Mistletoe Magic (Evergreen Lake: Under the Mistletoe)

Chapter 2

two

CHRIS

I was just closing for the night.

The whole town was headed to the Christmas festival, and I was going upstairs for a hot shower and a cold beer. The last place I wanted to be was amongst all that Christmas cheer.

I wiped my hands on a rag, the permanent grease stains going nowhere, and checked everything was turned off. Once satisfied, I hit the button, lowering the heavy roller door.

It closed with a thunk, and I dug the keys from my pocket and locked up before climbing the stairs. It was freezing out there. The snow was coming down in sheets and the wind was icy. Thankfully, I only had to climb the stairs and was back inside again. It wasn’t far enough to bother with rugging up.

I just got my front door open when headlights landed on the bricks beneath me.

I turned around and groaned.

A police cruiser idled.

I forced open my front door and grabbed a jacket from the hook and a beanie before heading back down the steps.

I hit the bottom step and slipped on the ice. I needed to salt them before I ended up going ass over tit .

“Evening, deputy,” I greeted, digging my hands into the pockets of my dirty jeans.

That was the thing being a grease monkey, my hands were always stained. I had holes in my jeans and seemed to always smell of coolant.

“Hi, Chris,” he greeted.

“What brings you over here? Thought you’d be off sleigh riding or decorating cookies or something,” I suggested, grimacing at the idea.

“On my way now. You knocked off for the night?”

“Just finished,” I told him.

“Any chance you wanna do one more run out in your tow truck?” he asked, and I knew I wasn’t saying no.

“Where am I headed?”

“About thirty miles out. Car slid off the road. Looks like it’s okay, just down the shoulder and needs to be pulled out.”

“Won’t know for sure until we get it out if it’s damaged,” I grumbled. “Where’s the driver?”

“In the back. She and her daughter are fine. A bit shaken and cold, but they’re okay.”

“You taking them to Sips on Main?” I suggested, bending down and peering through the window.

A woman was in there looking up at me with wide, hopeful eyes. She looked tired and worn out, or maybe it was the adrenaline crash. A fright like skidding off the road would shake anyone up. Lying in her lap was a bundle of blonde curls. They were snuggled together, and I found myself glad they were okay. Even if their car was a bit banged up and worse for wear, at least they got to walk away from it in one piece. That didn’t always happen especially not in this type of weather.

“Yeah. You alright to get their car back here and take a look? ”

How could I say no? Guess my beer would have to wait. “Sure. You got the keys?”

Deputy Mitchell knocked on the window startling her. When her eyes went wide and her face paled, I felt like I’d been sucker punched in the stomach. There was something about her that made me want to help. Made me want to protect her. Made me want to make it all better. I stepped back as the deputy opened the door, and I watched as she carefully resettled the little girl on the seat and climbed out.

Her hair was damp and curls settled around her face. Her black puffer jacket pulled tight across her chest with a bright red scarf wound around her neck.

“Holly, this is Chris. He’s the mechanic I was telling you about,” Dennis introduced us.

I thrust out my hand, wishing I’d taken the time to scrub them clean. She surprised me though. Even with her obviously expensive jacket, she didn’t hesitate and set her soft palm in mine, shaking it confidently.

“Hi.” She smiled before releasing her grip and stuffing her hands in her pockets.

“Hey.”

“Chris is going to run out and get your car out of the ditch for you. He’ll tow it back here and give it the once over for you,” the deputy explained.

“Oh. Thank you. That’s amazing. Are you sure I’m not putting you out? I know it’s late and you’re probably already closed for the night …”

Her babbling was adorable.

“It’s fine. I didn't have any plans, so it’s all good,” I attempted to reassure her.

When the little girl climbed out of the car, she snuggled against her mother. “This is Noelle,” Holly introduced, beaming with pride .

Noelle was just as cute as her mother. The apples of her cheeks were red, matching her button nose. She was all bundled up with a beanie, scarf, and mittens.

“Mom, I’m hungry,” Noelle complained.

“Just a minute, sweetheart,” Holly told her.

“Look, why don’t you head on up to Sips on Main? It’s warm there, I’m sure they’ll have the fire roaring, and they have food. I’ll go grab your car and then come find you to let you know how I went,” I suggested, trying to be helpful.

Holly’s eyes bounced between the sheriff and me. “Are you sure I’m not putting you out?”

“Positive. If you could give me your keys and your number, I’ll call you.”

As soon as I heard myself say the words I cringed. It sounded like a really bad pickup line. It wasn’t, but even if it was, that was terrible. I’d been out of the game way too long.

With clumsy fingers, she dug around her purse and pulled out the keys, dropping them in my hand. It wasn’t until I flipped them over and saw the Porsche logo that I realized I wasn’t just dealing with a normal woman. I was dealing with a rich woman. A realization that had me backing up. I’d been the fall guy rich women had gone slumming it with before. When their rich husbands got too friendly with their ski instructors on the slopes, the women ventured into town looking for some trouble of their own. And who causes more trouble than a grease monkey?

As quickly as I could, I punched her number into my phone and shuffled them out of there. The last thing I wanted tonight was to get messed up with a woman who wouldn’t be there in the morning. Especially one with a kid in tow.

I waited until the police cruiser turned the corner and disappeared before heading back into the shop. Evergreen Auto was my baby. Since my dad left it to me when he passed, I’d worked myself to the bone to make it into something. At first, I didn’t know how a mechanic shop in such a small town would survive, but then the winter months arrived, and I couldn’t keep up. Cars ran off the road with drivers who weren’t used to driving in the conditions. SUVs seized in the cold. Snowmobiles needed servicing and, more often than not, repairs. It was a never-ending parade of vehicles of all shapes and sizes. Not only did it pay the bills, it made life interesting. And Holly was just another chapter.

After slipping into my office, I grabbed the keys to the tow truck and climbed in. I waited for it to warm up before backing out and heading down the road. Sheriff had said it was about thirty miles out, so as I got closer, I slowed down. Even as someone born and bred in Evergreen Lake, these conditions were not fun. No one should be driving on these roads tonight. The snow was coming in sideways, and the wind was howling.

I almost missed it, but something caught my eye at the last second. Careful not to hit the brakes too hard and send myself sliding off the road, I rolled to a stop.

“Ah fuck,” I swore.

In the time it’d taken Dennis to bring them into town, the snow had kept falling, and now the tires were half buried. But it wasn’t going to get better anytime soon. If the weatherman was to be trusted, a blizzard was on its way, and what was now only half-buried, would soon disappear.

I yanked my beanie down, covering my ears, and found a pair of gloves, sliding them on before I climbed out.

“Holy shit!” I swore as the wind tore through me.

As quickly as I could, I got the car ready to be hauled out. Every time I took a step, I sunk into the soft snow.

Half an hour later, frozen to my bones, I climbed back in the tow truck’s cab and blasted the heater. The hot air made my frigid fingers burn. The sting of pins and needles had me cursing while I waited to defrost and the engine to warm so I could get the hell out of there.

The drive back to town took twice as long as it should’ve, but I wasn’t taking any risks. It wouldn’t be long before the road was closed, and Evergreen Lake was cut off from the rest of the world. Not that that was a bad thing if you asked me. The fewer people infiltrating the town with their fake Christmas cheer would be fine with me. I was so sick of being invited to cookie decorating, ice skating, or God forbid, the tree-lighting ceremony. It was bad enough that Mayor Sanchez stopped by every other day offering to get a committee together to come and help decorate my place. I was a mechanic. I didn’t need lights and garlands hanging across the front of my door. And I certainly didn’t need a Christmas tree dropping needles on the shop floor.

Eventually, I made it back to the shop and drove straight inside. I unloaded the Cayenne and as soon as it was back on the ground, I knew it wouldn’t be going anywhere tonight.

Knowing I could do nothing more, I locked up again and went upstairs. After a hot shower, taking extra time to scrub my hands, I changed into a pair of clean jeans and a charcoal Henley. I stuffed my feet into my boots, then went downstairs and climbed into my Tahoe and headed to Sip on Main. No point delaying the bad news.

As expected, parking was a nightmare. Yet another reason I hated this time of year in Evergreen Lake. My sleepy little town turned into something out of a cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie, and I played the Grinch. I hadn’t always been this way, but when you walk in on your wife blowing Santa in the back of the sleigh you’re supposed to be fixing two days before Christmas, your holiday spirit tends to pack its bags and leave town with the whore who shattered your heart.

Pulling around the back, I found a spot and hurried inside.

The moment I stepped in Sip on Main I wanted to leave. Christmas music was playing. Laughter echoed. The scent of chocolate and gingerbread filled the air. The lights on the giant Christmas tree in the corner flickered, and the warmth from the fire wrapped around me like a warm blanket.

I tugged my beanie off my head and shoved it in my pocket before dragging down the zipper of my coat.

I looked around, and it seemed everyone was staring at me. Ignoring the curious glances, I found the stranded strangers huddled in the corner, whispering over their steaming mugs. At least they looked a bit warmer.

I wound my way through the tables over to them.

“Holly?” I questioned, her wide green eyes looking up at me, filled with hope.

“Hi,” she replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “How’s my car?”

“Not good, I’m afraid,” I told her honestly. There was no point pussy footing around.

Her shoulders sagged under the weight of my words.

“I managed to get it out and back to the shop, but the front axle is bent.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“It’s not. But it is fixable,” I assured her.

She sat up a little straighter. Holly was a knockout. And if I was in the market for a fun fling, she was exactly the type of woman I’d like to fling with. She had a long neck and a rack to die for. Her tits, encased in a mint green woollen sweater, no doubt cashmere or something expensive, looked like the perfect handful. And her lips, even without makeup, were red, and I could already picture them wrapped around my cock unmanning me.

“Can you do it?” she asked.

Can I fuck you seven ways to Sunday and make you forget all your problems? Why yes, ma’am, I can. But that probably wasn’t what she was asking. Especially not with her daughter sitting across from her nibbling on a cookie.

With a shake of my head, I tried to shake off the adults’ only thoughts and focus on the question I was being asked. Not on the woman asking and wondering how quickly I could get her naked.

“I can, but …”

“I don’t think I’m going to like the but.” She grimaced.

“It’s going to take a few days. I don’t keep Porsche parts on hand,” I explained.

The disappointment was evident.

“Mom?” the little girl asked.

“Yes, princess?”

The woman was strong. Even with the bad news I’d just hit her with, she pasted on a smile and assured her daughter that everything was going to be okay. And I had no doubt with a mother like that, it would be. I might not know anything about them, but even the most cynical of us could recognize a good mother when we saw one.

“Are we still going to see Poppy tonight?”

“I don’t know, Noelle. Can you give me a minute to talk to the man about our car? Then we can call Poppy and figure out what to do.”

“Okay.” Noelle sighed dramatically before picking up her mug of hot chocolate and stirring it with a candy cane.

Holly rose from her chair and led me away from the table.

“Okay, Chris. Tell me. How bad is it? Really?”

“I won’t know until I take a good look at it in the morning. Best case scenario, it’s just the axle.”

I’m a sick, sick man. When she took a deep breath, her chest heaved, and I couldn’t help but track the rise and fall of her tits. “And worst case? ”

“The worst case is, it’s something more. Honestly, I won’t know until I get it up on the hoist and take a look.”

“Okay.” Defeat hit her, and I was worried she was going to slump to the ground. All the fight and all the energy seemed to leave her body all at once leaving her pale and fragile.

“Look, I’ll do my best, but your biggest problem isn’t what’s wrong with it …”

“It isn’t?”

“No.”

“Do I even want to know?”

“The problem is sourcing the parts. Given the make and model of the car, I probably will need to order something. It’s two days before Christmas, and there’s a blizzard out there. Evergreen Lake is about to be cut off and nothing will get through. Hell, it was almost too dangerous to be out there when I was headed back and that was an hour ago. It won’t be long before they close the roads.”

“Close the roads?” Holly gasped, looking for the exit.

“Yeah. Happens sometimes,” I offered, wondering what the panic was about.

“I … I have to go. I’m supposed to be at the ski resort. My father is waiting …”

She was spiraling. She was spinning in circles not going anywhere.

I reached out and grabbed her shoulders, holding her in place. When I lifted her chin with my dirty fingers, the truth about how different the lives we led couldn’t be more evident. She has smooth, creamy white skin, and I had grease under my nails I’d never get out. I pulled them away, not wanting to stain her.

“Why don’t you get Noelle and I’ll take you up there?” I offered.

“You’d do that?”

I didn’t like the surprise that laced her voice but tried not to be hurt by it. She didn’t know me from Adam, and she wasn’t from around here. Based on her shock at my offer, I’d say she was from a big city where people didn’t look out for each other. Evergreen Lake wasn’t like that. Around here, everyone knew everyone’s business. Something I loved and loathed about the place.

“Sure. But we should probably hurry. The storm is moving in fast,” I told her.

A few minutes later, with everyone bundled up again, we rushed out to my Tahoe. Keeping our heads down, we huddled close. I tried to use my body to shield them from the wind, but no matter where you were standing it was freezing.

I helped Noelle into my truck while Holly climbed into the front. Once they were in, I raced around the other side and slid behind the wheel, firing up the ignition and pumping up the heat.

“It’ll warm up in a minute,” I assured them, embarrassed by the state of my car.

For someone who spent all day every day keeping the cars of town in tip-top shape, mine had seen better days. It ran fine and there wasn’t a scratch on it, but inside was another story. The floor in the back was littered with empty crisp packets, chocolate wrappers, and soda bottles. There were spare clothes on the seat and God knows what else.

I pulled out of the parking spot and focused on the road.

“Thank you for this,” Holly said, barely loud enough to be heard over the stereo.

I glanced across at her. She was knotting her fingers together in her lap and staring out the windscreen. “You’re welcome.”

We drove towards the ski resort, and as the roads started to wind, the wind picked up and the snow fell even harder .

“It’s really coming down now,” Holly remarked, stating the obvious.

I’d driven this road a million times but never like this. It was starting to worry me, but I didn’t want to freak them out, not after the scare they’d already had tonight.

Five minutes later, I had no choice but to stop.

A tree had come down, blocking the road completely.

“We’re going to have to go back,” I told them.

I wasn’t dealing with a tree blocking the road in the middle of a snowstorm. That was stupid and dangerous and although I’d once been both, life had knocked that out of me.

“Can you turn around?” Holly asked, worried.

No. Not a chance.

The road was buried under the snow. On one side, there was a drop twenty feet deep and a cliff face on the other. Turning around wasn’t an option.

“We’ll be fine.”

I kept my voice firm and my own fears under control.

For two miles I reversed down the mountain at a snail's pace. I could barely see, and it wasn’t smart, but I didn’t have a choice. If we got stuck out there for the night, we’d all freeze to death. Eventually the road widened enough that I could turn and make our way back to town.

Holly kept trying to call someone, but it wasn’t connecting.

“It’s the storm. It’s probably knocked a tower out somewhere,” I offered as she stared down at the phone in her hand that was about as useful as those fancy boots she was wearing.

“I was trying to call my father. He’ll be worried,” she explained.

“Mom?”

“Yes, Noelle,” Holly replied, the day’s stress seeping into her voice.

“I’m cold,” she complained .

I looked in the rearview mirror, and the poor kid’s teeth were chattering. Even though I felt like I was sitting in a sauna with the heat pumping, her cheeks were rosy and her nose as red as Rudolph’s.

“There’s a blanket on the seat. Grab that and wrap it around you,” I told her.

When Holly turned in her seat, her ass on display, I almost groaned. The woman made denim jeans look good.

Once Noelle was settled again, Holly looked over at me. “Thank you for this. I know this isn’t what you had planned for your night.”

There was a genuineness to her that I couldn’t help but admire. Even after all the things going wrong in her day, she was still kind. Something a lot of people could learn from.

“It’s fine.” I brushed off her comments. She didn’t know I planned on wasting my night with a beer, a frozen pizza, and a few solid hours of Call of Duty.

“Did you want me to take you to the Evergreen Lake Inn? We can see if they have a room for the night.” I tried to be helpful.

“That would be great. I hadn’t even thought that far ahead. My mind’s all over the place.”

I reached over and rested my hand on her thigh. It wasn’t until I looked down and saw my hand sitting there, that I realized what I’d done. Pulling it away as quickly as I could, I apologized.

“Chris, you've gone above and beyond for us tonight. You have nothing to apologize for,” Holly assured me.

Evergreen Lake Inn was full.

Of course it was.

Booked solid for the next few days.

Seems Holly wasn’t the only one trapped in the storm .

When she’d walked out of the hotel, she looked like she was about to burst into tears.

She climbed into the car, keeping her voice low. Noelle had fallen asleep, using one of my sweaters as a pillow.

“They’re full,” she stated, staring blankly ahead.

“Oh.”

“Is there anywhere else?”

I racked my brain. There was nowhere close, and even if there was, chances were they’d already be full, too.

I put the truck in drive and started driving.

“Chris.”

“Yeah, honey?” I answered, the endearment falling from my lips before I knew what I was saying.

Thankfully, Holly ignored my slip-up. “Where are we going?”

“You can stay with me tonight. Then tomorrow, we can go from there.”