Winter Falls (Evergreen Lake: Under the Mistletoe)

Chapter 14

fourteen

I knew I couldn't hide in bed all day. I had to go out and face the town. Would they give me a difficult time or would they even care? I certainly hope it was the latter.

Either way I had a responsibility, and it meant sucking up my embarrassment and charging forward.

I had no idea how many people would be waiting to board the train. It was complimentary and no tickets were required. To say I was thrilled with the response at the amount of people waiting on the platform was an understatement. The platform was packed!

It was first come, first serve, and we had two restored cars along with the steam engine.

I found the conductor in the crowd of people.

"Daniel, look at you! You look fantastic. Are these reproductions or original garments?”

He laughed. “Some are reproduction and some original." He tapped the hat. "Original. Same with the tie and vest, pants and shoes and anything underneath are replicas."

I pointed to his chest. "And the stopwatch?"

He pulled it out of his pocket and held it in the palm of his hand. "Original, it’s been passed down from my great, great, great grandfather. He was a conductor, and thankfully some of his items were carefully stored away."

"How wonderful. I love history, and anything old that reflects the past. I keep hoping to find secret stashes of days gone by items in my grandmother's house. One day I’ll dig into it."

"Definitely make the time. You'll be glad you did." He glanced at the watch and then me. "It's time."

"Go do your thing," I said and boarded the train. I gasped when inside. It was lovely and obviously, a first-class car with the wood paneled walls and accessories. Brass fixtures had been polished to a high shine, and the fabric and leather seats were spotless. It was like stepping back in time.

There was even a decorated Christmas tree, pine and cedar garland swaged from window to window sparkling with mini lights.

The conductor’s whistle pierced the air followed by his loud shout aaaalllll abooooaaaarrrd! Immediately the atmosphere ignited with excitement and I found a single seat at the front of the car. Passengers streamed onto the train, and clamored for seats.

A few minutes later the train whistle blew and the cars jumped forward as the engine was let loose. Smoke from the stack puffed out and soon the wheels were clacking rhythmically on the tracks, heading out of town to Winter Farm.

Like other passengers, I had my phone out taking photos. Tears pricked my eyes seeing the folks waving and shouting at the street crossing as the train chugged past. It was brilliant and I choked up. All my concerns and worries were left behind as the train slowly moved through town and out to the private tracks.

The clickety clack of the wheels on the rails, along with the sleigh bells strung up in the carriage was all the music we needed. My chest swelled with intense happiness.

Snow had been falling lightly in town, and it got heavier the further we went, and by the time we arrived at Winter Farm, big fat fluffy flakes drifted out of the sky.

"Oh look, Mommy, it's Christmas snow," a little girl squealed. "I can't wait to see Santa!"

I heard comments like, "So beautiful," "Winter wonderland," and "I hope it never stops."

Even though the snow was pretty, if stayed like this, it shouldn’t pose a problem, but if it got heavier then that would be a whole different scenario.

The train came to a stop at the farm platform. Amos had been meticulous to make sure everything was in perfect working order and safe. I knew he'd also had the tracks inspected last summer, which I hadn't thought of and appreciated. He advised if the snow got too deep on the tracks the train wouldn't be able to navigate them, so I kept my fingers crossed we only got a dusting.

Volunteers waited by the platform to guide the passengers through the trees to the bonfire. I followed, completely enchanted by the magical spell the decorations and lights created. It wasn't a long walk at all, and we all emerged into a clearing surrounded by spruce and pine trees. They were decorated with wildlife friendly decorations like carrots, sprigs of hay, nuts, and apples.

A fire roared, flames shooting up, and everyone gasped in delight. Wood smoke and hot chocolate scented the air, along with the oh so Christmassy smell of fir trees. It was magnificent.

The train's departure time back to town was 11:30, giving the guests an hour and a half to spend at the farm. The afternoon run was scheduled for 13:00 and it was important to keep everything on schedule.

The volunteers had outdone themselves. There were kiddie games, the fire, roasting marshmallows, marked trails through the woods, a scavenger hunt, and there were cut and wrapped Christmas trees available to take home. It was so perfect.

I scanned the crowd for Amos. He would be easy to spot, towering above most of the people here. When I spied him in the shack beside a tall pine, my breath stuck in my throat. He really was a gorgeous man. How he fit into this atmosphere was incredible. A real mountain man, and yes, I found him unbelievably sexy. Damn, he looked good. The memory of his hands in my coat warmed me to the point I had to open the neck of my jacket.

He was focused on his task of making jugs of hot chocolate and filling the huge black cauldron hanging from a contraption over its own smaller fire.

The last two days I’d seen a new side to Amos. A side I liked. I sensed something had changed with him, but of course I had no idea what that could be. I was definitely curious though.

I watched him for a beat. Where had the grumpy, sour faced dude gone? Had he been infected with Christmas spirit? Was he mellowing with age?

I studied his face as he concentrated on his task and a sadness swept through me. The emotion startled me, especially with the prickle of tears for the second time in less than an hour. What was happening to me? I bit my lip. Why was I sad for him? Suddenly I wanted to go to him and envelope him in a tight hug. What the hell?

I gave myself a shake before moving through the crowd towards him. I'd seen more of him in the last few days than I had since I moved to Evergreen Lake. Even though I still saw him as the older brother of Alana--where was she by the way?--little snippets of a different man were beginning to pop out and show himself. I liked what I was seeing.

The closer I got to him, the more rapidly my heart beat. I pulled in a deep breath and walked over with purpose. He still hadn't seen me, which was fine, it let me gather my thoughts because I had no idea what I was going say to him. I was about five feet away when he looked up and our eyes met.

My foot went out from under me on a little patch of ice and I caught myself rather ungracefully. Better that than splat right in front of him. Honestly, of all the stupid things to happen while he was watching me. He must think I'm some kind of uncoordinated dipstick or something what with the freaking lizard and now this.

Surprise etched his face and he jumped slightly as if he would’ve caught me.

“I’m good.” I felt heat rush up my cheeks and knew they must be flaming red."Morning, looks like you're keeping yourself busy." I stopped on the other side of the table in front of him.

He nodded. "Yes, that's me—busy, busy, busy." He glanced around and then met my gaze. "This is a good turnout. I have to say I'm impressed."

I smiled, not expecting a compliment. "Thank you, I'm not the only one that pulled this together though. Everybody helped, and without all those people it wouldn't have been possible."

He walked over to the contraption with the pot, easily holding four jugs of hot chocolate grasped in his hands, like a German waitress carrying steins of beer at Octoberfest. He dumped them into the caldron and came back.

"Did you ride the train?" He came around to my side of the table. "Would you like a mug of hot chocolate?" he asked, and his smile made my heart flip over.

"Uhm, yes, I would like that. Thank you."

I watched him pour the drink and top it with mini marshmallows. He was fastidious at making it just perfect before handing it to me. Again, I met his gaze as I reached for the cup, and our fingers brushed. Mine tingled at his touch and sensation whispered up my arm.

We stayed that way for a brief second, almost as if our fingers had melted together with the heat. Then, at the same moment, he let go and I stepped back. But I could still feel his touch on my skin.

What on earth was going on here between us?

I lifted the mug and took a sip, trying not to react to the hot liquid almost scalding my lip. But I couldn't hold back the little jump I did.

"Sorry, did you burn your lip? I should've put some milk in it to cool it down." He reached for a carton and tipped some into my cup.

"It's OK, but thank you. I’ll survive." I swirled my cup a little bit to mix it up. "It sure does warm the belly. I’m so pleased with the turnout and you should’ve heard the excitement on the train. I hope the snow holds off."

We both looked up at the sky, which was darkening, making the twinkle of the Christmas lights around the bonfire brighter.

"Yes, the snow isn't too bad right now. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

He put the carton back on the table and stood beside me. We watched the children running around laughing, playing the carnival games while the adults sat on the logs by the fire. Others were walking along the trails among the Christmas trees.

"I love this, seeing families enjoy themselves like this. Creating memories that last a lifetime," I said wistfully.

"Yes, it is." I couldn't detect any hint of emotion in the tone of his voice and wondered if he was thinking back to before his parents were killed. "Nothing can ever take memories from you."

I looked at him. He was gazing out over the fire and I searched his features. He was stoic.

"No, they can't be taken away, can they?" I hesitated before gently saying, "I hope all this Christmas celebration happening on your farm, and your involvement in the festival, brings you happy memories and not sad ones."

I saw him stiffen and gently touched his arm. He didn't move or acknowledge my touch. I said no more.

He drew in a breath. "Speaking of my part, I better get back to the hot chocolate."

I watched him, cradling my cup of cooling hot chocolate with my gloved hands. He glanced at me then got back to his task. I realized that he was a broken man underneath his gruff and grumbly exterior. Did anyone else see it? Was I imagining it?

No, I didn't think so. And just like that, my teenage crush for him came charging back.

As I wandered away, it struck me that we hadn't even talked about the newspaper article.