14. Cora

14

CORA

C ora gazed around the village at the center of Trinity Falls, unable to keep herself from grinning like a child.

"It's amazing," Sylvester breathed, squeezing her hand.

They had parked around the corner and a few blocks down, hoping to have a spot that was easy to get out of when it was time to go. With snow on the ground, Cora was a little nervous driving at all, let alone with the Hometown Holiday celebration going on and people gathering on the streets. Now that she could see how much was going on today, she was glad they had.

The first couple of blocks of Park Avenue were blocked off so that residents could wander freely, and it looked like Columbia was closed off as well.

Candy cane decorations hung from the lampposts, and each shop window seemed to have its own holiday theme going. The Christmas cheer had been building up in town since Thanksgiving weekend, but it was spilling over today.

Shopkeepers had tables out in front of their shops, some with special Christmas items like handmade table runners and stockings, others with food and beverages being sold to support local charities.

Snow was piled high between the sidewalks and the street, though it had been carefully cleaned off everywhere else.

And that was a good thing, because there were happy people greeting each other everywhere Cora looked.

The local real estate broker finished shoveling a path between the street and sidewalk to give easy access to a table for the autism foundation that was selling cookies out front of his shop. While Cora watched, he immediately began shoveling a path from the street to the sidewalk in front of the shop next to his as well.

"Hot cocoa?" a lady offered from one of the tables, as Cora and Sylvester stood there taking it all in.

"We're meeting someone, but we'll definitely be back," Cora promised the lady.

"It smells so good," Sylvester said quietly, not exactly complaining or begging.

"There's no way we're leaving without hot chocolate," she told him. "Especially when they're raising money for a good cause like the homeless shelter in the city. And we can't forget to have cookies. But what if Grandma wants some, too? We should meet up with her first."

"And Jared," Sylvester said right away.

She nodded, pressing her lips together.

It was all she could do lately not to think about Jared, especially the moment in her kitchen when she was sure he had been about to kiss her. Just the thought of it sent a tingle of awareness down her spine.

Since that night, when she had told him he could put a gate in the fence, he had been working feverishly on the house.

Sylvester now had a wall of beautiful built-in bookshelves. Jared had taken careful measurements and the next afternoon he'd brought in pre-cut and sanded wood so that there would be no sawdust to aggravate Sylvester's asthma. She was pretty sure his dad must have helped with that part—there was no way he'd had time to tackle a project that size on his own when he was spending most of his days over at Big Jim's helping the other volunteers and making sure there was always coverage, so little Jimmy wouldn't be tempted to skip school.

Little Jimmy was doing so well now that he was back in classes and looking well-rested again. And Big Jim had greeted them with a huge smile when she came by with Sylvester earlier in the week to go over notes with little Jimmy again.

Jared had continued to come over and work on the house, even when they got a real snowfall earlier in the week—enough to stick and for Sylvester to play in. When Sylvester's homework was done, Jared would take a short break and the two of them would run outside and build a snowman or have a snowball fight.

Jared was careful not to push the boy to run too much in the cold, and when Cora said it was time to come in, he encouraged Sylvester to listen without any protests.

Last night, Jared had finished touching up the last of the paint on the patches he'd sanded down. Though there were a few more little things he had mentioned that he could do, she thought he was only stalling, or maybe offering her an opportunity to stall.

Once he put that gate in, the only reason to come see her was because he wanted to. And the only reason for her to open the door was because she couldn't imagine what her life and Sylvester's would be like without him.

There would be nothing left to call it but courtship. The idea made her stomach clench and her heart melt like the honey in her tea.

A few days ago, Jared had told Sylvester about all the fun stuff at the Hometown Holiday celebration, and asked them if they wanted to all go together, and of course they'd said yes. It was only afterward that Cora had a chance to realize how much it felt like a date.

Then, naturally, Ginny had called to find out where they were going to meet up today. Of course Sylvester's grandmother planned to see him today in town and told him all about it on the phone.

Sylvester told her right away that they were meeting Jared here, too.

It was already hard to think of dating when she hadn't stopped loving Arthur. But to be here with Jared in front of Arthur's mother seemed like it had to be something between thoughtlessness and cruelty.

Cora wondered what Ginny must think of her.

But there was no use fretting any more. She would find out soon enough.

As if on cue, a familiar voice called out a greeting .

"There you are," Ginny cried happily from across the street. "Are you excited to ride the fire truck?"

"It's okay, you can go to her since the streets are closed," Cora told Sylvester, who had begun wiggling in place the moment he laid eyes on his grandmother.

He let go of her hand and darted across the street to wrap his arms around Ginny's middle, and she smiled so hard that her eyes closed as she hugged him back.

Cora followed, unable to help her own smile at the two of them. Whether or not Ginny forgave her for Jared being here today, she was so good for Sylvester. Their move to get closer to her had been the right decision.

She made a mental note that when all this stuff at the house and with Jimmy was done, the two of them were going to spend more afternoons with Grandma Davies.

But before she could reach them, another greeting had her turning back around.

"Hi, Cora," Jared said, his deep voice warming her skin, in spite of the chill in the air.

He wore his cowboy hat, as usual, and a fleece-lined corduroy jacket. His blue eyes twinkled, and she could see the smile peeking through his beard.

"Hi," she said a little breathlessly.

"I see Sylvester found his grandma," Jared said, looking across the street.

Cora turned back, and saw that Ginny and Sylvester appeared to be talking a mile a minute.

"I guess we should get over there before they have all their fun without us," she said.

"Sounds good," Jared said.

They headed over together, Cora feeling a bit like she was marching toward the gallows. But if Ginny Davies had any bad feelings about the situation, she hid them well.

"Jared Webb," Ginny said fondly, looking way up at the strapping man. "It's so nice to see you. Sylvester tells me that you've been reading some books with him."

"Sylvester should run a book club," Jared said right away. "He really knows how to pick a good one. It's nice to see you, Ginny."

"We were thinking about taking a ride on the fire truck, weren't we, Sylvester?" she said, turning back to her grandson.

"Great thinking," Jared said. "This early in the day, Santa Claus will be riding on there, and he'll still have plenty of candy canes to give out."

"Can I, Mom?" Sylvester asked excitedly.

"Sure," she told him. "We'll all go together."

" Yes," Sylvester said, jumping up and down and offering Jared a fist bump.

Jared bumped his fist gently to Sylvester's and they all headed over to the municipal lot, where kids were running between tables of offerings, and a line had formed for firetruck rides.

The truck came back around the corner just as they took their places in line.

A little girl in front of them told her grown-ups it was too loud, and the family bid a hasty retreat. Cora glanced down at Sylvester to see what he made of the siren sounding and the people riding way up on top.

But he looked excited and happy, at least for now. If he changed his mind, she could always just walk away as easily as the other family had. She and Arthur had decided when he was small to honor his fears and let him do things when he was ready. The result was that he was usually very brave, knowing he could always bail out without judgement.

Kids clutching candy canes climbed down from the truck looking delighted.

" Ho, ho, ho," a deep voice called out from above. " Merry Christmas!"

Sylvester's eyes widened slightly as he watched the kids coming down the ladder and heard the loud voice. But soon the twinkly-eyed older lady who was in charge of the line was sending them all up.

"Do you want to do this?" Cora bent to ask him quietly as they waited for everyone in front of them to climb up.

He nodded, his eyes solemn.

"You go first," he told her.

"I'll lead the way," Jared offered.

When it was their turn at last, Cora followed Jared up, smiling when she saw that her friend, Sabrina, from school was there with a little girl who had to be the baby cousin she talked about non-stop at work.

Cora turned to introduce Sylvester, but he was still on the ground.

"I changed my mind," he yelled to her. "Get a candy cane for me, okay?"

"We'll just grab some hot cocoa," Ginny called up. "You two have fun."

Cora turned to Jared in dismay, but he was already sitting and everyone on the truck was staring at her like she was holding up the ride.

"Okay," she called back down. "See you in a little while."

As she contemplated the journey across the top of the truck to get to Jared she started feeling a little seasick herself. And they weren't even moving yet.

"You're okay," Jared said, holding his arm out.

She went to him as quickly as she dared, not looking to either side, or down, her cheeks burning as she sat beside him.

She didn't even mind when he wrapped an arm around her.

" Breathe ," he whispered.

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. In spite of everything going on around them, she felt better instantly once she was concentrating on her breathing. Each breath was filled with Jared's reassuring scent. She felt entirely surrounded and protected by him.

After a moment, she opened her eyes.

"I'm okay," she said, feeling embarrassed.

"Have a candy cane," Santa Claus boomed from his seat beside them, giving her a friendly smile. "If you get carsick, it will settle your tummy."

"Thank you," she said, tucking it into her pocket for Sylvester.

"You're saving that for Sylvester, aren't you?" Jared asked.

She nodded.

"You can have mine," Jared told her, handing it over. "For being so brave. "

"Thank you," she told him, smiling now. "I know you're joking, but I'm definitely going to eat this."

He unwrapped it for her and she broke off a piece and handed him back the rest.

The sweet, bright taste of the candy settled her, as promised. When the truck lurched forward a moment later, she was feeling fine enough to wave to Sylvester and Ginny, who had run up to the top of the little amphitheater by the library to see them off.

She nearly winced at the idea of Ginny seeing Jared's arm around her. But the older woman just smiled and waved to them without an ounce of judgement on her face.

She turned to say hello to Sabrina, who was on the opposite side, but the sirens started up again, ending any possibility of conversation, so the two of them just waved and laughed.

She recognized a few other people from town as well, and they all had smiles of approval for her and Jared.

"Everyone smiles at me when I'm with you," Jared murmured into her ear.

A happy tingle went through her. It felt good to be out in town by Jared's side, knowing that all these people were seeing them together and accepting the idea of them as a couple.

"I thought it was the other way around," she told him.

He smiled a secret smile and hugged her a little closer as the truck turned the first corner of its little tour of the town, and Cora let herself imagine, just for the length of the ride, that this was how things would always be.