The Christmas Wedding Quilt: Let It Snow / You Better Watch Out / Nine Ladies Dancing

Brody was seventeen to her sixteen, ready to head off for Cornell in the fall, where he planned to study viticulture. He arrived one afternoon to deliver and split a cord of firewood for the coming winter. Jo was immediately drawn to the serious young man with the golden-brown hair and the fabulous smile, so she stacked as he chopped.

They talked about everything, then as the wood chips flew, and later as they found more excuses to be together.

Jo knew better than to draw attention to their budding relationship. Word might get back to Sophie, who was perfectly capable of flying home from Italy to interfere. Brody, too, was reluctant to share with his family. The Ryans were thrilled he had received a scholarship to Cornell, but finances were tight, and they knew he had to earn enough money to supplement his financial aid. A romance with a high school girl would have made no sense to them. So as Jo and Brody fell in love, they decided to keep their feelings to themselves.

Now she realized how successful they had been. Because when Jo graduated from high school at seventeen and had her pick of colleges, no one guessed that she chose M.I.T. because it would be easy to visit Brody at Cornell and rekindle their romance.

They were two private people, with little else that they hadn’t already been forced to share with their families. As love grew stronger, they nurtured the flame carefully, secretly.

Until the flame went out.

As she had stood at the window Jo’s tea had grown cold. These days the house had a microwave, and now she crossed the kitchen to set the mug inside. As it heated she decided to think about something else. She had faced Brody, and both of them had survived the reunion. It was time to move on.

She was just summoning the energy to unwrap the fabrics for Olivia’s quilt when she heard a familiar roar. From the window she watched as Brody jumped off his snowmobile, unhooked something from the seat behind him and started toward the door.

Before she could stop it her hand went to her hair. Then, realizing what she’d done, she straightened her shoulders and went to let him in. She was dressed. Her hair was probably combed. She had covered all the bases for polite society.

When she opened the door he was standing on the threshold clutching a picnic basket in his arms. He held it out to her but didn’t relinquish it.

“It’s heavy. Maybe I should set it down in the kitchen.”

“I work out.” She held out her arms.

He thrust it forward, and she realized he was right. It was heavy. She shifted so part of the weight rested against a hip.

“Come in while I put this on the counter. What is it?”

“A care package.”

She couldn’t help herself. “I didn’t know you did.”

“Did?”

“Care.” She smiled to let him know she was teasing. “I would refuse, of course, to show what an independent woman I am, but I might starve.”

She started toward the kitchen, and in a moment—she guessed he was slipping off his boots—he followed her. She set down the basket and opened the lid to peek. Inside were at least a dozen cans, also rice, pasta, packaged mac and cheese, two jars of sauce, more cereal, half a carton of eggs, two sticks of butter, and half a small bottle of cooking oil.

Despite all internal warning signals, she was touched. “Brody, did you clean out your cupboards?”

“I split the contents.”

“Bachelor food, huh? Beef stew, beans, tuna, fruit cocktail? What happened to the hot dogs?”

“Ate them last night.”

“Darn.”

He grinned, and only then did she realize he’d been worried about her reaction. “Don’t tell me you cook gourmet meals for yourself every night,” he said.

“Not every night.” She closed the lid. “This was thoughtful. Thank you. Of course I’ll replace everything once I can drive to a store.”

“That wasn’t the only reason I came. I thought you might like a ride over to the Grants’. To look for that box of baby stuff. But I warn you, it’s going to be freezing in their attic. We won’t last long.”

She gestured to her corduroy jeans and waffle henley. “I’m not dressed for a snowmobile.”

“I brought gear for you. It’s on the sled, if you’re game.”

She considered. Wasn’t this opening up a door best left closed? They had proved they could be polite, and she was in no hurry to look for Eric’s things. She almost refused, but then she reconsidered. Brody was trying to help, and if she didn’t say yes, she would be cooped up all day. Plus he would wonder why she’d refused, and that might be dangerous.

She kept her tone casual. “I’m not doing anything else, if you have the time.”

* * *

NINETY MINUTES LATER Jo took off the snowmobile helmet and shook out her hair. She was dressed like a pro in Brody’s sister’s gear, all of which had fit, the bibbed pants, jacket, gloves, everything except the boots, which were a size too large. That hadn’t mattered since she had worn them with three pairs of Kaye’s wool socks and removed the boots before entering the Grants’ house.

The ride had been glorious. Brody’s snowmobile held two, and she had wondered if she would be required to put her arms around his waist. But there had been a handlebar to hang on to, and the ride had been as smooth as sailing, with no surprises.

They hadn’t talked a lot, not even in the attic, which was a pack rat’s dream. Brody said that Mrs. Grant had inherited the contents from her husband’s mother, who had inherited them from her mother. Unlike her predecessors, she was trying to sort, then toss or label, but Brody thought she was having problems getting rid of much.

“Sentimental,” he’d said. “That’s why she kept Eric’s baby things.”

“My gain.” Jo had given up after that day’s search turned up nothing of Eric’s except old school notebooks, one box of wooden blocks and another of 4-H trophies. By the time they’d started back to Hollymeade her teeth were chattering.

Once there, she swung her legs over the side and stepped down. She realized how much fun she’d had. The ride, the attic search, the ride home. When had she ever jumped on a snowmobile or a motorcycle or a speedboat just for fun? When had she had time to simply be young?

Snow was falling again, a light dusting this time, but the landscape sparkled. Beyond the house she saw a cardinal, bright red and Christmassy in the branches of a spruce tree.

“Let me make you lunch,” she volunteered, before she even knew the words would emerge. “It’s the least I can do.”

He didn’t hesitate. “It would be nice to warm up.”

She was surprised he had accepted so readily. That seemed to say a lot, although she knew better than to dissect a simple sentence.

Inside they perched on a bench in the entryway and stripped off their snowmobiling clothes. She realized that until now she hadn’t seen him without at least a stocking cap, not even last night by the fire. His hair was longer than she remembered, as if he hadn’t found his way to the barber in a while, but the color was still the same bronze, with just a hint of curl.

He still looked so much like the boy she had fallen in love with.

She realized she was clutching Kaye’s outerwear as if it might shield her from old emotions. She thrust the clothing out for Brody to take home again, but he suggested she keep everything, just in case she wanted to tramp around outside or shovel more snow.

She wondered if he was planning more rides and just didn’t want to announce them yet. And in true Jo style she attempted to analyze whether she had really loved the ride or the ride-with-Brody.

Inconclusive.

In the kitchen she emptied the basket and took a better look at what she had to work with. She settled on a menu, filled a large pot with water and set it on the back of the stove to boil. Then she set the oven to 350 degrees before she took out a smaller pan and began a béchamel sauce, flour stirred into melted butter, milk whisked in, a pinch of nutmeg from the spice drawer. When she was happy with the consistency, she drained a can of tuna and mixed it in.

Brody perched on a stool and watched. “What can I do?”

“Would you get brown sugar out of the pantry? And if I’m not mistaken, one of the smaller canisters contains what’s left of a bag of coconut. Would you check to be sure it’s okay and bring that, too?”