Stuck With My Christmas Crush (Sweet Christmas Kisses)

1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Jason

“ C ome on, Maddie. We don’t want to keep your mom waiting.” I open the car door and stand aside as my niece climbs into the back seat of my Chevy. “Remember to buckle up.”

“Of course, Jason. You treat me like a child.”

“You’re six years old, Maddie. You qualify.”

She huffs at me as I check her seatbelt and then carefully shut the door .

“Rocko.” My dog, a mastiff cross, lifts his floppy ears and tilts his head. He listens, alert and attentive. “Be on guard til I get back, okay?” I check the time on my Fitbit. “Between fourteen-thirty and fifteen hundred hours.”

“He really understands, doesn’t he?” says Maddie, more of a statement than a question, as I get into the driver’s seat and start the engine.

“Yup. He’s a very smart dog.” I turn around to face Maddie. “All set? You got everything?”

“I think so.”

“Let’s go.”

I shift the truck into gear and drive slowly through the open gate. The engine chugs as I slip into neutral, pull on the handbrake and get out to shut the gate behind me. I pull the hefty chain through the impressive wrought iron gates, but I don’t bother securing the padlock. From the road, the gates look shut and locked, and with Rocko on patrol, there’s little chance of an intruder chancing his luck.

“Good boy.” My dog sits patiently behind the gate as I get back into my truck. I watch him in the rearview as I make a final adjustment to the mirror. His eyes don’t lose focus as I drive to the road. He’s still in the same spot when I make the turn in the direction of the main highway .

“Did you have fun today?” I flick a glance at Maddie who is looking out of the window. She’s bundled up in her cute pink woolly hat and padded jacket.

“Yes, Jason. Thanks for asking. Rocko and I had a lovely time.”

“That’s good. I’m glad. It’s always a pleasure to have your company, Maddie.”

My niece has started talking in a way that she thinks sounds like a princess since I moved into the Mansion Hotel. Maddie loves the ramshackle, dilapidated, moldering pile. Me, not so much.

I’m only there for a short time, living in the tiny gatehouse on the once-grand estate. The situation is not ideal. And, to be honest, inheriting a property like this one is a massive headache. But, I signed the papers and now I’m the proud owner of a serious money pit. Bills started rolling in even before the ink dried at the lawyer’s office, making my head spin, my bank account set to freefall, and my stomach tie itself in anxiety knots. Conveniently, I’m in between contracts at the present time. I told my agent to hold off putting me forward for anything until after the holidays. So, here I am, overseeing the inventory and imminent sale of the land, buildings, and chattels therein. I can’t wait to flick it off and move on to my next engineering job, wherever that may be. Until such times, and because there needs to be someone onsite for security reasons, it just seemed obvious that I would move in. Temporarily. Just until things get sorted out, or until I get some kind of security system installed. I want to be free of this burden and get my life back. The sooner the better.

“Can you play some Christmas music?”

“Really?”

“Yes. We can sing along.”

“Maddie. I’d really rather not.”

“Jason. Don’t be such a Grinch.”

“I’m not a Grinch. I just don’t want jingle bells when I’m driving… It’s distracting.”

“Fine. But, you know, you’re heading for the naughty list, and you won’t get any presents.”

Maddie sees me looking at her in the rearview and huffs. She looks out of the window again, her hands clasped in her lap like the portrait of the lady in the Mansion Hotel’s grand entrance hall.

My niece is adorable, although demanding. She melts my heart, and I love my role as uncle, although Maddie just calls me Jason, without the label.

“Look, Jason. There’s a fairy driving a ladybug,” says Maddie as I drive past a red VW at the side of the road which has been painted with black dots. The car is stationary. Its hazard lights are on. “Hey. I think it’s the same fairy who came to Isabel’s party.”

“Maddie. Do you think there might be more than one fairy?” I can’t believe what I just said. I laugh to myself, bite my lip, and roll my eyes.

“Well, duh. Of course, there’s more than one fairy. I can name them for you, if you want.”

“No, that’s okay.” I slow down and indicate a U-turn. “The fairy looks like she needs some help. Let’s go ask?”

“Sure.”

The road from the mansion links up to the main highway north and south, but it’s windy and narrow and, unless you live up here, there’s no advantage to using this route. The lack of traffic means that the road is not well-maintained and takes you up and over a hill instead of around it. I hardly ever see another vehicle when I’m driving to or from Ridgewood, the nearest town, about an hour away.

As I approach the ladybug car, the fairy lowers her phone and pulls the light-colored faux fur jacket tightly around her shoulders. She eyes me suspiciously as I park the Chevy close by in front of her.

“Hey there,” I say, getting out and beginning to walk toward the young woman all decked out in glittery pink. “We noticed your hazards are on. Is everything alright? ”

“Hi there. Thanks for stopping. Bertie’s broken down. But I called the roadside assistance.” The fairy holds up her phone as if showing me proof of her actions. “They should be here soon,” she says with a nervous smile.

“It might be something simple like a dead battery,” I offer. “Do you have jumper cables? I have some in the truck.” I turn to point over my shoulder, then notice Maddie is at my side.

“Excuse me, fairy,” says Maddie in her most polite princess voice. “Were you at my friend, Isabel’s party in the summertime?”

The fairy seems to relax at the sight of a little girl and gets out of her car.

“Isabel. Mmmm. Let me see.” The fairy considers Maddie’s question. “Was that the party at a big white house? Does your friend have a naughty cat called Custard who tried to jump onto the table to eat the cake?”

“That’s right!” says Maddie, delighted. She turns to me and beams a bright smile. “It is her. See, I told you.”

“Maddie is seldom wrong.” I reach out to stroke Maddie’s hair. She leans casually onto my leg.

“Don’t you remember?” Maddie says, looking up at me.

I glance from Maddie to the glittery girl and see something familiar in her eyes. A fleeting memory flashes of the warm summer’s day when I picked Maddie up from her friend’s party. As I arrived on the street outside Maddie’s friend’s house, a van pulled away and, for a second, I was caught in the gaze of an incredibly pretty woman; the same pretty woman who is standing beside the broken red, black-spotted, ladybug car.

“No. Sorry Maddie, I don’t,” I lie, but the fairy looks at me and recognition lights up her face.

She’s about to say something. Her pretty lips open, then, in an instant, she checks herself, and they close again. A hand covers her mouth.

I’m conscious that I may be staring but I’m mesmerized by her face which is decorated with swirls and daubs of glittery paint. Her clear blue eyes sparkle more than the sequins on her dress.

To distract myself, I clear my throat with a cough then say, “So, do you want to get a jumpstart? Or maybe you might be out of gas, in which case, I can tow you to a gas station?”

“That’s kind of you, sir,” the fairy says looking directly into my eyes. “But don’t let me hold you up. A trained professional is on their way.” The fairy checks her phone. “They’ll be here in a few minutes. At least, that’s what the guy said.” She laughs. “Thanks anyway.”

“If you are sure you’re okay,” I say as Maddie reaches up and takes my hand. “Then, we’ll be off. ”

“No,” says Maddie emphatically stamping her foot. “We can’t leave her here.”

“Don’t worry Maddie.” The fairy crouches down, smiles at my niece, and whispers, “I have special magic, so I’ll be okay.”

Maddie thinks for a moment, then says, “If you have special magic, then you should use it to fix your car.”

“Good point. And I would if I could but sadly, my poor car, Bertie, has been cursed by an evil wizard, and the only way the curse can be lifted is by a roadside assistance technician wizard.” The fairy stands up and pats the hood of the little VW. Then she looks at me and says, “I’m fine. Really. But thanks, again, for stopping.” She turns to climb into her car but pauses to wave and says, “Bye Maddie. Say hi to Isabel and Custard when you see them again, okay?”

“Okay, I will,” Maddie says back. “Nice to see you again fairy Charlie.”

“Charlie?”

“Yup. Fairy Charlie. That’s me.” The fairy smiles and, pulling the jacket tighter around her, she says, “And Merry Christmas.”

“Alright.” I stand still for an awkward moment, glancing up and then down, the road as I decide what to do. “We should get going. Maddie go get in the car. And make sure you…” Maddie finishes my sentence.

“Buckle up. I know.”

Part of me wants to stay until the roadside recovery people arrive, but I promised Meredith that Maddie would be home by now. I check my Fitbit. I’ll need to call my sister to say we’re going to be late. I’m about to offer Charlie a ride to wherever she needs to be, but her phone rings.

“I’d better get this,” she says, stepping into her car. “Thanks again.” She closes the door and waves at me through the windshield.

Reluctantly, I drive away.