and plastered itself to her neck and face.

Tears of frustration and disappointment mixed with what had now become freezing sleet. All her dreams of walking into the ballroom and dazzling Jonathan drowned in the ever-increasing downpour.

So much for knocking Jonathan’s socks off.
She choked back a sob.

Could it get any worse?

Her foot hit a patch of ice. She slipped and then tried to catch herself. But she stumbled and fell to one knee, ripping a gaping hole in the front of the gown and shredding one leg of her pantyhose. When she tried to right herself, the heel of her shoe caught in the chiffon and tore it completely off. Her curses lost in the clamor from the beating rain, she stepped out of the circle of soiled material, and pushed on toward the house.

Through the deluge, she could barely make out the light over the door. Swiping at the flow of tears on her freezing cold cheeks, she hurried toward the front walk. Reaching the door, and with her mind set on nothing more than getting out of the weather, she wrenched it open and stepped inside. The heat surrounded her icy, quivering body like welcoming arms.

“Oh, my word!” An elegantly dressed Sarah swathed in navy silk from neck to toe stood on the stairs, her mouth agape and staring in horror at Andi. “What happened?”

Shivering, Andi peered through strands of her dripping hair. She must look like a drowned kitten. Gazing down at her beautiful gown, her heart twisted. What was once shiny silk now clung to her body in shreds, the hem blackened from stepping on it and dragging over the driveway’s surface. She broke into fresh tears.

“My car broke down,” she sputtered through increasingly heavy sobs.

Sarah rushed to her. “Never mind. I’ll call my mechanic to see if he can fix it. In the meantime, you can tell me all about it while we get you out of these cold, wet clothes before you catch pneumonia.”

A HALF HOUR later, Andi sat alone on the edge of Sarah’s bed, her emotions in tatters, her body warmed by a hot shower and encased in a warm terry robe, and her hair rolled up in a turbaned towel. She lifted her face to gaze at herself in the vanity mirror. Looking better than the bedraggled waif that had shown up on the doorstep, she had to wonder what she’d do about going to the gala. She had no gown to wear. No shoes. The only items left of her once elegant outfit were Miranda’s crystal jewelry and the gold necklace wrapped around her wrist.

Despite her desperate condition, she chuckled at the idea of her turning up at the gala wearing nothing but the jewelry. That would turn more than a few heads. The chuckle quickly escalated into a new spate of tears.

The door opened, and Sarah walked in followed by a woman in a white uniform carrying a large black suitcase, and another woman pushing a rack of gowns. Behind them a third woman entered with a platform on wheels piled with what looked like shoe boxes.