Christmas Hero Read online

  Betty glanced at the clock. Seeing that it was nearly eight, she pushed her chair back. “Have three hours really gone by since I got up?”

  He nodded. “Four since I woke up and I’m ready for another sleep after that big breakfast.” He feigned dropping his head onto the table and snoring.

  “I wish I could do the same, but would you believe I have to run Mona’s bookstore while she’s gone?” Betty rolled her eyes, none too pleased at her new routine.

  “Mona’s bookstore? That doesn’t surprise me one bit. Although I am puzzled as to why you didn’t stand up to her.”

  Betty didn’t know how to answer Andy. So she said nothing. She got up, put her plate in the sink and gave a little wave as she exited the room. By the time she was showered, dressed, and ready to leave he’d hopped in the guest bathroom shower. She still didn’t have an answer for him as to why she didn’t stand up to Mona, but she figured it didn’t matter as she wouldn’t see him again until after she closed the store.

  Four

  Andy

  There was no way Andy was going to let Betty spend all day by herself in Mona’s bookstore, especially since she’d made an effort to get up early and cook him those delicious pancakes. Helping her out at the store was his way of saying thank you, but fortunately, he also loved books. He’d been keen on reading since he was five years old, when his mother helped him discover that the strange inky lines on the pages were called words and that by reading the words one after the other, they’d magically reveal a story. That had transformed his life. From that young age he’d become a lifelong learner and recreational reader. Not only was he in love with all types of books but there was an added advantage of helping in the store. What better place than a bookstore to research his upcoming trip? There was the Internet of course, but surfing the web wasn’t the same as delving into hard-copy travel guides. He loved the smell and feel of paper, and if he could indulge his passion and get to know the lady of the house better it would be a productive day.

  Andy loved his showers, the longer and hotter the better, and he was scrubbing his back and singing his own bluesy version of “Rubber Ducky” when it hit him that he couldn’t remember what Mona had told him his hostess’s name was. He’d introduced himself to her, but she’d been in a decidedly bad mood and none too keen on getting to know him, therefore hadn’t introduced herself. They might have bonded over pancakes and their mutual feelings about Mona, but they hadn’t actually shared basic information. And some time today he was going to have to force the awkward conversation where he admitted he had no idea who she was, apart from being Mona’s sister-in-law. I thought I was relatively sophisticated socially, but no, I’m not. I’m a moronic idiot for not even asking her name. He tapped himself on the head with the heel of his hand before continuing with the chorus, and only stopped abruptly when soap got in his eye.

  He reached for his towel, dabbed it across his face then stepped out, still pondering the name issue. Why couldn’t civilian life be more like the military? Everyone called each other by their last names and even easier, everyone had their names written on their uniforms. There was no confusion, no mystery. Everything was so crazily, simply straightforward.

  But did those words really describe the military?

  As he dressed he thought about everything he hated about the army. He disliked having to get permission to do every little thing. It didn’t matter if he had time off, since he still needed permission to leave the base. And even if he had that, he might not have enough time off to go where he wanted to go. There was a limit to the number of miles away from his post he could be at any given time.

  That had been his hardest adjustment to life in the forces. While he struggled to understand the rationale behind military sanctions, the first time a storm hit and he was called back to base because of a hurricane, it all began to make perfect sense. He’d never seen weather like he had that weekend, but it wasn’t as bad in North Carolina as it had been in some other places. People had lost their homes, their businesses, and even schools had been wiped out. It had been his privilege and duty to help with the relief effort, and he understood that would have been compromised if the troops on leave weren’t able to get back to base in time to be mobilized.

  But now he was free of all the constraints his previous life entailed, and he had every intention of making the most of his independence. As he pulled on jeans and a navy shirt, he planned out his day. First stop, as if he hadn’t already drunk enough coffee, would be the wonderful coffee shop he remembered on Main Street. He pictured it in his head, and as he imagined the dark oak counter with glass cases filled with a variety of cakes and sandwiches, his other senses kicked in.

  Damn, he could almost smell the aroma of the gourmet coffee beans. As a kid, he’d loved the rich, velvety smoothness of their hot chocolate. He hadn’t had a hot chocolate for years, so that’s what he’d do: buy one for himself and one for the mystery woman he was staying with. There could be no better way to butter her up, before admitting he couldn’t remember her name.

  Andy pulled on his leather jacket and gloves. He was looking forward to helping her for the day, even if helping meant nothing more than being around and keeping her company.

  Five

  Betty

  The last thing Betty expected to see as she was checking the delivery of new books was Andy coming in with a delivery of his own from The Daily Grind, the coffee shop down the street. His face was earnest, as if he was trying not to drop what he was carrying, and his eyes lit up when he saw her. She couldn’t help but extend a warm and welcoming smile to him given the way he was looking at her.

  He took one of the drinks out of the cup holder and passed it to her with a gloved hand. “I was going to have them put your name on it,” he said with a shy smile, “but then I realized I didn’t know it. I mean, Mona told me, but I didn’t know who you were, and so I couldn’t remember it.” He blushed and she felt sorry for his discomfort.

  She raised her eyebrows. “Is this your cute way of apologizing for forgetting my name?” She could feel her cheeks turning pink and tried to suppress a flirtatious smile.

  He leaned against the counter and nodded. “So are you going tell me what it is, or are you going to make me work harder for it?”

  Betty looked down at the drink. It’s rich aroma wafted up, making her mouth water. She brought it to her lips and took a sip. “Mmm. Hot chocolate. I get coffee from The Daily Grind often, but this is so much better. I haven’t had one of these since I was a kid.”

  Andy straightened up, showing off his generous height and muscular frame. “Wow, that shows a lot of self control. Would you believe this is one of the reasons I wanted to come back to Lewiston? I associate The Daily Grind’s hot chocolate with Christmas.” She laughed but he shook his head. “No, really, it’s one of many happy memories I have of this place, all of which add up to making me want to be here, even without the relatives around. Sure, I would have liked to have spent time with Mona and her family, but it’s not about them, it’s about me. I’ve been in the Army for a while and now that I’m out I finally get to do what I want.”

  She liked his attitude. He was straightforward, knew exactly what he wanted, and wasn’t worried to do things alone, even at Christmastime. How she wished she were more like him, rather than being the people-pleaser. She’d learned a long time ago that being malleable and subject to everyone else’s whims didn’t make you happy—it made you downtrodden and unappreciated. “Betty,” she said, meeting his eyes.

  He tilted his head down, as he stood more than a foot taller than her. “You’re finally giving me your name?”

  “Yeah.” She frowned. “I hate my name. It makes me feel like an eighty-year-old woman.”

  He laughed. “You look nothing like an eighty-year-old-woman.” Warmth tinged her skin as his approving eyes slid down the length of her body. “Anyway, Betty White is in her nineties and she’s feisty as hell. I bet she loves her name.”

  �
�I don’t love mine, that’s for sure.”

  “Is your full name Elizabeth?”

  She nodded. “It is, and I like the full version of my name. It’s a lot more glamorous than Betty.”

  “So why don’t you use it?”

  “I’m not sure how your family works, but mine are big on nicknames. I became Betty at a very early age. You don’t have to earn your nickname and you don’t have to like what you’re called, but unfortunately once you’ve been dubbed something, good luck getting rid of the name. Believe me, I’ve tried over the years.”

  “What would you like to be called? To me, you’re more like a Liz, if it has to be shortened. Although I really like the name Elizabeth because it’s pretty yet sophisticated, and rolls off the tongue. Elizabeth fits you.” He took a step back, and appraised her in a way no one had ever before. “Just my opinion of course.”

  In that instant, she knew his opinion was important to her. Pleasure and confidence settled over her as she decided that from now on she’d be called Elizabeth, at least by him. “Yes, call me Elizabeth.” She lifted on the balls of her feet, loving the idea that he’d have a special name for her. How had it happened that so quickly, this guy she’d met only yesterday, had a special privilege in her life?

  “Well, Elizabeth, now that issue is settled, what can I help you with?” He turned, sweeping his arms around the expanse of the store.

  She touched his arm. “What do you mean? You’ve already brought me a hot chocolate and given me a new name. Are you a magic genie or something?”

  “No. But I am a bibliophile, so I’d love to help you out here. What can I do?”

  “You want to help me with the books? Really? I can’t ask you to do that, and anyway, there’s not much to do today. It’s pretty much under control.”

  “Okay, but if you don’t mind, I’m going to hang out here. I’ll just mosey over to the travel section and see what’s there. I need to start planning my trip and what better place to do it than in my cousin’s bookstore?”

  “I’ll show you where they are. As you know, Mona loves holidays, so she’s bought tons of great travel guides. Follow me.” She led him over to the bay of shelves by the large window overlooking the street. “Why don’t you grab what you want and settle down there? The light’s really good in this part of the shop and you can spread out.” She pointed to a long library-style table. “Let me know if you need anything, Andy.”

  Then she went back to stand behind the counter and picked up where she’d left off on the delivery. The selection of books was colorful and interesting: holiday-themed romances, Christmas cookbooks, tiny and pretty gift books, as well as exquisite children’s books. She dipped into the pages, smoothing her fingers over the thick glossy paper of the picture books, and she slid two of the romances under the counter so she could have first option on them. She loved reading, so despite the fact she’d been put out by Mona’s request that she look after the shop, it was actually a pleasure being there.

  The bell over the door rang and several people came in. In between helping customers and shelving books she stole glances at Andy. He had his head bent over his book, but twice he looked up to see her watching him. As he made eye contact with her the third time, she smiled at him broadly, and walked over.

  “I’m enjoying having you here. Which is kind of odd for me, given I’m not used to having someone here to chat to.”

  “And even stranger given our bad start yesterday.”

  “I’ve already apologized for that, so don’t crucify me,” she told him. “I’m going to return to shelving books if you can’t be nice to me.”

  “I’ll come help.” He picked up the large pile of books she pointed out to him, stacking them comfortably up his muscled left arm, his hand hooked underneath. The highest book reached his shoulder, but he appeared completely comfortable, not thrown off balance.

  “You look as if you’ve done this before.”

  “Didn’t I tell you I used to help the librarian at school?”

  “I’ve heard about boys and their librarian fantasies,” she said, taking him to the area where he was to shelve the books, then going back and grabbing a much smaller pile of books herself. Andy finished shelving four piles of books to her one.

  “Want help with those last ones?” he asked.

  “No, I’ll finish these. You carry on with your travel books.”

  She watched Andy walk back to his chair, admiring the width of his back and the long, lean stretch of his legs as he sat back down. He definitely knew how to shelve books, and make her a little woozy. The phone rang, and she awkwardly put the rest of the books on a table and hurried back to the counter. “Good afternoon, Lewiston Books.”

  “Betty, it’s Mona here. I was about to hang up. It took you ages to answer.”

  “I was shelving. How are you?”

  “Having a great time here. I wanted to make sure that you’ve checked in the delivery.”

  “Yes. They’re the books I was shelving.” Betty shook her head in frustration.

  “And have you called people to collect the books they had on order?”

  “Of course.”

  “Did you make the bank deposit last night after recording all the information in the ledger?” Mona asked.

  “Uh huh. Yes, I’ve done everything.”

  “What about the Christmas display?”

  Betty grimaced. “What about it?”

  “I change it every week.”

  “You didn’t tell me you changed—”

  “Yes. I did tell you.”

  Betty’s hand came down hard on the counter, and she wished it was Mona’s face she was slapping. Honestly, the woman was an unbearable control freak who hadn’t even said “thank you” for looking after the store or asked how she was. “Okay, I’m sorry I don’t remember you mentioning the Christmas display. I’ll change it either later this afternoon or tomorrow morning.” She was aware that Andy could hear her side of the conversation from where he was sitting, and even from this distance she could see his eyes shining with sympathy.

  There was still no thank you from Mona. “Make sure you don’t forget anything else, Betty. That store is my livelihood and I can’t afford for anything to go wrong.”

  Betty shook her head and cast a despairing glance at Andy then she walked around the back of the counter and sank into the seat there. Gritting her teeth, she tried biting back the angry words she wanted to spit out at her sister-in-law. Hell, she wasn’t getting paid to look after this place. She hadn’t even volunteered. She’d been roped into helping. And now she was being bossed around, something she hated.

  She took a deep breath, just about to give Mona a piece of her mind. Before she could reply, Andy strode around the counter and grabbed the phone from her hand.

  Six

  Andy

  Andy had enjoyed his morning, from surprising Elizabeth with the creamy hot chocolate to helping her shelve books. Every time she smiled at him his heart tingled, and he wondered if it was the satisfaction of seeing her indifference to him turn to warmth, or whether it was simple attraction given her petite figure, long, dark hair, green eyes and perfect skin, none of which he’d noticed when she picked him up from the airport.

  After helping her put away the new orders he was again immersing himself in travel books, reading a recently published guide called ‘The Top Thousand Places to Visit in the US Before You Die’. He loved his country and was bubbling with excitement at the adventure—and the thousand places he could visit—but he was going to enjoy every moment of this sojourn in Lewiston before he embarked on his trip. Hell, he was having a great time helping out in his cousin’s store today, and who would have thought that was likely? But Elizabeth—unlike the Betty he’d met the day before—was proving she was softer than she looked, and each time their glances crossed they’d smile at each other as if they were intimate friends. He’d enjoy spending time with her over the holidays and it didn’t hurt that she was so easy on the eye. />
  From his spot at the table he’d heard the phone ring, and although he wasn’t trying to listen to the conversation he’d become aware that her voice sounded strained. He looked up from the map of California he was studying and saw the rigid set of her chin, the angry flush on her face, and from the way the conversation was going he knew exactly who she was talking to. It was Mona, of course. His cousin could rattle a rattlesnake.

  He closed his book, straining to hear more. Elizabeth was losing her cool, her face growing beet-colored because she couldn’t get a word in edgewise. No one ever could with Mona, he remembered. Even as a child she talked over everyone else, the adults included.

  Elizabeth slapped her hand down on the counter, yet her voice remained polite. He hated to see her so agitated. He’d seen Mona control too many people and had experienced it himself before he’d joined the army. It didn’t feel great to be bossed and bullied by her, and no way would he stand by and let his cousin do this to his kind hostess. He pushed his chair back with a crash, stood up from the desk, strode over to where Elizabeth was sitting and snatched the phone from her hand. She stared at him, her mouth hanging open, which spurred him on.

  “What’s going on, Mona?” he said in a louder voice than he’d intended. He was surprised at how incredibly protective he felt towards a woman he barely knew. Maybe it was the standards he’d learned in the military and not being around many women. Or was it that he sensed Elizabeth was special and he wanted to be the one to show her that? Whatever it was, he wasn’t going to let Mona berate her.

  “Andy,” Mona said in a chirpy tone, “glad you made it to Lewiston.”

  At the sound of her voice his own grew cold. “Are you? Because I’m thinking if you cared about me being here, you’d be in Lewiston yourself, instead of being away wherever it is you are.”