Christmas Wishes: A Small Town Christmas Love Story

by Krista Lakes

  But instead, he felt...

  Nothing. Empty.

  There was nothing for him to celebrate here. This wasn’t a victory.

  Because he knew that he’d still lost.

  Nicholas hid his phone back inside his jacket pocket, no longer wanting to look at the numbers in his account. He had a million dollars, and it didn’t seem like it mattered.

  At that moment, there was a knock on his cabin door, and Nicholas rose to his feet. He crossed the small room, hoping that maybe it was her. His heart beat faster and faster at the mere chance that it might be Molly standing outside in the snow.

  But once he’d opened the door for the guest, his heart returned to its normal rate.

  It was Luke, who was holding a coffee tray in one hand and two plastic boxes of salad in the other. “Good afternoon, sir!”

  “Good afternoon, Luke.” Nicholas faked a smile. “Did you bring those salads with you? Or has there been a salad place around here this whole time?”

  “Oh, I usually make my own salads, sir. They’re much healthier that way. You can see what you’re putting in them, too,” Luke explained.

  Nicholas nodded, looking at the emblem for Sweetness & Light on the coffee cups. “Have you asked Hannah for her number yet?”

  Luke grimaced, and he shuffled on his feet. “Why would I have asked Hannah for her number, sir?”

  “I don’t know. I just think you should,” Nicholas said. He shrugged, and reached for the coffee. “Besides, it seems like you both like to cook. At least you have something to talk about.”

  “There are a million girls who like to cook in Manhattan, sir,” Luke told him. “I think when I really start looking, I’ll be able to find someone just like Hannah Johnson.”

  “Maybe you will, maybe you won’t,” Nicholas said softly. He took a small sip of his coffee. “It’s a hard lesson to learn, Luke, realizing something’s irreplaceable when you’ve already lost it.”

  “You seem a bit down, sir.” Luke lowered his eyes to Nicholas’ wrist. “You misplaced your watch, didn’t you, sir? Is that what has you so down today? Talking about things being irreplaceable?”

  “I...” Nicholas considered telling Luke the entire truth, but instead, he decided to change the subject. “Did you already send back the final version of all the sales documents?”

  “Not yet, sir. They’re currently in the car,” Luke answered, still gripping onto his own coffee cup. “I’ll send everything over as soon as we’re back in New York.”

  “Sounds great. Ready to head out, then?” Nicholas walked back towards his luggage, and then he began to drag it towards the front door. “Oh, and do you mind if we stop by my parents’ house for a quick drop-in? I’d just like to tell them Merry Christmas, before we hit the road.”

  “I think they’d really appreciate that, sir,” Luke agreed. He smiled over at Nicholas before he grabbed onto one of Nicholas’ suitcases. “And just in case I forget, Merry Christmas, sir.”

  “Merry Christmas, Luke. Merry Christmas.” Nicholas’ greeting was stoic as he rolled a suitcase across the cabin’s threshold.

  Chapter 33

  Nicholas

  “Well, it’s almost like you came home for Christmas. Kind of,” Mrs. Kerstman said, greeting her son as he came to their front door. “It’s still better than what we’re used to, which is not having you home around this time at all.”

  “Yes, it was nice to see you around Christmastime, Nicky,” Mr. Kerstman agreed. “And you’re always welcome to pop-in on us, whenever you want. Although, with all that money you earned from selling the rights to the shop, your mom and I imagine that you’ll be busier than ever.”

  “If it’s even possible for you to be even busier than before,” Mrs. Kerstman said, smiling up at her son. “We’re so proud of you, son. You know that, don’t you?”

  “I know, mom. I know,” he said softly. Nicholas smiled down at his mother. “I’ll need to get on the road pretty soon. Luke’s waiting in the car. I already sent your gifts back in November, so they should’ve already arrived in the mail by now.”

  “Yes, they did and they were perfect as always. We’ll see you on New Year’s,” Mr. Carmichael said, leaning forward to pull Nicholas into a hug. “Be safe. Call us when you get back to Manhattan.”

  “I will. I promise.” Nicholas broke away from his father’s embrace and Mr. Carmichael gave Nicholas one final smile before he turned back inside the house.

  Nicholas took a step away from the house,but his mother reached out to grab onto one of his shirtsleeves, forcing him to stay in place on the porch. “Nicholas. Wait.”

  “Yeah, mom? Is something wrong?” Nicholas asked, suddenly worried. “Is it something to do with you? Something to do with dad?”

  “No, no,” she assured her son. Her hand went to his cheek and she looked like she might cry. “It’s something to do with you.”

  “What do you mean?” Nicholas was taken aback by his mom’s suggestion, even as her hands fell away from his face.

  “I knew I saw something, back at the shop. When we first came back into town,” she explained. “I could see it in the way you two looked at each other. Nicholas, why didn’t you tell me that you’d fallen so in love with Molly?”

  “Mom... I just... I mean..." he stammered. He'd meant to deny it, but the words wouldn't come out.

  “It’s okay, Nicholas, it’s okay,” Mrs. Kerstman told him. “All that matters is what you’re going to do about it. She has to be hopping mad with you about selling off the rights to the shop. But I think if you two can tackle that storm, you’ll be able to handle almost anything else.”

  “We’re not—I don’t think it’s going to work out between us,” Nicholas said glumly, the words hurting with every one he spoke. “Molly’s life is here. And my life is in Manhattan. We’re just in two different places, mentally, emotionally, and literally. It’d be too hard.”

  “Huh.” Mrs. Kerstman let the phrase out with a slow breath.

  “Huh?” Nicholas repeated his mom’s phrase with the same intonation.

  “It’s just interesting, that’s all. You’ve never given up on a single thing you’ve ever wanted, not in your entire life, but you think a relationship is going to be too hard for you to handle?” she asked the question, tilting her head to the side. “Are you scared, Nicholas?”

  “Mom...” As Nicholas started his sentence, he could feel the truth of the matter infiltrating its way into his words. He sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Mom, I’m terrified. If I wanted to be with Molly, I’d have to give up everything I worked for my whole life. I’d have to give up on Manhattan and Kerstman Enterprises.”

  “You think so?” she asked.

  “I’d have to start my life over, right here, right now. And all for what? The possibility that we’ll end up with some fairy tale ending? That we’ll really be spending the rest of our lives together? What if we don’t?” he asked his mother. “What if I decided to give it all up for her and in a few months she realizes that she never even liked me that much in the first place? How could I come back from that? How could I go back to Manhattan with my tail between my legs?”

  “Nicholas—”

  “Mom, it’s just not logical,” he told her, a hint of anger creeping into his voice. He wasn't angry with her. He was angry with himself. With the situation. With losing Molly.

  “Love rarely is,” Mrs. Kerstman said softly, looking back up at her son. “But it’s worth it, Nicholas. It’s worth all the potential pain and heartbreak, because when you get it right, it’s something magical.”

  She turned her head to look back at her husband who was standing in their home’s den. He gave her a slight smile and a nod of the head before he walked off toward a set of stairs.

  “I don’t know if I can do it.” Nicholas leaned against the porch railing, his words coming out low. “I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t have to apologize to me. You don’t have to apologize to anyone, really,” she told
him, and she placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. “You’re the only one who knows what’s in your heart. You’re the only one who knows what will make you happy. And you’re the only one who knows if it’s worth it.”

  Nicholas smiled sadly down at his mother before he leaned away from the railing. “I’ll call you once I land in New York.”

  “You better.” Mrs. Kerstman then turned to step away from her son. “I’ll see you on New Year’s, Nicky.”

  * * *

  Nicholas sat in the passenger seat of the Jaguar, opting to let Luke drive them both back to the airport. Nicholas had given Luke the keys because he knew that if he drove himself, he wouldn’t be focused on the road ahead of him, and he didn’t want to cause any unnecessary accidents while trying to catch a flight back to the city.

  The drive out of town was going to last at least another forty-five minutes. Nicholas crossed his arms over his chest and he leaned into his leather seat. He closed his eyes, wishing that he'd just sleep. Instead, he just thought about her.

  Molly Carmichael.

  She was all Nicholas could think about.

  It wasn’t even a specific thought he was having about her. It was as if she was everywhere.

  Just seeing the snow alongside the street was enough to remind him of her. It reminded him of her playful snowball fight with Liam, how she went to “war” with such a silly weapon.

  And as they passed by rows of homes with bright Christmas lights still turned on for the day, it reminded Nicholas of their time spent together with The Brownstones, with Molly taking full credit for putting up the decorations.

  Even seeing the mistletoe hanging from the town’s streetlamps reminded him of the woman who’d wear mistletoe in her hair, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to her, as if she was some Christmas fairy tale come to life.

  He remembered kissing her. Her soft taste and delicate lips. The way his body ached to touch her. They never did make it back to that field or to his room.

  “Sir, are we making a left or a right up here? The GPS just went offline,” Luke asked, grimacing down at his phone for a moment before looking back up at the street. “Do you remember which way you drove in?”

  “Left,” Nicholas answered. “Left should do it.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Luke replied as he drove the car down the road. “Do you mind if I put on some music, sir? It’s kind of a long drive to be sitting in silence, don’t you think?”

  “Go for it,” Nicholas told him. He waved a hand towards Luke before he once again folded his arms.

  Luke nodded and he reached for the radio dial. The song that began to play through the car’s speakers almost made Nicholas’ heart thump right out of his chest.

  O Holy Night.

  Nicholas' mind instantly went to the recital where he'd sung this very song with Molly. The way she'd smiled and sung off key, yet beautifully at the same time.

  Luke changed the station to something more modern and hip, shaking his head with a laugh. “Christmas music. Sorry, sir. It looks like you can’t escape it. I thought this was the indie rock station, too. Weird they’d be playing that song, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. Weird,” Nicholas agreed. It was strange. He sat up straight in his seat. “Luke, you don’t believe in magic do you?”

  “Magic magic? As in, witches and warlocks? Or do you mean pulling a rabbit out of a hat magic?” Luke asked, his focus on the wheel. “Of course, I believe in the latter, because magic in itself is defined as an illusion. But the former? Pointy hats? Chanting spells? No, I don’t think so, sir.”

  “Right, because believing in magic isn’t logical,” Nicholas said slowly.

  “Correct.”

  Nicholas felt his heart calming down. The fact that the Christmas song he sang with Molly was playing on a station that never even played Christmas music was just a strange, random coincidence.

  It had to be a coincidence.

  Nicholas then tried to calm his heartbeat even further. He asked Luke a very flat, very boring set of questions. Something his logical brain could wrap around and concentrate on. “Luke, what do you think it’ll be like? Back in New York? When we start putting the money from the sale back into the business?”

  “Busy,” Luke said simply. He grinned at his boss. “We’ll probably have to pull a few all-nighters, back to back, just to make sure everything’s ready to move forward. There’s so much paperwork to get through, too, sir. I know you weren’t expecting too much to cross your desk until after the New Year, but we’ll really have to speed things along if we—”

  Luke’s sentence was cut off by the car coming to a complete stop in the middle of the road. He pressed the start button, but nothing happened.

  “Oh.” Luke tapped at the dials for a moment and then hopped out of the driver’s side door. “Hold on, sir just let me check something...”

  Nicholas followed Luke out of the car as well, and they both approached the front of the vehicle, arriving at the same time.

  Luke popped the hood of the car, and he stared down at its inner parts. He reached in and touched a couple of things, testing and searching for a cause of the dead engine. But after a few, quiet moments, he began to shake his head. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “What doesn’t make any sense?” Nicholas asked.

  “There’s nothing wrong with the engine,” Luke informed him, bending down towards the engine once more. “I thought maybe, with the sudden stop, something had gone wrong with it, but it looks perfectly fine. And the gas was filled up before we even left town. So...”

  “So?”

  “It’s highly unusual, sir,” Luke said with a shrug. He brought his phone out of his jacket pocket and started dialing a number. “I’ll call roadside service, just to check, but this might take a while, especially with it being Christmas. Sorry for the delay, sir.”

  “How long do you think it might take? To get everything sorted out?” Nicholas’ questions came out hesitant as he looked over at Luke.

  “I’m not so sure, sir. Maybe a few hours?” Luke guessed with a shrug. “If you like, we can maybe call you a cab to the airport, and I can stay with the car.”

  The realization of what he needed to do hit him like a ton of bricks.

  “I have to go,” Nicholas announced to Luke.

  “Pardon me, sir?”

  “I have to go right now,” Nicholas told him, pulling on a pair of winter gloves from his pocket. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Call me if you need anything.”

  “Uh, sorry, sir, but may I ask where you’re going without the car starting up?”

  “I’m going back into town,” Nicholas replied, a grin starting to fill his face.

  “You’re going back into town?” Luke asked confused. “But why?”

  “Because this, all of this, the snow, the Christmas lights, the mistletoe, the song on the radio, the engine dying for literally no reason—” Nicholas began to laugh and the happy sound radiated through his chest. “I think it can only mean one thing.”

  Scrambling, Nicholas reached into the backseat of the Jaguar, grabbing onto the stack of documents related to the sale of Christmas Wishes. He then folded the papers under his arm and he sprinted down the snowy street, headed in the opposite direction of the car.

  “Sir! Sir! Where are you going with the paperwork?! Sir!” Luke called for Nicholas’ attention as Nicholas made his way down the road.

  But Nicholas was running at full speed by now, his thoughts racing in time with his every step.

  Chapter 34

  Molly

  As Molly walked into Sweetness & Light, she was greeted by the sight of several boom mics, cameras, and TV staff all scattered around the bakery. She had to show her ID to a man outside the door just to get in.

  There was no sign of Hannah, but Molly did spot Liam setting out a tray of sugar cookies on the counter. The cookies were descended upon by members of what Molly assumed were BakeTown’s filming crew before they each returned to
their respective workstations.

  “Hannah?” Molly called out for her friend as she approached the counter. When she didn’t hear a response, Molly then turned towards one of the people holding onto a large camera.

  “Hi. Sorry, if I’m, um, in the shot?” Molly waved at the camera-person.

  They shook their head in response. “We’re not rolling yet. Don’t worry about it, ma’am.”

  “Oh. Good.” Molly nodded with a smile. “Have you seen Hannah Johnson around anywhere? I wanted to make sure I was here for the big shoot.”

  “Yeah, she’s in hair & makeup in the back.” The camera-person pointed towards the back of the bakery. “Should be finished in about half an hour or so.”

  “Thanks,” Molly said with a grin and headed toward the back herself.

  When she spotted Hannah, Molly’s eyes went wide with surprise. Her best friend was surrounded by no less than five women, all primping Hannah’s hair and lining her face with makeup.

  “Ooh, your cheekbones are going to pop once we get you on set!”

  “Would you like to wear some purple-green eyeliner? Just to be festive? Or would that be too much?”

  “I have a pair of Louboutin’s in my carrying case. Are we going for Hamptons chef or down-home girl from next door?”

  “Pink is definitely your color, Ms. Johnson! The contrast is gorgeous.”

  “Are you hungry yet, Ms. Johnson? We can have one of the PAs go get you something to eat. Do you have any dietary restrictions?”

  Molly coughed in an effort to introduce herself to the room.

  Hannah turned towards Molly with a huge smile on her face. “Molly! You came!”

  “Of course, I came. I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Molly told her, cautiously giving Hannah a hug, but not wanting to ruin her best friend’s hair or makeup.