Christmas Wishes (10 page)

Sophie chewed her
lip as she walked toward Mitch’s house. Unfamiliar cars lined his driveway, so she’d had to park on the street. She’d planned to come earlier in the day, before Mitch’s mother arrived, but Joanie had needed her help all day, preparing for the Gardner family Thanksgiving. Maybe she should have waited until later in the evening, after the Carsons left. No, Angie would be home from school by now, and she’d been looking forward to putting the shelf up. She’d just drop the shelf off and leave.

Shopping with Angie for her bedroom furnishings had been so much fun. Once Mitch
’s mother-in-law had left, Sophie had helped Angie change back into play clothes and they’d made a list of things to look for. Then they’d spent a fun afternoon planning how to arrange her room and shopping in the small shops in Zutphen.

She went around the house to the back door and knocked. Hopefully most of the company would be in the living room at the front. On the other hand, if everyone was in the front room, nobody would hear her knock. She
’d just raised her hand to knock again when the storm door opened and a gorgeous brunette peered out.

“
Oh, hi. You must be Sophie. Come on in.” She opened the screen door and then stepped back to let Sophie in. “I’m Deana, Mitch’s sister-in-law. Hey, why don’t I hold that for you while you take your boots off?” She took the long shelf and angled it in through the kitchen doorway.

“
Mom Carson recruited all of us to come down for the day to help get his house in shape for the holidays. By the way, Angie’s room looks great. I love how you added just a little bit more color by painting the drawer pulls and curtain sashes with those little flowers. And I see you’ve got the same flowers on this shelf. You’re very talented.”

“
Thanks.” Sophie didn’t know what else to say.

A woman with Mitch
’s eyes came into the kitchen. “Hi there, Sophie. We’ve heard so much about you. I’m Rita Carson. You’re Joyce’s youngest daughter, aren’t you?” At Sophie’s gasp of surprise she explained, “I grew up in this house, but I’d married and moved to Muskegon before you were born. Eric Hager is my older brother, and your mother and I went to high school together. We lost touch after graduation. You take after her, don’t you?”

Sophie agreed.
“I look more like Mom, but she says I act like my dad — always the dreamer.”

Rita laughed.
“Well, dreamers make the best designers. I love what you’ve done with Angie’s room.” She gestured toward the shelf Sophie had painted. “This must be the shelf for her dolls, right?” At Sophie’s nod, she waved toward the bedrooms. “Cute. I’ll let you get to it, then. Mitch is in his office working on the photos for his mini-session customers. Thanks for giving him the idea, by the way. It’s really getting his name out in the community.”

“
I’m glad he got such a great response,” Sophie replied. “Do you need some help in here?”

“
I’ve got my daughter and daughter-in-law helping to put the living room and dining room together. Angie’s in her room, playing dress-up with her dolls, so I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you’ve got her shelf done. I’m not sure there will be enough time to do anything about this kitchen.” She sighed. “You’d think a photographer would want to have a home with a little color, and maybe some pictures or something on the walls!” She picked up a roller pan and went back into the living room.

Sophie took the shelf to Angie
’s room and found the six-year-old sitting on her bed, dressing one of her fashion dolls. She hopped up to give Sophie a hug.

“
Miss Sophie! I knew you’d get my shelf done. Grandma Carson and Aunt Becky and Aunt Deana really like my room. They said you were like a-a ‘teerior decorator.”

The compliment warmed Sophie
’s heart. She didn’t want to dwell on her pleasure at getting the approval of the women in Mitch’s family. “That was very nice of them to say, Angie. Now I need you to help me figure out how high to hang this shelf. We want it high enough to keep your dolls out of the way, but low enough so you can get them down when you want to play with them.”

They worked together choosing a height just right for Angie then placing her dolls neatly on the newly installed shelf. On the pegs under the shelf they hung some of Angie
’s doll clothes on small wire hangers Sophie had made.

She
’d just put the finishing touches on the room when she noticed the house had gone eerily quiet. Coldness crept up her spine. The voices coming from the kitchen weren’t loud, but the tone was definitely unfriendly. Angie stood frozen in her spot, her face bent in a frown. “Nana’s here again.”

“
Do you want me to help you change your clothes again?”

Angie shook her head.
“No. Grandma Carson and Aunt Becky and Aunt Deana are here, and they’re all wearing jeans too. Nana won’t yell at me while they’re here.”

Sophie wondered briefly if the woman with the eternally glacial expression actually yelled or whether she simply threw insults until Angie felt she
’d been yelled at. But she nodded.

They tiptoed down the hallway toward the kitchen to hear what the two grandmothers had to say to each other. Melinda Billingsworth stood in the middle of the kitchen, her fur-trimmed coat and designer boots a stark contrast to Rita Carson
’s comfortable jeans and plaid cotton shirt.

“
Where is Angela?” Melinda demanded. “I understand Mitchell needs to work to support them, but he should make arrangements for her to be supervised. Surely you don’t expect her to do this manual labor with you. I’m surprised you allow her to stay in the house when these awful paint fumes are everywhere.”

“
Are you telling me I don’t know how to care for my grandchild?” Rita crossed her arms and glared. A younger version of Rita stood slightly behind her, along with Deana. Sophie knew she wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that trio’s ire. But Melinda Billingsworth wasn’t intimidated. She simply shrugged.

“
I’m telling you that if
my
home was full of painters I would have taken care to keep small children away. And since you’re doing the painting, I fail to see how you could adequately supervise Angela. Perhaps I should take her to our hotel, where the air is breathable.”

“
Melinda, if you had said one word about wanting to take Angie because you missed her, or if I believed you really wanted to spend time with her, I might be inclined to let her go. But I know your only purpose in taking her is to get her away from me and my family.” Mitch’s sudden appearance startled them all. He stepped around Sophie and Angie to face his mother-in-law.

“
I just had a phone call from a certain private investigator. It seems his client refused to pay for some of his expenses. Since he’s not getting his money he decided to warn me about your intentions.”

“
You hired a PI to spy on my son?” Rita cried. “Why would you do that?”

“
She’s trying to prove me an unfit parent. He said when he told her I hadn’t done anything she could use against me, she told him to try and kidnap Angie to prove I didn’t watch her carefully.” His eyes widened suddenly and he pointed at her. “You’re behind the incident at school last week! The school secretary called me because some man came into the office and said he needed to pick Angie up and take her to the hospital because I’d been in an accident. Instead of getting Angie, the secretary told him she needed to check her records to find out if he was authorized to take her, and the guy ran away. Since then, the school has assigned extra aides to keep an eye on her on the playground, and I’ve been personally taking her to her classroom and picking her up there every day.”

At this, Angie dashed to her father and clung to his legs. He reached down and picked her up, holding her tight while he reassured the child, who
’d started to sob. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, nobody is going to take you away from me.”

“
Indeed, they’re not,” boomed another voice from behind Melinda. Geoffrey Billingsworth stepped forward. Unlike his wife, he’d left his snow-covered loafers in the mudroom, and in his stocking feet he’d entered the room unnoticed. He walked toward Mitch and Angie and reached out to wipe a tear off his granddaughter’s face. “Pumpkin, I am so sorry about all this. Your daddy is a fine man, and a good father. I’ve always been proud to call him my son-in-law.”

He turned and glared at his wife.
“Your attitude toward Mitch has always bothered me, but I never thought you would stoop to criminal acts to get what you want. If your idea of coping with Sarah’s death is to make our granddaughter into a copy of her mother, you are delusional.” He sighed as he looked at Angie again, sadness etching his face. “I came here thinking we were going to have some fun with our granddaughter this week. Nana told me you were expecting us and that you’d be coming back to the hotel. But it looks like Mitch has every reason to ban us from ever seeing you again. I’ve missed you, pumpkin. I miss your sunny smile, your big hugs, and your sharp wit. Maybe someday you’ll forgive us and let us come to see you.”

“
They can’t keep us from seeing our granddaughter,” Melinda argued.

“
If Mitch decides to press charges for child endangerment, you’re going to have more to worry about than not seeing Angie,” Geoffrey retorted. “Get in the car, Melinda. We’re going home.” He waited until his wife left the room, and then spoke to Mitch.

“
Send me the name of the private investigator. I’ll see that he’s fully compensated. It’s the least I can do after he stopped Melinda from continuing with her foolish plan. And if there’s ever anything I can do for you or Angie, please don’t hesitate to call me. I hope someday you can forgive us enough to come and see us, or let us see you.” He kissed Angie’s cheek and left without another word.

No one spoke or moved for several seconds. Sophie didn
’t even dare breathe. Her heart ached for the pain Mitch and Angie must feel.

Rita broke the silence when she took a deep breath.
“Well, I think the living room is ready for its second coat of paint.” She strode out of the kitchen, Deana and Becky following close behind.

S
ophie flopped down
on the sofa, relieved to find it unoccupied. The house was blissfully quiet. Thanksgiving dinner had gone well, and now most of the people who remained in Joanie’s house were napping. Mom had arrived early in the morning to help with the cooking. Sam and his family came later with his wife Jackie’s prize winning apple pie and a salad. Chairs were brought in from every corner of the house, and it had been good to hear all the laughter.

She
’d kept busy all day. If she kept busy, she wouldn’t have time to think about leaving all this behind. She’d done it before, when she’d left for college, and again when she'd gone to New York to try culinary school, but those goodbyes had been different. As a student, she'd known she’d be home for holidays and vacations. Now she planned to leave again. If things worked out, this would be a permanent move. The thought was exhilarating, yet melancholy.

Especially when she thought about a certain rugged photographer and his angelic daughter.

She hadn’t seen either of them since the horrible scene with his in-laws on Monday. The Wednesday night rehearsal at church had been cancelled so that people could prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday. She wondered how Mitch’s holiday was going with his family. And how the Billingsworths had celebrated. Had they celebrated at all?

“
Hey, little sis. How’s it going?” Sam settled on the sofa next to her. “Joanie says you worked really hard this week. She says she couldn’t have pulled off the family holiday without you. In fact, she says she wouldn’t have survived the pregnancy if you hadn’t been here. She’s lucky you were available.”

“
It was lucky for both of us. I needed a place to regroup and earn money for my next move.”

Sam nodded.
“Gonna go to California and do the screenwriting thing, huh?”

“
Yeah. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I think the cooking thing was just a rebellion. Or a reaction from Nate going off without me.”

“
Yeah, that was kinda puny of him. Never did like the guy. He was way too full of himself. I really wasn’t surprised when he took off.” As if just realizing who he was talking to, he stopped his rant. “Well, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. You’re not going out there to chase after him, are ya?” He waited until Sophie shook her head. “Okay then. Go for it. I’ll look forward to seeing your name on the credits at the ends of the shows.”

He got up and retrieved his toddler daughter, who was eating a plant.

Sam wasn’t known for heart-to-heart talks, but Sophie thought about their conversation as she dished out desserts. What was the real reason she wanted to go to Los Angeles? She’d never thought about going until she and Nate had made their plans to take Hollywood by storm. She’d always liked to write, and her teachers had always praised her work, but it hadn’t been a passion. She’d written little stories, even published a few. But could she really make it as a screenwriter? More importantly, did she really
want
to?

Or did she want to stay and see if there was anything to th
e chemistry between her and a certain photographer?

Enough of these doubts.
She didn’t want to waste any more of her life in her hometown. It was time to make some of her dreams come true. She had a handful of scripts for her portfolio. Now she needed to get them into the hands of people who would read them. The first thing on tomorrow’s to-do list: submit scripts to more agents.

~~~~

Mitch picked up
a towel and dried dishes as his sister rinsed and stacked them in the drying rack. He’d eaten more food in four hours than he normally consumed in several days, and he needed to get up and do something constructive. The rest of his family watched a football game in the living room, and Angie and her cousins played in her room.

“
So you’ve survived hosting the fam for Thanksgiving dinner,” Becky began. “And you’re holding up well. All you have to do is get through dessert, and we’ll all be gone until the next time it’s your turn.”

“
Yeah. It’s been quite a week. But I guess it’s worth it. It’s been nice having everyone here at my place for a change. And the house does look better after you and Deana and Mom did all that painting and decorating.”

“
It was fun.”

“
Angie’s thrilled. She wants to have friends here for a sleepover.” He shuddered. “I’m not looking forward to that.”

“
You’ll be fine. I can come over to help, or Mom. Or maybe the girl who helped Angie with her room.” She turned toward him, her sharp eyes trained on him for any hint of a reaction.

Mitch knew his sister was fishing for information, but chose to ignore her line of questioning. He
’d definitely thought about asking Sophie for help, but it probably wouldn’t be seen as proper in this conservative town for a single female to spend the night at his house – even with a half dozen young girls present.

“
Yeah, I suppose Mom would enjoy that.” His hands stopped and he watched her as he delivered his comeback. “She always looked forward to your sleepovers, didn’t she?” He smirked when Becky’s cheeks darkened.

“
So, uh, have you heard from your in-laws lately?”

“
Yes, I have.”

Becky
’s hands froze. “They came over again? After that scene on Monday?”

“
No, they haven’t been here. I called Geoffrey.”

“
Sarah’s dad? He always seemed nice. I could see that. He seemed pretty upset by what his wife did.”

“
Yes, and he’s always been good to Angie. So Angie asked me—”

“
Mitch, you have a guest.” Rita Carson poked her head in the kitchen, a strained expression on her face. Mitch set the towel down, took a deep breath, and followed his mother out to the living room.

Geoffrey Billingsworth stood on the mat at the front door, his hat in his hands. The Carson family surrounded him, but no one uttered a word of welcome.

Mitch stepped forward, holding out his hand. “Glad you could make it, Geoffrey. Hope the roads around the lake didn’t cause a problem.”

Though the trip from Chicago to West Michigan took a few hours in good weather, the highway
’s proximity to Lake Michigan caused it to freeze over, often becoming treacherous during the holidays.

Geoffrey took Mitch
’s hand and shook it. “No problems at all, Mitch. Actually, I never went back to Chicago. I’ve been in Grand Rapids since — since Monday.”

He stopped when Angie and her cousins entered the living room. Seeing the new arrival, Angie ran to Geoffrey, her arms outstretched.
“Poppy, you came! Daddy said you didn’t have any company for Thanksgiving so I told him to invite you here. We have lotsa company.” She waved her hand, indicating her aunts and uncles.

Geoffrey reached down and picked up his granddaughter.
“Pumpkin, I’m glad I came, too. Thank you so much for inviting me.” He squeezed her tight, and there was no mistaking the love in his heart. He looked around at Mitch’s family, his eyes pleading for understanding.

“
I know I’m probably the last person you folks want to see right now, but I promise you — I had absolutely no knowledge of the things Melinda had done. She took Sarah’s death hard — we all did — but trying to replace her daughter with Angie was inexcusable, especially when it compromised our granddaughter’s safety. When I think about what might have happened if that secretary hadn’t had the good sense to check her records before sending her off with that man…” He shuddered and squeezed Angie even tighter.

With a sigh, he put Angie down and continued.
“I’m done with Melinda. We haven’t been close in a long time, and now… I’m just through with her highbrow, back-stabbing ways. I paid the private investigator a visit and encouraged him to name Melinda as his client. She needs to learn she’s not above the law.”

Rita stepped forward. “Well, Geoffrey, it’s Thanksgiving, and we’re not going to think about all that nastiness right now. You’re just in time for dessert. Have a seat.”

Mitch’s brother brought an extra chair in from the dining room, and generous slices of Rita’s homemade pumpkin pie were distributed. Soon, the Carson home was once again filled with laughter and a closeness shared only by family.

Mitch
sat back in his chair, relieved his holiday hosting obligations were nearly finished. Things had gone surprisingly well, other than the confrontation with Melinda earlier in the week. He enjoyed being with his mother and siblings. But something inside him wished a certain green-eyed blonde could be part of the family celebration.