Christmas in Shelter Bay by Joann Ross

Author:Joann Ross
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2016-10-26T12:59:39+00:00

10

Kelli’s mother bustled around the homey kitchen, brewing tea and cutting a coffee cake that smelled so good Kelli could picture the calories attaching to her hips before she’d even taken a bite.

“I’m so glad you were able to stop by before you left town, darling,” Laura Carpenter said as she placed a red and green plaid linen napkin next to the Spode Christmas tree plate.

Kelli knew that people thought she wore all those flashy holiday sweaters for her students, but the truth was, when you grew up in this woman’s home, you viewed the calendar as twelve months of holiday-themed opportunities. With Christmas like a living Advent calendar, each day brought a new surprise for the Carpenters all the way into the next year’s Epiphany.

“I’d never leave without saying good-bye,” she assured her mother. “And it’s not as if I’m heading off to Timbuktu.”

“I know.” Her mother offered a bright but slightly wobbly smile. “It’s just that however grown-up you’ll become, in my heart you’ll always be my baby, and this will be the first Christmas since you were born that you haven’t been at the table for dinner.”

“I’m sorry. I just need a break. To recharge my batteries,” she quoted Adèle.

“You’ve been working very hard,” her mother allowed. “But then again, you do every year.” She got up from the table when the kettle whistled and poured the water over loose leaves in a pot shaped and painted like a gingerbread house. “Does Cole Douchett have anything to do with this sudden urge to leave town?”

Kelli was glad her mother’s back was turned as she steeped the tea, because she feared her expression would give her away.

“Not really.”

“But he’s one of the reasons?” Laura brought the pot to the table on a reindeer trivet and poured the fragrant tea into a cup that matched the tree plate.

Kelli knew better than to lie to her mother. “I’ve loved him forever, Mama,” she said, scooping some sugar from a bowl and stirring it into the tea. “I thought that after last Christmas I’d gotten over him. I mean, I certainly tried hard enough this past year—”

“Including dating a man who, while very nice, was so wrong for you.”

“True. But that’s over.”

“So Adèle told me. She also said you’d fixed him up with a new girlfriend.”

Kelli shrugged. “Like you said, Brad’s a nice guy.”

She could’ve done worse. But he wasn’t the man she wanted. Sometimes she wondered if any man could ever live up to the masculine perfection of Cole Douchett shimmering in her mind. What if she was destined to spend her life alone, playing doting auntie to her brothers’ children?

Wasn’t that a depressing idea?

She added another, larger scoop of sugar to her tea.

“Anyway, it was obvious that Patty, from the school, is in love with him. And from the way he seemed to be floating on cloud nine last night when he told me about the two of them going out for a late supper at the Sea Mist after the program, I’d say it’s reciprocal.

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