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    Christmas in Candle Cove
    Christmas in Candle Cove
    Christmas in Candle Cove
    Ebook208 pages2 hours

    Christmas in Candle Cove

    By Mary L. Briggs

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    About this ebook

    Cozy up for a small-town Christmas! The citizens of Candle Cove are preparing for the busy holiday season. Widowed Ellie Courtland, owner of Farmhouse Finds, has settled into her life with her small son. But when a long ago fiancé returns to town, old feelings begin to surface. To complicate matters, there is a series of burglaries going on, much to the surprise, and alarm of the local citizens.

    Gabe Chandler has returned to Candle Cove for a short time. His life of traveling is beginning to wear him down. A few weeks of the quiet life in his hometown is just what he’s looking for. But the one thing he never counted on was Ellie Courtland. His heart, all but promised to another, is sending his thoughts in a new direction.

    Join in on the fun and festivities of small town life in this sleepy Ozark Mountain town.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMary L. Briggs
    Release dateDec 19, 2018
    ISBN9780463414361
    Christmas in Candle Cove
    Author

    Mary L. Briggs

    Mary L. Briggs is a wife, mother, and registered nurse. She enjoys writing inspirational fiction and is also a free-lance writer. She has had two romance stories and one mini-mystery published in Woman's World Magazine. She enjoys reading, writing, studying American history, cooking, quilting, herb gardening, and crafting. Mary lives in a cordwood home in the Ouachita Mountains with her husband and two daughters. She also enjoys the company of five cats, a German Shepherd/Border Collie dog, and a flock of chickens.

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      Book preview

      Christmas in Candle Cove - Mary L. Briggs

      Christmas in Candle Cove

      By Mary L. Briggs

      Smashwords Edition

      COPYRIGHT © 2018 Mary L. Briggs

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com to purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Table of Contents

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Chapter 16

      Chapter 17

      Chapter 18

      Chapter 19

      Chapter 20

      Chapter 21

      Chapter 22

      Chapter 23

      Chapter 24

      Chapter 25

      Chapter 26

      Chapter 27

      Chapter 28

      Chapter 1

      Try one, just one! Pretty please?

      Ellie laughed at the pouting expression on Willa’s face. Didn’t the girl understand that if she ‘just tasted’ everything baked in the kitchen, she would have to buy an entire new wardrobe? OK. One, she agreed, reaching for a small sugary cookie.

      The first bite and she knew it would be a best seller for the bakery. Delicious! You keep this up and I’m going to have to give you a raise, she declared, licking the last bit of maple flavored sugar from her fingers. You’ve done it this time, Willa. They’ll be trampling all the merchandise to get back here to your cookies, she teased.

      Oh, thank you, the young blond, blue eyed woman nodded, her cheeks flushing in response to the praise. I call them Maple Delights. I just created them last night and thought they would be perfect for this time of year.

      Ellie nodded and adjusted the neck strap of her blue-checked apron. You’re one of this business’s greatest assets, Willa. And Danny begs me for your cookies all the time.

      Well, you just send him right on to the back when he gets here from school. I have some milk in the refrigerator, a plate of sandwiches, and a batch of these cookies. He’ll need some strength for the chores Rory has in mind for him.

      Ellie sighed. All of you are going to spoil that boy. Willa kept him in sweets and sandwiches, Rory taught him to properly use a hammer, how to clean old tools, and how to work with wood, and Madge was going to teach him to add figures to the accounts book, back in the office.

      That’s what we’re here for, Willa said, as she turned and headed to the back to tend to her job, manning the counters at The Farmhouse Cookie Corner. Besides, we single moms have to stick together, she reminded Ellie.

      Ellie smiled after her. She was blessed with so many good friends and employees. Opening Farmhouse Finds had been the best decision she had made since Harry died. And a hard decision, as well. Leasing out her grandparent’s old farm had gone against everything inside of her, but with her husband gone, she could think of no other way to keep a roof over their heads.

      It was a comfort to know that Grandma would approve. She would love the store and everything in it. She would have been Ellie’s biggest cheerleader in this venture. But Grandpa? Probably not.

      But what could he expect? She was not cut out to be a farmer, herself, and the Lord hadn’t seen fit to send her a farmer husband, so a retail business was her only choice. And she would do her best to keep her grandfather’s farm in the family. It would be for Danny. Maybe he would take after his great-grandpa Landers and be a farmer someday.

      Hey boss! Your name’s in the paper! Rory exclaimed through a mouth full of cookies.

      Ellie turned and looked at her youngest employee, seated at the counter. He was twenty, but apparently, his mother hadn’t taught him table manners. And why is my name in the paper? More important, why wasn’t he busy putting up the Christmas lights above the shelves? They wouldn’t use the lights for another week, but it would be nice to be ahead of that task.

      Go ahead and read it to me, she said, picking up a pine cone and setting it in the basket she was busy filling. The arrangement would work fine for the rest of the week, and next week, she could remove the baby pumpkins and insert some snowy branches and imitation birds, along with a few shiny baubles for Christmas cheer.

      Rory swallowed his cookies, and shook the paper to lessen the wrinkles. It’s an article that Betty Jo did on the old Sinclair mansion. With all the hoop-la going on, I guess she thought she’d cash in on the excitement, he grinned, eyes studying the page in front of him.

      We’re waiting, Willa called from the back corner.

      OK, OK, he grinned and cleared his throat. "Despite concern of the townsfolk for Candle Cove’s only historic mansion, Bart Sinclair has plans to tear it down. he paused. Can you believe she called us townsfolk? Like we’re some obscure village?" he criticized.

      Just read it! Ellie laughed.

      "The protests are continuing daily and growing in size as the weeks progress. There is much speculation that a group of college students from Fayetteville will arrive the week of Thanksgiving to give their voice to the protest. Yeah, right," he snorted after reading the last sentence.

      Ellie felt her patience waning. What could this article have to do with her? She didn’t bother to advertise in The Candle Cove Observer. The town was small enough for a sign in the store window to suffice.

      "Upon interviewing many local citizens, several shared their memories of the historic home. Mrs. Janice Lewis mentioned that she owned an old jewelry box that had been sold by the estate. She purchased the item from Ellie Courtland, at Farmhouse Finds. A similar story came from Judy Dart, who purchased a small storage chest from Ellie. Charlie Burns still cherishes the old clock he purchased, as well. And then it goes on and on about how people used to go there and have picnics on the grounds and such," he finished, folding the paper.

      Ellie nodded absently and rearranged the tiny pumpkins. I remember going on a picnic there, one time. And my grandmother gave Rosa Sinclair piano lessons for a while. But I never went up to the house with her. They didn’t pay her for the lessons, just gave her an old piano for payment. In fact, it was an old player piano. Grandma was crazy about it.

      Rory studied the article a few more moments. If you can think of more things you bought from the estate, I’m sure Betty Jo would like mentioning them in the paper. And, hey, it’s free publicity for the store.

      She shook her head and positioned another pine cone. I did buy and resell quite a few things from that small auction Mr. Sinclair had a couple of years ago. That’s where I got my desk, she nodded toward her back office. Old and dark, the desk was full of slots and cubbyholes, perfect for her own disorganized kind of organization.

      Rory nodded and grabbed the last cookie on his plate. Guess I should get to work, he said, with a sheepish grin.

      Yes, you’d better, Ellie laughed, and carried the basket to a farmhouse table stationed in the front of the store. Nestled among the many crocks and blue glass canning jars, the basket added a nice fall touch. And I don’t know why you laughed about the college students coming. They aren’t all just interested in movies, cars, and girls, she teased.

      If any of ‘em come, it’ll just be the girls, he grinned, positioning a ladder to the tall loft type shelf that ran over large paned windows that graced the front of the store. Which makes me think I might stir up a little community spirit in myself and go help them. On my own time, of course, he added with a grin, as he picked up a box of Christmas lights and began his climb.

      The bell over the door clanged and she turned her attention to a customer. After a day of window shoppers, maybe this one was wanting to spend some money.

      Chapter 2

      Gabe! Marisa shrieked.

      Gabe Chandler swerved the car to the right, narrowly missing the pretty buckskin doe that darted across the road in front of the vintage Corvette. He let out a breath and shrugged his arm from her sharp nails.

      I can’t take much more of this, she fumed. That is the fourth deer that we’ve almost hit. Can’t they do something about them?

      He laughed and glanced at her pretty face. What would you suggest?

      She sighed and shook her long blond hair. I don’t know. Put them all into a zoo or something, I guess. They’re dangerous for people out here on the highways, like this.

      Gabe grinned. This is the Ozark National Forest, Marisa. We’re in their country, not the other way around. He’d never considered what a city girl she was until this trip. What, exactly, was his mother going to think of her? The thought brought a faint memory that he tried to push aside.

      He had never discussed Ellie Landers with Marisa, other than refer to her as his old girlfriend. The fiancé part of their relationship had never surfaced. And what did it matter? Ellie hadn’t spent her life pining away for him. She had married and moved on. Had a child, too. Then, her husband had been killed in Afghanistan four years ago.

      Another stab of guilt in his side. He should have called her or written his condolences to her. He hoped she was doing well and getting her life back together. And part of him hoped he wouldn’t see her face to face anytime this next month. Probably a futile wish in a town the size of Candle Cove.

      You don’t have to remind me that we’re on our way to Hicksville, Arkansas, Marisa grumbled. That’s apparent from the scenery, she added as they passed a small log cabin nestled in a grove of old oak trees, a few leaves still clinging to the gnarly branches on this mid-November afternoon.

      He grit his teeth. It would do no good to argue with her. When Marisa was in a bad mood, there was no reasoning. Once they got to Candle Cove, she would have a change of heart. And while he had had no desire to live out his life in such a small place, lately memories of Candle Cove had been stirring in his mind, leaving an unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach. Pulling him back to his childhood and the love and friendships that he’d known. In all his years of travel, he’d met many people, and made a lot of friends. But none were sealed with a bond tighter than those of his past.

      He cracked the window and let the cool air mingle with the heat in the car. "It’s where I’m from. Don’t you think home is important, Marisa? Didn’t that talk at Bible study last week make an impression on you? I—sorry, I forgot you weren’t there."

      I hear that tone in your voice, Gabe. You know I have to work late, sometimes. Of all people, you should understand how work interferes with fun, Mr. I-love-my-work-more-than-anything-else.

      He nodded. She was right. He had missed more dates with her than he cared to count. But deadlines were deadlines, and it couldn’t be helped.

      But, it wasn’t just the memories that had been stirring around inside of him. The phone calls had only complicated his mixed emotions. It was easy enough to hear the longing in his mother’s voice for him to move closer to home. There was no doubt that the town would always hold a special place in his heart. Marisa’s petulant comments would never convince him to feel any different.

      He sighed and chewed the inside of his cheek, a rather painful habit when he was upset. Women had to complicate everything. Not only would Marisa insist on complaining most of the next few weekends when she was in town, there was no doubt he would have to endure many subtle hints from his mother during the visit, as well.

      I don’t know how you’re going to stand it for the next few weeks, Marisa said, unwrapping a piece of Christmas candy and handing it to him. I promise to keep you up on everything back home, she said. And of course, you’ll have the weekends to look forward to. I’ll be flying in every Friday. And there won’t be any need for you to pick me up. I’ll be renting a car.

      Gabe nodded, noting that for all of her Hicksville talk, she had been impressed with the stop at a small candy store filled with locally made items.

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