Head over Heels for the Holidays

by Jennifer Bernard

  Mrs. Holt paused on her way out the door. “How’s Harris doing? We hardly see him at stitch-and-bitch these days.”

  “He’s doing well. He’s spending lots of time with his new girlfriend.”

  “Harris and Vicki, who would have thought? People are saying we might be hearing wedding bells soon.”

  Maya’s stomach gave a hard twist. “I don’t know about that,” she managed.

  “Sometimes the family’s the last to know. I just learned that Lucas and Megan are having a baby, and she’s already three months along.”

  “Megan’s pregnant?”

  “Where have you been? It’s all over town. I guess you’ve been distracted.” She winked broadly and hurried out of Maya’s office.

  She wasn’t wrong about that.

  Maya gave herself a moment to collect her thoughts. She hadn’t been spending as much time with her father as usual. But he would have let her know if things were getting that serious. Chalk it up to the town gossip mill going overboard. Speaking of which…

  She marched into the bullpen area, which was basically a bunch of old metal desks crammed together with barely room to walk between them.

  “Anyone discovered to be repeating anything that I said in the privacy of my own office—no matter how loudly—will be on my shit list.”

  She couldn’t technically reprimand anyone for that, but she could try to scare them.

  The two officers who were present—Sergeants Hollister and Chen—looked at her with expressions of utmost innocence. She turned on her heel and spun back toward her office, almost missing Hollister’s cough and the “superstar” buried inside it.

  Oh God. She was never going to live this down, was she?

  Chapter 25

  As soon as the holiday season hit, lights sprang up all around Lost Harbor. Twinkle lights, snowflake lights, lights with colors ranging from vivid purple to holly red. Strings of lights outlined buildings in the historic downtown area. A few especially magnificent spruce trees were draped in twinkling lights.

  Rune’s favorite was a classic old Chevy pickup on the way past the mudflats. Lights ran the length of the open bed and framed the windshield. A close second was the old-school bear cache adorned with brilliant white lights. Many of the boats in the harbor got into the spirit too. Lights hung from masts and lit up cozy little wheelhouses.

  Anything to brighten up the long winter nights; that was how the farmer Max Bruner explained it to him. He’d even decorated his chicken coop with lights, and his pet goat wore a jingle collar that made a festive sound with every step it took.

  Rune could brighten his winter nights just fine without lights. All he needed was to walk through Maya’s door and everything lit up along with her intimate smile of greeting. As soon as he set eyes on her, all the cold and darkness and “wintry mix” of snow faded away. Like magic.

  Rune had gotten into the habit of checking in on Harris whenever he came home from a shift. He’d pop in just a few seconds on his way past and make sure the man didn’t need anything.

  He rarely did, thanks to Vicki. They were spending more and more time together, almost as much as he and Maya were. He wasn’t sure if Maya realized how much; she rarely talked about Vicki anymore. Hopefully that meant she’d come to accept her father’s new lady love.

  Soon after Thanksgiving, he got a call from Harris asking him to swing by Vicki’s salon and pick up some vitamins Vicki had ordered online.

  Beauty By Vicki was located close to the high school, so he was able to stop by the cute little shingled building on his way to pick up Cara.

  As soon as he walked into the fragrant warmth of the salon, a hush fell across the women in the barber chairs. As if they’d been talking about something they didn’t want him to hear.

  Fair enough.

  He held up his hands. “Not trying to interrupt anything, ladies. Just stopping by to pick up something from Vicki.”

  A giggle spurted from under a hair dryer.

  At a loss, he caught Vicki’s eye and lifted his shoulders in a shrug. She too looked like she might burst out laughing, but she put down her scissors and came toward him with a brown paper bag. She wore hoop earrings with little Santa’s elves dangling in the middle.

  “Here ya go, sweetie. Tell Harris to take one right away, and that I’ll see him later.”

  “Will do. Thank you. Nice earrings.” As he took the paper bag, he noticed more jewelry—a ring on a dainty chain around her neck. A pretty gold one, with a tiny sapphire sparkling against her smock.

  He lifted his eyebrows in curiosity. With a panicked look, she tucked it out of sight. “Don’t say anything,” she whispered. “Harris wants to tell Maya himself.”

  “I won’t, but you know how this town is. Better hurry.”

  “Oh, I know. By the way,” she lowered her voice even more, “you’re hot topic number one right now. Just thought you should know.”

  “Me?” He hadn’t done anything scandalous, as far as he knew. He and Maya were old news; at least they ought to be, after five hundred and twenty-two holiday parties. “Thanks for the heads up.”

  Shrugging, he headed for the door. He didn’t much care if people talked about him, but it might matter to Maya. He’d better warn her as well.

  As he pushed open the door, a blast of wintry wind swirled past him. Someone was calling after him, but the gust whisked it away before he could make it out. All he caught was the word “superstar.”

  Huh.

  He heard the same word when he stopped at the grocery store to grab some potatoes for dinner. He didn’t quite catch who said it, but someone definitely did. Superstar.

  Even Cara was acting weird. She stayed buried in her phone the entire drive home, with none of her usual chatter about her friends or her classes. As they reached Harris’ house, he spotted Maya’s car parked outside. Now he had two reasons to stop in.

  “I’m going to drop off these vitamins for Harris. Want to come in or wait in the car?”

  Cara leaped out of the car as if she’d just gotten sprung from prison. “I’ll walk the rest of the way.”

  He hesitated, since it was the kind of thing that would have worried him earlier on. It would only take her five minutes to walk the rest of the way, but what if Stalker Chad had found a way inside the fish house? What if he was lurking under the dock? What if he was—

  “That’s fine,” he told her. “Just keep your eyes open.”

  If that didn’t prove that he’d relaxed here in Lost Harbor, he didn’t know what would.

  She hopped through the snow in her red boots, her blond head bright against the twilight sky, and he felt a moment of deep hope that they’d be able to stay here.

  Hope could be a tricky mother-effer, so he pushed it aside.

  He knocked on Harris’ front door, found it open, and strolled inside—into a brewing storm.

  Maya had her fists planted on her hips as she faced off with her father, who was walking back and forth across the kitchen as he dried and put away dishes.

  “You’re just telling me now?” Maya demanded.

  “She just said ‘yes.’ I’m sorry you’re upset, honey.” He wiped the inside of a mug with a dish towel with an embroidered badger on it. Badgers were a theme in his house, from salt shakers to “Badger of Honor” throw pillows. “Hi there, Rune. Come on in, if you dare.”

  Rune stepped far enough into the kitchen to drop the brown paper bag on the counter. “Is everything okay in here?”

  “How does it look?” Maya snapped, barely looking his way. “What took her so long to say yes, Dad? She ought to be jumping at the chance. That means she doesn’t appreciate you—”

  “She was worried about what you would think,” Harris said, his grizzled eyebrows pulling together. “You got her terrified with all your scowls. I had to convince her you weren’t going to throw her in jail if she said ‘yes.’”

  “Throw her in—Dad, come on—” She swung around to face Rune. “Rune, tell him that
’s ridiculous. I’ve been so nice to her. I drank her vile cranberry wine.”

  Rune wanted to back right out of this situation while he still could. He had no right to get in the middle of Maya and her father’s fight. But now both of them were giving him pleading glances. Too late for an escape.

  “Of course Vicki’s nervous about what you’ll think, Maya. That’s normal. She knows how much you love your father.”

  Her glare relaxed a tiny bit.

  Harris shot him a grateful look. “That’s right. Listen to the man, Maya.”

  “Listen to the—” Maya spluttered indignantly, causing Rune to step in again.

  “Maya, as your dad’s nurse—”

  “Former nurse.”

  Wow, she really was on edge. “Former nurse, I’d like to turn down the temperature here. We don’t want Harris to get too wound up.”

  “I’m not wound up,” Harris declared. “I’m wound just right. I’m getting married, and I’m sorry if that’s hard for you to get used to, Maya. But maybe it’s time. You won’t have to worry about me so much anymore.”

  “I don’t mind worrying about you! Don’t do anything until I run a—”

  “Maya,” Rune interjected before she went too far with her accusations against Vicki. He put one arm around her shoulders. “How about we talk about this outside?”

  “This is between me and my dad!” Her eyes were bright with tears, dark with emotion. They blazed with a fire that he knew wasn’t really anger.

  “Go talk to him, honey,” said Harris. “Hear what he has to say.” He shot another pleading glance Rune’s way. The poor man could obviously use some help here. Rune sympathized with him, but also with Maya. It was disorienting when your parent decided to take a new partner. He’d been there.

  Maya shrugged his arm off her shoulders. “I don’t want to talk to Rune. He’s going to want me to be calm and reasonable and I—I—“

  Rune took her hand and steered her toward the door. “Come on. I promise you don’t have to be calm. You can yell and scream if you want. Let’s give your dad some space.”

  She pulled away and stormed ahead of him through the living room and the arctic entry—grabbing her coat on the way— then out the door.

  Outside on the snowy front yard, she stopped. Steam practically rose from her bare head.

  He stepped toward her, trying to figure out the best thing to do next. Stay here? Drive somewhere? Go home?

  She gave him a helpless glance that made his heart twist. She didn’t know what to do with herself.

  “Come on.” He took her by the hand and pulled her toward his car. Maya didn’t argue. She seemed to be struggling to hold back tears. She got into the passenger seat, and he took his place behind the wheel.

  He backed out of the driveway, skidding a bit on the slick gravel. He pulled onto the road and headed toward town. With night closing in, all the color leached from the world, painting everything in shades of black and silver.

  “Where are we going?” she asked after a few moments.

  “Just driving.”

  She didn’t answer, either to agree or to object. He didn’t push her to say anything. If she was upset, she was upset. He had no answers to give her. Sometimes you just needed time to adjust to a shift in your reality. He knew what that felt like.

  “What does he see in her?” she finally burst out. “No, don’t answer that. I know she’s nice. She’s nice, right? She’ll be good to him?”

  “I think so. But it’s not up to me.”

  “It’s up to him. I get it. I know that. But he went and proposed to her. Without even telling me first. Or asking for my advice. Why didn’t he ask me for advice? Everyone asks me for advice. Freaking Jessica asks me which boots she should buy. My own father just goes and gets engaged without a blip?”

  “Crazy kids,” he murmured.

  “Don’t try to make me laugh! It’s not going to work. I’m still going to be upset.”

  They reached the end of the mudflats and he turned in the direction of the boardwalk. Everything out there was closed in the winter, except for the Olde Salt Saloon and the Eagle’s Nest Resort, but it still made for a beautiful, blustery drive. A nearly constant wind cut across the bay, churning up water and sending surf crashing onto the stilts that held up some of the boardwalk storefronts.

  With all the stores and restaurants closed, the only light aside from the streetlights came from the boats in the harbor and the stars in the sky. The Olde Salt provided a dim ember of a glow in the heart of the boardwalk. All the way at the tip of the boardwalk, the lights of the Eagle’s Nest glimmered against the dark backdrop of the mountains.

  As they drove down the empty boardwalk road, wind howled at the windows of his car like hyenas trying to claw their way in. The glass rattled.

  “Are you coming to Lost Souls?” Maya asked abruptly. “Did you decide?”

  “We’re in.” He’d talked it over with Cara, who didn’t like the restrictions but was very excited about the trip. “When do you want to go?”

  “A few days before Christmas. I’m pulling in some favors from friends with planes.”

  “Friends with planes. Wish I had a few of those.”

  “Don’t try to make me laugh.”

  “I’m not. I swear.” He cast around for something non-funny to talk about. “Hey, I have a mystery for you. Something to wrap your detective brain around.”

  She brightened, turning to him with an expression of relief. “Good. I need a change of topic. What is it?”

  “For some reason, every time I turned around today, I heard the word ‘superstar.’ Vicki warned me I was a hot topic, but she didn’t say why. Do you have any clue what that’s all about? Superstar?”

  For a moment, she just stared at him with an expression somewhere between shock and horror. Then she laughed. And kept laughing. Big heaves of laughter that had tears rolling down her cheeks. “I—I’m so—sorry,” she gasped.

  “You’re laughing. I wasn’t even trying, I swear. What’d I do?”

  That question triggered a new round of hysterical peals of laughter. Jesus. He had no idea what this was about, but Maya was fricking losing it. He turned off the road into the parking lot of the deep-water section of the harbor. No one would be coming and going from here after dark.

  The only other vehicle in the lot was a truck hooked to a trailer carrying a battered fishing boat. Ahead of them, a retaining wall protected the lot from the rise of the tides. Dark water lay beyond. On this lee side of the boardwalk, the water was almost unruffled by the wind.

  Maya laughed and laughed until finally she blotted her eyes and blinked at him. “Wow. I guess I did need to laugh after all. Thank you.”

  “For what? You’d better let me in on the big joke.” If he was going to be a laughingstock, he wanted to know why.

  “It’s my fault. Jerome came to my office today and got under my skin. I yelled at him and one of the things I said—very loudly—was that you fuck like a superstar.” She screwed up her face as the words left her mouth. “I’m really sorry. It was very inappropriate and I feel terrible about it. I did what I could to keep it from leaving the office, but apparently that didn’t work. They’re always trying to get into my personal business. This time I just put it on blast.” She let out a sob-giggle. “I don’t even know why I’m laughing. It’s wrong. So wrong. Are you mad? Of course you’re mad.”

  A long moment passed while he tried to get his head around the entire town calling him “superstar.” Good God, the women in the salon? Random people at the grocery?

  Maya cleared her throat. “How mad?”

  Chapter 26

  Maya stole a glance at his shadowed face. It was a given that he would be furious. She would be, if he’d blabbed around town about their sex life. But he wasn’t saying anything. Why wasn’t he saying anything?

  “Rune?” she tried. “How can I make this up to you?”

  “What makes you think I’m upset? Fuck like a superst
ar. That’s not exactly an insult.”

  But she could hear in his voice that it bothered him. “It’s private. It’s between us. It’s not anyone’s business, especially Jerome’s.”

  Still he was quiet. “Why’d you say that to him?”

  “He said something dismissive and it pissed me off. I was…I don’t know. Defending you.”

  “I didn’t know I needed defending.”

  “You don’t. He got under my skin.”

  A shadow passed across his face, but she couldn’t tell what it meant.

  “Did it work? Did you shut him up?”

  “Mostly. Rune, I was angry. I was lashing out at Jerome. Our relationship is a lot more than just fucking.”

  He slanted a glance at her. “Is it? I don’t know what it is, really.” He shook his head roughly, as if ridding himself of whatever thoughts were dogging him. “You know my situation. Fucking ain’t so bad. I’ll take it.” He turned to her and she caught her breath at the look in his eyes. Dark and intent. Hot and dangerous. “I’ll fuck you right now. Put your seat back and let’s do it.”

  The brusque order made her breath come fast and furious in her chest. In her daily life she gave the orders. And she didn’t like them coming from men, generally. But Rune was different because she knew him so well. This was a mood, a dark ride he was inviting her on. She could say no. He wouldn’t argue if she asked him to take her home.

  But she didn’t want to say no.

  She clicked the passenger seat back. Heat already pulsed between her legs. A gust of wind made the car rock from side to side. Outside, utter darkness pushed at the windows.

  He angled his body over her and unzipped her pants. He shoved his hand under the tight cloth of her black jeans, more roughly than he normally would. It didn’t bother her, the roughness. It felt like exactly what she needed right now. She was craving a hard smash, a harsh release, and somehow he knew it.

  He buried his hand in the damp nest of her sex. She arched against him and widened her legs even farther. His strong body hunched over her as he focused one hundred percent on his task. He dragged his hand through the slippery softness of her pussy. Used the heel to grind against her clit until it throbbed with fierce pulsing need.