SUSAN MEIER - Bride Under the Mistletoe - The Magic of a Family Christmas

“I was going to get a dump truck.”

She laughed. “You can buy him a dump truck. But let’s look around town. See what else might strike your fancy.”

He pulled in a breath. “Okay.”

“Okay.”

He turned to go into his office, but she had a second, even better idea. “We could have lunch at the diner first. Kill two birds with one stone.”

He faced her with a scowl. “I don’t know.”

“Why not?”

“I usually go back to my hotel—”

“Really?” She swallowed back the surprise of that and added, “That’s quite a drive for lunch. Let me introduce you to the ladies at the diner. They’ll take care of you. Then you won’t have to go so far every day.”

Cullen was suspicious of Wendy’s they’ll take care of you claim until they stepped into the diner. In the years he’d been out of town, it hadn’t changed one iota. Heavy-duty floor tiles in pale brown were flecked with enough colors that they didn’t show the dirt from the foot traffic. Chocolate-brown stools rimmed a beige counter. Booths of the same chocolate color lined three of the walls. Tables filled in the center space.

But what he’d missed most in the years he’d been away, without even realizing he was missing it, was the smell. The scents of chicken, pie, French fries, hamburgers, butter and cinnamon mixed and mingled and wafted through the seating area.

Waitresses in pink uniforms dashed from table to table and into the kitchen. Dodie, the same cashier/hostess who’d manned the cash register when he and his parents had come here to eat on special occasions still stood behind the counter, her pink uniform stretched around her round tummy.

“Well, as I live and breathe! Cullen Barrington.”

“I didn’t think you’d recognize me.”

Dodie batted a hand. “Handsome devil like you? Are you kidding?”

He laughed.

She grinned, but her smile quickly faded. “I heard about your mom. I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.”

“How’s your old man?”

“He’s fine. The warm weather agrees with him.”

“Warm weather agrees with all of us.” She peered at Wendy. “And don’t think I don’t see you standing there, missy. How’s that new boy of yours?”

Wendy laughed. “He’s great.”

“You’re going to make him a wonderful mother. You don’t let social services push you around.”

Wendy shook her head. Dodie knew everything. “I won’t.”

“Good. Find yourselves a seat. I’ll send Mercy over to get your orders.”

At the booth, Cullen helped Wendy with her coat and hung it on the hook at the end of the booth along with his topcoat. She slid onto one side, he slid onto the other.

Taking a menu from the holder behind the salt and pepper, she said, “I didn’t realize you knew Dodie.”

He grabbed a menu, too. “Everybody knows Dodie.”

She smiled. “And she knows all of us, too.”

His eyes on the menu, Cullen said, “That’s the one thing about a small town that’s good and bad. Everybody knows everything.”

“I think it works in our favor more than it works against us.”

“Your family didn’t own the town’s major employer.”

“True.” She paused when the waitress came over. Cullen deferred to her and she ordered a salad. He ordered a hot roast beef sandwich.

When the waitress left, she picked up the conversation where it had left off. “So, how was it?”

“Living here?”

She shrugged. “Living here. Living with a mom who was company president.” She frowned. “Why was she the one running the company? The company was founded by your dad’s grandparents. Why didn’t your dad take the job?”

“He didn’t want it. All along he wanted to hire a competent manager, move south and enjoy life.”

“So what happened?”

“He married a local girl. He met my mom his last year in college and it was love at first sight. They kind of got married without really talking about what they wanted out of life.”

Though Wendy and her husband had had a good marriage, it was only because she’d never complained when Greg had totally controlled their lives. “I basically did the same thing.”

“Then you understand my dad’s disappointment when she wouldn’t leave her friends.”

“She wouldn’t leave her friends?”

“She was afraid that an impersonal manager wouldn’t treat the people of the town well.”

Wendy shrugged. “In a way she was right. Mr. McCoy hasn’t given raises in five long years.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t change the fact that my father was miserable. So he hid himself in his work. He started an investment company and grew it until my mom retired.”

Which was why a neighbor had to coach Cullen’s Little League team. His mom felt it her duty to ensure that her friends at the candy factory were treated right, and his dad hid in his work. No wonder Cullen understood Harry’s loneliness.

The waitress came with their drinks and silverware, silently set them on the table and left again.

He nodded at Mercy. “She’s not much of a talker.”

“She’s new. And probably afraid of you.”

He snorted a laugh. “Right.”

“I’m serious. Everybody’s afraid of you or suspicious of why you’re here. I figured out last night that the way everybody treats you oddly is part of why you don’t want to live here.”

“No. I don’t care what the people of the town think of me. I don’t want to live here because I have a life in Miami. A life I love.”

A shiver of caution tripped down her spine, reminding her of how different they were; how they wanted different things out of life. Still, worries like those were irrelevant. She already knew their differences.Yet, she still liked him. A lot. She hadn’t even been slightly attracted to a man in so long it felt wrong not to follow up on what she felt for Cullen. And if that led to an affair, it led to an affair. She wasn’t going to be Miss Goody Two-shoes anymore. But she wouldn’t get her heart broken because she’d go in with her eyes open. No expectations.

“All the same, it wouldn’t hurt you to spend a little time with the people your company supports.”

“Is that what this is all about?” He motioned around the diner. “Getting me out among the people?”

“No. Yes.” She winced. “I think you have a poor opinion of them from your childhood and they have a poor opinion of you since nobody got a raise after you took over.”

“That was Paul’s doing. Once my mom retired, my dad wouldn’t let her even peek at the books, afraid she’d become overinvolved again. Paul was making money for us and we chose to let him do whatever he felt necessary. Now that we know he was a little heavy-handed with the employees, we’re fixing things.”

“ You’re fixing things. Everybody thinks the no-raise policy came from your family and you’re the living, breathing person in Barrington getting the blame. You need to get the credit.”

He laughed. “Once again, I don’t need the credit.”

She toyed with her silverware. “Have you ever stopped to think that maybe they need you to take the credit?”

His face twisted in confusion. “How’s that?”

“Just as Harry needs to learn to trust me, these people who depend on you need to know that you’re trustworthy.”

Cullen said nothing.

“Do you want them to spend the rest of their lives wondering if they’ll have a job next year?”

“Why would they think that?”

“The rumor has run rampant for years that no raises means no profits, which means there’s no reason to keep Barrington Candies open.”

“Our profits are fabulous! Why do you think we never sold out when we decided to move away?”