Page 2 of Daddy’s Little Christmas Miracle

"Please tell me you're joking," I pleaded, the hopelessness shining through more evident that the early morning sun through the front window. "Please?" The man sighed and shook his head, his eyes sympathetic as he stared at me.

"Best we can do is tow it to the mechanic and have Joel see if he can fix it before Christmas," he informed me. "I'll call Joel and see if he can rush it, but I can't promise much." Exhausted from the hopeless weight on my chest I felt as I stood there, I shook my head.

"That would be great," I finally decided, realizing that the best thing I could do was accept what help I could. The man smiled as he patted my shoulder before looking back at the cashier.

"I'll pay for his order, Kara," he told her. "Get the man whatever he wants and keep it coming. This man deserves the best we can offer." The woman smiled and nodded in agreement as she looked at me.

"Just the coffee and muffin for you, sir?" she asked, and I looked back at the menu.

She had a wide variety of food and drinks, all of which were incredibly creative and festive, but I couldn't think of food at the moment. Deciding not to be rude, especially since I knew that the old man would take offense if I didn't take him up on his offer, I stared politely at the menu and finally saw the sandwich options. Realizing that things couldn't get any worse, I smiled politely back at the cashier.

"Can I also get a ham and cheese sandwich?" I requested, and she nodded as she jotted down my order.

"Do you want chips with that?" she asked, and I shrugged.

"Yes, please," I finally decided. "Thank you." She nodded in response and smiled.

"I'll have that out in about two minutes," she reassured me, and I finally felt a little better.

This was the kind of small town behavior I had come to miss after I moved to the big city. In the city, everyone only ever seemed to care about themselves, and, unless you were actively in their way or causing problems for them, they didn't care if you spontaneously combusted in the middle of the street. Here, in the small town where I had grown up, everyone looked out for each other as much as possible, and they didn't go halfway and say they tried, either. Instead, it was all or nothing.

As the cashier had informed me, she brought out my order within a few minutes, and I sat down with the meager meal my stomach was already twisting and churning, trying to reject before I even took a single bite. I knew it would be rude to not eat a single thing, especially after the old man had paid for the meal and everything already, and the food wasn’t the problem. Instead, it was all me.

The bread looked like a homemade roll, and it smelled as heavenly as the rest of the bakery, making my mouth water as I realized she had slathered on the perfect amount of mayonaise and mustard to accompany the ham and cheddar cheese. The muffin was still nice and piping hot, and I was certain it had come fresh from the oven. Mixed with the black coffee, freshly brewed and as hot as the rest of the food, I couldn’t help it any longer and dug in.

The food was as heavenly as it looked and smelled, and, by the time I finished the last of my coffee, I was a lot less worried about everything that had happened and finally able to calm down. The cashier even came over with a complimentary refill of coffee, and I was finally prepared for the rest of the day’s events. That is until the door opened, and a younger looking man, probably close to my age by the looks of him, finally entered the bakery and looked around.

“Excuse me, but did someone call about a tow truck here?” he asked, and the older man nodded as he pointed at me.

“It’s his car, but I made the call, Joel,” he declared proudly. “What’s the verdict?” The man, Joel, locked eyes with me, and I felt my stomach churn violently as he shook his head at me.

“I’m sorry to say it,” Joel said, his voice sympathetic as he spoke, “but I’m afraid the entire engine needs replaced. All your fluids froze up and ruined it all. Worst part is I don’t think I can fix it until after Christmas.”

The final nail on the coffin that had had been my day finally hit home, and I felt the panic start to set in as I shook my head. Why me? Why did my car have to crap out on me after everything that happened, leaving me stranded in the one town in the entire state that didn’t have a boarding house or a hotel? As my heart sank, the cashier smiled at me.

“If you need a place to stay, there’s a room upstairs that you can use until after Joel fixes your car,” she informed me, and I raised an eyebrow at her as I stared up at her in shock and disbelief.

“Are you sure?” I asked, and she nodded her head in response.

"Like my dad always says, we always help out someone in need," she replied. "That's why I made sure this place came with a room upstairs. You don't have to pay or anything, either." I felt a smile start to spread across my face as I nodded my head in gratitude.

"Thank you," I told her before looking at everyone around me. "Thank you all." Finally, this place was starting to feel like home once again.

CHAPTER THREE

Kara

In all honesty, I felt sorry for the man, and I felt even worse that he couldn't catch a break from the bad news. Even though Father had always taught me to be careful of strangers, I knew that I had to do something. It wasn't right to leave him stranded in town with nowhere to stay.

When I bought the shop, I paid extra to buy the apartment above the shop just in case I ever needed an extra place to stay. If there was one thing Father taught me to do better than anything else, it was to always be prepared. So, I got the apartment and secured the extra living space, and I ever got lucky and got an extra secure lock so that, if anyone was living up above the bakery and coffee shop, they wouldn't be able to get in without the extra key. With the extra space, I felt more secure and better prepared in case anything happened.

While the man finished his meal, I called up Father and explained everything. Rather than getting upset because I had offered the extra space to a complete stranger, he actually sounded quite proud of me, which was a huge relief. The last thing I wanted to have to do was tell the man that I had to withdraw my offer and leave him on the streets at Christmas time.

Once the man had finished his meal, several other people had come forward and offered him just about everything they could to help him feel more comfortable from meals that their wives cooked that night all the way to extra clothing and toiletries so that he would be able to freshen up. While he looked a little overwhelmed by everything going on, he also seemed relieved to have all his needs met.

This was the magic of the small town. Everyone cared about each other, and no one ever went without the most basic of their needs. After being deemed the city slicker, the man actually took us all by surprise by expressing his gratitude towards us in every way he could.

“I promise that I’ll pay whatever you need me to pay for renting out the space to me,” he promised me as I led him up the stairs and over to the living space. As I unlocked the door, I shook my head.