A Mountain Springs Christmas

Chapter 4

four

JACK

Jack thanked the man he’d been talking to on the phone, assured him that he’d be in touch soon to give him a detailed advertising plan, and hung up. The man owned a small business that made miniature games that were perfect for stocking stuffers, and he needed a last-minute Christmas campaign. Jack’s company catered to small businesses who weren’t big enough to have their own marketing department, so he was used to getting last-minute panicked requests for help.

Still, though, most years didn’t usually have nearly this many last-minute calls.

He finished typing his notes about the company’s needs and budget, added them to their list of projects for the month, added them to the agenda for the team meeting later, then pushed his notepad aside and ran his hands through his hair.

And then, because it had been so close to the front of his mind ever since the meeting yesterday, he started thinking about how he’d asked Noelle to help his nephew experience Christmas. The panic he’d been feeling ever since Noelle had sat in his office and turned down his request was returning in full force, too.

He worried that he wouldn’t be able to find anyone else to help. And, really, he didn’t want anyone else to help. He would be entrusting his nephew—his favorite little guy on the planet—with this person, so he needed to know and trust them. And in his gut, he knew that Noelle was the best option.

Plus, he’d talked to Rachel about Noelle enough that he knew Rachel would trust her, too, even though they’d never actually met. He hoped he hadn’t been totally out of line by asking her to reconsider more than once, but he’d been desperate. He assumed he had been, especially since Noelle never texted back after he’d sent pictures last night.

He glanced at the clock on his wall—ten minutes to nine. He needed to catch Noelle as soon as she came into the office today and apologize for his unprofessionalism. He always worked hard to keep his attraction to her a secret because he was her boss, which meant that a relationship with her was utterly impossible.

Yet, he’d let himself cross that line of professionalism just because he cared about his nephew. He needed to rein it in. To come up with a Plan B. He never should’ve gone to any of his employees with a request that was so personal. Just because they were the people he knew the best and cared about and trusted the most was no excuse.

Especially because he’d already known that the line of professionalism was most challenging to keep with Noelle. She wore all of her emotions on her sleeve, so it was easy to tell how she was feeling at any given moment. And, with the singular exception of being tight-lipped about why she didn’t want to help out with Christmas, she was usually pretty free with her thoughts and opinions and fears, doubts, hopes, everything.

She didn’t seem to have much of a line at all. When he’d first hired her, he hadn’t liked that she didn’t just keep things professional. But over time, he’d grown to love it. It had helped him to get to know her so much better than he’d have ever gotten to otherwise.

But that was precisely why it was a problem. She made him feel comfortable around her. Like they were friends when they very much were not. So sometimes, he forgot there was a line. Like last night, when he’d texted her, begging for help. Twice . They were boss and employee, and that was all they could ever be. It was virtually the only thing he didn’t like about being the boss.

But it wasn’t like he could just do everything his sister hoped he would do all by himself. Not only was this his busiest month of the year, but he didn’t have the slightest clue how to help Aiden with Christmas. A happy, “full” Christmas wasn’t something he’d ever experienced himself. Rachel might as well have asked him to build a rocket ship and hop in it with Aiden and go show him the universe.

He glanced at the clock again. It was still several minutes before nine, but Noelle usually arrived a few minutes early. It was time to go apologize. He put his hands on his desk and was just standing when she appeared in his doorway. Her blonde hair was the perfect amount of curly, and she was wearing an ice blue blouse with navy jeans, ankle boots that he loved on her, and dangly silver earrings that brought out the sparkle in her eyes.

No smile this time, though, which was unusual for her. He had definitely crossed a line yesterday. She held a single piece of paper, and he really hoped it wasn’t a resignation letter.

“Listen, Noelle. I need to apologize for—”

“Did you find anyone?”

The question—and the interruption—took him by surprise. He looked down, moved a paper on his desk with a single finger, then he put his hands in his pockets and met her eyes. “No. I’ve still been hoping that you’ll take the job.”

He couldn’t believe he had just said that since he’d already decided against it. It was the concerned uncle side of him speaking, and he shouldn’t have let it take over.

Noelle took another step into his office and closed the door behind her. “Okay, I’m just going to lay it all out here, even though it makes me feel awkward. But there are conditions, and you need to know them before accepting my help.”

She might still be willing to help? He held his breath, waiting to hear more.

“My gran-gran died a year ago, and she was the most important person in the world to me. Everything Christmas-related I did with her, so everything about Christmas is now entwined with missing her. I didn’t want to have anything to do with Christmas without her here, but apparently, she has other plans for me.”

Other plans? He raised an eyebrow. He was curious but didn’t want to say anything, afraid it might make her stop talking.

“I need to know why you don’t want to do this yourself. You clearly love your nephew.”

He gave his standard answer. “I don’t have time.”

“And?”

He should’ve known that she’d see right through him. And that she’d be okay crossing the line to push for a deeper answer. But he wasn’t about to share the whole tale of his childhood, so he was going to keep his response short. He cleared his throat. “Growing up, Christmas wasn’t a happy time of the year at my house. I don’t know how to make it different for Aiden.”

Noelle studied him for a long moment, and he wondered what she was seeing. She didn’t seem to be judging him, though. She just seemed curious. He thought he was keeping his face relatively impassive, but judging by her expression, she was seeing more than he meant to show.

She stepped forward and placed the paper on his desk. He didn’t dare take his eyes off her to look at it.

“Okay, I’ll do this under one condition. I decide what we’re going to do. It’ll be stuff Aiden will love, of course. And I’ll be all ‘Happy, happy Christmas’ around Aiden, even if I’m not feeling it, but you need to be that way, too, even if you’re not feeling it. I’ll plan everything and get anything we’ll need, which will ease the time commitment on your part and take away your worries that you don’t know what to do to give him a good Christmas.” She pointed at the paper. “That’s the schedule, and I expect you to be present for at least half of the events.”

He liked this commanding side of her. He kind of wished that she was like this all the time. He picked up the paper and glanced at it. There were half a dozen things listed, along with specific dates of when they would happen.

His eyes flew back to hers. “Some of these things are in Mountain Springs. Is that where you live?”

She nodded.

“That’s where my sister and my nephew live.”

She smiled—the first one he’d seen from her since she walked in. He looked back down at the list, his brow crinkling.

“There are family things on this list. Your family things.” He wasn’t sure what he thought of that. Would it be awkward for Aiden to be with a family he didn’t know? Would it be awkward for Jack, as well, since he would be required to attend most of these outings, too?

“My family is big and welcoming and crazy about Christmas. In the extreme. My dad, in particular, would keep Christmas decorations up year-round if he could. And they like to celebrate big . It’ll be the perfect place for Aiden to experience Christmas.” She nodded at the list. “Those are my conditions, and the things on the list aren’t negotiable.”

He glanced through the list again. “The final say is up to my sister, Rachel, since Aiden is her kid, but as far as I’m concerned, we have a deal.”

Noelle smiled big and held out a hand, so he shook it.

“Okay, but get an answer soon because the first one on the list happens tomorrow at two.”

He managed to hold off the smile threatening to overtake his face until she turned on her heel and walked out his door.