The Christmas Quandary: Sweet Historical Holiday Romance (Hardman Holidays Book 5) Read online

  She wrapped both hands around his arm and strolled with him toward Arlan and Alex Guthry’s home. “Perhaps the big boy should eat more vegetables and set a good example for the youngsters.”

  Tom scowled at her. “I’ll have you know, Miss Granger, I eat plenty of fruit and vegetables at meal times. However, when we say there will be treats at the program practices that means it must be a treat. I promise you, the children will not view carrots as something special. They aren’t rabbits, after all.” He wrinkled his nose and pulled back his lips to expose his front teeth.

  Lila laughed and rolled her eyes. “Very well, then. Sugar-laden treats it will be.”

  He tipped his head toward the mercantile as they walked past it. “I’m happy to take turns providing snacks. I’ll pick up something for our next practice.”

  She started to argue, but didn’t want to offend him. “That would be fine. I’ve heard the children are quite partial to peppermint sticks.”

  “That they are. I bought some for the class last week and thought I might have a mutiny on my hands.”

  Her laughter rang around them, drawing interested glances from others out on the street who heard the delightful sound.

  Tom turned down a side street and directed her to the Guthry home. He tapped on the door. It opened almost immediately. Alex’s smile widened when she saw who stood on her front step. She pulled the door open wider and stepped back. “Come in, come in. What brings you two to my door today?”

  Tom removed his hat and held it in his right hand while helping Lila remove her coat with his left.

  “We have a favor to ask,” Tom said, following Alex into her parlor. She motioned for them to have a seat on the sofa while she settled into a chair close to the fire.

  “Ask away,” Alex said, looking from him to Lila and back again.

  “Rather than have live animals at the Christmas program this year, we decided to allow some of the younger children to play the parts.” Tom removed his coat and sat beside Lila. “I suggested that you might be willing to help with the costumes. If you aren’t interested, Alex, don’t feel as though you must agree.”

  “Although we’d be so happy if you would,” Lila added with a saucy look that made Alex laugh.

  The woman threw her hands up in the air. “How can I say no? Truthfully, I wouldn’t mind a project to work on. I’ve read every book in the house at least twice, finished making all my Christmas gifts, and have nearly driven poor Arlan mad trying to find things to occupy my mind. Even if my body refuses to cooperate in my desire to be out and about, I could certainly make a costume or two.”

  “Are you feeling any better?” Lila asked, concerned by Alex’s pale face.

  “I’m starting to. Doc said the sickness should pass in a few more weeks. I, for one, can’t wait until it is gone completely.” Alex glanced over at Tom. “I’m sure you aren’t interested in such matters. Forgive me for discussing it.”

  He shook his head. “On the contrary, I hate to see you under the weather and hope you are feeling more like yourself very soon. You have to be well before school reconvenes after the holidays or the children will be left without a teacher.”

  “I plan to be better by then.” Alex leaned back in her chair. “Tell me about these costumes. What do you need me to do?”

  “Well, we added a cow, sheep, donkey, and camel. Would you be able to make one or two of them?” Lila asked. She would have volunteered to make them, but they were far beyond her sewing capabilities. Abby Dodd certainly didn’t have time and neither did Filly. Ginny and Dora could barely thread a needle, so they wouldn’t be any help.

  “I think I could make the donkey and I’d like to try the camel. Can you find someone to make the other two costumes you need?” Alex asked.

  “I’m sure Mama will make one,” Tom said, hoping his mother wouldn’t mind helping.

  “Wonderful. How is your mother doing?” Alex gave him a look that made him wonder if she knew the Grove family would be welcoming an addition around the same time her baby was due.

  “She’s doing very well.”

  Alex nodded. “Excellent. Tell her to stop by for tea sometime when she’s in town. I’d love to have a good visit with her. It’s been far too long.”

  “I’ll do that, Alex.” Tom glanced at the clock and rose to his feet. “I best escort Miss Lila home and then get busy grading assignments and preparing for class tomorrow.”

  “It’s a never-ending cycle, isn’t it?” Alex asked.

  “How do you suffer through this drudgery day after day?” Tom teased. All three occupants of the room knew both Alex and Tom enjoyed teaching.

  “It’s a struggle,” she said with a big smile. “What ages are the camel and donkey? I’d like a better idea of what size to make the costumes.”

  “Billy Tomkins is playing the camel and Molly Smith is the donkey,” Lila said. “Billy begged to play the camel and spent most of the time at practice walking around on all fours with his little rump in the air.”

  Alex laughed. “I can picture that. Give me a week or so to see what I can figure out.”

  “As long as we have them for Christmas Eve, there’s no rush.” Tom rose and held out his hand to Lila.

  She took it and stood, aware of Alex eyeing them speculatively. Uncertain of her own feelings, she certainly didn’t need anyone questioning what, exactly, transpired between her and Tom.

  Although she tried to convince herself they were nothing but friends, she’d caught him studying her a few times with a look in his eyes that went beyond friendship.

  In addition, he meant more to her than a mere friend. The fact that he did left her convicted and disconcerted. She was an engaged woman with absolutely no business letting another man turn her head. No matter how fun and kind and entirely appealing she found him, it was still wholly unacceptable.

  Unnerved by the direction of her thoughts, Lila hurried to slip on the coat Tom held for her then gave Alex a warm hug.

  Alex returned it and shot Lila a knowing wink before looking to Tom. “You do know Christmas Eve is a little more than two weeks away.”

  “I do know that, ma’am. And if I didn’t, the children remind me daily of the approaching holiday.”

  “I’m sure they do,” Alex said, opening the door as Tom shrugged on his coat. “It’s nice to see you out of the sling. I assume that means your arm is healing.”

  “Yes, thank goodness. Doc said I can start using my hand, but to be careful about my arm.”

  Alex narrowed her gaze. “Knowing you, he probably should have made you wear that sling for another week or so.”

  “No, thank you. What a botheration!” Tom grinned as he settled his hat on his head, then cupped Lila’s elbow as they made their way down the steps. “Thanks, again, for helping, Alex. We truly do appreciate it.”

  “You are most welcome.” She waved then closed her door.

  “Do you really think your mother will help with costumes?” Lila asked as Tom walked with her toward Granger House.

  “I’m sure she will. I’ll ask her tomorrow when I go home for the weekend.” Tom guided her around a puddle. Although it remained cold with snow on the ground, there were a few spots where the sun shone all day that had melted enough to make messes on the streets.

  “Are you enjoying the time you spend with your parents?” Lila wished almost daily she could spend even one more day with her parents. Their sudden deaths had left her so alone and bereft.

  “I am,” Tom said, tipping his hat to a group of women exiting Abby Dodd’s dress shop. Both he and Lila waved through the window to the harried dressmaker then continued on their way. “We had a bit of a rough start, but things are fine now.”

  Lila shot him a questioning gaze, but he didn’t share any further detail. From what she’d observed, Tom adored his parents and seemed genuinely pleased at the prospect of finally having a sibling, though he rarely mentioned anything about anticipating the baby’s arrival.

  “I think i
t’s nice you spend your weekends at the farm with them. I’m sure they appreciate the opportunity to see you, since you don’t make it back to Hardman frequently, or so I’ve heard.”

  Tom gave her a long, studying glance. “What else have you heard about me? Perhaps I need to find whoever it is that is spreading rumors about me and put a stop to it.”

  Lila laughed. “I’ll wish you much luck with that. Everyone talks about you being such a fine student since Alex took over teaching and how proud they are of your successes in Portland. Even Mr. Daily at the newspaper brags about how you used to write articles for him.”

  Caught off guard, Tom didn’t know what to say.

  She glanced over at him and grinned. “I’ve also heard how you once trapped a skunk in the outhouse and failed to tell the teacher. You must really have disliked him.”

  “He wasn’t a very nice man or a good teacher. We were all glad when he left. Then we got a new teacher who was afraid of us older boys. She had a terrible time handling the classes and she was rather short-tempered with the younger students. Arlan courted her for a very brief time, until Alex arrived in town and that was that. Alex took over teaching when the position opened and by then Arlan had fallen for her charms.”

  “I don’t think Arlan is the only one who fell for Alex’s charms. Ginny said all you boys practically followed her around like puppies on a leash.”

  Incredulous, Tom glared at her. “Ginny talks too much.”

  Lila laughed. “She does, but she means well. Besides, if it wasn’t for Ginny’s loose lips, how would I find out all the news about town, both past and present?”

  “I’m sure I don’t know. Unlike some people, I have better things to do than engage in idle gossip and hearsay.” He lifted an eyebrow and gave her a look that made her giggle.

  “That’s why you’re sadly uninformed about the most exciting happenings in town,” she teased, walking around to the back door at Granger House.

  Bart bounded down the steps and leaned against Tom, seeking attention. He hunkered down and gave the dog several good scratches along his back and behind his ears before gently thumping his side. “Be a good boy and stay out of trouble.”

  Lila watched the dog saunter off toward his house in a far corner of the yard. He spent most of his time near the kitchen door, but sometimes he curled up on the bed of old blankets in his house and slept.

  “Thank you for walking me home, Tom. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” She hurried up the porch steps. Before she opened the door, she stepped back down the top two, until she could reach Tom. She thumped his back with her gloved hand and repeated the phrase he’d used on the dog. “Be a good boy and stay out of trouble.”

  Tom chuckled. “You are too full of sass and nonsense for your own good, Miss Granger.”

  “I know,” she said, taking the steps in one leap and sailing inside the house.

  No one was in the kitchen, so Lila removed her outerwear and washed her hands, humming as she peeked in the oven and inhaled the scent of roasting beef.

  Although she couldn’t explain it and would steadfastly deny it, being with Tom Grove made her happier than she’d ever been in her life.

  Chapter Ten

  “I could have walked out to the farm,” Tom said as he locked the door to the house and followed his dad over to his waiting wagon.

  “Your mother sent me into town to pick up a few things at the mercantile, so it was no trouble to stop.” James dropped Tom’s bag in the back of the wagon then swung up to the seat.

  Tom climbed up and settled beside his father. “Did you and Mama have a good week?”

  “We did.” James clucked to the horses and guided them out to the road. “I finished repairing the stalls in the barn and your mother stripped all the wallpaper off the spare bedroom walls.”

  A curious look settled on Tom’s face. “Didn’t she just decorate that room how she’d always wanted it a few years ago?”

  James nodded. “She did, but she wants to turn it into a room for the baby.”

  “I see.” Tom worried that his mother was giving up something she loved just to keep his old room exactly as he’d left it. Well, not exactly. It was definitely cleaner than he’d kept it when he lived at home.

  A frown rode James’ brow as he looked to his son. “Look, Tom, I know the whole thing about your mother and I expecting a baby in the spring has come as quite a shock to you, but I don’t want you to feel like that’s going to change how we feel about you. We care…”

  Tom interrupted his father. “I’m happy for you both, Dad. Truly.” He grinned. “In fact, I rather like the idea of finally being a big brother. If it’s a boy, maybe I can take him hunting or out riding when I come to visit. Or, if Mama gets her way and the baby is a girl, I can treat her like a little princess.”

  James smiled and thumped Tom on the back. “You’re something else, son. Do you know that?”

  “What that something is would be the question.” Tom offered his dad a cocky smile before turning serious again. “I was just thinking about Mama redoing the bedroom she worked so hard to decorate. If she wants to redo my bedroom for the baby, I don’t mind.”

  James gaped at him. “But that’s your room, son, for as long as you want it. I hope you’ll plan to still visit us, even after the baby arrives.”

  “That gives me a reason to come home more frequently, don’t you think?”

  “It most certainly does, son.” James sat a little straighter and snapped the reins on the horses, inordinately pleased with the fine young man sitting beside him.

  It was nearly dark when they arrived home. Tom climbed down from the wagon to help with chores, but his father shooed him toward the house. “Go on in, Tom. I don’t want you doing anything to hurt that arm of yours. Besides, you need to change out of your nice clothes before you set foot in the barn.”

  Tom glanced down at the suit he wore beneath his black wool coat and realized he’d forgotten to change after he released school for the day. In fact, as he and his father drove out to the farm, it seemed like the happy days of his youth when his father would sometimes give him a ride after school so he didn’t have to make the long trek home in the cold and snow.

  “I’ll go change and come back out.” He lifted his bag from the wagon and started toward the house.

  “Just stay in the house, son. I did some of the chores before I headed into town. It won’t take long to finish. No need in both of us freezing out here.” James backed the wagon beneath the shelter of a building where he kept the farm equipment out of the weather.

  Tom hurried up the back steps and inside the warmth of the kitchen. The scent of apples and pork filled the air, making his stomach growl.

  His mother glanced up from where she set plates on the table with a smile. “Hi, sweetheart! Did you have a good week at school?”

  Tom felt like he was twelve instead of twenty-one as he removed his coat and hat, hanging them by the back door. He stepped over to the table and gave his mother a hug. “I did have a good week. Those little rascals I teach, though, get more unruly the closer we get to Christmas. They keep talking about the carnival, programs at church, and, most importantly, what Saint Nicholas will bring them.”

  “That was always one of your favorite topics,” Junie teased, patting Tom’s scruffy cheek. Since he’d been unable to shave, he’d allowed his beard to grow the past few weeks. It itched like crazy. That morning, he’d decided it would be worth every penny it cost to go to the barber and get a shave. As soon as classes released Monday afternoon, he planned to head directly there, unless he could manage to do it himself without slicing open his neck.

  Junie took a step back and studied him, as though she hadn’t seen him before. Her hand slid to the base of her throat and tears glistened in her eyes. “Oh, Tom, when did you grow into such a tall, handsome man? I keep thinking I’ll turn around and find you pulling worms or snowballs out of your pockets. Yet, here you are teaching little boys every bit as ornery as
you ever were.”

  “Aw, Mama, you knew all along I was going to grow up someday. When that day comes, I’ll let you know.” He wrapped his arms around her and smiled against the pile of wheat-colored hair on top of her head.

  She laughed, as he knew she would, and sniffled as she squeezed him tightly. “If I had a dozen children, you’d still be special to me, Thomas James Grove, because you make me laugh and lighten my heart.”

  “Now, Mama, don’t tell fibs. If you had a dozen children, more than likely at least a few would be girls and you’d have forgotten all about me in light of ribbons and lace and little girl stuff.” Tom kissed the top of her head and let her go. He snitched a cookie from the jar on the counter and took a big bite.

  As he expected, his mother smacked his arm and gave him a dark look. “I’ve told you a million times not to eat a cookie right before supper. You’ll spoil your appetite.”

  He finished the cookie and brushed the crumbs from his hands. “And I’ve told you a million and one times, there is no possible way one little ol’ cookie will keep me from eating my share of food. Besides, I’m a growing boy. I need all the sustenance I can get.”

  Junie shook her head at him and lifted the spoon she used to stir a pan of fried apples, seasoned with cinnamon, sweetened with a liberal helping of sugar, and cooked in a generous spoon of butter.

  Tom breathed in the spice-laden aroma and closed his eyes. It reminded him of wonderful autumn days spent at home as a boy when his mother would pop a big bowl of buttery popcorn. They’d eat it on the front porch while the fruity fragrance from their small orchard would drift to the house on the evening breeze.

  “I’ll run upstairs and change. Dad refused to let me help in the barn, so if there’s anything you’d like me to do, just put me to work.”

  Tom rushed up the stairs with his bag and soon clattered back down to the kitchen dressed in a pair of worn canvas work pants and a soft flannel shirt. Now that he could at least use his right hand, it made shoving buttons through their holes a much easier task.