"Did you lose a bet?"
Ruby glanced up from her seat in a chair against the wall to see that the professor himself stood before her, the box of cookies she'd made grasped in his hands. Large hands, she noted, with long, well-shaped fingers. She'd seen him from a distance more than a time or two, but never so close. She couldn't help but take a moment to study the details. His black hair was too long, curling just a little on his neck, but she suspected the style was a result of neglect, not design.
His brown eyes were amazingly dark and deep. He needed a shave, this late in the day, and his clothes were the norm, for him. Jeans. Boots. A dark gray long-sleeved T-shirt. How tall was he, anyway? Six-three, she'd guess, but then she was sitting and he was standing.
Benedict hadn't been here for last year's Christmas party. He'd moved into his house shortly afterward— in February, if she remembered correctly. He'd skipped the early-summer picnic and made only a brief appearance at Aunt Mildred's funeral. She was actually surprised that he was here today. He didn't seem to be the neighborhood-party type. Mildred had loved these neighborhood affairs.
"What?" Why would he ask if she'd lost a bet? She blinked twice, fast, and pushed away the threatening tears that had crept up on her.
"The sweater." He gestured with the box.
Ruby glanced down at the holiday sweater Aunt Mildred had given her last year. Yes, it was gaudy and busy and too bright, but it was also festive, and she was trying very hard to feel festive. "It's Snoopy," she said. "You don't like Snoopy?"
"It's not becoming," the professor said. "The garment is too big for you and the design is garish."
"You came over here to tell me you don't like my sweater?"
Like her, Benedict was quiet in a crowd. He hadn't exactly been the life of the party thus far. Ruby wondered what Hester had threatened to get him here.
"No, not really." He offered the box of cookies to her. "I don't eat white sugar or white flour."
Ruby had thought nothing could take her mind off of her aunt today. This was Mildred's neighborhood, Mildred's friends, and it was impossible to be here and not be reminded that Mildred was no longer among the living. And yet somehow this odd man had turned Ruby's morose thoughts around. "I'm very sorry for you," she said, perhaps more coolly than was necessary.
"I'm not allergic," he responded, missing her subtle sarcasm. "I simply thought you'd like to give these to someone who will actually eat them. It would be a waste to throw them away. I'm sure those who eat this sort of thing will find them enjoyable."
Talk about ungracious! "The gifts are from Secret Santas," she said. "What makes you think I gave you those cookies?"
He tilted the box so that she could see the name of her business there, RUBY'S SWEET SHOP was emblazoned on white in bright, crisp crimson. "You're not particularly good at being deceptive, I would deduce."
Someone else could've bought them at her shop, but the professor was right, of course. "In that box there is an assortment of my best-selling cookies.
Macadamia white chocolate chip, oatmeal cranberry, peanut buttet chocolate chip, and orange-walnut. I understand eating healthy, I really do, but every man should indulge on occasion. Would it kill you to eat a cookie now and then?"
"Probably not," he responded seriously. "But refined sugars . . ."
"I don't want to hear it." Ruby snatched the offered box from his hands.
Instead of walking away from her, as he should have, the professor sat next to Ruby and asked, "What did you get?"
He couldn't have simply walked away once he'd returned her gift. No, he had to stick around and make awkward small talk. Ruby placed the rejected box of cookies on the chair beside her and reached under her chair to grab the gift bag she'd stashed there. She held it out so he could see inside.
"Candles," he said brightly as he peeked into the bag. "Very practicable to have on hand in case the power goes out."
A loose strand of black hair fell across one eye.
Ruby studied his face while he was peering at her candles. The professor was handsome but not cute; his features were more interesting than pretty. His face had the nice, clean lines of a healthy man who doesn't eat white sugar or white flour. His lips were just full enough, and he had smart eyes that seemed to notice everything. She had noticed it all before, but from a distance. Up close, there was a surprising power about him. An intensity she should have expected but had not.
"Yes, I suppose they are practicable."
He looked around the room—Hester's basement, where the Christmas party was almost always held— as if he were searching for someone. There was an almost instant disconnect. Was he one of those absentminded professors who sometimes forgot to eat and missed doctors' appointments and birthdays? It sure looked that way.
The other neighborhood bachelor headed her way, and Ruby sighed. Todd made the professor look downright normal, and that wasn't an easy task. His long gray hair was pulled into a ponytail, as usual.
Today's tie-dyed T-shirt was done in Christmas colors.
Red, white, and green swirls were stretched over a protruding belly. The shirt had seen better days. And the professor thought Snoopy was bad!
"Hey, Ruby! I found this under the tree." Todd waggled a small, square box in her direction. "It has your name on it."
"There must be a mistake. I already have my gift."
She held the bag of candles aloft.
Todd looked at the tag hanging from the brightly wrapped box in his hands. "No, this says To: Ruby Kincaid, From: A Secret Admirer."
A chill walked up her spine. Maybe it sounded romantic, but in her mind a secret admirer was just one step away from a stalker.
"That's weird," she said softly as Todd offered her the gift. "I don't think I want it."
Todd and the professor both seemed surprised. "I thought women liked gifts," Benedict said.
"Me, too," Todd said.
It occurred to Ruby that the only two unmarried men in the room were with her, and if the box really did come from a secret admirer it was likely one of them. Oh, she hoped it wasn't Todd! Weird as the professor was, he wasn't a forty-four-year-old man living in his mother's house, living off of unemployment combined with money and prizes from radio and television contests and one long-ago moment of glory on a network game show.
"Fine." Curious, she offered her hand for the box.
Best to open the thing and get it over with.
Both men watched curiously as she carefully unwrapped the box. She had never been one to tear into pretty paper, but instead picked away the tape with care and removed the wrapping paper in one barely wrinkled piece to reveal a sturdy white gift box.
She placed the paper aside and opened the box, finding that whatever was inside had been protected by white tissue paper. She removed the tissue as carefully as she had the gift wrap. At the bottom of the box sat a pale green figurine of a cat, perhaps two inches by three. She lifted the figurine out of the box and studied it carefully, noting the incredible detail and the heaviness of the stone. Jade, perhaps?
Whatever it was, this was no cheap knickknack.
"Wow," she whispered. "This must be some kind of mistake."
"Interesting," the professor said. "May I?" He offered his hand.
"What is it?" Todd asked. "A doodad? Not very romantic, considering it came from a secret admirer.
Perfume or jewelry would be better. I won some really expensive perfume when I was on television, but I gave it to my mom."
"I like it," Ruby said defensively as she finally placed the cat on Benedict's palm. Neither of the men acted as if they knew anything about the cat, which was odd. Who else would've gone to so much trouble to give her an anonymous gift? Who else would've signed the card "secret admirer?" It didn't make any sense. If the secret admirer was one of the married men who lived on the street—that really was creepy.
The professor studied the figurine as if it were made of solid gold. He turned it this way and that and studied all sides, taking in every aspect. "This appears to be quite old," he said. "The work is incredibly detailed. See the hairs here, and the shape of the mouth? Extraordinary." He lifted his head and looked at her, his dark eyes deeper than before. "Would you mind if I borrowed this piece for a few days?"
"Why?"
"I'd like to do a bit of research if you don't mind.
Classes are out for the holidays, and I have some time on my hands."
"It's just an ornament," she said. "It's pretty and intricate, and I agree that it's interesting, but if it were worth studying I doubt it would've ended up in a box with my name on it."
"Please," the professor said softly.
"Hey, Ruby!" Todd called too brightly.
Her head snapped around. She had forgotten that he watched. "Yes?"
"I have tickets to a concert in Birmingham on Thursday. Won them in a radio 99.1 contest." He told her the name of the popular band and grinned. "I was the tenth caller. They're really good seats."
"Thanks, but I can't." At least once a month Todd won tickets to something, and he always asked her to go along. Maybe her love life was nonexistent. Maybe she did spend her nights alone. She had a feeling if she ever said yes to Todd, she'd be stuck for life. Lonely as she sometimes was, that was entirely unacceptable.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
"I don't want to ask someone else, then have you change your mind." It sounded almost like a threat.
The professor did not take his eyes from the figurine in his hand as he said, "For heaven's sake, Todd, she said no. Go away."
Todd looked annoyed, but he did leave. In the crowded basement, he didn't have far to go before he ran into another victim. He honed in on poor Mrs.