Читать книгу An Alaskan Christmas - Belle Calhoune - Страница 13

Chapter Two

Maggie found herself smiling as they pulled up in front of the Moose Café. As they’d driven down Jarvis Street, with its old-fashioned charm and festive holiday decorations, the quaint downtown area of Love had captivated her. Although she’d visited on three occasions as a child, her favorite had been during Christmastime. She’d been overjoyed to experience the town decked out in all its holiday glory. Those same feelings were rising up within her at this very moment. Nostalgia warmed her insides.

A fully decorated Christmas tree sat on the town green while pine wreaths and red ribbons graced every lamppost lining the street corners. This town was getting ready for the holiday, even though it was a month away.

She’d been a little surprised to see Uncle Tobias’s shop all shuttered up as they drove by. It stood out amid all the other festively decorated shops. Keepsakes looked abandoned and neglected. Maggie didn’t bother to point it out to Oliver. She didn’t want him to be disappointed so soon after their arrival.

Poor Uncle Tobias, she thought. He had loved his shop so much. How she wished things hadn’t been so tumultuous in her own life for such a long time. Perhaps she could have relocated to Love a year ago and helped out her uncle. Once Maggie entered the Moose Café alongside Jasper, Hazel and Oliver, the tinkling sound of the bell above the doorway welcomed her. As soon as she crossed the threshold, she noticed sprigs of holly dangling down from the ceiling. The interior of the establishment was decked out in Christmas decorations. Wreaths. A fully trimmed Christmas tree sitting in a corner. She noticed all of the waitstaff were wearing T-shirts with moose on them. Delectable odors assaulted her senses. Her stomach began to grumble, serving as a reminder that they hadn’t eaten in several hours. And she wasn’t sure the quick snack of pretzels and fruit they’d grabbed at the Anchorage airport even counted.

Oliver—her finicky eater—often needed to be encouraged to eat more. As it was, he practically lived on pizza, french fries and chicken nuggets. She looked down at him, eager to know his feelings at every point in their journey.

“This place is cool!” Oliver said, his voice brimming with enthusiasm. Maggie felt herself heave a little sigh of relief. It was so very important that Oliver embrace their new hometown. Maggie didn’t think things would work out in Love if her son wasn’t happy. After all he’d been through, Oliver deserved to be joyful.

And so do I, she reminded herself. Oliver wasn’t the only one who had been put through the wringer. As a mother it was easy to ignore her own needs, but she vowed to do better at being a more content, well-rounded person.

Maggie followed the trail of her son’s gaze. He was looking at a pair of antlers hanging on the wall. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off them. Although the vibe of the Moose Café was rustic and a bit on the masculine side, Maggie could see a few feminine touches. Red-and-white carnations sat on each table. Soft, romantic paintings hung on the walls. It gave the establishment a nice, eclectic atmosphere.

“Thanks for the thumbs-up.” A deep male voice heralded the appearance of a chocolate-haired, green-eyed man. He greeted them with a warm smile and patted Oliver on the back. “Those antlers are pretty awesome, aren’t they?”

Oliver bobbed his head up and down in agreement. He flashed the man a gap-toothed smile.

“Cameron!” Jasper called out, addressing the dark-haired man. “We need a table for four, please.” He gestured toward Maggie and Oliver. “This is Tobias’s niece, Maggie Richards. You two might have met back when Maggie visited Love as a child.” Jasper flashed her another pearly smile. “Maggie, this is my grandson, Cameron Prescott. He owns this delightful establishment.” Pride rang out in Jasper’s voice.

Cameron stuck out his hand by way of greeting. “Nice to see you again after all these years. It’s been a long time. I’m happy to hear you’ll be opening up Keepsakes soon.”

“It’s wonderful to be back,” Maggie said. “And I’m very excited about the shop. Oliver and I have been very blessed by Uncle Tobias.” Maggie didn’t even have the words to express her gratitude about this opportunity. Her heart was filled almost to overflowing.

Maggie had vowed to be more courageous in her life. Fear had always been such a stumbling block. It was one of the reasons she’d stayed with Sam for so long and put up with his run-ins with the law and his inability to hold a job.

If anyone had told her a year ago that she would move to Alaska in order to run her uncle’s shop, Maggie never would have believed them.

“And we’re very grateful to have you back in Love,” Hazel added. It had been Hazel who had called Maggie to tell her about her uncle’s death. Then weeks later she’d called again to direct her to call the executor of her uncle’s estate to inquire about her inheritance.

Upon hearing all the details about her inheritance, Maggie wanted to pinch herself. In one fell swoop, her entire life had changed. She grinned at Hazel. Maggie couldn’t believe she was standing next to the impressive woman who had created the genuine Alaskan Lovely boots that had taken the country by storm. Uncle Tobias had told her all about Hazel’s creation of the boots and the way the town of Love had set up a business to mass-produce them.

Maggie couldn’t really put her gratitude into words without explaining about the major losses she’d endured and the shameful circumstances of Sam’s death. It had cost her everything she’d worked so hard to build for her family. And she couldn’t afford to talk about it to anyone in this town. She’d uprooted her entire life in order to start over here in Love. And she wasn’t going to tarnish it by revealing her deepest, darkest shame.

Maggie wanted to be respected in this town. She wanted her son to be free of any stigma.

Maggie felt a tug on her sleeve. “Mommy. Can I go over to the jukebox?” She looked down at Oliver, who was pointing toward a tomato-red jukebox sitting in the corner of the room.

“Why don’t I show you how it works?” Cameron suggested. “Make yourselves comfortable at any table you like.”

Cameron walked away with Oliver at his side. Maggie watched them for a moment, feeling wistful about the lack of men in her son’s life. It made her ache to remember how many nights Oliver had cried himself to sleep over his father.

“Tobias told us about the loss of your husband when it happened. He was heartbroken for you and Oliver.” Jasper turned toward her and cleared his throat. “Maggie, Pastor Jack told us about the tragic circumstances.”

Maggie felt her eyes widening. A wild thumping began in her chest. The jig was up. Her secret had been exposed. “How did he know about it?”

“He contacted the pastor at your church to find out if we could do anything to make your transition to Love any easier. Although we already knew you were a widow, we didn’t know the specifics.”

“W-what did Pastor Baxter tell him?” she asked, her heart in her throat. Lord, please don’t let everyone here in Love know already about Sam holding up the grocery store. I want to protect my son. He’s innocent in all of this. It will be just like back home all over again. Name-calling. Finger-pointing. Judgment.

Jasper looked at her with sad eyes. “He told Pastor Jack that your husband was killed in a grocery store holdup.” He made a tutting sound. “It’s so very tragic for your family.” He began patting her on the back.

Maggie felt her shoulders slump in relief. She felt horrible for allowing this version of the story to go unchallenged, but for Oliver’s sake she had to keep quiet. He’d endured enough. And he was just a little boy. She couldn’t let the sins of the father be visited on the son.

“Grief is a process, Maggie. We know you’re probably still trying to wrap your head around such a profound loss.” Jasper’s blue eyes became misty. “Never fear. We’re here for you. We’re going to make sure y’all have a joyful holiday season.”

“Thank you, Jasper. I feel very blessed to receive such a warm welcome here in Love.” Maggie blinked several times, doing her best to hold back the tide of tears.

Suddenly, Oliver came racing to her side. “Mom. Sophie said I can go in the kitchen and make my own pizza.”

Sophie—the beautiful, Titian-haired waitress standing behind Oliver—was smiling down at her son as if he’d hung the moon. This town really was full of genuinely kind folks.

“Oliver is going to help me make a masterpiece,” Sophie said with a grin. The Southern twang and the red-and-white Santa hat perched on her head only made her appear more adorable, Maggie realized.

“That sounds like fun,” Jasper said with a nod. “I think I’m going to come with you and take some notes so I can whip up a pizza at home.”

Hazel let out a groan. “That’s all I need,” she groused. “I can already smell the burned pizza.”

Jasper scowled at Hazel.

“Come on, Jasper,” Oliver said, tugging at the mayor’s sleeve.

The look etched on Oliver’s face said it all. There hadn’t been a lot of smiles or laughter in the last year. Lately, Oliver had begun to turn a corner, but his grief had been all consuming for such a long period of time. He had shrunken down into a quieter, less joyful version of himself. Maggie wanted the old Oliver back, the one who laughed with abandon and didn’t seem afraid of the world around him. With Christmas coming in four weeks, she wanted Oliver to experience the wonder of an Alaskan Christmas.

At least for the moment her son seemed to be over the moon. She prayed this new adventure didn’t get old. Love, Alaska, was a small, quaint town where everyone knew each other. Maybe over time they would be embraced by the townsfolk.

Once Oliver headed toward the kitchen with Jasper and Sophie, Hazel turned toward Maggie. Compassion flared in her eyes.

“There’s no need to fret, Maggie. I’m the only one here in town who knows the truth about the holdup. And I’m not about to share your personal business with anyone, not even my husband,” Hazel said in a reassuring tone. “It’s not my story to tell.”

Maggie looked over her shoulder to make sure no one might overhear her conversation. “Thank you, Hazel. I appreciate you keeping it in confidence. I really don’t want everyone to know Sam was killed while holding up the store,” Maggie said in a soft voice. “I just want a clean slate.”

Hazel reached out and patted her on the shoulder. “Everyone deserves a shot at getting their life back on track. God loves you, Maggie. And pretty soon, this whole town will consider you and Oliver as one of our own.”

One of our own. Just the idea of it caused tears to pool in Maggie’s eyes. It was the very thing she hoped to establish for her son here in Love. She let out a sigh. Hazel knew her shameful secret, but thankfully she wasn’t going to divulge it to anyone.

Rather than being an innocent victim, her husband, Sam, had been the gunman holding up the grocery store. And he’d been shot in the process, losing his life and making their son fatherless. The ensuing media attention had been a vicious whirlwind. Maggie had been the recipient of hate mail, harassing phone calls and even a few death threats. She had been fired from her job and they had lost their housing.

This opportunity for a fresh start was a blessing from God. And Uncle Tobias. He had loved Maggie so much he’d laid out all the groundwork for her to rebuild her life in his hometown.

Most people wouldn’t believe it, but Maggie had been totally clueless about Sam’s illegal activities. In the end, she had paid dearly for believing in her husband. For loving him so much she’d had blinders on.

“Never again,” she murmured to herself as Hazel led her toward a table. In her humble opinion, love led to hurt and pain, loss and disillusionment. She had no interest in going down that road again. She was going to focus on her son and his well-being. She would be both mother and father for Oliver. Maggie wouldn’t be looking for love in this small fishing village.

Romance could go knock on someone else’s door.