Debra Clopton - Operation - Married by Christmas

“Well, hon, you’re probably right about that…but, Haley, you would’ve had it made for a little while. I’m telling you, I’d have grabbed him up so fast—”

“Stop it, Sugar.” Haley couldn’t help smiling. Sugar was Sugar, her assistant by day but an aspiring actress on the side. If Haley thought she was in a cutthroat business, Sugar could really tell some horror stories. She’d bought into the whole Hollywood scene and was constantly auditioning for parts looking for her big break, knowing that every day that passed was another day taking her further away from her dream. But she was sweet and endearing, and Haley worried about her. Still, right now Haley just needed her to be her assistant and take instruction without all this chatter. “Sugar, I don’t want to talk about Linc anymore. I talked to him before calling you and all is well. He’s fine, I’m fine, so drop it.”

“Oh, all right,” she huffed into the line. “So if that’s not what’s got you so tied in knots, what is it? You just don’t sound like yourself, Haley.”

She didn’t feel like herself, but she didn’t tell her friend that. “Look, Sugar, I’m fine. Just keep your eyes and ears open, and if any spectacular opportunities arise that I need to know about call me. Cell phones are worthless here, but leave a message on the machine and I’ll get back to you.”

They said their goodbyes and, as soon as the line went dead, Haley felt isolated. Sugar was her connection to the world she’d come to know. The world she’d worked hard to belong to. So if that was true, then why was she back here in Mule Hollow? Why was she feeling so unsettled?

Haley covered her face with her hands then raked them through her hair as she stared out Applegate’s kitchen window toward the barn. In a simpler time, she’d loved it here. Being homeschooled and living in a travel trailer was normal for many kids whose fathers worked the pipeline and whose mothers chose to travel with them. However, her parents chose to let her live with her grandparents because she’d loved it there so much when she was younger. But as a teen she’d grown restless and dreamed of more. Looking back, she realized that those dreams had overshadowed her love of the small-town life. Still she’d needed to leave. She knew that now. She’d had to prove herself by following her dreams. No matter what it had cost her.

Which was all the more reason for the turmoil she was feeling.

She might not be certain about why she’d come home, or why she’d felt the urgent need to come directly here after calling off her wedding, but she knew that she didn’t regret having left Mule Hollow. She regretted only having hurt Will Sutton. And, she had to admit, the way he’d hurt her.

Not that it really mattered anymore, since they’d both moved on with their lives and it was obvious that he didn’t want anything more to do with her.

Still he had hurt her badly. The pain had dulled over the years but it had taken time. Time to get past the questions that would sneak up on her when she least expected them. Questions such as why hadn’t Will loved her enough to believe in her? To come after her? Sure, a person could ask, Why hadn’t she loved him enough to stay? But things had been complicated. She’d only been in her junior year of high school when they started dating, while Will had been in his sophomore year of college. It still blew her away thinking about it.

They made plans together, plans to leave Mule Hollow, and then just before they were to marry he changed his mind. He decided that he didn’t want to pursue a career in architecture. He wanted to throw all that away—

And he expected her to forgo any dreams she had, marry him anyway and be content. She loved him so much she almost did. But at the moment of truth, when she was about to enter the church, something inside clicked.

Didn’t she have the right to stretch her wings? Was she always going to be everyone’s little darling? The little “Haley Bell” no one took seriously? Or was she going to stand up for herself and reach for her dreams?

She decided she had every right to want more, and she fled.

What she hadn’t ever been able to get over was that Will had let her.

Haley pushed aside thoughts of Will. She hadn’t come home to think about him, of that she was certain. She heard Applegate’s truck pull up outside. It was time for the two of them to have a serious talk about what the doctor had said about his health.

It dawned on her that maybe he was so distracted by his condition that this was the reason he’d failed to tell her Will had moved back to town. That was really a huge alarm for her because Applegate just didn’t pass up things like that. Unless he wasn’t himself. And if he wasn’t himself—Haley stopped her runaway thoughts as the back door opened and Applegate walked inside.

It was time for some answers.

“Applegate, why have I let you talk me into this?” Haley sat in the truck beside her grandfather and stared at the bright blue building in front of her. As with all the buildings on Main Street now, each was painted a vibrant color and Mule Hollow’s community center was periwinkle-blue with lemon-drop trim. Inside the townspeople were holding the first call for the annual Christmas program. Instead of getting answers, she’d somehow let Applegate talk her into participating. The man had a way of looking so pitiful that she couldn’t say no. Especially since she was going to be here and she wanted to spend time with him, and since he was going to be at practice most evenings, it only made sense that she help him out.

After all, he clearly wasn’t feeling too well, and since he’d refused to fess up to what was wrong with him, it was all the more reason for her to stay close by his side. Case in point, here she was about to get out and follow him into the building. A packed building judging by the number of cars and trucks sitting along the sidewalks.

“Well, are ya comin’?” Applegate asked, standing at the door looking back at her.

With an odd sense of foreboding she got out of the truck and trudged up the steps. She’d changed into a flowing skirt of turquoise-and-gold paired with a shimmering blouse—a sleeveless blouse because that was all she had with her and she hadn’t made it to the store as planned. Needless to say she was cold. She had bare arms and strappy sandals! On top of her summer attire, she wore her grandmother’s red wool short coat. It made a fashion statement like none Haley had seen since the day in kindergarten when she’d insisted on wearing her pink tutu to school with her brown riding boots. That had been a Haley Bell moment she’d heard about until the day she’d left town.

Haley stood for a moment in the chill, tugging the collar up as she lifted her chin and straightened her shoulders. She might be reduced to looking like that poor little klutz of a girl she used to be, but all she had to do was remember that she wasn’t little Haley Bell. She was Haley Thornton. Confident career woman, rising star, a force to be reckoned with.

And clothes did not make the woman, the woman made the clothes.

Never let them see you sweat. That’s right.

Chin up, smile on, she stepped onto the sidewalk determined to make the most of this night.

Standing on the planks, she smiled. She’d thought many times as she’d walked down the paved sidewalks of Rodeo Drive about Mule Hollow’s plank sidewalks. They were so “Dodge City” and so far removed from the life she had now.

Looking up, she found her grandpa staring at her, his normal hound-dog scowl softened around the eyes. Automatically her heart puddled; she did love him so. “What?” she asked softly, stopping beside him.