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ady shook his head in awe. Eden received pleasure from service. This endeavor was all about rescuing animals and making sure they were safe and healthy and cared for
. He hoped Celebration knew what a gem they had in Eden.
“This town is lucky to have you, Eden. And so is my grandmother. You really make this place shine.”
Brady watched as her cheeks flushed. For a second he feared she might retreat, but she didn’t. She even managed to look him in the eye and smile. Brady felt something burst inside his chest near the region of his heart. Yes, indeed. Eden had already begun to open up like a beautiful poinsettia blooming before Christmas. And it made him feel ridiculously happy!
**
By the time Eden locked up the place and headed back home to pick up her father, it was time to head to the Christmas festival. It was being held at the Diamond R Ranch, owned by the family of one of her best friends, Tabitha Daily—one of the candy canes. When they pulled up to the ranch, Eden let out a sigh. It had been transformed into a Christmas spectacular with hundreds of twinkling lights and lanterns, festive red and green wreaths and miniature Christmas trees spread along the path leading toward the huge white tent in the distance. Eden made sure her father could walk the path with the use of his cane. She’d parked in a handicapped area due to his challenges. She reached into the back of her car and pulled out the large box of candy canes. Thankfully, it wasn’t too heavy and she was able to carry it toward the tent.
As soon as they entered the tent the smell of barbecued ribs rose to Eden’s nostrils. Another smell—perhaps peach cobbler—made her stomach grumble. There were so many things going on inside the tent, Eden didn’t know where to look. Games. Children running around playing. Raffle tickets being sold. A choir singing Ode to Joy in dulcet tones.
Before she knew it, her father spotted some of his friends and was making his way to the seats near the choir performance. Eden noticed he had a little spring in his step as he headed toward the group comprised of mostly females.
With a smile on her face, she turned back toward the entrance, hoping to catch sight of Brady. Tabitha immediately called out to her and made a beeline in her direction.
“Eden! I’m so glad you’re here,” Tabitha said, greeting her with a hug. With her warm mocha skin and green eyes, Tabitha constantly turned heads wherever she went.
“It’s great to see you, Tabitha. I’ve been so busy lately we haven’t been able to meet up for lunch or afternoon tea. I hope you got my message about the candy canes.”
Tabitha grinned. “I sure did. It was a blast from the past, let me tell you. I immediately started thinking about our candy cane fundraiser all those years ago.”
Eden giggled. “We sure did have lots of fun.”
Tabitha pointed to spot behind her. “The table is set up over there and there’s already a bunch of teens working the table with Brady.”
Eden’s heart leapt. “Brady? He’s already here and set up?”
“Yes,” Tabitha said with a nod of her head. “And I think they’ve already sold quite a few candy cane grams.”
Eden clapped her hands together. “Oh that’s wonderful.”
Tabitha led her toward the table where Brady sat surrounded by a group of teens. The teens were dressed in elf costumes. Eden thought they looked adorable. She noticed a few of the girls were whispering and looking at Brady, who looked gorgeous in an Irish fisherman’s sweater and a
pair of dark jeans. To make his outfit more festive, she imagined, he was wearing a cute green and white elf hat.
When he saw her, Brady let out a low whistle. “Wow, Eden. You look amazing.”
Eden basked in the compliment. The red dress she was wearing tonight had been sitting at the back of her closet for quite some time. It was more fitted than anything she normally wore and it came down right above the knee. Wearing it made her feel pretty in a way she hadn’t felt in a very long time.
“Thank you, Brady. You look pretty sharp yourself. How can I jump in and help? I’m sorry you had to start without me. It takes a bit of time to get my dad in gear.”
Brady held up his hands. “No apologies necessary. I got here early on purpose and was happily surprised to see the teens ready to go.” He motioned her over to the table and pointed to the money box and the tags for the candy canes that included the name of the buyer and the recipient, along with their holiday message. The night before delivery they would do an assembly line and attach the tag to each candy cane. Celebration Church would get a major delivery on Sunday morning so they didn’t have to make all of those individual deliveries.
“Take a look.” Brady’s voice was bursting with pride. “If we keep up this momentum we’re going to sell out by tomorrow.”
“Wow. We could really hit the mark, Brady.” She was so overjoyed, tears of emotion pooled in her eyes. This fundraiser meant so much to her, and for a while she had doubted whether it was possible to reach their goal. Hope flared inside her.
“We’re not there yet,” he cautioned. “There’s lots more to be done.”
Eden rubbed her hands together. “Well I’m ready,” she said in an energetic voice. “Just watch and see.”
She began to call out in a raised voice to attract a crowd. “Candy canes for sale. Let your special someone know you’re thinking of them during the most joyful time of the year.”
Over and over again she called out to the crowd, enjoying the way the teens and Brady joined in along with her. The teen girls began doing cheerleading calls about candy canes and performing cartwheels. She was surprised and gratified by all the townsfolk who gravitated toward their table and purchased candy canes.
At a certain point in the evening, they dismissed the teens so they could enjoy the festivities. Knowing they had made huge inroads with candy cane sales, Brady and Eden followed suit and walked around the festival. By Eden’s calculations they may just have hit their goal this evening. They would figure it out later on when they did the final calculations.
