Christmas on 4th Street

Noelle leaned against him. He wrapped both arms around her, wanting to be as close as he could. Whatever happened to him, wherever he went, he would remember these few weeks in this odd little town. He would remember the tree and the elephant in the parade and the butt-patting old ladies. But mostly he would remember her and when it got too bad, he would let those memories wash over him.

* * *

Felicia’s directions had been accurate, Gabriel thought as he pulled into the parking lot of his brother’s radio station. Damned if Gideon hadn’t really bought the place. From soldier to DJ. It was a tough transition to imagine. He could only guess how difficult it had been to live.

He walked around back and hit the buzzer. Less than a minute later, his brother opened the door and grinned.

“I already have the beers out,” he said by way of greeting.

“She told you I was coming.”

“Sure. She said talking to you would be good for me. That it would strengthen our fraternal bond and allow us to feel more connected. It would also remind me why it was good to have a sibling so I could explain that to Carter when he had to deal with a half brother or sister.”

Gabriel followed his brother down a narrow hall. “That sounds like your girl.”

“I know.” Gideon’s voice was full of pride. “I’m a hell of a lucky guy.”

They went into a control room. There was equipment all around them, including several computers and a control panel that looked complicated enough to run an airliner. Music played from speakers. There were bottles of beer in front of both chairs. Gideon sat in the one by the microphone and motioned for Gabriel to take the one across from him.

“I knew you were doing this,” Gabriel said, lowering himself into the comfy leather chair. “But I sure couldn’t picture it. A radio station?”

“I know. I didn’t plan it. I was driving around town and saw the For Sale sign.”

Gabriel picked up his beer and leaned back in his chair. “I think the bigger question is what you were doing driving around town at all.”

“Good point.”

The song came to an end and Gideon pushed a button. “We do a combination of prerecorded and live shows,” he said. “I do my show every night and a few others are produced in-house, but a lot of the shows are packaged and sold. It’s cheaper.”

Gabriel hadn’t thought about the logistics of running a radio station but what his brother said made sense. These days there was a lot of competition for airtime. A small station couldn’t stay afloat having every shift staffed with on-air personalities and necessary staff. Although as he glanced around he noticed that Gideon seemed to be the only one here.

Another song started and his brother relaxed back in his chair.

“You were at the tree lighting,” Gideon said, his tone conversational.

“How do you know that?”

“I heard from more than one source. You were with Noelle.”

Gabriel waited to see if there was more, but his brother was silent. This town, he thought. Nothing was kept secret.

“I went to the tree lighting with Noelle.”

“And kissed her.”

Gabriel held in a groan. “Barely.”

“That’s not what I heard.” He grinned. “You gotta be careful, bro. This place has a way of getting under your skin. You think you’re minding your own business but you’re not. And before you know it, you’re involved, doing things you never thought possible.”

Gabriel picked up his beer. “Speak for yourself. I’m not staying.”

“You say that now.”

“I say that always.”

“Uh-huh. Famous last words. Give it a few more weeks.” His brother adjusted a couple of knobs, then slid in a CD. “When I first came here, I kept to myself. Bought a house outside of town, barely spoke to anyone. Then one day I saw Felicia and knew I was in trouble. Soon she was hanging out at the house and I was sponsoring a damned bowling team.” He shrugged. “It doesn’t happen all at once. I’ll give them that. They suck you in slow and you don’t notice until you can’t get away.”

“You had Carter,” Gabriel pointed out. “That makes it different.”

“True. Having a son I didn’t know about show up was a game changer. I didn’t know what to do with him. If I hadn’t had Felicia, we wouldn’t have made it.”

Words Gabriel could relate to. He’d been careful with all his women, but he would guess his brother had been, as well. Having a child show up would twist a man’s world around.

Not in a bad way, he thought, taking another drink. If he were the kind of guy who believed in happy endings, he would even welcome it. But then if he were that kind of guy he would be married with a few kids already.

“You get along with Carter now,” he said.

“We’re doing better. He’s old enough to tell me what he needs, which helps. He lets me know when I’m doing it wrong. Felicia keeps us in balance.” He grinned. “I could give you her technical explanation, but that would take too long.”

“Not to mention require you to use words you don’t understand.”

“There are times,” Gideon admitted. “But she’s worth it.”

“She helped you settle back into civilian life.”

Gideon nodded. “I’d recovered from what happened as much as I was going to. The rest was all about learning to live with the past. Nightmares, that kind of thing.”

Gabriel thought about all the skylights in his brother’s house, the big deck where he spent a lot of time. Gideon hadn’t shared much about his captivity, but Gabriel knew he’d been held by the Taliban for nearly two years. He’d been kept in an underground prison and tortured almost daily. The circumstances would have broken a lesser man. Gabriel wasn’t sure he would have survived it.

“You seen the folks?” his brother asked.

“Mom stopped by the store today. I haven’t talked to Dad since Thursday.” Which was only two days before, but felt longer.

“He’s getting better,” Gideon said. “I think it’s Carter’s influence. Or Webster.” He chuckled. “Dad’s training the dog better than any of us.”

Gabriel joined the laughter. “I believe it. If he can turn a green recruit into a soldier, he can get your dog to behave.” He raised his bottle toward his brother. “You look happy. That’s good to see.”

“Thanks. A year ago, I would have told you it wasn’t possible, but I was wrong. Between Felicia and my kid, I’ve made my way back.”

“I’m glad.”

Gabriel wanted his brother to be happy. If anyone had earned it, he had. He allowed himself a moment to wonder how life would be different if he believed. Only he didn’t. What was the point in having it all if you could lose it at any second?

* * *

Paper Moon was a store in transition. It had been a bridal boutique for a couple of generations. As of six months ago, the Beebe family had been planning to sell it. Isabel had temporarily returned to Fool’s Gold to help her parents by getting the boutique ready for the market. But life had a way of messing up the most perfect plans and now she was newly engaged, staying in town permanently and enlarging the store to include a selection of designer clothes. Which explained why there was a large hole in the side wall of Paper Moon.

“Ignore the mess,” Isabel said as she urged Patience up in front of the five-way mirror. “Are these the shoes? Because you don’t want to hem the dress in the wrong heels.”

“These are them,” Patience said, then bit her lip. “Oh, Isabel, you were right. This is the perfect dress.”

Noelle sat in one of the overstuffed chairs by the mirror and took in the view of her gorgeous friend. “Do you ever get tired of hearing that?”

“No,” Isabel admitted, bending down and adjusting the skirt. “I appreciate the validation.”

Patience had been unsure about having a “real” wedding. She’d been married before and wondered if she deserved to have the whole ceremony again. But after Felicia and Isabel got engaged, they’d invited her to join them in their post-Dance of the Winter King wedding plan. While Patience had agreed, she’d resisted getting a traditional wedding dress, instead insisting she would wear an ivory-colored suit.

But Isabel had been relentless in getting her friend to try on different gowns. In the end, she’d simply ordered the one that had looked the best. Now Patience stood in a soft white gown that was fitted to the knee before flaring out. It was covered in lace. The bodice was strapless, with a lace overlay, adding a touch of modesty that was pure Patience.

“I should have listened to you from the beginning,” Patience murmured.

“I can see why you like this line of work,” Noelle said, loving the happiness in her friend’s eyes.

“It’s gratifying.” Isabel admitted, stepping up on the low dais and adjusting the dress. “This is a really good fit. I’ll have my brilliant alteration lady call to make an appointment with you. Get the dress tailored sooner rather than later and remember, from this day until the wedding you can’t lose or gain an ounce.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Patience said, taking one last look at herself. She was turning when she came to a stop and her mouth dropped open. “Oh, my.”

Noelle looked and saw Felicia had stepped out of a dressing room. The stunning redhead had chosen an ivory gown that was more than fitted. It clung to her perfect body in diagonal rows of what looked like pleating but was probably some kind of fancy draping. Like Patience’s dress, it flared out just above the knee, but Felicia’s skirt ended in dozens of massive flowers made of the gorgeous silk. They cascaded to the floor and formed a train.

“I don’t know,” Felicia murmured. “I can barely walk and maybe it’s a little much for Fool’s Gold. I don’t want people to—”

“Stop,” Noelle said, walking toward her friend. She circled her, taking in the fitted back, the incredible flowers and how the color made her friend’s skin glow. “Just stop. You’re inhumanly beautiful. You need that dress. It’s perfect on you. No one else could carry that off.”

She looked at Isabel and Patience, who both nodded, wide-eyed.

Felicia stunned her by bursting into tears then pulling her close. “I love you so much. You’re a wonderful friend. Thank you.”

Isabel and Patience rushed over to join the group hug. Noelle let the love wash over her, filling her heart with happiness. This was what she’d been looking for, she thought happily. Closeness. Belonging. And she’d found it.

They finally disentangled. Isabel sniffed as she wiped away tears. “This was so great. But I think we should do our fittings independently or we’ll spend the whole time sobbing.”

“You’re right,” Felicia said. “The abundance of emotion is overwhelming.”

“What she said.” Patience waved at Felicia and brushed away tears.

“All right, I’m taking control,” Isabel told them. “You two go get changed.”

When the other two had retreated to the dressing rooms, Noelle turned to Isabel. “What about your dress?”

She smiled shyly. “I have it,” she said, then led the way into the back.

Noelle had seen the bridal shop storeroom before. It consisted of dozens of racks filled with beautiful dresses. But the construction had eaten into the area, cutting it in half.

“Part of the remodeling,” Isabel said, pointing to the makeshift wall.

“Where are the rest of the dresses?” Noelle asked, thinking storing a wedding gown wasn’t like storing extra paper towels. You couldn’t just rent a storage place and leave them there.

“At Dellina’s. She has a spare bedroom. The racks fit perfectly and it’s kept close to seventy degrees. You know, normal indoor temperatures. Perfect for my inventory.” She reached for a dress and held it out.

Like the other two, it was strapless, but Isabel’s skirt was full. Tiny flowers of lace and crystals covered the bodice, becoming more scattered closer to her waist before stopping just past her hips. The skirt was layers and layers of sheer fabric that rustled and swayed.

“There’s a matching veil,” Isabel said with a sigh. “The same flowers are sprinkled along the edge. I know it’s girly rather than high fashion, but I can’t help myself.”

“You’ll be beautiful.”

Isabel put the dress back, then turned to her. “Are you okay with this? We’re not making you want to slit your throat or something?”

Noelle grinned. “I don’t own a knife that fancy and I’m fine. This is great. I love being a part of the secret triple wedding.”

Isabel didn’t look convinced. Noelle shrugged.

“Look, if I had some long-term boyfriend who wouldn’t cough up a ring, I might be annoyed, but I don’t. I love you guys and I’m happy for you. Besides, you got me a great dress.”

In keeping with the strapless theme, Isabel had suggested a couple of different dresses for Noelle. Together they’d chosen a simple strapless cocktail dress with shirring at the bodice and an unexpected twist of fabric at the waist. The dress was short enough to be sexy but not so sexy that it was distracting. The blue-purple color flattered and it was the kind of dress Noelle really could wear again.

“I just don’t want this to be depressing,” Isabel told her. “I wish Consuelo had agreed to be a bridesmaid, but when I asked again, I got the sense she wanted to physically hurt me.”