Love, Snow and Mistletoe: Four Sweet Christmas Romance Novellas

by Victorine E. Lieske

  The air between them felt charged. Grace felt madness sliding through her veins, urging her to rise up on her toes to get closer to his lips. But no. She couldn’t kiss Sam. What was wrong with her? She bit her lip and forced herself to take a step back. Disappointment flashed over Sam’s face, but he smiled so quickly she wondered if she’d actually seen it.

  “It’s probably just that you’re not a self-obsessed teenager anymore,” he teased.

  “I wasn’t obsessed with myself.”

  Sam raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

  Grace shrugged. “Maybe a little. But weren’t we all at that age?”

  Shaking his head, Sam stepped outside. “Not me. I was obsessed with someone else.”

  Grace stared after him as he ambled back across the landing to his apartment. Was he talking about her? Had he wanted more than friendship back then?

  The thought appalled her. Ditching him for Derek had been bad enough when they were just friends. If he’d had feelings for her…well, it was too awful to imagine.

  “Sam?”

  He turned back around, halfway to his apartment.

  “I got divorced for a lot of reasons, but mostly because I was tired of giving, giving, giving all the time and never getting anything back in return. It took me years to figure out Derek loved himself more than he could ever love me.”

  Sam’s expression was more solemn than she’d ever seen it. “You did the right thing, Gracie. You deserve so much more than that. “

  There was something charged between them, and it scared her enough to say, “I’m not looking for more right now, Sam.”

  He shrugged and smiled. “I get it. Doesn’t mean you won’t find it though.”

  Chapter 7

  “Mommy, look! Christmas trees!”

  Grace looked around as Bella spoke and saw that they were indeed passing a small tree lot. “Yeah. Aren’t they pretty?”

  “Stop, Mommy. Mommy, stop. Please?”

  Sighing, Grace put on her turn signal and went around the block to circle back to the tree lot. “We can go look. But we probably can’t buy one, baby. Okay? We’re just going to look.”

  As she parked and turned off the car, Grace said a little prayer that her car would start back up again. It almost hadn’t fifteen minutes ago when she’d left the bank to go pick Bella up at daycare, and the temperature was dropping quickly. Sam said the cold was hard on her decrepit battery. As they walked across the cracked pavement, she guided her bouncy, excited daughter around the puddles left over from the rain that had fallen earlier in the day. The edges of the puddles were icing up and she didn’t want her to slip or get her feet wet.

  But once they got to the trees, there was no holding her back. Bella tugged her hand free and ran in circles through the trees set up in the center of the lot for display. Trees tied up with rope leaned in stacks with their prices spelled out in large white signs. Grace sighed. Even the smaller trees were thirty dollars. She just couldn’t afford to spend that much for something that would only last them the eight days until Christmas.

  “Your daughter is adorable,” said an old man in heavy overalls.

  “Thanks. Maybe she’ll at least work off some energy. But she’s going to be so sad when we can’t get a tree.”

  “Oh? Why not?”

  Grace blushed and wished she hadn’t said anything. Especially when she realized this was probably the lot owner. “They’re beautiful trees. I just don’t have room in my budget this year.”

  His kind eyes flashed over to Bella and back again. “Well, we can’t stop that from that little girl having a Christmas tree. How much could you afford?”

  With her cheeks burning as they were, Grace no longer felt the cold. “I have ten dollars in my wallet. But I’m sure you don’t have anything for that much.”

  The old man nodded and rubbed the scruffy white beard on his chin. “Well not in the way of normal stock. But…” He thought for a moment and shrugged. “If you aren’t too picky about how it looks, I might have something for you.” He waved his hand as he walked to the back corner of the lot, so she followed him, curious to see what he meant.

  In a corner full of trimmed branches leaned a forlorn tree with warped branches and one side that had barely any branches at all.

  “I don’t know what my grandson was thinking when he brought this one over. But maybe you’d be interested in taking it home.”

  Grace smiled with excitement. She just knew she could make it look good. “I’ll take it. Ten dollars you said?”

  He shook his head. “I couldn’t bring myself to charge someone for that mess. You’d be doing me a favor to take it off my hands.”

  “Would you mind if I took some of these branches laying on the ground too?”

  The man chuckled and walked away with his hands in his pockets. “Help yourself.”

  Grace grabbed the trunk of the tree and pulled it upright. It wasn’t that tall, only about six feet. But there was no way she’d be able to get it home in her car. She immediately thought of calling Sam, but hesitated. She didn’t want to bother him, and she wasn’t sure how to face him after almost kissing him last night. But she wasn’t about to lose this chance to get a tree for Bella.

  Pulling Sam’s business card out of her wallet, Grace took a deep breath and called him. He picked up right away.

  “Hello?”

  “Sam, it’s Grace.”

  “Oh, hey. Wait, is your battery dead?”

  “No. At least, I hope not. I just got a Christmas tree, and I wondered if you might be able to come by with your truck and pick it up for me.”

  “You’re in luck. I was just on my way home. Where are you?”

  Grace gave him the address and went to check on Bella. She found her on the other side of the tree display, talking to the owner. She visited with him, found out his name was Harold, and determined that she’d find a way to thank him for his kindness.

  Bella’s nose was rosy red, so Grace decided that she’d better get her warmed back up. “Thanks again for the tree Harold. I’m going to go get Bella warming up and my friend Sam will come get the tree in a minute.”

  Grace took Bella back to the car and hurried up to get the engine turned on. When she turned the key, the engine worked and chugged. She could tell it was right on the point of starting, but it didn’t. Grace closed her eyes. She tried again, but this time, it sounded much more reluctant to even try turning over. It was definitely the battery.

  A truck pulled up next to her. Grace looked up and met Sam’s eyes. Her pulse leapt into overdrive the minute she saw him, and a warm happiness coursed through her like melted caramel. As he got out, she leaned back in her seat and relaxed, not even caring that she was likely about to get a lecture.

  “I have a feeling you aren’t sitting here in your car with the engine off because you’re enjoying the weather.”

  “You’d be right.”

  Sam nodded but didn’t say a word about how he’d told her so. “Pop the hood.”

  Grace reached for the lever and sat back in her seat. With her toes turning to icicles in her shoes, she admitted how nice it was to have someone there to help her. But more than that, so much more than that, she realized she enjoyed being close to Sam.

  When Sam had the cables hooked up, Grace got out of the car and went around to stand next to him. “Sam, I hate to ask you now that I’m causing you all this extra trouble, but would you mind carrying the tree to the truck?”

  He didn’t smile as he looked down at her, but she could see the humor in his eyes. “That is what I came for.”

  “The owner’s name is Harold. Just tell him you’re there to pick up the ugly tree.”

  Sam’s eyebrows rose. “Um…did you want the ugly tree?”

  “Absolutely. It’s free.”

  “Got it. I’ll be right back then.”

  Grace watched him walk away for a moment too long. There was something about his long, masculine stride that she couldn’t tear her eyes f
rom. He was one well-put together man. And totally handy to have around. By the time they got back to the apartments and he’d carried the tree up to her apartment and gotten it into a tree stand, she was willing to give fate its due. Maybe it had been kind to her when it had led her to an apartment where Sam lived.

  “You know,” Sam said, eyeing the tree. “If you trim off all the branches on this bare side, you can push it right up against the wall and it won’t take up as much room in here.”

  “That’s a brilliant idea. But I don’t have anything to trim them with.”

  “I have a hacksaw in my toolbox. I’ll be right back.”

  In no time at all, he had the tree trimmed. The smell of freshly cut spruce filled the apartment, along with the mix of pine and balsam from the cut branches Grace had run back for as Sam had loaded the tree in his truck. “It seems like I’m always thanking you,” Grace said. “I feel bad for bothering you so much.”

  “Well, don’t. You have a lot on your plate and helping you makes me happy. Do you have any lights for this tree?”

  Grace nodded and opened the last box in her living room. “I hope they still work. I haven’t used them for a few years.”

  “Let’s check them out.” Sam carried the lights over to an outlet and plugged them in. A few bulbs were burned out, but Grace was thrilled to see that they worked for the most part. “Once I get them on the tree, you’ll barely be able to tell.”

  As they put the lights on the tree, Bella worked on unloading the ornaments from the same box. She sorted them into piles according to some system only she understood. There weren’t very many of them—mostly cheap ornaments mixed in with a few more nice ones. “Wow,” Bella said, looking up.

  Since Grace had just plugged in the lights, she wasn’t surprised at her daughter’s reverent tone.

  Sam’s lips scrunched to the side as if he was trying not to laugh. “This tree makes Charlie Brown’s tree look good.”

  “It’ll look better once the ornaments are on it.”

  “I’ll have to come see when you get it done.”

  “Oh. You’re leaving?” But as soon as she asked the question, she felt stupid. He’d more than gone out of his way already to help her with this tree. And since when had she not only stopped avoiding him but started expecting him to hang out with them?

  Sam nodded and walked over to take her car keys off the hook on the wall. “I’d better get to work if I’m going to get a new battery in your car tonight.”

  “What? No. Sam, it’s cold outside—”

  “It’s not going to get warmer any time soon.”

  “And it’s late.”

  “It’s only seven. It’s just dark.”

  Grace felt like she was losing this argument way too quickly. But she hadn’t given her biggest reason yet. “I can’t afford a new battery until I get paid again.”

  Sam turned to face her. “Can you afford to be late to work or get stranded somewhere with Bella in the car?”

  He was so right. The muscles in her back and neck tightened with anxiety, because it still didn’t mean she could afford it. When she spoke, her voice sounded small. “Sam, I have no money for five more days. I literally have ten dollars in my pocket.”

  She felt as if she’d cracked herself open and exposed her most vulnerable places to him, but he just shrugged as if it was no big deal. “Gracie, relax. I’ve got some batteries in stock at my shop so I don’t even have to go buy one for you. I’ll put it in really quick, and you can pay me back later if you want to. But I don’t care if you don’t.”

  And then he was gone. Sagging with relief, Grace sat down on the couch and dropped her head down into her hands. She didn’t deserve any of this, and she shouldn’t have accepted, but she was so grateful that Sam had taken it out of her hands.

  “Look, Mommy. I did it.”

  Grace looked up and saw that Bella had hung almost every ornament they owned, not that there were many, on one branch of the Christmas tree. “You sure did, baby. Good job.”

  She sat staring at the branch as it drooped beneath the weight of so many burdens. When Bella went to bed, she’d take them off and watch the branch rise again. With Sam’s help, she felt like she might just be able to rise again too.

  Chapter 8

  Once Grace let Sam in, he seemed to fill their lives. With their front doors so close together, it was so easy to find excuses to hang out together. Usually, the excuse was getting together so Bella could play with Fluffy. Over the next four days, Sam began inviting Bella to help him take Fluffy on his walk around the apartment complex, which gave Grace time to cook dinner. And so, it always seemed natural to invite Sam to share it with them.

  On Thursday, Sam called her when she was getting off work. “I want to pay you back for all the dinners you’ve fed me this week. Can I take you and Bella out for dinner somewhere?”

  The inclusion of Bella in the invitation saved it from being in the dangerous territory of being a date, so she didn’t hesitate to say, “That would be great. Sure.” It was an added bonus that since it was the last day before payday, she didn’t have anything for dinner but ramen noodles.

  “What do you like to eat? I’m up for anything.”

  Grace thought for a minute, and said, “Know where to get good Pad Thai?”

  “A woman after my own heart. See you in thirty minutes or so.”

  Grace picked Bella up at daycare and hurried home, hoping she’d have a few minutes to freshen up. Not date-worthy freshen-up or anything. But she didn’t want Sam to be ashamed to be seen with her.

  But when she saw the state Bella was in, she realized her daughter needed more work than she did. Her ponytail was halfway undone with the shorter pieces in front hanging in mad tangles around her face, her shirt was stained with finger-paint, and crusty bits of her lunch still decorated her face.

  Sam rang their doorbell while she was still scrubbing Bella’s face. Putting her down on the bathroom floor, Grace went into the living room and let Sam in. “We’re still getting ready,” she confessed. “Do you mind waiting a few minutes?”

  “Not at all.” Sam strolled inside and sat on the couch, settling in as if he belonged there. And after the last few days, he pretty much did. “Can I help you with anything?”

  “Know how to fix little girls’ hair?”

  “Nope.”

  “Too bad.”

  Grace took Bella into the bedroom and swapped out her stained t-shirt for a warm sweater. She took a brush and a ponytail holder into the living room and sat on the couch to fix Bella’s hair. “No, you don’t,” she said when Bella tried to squirm away. “Don’t you want to go eat dinner with Sam?”

  “Can I get fry fries?”

  Grace smiled at the way she said French fries, but answered solemnly. “Of course. If you let me fix your ponytail.”

  Bella stood still then, so Grace was able to get her hair fixed in no time.

  “That didn’t look too hard,” Sam said, observing her from the other side of the couch.

  Grace got up and tossed a little pair of suede boots at him. “Will you change her shoes for me?”

  Sam didn’t bother to answer. He just picked up the boots and patted the couch cushion beside him. “Come on, Bella. Let’s show your mom how awesome I am.”

  Grace chuckled and went to the bathroom to brush her own hair and touch up her makeup. As she worked, she enjoyed listening to Sam carrying on a conversation with Bella. He talked to her like she was an adult. It resulted in some hilarious exchanges.

  “So, what’s the gossip over the juice boxes these days?”

  “I like apple juice.”

  “Oh yeah? I’m partial to grape juice myself.”

  “Apples are so juicy. I like to eat them and drink them. But when you eat them, they have peels and peels are yucky. But Mommy takes the peels off.”

  “You have a nice mom.”

  “I love Mom. Do you love Mom?”

  Grace dropped her hair brush and ran int
o the living room. “Okay. Let’s get going.”

  She pulled Bella up from the couch, only daring to look at Sam for a minute.

  He grinned at her. “Don’t you want to hear my answer?”

  “No!” Grace hurried to put Bella’s coat on. When she turned, Sam was holding her coat out for her to put on. Feeling flustered, she slipped her arms into the sleeves, shivering a little when Sam’s hand rested briefly on her shoulders.

  “Relax, Gracie. She asked an innocent question. It doesn’t have to make things awkward.”

  “Sam?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Let’s go get Pad Thai.”

  Thanks to the food being amazing, even though it was in a tiny restaurant that obviously used to be a drive-in, Grace did relax. The only thing she worried about over dinner was keeping Bella from completely wrecking the floor under their table as she ate her fried rice. Even with that distraction, it wasn’t hard to enjoy the first meal she’d eaten out in months. McDonald’s value menu did not count.

  As they left the restaurant, Grace noticed Sam grab a few mints from the bowl at the hostess stand. She raised her brow as she wondered if he was worried about his breath for some reason. Just in case her suspicions were right, she grabbed one for herself. She put it in her mouth as they walked out to his truck, and the mint made the cold air she breathed in even sharper. “It smells like snow,” she said.

  Sam nodded and unlocked his truck. He helped Bella up into the back seat and stepped back so Grace could buckle her in. “We might get a dusting tonight.”

  “Really? That’s so cool. It’s only three days till Christmas. I wonder if it will stick around.”

  When she’d got done buckling Bella up, she found Sam waiting with her door open. Sam eyed her solemnly. “Haven’t you been paying attention to the weather? We’re probably going to have a white Christmas, but it will be ice, not snow.”

  “Oh.” Grace climbed in the car and considered all the possible problems icy roads might cause. “I was supposed to go to my parents’ house for Christmas dinner. Even though I needed space after living with them for the last year, I’d hate to miss that. But, I’m also supposed to take Bella to her dad on Christmas Day, and wouldn’t it be terrible if I couldn’t?”