Mistletoe Magic (Evergreen Lake: Under the Mistletoe)

Chapter 3

three

HOLLY

Last night, when Chris offered to let us stay at his place, my initial thought was to panic. I didn’t stay with strange men, even if he’d been incredibly nice to us and I couldn’t think of any other options. I’d suggested we just sleep in our car, down in his shop, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He told me I’d freeze to death, and seeing the way Noelle was shivering, I conceded defeat and followed him up the stairs.

Halfway up, Noelle slipped, and if it hadn't been for Chris behind her, God knows what would’ve happened. She could’ve split her head open, broken her leg, or something equally terrifying. While my heart threatened to burst through my rib cage, Chris swooped in and picked Noelle up, carrying her the rest of the way. Seeing my daughter wrapped around him did things to my body it certainly shouldn’t.

Chris opened the door and led me in before setting Noelle down on her feet. While she raced off to use the bathroom, Chris turned up the heater before racing about trying to tidy the place up.

“Excuse the mess. I don’t usually have company,” he apologized, embarrassed .

“It’s fine, honestly. We’re intruding and I don’t want to be any trouble. Don’t even worry about it,” I tried, but he wasn’t listening.

When he stripped the sheets off the bed I had to stop him.

“Chris? What are you doing?”

“Changing the sheets.”

“Why?”

“So you can sleep in the bed.” He shrugged like it was obvious.

“I’m not sleeping in your bed. We’ll take the couch,” I offered, eyeing the couch in the living room wondering how we’d make it work. It didn’t matter. We’d figure it out. I wasn’t putting him out of his own bed.

“I’ll take the couch. You and Noelle can share the bed. Please,” he replied as he opened the closet and pulled out a new set of sheets and an extra blanket.

“Are you sure? I mean, we’re taking your bed. We’ll be fine on the couch.”

“Take the bed, Holly. There are two of you. You both won’t fit on the couch. It’s fine,” Chris declared as he started fighting the fitted sheet onto the mattress.

Moving to the other side, I reached for the sheet and helped him make the bed. We fell in sync so easily that it was almost like we’d done this before. When I realized we didn’t have any of our things, Chris ran down and collected our bags from our car that was now sitting lifelessly in his workshop.

“Mom?” Noelle asked while he was gone.

“Yes?”

Noelle yawned wide. My girl was ready to crash. She’d had a big day, and it was already past her bedtime. “Are we staying here for Christmas?”

Where the hell did that come from?

“No, sweetie. We’re just staying here tonight because of the storm. Hopefully, tomorrow Chris will be able to fix our car, and we can make it up to the resort where Poppy is waiting,” I explained, hoping my words were true despite the sinking feeling I needed to make other plans.

“Oh. Okay,” she replied, defeated.

“Is that okay?”

“I guess.”

“Noelle, what’s wrong?”

Worry slammed into me. The last thing I wanted was for my daughter to feel uncomfortable. And even though Chris has been nothing but kind and patient, if Noelle wasn’t okay with this, I’d have us out the door in a heartbeat.

“I don't want to stay here,” she mumbled, and I opened my arms letting her fall against me, hugging her tightly.

“It’s just for tonight,” I assured her.

“But, Mom!” Noelle whined. “He doesn’t even have a Christmas tree!”

I pushed Noelle back and dropped to my knees to meet her eye. “Is that what’s worrying you? That Chris doesn’t have a Christmas tree?”

Noelle rolled her eyes. The sass in this child was going to kill me one day I was sure of it. How I was supposed to survive her teen years, I wasn’t sure. But that was a bridge I’d cross when I got to it. Right now, I had to focus on getting us through the next twenty-four hours.

“He’s probably been busy,” I suggested.

“But it’s almost Christmas!” Noelle cried, stomping her foot.

“Noelle,” I warned. I get that she was tired, in a strange place, and had one hell of a day, but I wasn’t going to sit here and let her be a brat. “That’s enough. Now Chris has gone to get your bag. When he comes back, I want you to say thank you, brush your teeth, and get ready for bed. ”

When Chris reappeared, he was weighed down with our stuff. He’d grabbed everything he could carry.

“You didn’t have to bring it all up,” I told him as he set our stuff by the door.

“It’s fine. I wasn’t sure what you’d need.”

Twenty minutes and three promises that I wouldn’t go anywhere later, and Noelle was snoring happily. I checked she was okay before going back out to the living area to find Chris standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter drinking a beer.

“Want one?” he offered, holding up the bottle.

“I shouldn’t.”

“Maybe. But do you want one?”

“Sure. Why not? Thanks.”

Chris grabbed a beer from the fridge and popped the cap. With the sound of the hiss echoing around the room, I took a seat at the kitchen counter.

Beer wasn’t my favorite. I took a sip and tried not to gag. I was usually a vodka soda girl, but I was trying to be hospitable.

“You don't have to drink it,” Chris told me. “The way you’re screwing your face up, I know you don’t like it.”

“It’s fine,” I gritted out, hating how transparent I was.

Chris shook his head. He didn’t believe me but was letting me off the hook. “Is Noelle okay?” he asked, nodding toward the bedroom door.

“She’ll be fine,” I assured him.

Noelle was tough. She mightn’t like it, but she’d get through it. We always did.

“So now we’re here, tell me, Chris, how bad is it?” I dared to ask.

He looked at me, and I felt my body heat under his gaze.

“How bad is what? Your car? The storm?”

“All of it. ”

He took a long pull from his beer before setting it down on the counter and moving to the fridge. When he pulled out a frozen pizza, he tossed it in the oven. “Sorry. I haven’t had a chance to eat yet.”

“Don’t apologize! I’m the one invading your space. Do what you need,” I offered, walking over to the window and staring out into the darkness. It was a mess out there. The storm was still gathering strength. Worry gnawed at me but I could do nothing about it, not tonight anyway.

Chris and I spent a couple of hours sitting on the couch, sharing pizza, and chatting about the world around us. When I asked him about his Christmas tree, he grimaced.

“Christmas isn’t something I celebrate,” he replied, his answer short and clipped.

Obviously, he didn’t want to talk about it, and I didn’t want to push. Instead, I wished him good night and went to bed. Sliding beneath the sheets, his scent lingered on the pillows. It had been a long time since I’d been close to a man, and right now, the smell alone was making me giddy.

I forced the thought from my mind, snuggled down next to Noelle, and let sleep drag me under.

I woke up with a face full of hair, no blanket, and a foot in my stomach. Noelle was a crazy sleeper, and if I never had to share a bed with her another night in my life, I’d be fine with that.

Carefully, I slipped out trying not to wake her. Yesterday had been a big day—for both of us—and it was still early. At least I thought it was. It was dark with the heavy blackout curtains covering the windows.

After using the bathroom, I snuck into the main living area, surprised to see it deserted. I’d assumed Chris was still asleep on the couch, something I felt guilty about.“Hello? Chris?” I called out quietly, looking around his apartment, but he wasn’t to be seen.

With Noelle still asleep and five minutes to myself, I padded into the kitchen and made myself coffee. You could tell Chris lived alone. Opening the fridge, it was almost completely bare. A tub of butter, half a block of cheese, a bottle of ketchup, and a few beers. No food. No fruit. No creamer for my coffee. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and I poured myself a cup. It was strong and black and nasty, but I choked it down.

Just as I finished, sure that the bitter brew had put hair on my chest, the door opened with a whoosh of icy cold wind and Chris stomped through. He was dressed as if he was going sledding. A heavy winter coat, gloves, beanie, and big boots.

“Wow, it’s cold,” he remarked as he toed off his boots, balancing a tray in one hand and a paper bag in the other.

“I turned the heat up again,” I told him. “Hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. We’re going to need it,” Chris suggested, heading for the kitchen and setting down his shopping. “Here, I thought you’d be looking for one of these,” Chris offered, handing me a paper cup.

“What is it?”

“Don’t get too excited. It's a gingerbread latte. I figured since you like Christmas, and it was a girly drink, it was a safe bet.” Chris shrugged, and all I could do was smile. He might act like a Grinch and a bit of a hermit, but at heart he was a good guy.

I cradled the cup between my hands, the warmth oozing through the cardboard. Slowly I brought it to my mouth. “Oh my god it’s delicious,” I exclaimed with the traces of gingerbread still on my tongue .

“Thought you’d like it. There are some scones there as well,” Chris said, pointing to the bag.

“How did you sleep?” I asked, focused on my drink.

“Fine. I wanted to get an early start.”

“And?”

“And?”

“And how bad is it?”

“The car or the storm?” Chris asked, walking across and staring out the window as a wave of déjà vu settled over me.

“Both I guess,” I answered nervously.

“Honestly, neither is good, Holly.”

“Oh.” My heart sank.

I’d hoped in the light of a new day, some good news would find its way to me. Surely, I’d had my fair share of bad news and deserved a break. Guess today wasn’t my day.

“I’ve had a quick once over your car. Like I said, the axle is shot, and the radiator needs replacing. Some of the electrics need to be rewired …”

“It’s that bad?”

Chris set his coffee down and moved toward me. When he stood in front of me, his hands rested on my hips. I could feel his warmth through the flimsy night shirt I was still wearing, and I regretted my lack of a bra.

“It can all be fixed. It will just take a bit of time to get the parts.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

“This afternoon I’ll go down and figure out what I need and get the order in. I don’t know how long it will take with Christmas and the storm …”

“Do you think I can get up to the ski resort today?”

Chris’s grip on my hips tightened as I felt his fingers dig into me. “Holly, the whole town is cut off. There’s a blizzard out there, and they’re saying the next forty-eight hours are likely to get worse. No one’s getting up or down the mountain to the resort. I’m sorry.”

As his words sunk in, my hope faded.

I wasn’t getting up the mountain today.

I wouldn’t be there for Christmas.

I wasn’t getting out of Evergreen Lake.

I had no idea what I was going to do.

I promised Noelle a Christmas she wouldn’t forget. And now we were stuck. It was one I’d never forget but for all the wrong reasons.

When I didn’t say anything, Chris pressed on. “It’ll be fine, Holly. We’ll make it work.”

“Huh?”

“You and Noelle can stay with me until the storm passes. We will figure it out.”

“Come on, Chris. You don’t want a single mom and her daughter crashing at your place for God knows how long. We’re in your way.”

“It’s fine. Actually, it might be good for me. I haven’t spent too much time around people for a while,” Chris admitted, ducking his head. Now it was his turn to be knocked off-balance.

“Noelle wants a real Christmas,” I told him.

“Then that’s what she’s going to get.”