A Valley Ridge Christmas

“Oh, I see.” But he didn’t. Dylan, a man who carried a gun for a living, had looked truly nervous.

He came back to them, clearly relieved. “Okay, I’m out of the doghouse. I think. I offered to direct traffic out of the church’s parking lot for her.”

Colton chuckled. “Sucker.”

“Hey, they don’t call me an officer of the peace for nothing.”

“No, they call you Sheriff.” Colton laughed at his own joke and Dylan growled.

“I’d better get back to work,” Aaron said. “It was nice to meet you both.”

“Nice to meet you, too. I’m sure Sophie’s going to stop in and invite you to dinner sometime. She’s fond of Jerry. I know he asked her to keep an eye on you and make sure you get introduced around.”

Aaron groaned. Socializing had never been his strong suit. “I’m awful busy between my own work and taking care of things here for Uncle Jerry.”

“I get it,” Colton said. “Dinner with strangers is nobody’s idea of a good time.”

“But you can’t resist,” Dylan told Aaron. “Honestly. You can try to tell Sophie no, but it’s not going to happen. When you meet her you’ll know almost immediately you’ve met your match.”

“I’d like to take offense, but he’s right,” Colton said. “My wife doesn’t know the meaning of the word no.”

“We’ll see,” Aaron said. “Do you guys know the redheaded librarian?”

“Maeve?” they answered as one.

“Yes.”

“What do you want to know?” Dylan asked.

Aaron shrugged. The better question was what didn’t he want to know. “We had a bit of a run-in.”

“That sounds more like the old Maeve than the new one,” Colton said.

“Old Maeve?” Aaron asked.

“I went to school with her. When we were younger, she spent a lot of time in the principal’s office. Called there almost daily. All sorts of rumors about her and what she might have done to warrant so many trips to see the principal. To be honest, I never noticed much of a wild side to her. What I remember most about Maeve growing up was that she always had her nose in a book. She spent most afternoons at the library with Mrs. Anderson. Maeve was...quiet.”

“And since that’s the longest string of words I’ve ever heard Colton say, as he’s usually so quiet himself...to have him call her quiet says a lot,” Dylan continued. “If I had to use one word to describe her, it would be busy. She’s always busy. Always in motion. She volunteered to reopen the library practically on her own and when she’s not at her day job, she’s generally there. A lot of kids head to the library after school to wait for their parents to pick them up. I know a few kids who say Maeve helps them with homework. And little Abbey Langley assures me that Maeve is the best storyteller ever, though according to her, Tori, Maeve’s assistant, is a close second.”

“Where does she work?” Aaron asked. Then he clarified, “Her day job.”

“A winery in Ripley,” Colton said. “My partner, Rich, and I have talked about trying to hire her away from them when we have more cash flow. Right now, Mrs. Nies is handling everything at my winery, but if things continue to pick up, she’ll need the help.”

“Colton here owns a winery and a farm,” Dylan told him.

“Who was the guy she was with this morning?” Aaron hadn’t meant to ask that. But the thought of her and that guy had bothered him.

“Guy?” both men asked.

“Not old, but average height, roughly our age. He was bundled up, so I can’t tell you much more about him other than he needed propane and she drove him over here to get it.”

Dylan went from looking like one of the guys to looking like a cop in the blink of an eye. “I don’t know. It doesn’t sound like anyone she hangs out with.”

“That’s because she doesn’t hang out with anyone,” Colton said.

“I’ll find out,” Dylan promised.

Aaron told them goodbye and turned to help other customers. He had a nagging feeling that he’d broken a confidence by talking to the men about Maeve. That was ridiculous. She’d made no secret of the man—she’d brought him to the store after all. But still, the feeling persisted.

Colton and the sheriff had given him a lot of information to process.

And as the rest of the busy day flew by, he couldn’t help thinking about Red. Bad girl, bookworm, librarian, winery employee, spitfire.

She was a puzzle, and there was nothing Aaron liked better than a good puzzle.

* * *

THE POWER CAME on at three in the afternoon. Maeve could have moved the stew to the stove, but she left it on the woodstove instead. For some reason the sight of it bubbling away in her cast-iron Dutch oven was cheery.

It didn’t just lift her spirits—Boyd seemed less taciturn than earlier. He’d taken the news that Josie had experienced some Braxton Hicks contractions better than Maeve thought he would. He’d even thanked her for calling Lily.

He hadn’t exactly regaled them with tales of his day, but he told them about the people he’d met as he helped clear driveways all over town. “This one older lady came out with cookies and hot chocolate for me. She said she had her fireplace going. I offered to carry in some wood for her. She didn’t look as if she should be doing it.”

“Who was it?” Maeve asked.

“A Mrs. Esterly.”

“She’s a lovely lady. That was nice of you to—” She was interrupted by a knock on the door. She wasn’t sure where she’d put anyone else. Her small kitchen was already crowded with her current company.

She opened the door and saw not only Sophie, who was obviously making good on her promise to visit, but also Colton and Dylan.

Maeve smiled, already predicting Dylan’s first comment. “You’re in luck. The power came on a few minutes ago.”

Sophie and Colton went in, but Dylan stayed on the stairs. “I heard you had a strange family staying with you?”

“They’re not strange, though I haven’t known them long, and they’re not staying with me.” She pointed to the RV. “Before you give me the lecture I heard in my head this morning before I even knocked on their door, I’ll let you know that not only have they been perfectly polite, honest and forthright, but Boyd even wanted to pay me back for allowing them to come in and warm up and eat some oatmeal. Really, Dylan? A man who feels he has to repay someone for oatmeal? They’re perfectly safe.”

Dylan sighed. “I’d prefer meeting them myself, but I just got a call about an accident off I-90. I’ll check back in with you later. Colton will keep an eye out for me in the meantime.”

“Honestly, I’m an adult,” she reminded him.

“Yeah? And I’m the cop. Making sure people are safe is what I do.”

She stuck out her tongue, which made him grin. “Just don’t make a habit of taking in strangers.”

“I can promise that, if you can promise not to make a habit of checking up on me,” she countered.

“I can’t make that promise,” he said with sincerity, “but I’ll take you up on yours.”