Unfortunately, Jake wasn’t in the toy department.
“He’s not here?” Holly asked Mrs. Miracle, unable to hide her disappointment.
“He’s with his father just now,” the older woman told her, and then frowned. “I do hope the meeting goes smoothly. It can be difficult to read the senior Mr. Finley sometimes. But I have faith that all will end well.” Her eyes twinkled as she spoke.
Holly hoped she’d explain, and Mrs. Miracle obliged.
“In case you didn’t hear, Jake went over the department buyer’s head when he ordered those extra robots,” she confided, “and that’s caused some difficulty with his father. J. R. Finley has a real stubborn streak.”
Mrs. Miracle seemed very well informed about the relationship between Jake and his father. “The robots are selling, though. Isn’t that right?” she asked, again torn between pleasure at Jake’s success and worry about laying her hands on one of the toys. The display appeared to be much smaller than last week.
“Thankfully, yes,” Mrs. Miracle told her. “Jake took quite a risk, you know?”
Holly shook her head.
“Jake tried to talk Mike Scott into ordering more of the robots, but Mike refused to listen, so Jake did what he felt was best.” Her expression sobered. “His father was not pleased, to put it mildly.”
“But you said they’re selling.”
“Oh, yes. We sold another twenty-five over the weekend and double that on Monday.” She nodded sagely. “I can only assume J.R. is feeling somewhat reassured.”
“That’s great.” Holly meant it, but a shiver of dread went through her.
“Several of our competitors have already sold out,” Mrs. Miracle said with a gleeful smile.
“That’s terrific news.” And it was-for Finley’s. Parents searching for the toy would now flock to one of the few department stores in town with enough inventory to meet demand.
“How’s Gabe?” Mrs. Miracle asked, changing the subject.
“He’s doing fine.” Holly chewed her lip, her thoughts still on the robot. “Seeing how well the robot’s selling, would it be possible for me to set one aside on a layaway plan?”
The older woman’s smile faded. “Oh, dear, the store doesn’t have a layaway option. They haven’t in years. Is that going to be a problem for you?”
Holly wasn’t surprised that layaway was no longer offered, but she figured it was worth asking. Holly clutched her purse. “I…I don’t know.” Her mind spinning, she looked hopefully at the older woman. “Do you think you could hold one of the robots for me?” She hated to make that kind of request, but with her credit card temporarily out of commission and no layaway plan, she didn’t have any other choice. The payment she’d made on her card would’ve been processed by now, but she didn’t dare risk a purchase as big as this.
“Oh, dear, I’m really not sure.”
“Could you ask Jake for me?” Holly inquired. She’d do it herself if he was there.
“Of course. I just don’t think I could go against store policy, being seasonal staff and all.”
“I wouldn’t want you to do that, Mrs. Miracle.”
“However, I’m positive Jake would be happy to help if he can.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “He’s rather sweet on you.”
Sweet? That was a nice, old-fashioned word. “He’s been wonderful to me and Gabe.”
“So I understand. Didn’t he bring you dinner last night?”
Holly wondered how Mrs. Miracle knew about that, unless Jake had mentioned it. No reason not to, she supposed. “Yes, and it was a lovely evening,” she said. The only disappointment had come when Gabe asked him to help decorate the tree and Jake refused. The mere suggestion had distressed him. She hadn’t realized that the trauma of those family deaths was as intense and painful as if the accident had just happened. If it was this traumatic for Jake, Holly could only imagine what it was like for his father.
“Did you know Jake and his father leave New York every Christmas Eve?” Mrs. Miracle whispered.
It was as if the older woman had been reading her mind. “I beg your pardon?”
“Jake and his father leave New York every Christmas Eve,” she repeated.
Holly hadn’t known this and wasn’t sure what to say.
“Isn’t that a shame?”
Holly shrugged. “Everyone deals with grief differently,” she murmured. Her brother handled the loss of his wife with composure and resolve. That was his personality. Practical. Responsible. As he’d said himself, he couldn’t fall apart; he had a boy to raise.
Sally had been sick for a long while, giving Mickey time to prepare for the inevitable-at least to the extent anyone can. He’d loved Sally and missed her terribly, especially in the beginning. Yet he’d gone on with his life, determined to be a good father.
Perhaps the difference was that for the Finleys, the deaths had come suddenly, without warning. The family had awakened the morning of Christmas Eve, excited about the holiday. There’d been no indication that by the end of the day tragedy would befall them. The shock, the grief, the complete unexpectedness of the accident, had remained an unhealed wound all these years.
“He needs you,” Mrs. Miracle said.
“Me?” Holly responded with a short laugh. “We barely know each other.”
“Really?”
“We met last week, remember?”
“Last week,” she echoed, with that same twinkle in her eye. “But you like him, don’t you?”
“Yes, I guess I do,” Holly admitted.
“You should invite him for a home-cooked dinner.”
Funny, Holly had been thinking exactly that. She’d wait, not wanting to appear too eager-although heaven knew that was how she felt. And of course there was the problem of her finances…
“I’d like to have Jake over,” she began. “He-”
“Did I hear someone mention my name?” Jake said from behind her.
“Jake!” She turned to face him as his assistant moved away to help a young couple who’d approached the department. From the corner of her eye, Holly saw that the husband and wife Mrs. Miracle had greeted were pointing at the Super-Robot. Mrs. Miracle picked up a box and walked over to the cash register to ring up the sale.
“Holly?” Jake asked.
“I need to put Intellytron on layaway but Mrs. Miracle told me you don’t do that,” she said in a rush.
“Sorry, no. I thought you were going to use your Christmas bonus to purchase the robot this week.”
“I’m not getting one,” she blurted out. She was close to tears, which embarrassed her.
“Listen, I’ll buy the robot for Gabe and-”
“No,” she broke in. “We already talked about that, remember? I won’t let you.”