Operation: Married by Christmas. Debra Clopton

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      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.

      Chapter Five

      “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.

      “You look like yer grandmother standing there in that purdy little red coat. My how she did love that coat. I kin remember the day she bought it up in Ranger at the discount store. You know yer grandmother, nothing fancy fer her, but she said red was a girl’s best friend and it just put a spring in her step every time she tugged it on.”

      Haley’s eyes misted at the remembrance that was so Grandma Birdie. A no-nonsense dynamo, Birdie Thornton had been a woman to admire. Applegate had always said Haley had her genes, yet until she’d moved away, Haley had never really thought so. She couldn’t imagine Birdie ever having doubts about anything.

      Haley leaned in and kissed Applegate’s cheek. “Thank you for that reminder.” He winked at her and held the door open. Haley ran a hand lovingly down the red coat and stepped inside the crowded room, no longer thinking about how the little coat clashed with her outfit, but how glad she was to feel her grandmother’s embrace.

      Just as she’d thought, the conference room was full. That didn’t keep Lacy and Norma Sue from immediately spotting her and whisking Haley into the crowd, introducing her to anyone she hadn’t met at the diner that morning. Haley was amazed at how the town had grown. There were couples—of all ages—everywhere. And they looked so happy. As everyone took their seats, she found herself studying them. These couples had something she’d known was missing with each of the men she’d left at the altar. The closest she’d come to finding happiness like that was with Will, but she’d been wrong. Looking at the couples around her now, Haley promised herself that the next time she was tempted to say yes to a wedding proposal, if there was a next time, she wouldn’t say it unless she knew it was right. She wanted to feel something inside that would say, “This is the one.”

      The door opened at that moment and Will stepped inside. Haley’s pulse jumped as if she were a track star who’d just heard the starting gun go off. It wasn’t fair that the man had only gotten better looking with age. It was as if he were Clint Black or something, ageless. Not wanting him to catch her staring, she forced her gaze to Lacy, who was standing behind the podium holding a stack of papers.

      Despite shifting her gaze, Haley remained aware of Will as he moved toward the back of the room. She wished she had a pair of blinders on to cut her peripheral vision to nothing. Maybe then she could concentrate on what Lacy was saying. As it was, she could see Lacy just chatting away, but Haley wasn’t hearing a word she was saying. Oh, no. Haley was unwillingly tuned in to Will’s quiet hellos to everyone he passed. Determined to ignore him, Haley gave Lacy her full attention.

      “—casting’s done on the play,” she was saying. “But today we’re getting the behind-the-scenes committees set up. We are going to have so much fun with this Christmas program!”

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