The Christmas Cookie Crush (Arcadian Falls Christmas #4)

Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Nora

Austin

I’m getting us a hotel for tomorrow night

I grin at the text from Austin as I get ready for bed. He came over for about an hour after he and Dylan met up, and even though we stayed out in the living room with everyone and Dylan kept shooting me weird looks whenever Austin put his arm around me or I cuddled into his side on the couch, it was fun getting to see him for at least a little while. I even put on my boots and coat and walked him out to his car for a goodnight kiss. If any of my siblings peeked through the curtains, they didn’t make a big deal about it when I got back inside. Growth from the Daniels kids!

And now I have something to look forward to tomorrow.

Another day closer to Christmas, another packed day at ChristmasFest. I don’t know if it’s the effects of dating Austin, the specific reality of knowing I get to spend the night with him again tonight, or that I have more responsibility this year, which feels a lot better than I expected, but I’m enjoying ChristmasFest a lot more than I usually do, even on busy days like today.

If I’m honest, it’s probably a combination of all three things. Knowing Mom and Dad trust me enough to put me in charge of this feels like they see me as a grownup, and not just the baby of the family who can’t do anything right. I’ve had a well-deserved reputation as a flake in the past, but them trusting me not to screw up this year makes me want to prove them right.

No one expected much of me in the past. I mean, sure, I was expected to show up and do my job. But even though my siblings rolled their eyes at me when I asked them to switch shifts, no one ever really expected me to behave differently.

But this year? There are no siblings left to switch shifts with. And now that I’m in charge of the schedule, I see how difficult it is to juggle everyone’s availability. I have a newfound respect for Sarah since she did this role the last Christmas before she moved to the Christmas Emporium full-time. I think Mom just held onto it after that because she knew Dylan would complain about it. And she couldn’t give it to me while he was still working as an elf because no way would he take orders from me.

And dating Austin …

It makes me smile more, which makes it easier to stay upbeat and elftastic, even when confronted with grumpy toddlers, screaming babies, and frustrated parents.

Speaking of …

I hold up a finger to Dad to let him know I’m stepping away from the camera for a second and slide in next to Trevor, who’s working the line and register today. From the rising volume of the woman talking to him and the look on his face, I know this situation is about to escalate out of control at any second.

I offer a big smile to the next family in line while Dad finishes talking to the kid on his lap. “We’ll be with you in just one second. Sorry about the wait, and thank you for your patience.”

The beleaguered-looking mother bouncing a baby in a green and red plaid vest and bowtie on her hip offers me a weary smile. “Thank you.”

Trying to nudge Trevor to the side, I offer a smile to the mother who’s haranguing him about how many prints she gets.

“Additional prints—” he starts, but the woman cuts him off with a nasty glare.

“How are they additional when I haven’t gotten any in the first place?” she demands.

“Merry Christmas!” I interject, drawing her attention.

She huffs a sigh. “Maybe for you. But I can’t seem to get any competent help around here! Can you manage to do anything right?”

My customer service smile feels more like a rictus in the face of her rude condescension. “Hopefully, we can get this figured out. Trevor, will you go check on the line, please?” He steps away with a grateful look, and I turn to the woman in front of me. “Now, what seems to be the issue?”

She sighs like having to explain anything to me is a chore on par with cleaning the high school gym’s locker rooms with her own personal toothbrush, but I don’t react, simply waiting patiently for the story. “I want package B . I want this pose for the main print.” She jabs a finger at the computer screen. “And I also want another print of this pose.” This time, she flicks the screen with her fingernail, making me flinch and turn the monitor so it doesn’t face her as much.

“Package B only includes one pose,” I start, picking up a brochure and unfolding it so I can show her what the options, grabbing one of the candy cane pens to point to the different choices.

“I know that!” she snaps. “But I want two! And the customer is always right!”

In this case, she’s clearly not . But I keep that thought to myself because I know enough to realize that won’t help.

“Package A offers two poses,” I point out, indicating that on the brochure.

“But I don’t need that many prints! I only need one extra of one pose!”

“I understand,” I say smoothly. “As Trevor mentioned, you’re welcome to order a la carte prints or additional packages on our website.” I circle the website on the brochure. “Once you decide what you want printed today and pay for the package you select”—I put a slight emphasis on pay —“you’ll have the ability to download the digital files from the website later tonight or tomorrow.”

“I should be able to do that immediately anyway!”

Still smiling, I nod. “I understand waiting can be frustrating.”

She screws up her face and stabs a finger at me. “Don’t you talk to me like I’m five. I know what you’re doing.”

She’s right. This is how I’ve heard my sister and Shane talk to Sophie countless times when she’s being belligerent. She’s better now, but when Sarah and Shane first got together, that kid had huge meltdowns and tantrums. Obviously, I wasn’t around for a lot of that, but I witnessed a few, and I was always in awe of how calm they managed to stay in the middle of it.

I took mental notes because angry customers aren’t all that different from first graders throwing tantrums.

Unable to keep the smile on my face, I roll my lips between my teeth to stop myself from saying any of that out loud.

When I see movement out of the corner of my eye, I look over to see Mom heading this way. That means this has gone on too long.

I give her my brightest smile. “How about this? I’ll give you ten percent off on Package A. That way you get the two poses you want, all the prints included in Package A, and it only costs a few dollars more than Package B, which is far less than ordering anything a la carte later.”

Her eyes narrow, and she brushes hair out of her face dramatically. “Ten percent?”

I nod, offering a polite smile. Or at least as polite as I can. I don’t really want to give this woman anything. But at the same time, giving a little will get her out of here faster. The day’s almost over, and the last thing I need is this woman holding things up and making me late getting out of here.

“Is everything okay over here?” Mom asks, stepping next to me.

The woman looks at Mom dressed as Mrs. Claus with her white wig and tiny spectacles perched on the end of her nose. I’m not sure what expression she finds there, but it makes her nod firmly. “Yes. Everything’s fine. I’ll take Package A.” She selects the shots she wants printed, and when I ring her up with the discount, she gives me a grateful smile. “Thank you so much for your help,” she gushes. “I really appreciate it. And the pictures are wonderful. You do such a great job. I think they’re even better than last year!”

She’s practically rambling. Once she steps back, putting her wallet back in her purse and reaching for her son, I glance over at Mom, who’s ushering the next family up to Dad. Does she know that woman? Does she have some kind of dirt on her? What kind of sorcery does she have that she can turn that woman from a ranting shrew to gushing and apologizing and thanking me like I’ve done her the greatest service in history? Is that ability genetic? If so, when does it start working for me?

Fortunately, the last handful of customers are pleasant and courteous, and even though we’re a little behind from Mrs. Dreadful, we end up being able to close up only a few minutes later than planned, which is pretty amazing considering how close we are to Christmas now.

“Good work today, Trevor. And if anyone starts talking to you like that lady again, don’t hesitate to get me, okay? Just offer to get your manager.”

He gives me a relieved smile. “Thanks. I will.”

“Hopefully, it won’t happen too many more times, but …” I shrug. Because there’s no way of knowing and no way of preventing it. All we can do is our best. “I know you mentioned plans tonight, so if you finish shutting down the computer and wipe down the desk, I’ll take care of the rest.”

His eyes slide to the side, and I turn my head to see Austin standing there. “Pretty sure you have plans too,” he quips, getting out the container of wipes we keep under the computer counter and wiping everything thoroughly while I finish putting away the camera.

Grinning at Austin, I step around the ropes to say hi to him. “How was your day?” I ask after giving him a kiss.

He’s grinning too, his hands resting on my hips, thumbs stroking my sides. “Better now.”

“Aww. Did you have cranky customers too?”

His eyebrows jump. “Not really. I’m just happy to see you. Why? Did you have cranky customers?”

I flip a hand, waving away the memory. “There was one particular woman who was very unhappy, but I handled her.”

“Mrs. Claus gave her the death stare!” Trevor puts in, and I glance over to see him straightening the stuffed animals.

“I thought I told you to leave once you were done with the computer station?”

He shrugs and continues what he’s doing.

Austin gives me a quizzical look. “She was bad enough your mom got involved?”

“Mom came over. The lady was being loud and holding everything up for longer than we build in. She didn’t really do anything, just stood next to me while I finished.”

“That lady was shaking in her boots!”

Ducking his head, Austin laughs at Trevor’s interjection. “Shaking in her boots?”

I shrug. “Mom standing there did make the lady a lot nicer and more grateful for how we were helping her.”

“Well, that’s good. Too bad you needed interference from the big guns, though. That’s never fun.” His face screws up in thought. “If Mrs. Claus’s death stare doesn’t do the trick, what happens next? Does Santa come over and tell her she’s on the Naughty List?”

I burst out laughing, and I hear Trevor chuckling behind me. Glancing over, he’s straightening up Santa’s area, though Dad usually makes sure everything is in order before he leaves. Still, I usually double-check to make sure it’s ready for the next day.

“I don’t know,” I tell Austin, pitching my voice loud enough for Trevor to hear too since he’s clearly listening in. “We’ve never had a customer obnoxious enough for Santa to get called in.”

“Let’s hope it stays that way,” Austin says, kissing me again.

“Fingers crossed!” Trevor shouts, making us both laugh and ruining our kiss. “I’m out, Nora. Later!”

“Bye, Trevor!” I call after him.

Strolling away, he holds up a peace sign without looking back, and Austin and I both laugh some more. “I better finish up,” I tell Austin, patting his shoulder. “Then we can leave.”

“I’d tell you to take your time, but I don’t want to. I’ve been patient all day, and I just want to get you alone.”

I toss a grin over my shoulder as I make my way back to the camera. “Don’t worry. I’ll hurry.”

It doesn’t take long to finish breaking down the camera equipment for the night, and when I go to check everything else, I realize Trevor’s taken care of all of it. He might be slightly obnoxious sometimes, but he’s actually a sweet guy.

Grinning, I return to Austin’s side, lace my fingers through his, and start towing him toward the locker room. “I just gotta change and grab my things, and we can go.”