Renee Andrews - Yuletide Twins

“That’s it?” he asked.

“I brought some teaching supplies, just in case.” She still hoped that she’d eventually get to teach. “But for now, I only need the two bags. I appreciate you getting them for me.”

“No problem at all.” David seemed to realize he’d forgotten introductions. “Mandy, this is Laura Holland. She’s moved to Claremont and is going to be working here. Laura, this is Mandy Carter—Mandy Brantley, I mean. You’d think after all this time I’d get used to that.”

“Not a problem,” Mandy said.

“Mandy is married to the youth minister, Daniel Brantley, who also happens to be one of my best friends. And she owns Carter Photography on the square. She’s a pretty amazing photographer. You’ll have to check out her studio.”

“Thanks,” Mandy said. She smiled at Laura. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too.”

“So, you ready to help me find books?” Kaden asked, grabbing Laura’s hand and tugging her toward the children’s area.

“Sure.” Laura let him tug her away, but even though she listened to Kaden talk about the kinds of books he liked, she also heard David ask Mandy whether he could bunk at their house tonight. Laura hated making David move out of his own apartment, but she didn’t know what else to do.

“Which ones do you think I should try?” Kaden squinted at the titles on the shelves with his hands on his hips.

“Well, let’s see.” Laura scanned the books and was pleased with the variety David offered. “How about these Dr. Seuss books?”

“Already read ’em.”

“All of them?” Laura asked.

He bobbed his head. “Yep.”

“Here’s a good one. Where the Wild Things Are.”

“Read it, too.”

Mandy had finished talking with David and now walked to stand behind her son. “He loves to read.”

“I can see that,” Laura said, reaching for Curious George’s First Day of School.

“I like Curious George, but I’ve read them already,” Kaden said matter-of-factly. “But that one would be good for baby Mia.” He pointed to the Curious George Pat-A-Cake board book.

“We’ll get that one for her,” Mandy said to Kaden, “but let’s find some for you, too.”

A hint of a memory crossed Laura’s thoughts. David, talking about Mia from Claremont, and what a special person she was. But that wouldn’t be this baby, since she hadn’t even been born at the time. Laura tried to remember, but before she could bring the memory into focus, Kaden forged ahead in his search for books.

“What else do you have, Miss Laura?”

Laura ran a finger along the spines and then saw a group that she thought might appeal to Kaden, if he hadn’t read them yet. She pulled out the first book in the series. “How about The Boxcar Children? Those were some of my favorite books when I was young.”

“Mine, too,” Mandy said.

Kaden took the book and studied the illustration of four children and a red boxcar on the cover. “Is it a girl book, or is it for boys, too?”

“It’s a great book for both boys and girls,” Laura said.

“That’s true,” Mandy agreed. “Our librarian, Miss Ivey, read the books to us when I was in elementary school. Everyone loved them, and then we’d go on the playground and pretend we were the boxcar children.”

“What’s it about?” Kaden asked.

Laura could tell his interest was piqued. “It’s about four brothers and sisters who have run away and find a boxcar to live in.”

“They have to take care of themselves? All by themselves?” Kaden asked.

“Yes, they do. And there are all of these books that tell you about their adventures.”

“Okay, I want some of these books, Mom! I wonder if Nathan knows about them. He might like them, too, huh?”

“Nathan is one of Kaden’s older friends,” Mandy explained.

“He’s nine,” Kaden said.

Laura thought about the possibility of Kaden and his friends starting to read the series together. That could be a very good thing, not only for the kids, but also for her to prove herself as an asset to David’s bookstore. “Why don’t you see if Nathan, and maybe some of your other friends, would like to read the stories? I’m sure Mr. David would be happy to order more copies, and then all of you could read them together.” Her mind kept churning, and she liked where her ideas were headed. “Maybe we could start a Boxcar Children club here, and you could all come talk about the books and the adventures.”

David entered the children’s area a little winded from his trek with the luggage, but he’d obviously heard Laura’s idea. “That sounds good to me,” he said.

“I’ve never thought about a book club for children, but given Kaden’s appetite for reading, it’d be great for him. I’ll call Nathan’s parents tonight, as well as a few more of Kaden’s friends,” Mandy said. “Go ahead and get the first three books in the series, and we’ll get that board book for Mia.”

“How is the littlest Brantley?” David asked.

“Chattering up a storm now,” Mandy said. “I’ll bring her the next time I come.”

“Sounds great,” he said, then to Laura added, “I got your luggage. I put it by the checkout counter for now, but I’ll carry it upstairs for you after Mandy and Kaden are done shopping.”

“We’re ready,” Kaden said, grabbing the three books and clutching them to his chest. “I want to go read some before I have to go to bed.”

“Okay, take the books up to the counter so we can pay,” Mandy instructed, and Kaden ran off with his new books. Then she turned to David. “Daniel and I would love for you to stay with us, but I think I have a better idea. My apartment is open above my studio. I haven’t lived there since Daniel and I married three years ago, but I kept the furnishings intact. Laura, you could stay there. It’s clean and ready, and you could stay as long as you like.”

“Oh, I couldn’t take advantage of you that way,” Laura said.

“Nonsense. It’s just sitting there, and it’d be convenient for you if you’re working at the bookstore. It’s only a few doors down on the square. And then David wouldn’t have to stay anywhere else, either. It’d be perfect.”

“I’d want to pay you,” Laura said.

“We’ll work something out,” Mandy promised. “I’ll ask Daniel about payment, but really, we haven’t been using it anyway.”

“That would be convenient,” David said, “if it sounds good to you, Laura.”

“It sounds great, actually. Thank you, Mandy.” She was a little stunned that someone she just met would offer her a place to stay, but she could already tell, not only from David, but also by the first people she met in Claremont, that people here were different, and she meant that in a very good way. Maybe, in Claremont, she and her babies would have a real home.

Chapter Three

David used the key Mandy gave them to unlock the door to her studio, then carried Laura’s luggage through the gallery and toward the apartment. “All of the shops on the square are designed the same, with a kitchen in the back and then a small second-floor apartment. My grandparents lived above the bookstore when they first started out, but then they bought a farmhouse a little ways out from town when they had my mother.”

He’d reached the kitchen and turned to make sure Laura was doing okay, but she wasn’t there. Instead, she’d stopped to admire one of Mandy’s photographs displayed on an easel. David put the luggage down and went to see what had her attention.

The photo was of Mandy, very pregnant, wearing a white dress with her hands cradling her stomach. Kaden and Daniel were on either side of her with their hands placed against hers and also appearing to cradle the new addition to their family.