Noel, Alabama by Susan Sands

Author:Susan Sands
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance
ISBN: 9781952560521
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2020-08-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

“I might need to nap on the plaid couch for a bit before moving anything,” Seth said, covering his belly with both hands to accentuate his fullness from dinner. Of course he had no belly beyond his washboard abs.

Bailey had no plans to tell him that though. “I haven’t eaten that much since the red beans and rice the night I got here. If I still lived here I’d have to figure out a way to control my portion intake and run twice as far, only uphill.”

“You should see his frequent Sunday breakfasts. Oh, wait, they haven’t changed since we were kids.”

“There’s no way I could live in Alabama; no offense.” But she regretted the words as soon as she’d said them. Why had she come out with that?

“A lot of us manage to live here in the backwoods pretty well with internet and everything.” His Southern drawl increased hugely then.

He didn’t exactly sound offended, but she understood how snotty her comment must have come across. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I’ve been in a big city for a long time. I don’t have anything against my home. It’s—different.” But even as she said it, Bailey knew she hadn’t communicated accurately. The fact was, from the moment she’d flown off to L.A., Bailey’d moved beyond Ministry, Alabama. Or she’d tried.

“It’s your life and your journey, Bailey. Only you can decide what’s going to make you happy.”

Why did that somehow feel like he knew something she didn’t? “Are you trying to Mr. Miyagi me, oh, wise one?” she joked, making reference to one of their favorite shared movies, The Karate Kid. The movie had been a find from her daddy’s collection, and they’d watched it over and over. Mr. Miyagi was the wise karate master in the film.

He burst out laughing. “I can’t believe you even remember that.”

“I don’t plan what I say. It just comes out,” she admitted.

“We’d better get to work or we’ll be here all night,” he said, still smiling at her reference. “Looks like your daddy kept everything, so maybe we’ll find the old Karate Kid VHS tape.”

Bailey looked around the attic, noticing a couple of empty sockets in the ceiling. “We need a couple more light bulbs and a ladder.”

“On it.” He sprinted down the attic stairs.

While he ran the errand, Bailey noticed something tallish in the corner and pulled off another dust cover. And discovered a fully-decorated artificial Christmas tree—the one from her young childhood. The one with the shiny star on top. Memories of her mother came back in sudden, shocking clarity, so unexpected in their brilliance. Momma had lifted her high to place the star on it and Daddy had secured it so that it shone bright against the colored lights. The ornaments were a mix of ones they’d made and porcelain ones that had obviously been collected from other places and people. It was an eclectic and artistic tree. A forgotten tree. It brought back emotions and memories from a child’s beautiful mind.

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