A Valley Ridge Christmas

Maeve could see it coming from a mile away.

“...I know someone,” Lily finished. “One of my patient’s grandsons moved into her house to help her out. He’s a very nice guy.”

Maeve sighed. “If I decide I need a date, I’ll let you know.” She wasn’t sure what happened to turn half of Valley Ridge’s minds toward fixing her up, but it had been bad ever since Mattie and Finn, and Sophie and Colton were married.

She took that back. She knew exactly what had happened.

Tori Allen—her summertime volunteer at the library and Sophie’s rediscovered daughter—that’s what happened. Or rather who happened.

Tori had decided that Maeve needed to get out more and she’d not so subtly tried to fix her up whenever she could. And for someone who lived in Ohio and only came in to Valley Ridge for visits, she managed quite a bit. She’d tried to convince Maeve to date the town’s bachelor cop, Dylan. But she was pretty sure she’d dissuaded Tori from making that particular match. Dylan was a nice enough man, but he wasn’t what Maeve was looking for.

To be honest, Maeve wasn’t exactly sure what she was looking for in a man. But she was certain that when she found him, she’d know. Immediately. That’s how it had happened when her mom met her dad. And after her father passed away, her mother had fallen head over heels for Herman Lorei, a new farmer in town. It was good to see her mom happy again.

Yes, someday Maeve would meet the man for her. Until then, she’d wait. She wasn’t willing to settle.

“Well, if you change your mind...” Lily let the offer hang there a moment. “My client’s grandson is cute.”

Maeve grinned. “Thanks, Lily. I’ll let you know.” But don’t hold your breath. “Thanks for everything.” Maeve saw Lily out and hoped that she’d dissuaded her friend from playing matchmaker. After all, she had Tori, the teenage yenta matchmaker-wannabe, on the job.

Maeve was comfortable. And she was busy. Between her paid job at the winery in Ripley and her volunteering at the library, there weren’t enough hours in the day. She wasn’t actively looking for a relationship. She was content to wait until she found him, or he found her. And if it never happened? She’d be okay. Ms. Mac, the school principal, had never married but seemed perfectly happy with her full, productive life. She’d made such a difference in Maeve’s life.

There were fates much worse than being single.

She glanced at the clock.

Since Maeve’s boss, Gabriel, had called and said not to even try to get to Ripley today, she could cross the now-clear parking lot to the library and catalog a few of her new books.

She hadn’t heard a peep from upstairs, so she left Josie a note on the table with her whereabouts and cell phone number, and took a pile of books with her.

She doubted anyone would be out today and even if they were, she doubted they’d be in desperate need of a library book, but still, as was her practice, she went to turn on the small neon open sign in the library window—before she remembered there was no power.

Well, that was that. Maeve would leave the books to be cataloged some other day.

As long as she was dressed for it, she decided she’d walk the few blocks to the grocery store and buy some more milk. She had some meat in the fridge and could easily put together a stew for herself and her unexpected guests. She should probably think about moving the contents of the refrigerator outside if the power didn’t come back on soon.

And while she was out, she might as well stop at Valley Ridge Farm and House Supplies for the salt and some more lamp oil, just in case the power wasn’t restored by nightfall.

She hadn’t exaggerated this morning when she told Boyd that she normally went on foot to the shops in Valley Ridge. She rarely drove anywhere other than to work. If Valley Ridge ever approved a budget that would pay her for her work at the library, then she would probably be able to give up driving all together. Well, mostly. She crossed over the bridge that spanned Cooper’s Creek, then past the schools. She continued up Park Street, past the familiar shops. As she approached the grocery store, she found that a number of Valley Ridge residents were already there. The owner had a generator that kept the freezers and refrigerators running. Her shopping done, she headed back toward home. The Farm and House Supplies store was on the way.

The store took up most of the block of Park Street right before the schools. The parking lot and outdoor yard comprised a great deal of it. Jerry carried mulch, stones, some bricks and other basic items he stored outside. She looked past the empty lot and saw the top of the old Culpepper place.

She walked around the block to get to the residential street where the Culpepper house was located. From Park Street there wasn’t much to see apart from the roof. Standing in front of it now, she recalled how people said that it had good bones. The bones of the Culpepper place were becoming better disguised with every passing day as neglect etched itself onto the facade. The stonework was covered with ivy that was dead and brown given the cold. As for the yard, she knew there was no lawn under the snow, but rather a collection of weeds that the neighbors occasionally mowed. Most of the windows were boarded over, and the corner of the porch had begun to sag in a way that gave the impression the entire porch would someday completely slide off the house.

There was nothing sadder than a deserted house, Maeve mused. Once, a family had lived there. She had a vague recollection from her childhood of Mr. and Mrs. Culpepper. They’d seemed ancient then. The house had been vacant since Maeve had moved back to town.

Even the layer of snow that covered it couldn’t erase the lonely look of the place. For some reason, it made Maeve ache. She remembered a time when she would have been thrilled to call even that sorry neglected house her home.

She forced herself to ignore the wave of unpleasant nostalgia that had been biting at the edge of her memories since she met the Myers family.

She cut through the back of the property, went around the dilapidated fence and arrived back at the store. She went inside and was relieved when she practically bumped into Sophie McCray. Sophie was one of those eternally sunny people, around whom it was impossible to stay glum.

“Maeve,” Sophie cried out as she teetered toward her on high-heeled boots. Sophie was petite and as such, rarely seen without some kind of heel on her footwear. But given that she was only weeks away from giving birth, Maeve thought maybe her friend should consider trying out some more sensible shoes. Sophie’s stomach protruded so far out that she couldn’t zip her coat, sensible shoes made even more sense. But Sophie didn’t seem to care as she ran over and embraced Maeve.

“What are you doing out?” Maeve asked. “Colton should have tethered you to the farm in this weather.”

“He tried, but I don’t tether well. Besides, we needed a few things and he’s helping Sebastian and Finn dig out some neighbors. I’m on my way to the diner to meet Mattie and Lily.”

“Lily will probably run late and I’ll be the one at fault,” Maeve admitted. “I have company and she came to help me out.”

Sophie nodded knowingly. “I heard.”

“The Valley Ridge message boards—I should have guessed. Social media doesn’t have anything on our grapevine, does it?”

Sophie laughed. “So how is your pregnant visitor?”

“Her name’s Josie. She’s passing through Valley Ridge with her husband, Boyd, and son, Carl. She’s fine for now. Lily’s going to set up an appointment with Neil before they move on. I’ll feel better after he checks her out.”

“If you don’t mind more unexpected company, maybe I’ll stop by later and say hi. Us pregnant women need to stick together.”

“I’m sure Josie would enjoy that.” Maeve rarely had anyone over to her house. Instantly she’d gone from no guests to overflowing with guests.

“Is it true they lost their house?” Sophie asked.

With some people, Maeve would have bristled at the question, assuming they were only looking for some juicy gossip. But this was Sophie, and there was concern in her eyes. Maeve didn’t want to give up Josie’s confidences, but felt safe confiding in Sophie. “They’re headed to North Dakota to look for work.”

“I wish I knew about some job in Valley Ridge,” Sophie said. “But times have been tight here like everywhere else.”

“I know.” Maeve jostled the grocery bag from one arm to the other. “But as soon as the storm’s aftermath is cleared, it sounds like they’ll be on their way.”

“Well, I’m glad I’ll meet her before they leave. I’ll stop in after lunch, if that’s okay?”

“That would be fine.”

Maeve wasn’t sure why she didn’t like to open her home to anyone, but that was the truth of it. She had never been someone who could have friends over after school, or after work. Her home now was her private sanctuary. She hadn’t thought twice about having Josie and her family come over, but with more people crowding into her modest house it made her feel...anxious.

She pushed the feeling aside and went looking for the first thing on her list. She rounded a corner in the home section and spotted an employee with his back to her. He was wearing a T-shirt that had a large logo of the store. “Excuse me. Can you tell me where the lamp oil is?”

“Can I? Certainly, I can. The question you wanted to ask was, Will I?” the employee muttered as he turned around.

“You,” was Maeve’s response. Not that she was surprised. The minute the words left the man’s mouth she’d known he was the snarly guy from this morning. Despite his surliness, Maeve couldn’t avoid liking his voice.

Maeve hadn’t realized until this very moment how much she loved a good voice. The rich, low gravelly type was her favorite. Put a voice like that on one of her audiobooks, and she could listen to the phone book being read.

And this man’s voice was deep, commanding, intoxicating.

“Listen, I don’t want to start another debate with you. You’re Jerry’s employee and even if he’s not here, he has standards. So, I’d appreciate it if you would help me find the lamp oil without any more of your sarcasm.”

He tipped an imaginary hat. “Anything for you, Red.”