Under the Mistle-Foe (Christmas Falls: Season 2)

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

REMY

“Two more signature burgers!” Atlas called out, slid the order slip on the ticket holder behind all the other uncompleted ones, and then disappeared like the wind. The diner was packed today as well.

Sweat rolled down my back. I’d lost count of how many burgers I’d already fired up today, but man, I had forgotten how popular the burgers were here. They weren’t particularly hard to make, but the sheer number of orders had my muscles straining.

Despite running on my feet all day, working at the diner wasn’t all that bad. It got my stiff body, which had been long used to being hunched over a desk, moving. It was no wonder Dad was still fairly in shape in his late sixties. He’d always said working in the kitchen never gave his muscles a chance to deflate. Which made his mandatory rest extra difficult with his bitching about not moving his body around enough.

I had to peek through the serving hatch every so often to make sure Dad was keeping his promise of sitting by the register and wasn’t trying to help the waitstaff. Thankfully, I’d only found him wiping down a table once. At least he was using his crutches and not trying to hobble around so he could keep his hands free. The man was too damn stubborn for his own good.

The lunch rush went by quickly, without giving me much time to think of anything else but the dish in front of me. I personally brought out the last dish while Rory did a bit of cleanup before the end of his shift. The diner was still packed with customers finishing their meals, all happy smiles as they chatted and ate.

“Good work today, son,” Dad wobbled over to my side on his crutches. His old-fashioned soda jerk hat sat squarely on his head. It was his signature piece, something he’d worn so often that whenever I pictured Dad in my head now, it was always with his hat.

He leaned on the wall, ignoring the glare I shot his way, but it wasn’t like I could keep him off his feet all the time. Plus, it must be difficult for a man who used to be so active to have to be sedentary now.

We watched the dining room for a few minutes when Dad suddenly spoke up. “This is what I love so much about The Shack. Friends and families spending time together, enjoying the food we created with our very own hands. It’s a pretty magical thing.”

I hummed in agreement. It was hard not to smile at such a scene. I’d once dreamed of taking over the diner when Dad retired. I’d started helping in the kitchen when I was a kid, and Dad let me cook my very first order when I started high school.

I still remembered the huge sense of accomplishment and satisfaction I felt when customers complimented me on the food. It was a feeling I wanted to replicate over and over again. I thought I had my entire life all planned out.

But that was before. Now I wasn’t sure about anything .

I returned to the kitchen to help Rory finish the cleaning now that the lunch rush was over. “You have a guest, Remy,” Atlas called out, popping his head through the curtain along with Kaysen.

“I’m getting déjà vu,” I muttered, which only made the two men grin.

“What? Not happy to see me?” Kaysen teased as he swung an arm over my shoulder.

I tried to shrug him off. “Not when it feels like you’re gonna try to force me to do something against my will again.”

He laughed and only held on tighter. “I would never! It can’t be against your will when I know you just love spending time with me.”

I groaned but didn’t disagree. Kaysen was my oldest and closest friend. We’d attended school together most of our lives. And from the day our seats were arranged next to each other in the second grade, it was like our fates were sealed. After that, we somehow always sat beside each other in every single one of our classes.

“Alright, spill it. What do you plan to guilt trip me with today?”

“Well, when you put it like that…” His grin grew wider. “Just thought you’d want to get some fresh air and explore the fair with me. Heard a man named Hank was selling homemade dog treats, and the family sent me on a mission to buy some for the dogs we’re fostering.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You just don’t want to go alone.”

He gasped dramatically. “Why, I would never! How dare you accuse me of such blasphemy! I just want to hang out with my friend. I plead the fifth!”

I crossed my arms in front of me and stared him down. He seemed completely unaffected by my gaze .

“So, you gonna come with me?” he asked without missing a beat. His cheekiness had me barking out a laugh.

“Sorry, I can’t close up shop early today. Plus, we’ve been slammed all day, so I can’t just up and leave,” I said, then turned back to the pots and pans that still needed cleaning.

“Go explore town. I can spare a few hours to cover you,” Rory piped up. He glanced up at me, his eyes leaving the chopping board for a few seconds, but his hands didn’t stop moving as they chopped the onion into uniform slices.

“I can’t possibly let you do that. I’m sure you want to enjoy the fair with your family.”

This time, he did stop his actions long enough to wave me off. “It’s fine. Angie’s already there with the kids. I’ll just meet up with them for dinner.”

Then, without even waiting for my reply, he focused back on his ingredient prep like it was already a done deal. Discussion over.

Kaysen came to my side and bumped my hip. “You heard the man. Now let’s get out of here before he points that sharp knife at us.”

“We never play around in the kitchen,” Rory warned.

“Aye-aye, sir!” Kaysen saluted as he dragged me out of there. I barely had time to grab my jacket. Dad raised his gray eyebrow when he saw us. “I’ll make sure to bring him back mostly in one piece!” Dad’sguffaw followed us out the door at Kaysen’s remark.

“I’m guessing you’re not gonna let me grab a quick shower, are you?”

Kaysen leaned in close to me and took a sniff. “You’re fine. You smell deliciously like man.”

I pushed his head away from me. “Personal space, dude. And you should get your nose checked out, because I’m sure even my sweat is leaking out grease right now.”

He laughed and swung an arm around my shoulder, completely ignoring my comment. “So, I ran into Jett on his way out of the diner.”

“Oh, was he there?” I said, trying to sound clueless and not like I’d been hyper-aware of his existence in the diner since this morning.

Since this morning !

He was one of the first customers to walk through the door, ordering the breakfast special before retreating to a booth by the window that had the perfect view into the kitchen.

I swore I could feel his eyes on me the entire day, but whenever I had the chance to look over, he was focused on his laptop. I didn’t know what he did for work, but he’d been glued to that thing all day—not that I was checking up on him or anything.

I totally did not care what he was up to. It was just the fact that he was doing whatever it was inside of my diner. His giant presence had led to me accidentally burning myself no less than two times. Thankfully, they were nothing major, and all they needed was a little time running the burn under cold water, but still . The fact of the matter was, Jett Davis could scurry off to wherever the hell he wanted, yet he chose to circle around me.

And I wasn’t trying to be narcissistic. There was no reason for me to be. I’d never been super popular in school, and the few women I’d dated over the years lasted months at most, so when I said Jett Davis was circling around me, I was not being self-centered.

Ever since we ran into each other at the tree lighting, he’d been at the diner every single day like clockwork. Just sitting there, clacking on his laptop, and taking up space.

It was just like high school again when he’d hang out at the diner after school with his friends, leaving me with no choice but to hide in the back and try my very best to ignore him.

It wasn’t like I could just kick him out either. First of all, Dad would kill me. He believed the diner was more than a restaurant; it was a community. And Jett was part of that community, probably even more so than me if all the people stopping by his table—chatting or even sharing a meal with him—were anything to go by.

Never mind the countless times I’d caught him chumming up to Dad, and okay, maybe I was a bit touched whenever he’d help Dad grab something he’d dropped or refill his coffee mug, but that was beside the point.

Not that I was keeping tabs on him or anything. He just so happened to be in my direct view whenever I looked through the serving hatch to check on my dad.

Yeah…that’s what I’m going to tell myself .

Kaysen eyed me. “Are you two still being all weird around each other? You guys have been at it since high school. It was amusing at first, but now it feels like this is some weird flirting ritual.”

“We are not flirting,” I sputtered. How he even got that ridiculous idea was beyond me. Kaysen watched me skeptically. “And if anyone’s being weird, it’s him. I’m just minding my own business. He’s the one who won’t leave me alone.”

Kaysen hummed in a knowing manner while holding the door open for me into the museum where the fair was being held. What a gentleman.

“Look, all I know is that Jett’s a nice guy, and he’s always wanted to be your friend. You should give him a chance.”

In all the years I’d known Jett, he’d never tried to be friendly with me. Only sarcastic, judgmental statements passed through his mouth when he was around me.

I opened my mouth to deny Kaysen’s claims, but before I could get a single word out, he was already focused on something else.

“Fuck, Hank’s hot. Heard he’s the new hockey director at the community center. Those kids are so lucky to be able to see this hunk during practice,” Kaysen commented as we waded through the crowd.

“Does your boyfriend know you’re checking out other men?” I teased.

“My honey knows he’s the only one for me. Besides, if someone’s attractive, not looking doesn’t make them any less attractive, you know?”

I, in fact, did not know.

I’d been around tons of people who fit our society’s beauty standards, and sure, I could admire their looks, but I’d never felt an attraction to any of them, or anyone for that matter, not even the women I’d briefly dated.

When I was younger, I wondered if something was wrong with me, but nowadays, I didn’t bother thinking about it. It wasn’t like I was all that interested in dating, anyway. I liked the peace of being alone. And then there was the whole ‘ letting someone into your heart and who knew when they’d be snatched away from you ’ thing.

Just like how a heart attack had taken my mom from my dad.

No, thank you. I was fine without all that.

Finally reaching the stall, Hank greeted us with a smile. There were some sample dog treats placed on a table, as well as a sign stating they were homemade. The giant of a man selling the treats was not someone I’d picture lingering in a kitchen, much less one who made treats for furry friends, so I had to wonder if he’d made them himself.

“Do you think they’ll like the bone-shaped or heart-shaped ones more?” Kaysen asked.

“Don’t think they’ll care,” I replied, uninterested. TheArts and Crafts Fair was crowded, being the first day and all. There were all sorts of booths selling various goods, with tons of Christmas-related goods to choose from. Naturally.

I spotted a huge crowd around the booth with the town’s famous hand-carved gnomes. Mom had purchased a set from Murphy before he’d blown up in fame. She’d placed the pair in the front yard—where they still resided—and called them her little fairy protectors. She would have been delighted to see just how popular they’d gotten over the years.

Shifting my gaze away before the nostalgia threatened to suffocate me in the middle of the freaking Festival Museum, I noticed the homemade baby quilt stall beside Hank’s. The older lady manning the stall frowned at her hands, like she was struggling with her electronics.

“I wonder if humans can eat these.” I returned my focus to Kaysen to see him pick up one of the samples, take a sniff, and then make a face.

“Why don’t you give it a try? My treat ,” I said with a smirk.

His glare was interrupted by an amused chuckle. “They’re safe to eat, but I wouldn’t recommend it. But I can guarantee your doggy friends will absolutely love them.”

“I’ll take five bags!”

I could practically see the hearts shooting out of Kaysen’s eyes as Hank rang him up.

“How many dogs are y’all fostering again?” I asked, eyeing all the treats he’d purchased.

“Just two, but I’m sure I can donate whatever they don’t finish to the animal shelter. Heard they’re still looking for volunteer fosters since the pipes are still needing work. I wish we could take in more, but with how busy the holiday season is at the farm, two’s already a handful.”

Before I could answer, Kaysen was already dragging me to another stall. That went on for another half hour, him pulling to show me the next greatest thing he found. I was so wrapped up in his pace, and with all the people swirling around us, I was dizzy by the time he finally needed to return to the farm.

We said our goodbyes in the front, and as I was about to make my way back to the diner, a figure caught the corner of my eye. I turned to find Jett motherfucking Davis. It was like I couldn’t rid myself of the man.

I turned away, hoping to slip away before he saw me, but then another person appeared beside him. A cute, brown-haired man walked with him back to the main area of the fair. They were laughing while chatting—totally normal things to do with a friend—but for some reason, I couldn’t stop the nagging in the back of my mind.

The diner was waiting for me, and I was far too busy to mind what Jett was up to. I turned to the door, intending to leave; I really was. So why did I find myself heading back through the Festival Museum to rejoin the fair?