Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy

“I didn’t actually see her, but Lou did mention her a time or two while I was there,” Sophie answered honestly.

Rosie’s lower lip dropped. “Why that…what did he have to say about that woman?”

Sophie pretended like she didn’t want to say.

“Tell me,” Rosie insisted. “If that woman is starting to get to my man, I need to know.”

“Well, he said he gave her dessert—a pie, I think?” Sophie pretended to wince, as if it pained her to have to tell Rosie. “Because she’s so sweet.”

“What?” Rosie huffed, then did a little indignant shimmy and lifted her chin. “We’ll just see about him giving dessert to that woman when we both know she’s hanging around just hoping…”

“Just hoping what, Rosie?” Sophie prompted, hoping to force Rosie’s acknowledgement.

“That Lou will get tired of waiting on me.” Rosie’s expression shifted from indignation to concern. “Sorry to run, but I’ve got to go talk to my fiancé about what qualifies as ‘sweet.’ He should certainly know that it isn’t Alberta Jennings!”

Sophie bit back a giggle as she watched Rosie stomp off.

Sophie hung out for another hour at the booth, talking to a few more folks who wandered by, sharing her enthusiasm, the photos of past recipients, and giving out business cards. As the crowd thinned, Sophie decided to pack up her precious quilts.

One by one, she took the cherished material down, starting with the ones she’d attached to the sides of the tent. She folded them and placed them on the table in a neat stack.

When she’d folded the last one, she realized she had a problem.

She couldn’t carry them all to the shop by herself. Isabelle had helped her set up the tent, but she wasn’t around now. Sophie would need help to get the quilts safely back to the shop in one trip, since there were too many for her to carry.

She picked up her phone to see if Sarah and Bodie had anyone extra they could send over to give her a hand.

“Need help?”

At Cole’s question, she spun toward him. “Cole?”

“Andrew and I were headed back to the truck when I spotted you packing up. You were staring at the stack of quilts as if you weren’t quite sure what to do with them.”

Sophie blinked. “You specifically came to help me?”

“Do you need help, Sophie?” he repeated.

Feeling bubbly inside that he was there, Sophie nodded. “Looks like you’re making a habit of rescuing me, Cole Aaron.”

“That’s why they call us Fire and Rescue.”

“Good point.” She laughed. “And, yes, I absolutely could use some help with these. Thank you.”

Cole picked up a stack of quilts. The softness of the material surprised him. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected of the red, white, and blue material, but for some reason he’d thought it would be coarser, stiffer.

Sophie gathered up a stack of photos and a banner that had previously been taped to the display table and put them inside a storage bin. “I’m so glad you spotted me. I was just about to call for backup because I didn’t want to leave any of the quilts behind.”

“It’s not a big deal. Andrew needed to make a detour before we headed back to the station. I was just killing time while I waited.”

“Well, your timing was perfect.”

Once Cole was laden with quilts and Sophie was pulling a wagon loaded down with her wares, they crossed the blockaded street, pausing outside the shop. Her key chain jingling, she unlocked the deadbolt, sighing with pleasure as she opened the door and was met by the smell of pine needles and cinnamon.

Mmmm, she loved the smells of Christmas.

“Give me just a minute to turn off the alarm,” she said as she took off toward the back of the store.

She shut down the alarm and dumped her bag she held onto the cash register counter.