A Louisiana Christmas to Remember by Betsy St. Amant

Author:Betsy St. Amant [Smith, Morgan Tarpley;Amant, Betsy St.;Worth, Lenora]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781636096483
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2023-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

He was almost ready to stain.

Cameron stepped back to admire his gazebo progress, sweat trickling down his temples despite the December chill in the air. The sun was out in full force this morning, melting what remained of the ice from last week’s snow, and making the outdoor work much more tolerable. Snow was back in the forecast for next week, though he’d be shocked if it happened twice in the same December—a true Christmas miracle.

Much like what it was going to take for Jolene to finish that mural.

He draped his tool belt over a sawhorse, trying not to look toward the makeshift tent that had been unoccupied all morning. Jolene and Mattie had driven away from the church—allowing him to finally do the same—around one o’clock in the morning. He’d slept fitfully at home before getting up at dawn to come back and work. If he was going to toss and turn and mentally relive his encounter with Jolene, he might as well be productive.

So he’d hammered and sanded while convincing himself that Jolene hadn’t weaseled into his heart with her brief display of vulnerability last night, that he wasn’t making the same mistake he’d made falling for Samantha, that everything was going to be completed on time, and his reputation in town would remain solid, and Rémy would commit to restoring the chapel, and…

And if wishes were snowflakes.

Gravel crunched in the lot. Probably Mayor Ammons coming to check on their work. His chest constricted at the thought of anyone else finding out how far behind Jolene was in her task. Hoping to head him off, Cameron quickly covered the distance to the parking lot.

But it wasn’t Richard’s sports car parked by the entrance to the chapel—it was Mattie’s SUV. And Jolene sat behind the wheel, wearing her trademark orange coat and a white beanie that set off her dark hair. She rolled down the window, gesturing him over with an arm loaded with colorful bracelets.

Cameron approached cautiously, unsure which Jolene he was going to get. “Morning.” He leaned down and braced his arms on either side of the window opening.

“Get in.” She pushed the button to unlock the passenger door, a smile softening her abrupt command. “I’m buying you coffee.”

He checked his watch. It was almost nine o’clock, and the coffee he’d brought from home had grown cold about two hours ago. But he really needed to finish the gazebo, not to mention get busy on his other regular contracted projects he’d been putting off for the courtyard repair.

“I promise I won’t bite this time. Plus, I owe you.” She ducked her head to better see him through the window opening. “Pretty sure I’m responsible for those bags under your eyes.”

He snorted. “First insult of the day, and it’s not even noon.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” She tossed her long hair over her shoulder. “That was my backhanded apology for keeping you up so late last night.” She rolled in her lower lip. “Thanks for waiting around, by the way.

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