Falling Like Snowflakes (8 page)

Micah scooted off to use the bathroom, and Eden stowed the broom in the closet. She'd heard the brothers' argument and Beau's abrupt departure. She hesitated to enter the living room. She was tempted to slip quietly out the back door.

But that seemed cowardly and unprofessional. It was her first night, and she hadn't exactly made a good impression with the goulash and burned biscuits. When she entered the living room, Zac and Riley were facing away from her, their shoulders rigid, ESPN muted in front of them.

“This is about Paige, isn't it?” Zac said as she crossed the threshold.

Eden stopped.

“I've always wanted to join up, you know that.”

“But you never did.” Zac looked at his brother. “I saw that look on your face the other night when Beau was talking about Paige in terms of forever.”

“Well, what do you expect? That I'm just going to stick around here and watch my brother marry the woman I love?”

Holy cow.
Eden inched back.

“It's been hard enough just watching them—”

The floor creaked under her foot.

Riley's head whipped around. His eyes rounded, then the muscles in his jaw twitched. He nailed her with a look.

Shoot.
“I-I'm sorry. I was coming to say good night. I didn't mean—”

“How much did you hear?” Zac asked.

Eden winced.

Riley turned away. “Great. Just great.”

“I won't say anything. This is none of my business.” She grabbed her jacket off the rack. “Let's just pretend it never happened, okay?”

She heard the bathroom door close, then Micah came through the kitchen door. She helped him into his coat.

“We'll see you tomorrow.” She smiled at the brothers but only got one smile in return.

Chapter 8

W
hat a horrible day. What kind of mother couldn't make one decent meal? She couldn't believe Beau hadn't fired her on the spot.

Eden put Micah to bed and took a long bath, trying to shake her bad mood. Afterward she found Paige in the dining room. Dasher wove between Eden's feet as she entered the room, and she bent down to run her fingers down the cat's arched back.

“Mind if I join you?” she asked.

“Sure.” Paige looked up from her laptop. Her pretty blue eyes were bloodshot, and a crumpled tissue lay at her fingertips.

Eden had a feeling she'd heard Riley's news. She couldn't help but feel a little envious of the guy. He had so many people who cared about him.

Paige sniffled. “How was your first day? Did you survive Miss Trudy?”

Eden made a face. “She was the least of my worries. I ruined dinner. We ended up with wings from the Roadhouse for supper.”

Paige breathed a laugh and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “The guys were probably thrilled. They love wings.”

Paige was striking, with her straight blond hair and big blue eyes. She was petite with a trim, athletic build and curves in all the right places. And she was nice to boot. It wasn't hard to see what Beau—and Riley—saw in her.

“I take it you don't have much experience with a stove?”

Eden picked at the cuff of her borrowed pajama top. “Not much. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it, though.”

“I don't think you ever said where you were from.”

Eden tucked her hair behind her ears. “Down south.”

“You don't have an accent,” Paige said softly.

“You do, a little. I'd never heard the Mainer accent before.”

“Beau said you had some things stolen, that you were just passing through.”

She never should've sat down with Paige. “Basically everything. Plus my car broke down. We'll stick around long enough to get it fixed and get Miss Trudy back on her feet. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the job . . . and the place to stay. Beau and his family have been great.”

Paige's eyes went to her phone, and her countenance fell.

“You okay?” Eden asked.

“I just got off the phone with Beau . . . Riley enlisted in the marines.” Paige pushed her laptop closed.

Eden was glad the conversation had shifted to a safer topic. “I kind of overheard them talking. You've known them a long time?”

“Since Riley and I were fourteen.” She smiled as if remembering those days. “He challenged me to a game of basketball after school one day, and I beat him.”

Eden smiled. “Ouch.”

“Yeah, I'm sure it smarted, but he took it pretty well. Of course it helps that he's beat me about a hundred times since. Once he
shot up and grew all those muscles, it was a lost cause. I challenge him to pool now, where I still have a chance.” Her smile fell, and her lips trembled. “He's my best buddy. I can't believe he's going into the military.”

It must be hard for Riley, loving someone who had him firmly in the friend zone. Watching her fall for his big brother. No wonder he wanted to skip town.

“How'd you and Beau end up together?”

“He's four years older than Riley, so he wasn't really on my radar growing up. But I was around the family a lot when their dad passed away. And then one night we ran into each other at the Roadhouse and ended up talking until they closed. We never run out of things to talk about. He's a great guy. He's really upset tonight. Riley leaving so soon after his dad died . . . I don't know what he's thinking.”

“It sounded like they were ready to come to blows earlier.”

Page gave a wry grin. “This is what you need to know about the Callahan men. They're strong-willed, overprotective, and they think they know it all. They're also the town's most eligible bachelors—though I've got Beau tied up at the moment. There was weeping and wailing when we became exclusive, but Zac is back on the market now. He got jilted by his fiancée about a month ago. They might be a little rough around the edges, but what can you expect? After their mom died they were raised by their father with nary a decent female influence through their teenage years.”

“What about their aunt?”

Paige smirked. “Have you met Miss Trudy?”

“Well, I hope things calm down tomorrow. I could've swum though all the tension in the air tonight.”

“It'll blow over, you'll see. The Callahan brothers are passionate, but they don't hold grudges long.”

It didn't blow over. The next day Riley missed supper and seemed to be avoiding the family in general.

Eden stifled yawn after yawn. Micah had had a nightmare the night before. She'd awakened to a scream and gathered his sweaty little body into her arms, trying to soothe him with words. He must have wakened Paige, because she'd asked about him that morning.

A call to the garage had brought bad news. It
was
a thrown rod, the mechanic said, and the engine would need to be rebuilt to the tune of a thousand dollars. Eden thought about it all afternoon before calling back and giving the go-ahead. A rebuilt engine would make the car last a long time. She warned him it would be awhile before she could pay for it.

She walked to town on Monday evening and cashed her check at the grocery store. Her next stop was the diner, where she paid her tab, and the next was the Bargain Barn. The secondhand store was a treasure trove. She found warm winter clothes for Micah, a pair of jeans for herself, and a cheap purse. She splurged on a bright red sweater, feeling a little nervous and a little rebellious as she set it on the counter.

On the way back to Paige's house, they passed a used bookstore. Her eyes caught on a familiar paperback in the window. Eden stopped, her eyes zeroing in on the Debbie Macomber cover with a cute little dog posing on a purple bench.

“What kind of trash is this?” He snatched the library book from her hands and hurled it into the garbage. “Not in my house. Not in my wife's hands.”

She shook the memory from her mind, gathered her
resolve, and entered the bookstore. A few minutes later she walked back out, a copy of
Twenty Wishes
tucked into her new purse.

Eden spent the next couple days running Miss Trudy around, cleaning, and trying to plan a Thanksgiving meal. She desperately needed it to turn out well. She'd made too many mistakes this week. She'd turned some of Beau's white T-shirts pink. She'd used the wrong cleaner on the kitchen floor, making it sticky. And she'd managed to break the vacuum cleaner somehow. Each time she'd messed up, she'd expected it to be her last day. But Beau took each mistake in stride.

He had asked for her W-4 form, but she told him she'd left it at Paige's. She couldn't stall much longer. She'd have to use a fake social security number and hope she was long gone by the time the government informed him of the error.

Eden lit the kindling in the fireplace and watched a log catch fire, then she turned on the radio, flipping stations until she found Christmas carols. She'd finally thought of a way to redeem herself. The turkey was thawing in the refrigerator, the potatoes were scrubbed and sitting on the counter, and Miss Trudy was napping. It was time to make this place festive.

She hauled the decorations from the attic and started to work. By the time the sun set, the house was a Christmas wonderland. A twinkling garland lined the mantel and staircase, and faux candles glimmered here and there. Miss Trudy had awakened from her nap halfway through and supervised. Riley had nodded approvingly when he passed through the living room.

She couldn't wait for Beau to see her handiwork.

Beau turned off his truck and stepped out into the cold wind. The barn was all set up with wreaths and garlands. The delivery truck had arrived from Bethel Farms, and he'd unloaded one hundred trees to supplement their own stock. He didn't mind these quiet days of preparation. But day after tomorrow the madness would start.

Customers pouring in. The smell of cut pine flooding the barn. Christmas carols following him everywhere. Children sipping hot chocolate, wrapped in scarves and layers of down. And the constant ringing of the sleigh bells as Marty Bennington guided the horses down the snow-covered trails would haunt him long after he turned the Closed sign at the end of each day.

Between the approaching season and Riley's news, Beau's mood was on the sour side. Riley had been avoiding him, and Paige hadn't come over for supper all week. Of course Kate's lack of culinary skills might factor in. Beau had insisted they order pizza tonight since she had her hands full with Thanksgiving tomorrow. His hopes for that particular meal weren't too high.

He didn't want to think about Christmas, but it was hard when he was pretty much surrounded by it all day. He just had to keep busy. It would soon be over and he could stuff the memories into the past where they belonged, just as his dad had.

He trudged up the porch steps, stomping his boots as he went.

Riley came out the door just as Beau reached the top step, and stopped short when he saw his brother.

“Should've left a few minutes earlier,” Beau said. “You almost missed me.”

“Yeah, too bad.” Riley edged around him.

Beau grabbed his arm. “When are you going to stop being such an idiot?”

Riley jerked from his grasp and continued on his way. “Why don't you go to Paige's and leave me alone?”

“Maybe I will. She's upset about you leaving, too, or haven't you bothered having that conversation with her?”

“Yeah, I'll bet she's crying buckets,” Riley said over his shoulder.

“What is your problem?”

The only answer was the slam of Riley's truck door. The engine revved, and the truck started down the lane. Exhaust curled from the tailpipe, vaporizing in the cold air.

Beau growled as he gave two hard stamps of his feet. Riley was so stubborn. He didn't know what had gotten into him. Ever since their dad died, he'd been withdrawn and moody. Beau wanted to slug his brother for the pain he was causing.

Beau opened the door and stopped in his tracks at the view. Ornate garlands ran up the staircase and along the mantel where familiar stockings hung—their names applied in Mom's familiar script. A Christmas tree stood in the corner, filled with ornaments he hadn't seen in years. The ceramic angel his dad had given his mom in her last days sat boldly on the end table, surrounded by red candles.