Sleigh Ride: A Holiday Novella

by Breezie Bennett

  I lean back and run a hand through my hair, which I can somehow feel getting more salt than pepper in it as these days go on. Jeanette always loved my little bit of gray.

  “And…” Jessica raises a brow and flips some blond curls over her shoulder. “You did.”

  “Hell yes, I did,” I say on a bittersweet laugh. “Pardon my French.” I glance apologetically at the little ones. “Yeah. I stayed. I had no idea why she stopped me from getting off the sleigh, but it was the best darn thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  “I’ve never been on a sleigh ride.” Kendall glances at Andre and then back at me. “What’s it like?”

  “Well, that particular one…” I jut my chin toward Melody. “To quote Mrs. Rivera over there, it was magical. Freezing, yes. But the good kind of freezing.”

  Andre curls a lip. “There’s a good kind of freezing? I don’t think we had that kind back in Oklahoma.”

  “There is on Christmas Eve. Sometimes, anyway.”

  “Did the sleigh go fast?” Asher jumps in eagerly.

  “Not terribly fast. But it was pulled by a real-life reindeer.” I widen my eyes and raise my brows at the sweet young kid.

  “Like Santa’s,” Asher whispers, his whole expression full of awe.

  “Just like Santa’s.” I nod.

  Elliot shakes his head in disbelief and laughs softly. “You guys really met on a sleigh ride on Christmas Eve. That’s pretty wild.”

  “What did you talk about?” Ellie asks. “That’s one heck of a first date.”

  “Oh, everything. Looks-wise, she was totally out of my league. Still is. But as soon as I got her laughing…she melted like the snow. So did I.”

  “What else was there?” Melody asks, a little too quickly. “What else was that night like?”

  “Oh, I remember every detail.” I smile at the fond memory, wishing I could hop in a time machine and go live in that Christmas instead of this one. “She had a bottle of this maple liqueur that we shared. It was a hometown special back in Vermont, in Addison Grove. You can’t get it anywhere else. It was sweet and strong and tasted like the Northeast in wintertime.”

  “Wait a second.” Andre holds up a finger. “Didn’t you give me a bottle of that as a gift when I got traded to the Riders?”

  “Oh, yeah. I totally forgot I gave you that. It was the last one I had down here. Until I replenish my stock next time I go up North.”

  “Smoke.” Melody turns to Andre and blinks. “You have it?”

  He nods. “Yeah. Who knows…” He gently nudges Kendall next to him. “Maybe we’ll crack it open on Christmas Day.”

  “Mm-hmm.” Melody nods slowly, and Dylan gives her a questioning look.

  “It smelled like pine,” I continue, like an old guy in a nursing home reminiscing about his stories while his grandkids sit around him and pretend to care. Whatever. Reliving the night I met Jeanette has at least sparked some positive feelings for the first time in a while.

  “Pine?” Melody repeats.

  “Strongest pine scent you could imagine. And not the BS Florida pines we get around here. Real, Christmas tree pine. That smell and the taste of the maple drink and the cold nipping at your nose…” I shake my head. “Pair all that with the greatest unexpected first date of your life, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a Christmas Eve, fellas.” I nod slowly, then correct apologetically, “One heck.”

  “That sounds like an incredible night.” Matt smiles at me. “I hope you’re not too deep in your feels now.”

  I shake my head and shrug. “I’m an NFL coach. I don’t have too many feels.”

  Okay, that’s a lie.

  “But anyway, that’s the story.” I fold my napkin and set it on the table in front of me. “Now, let’s lighten things up and celebrate our first Christmas as Super Bowl champs, huh?”

  “I’ll drink to that.” Chase lifts his beer.

  As the conversation picks up and the buzz of laughter fills the room, I take a slow, deep breath and try my best not to think about her.

  I notice Melody whispering something in Dylan’s ear. His eyes seem to light up, and he smiles widely at her in return. She and Whitney share some sort of wink, and I can’t help but roll my eyes at the telepathic language of inside jokes that always floats around my team and their loved ones.

  Focus on the positive, John. I’ve got a killer championship team with hearts of gold and a winning attitude, on and off the field.

  I think about how Jeanette said she feels like she always comes in second to football. And maybe I got complacent with romance and my marriage and really, really wrapped up in winning the championship. I screwed up, and it’s too late to fix it.

  Right now, she’s the first and only thing on my mind. And I have a nagging feeling that that will never change.

  Two

  Melody Riviera

  “I know I tell you this all the time, but you, my dear, are certifiably insane.” Dylan laughs and shakes his head as we walk out of Coach’s house and into the cool Florida winter air.

  I hop in front of him and flip my hair wildly, leaning forward to kiss his nose. “And isn’t that why you love me?”

  He plants his lips on my forehead. “It’s one of a million reasons.”

  “No time for mushiness right now, Dyl.” I gather myself and look at the line of fancy, expensive cars parked along the drive up to the house. “If this plan is going to work, we’ve got to get every single person who was sitting at the table tonight to agree to it.”

  “Babe, I love the enthusiasm, I really do.” He glances around as some of the other couples and families start to slowly head out the front door. “I just don’t know if it’s practical.”

  I shove his arm and feel my excited grin grow wider. “Practical shmactical. It’s Christmas! Miracles and all that.”

  He gives that classic crooked half smile that never fails to make my knees melt. “A miracle sounds like exactly what you’re gonna need if you think your whole scheme here is even remotely going to—”

  “Guys!” I rush off, leaving my poor, overly rational husband in midsentence. I just have to catch up to the other couples before they get to their cars. “Hey! Frankie, Leo, Elliot, Jessica! Wait up!”

  They turn around in the midst of their conversation, smiling at me.

  “What’s up, Mel?” Jessica asks, holding her hands on Asher’s little shoulders as he stands on front of her.

  “Okay,” I say, a little winded from all the excitement of my fabulously genius idea that came crashing over me at dinner like a tidal wave. “I have to talk to everyone…” I turn and glance over my shoulder at the front door, where Andre and Kendall are heading down the walkway now. “Before we all leave.”

  “Ooh.” Frankie raises a brow, clearly intrigued by my tangible buzz. “Something juicy?”

  “More like a…surprise,” I say as Dylan walks up beside me and wraps his arm around my shoulders.

  “A surprise?” Elliot furrows his brow. “For who?”

  Before I have a chance to answer, I have to grab Andre and Kendall. “Hey, Smoke! Kendall!” I call over to them with a big wave of my arms. “Come here real quick.”

  They walk over, laughing about something as per usual.

  “Yo, what’s with the huddle?” Chase asks as he comes up behind me.

  “Little family powwow happening over here,” Whitney teases, lacing her arm through mine to give it a little squeeze.

  “Hi, cuz.” I nestle my head against her shoulder for a second. “I have a really spectacular idea to share with everyone. Just waiting on Matt and Ellie…”

  “Here they come.” Dylan nods toward the front door of the house.

  Ellie and Matt head down the walk, their three-month-old baby nugget curled up in Matt’s arms.

  “Guys, come here!” I shout in their direction, waving them over.

  Once everyone is gathered around at the very end of the driveway, I make sure the front door is shut and Coach Watson is nowhe
re in sight.

  “What’s happenin’, Mel?” Andre asks, his green-brown eyes glinting in the moonlight as he lifts a broad shoulder.

  “Some kind of surprise?” Elliot asks slowly, drawing out the question.

  “Hey,” Chase interjects. “If Pinky has something to say, I, for one, am always gonna listen.”

  I shoot him a smile, then glance around at the whole group of friends who have become family to me. All of them are incredibly beautiful, inside and out, all in their own, unique ways.

  I let myself feel a rush of warm gratitude for a quick moment, before refocusing on the imminently important task at hand.

  “Okay, you guys.” I grin brightly and clasp my hands together. “You know what we all have to do, right?”

  “Leave milk and cookies out for Santa?” Asher asks, the sparkles of Christmas joy practically visible in his smile.

  I point at him. “Yes, of course. Important. But…come on.” I turn my gaze back up to the adults.

  Whitney gives me a glance. “This is about Coach and his wife, isn’t it?”

  I squeal a little. “Yes!”

  “Wait, what do you mean?” Kendall asks.

  “Everyone…” I lower my voice and lean in close. “We’re gonna get Coach Watson and his wife back together on Christmas Eve.”

  Elliot chuckles, and Frankie gasps softly.

  “Wait, seriously?” Matt asks.

  “Christmas Eve…” Ellie looks at her husband and then back at me. “Is in two days.”

  Jessica laughs sharply. “How would we ever do that?”

  The group quickly turns into a low mumble of questions and surprise and mostly looking at me like I’m crazy.

  Chase runs a hand through his dirty-blond hair. “I assume you have a plan, then, Miss Matchmaker? Or, I guess, re-matchmaker.”

  Everyone goes quiet, and all eyes fall on me.

  “Hear her out,” Dylan says, holding up a hand and squeezing me tight against him with the other one. “It’s actually as brilliant as it is nuts.”

  “Okay.” I take a deep breath and shut my eyes quickly. “Christmas Eve, as we all know, is in two days. Coach told us that beautifully romantic story about the night they met. On…” I look around enthusiastically.

  “Christmas Eve,” Kendall says softly, her smile widening.

  “I propose that we…” I gesture in a circle around the group. “All of us…come together to re-create that first night together on its twenty-year anniversary. We get every little detail as perfect as we can, getting them right back to where they started in a heaping pile of magical Christmas romance!”

  “You mean like…” Matt lifts a brow. “A setup?”

  I nod. “Precisely.”

  Whitney smiles and shakes her head, and I can see her wheels turning as she mulls over my wild little idea. “They’d fall in love all over again.”

  “It’d be impossible not to,” Andre agrees.

  “Melody…” Leo steps forward and places his hands on my shoulders gently, laughing a bit. “I love this energy, I really do. But Coach met his wife on a sleigh ride in Vermont in, like, two feet of snow. How the hell are we gonna re-create that?”

  “Well…” I chew my lip. “It wouldn’t be perfect, obviously. But just like with any other Christmas gift, it’s the thought that counts. The love behind the gesture.” I look around, locking eyes with Chase for support. “Isn’t that the whole meaning of Christmas, anyway?”

  “You know what?” Chase straightens his back and ruffles my hair. “I’m in. Coach Watson has done way too much for every single one of us for us not to at least try to save this for him.”

  “We all love Coach Watson, but…” Frankie furrows her brow, thinking it through. “Snow? Pine smell everywhere? A literal reindeer? How in the world can we pull that off?”

  “We have to make it perfect,” Kendall jumps in. “Or as close as we can physically get to perfect. And while that seems like an impossible task to accomplish in seventy-degree South Florida in only forty-eight hours…” She glances up at Andre, and he gives her a sweet wink. “I really want to try. I’m in, too.”

  “Hell yeah.” Andre pumps a fist.

  “Yes!” I exclaim, bouncing a little on my toes. “We’ll do the best we can.”

  Elliot shrugs and holds up his hands. “We gotta at least try.”

  “You’re right,” Leo agrees, propping Sammy on his hip. “He’d run through fire for us. I wouldn’t feel right without giving it a shot, crazy as it may be.”

  “You know, it’s true.” Frankie gathers her hair over one shoulder. “Let’s do it, gang.”

  “Everyone’s on board?” Dylan asks, holding me against him and giving me a proud little kiss on the top of my head.

  “Damn right we are.” Matt and Ellie high-five with their little Mason between them.

  “Okay…” Kendall looks at me, pulling out her phone to make notes in true Kendall fashion. “What’s the plan? We’ve gotta get it down to every detail, no time for mistakes.”

  “All right.” I look at my husband, his warm brown eyes wrapping me up in a blanket of pure adoration and love. “I think we should assign each couple a specific job. I took mental notes when Coach was describing all the details of the night, and I think if we get it down to each little specification that he mentioned, the romance will bloom like flowers in the spring.”

  “Oh!” Andre holds up a hand. “I can provide the maple liqueur he said they were drinking on the sleigh ride, since I still have the bottle he gave me.”

  “Yes!” I exclaim, resisting the urge to jump forward and hug Andre.

  Dylan laughs and gives Andre a fist bump. “Off to a killer start.”

  “Let’s see…” Whitney twists her lips up. “What else did he mention?”

  “Snow definitely isn’t in the cards,” Leo says, looking up at the night sky. “Considering they’re calling this one of Florida’s warmest Christmases on record.”

  “We could set it up on the beach,” Ellie offers. “Sand might be the closest thing we’ve got.”

  “I love that!” I nod.

  “And…” Ellie interjects excitedly. “Matt and I can see if we can figure out how to get a small snow machine, so we can have some falling around them. Sort of.”

  “That would be so sick,” Chase says on a laugh.

  “Okay, yes! Andre and Kendall, you guys are in charge of the special drink. Matt and Ellie, find us some fake snow.” I look over at Kendall, who gives me a quick thumbs-up as she jots notes on her iPhone. “Chase and Whit, do you guys think you could find some authentic pine to get that Christmasy scent in the air?”

  “Might be tough to find a real Christmas tree in Miami two days before Christmas Eve,” Dylan says slowly.

  “Babe.” I turn to him and give a stern look. “The pine scent is crucial.”

  “You know what?” Whitney says, pointing at the air. “I think they have real Christmas trees and all kinds of pines at that one place in Miami… What’s it called, Six?”

  Chase perks up. “Fairbaby or something?”

  “Fairchild! That’s the one.” Whitney grins. “I bet they’d have some real pine we can get.”

  “It’s all protected, though,” Chase says, scratching his head. “I don’t think we can just take it.”

  Whitney shrugs. “We’ll figure something out.”

  “Perfect.” I point at them. “You two are on pine duty. Now all that’s left is a reindeer and a sleigh.”

  Asher gasps. “I’ve seen a sleigh!”

  “You have?” I crouch down to meet his shining gaze.

  “Yes,” he asserts with a nod of certainty. “They got ’em at Santa’s Enchanted Forest. Mommy and Daddy took me last year. It was awesome!”

  Jessica laughs softly. “Buddy, I’m not sure we can just borrow a sleigh from Santa’s Enchanted Forest.”

  Elliot raises a brow and gives his wife a look. “That just might be our only option.”

  “You guys
can do it.” I grin brightly and flick one of Jessica’s pretty blond curls. “I have faith.”

  “So that means…” Leo raises his brows at me and slowly looks over at Frankie, who’s now holding Sammy and bouncing him on her hip.

  “We have to find a reindeer,” she finishes. “In South Florida.”

  “Santa’s Enchanted Forest!” Asher shouts, jumping up and down as he gives Frankie’s blouse a gentle tug. “They have reindeers there, too! I got to pet one last year when we went! You can even feed them carrots or apples sometimes.”

  Jessica ruffles Asher’s hair. “I think someone here is just looking for an excuse to go to Santa’s Enchanted Forest.”

  “Well…” Leo shrugs and looks around. “He’s right that they do have what we need. Reindeer and sleighs. And I bet we…” He bumps Elliot’s arm with his fist. “Two of the starters on the Super Bowl champ Riders could talk someone into letting us borrow a couple things.”

  “Guys, please.” I clutch my hands together and look at the two couples. “It’s our only hope.”

  Frankie rubs Sammy’s soft curly hair. “We’ll go tomorrow, then. I think the park opens for festivities around four or five.”

  “We can all go together.” Jessica grins.

  “What are you guys gonna do?” Matt asks me.

  “Well…” I lean into my husband a little. “Since you all may recall that I was able to heal a broken relationship between Dylan’s parents last year and rekindle their timeless love…” I look at him quickly to share a moment of blissful love. “We’ll drive to Delray and get Jeanette back down here on Christmas Eve.”

  Leo laughs. “If I’m gonna figure out how to squeeze a reindeer into the back of my Porsche, she better be here.”

  I glance over at Kendall, who waves her phone and gives me a nod.

  “All right, then. Friends, teammates, loved ones…” I put my arms around Dyl and Whitney. “We have our assignments. Send updates in the group chat as frequently as you can. Let’s make some Christmas magic.”

  Three

  Elliot Danes