Candleglow and Mistletoe

Candleglow and Mistletoe Chapter One (Excerpt Only)

Noelle Wentworth never liked long bus journeys, especially when the bus was being driven by a preoccupied driver who kept glancing down at his cell phone. She shifted in the worn bus seat and fished through her purse for dry soda crackers to calm her motion sickness. Then she pushed down the impulse to march to the front of the bus and suggest that the bus driver slow his speed and concentrate on the snowy, frozen road ahead.


She glanced out the window. The traffic lights in Fisher's Crossing, the last small town before Snowing Rock, North Carolina, would force the driver to slow.
 Noelle leaned back in her seat and blew out an exhausted breath. She'd been traveling since morning and longed to unpack, enjoy a long, hot shower, then practice piano for her upcoming concert.


She glanced at Anjali, the sleeping, five-year-old girl she'd met a few hours earlier. She'd started talking to Noelle, and Noelle had invited the little girl to sit in the empty bus seat beside her. Noelle smiled at Anjali's mother, Mrs. Fernandez, seated across the aisle.
The woman nodded back, her gaze tired, her hair graying at the temples. She zipped her long, red puffer jacket up to her chin and closed her eyes.


Noelle tucked her curly blonde hair beneath her hat, envisioning the picturesque town of Snowing Rock ahead. The town had been listed as one of America's top ten 'Christmas Towns' because of its quaint charm. She hoped nothing had changed in the fifteen years since she'd last visited. Although this wasn't a visit, she corrected herself. She'd agreed to temporarily manage her Aunt Joy's candle shop while her aunt convalesced from a hip injury.


Noelle's orderly private life would be disrupted for a few weeks while she helped out her aunt, but Noelle had agreed, purely out of duty. Although she was busy preparing for her concert, there was no other family, and her aunt needed someone she could trust.


Noelle knew that feeling all too well. She'd lost her parents a year ago and missed their support and guidance, especially after her bad marriage, made even worse by her illness. Along the way, she'd learned a hard lesson. She was leery of trusting anyone.


Absently, she ran her fingers across her lap in silent piano arpeggios. Her upcoming concert was only a few weeks away. She fidgeted, pushing away the worst-case scenarios rushing through her mind. Suppose she ran off the stage again? Suppose the audience hadn't forgotten what had happened last time? She'd be performing in the magnificent Forum Theater in Saint Augustine, calling attention to herself, leaving herself open to criticism.


She inhaled deeply, then exhaled. No worries. As the months had gone by and she'd agonized over each excruciating detail of her previous embarrassing performance, she'd rationalized that the experience had made her stronger.
 She'd oversee Aunt Joy's candle shop during the day, and practice on her aunt's piano in the evening. Besides, a quiet, restful break from hectic Saint Augustine was exactly what Noelle needed.
 When she returned to the stage, she'd be well rested and well-practiced, proving to Colin Rudovich, her ex, that she was once again a professional concert pianist who captivated her audiences. This time in Saint Augustine, there'd be no memory lapses. This time, a disturbing doctor's report wouldn't interfere with her concentration. Fortunately, the cyst on her ovary had been removed and the biopsy had found the cyst wasn't cancerous.


Coils of smoke drifted from the chimneys of gable-roofed bungalows as the bus idled at a stoplight in Fisher's Crossing. The light changed from red to green, and the bus picked up speed, whizzing by snow-covered, jagged rocks.
The whine of cold winter air seeped through the bus's window. Noelle gratefully breathed in the fresh air and closed her eyes, hearing the beginning bars of her Chopin concert piece.


"Miss Noelle, want me to sing 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree'?" Anjali tugged on Noelle's sleeve. "My Daddy taught me all the words."


Noelle opened her eyes to Anjali's almond gaze.
"Sure, that's a fun Christmas song." She glanced at her watch, then back at Anjali. "Aren't you tired? You've only slept a half hour since we got on eight hours ago."