Christmas Cocoa Read online

  Without hesitation, he replied, “Sure. I go to high school, but I could come in before that. I don’t have to be there until 8:00.”

  Delaney thought about the hours she would need him. It was really from about 6:00 when the bakery opened until she was done with the morning baking that she needed someone to watch the front counter. If he could work until 7:30 or so, that should work. “Why don’t you take an application, and go have a seat over there and fill it out? I’ll come over when you’re done and we can chat some more.”

  “Okay, great,” Cameron said, the nervous smile back. He ran his hand through his hair, and Delaney marveled as the spikes bent but did not break, bouncing right back into place once his fingers had passed through.

  Bending down below the counter, Delaney grabbed an application off the stack she’d pulled out earlier that morning. So far, despite the hundreds of people who had already been in the shop, no one had inquired about the sign. Apparently, people wanted to spend money this Christmas, not make any. Handing the simple form over to Cameron, and digging a pen out of her apron and giving that to him as well, she said, “Here you go. Just let Francine or Bonnie know when you’re done, and they’ll come back and get me.”

  “Thank you,” Cameron said, his smile a bit more relaxed now, and he took the paper over to one of the empty tables, sat down, and began to fill it out.

  Delaney looked around the room. There was only one other empty table, and a few people stood in various locations in front of the window and bulletin board, clearly waiting on Bonnie to finish putting together their orders. She recognized a few of the faces and waved, wishing the townsfolk a good morning, but she didn’t know everyone, and before she could return to the muffins she’d put in the oven, the bell above the door chimed two more times, signaling even more hungry patrons. Whatever was going on to bring so many people in, she was glad for it, even if this might be the most exhausting Christmas yet.

  She had just finished removing the muffins from the oven and decided she could turn it off for a while since they had a good supply of their best sellers waiting on the racks now when Bonnie hollered for her to come back up front. Cameron waited on the other side of the counter, his completed application in hand, and Delaney offered him a reassuring smile, remembering what it was like to be a teenager interviewing for her first job, though hers had been at the newspaper down the street, not at a bakery.

  “You ready?” she asked, gesturing back toward the table he’d just vacated.

  “Yes, miss,” Cameron replied with a nod.

  Delaney tried not to giggle at his formality, thinking at least he hadn’t called her “ma’am” and led him back over where they sat across from each other. He slid the application across to her and Delaney checked it over. “Oh, so you just moved here from California?” she asked after reading a few lines of his history.

  “Yes, miss. We’ve lived here for about a month.”

  “What brought you to Charles Town?” she asked, folding her arms on top of the table and looking up to meet his brown eyes.

  “Well,” Cameron began, briefly biting his bottom lip before continuing, “my dad lost his job. So he came back here, thinking he might be able to get a trucking gig where my uncle works. He’s hoping to start next month. In the meantime, he’s taken a job at a gas station, and my mom’s working at a convenience store in Martinsburg. I just thought I should be helping out some, especially since I have younger sisters and brothers, and it’s almost Christmas and all.”

  Delaney’s eyebrows arched. “That seems like a noble cause,” she said with a smile. “How old are your brothers and sisters?”

  “My sisters are fourteen and eight,” Cameron replied, “and my brothers are ten and six. I can’t really work too much after school because I go home to help my sister look after the younger kids, but in the morning my mom drops everybody off at school before she goes to work.”

  Swallowing a lump in her throat at the thought of such a young man having that kind of responsibility already, Delaney nodded and returned her attention to the application. “You’ve mowed lawns and done some work for the park crew? Tell me about that.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Cameron began. “I started mowing lawns in my neighborhood in California when I was about twelve. I was hoping to save up for a new bike, but… that’s not what I ended up doing with the money.” He had a distant look in his eyes, and Delaney wondered if some family emergency had come up and prevented him from using the money he’d worked so hard for on the object he intended. “And then during baseball season, I would work around the park near our house, mostly picking up trash and pulling weeds. It wasn’t an official job, I guess, but I got paid a little bit, and I learned a lot from working with Mr. Joe, the head groundskeeper.”

  Delaney smiled as she saw Cameron’s countenance change. “What did Mr. Joe teach you?”

  “He taught me that it’s important to work hard, to follow through, and not to let people down when they’re counting on you. And that’s why I want to help my family. I want my brothers and sisters to have a nice Christmas, even if it’s not what they had before, when my dad had a better job.”

  Nodding, Delaney appreciated his candor. So far, his answers indicated he was just the type of young person she was looking for. “Do you know anything about baking?”

  “Honestly… no,” Cameron admitted. “I mean, sometimes my mom gets those break-apart chocolate chip cookies and I help Gail—my sister—bake them for the little kids. But that’s about all I know. I’m willing to learn, though,” he added, “and I’m usually pretty quick at catching on.”

  Delaney giggled at the comparison between her creations and the cookies he was referring to. “There probably won’t be too much baking involved, but you might have to watch the oven from time to time or take something out and put it on the cooling racks.”

  “I can do that,” he chimed in with an assuring nod.

  “How are your customer service skills?”

  “Good,” Cameron replied confidently. “I know how to count change, I’m usually pretty good at talking to people, and I like for customers to have a good experience.”

  “All of those things are very important in our industry,” Delaney said. “When people come into Delaney’s Delights, they are looking to treat themselves or a family member. We want them to know they’re not only getting a superior product that they can’t just pick up at a grocery store, but they’re also getting an experience—hometown charm, that’s what we’re all about.”

  “I think that shows,” Cameron spoke up, glancing around. “Everyone is smiling and having a good time.”

  “Yes, and while there have been a lot of new customers lately, we want to keep them coming back. Believe it or not, some of these people drove quite a ways to experience downtown Charles Town, and we want to find out who they are and why they’re here without being invasive so we can make sure we remember them if they ever come back.”

  “I saw something on Facebook about that,” Cameron nodded, “and on Instagram. That’s a pretty good slogan they’ve got going.”

  “What’s that?” Delaney asked, not quite sure what he was referring to.

  “Oh, you know. The ads. ‘Downtown Charles Town, the Heart of Home.’ It’s kind of catchy. I can see people liking that, especially at Christmas time.”

  “Right,” Delaney nodded, though she wasn’t quite sure what he was talking about. She absently wondered if it had something to do with her friend Melody’s work to drive sales to her mother’s antique shop. Either way, she had a good feeling about Cameron, despite his lack of direct bakery or retail experience. “Well, Cameron, I think you’ll fit right in here. How would you feel about coming in Monday morning at 5:45 and we’ll get you started?”

  “Really?” Cameron asked, a broad smile breaking across his face. “That would be great! Thank you so much!”

  “Certainly,” Delaney replied, offering him her hand, which he shook with gusto. She went over the sort of iden
tification she would need in order to officially hire him and asked him to bring it with him. “Wear something similar to what you have on now, and you can park around back. I’ll be here, so just knock on that back door, and I’ll let you in.”

  “Okay,” the teen replied as Delaney walked him over to the door. “Thank you so much,” he repeated, offering her his hand one more time, and Delaney shook it before watching him make his way back out the door, waving at him as he went and giggling at the little skip in his step she witnessed as he made his way down the sidewalk.

  Once he was gone, Delaney made her way back around the counter intending to go file his application in a filing cabinet in the back when an unfamiliar voice caught her attention. The deep tenor was not one she remembered hearing before, but he must have been talking to her when he said, “I think you just made that young man’s day.”

  Delaney turned to see a tall man with wavy brown hair sitting on one of the barstools at the end of the counter sipping what appeared to be a mug of her cocoa. She knew instantly she’d never seen him before as she was certain she would remember him. He had a warm smile and hazel eyes. The unassuming air about him was intriguing, and she stopped mid-step, turning to reply. “I guess so,” she said with a shrug, approaching the stranger. “He seems like a good kid.”

  “I would agree,” he replied, taking another drink before setting the cup aside. “Attitude is everything, and he seems to have a great one.”

  Delaney smiled, and leaning on the counter with her free hand, she asked, “And are you an expert on hiring teenage help?”

  He chuckled softly, and Delaney liked the way the sound rolled around her ears. “Something like that. I work with a lot of kids at my parents’ Christmas tree farm this time of year, and some of them are a little more worth their weight than others.”

  She gave a nod of agreement. “Well, Cameron will be the first young man I’ve employed, but he seems like a good kid. Anyone who wants to help out their family at Christmas seems like they deserve a shot to me.”

  “I totally agree,” he replied. He looked at her for a moment, as if he was trying to memorize her face, and Delaney felt a bit of red creeping up her neck from the weight of his eyes. “By the way, I’m Josh.” He offered his hand, and Delaney shook it, noticing his hands were not as rough as she would have expected from a self-proclaimed tree farmer. “I take it you’re Delaney?”

  She realized that she hadn’t given her name and felt the blush intensify. “Oh, yeah. One and the same. You’re not from around here, are you?”

  “No,” he replied, rather quickly. “I mean, I guess that’s all relative. I grew up in Shepherdstown. I live in DC now. But I come back for the holidays every year to help out my parents.”

  “Just like Cameron,” Delaney said, realizing why he must have been so empathetic to the teenager’s story.

  “Something like that,” Josh nodded. “You know, I must have driven past Charles Town dozens of times the last few weeks delivering trees, but I never stopped to check it out. This is a nice little place you’ve got here.”

  “Thank you,” Delaney said as Bonnie slipped between her and the counter to pull out a particular croissant for a customer. “Yeah, we’ve been really busy lately. I’m not sure what’s going on.”

  “It might have something to do with this,” Josh explained, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a mostly red piece of paper.

  Delaney took it and looked it over. There it was. “Downtown Charles Town, the Heart of Home,” she read silently. While she had no way of knowing for sure, the prominent display of Murphy’s Antiques and Collectibles at the top of the grouping of pictures displaying lots of festive shops in the vicinity let her know this had to be Melody’s work. Not far below the picture of the quaint shop was a photo of Delaney’s Delights, a happy little girl resting her hand on the door as she smiled for the camera. “I hadn’t actually seen this, but I keep hearing about it.”

  Josh ran his hand through his wavy hair. “It’s a nice piece of marketing. Whoever did that is a professional.” Then, with a chuckle, he added, “Maybe Taylor Tree Farm should hire this marketer.”

  Setting the paper back on the counter, Delaney asked, “Oh, are you in a slump?”

  “No,” Josh replied quickly. “We do just fine. I was just thinking… advertising can never hurt.”

  “Right,” Delaney nodded, wondering if he was being completely honest or if there was something he wasn’t saying, not that it was her business. “So are you working now?” she asked, realizing she was being a bit nosy but wanting to continue the conversation with the handsome stranger, despite the fact that she could see out of the corner of her eye that Bonnie and Francine could probably use her help.

  He let out a sigh and then offered what appeared to be a forced smile. “I am. I don’t usually deliver on Saturdays, but our irresponsible teenager needed to take the day off.”

  “That stinks,” Delaney replied with a nod. “I guess you do know about kids who lack responsibility. I’m kind of in the same boat, actually. I mean, my teenager is out shopping for a dress for the formal at the high school, but she did kind of leave me hanging at the last minute. I don’t usually work on Saturdays either.”

  “I do,” Josh clarified. “That is, while I’m helping out at the farm I work just about every day, but I usually try to work with the trees on Saturdays, help my dad and my brother bring them into the lot, that sort of thing. Once we get busy, I’ll spend most of the weekend hauling trees in for customers who’ve gone out and cut down their own perfect tree.”

  “Oh, that sounds so nice,” Delaney said, smiling. “It must be great to know you’ve contributed to someone’s merry Christmas.”

  His smile seemed genuine as he said, “It is pretty rewarding, actually. A lot more than my day job.” He took another sip of his cocoa. “Well, Miss Delaney, I can see that you are pretty busy, and I’ve got trees to deliver. It was really nice meeting you. I hope your new employee works out.”

  “It was really nice meeting you, too,” Delaney replied, meaning it. “Good luck with the trees,” she added as he stood, and not only did she feel a little silly about her last comment, she noticed just how tall he was as she had to tip her head slightly to meet his hazel eyes.

  He seemed to be stifling a chuckle as he said, “Good luck with the cocoa. Best I’ve ever tasted, actually. Glad Bonnie recommended it.”

  “Bye, Josh. Thanks for stopping bye,” Bonnie said in response to her name, waving over the shoulder of the customer she was helping.

  “Thank you,” Delaney said, wishing she had the opportunity to explain about the cocoa, but he was already walking toward the door, and she knew any sort of commentary now would seem out of place and desperate, though she really didn’t want him to leave. There was just something about him—and it wasn’t even the fact that he was tall and handsome. For some reason, he seemed familiar to her, like she’d already known him for a long while, and at the same time she felt drawn to him, as if she needed to get to know him better.

  With one hand on the door, Josh looked back over his shoulder and smiled at her before he pulled it open and walked out into the cold November air. Delaney felt her knees buckle just a tad, and she was thankful that the breeze from the door reached her enough to cool her burning cheeks.

  “Now, that’s a good lookin’ feller,” Bonnie whispered in her ear as she went around her to get something from the counter.

  “Uh huh,” Delaney agreed, still staring after the door. It wasn’t until she heard Francine calling her name—and she must have called it more than once judging by her tone—that Delaney finally pulled her eyes away from the door and tried to focus on her work. While she wasn’t sure at this point whether or not fate had just interjected itself into her life or this was just one of those chance encounters that might leave one wondering for a few weeks, she was hopeful that someday soon she would see Josh Taylor again.

  Chapter 5

  The trip to Berry
ville, and then on to Winchester, wasn’t that long, but it had given Josh a chance to think. All the driving he’d been doing recently left him alone with his thoughts much more so than his usual 9:00 to 5:00 job as an IT specialist for a big firm in Washington, DC, and as he headed back home from his last delivery, it wasn’t thoughts of programming or circuit boards that filled his mind—it was the image of deep brown eyes and a warm smile the likes of which he’d never witnessed before.

  Stopping by Delaney’s Delights had been a whim. He’d intended to swing past the antique store on the top of the flyer to see if they had anything his mother might like for Christmas, and he’d found a lovely bracelet there. The shopkeeper, an older woman by the name of Sarah he’d learned, recommend he stop by the bakery, so he’d done so, intending to grab a coffee to go. Once Bonnie suggested he try the cocoa and accidentally put it in a ceramic mug instead of a to-go cup, he decided to sit for a moment and enjoy the ambiance. That’s when the owner, possibly the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, caught his eye. Now, Delaney was about all he could think about.

  Pulling the truck off of the main highway onto a back road that led toward home, he realized it was foolish to spend a lot of time picturing her pretty smile. After all, Washington, DC, was over an hour away, even without traffic. And there was always traffic. He’d only be staying with his parents for another month or so, then he’d be returning to the hustle and bustle of big city life. Not only would he be far away from Delaney, he’d be very busy, and he knew those long distance relationships never worked.

  Besides, what were the chances she was even interested in him anyway? A beautiful girl like that probably already had a boyfriend or a husband (even though he hadn’t noticed a ring.) Still, she’d been great to talk to, and he couldn’t help but notice the twinkle in her eyes. It was too bad he couldn’t meet a woman like that who lived closer to home. He would’ve asked her on a date in a heartbeat.