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As they walked out into the hallway of the nursing home, Reyna grinned wildly and met Kyle’s laughing eyes… as he stepped over to kiss her wildly in the middle of the hallway, pulling her into his arms for anyone to see.
“You saved me,” he chuckled softly the moment the kiss ended.
“Poor Chief Carpenter and Andy,” Reyna whispered conspiratorially, as they both laughed again, trying to smother it, as several angry ‘shushes’ were thrown their way loudly.
“Two months, huh?” Kyle smiled at her tenderly. “A February wedding?”
“Why not marry the man I love during a month that celebrates it?”
“I love the way you think,” he replied, taking her hand in his as they quickly left the nursing home, before Mrs. Kendall could change her mind about ‘her sweet Kyle’ that she just ‘dumped’.
Reyna smiled.
14
Three days later, people were streaming into the café that was nearly bursting at the seams. They had gotten several strands of Christmas lights, yards and yards of tinsel to hang in the windows, and everything was so warm and welcoming.
The mayor, along with a few of the firefighters, as well as Dixie’s husband, were singing Christmas carols in the corner of the café… and Reyna suspected it was to stay out of the throng of people.
There was hot apple cider, hot cocoa, and of course coffee available for free to anyone walking by – and this seemed to be quite a success! She had refilled her business card holder four times – and Dixie had run out of business cards as well.
The woman was a joy and always smiling, making her so glad that Kyle had referred her for baked goods. The cakeballs were a smash hit, dipped in bright red and green chocolate, sprinkled with crushed candy canes.
Apparently, several of Dixie’s friends had come by as well, stopping to say ‘hello’. It was just a beautiful evening among friends, creating new ones, and celebrating together.
The van for the nursing home pulled up, allowing several residents to share in the event – and Reyna braced herself for ‘Round two’ of Mrs. Kendall… only to see that the woman had her eyes zeroed in on Chief Carpenter. Mrs. Kendall made a beeline for him – and she fought back a laugh at the pained smile on his face.
Her mother exited from the small van with a look of wonder and rapt adoration on her face as she gazed at the building that had once belonged to her parents so long ago.
“Hey Mom…” Reyna smiled. “It’s me, Betty Jean.”
“Reyna, this is…” her mother began softly, her weathered eyes tearing up – causing her own eyes to sting with emotion as she realized that her mother wasn’t lost in her memories today, but recognized her.
“Mom, isn’t this wonderful?” she began thickly, smiling at Kyle, who walked up holding a hot apple cider for her. “I’d like you to meet Kyle Rimes, my fiancé.”
“Mrs. Mattingly,” Kyle said dutifully, smiling at Reyna in silent understanding. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“You are going to marry my daughter?” her mother whispered in surprise, staring at him with wide-eyed wonder.
“I was going to ask you for her hand, but I was overcome with a bad case of nerves,” he replied, smiling at Reyna over her mother’s head, and gently took her arm.
“Why don’t we get you seated at a table – and maybe we can get to know each other since I have to be careful with my bad arm. Do you think you can humor me for a bit? Maybe we can convince Reyna to sing a Christmas carol or two?”
“She used to love to sing…” her mother began as he walked her inside, holding the hot apple cider, before nodding at Reyna. “Did you know my little girl was in a play and had a solo singing part?”
“No,” Kyle smiled indulgently. “You’ll have to tell me all about it.”
“She was so beautiful on stage, holding a parasol over her shoulder and twirling it while she sang. I think Reyna was in the fourth grade or so… I don’t remember. It’s a blur,” her mother said apologetically.
“Don’t worry about it. I can’t remember what I had for dinner last night,” Kyle teased, winking at her and smiling at Reyna knowingly – before he mouthed to her ‘it’s okay’…
Kyle knew she was going to be busy saying hello to everyone, working the room, and making sure no one ran out of anything – and this was his way of helping where he could. He wanted to make sure her mother was taken care of, so she didn’t worry.
“He’s a good man,” Dixie said quietly, suddenly appearing at her side.
“He’s the best man,” Reyna admitted thickly, her voice full of emotion. “And I’m lucky enough to marry him.”
“Do you need a wedding cake or any help? We’ve got several friends in the area that have gotten really good at throwing together weddings in a short amount of time.”
