Chapter 40: Chapter 40
The parade wasn’t long. After a few more floats, some horses, a couple of clowns, and some classic cars, Santa was spotted coming around the corner. Lorelei and Anson giggled and shouted, jumping up and down. All along the sidewalk, children clapped and waved at the big man, some even shouting their Christmas wishes.
Santa looked an awful lot like Sheriff Parks, even with his fake beard and stuffed tummy. The kids didn’t seem to notice. He waved and tossed candy from atop his sleigh, his plastic reindeer fastened up the roof of the pick-up truck towing his magical sled atop a flatbed trailer. It was decorated with fake snow and Christmas trees so that it looked as if Santa was flying over the top of a forest of lighted trees.
“Well, that’s that,” Memory said, turning toward him, her hands deep in her pockets. “Until next year.”
“That was impressive. Especially that gingerbread house float.”
“Yeah?” Memory looked as if she wasn’t sure if he was being sarcastic or not.
“Sure. For a small town on a shoestring budget, not too shabby.”
“Maybe your next donation can be to city hall.”
Memory’s eyes bulged as soon as the sentence came out of her mouth. His eyebrows shot up, and he stared at her for a second, not sure how to respond to that. She was shaking her head, her eyes closed. “Sorry. I don’t know why I said that. So rude. I didn’t mean it to come out the way that it did.”
“Uh... how did you mean it to come out?” Dak asked, not sure how it could’ve been delivered any nicer considering the content of the message.
“No, I mean... I shouldn’t have said it at all. I was just thinking—you gave so much to the animal shelter. If you wanted to, you could probably afford to fund your own Christmas parade. If that was something you wanted to do—not that you should. I certainly didn’t mean you should pay off city hall or that I thought you were being flashy with your money or anything like that. I’m so sorry. I’m just making it worse.”
Still not sure what prompted her to say what she had to begin with, Dak decided not to let her continue to try to explain. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not—but thanks. This is why I don’t talk about money. Nothing good can ever come of it.”
He would’ve agreed with her in social situations, but he didn’t get a chance to say anything more at the moment as Kirsten was speaking to him, Anson on her hip. “Dak, I made a huge pot of stew this afternoon. Wanna come over for dinner? Ellie’s coming.”
“Oh, uh, I don’t know.” He looked at Memory, trying to see if there was even a glimmer of interest in her eyes that he might be joining them. “I have a lot of work to do.”
Kirsten waved her free hand at him. “Work schmirk. It’ll be there in the morning.”
“While that’s true, I have other work to do in the morning....” He didn’t really have anything too pressing to take care of, but it didn’t look as if Memory really wanted him at her sister’s house. “Maybe another time.”
“You should come, Dak,” Ellie said, her tone more insistent than even Kirsten’s had been. “We would love to have you there. Wouldn’t we, Memory?”
Memory looked up, her eyes flickering between Ellie’s and his before she said. “Of course. Yes, you should come.”
Her smile hinted that she really meant it, even though he could tell she was still upset by what had escaped her lips a few moments ago. “Well... okay then.” Whether or not Memory really wanted him there was as much a mystery as whether or not she wanted him in Christmas Falls. But if it meant he’d get to spend more time with her, then he’d go.
“Great. Memory why don’t you ride with Dak so you can show him how to get there, and Maison can drive your car?” Kirsten held out her hand, looking for keys.
Memory’s forehead puckered. “Isn’t that what GPS is for?”
“You know how the connectivity is out here.”
“My handbag and lunch box are at the store....”
“I’ll get them and bring them with me,” Ellie said with a smile. “Go on, you two.”
Dak waited to see what Memory would do, trying not to grin at her awkwardness. With a sigh, she pulled her keys out of her pocket and handed them to Maison, not to her sister. “See you in a bit.”
“I’m parked several blocks away,” Dak informed her as they started walking along the crowded sidewalk.
“That’s okay. It’ll give us more time to chat. We can see what other stupid things Memory lets fly out of her mouth.”
Laughing, he said, “I told you it’s okay, Memory. We all say things that don’t quite sound like what we were trying to say.” He still wasn’t completely sure what she had been trying to say, but at least she was sorry he’d taken it wrong. “How was your day?”
“Busy. We sold a lot of Christmas decorations, though. With all of the online orders I’ve been getting, my stock room is almost empty.”
“That’s great.” He remembered the comment Kirsten had made about her needing money but didn’t make any mention of it now, especially after the discussion they’d just had about bringing up finances.
“What were you up to?”
They reached the corner and crossed with a mob of people, not bothering to check for traffic since the roads around the square were still blocked off for the parade. “I looked at a few properties this morning, and then I went back to the factory for a few hours.”
“For what?” Her forehead was puckered in surprise.
Dak hesitated, not sure he should tell her. Not only was there a chance what he’d been investigating wouldn’t work out, he wasn’t sure she’d want it to. It was difficult to tell exactly what sort of changes Memory was willing to accept to the buildings in the town she loved so much. “I was just looking at how much equipment was left, whether it’s in working order, that sort of thing.”
“I thought the family sold most everything that was useful.”
The crowd thinned out the further they got away from the square, so only a few people behind and in front of them were nearby, not that anyone seemed to be paying any mind to what they were talking about. Dak could see his car, so he pulled his keys out and started it. “They did take most of it. What they left behind isn’t specific to the furniture building process. Things like hand tools, tables and chairs, shelving.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Memory stepped around a puddle frozen on the edges, her hands out for balance.
“It depends on what it will be used for next.”
“But you think there is a use for it?”
“I do.” He caught her eye, and she looked relieved to hear that. “I’m just not sure what it might be. And I’m not sure I should be the one to fund it.”
She nodded. “Did you talk to anyone about it? Like you mentioned in the diner?”
“I made a few phone calls, but I don’t have anything definitive.” He hoped that was enough information for her for now.
Memory was quiet for a few seconds before she asked. “What about houses? Are you still looking at those?”
Rather than answering her, he took a few more steps and opened the car door for her, letting her get inside where it was warm. He went around and got in the other side, buckling his seatbelt and putting the keys in the ignition before he said, “I’m still looking, but I can’t find what I’m looking for, not in the historic district anyway.” He shifted, checking his mirrors and carefully pulled out of the spot, keeping an eye out for children.
“Not all of the older houses are in the historic district.” She tugged uncomfortably on the top of her seatbelt. “Take a right up here. It’s not far.”
He did as instructed. “No, I know they aren’t. I don’t have to have a house in the historic district either, but all of the listings in town of houses the age I am looking for, of the size I’d need, aren’t right. If it wasn’t for the factory, I’d probably say there’s nothing in this town for me.” Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed her eyebrows shooting up. “In the real estate department anyway.”
She swallowed hard, and he wasn’t sure if she was glad he’d amended his initial statement or not. “I’m surprised there’s nothing that will work. We have so many large homes.”
“I thought you’d be happy I’m not interested in buying any of them.”
“It’s not that....” He turned and looked at her as she mulled her answer over in her head. “It’s not like I don’t want you to have something to work on here, or that I don’t want any improvements to the town. I do. I absolutely do. I just don’t want any of the historic places misused.”
He saw Kirsten’s van up ahead, Maison unbuckling Anson while Lorelei and Kirsten headed to a nice two-story white house with a decent holiday inflatable collection out front, including a large snowman and a Santa on a tractor. Dak pulled in behind her, waving at Maison and shifted into park, turning to look at Memory. “Do you think I’d misuse them?”
She shook her head. That was more than she’d been willing to give him before. He smiled at her and popped his door open, hoping she’d give him a minute to come around and open her door but not gasping in shock when she got out on her own.