Unforgettable Christmas Dreams: Gifts of Joy

by Rebecca York

  “That’s good—you see this event button? You can manage all of that from this page.”

  “That will be easy to figure out—that’s a calendar feature?”

  She’d always appreciated Ryker’s quick intelligence and she had no doubt that he would master this quickly once he realized its purpose could make his life as the coordinator the East Coast Florida Clean-up easier. “So, we need a story to connect you with people, like, what made you first want to save marine life?”

  Back then it had never been as pronounced, although they’d talked about it, it wasn’t like they’d gotten up at dawn to walk the beach and pick up trash as he did now.

  He drank his latte, his cheeks tinged with red as if he was embarrassed at being singled out for doing something great. His lack of ego was the opposite of the men she knew in LA. Hollywood was loaded with egotistical males. Women too.

  “Just something that will allow your followers to know why you do what you do.”

  “I don’t have a story,” Ryker said.

  “You do though,” Bob interjected, hustling over to pick up the fork and plate. “Tell her about your vacation as a kid, swimming with trash.”

  “Yuck.” She looked from Bob to Ryker. Was he serious? Why hadn’t Ryker ever told her that story? Maybe he’d wanted to forget it—out of sight, out of mind. But it had formed him.

  Ryker exhaled like she was asking him to pull his own teeth.

  “Come on,” she coaxed. “Sea Watch for lunch, my treat.”

  He scraped his hand through his hair. “I was just a kid, and we’d taken a family vacation on the Gulf. I was so excited to be at the beach that supposedly had shark teeth all over the sand. Me and Toby splashed into the surf, and what I thought was a jellyfish ended up being a plastic grocery sack.”

  Perfect. Kids on vacation, hope, and then…disaster. She could see the story forming. Her mind hummed. Georgette, and her Satin Scrub was also all about family. Another connection.

  “Don’t forget what your mom said,” Bob prodded.

  “As if I could,” Ryker chuckled low. “She never lets me forget. Anyway, Mom said that I might not be able to clean all the beaches, but I could start by cleaning my own.”

  That set the groundwork. The public would eat this up—she could spin it just right. He’d gain followers, and Georgette would too.

  “And then what happened?” she asked, culling his memory for stories. As she listened to him talk, she was caught up in his compassion for marine life, his willingness to do something, even tiny steps, to lead to cleaner oceans.

  “As a lifeguard it killed me to see all of the plastic water bottles washing up. The trash bags. The sunglasses were different—they weren’t on purpose, you know? But we have recycling bins on every beach access—why not take care of your own garbage, right?”

  He really cared and it warmed her heart. No—no heart-warming. He’d treated her terribly.

  They’d been kids.

  He’d apologized.

  Love in high school didn’t last, especially when dragged through the sand.

  She was making herself dizzy with her back and forth self-arguments that reminded her of being in debate class. She peeked at Ryder and let out a confused sigh.

  Denial wasn’t just a river in Egypt, she heard her mother say.

  If she gave the slightest hint of lowering her guard, he would ask to see her again, another date. Possibly a relationship of some sort. She couldn’t give up her apartment, or her clients. Changing for Ryker after what he’d done scared her.

  Underneath all of the hurt was the fact that he hadn’t trusted her to make her own decision. He hadn’t discussed it with her. They’d both been young and naïve, and she could accept that, for their past.

  The future was a different story. Serenity made sure to scoot her chair back from where their knees had touched. She would make a clear boundary to save them both the heartache.

  Chapter Ten

  Serenity hadn’t been able to buy Ryker the lunch she’d promised because her sister had called with sharp pains in her tummy and they’d spent the day at the doctor’s office. All was well, but it had been scary, and Serenity was just grateful to be there.

  In the week since, she and Ryker had texted and emailed about his social media accounts, but she’d made sure to change up her dog-walking times so that she didn’t bump into him. Cyrus was growing on her, but she really had a soft spot for Sweet Pea, the chubby pit bull mix.

  Friday morning, she woke up at six, prepared to face Ryker. It was time to see if their efforts had paid off. She’d set up the event to start at six-thirty. Twenty people had responded to say they were interested.

  She noticed that Ryker had been great about answering questions on the feed and he’d posted a picture of the sunrise two days in a row. Folks loved it. He’d shared a bird’s nest, and pelicans roosting on the pier.

  He was sharing what he loved, and that always got a decent response. She’d contacted Bob about bringing a carton of coffee to the access point this morning and she would meet him there with a box of doughnuts. She put Glitz and Glamour outside for a potty break, hoping Tiff might be able to sleep in.

  She grabbed some heavy-duty gloves from the garage, the doughnuts, and hustled down to the beach—not something she could do where she lived in Malibu. Things were quiet in the homey neighborhood. She passed by one yard however that was filled with inflatable reindeer and a sleigh.

  Picture worthy, for sure. She snapped a few and shared them. Her mood was anxious because she wanted to see Ryker even though he was a bad idea for her on a personal level. In the business part, Georgette had been quiet, and Serenity didn’t want to push. Her reputation was also on the line. She trusted Ryker would make his goal of increasing his social visibility and raising awareness clean beaches.

  Was it any wonder he gave her a headache? Why couldn’t he have just let her come home after freshman year? She knew she would not be this person if he had. And maybe he’d been right that she would have resented him and their simple life.

  They’d never know as that was not the road they’d chosen.

  She arrived just after Bob, who carried a cardboard box of steaming dark roast coffee. “Hey, Bob!”

  “Serenity!” The barista gave her a half-hug and eyed her ensemble of red and green plaid capris, a silk green t-shirt, and red ballet shoes. “Tres festive,” he laughed.

  “Tis the season,” she sang. “Is Ryker here?”

  Bob pointed to the group of thirty in the park that Ryker was handing out bags and instructions to.

  “That’s great,” she said, skipping the coffee and doughnuts to grab some pictures of Ryker in action. He was a natural.

  The weather had a chill of around sixty-five at this hour of the morning but most of the assorted group—men, women and children, were in t-shirts and shorts. Ryker too. Her stomach twisted when she saw how he spoke so earnestly to a little boy about seven on what he could do help keep the oceans clean.

  She took quite a few pictures before greeting everyone. “Morning.”

  Ryker’s head whipped toward her. “Serenity? Hey!” He jogged across the grass to where she stood. “Here to help?”

  She tugged her gloves where she’d had them tucked in her waistband and her camera. “Ready.”

  “Big turnout, huh?” He slipped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “You were right. I’m pretty stoked about being able to rally all of Florida by next September. There are close to seven hundred beaches—did you know that?”

  “No.” Of course he would.

  He peered down at her and winked. “Did you hear from the scrub lady?”

  She moved, regretfully, away from his arm. “Georgette. No—we probably will after the holidays.” She didn’t want him to worry about it.

  Bob called, “Serenity, Ryker! Smile!” He had an actual camera that he’d taken their picture with—very old-school, but cool.

  “Give me a copy, Bob—thank you! All
right, boss, I’m ready to work.”

  Ryker chuckled. “Me, the boss of you? Right. You seem like the independent type.”

  She didn’t mean to spend the entire hour of clean-up in the same ten feet as Ryker, but it just worked out that way. It gave her the opportunity to see him as a very confident man, at ease on the beach, talking with people about ways to help.

  Her heart turned into gooey mush. She took a photo of Ryker with a family of four yanking out a plastic tarp from the sand dune, then they all gave each other high-fives.

  They returned to the park and she waved goodbye. “Great job everybody—check the Facebook page for pictures of you. Thanks for helping!”

  Serenity had to leave before she broke down and begged Ryker for another chance. She had an appointment with her therapist, but it wasn’t until February. A lot could happen in a month.

  ***

  She’d just returned the pups and was walking back to Tiffany’s house when she received a text from Ryker. Are you avoiding me? Why didn’t you wait after the clean-up? I would have bought you breakfast.

  No, she started to deny. Be honest with yourself at least, she thought—definitely, yes, she was avoiding him. Great job today—I’ll get the pics up in an hour or so.

  No rush. Are you ready for the Christmas Eve party?

  I’m helping with the meals, which means I’ve ordered from Publix.

  Don’t you cook?

  I order out.

  I’ll cook for you, before you go.

  That would be such a dangerous idea. In the house that isn’t finished?

  It will be. I’ve been working on it all week.

  Sounds good. TTYL.

  She ended the texting session wanting to see him that second. It was like she had a virus or something, a sickness named Ryker Nelson. She groaned and stuck her phone in her pocket. Wondering what he was doing. If he was thinking of her. Would he even want to be with her? These days lots of people had non-traditional relationships. She had her life in Malibu. He was ensconced here.

  “Argh!” The whole thing made her stomach somersault. She strode up her sister’s walkway, knocked lightly and went inside. Glitz and Glamour greeted her with happy faces, tongues out, whole bodies wiggling.

  Tiffany was curled up on the couch with a book—she loved historical fiction, and was reading The Irishman’s Daughter, by V.S. Alexander.

  A touching story, but not exactly light-hearted. “How about we watch some romantic comedies tonight?”

  She looked up from the book with a wavering smile. “All right. I’ve almost finished my book.” Putting the paperback to the side, Tiff patted the cushion at her feet. “Sit. Tell me about the dogs. Does Champ still have to pee on everything?”

  “He has nothing left in his little Yorkie bladder but that doesn’t stop him from trying.”

  “You should get a puppy.”

  What was with her sister lately? “What would I do with a dog?”

  “Love it,” she laughed. “And it will love you. You’ve totally warmed up to my two beasts.”

  “Your girls are ladies.” She patted Glitz on the back. Glamour had sprawled beneath the coffee table.

  A dog? She considered the idea. Before this trip it would have been a no, but now? Maybe.

  And what was Ryker asking about kids for? He should have a bunch—but that was one area that she wasn’t ready to dive into. She should probably start with a puppy to see how she did. The parakeet she’d had hadn’t lived very long, and she hadn’t gotten another one. Her mom said they were too stinky. Ryker had helped her give Blue a funeral when her mother had just wanted to toss the bird in the trash.

  “I love them. The woman I bought them from messaged me that she’s got another litter if anybody is looking…”

  “Is that why you’re saying I need a puppy?” Serenity shook her head. “If I had a dog, it would need to be purse-size to travel with me.”

  Her sister nodded wisely. “That’s good. You can train them to be inside and potty in the bathroom. I watched a video on it.”

  “Between You Tube and Google, we could probably learn brain surgery,” she said with a laugh.

  “And wikiHow!” Her sis sat back and giggled.

  Serenity risked changing the mood. “Have you heard from Jonas?”

  “He’s going to try to be home for Christmas Eve, but…” she shrugged. Her pretty green eyes welled and spilled over. “He finally told me what he wants to talk about. They offered the job, but they want him to be in Beijing for two months out of the year. Every year.”

  “Oh…” That sounded like it could be fun. So why Tiff’s reaction? Her sister had always preferred staying around the house.

  “Yeah.” She reached for a tissue from a box on the counter.

  “Oh—can’t you go with him?”

  “I guess so.” She dabbed her nose. “Jonas thinks he can make his own schedule, but I’ve built up my business…”

  “But you have someone that could fill in. Maybe you need to hire someone full-time.”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Traveling while the baby is little is probably easier than when he starts school, right?” Serenity could only imagine—she required three suitcases when she went anywhere.

  Tiff nodded again, but her shoulders weren’t so tight.

  Serenity patted Tiff’s leg. “You could do it, if you wanted to. But it’s a lot when you haven’t gotten settled with the munchkin. Is the money what he thought?”

  “More.”

  “Then, if I were you, I’d go and insist on staying in five-star hotels with a Michelin-star restaurant.” They used to think that fancy hotels and room service would be the best life ever. She still liked it. She’d gotten them a deluxe suite one year for the holiday and they’d ordered everything from pizza to caviar to ice cream.

  As if Tiff read her mind her sister said, “That was one of my favorite Christmases.” She sat back and adjusted a pillow to prop the side of her stomach. “So, how’s Ryker?”

  “I just saw him this morning. He had thirty people show up to his beach event.” She quickly wiped the sappy smile off her face.

  “Awesome! So now he knows that what you do works,” Tiff said proudly.

  “Exactly. Now, I don’t know if we’ll get the person I really want to pair him with, the woman uses sea salt in her all-natural scrub, but we’ll see. I’m expecting a box of samples from her and we can do facials.”

  “Might help with my hormone breakouts.” Tiffany exhaled and covered a red dot on her chin. “You’re only going to be gone two days for New Year’s, right?”

  “Yes. It will be a whirlwind trip, but you’re worth it.” She’d warned her agent that she was on baby duty, but she felt a lot better knowing that Jonas would be here with her sister to bring in the new year. If Jonas wasn’t back? Well, she might need someone else to fill in for her as hostess.

  “You should invite Ryker over for dinner before you go.”

  “Why on earth would you say that? You know I don’t cook. Has he been sending you texts?” She peered over the mountain of her sister’s tummy to the phone by her side.

  “No. I just know that you like hanging out with him. It might sound silly, but you have a glow when you talk about him.”

  She didn’t have a freaking glow. Did she? Serenity touched her forehead like a glow was a fever. That would be about how Ryker made her feel.

  “What?” Tiff asked with concern, petting Glitz at her side.

  To keep the peace, she didn’t say anything more about her sister’s emotional state. “Well, he offered to cook me dinner before I go back to LA.”

  “I hope you said yes!” Tiff folded her hands together.

  “I said, sounds good, and kept it non-committal.” Serenity brushed her hair behind her ear.

  “Why?”

  “Because, we have a lot of bad history together. He said he broke up with me for my own good…” The sisters had rehashed the entire conversation (minus th
e wild sex afterward) over a plate of brownies. She blinked away tears. “I have to be one sick puppy to spend one more second thinking about him.” His shaggy hair, warm embrace. Stop it.

  Tiff leaned forward and clasped her hand. “What advice would you give someone else right now?”

  “Move on.” Her stomach knotted at never seeing him again.

  “What if it’s really love? You used to say he was your soul mate.”

  “It can’t be. These are old feelings welling to the surface.” She tugged free from Tiff’s hand to pace before the couch. “I live in LA. I’ve built up a client list that is very enviable. I meet people by being in the public eye.” She couldn’t move away for long. Traveling as she had was fine so long as she returned to her home base.

  “Yes,” Tiff agreed slowly. “That’s partially true.”

  “What?” She whirled to face her sister.

  “Well, you can also do your job anywhere in the world. Not like me, if I have to go to China…I can’t walk the dogs remotely, but you can connect to internet and get to work.” Tiff snapped her fingers.

  Serenity sank down on the other end of the couch, the nerves in her body firing like poppers against the cement.

  “I...” She recalled the feeling of being home she’d had while in the Intracoastal with Ryker and staring up at the aqua blue sky. “I can’t.”

  “I think you should have dinner with Ryker.”

  “It wouldn’t be just dinner…that’s the problem. It would be so much more, and I don’t know if I can take him breaking up with me again. Like, ever.” Her stomach rolled, sour. Glamour rested her head on Serenity’s knee, so she gave the pup’s ears a good scratch.

  “I could tell you that things will be easy, but I won’t. Relationships are work. With the right person, it’s worth it.” Tiffany leaned forward and hugged her close.

  Serenity sniffed a few times and patted Tiff’s hair, saying into the crook of her sister’s neck, “I’m afraid. He’s hurt me before and I never got over it completely. How pathetic is that?”

  They hugged for a few minutes before Tiff, green eyes red-rimmed said, “All right. Time to change the mood around here. It’s Christmas and we need to be jolly. Let’s bake—we can make cookies for the neighbors. Then you can bring some to my fur-client’s parents when you walk the dogs tonight.”