Yuletide Bride Read Free

grandparents wouldn’t have it any other way. His grandmother once said, “We have shared a bed for half a century; nobody is going to take me away from my John.”
    She had a lot of fire in her, and that’s what he liked to see. That’s what his grandfather said was in a marriage, “lot’s of fire and passion”.  He felt embarrassed when he first heard it. He must have been about twenty when his grandfather told him and he thought it sounded gross that his grandfather was talked about his sweet grandmother that way. But now at thirty, it seemed endearing, romantic, and more than anything, James wanted what they had.
    James pulled into Pine Meadow,   turned off the ignition and walked toward the building.  Another car pulled in from the opposite direction. It was just as nice as his, but behind the wheel sat a woman—a beautiful woman. James nearly whistled.  He waited for her to get out of the car, so he could open the front door for her. He waited, and then watched as she pulled something out of her purse, and pulled her vanity mirror down. “For heaven’s sake,” James muttered. “She’s one of those.”
    “What’s one of those?” a familiar voice asked.
    “Grandma,” James said happily. “It’s great to see you.” James put his arms around her in a hug, and turned for the door.
    “What’s one of those?” his grandmother asked again.
    “Oh, there’s a woman over there. She’s putting makeup on in her car.”
    Ava chuckled. “Oh, Jimmy, she’s probably just primping in case she meets a handsome man here.”
    James laughed. “Who is she going to meet here?  No, don’t tell me, Grandma… Mr. Berrit?”
    Ava laughed. Mr. Berrit was starting to lose his faculties, on the onset of dementia, and he liked to take his teeth out and make them talk to people. He was hilarious, but it was quite obvious he wasn’t all there. “Oh, Jimmy, I meant you.”
    “Yeah, well…” Jimmy said, as he looked back at the car. The woman looked directly at him. He put his hand up and waved. She turned her head to the side to see who he waved to. He just kept his eyes forward and winked. “What the hell, right? It’s not as though I will ever see her again.”
    Ava laughed as he escorted her inside.
    ****
    Mary sat in her car and watched the older woman and the good-looking younger male by the door. They were hugging, just before the man turned around and looked her way. She didn’t want to presume he looked at her, but when she turned her head, it was confirmation enough. She was the only person outside.
    He was gorgeous. His brown hair brushed the top part of his collar, he dressed great, and when he turned, she saw an even nicer ass. She couldn’t believe that he just stared at her. She couldn’t tell, because she was a distance away, but it looked as though he winked at her. Winked. It was just the thing to make her heart beat like a drum. She had an interview to do. Mary shook her head, and thought about just skipping the interview and going back to her apartment to read a raunchy book. Maybe even eat some Ben & Jerry’s.
    Mary out of her car and walked to the door. When she reached the reception desk inside, she gave the woman her name, and wrote her name on a sign-in sheet of paper. Mary followed the nurse, struck by how homey the place looked, like a picture right out of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. She smiled as they walked by some beautiful artwork on the walls and then again when she saw that a young couple brought their child to visit. The kid giggled as she sat on an elderly woman’s lap, and smiled at her.
    Mary followed the nurse into a formal dining room. The room suddenly felt too small. The man from outside, the one who winked at her, sat at the table with Ava and John Rochester. Mary’s face flushed as she looked at the man. He coughed, and then she heard Ava speak. “Mary, it’s so nice to meet you. This is my grandson, James. James Rochester the second.”
    James Rochester