A Hero’s Christmas Hope: Holidays in Heart Falls: Book 3

by Arend, Vivian

  Madison snorted. “Cute, but no.” She turned to Mack. “If you or Brooke need anything while you’re getting ready, let me know.”

  “Will do.”

  That night after ballet class, when the dancers were assured they would get a chance to perform on stage, Talia was so excited, it took the combined efforts of Madison and Ryan to calm her down.

  The fun of making their costumes helped. Talia enthusiastically made huge X stitches with yarn as she helped sew on the clothing Madison had found at the thrift store.

  Eventually, it was just her and Ryan. As tempting as it was to get tangled around each other again like they had the entire weekend, they both seemed to understand the need to change pace while Talia was home.

  Ryan turned on the TV, pulling Madison down beside him on the couch. “Tomorrow is my day off. We’ll work out the performance stuff we need then. Tonight, I just want to hold you.”

  Madison couldn’t argue with that. Sitting close enough she had one leg resting on his, she relaxed into his arms. Fingers linked, hands balanced on top of her hip. Close enough that when he leaned down and pressed his lips to her temple, nothing else moved. Just a warm, comfortable, intimate position that made her feel alive to her very core.

  An evening that contrasted perfectly with the belly-aching laughter the next morning as they began to choreograph their rag doll dance.

  She had no idea that her best friend had zero ability to do anything except stand bolt upright like a soldier. After the umpteenth attempt to get him to do something other than march across the room, she was getting worried she’d have to do something drastic. “Maybe you should think about being jelly.”

  “Because this is something people do on a regular basis?”

  “Pretend you’re a squid? I know—you’re an unattended fire hose.”

  Ryan made another attempt at his rag doll walk, flopping his way across the living room. He eyed her with just a hint of disgust as she covered her mouth and tried to trap her amusement. “What did I do wrong this time?”

  “Nothing. Nothing,” she insisted. “You do floppy very well.”

  His lips twitched. “You are hell on the male ego.”

  Between his expression and his comment, Madison gave up. She laughed, clutching her stomach, working to catch her breath. It took a while, which meant she ended up on the floor.

  He sat beside her, sighing heavily as he patted her leg. “There, there. I’m sure we’ll get through this somehow.”

  She wiped the tears from her eyes, rolling so she could catch hold of his arm. “You need to relax.”

  “Do I now?” His tone changed completely. Deeper, his eyes flashing with interest.

  “Uh-huh.” Madison twisted until she was between his legs. Sliding her hands down his thighs, she leaned toward him and brushed her lips over his cheek to his ear. “Every single muscle needs to relax.”

  He shook his head, twisting so his lips hovered over hers. “What you’re doing is making me stiff. Just saying.”

  “Oh, well, that might be a problem.” She toppled him to his back, hands braced on either side of his body. “Maybe we do something about that first and then work on turning the proper parts of you to jelly.”

  She eased away, sliding her palms over the soft cotton of his T-shirt. The muscles underneath were all flexed—he really was hard everywhere. She caught hold of the waistband of his sweats, pulling them down along with his boxers just enough to free him.

  Gaze fixed on his, Madison wrapped her fingers around his erection. “I want this.”

  “It’s all yours,” Ryan said happily, the last word turning into a groan because she’d immediately dipped her head and wrapped her lips around his hard length.

  She worked him slowly. Teasing her tongue along the thick, heavy weight of him. Closing her mouth and sucking hard as she pulled up. Holding him firmly at the base with a grip that flowed up and down, chasing her lips.

  The tightness in his body increased. The hand at the back of her head was still gentle even as he encouraged her to keep slow, go deeper.

  “Fuck.” He curled upright slightly, impressive abs hard at work. His hands now cupping her cheeks. “Close,” he warned.

  Madison pulled even harder, waiting for the spill of salt across her tongue.

  It took three more draws before he lost control. Torso shaking, hips bucking upward, lips whispering her name. Seconds later, Ryan lay sprawled on his back, breathing heavily, an enormous smile on his face.

  It was probably cruel, but it was the point she was trying to make. Madison caught him by the hand and pushed to her feet, dragging him with her. “Stand up. Stand up. Right now.”

  “What?” Ryan rolled, pressed a hand to the ground and stumbled upright. Sweatpants stuck around his ankles, he glanced around as if wondering what the panic was. “What’s—? Oh, hell.”

  She stepped in as his legs briefly caved. Madison smiled as she wrapped an arm around his waist and supported him until he caught his balance. “And that, my dear friend, is the type of leg motion we’re going for as rag dolls.”

  Ryan stared at her for a moment. Shock, then understanding, then amusement spilled out of him. He paused to jerk up his pants then dragged her into his arms and squeezed her tight as he twirled her in a circle and laughed. “Madison Joy. You are one in a million.”

  14

  The parking lot had been nearly full. By the time Ryan finished making sure everything was set up for the night at the fire hall with the replacement volunteers, there was only an hour to go before the performance.

  The open area of the Heart Falls Community Centre was already half-full. Some people were chatting, and a group in the corner had spontaneously burst into Christmas carols. A horde of little girls in tutus and three little boys in dance leotards pranced and flounced around the room, enormous smiles on their faces.

  Ryan spotted a half dozen people in the audience who seemed to be wearing ugly sweaters—and wasn’t quite sure what to do with that discovery.

  Instead, he made his way to the front where Rose manned a table, a number of pretty baskets on display, small boxes slowly filling with raffle tickets in front of each one.

  “Nearly ready?” he asked.

  Rose flashed a thumbs-up then jerked it over her shoulder toward the left side of the stage. “I’m very glad your girlfriend has an artistic flair. I will take care of the donations, and you can go help Madison and Josiah deal with the backstage chaos.”

  He tried to ignore how his heart skipped at the word girlfriend.

  At the top of the short staircase, he was met by Josiah. The local veterinarian had a background in stage, although he didn’t talk about it much. He was, though, as Madison had described him, “the perfect cohort in crime,” because she’d barely had to describe what was supposed to happen and he’d understood and suggested ways to make it better and easier.

  Josiah shook Ryan’s hand then offered a grin. “I like your Madison. She did a really good job of coming up with something simple but fun.”

  “Fingers crossed everything goes as planned,” Ryan said. He glanced at Madison—who had crossed to the other side of the stage—dipped his chin to Josiah, and made his farewell.

  Considering there was a lot of noise and a constant stream of people coming up to her, Madison remained very calm cool and collected. She offered Ryan a wink and then redirected a couple of teenagers toward the music system.

  “Any last-minute things I can do?” Ryan asked.

  “Definitely.” She caught him by the hand and tugged him to the side of the room and through a door.

  It wasn’t until she shut it that he realized they were in a storage closet. And then he couldn’t see what they were storing because she cupped his face with her hands and pulled him in for a scorching-hot, demanding kiss.

  His heart was pounding by the time she broke the contact between them. Maddy patted his cheek then reached behind her and pulled the door open.

  They were back in
the crowd before Ryan had time to do more than light on fire inside.

  She grinned evilly. Pointed to the side of the stage where his costume was draped over the back of the chair. “Get ready. It’s nearly showtime.”

  How had he been talked into this? Right, this was Madison. She could talk a ground squirrel into buying real estate beside a coyote den.

  Familiar faces were everywhere, but Ryan stayed in the shadows, waiting for the performance to start. Charity had Talia and the other dancers under control, so now it was time to enjoy the mischief Madison had created.

  As the stage darkened and the room quieted, Madison stepped beside him. Her fingers linked with his.

  The clear, brisk voice of the Heart Falls elementary school principal sounded over the loudspeaker. Ivy Stone might not like to be the center of attention, but hidden offstage where she could see but not be seen, she was the perfect narrator.

  A single light shone on the empty stage, and Ivy began.

  “Welcome to the Not-So-Nutcracker performance for Heart Falls. Because this is a magical story, you’ll notice we have magical helpers.”

  People dressed all in black ran onstage. Some carried in the props—two chairs and a table. The others held large pieces of cardboard that Fern Fields had painted as backdrops. These helpers stayed onstage, standing motionless as they held the scenery in position.

  “Let’s begin. Once upon a time, there was a family who moved to a wonderful, small town. They arrived just in time for the holidays, and their new neighbours brought them all sorts of gifts to make their time in their new home special.”

  Music swelled in the background as Brad Ford—and his wife, Hanna, carrying their six-month-old, Drew—made their way to the chairs in the center of the stage. A stream of people joined them, each dancing or otherwise making their way into sight. Some walked slowly, some skipped. The town mayor, a tall man wearing a bright-red turban, waltzed in with his wife, who wore a shimmering gold sari.

  All of them brought brightly wrapped presents they placed on the small table.

  Ryan and Madison also made their way onto the stage, walking straight legged for a few steps before nearly collapsing, as if they didn’t have bones in their legs. They finally slid to the ground at the side of the stage near the painted fireplace. Children pointed and laughed, and Ryan’s friends visible in the audience flashed thumbs-up.

  Madison had pulled her hair up into two pigtails high on her head. Ryan had slicked his into a Mohawk. Madison had bright-yellow sweats as bloomers that contrasted with her bright-pink dress. She’d found Ryan yellow pants as well—who had bought these in the first place?—and a red vest nearly as gaudy as their sweater.

  The clothes were all one size too big, and with the large stiches sewn on in places, they looked like two well-loved, handmade dolls.

  Both of them had black lines that made their mouths look stitched on, with bright-red circles on their cheeks and enormous dark freckles. Ryan had drawn the line at the eyelash makeup until he’d seen what it looked like on Madison.

  It looked good. Like they were two fabric creations about to be hit with Christmas magic.

  He’d let her draw lashes on him as well.

  Ryan let his body semi-collapse, leaning against Madison as they waited for the next part of the story. The lights dimmed slightly, and everyone on stage walked off, taking the chairs, the table, and the presents with them. Only the backdrop holders remained.

  While the narration carried on in the background, all of those first performers made their way to the seats reserved down on the main room floor. Now they got to sit back and enjoy the rest of the show as part of the audience.

  “Because this was the holiday season, there was more magic floating in the air that night than usual. The rag dolls that had been brought as gifts suddenly came to life.”

  It was their turn.

  Madison held out her hand, and Ryan took it, both rising to their feet. They fell into the script and the few lines they had.

  “How is this possible?” Madison turned in a slow circle, raising her hands high, then wiggling her fingers as she stared in wide-eyed delight.

  Ryan flopped his way to her side and retook her hand. “Holiday magic makes anything possible.”

  They started their dance. Laughter rose nicely in the right places. Ryan did his best to remember all the bits and pieces that he and Madison had practiced without getting distracted by the other things they’d done during practice to get the weak-kneed sensation just right.

  They finished and took their floppy bows to a swell of applause.

  “Then, suddenly, out of the darkness, danger arrived!” Ivy’s shrill warning pulled a shriek from a few younger members of the audience. Abruptly, Mack Klassen stood on the stage. He held a sword made out of an empty Christmas paper roll high in the air.

  “Arrghh.”

  Laughter rang out, rising even higher as Brad shouted, “You’re a Rat King, not a pirate!”

  It took a moment for the crowd to catch their breath. All the while, Mack shook his finger at Brad, shaking his head as if he could not believe it.

  “‘Oh, no,’ said the rag doll girl to the rag doll boy. ‘We’ll be destroyed. Who will save us?’” Ivy raised and lowered her voice as she spoke the dolls’ lines. “‘We can save ourselves.’ ‘Not against teeth and claws. And not against so many of them.’”

  Mack had been joined by the local Taekwondo group. The dozen students wore little rat ears along with rope tails attached to their outfits. While brisk military fight music played in the background, they went through their forms, all the time scowling and baring their teeth and otherwise attempting to look ferocious.

  They finished with a bow to lots of parental cheering.

  Ivy raised her voice and brought the event into motion again.

  “‘No, against teeth and claws, you need more.’ It was a deep voice that rang through the house, and the rag dolls looked everywhere.

  “‘Who said that?’ ‘Have you come to save us? Are you a soldier?’”

  Onto the stage, Brooke swaggered. She shrugged easily. “Nah. What you need here, in Alberta, is the rat patrol.” She poked a thumb into her chest. “And I’m the chief rat catcher.”

  Madison caught Ryan’s hand again and spoke up. “It’s true. We should have known.”

  “There are no rats in Alberta.”

  They nodded like bobbleheads.

  The audience was really enjoying themselves, and when the stage cleared—the current crowd sliding to their seats on the sidelines—the fight between the Rat King and the Rat Catcher began.

  Mack and Brooke had obviously had fun putting their scene together. They thrust. They parried. They chased each other, Mack after her, then Brooke after him. Suddenly, while the Rat King continued to race in circles, the Rat Catcher stopped and scratched her head.

  She wandered to the side and held up a hand as if she’d had an idea. Then she took a deep breath. And another, as if bracing for battle. She practiced a few swings of her sword, shook her head, and tried again.

  Meanwhile, the Rat King had realized he was no longer being chased. He turned, crept forward slowly, sword raised, ready to strike a blow…

  Children in the audience screamed warnings at the top of their lungs. Jumping up and down, they pointed at the Rat King and waved at the Catcher.

  Brooke turned just in time, sword slamming into Mack’s without a sound—since they were made of cardboard. In fact, Mack’s twisted and bent in half, drooping.

  Mack looked sadly at his sword before glancing up and shouting, “Clash.”

  Brooke snorted then straightened. She shouted, “Clang.”

  By the time the fight was over, the Rat King lay on his back, arms stretched toward the ceiling, feet in the air. Brooke placed a foot on his chest and raised her sword in the air triumphantly.

  The audience shrieked with laughter as the second sword also folded into a crumpled mess.

  As the silent background
people dragged away the Rat King, who waved farewell as he went, Madison and Ryan came forward and shook Brooke’s hand.

  Ivy’s narration picked up again.

  “‘Thank you for saving us’, the rag dolls said politely. The Rat Catcher threw back her head and laughed. ‘You’re welcome. I always have time to save others. Also, I like company. I live in a magical barn,’ she told them. ‘If you’d like to visit, come with me.’”

  Brooke raced around the front edge of the stage, Madison and Ryan following. The background people changed and held pictures of barn posts and horse stalls along with two real hay bales on the ground.

  “Stepping into the magical barn, the rag dolls were amazed as the most magical thing yet happened,” Ivy announced. Amusement tinged her voice. “The chief barn pixie arrived with all his fairy court to welcome them.”

  Dustin Stone stepped royally onto the stage.

  Accompanied by Talia, Emma, and the rest of the little dancers, the man was the youngest of the Stone brothers. In his early twenties, with a sturdy build and dark hair, he wore all-black clothing topped with a silver vest, silver fabric tied at his wrists and the ankles of his stocking-covered feet.

  A silver tiara was pushed down on his black cowboy hat.

  Madison leaned in and whispered in Ryan’s ear so softly, there was no fear of being overheard, especially not with the enormous applause and volume of laughter ringing over the room at Dustin’s appearance. “His brothers came in at the very last second and put a thousand dollars over the nearest bid to make sure he won. His nieces designed his costume and choreographed his dance. He’s a riot.”

  His good-natured acceptance of his role was clear, especially when he reached behind him and lifted a silver wand in the air. His nose rose just slightly as if he were royalty allowing the others to partake in his awesomeness.

  He waved the wand twice. “Pixies—I command you to do the welcome dance!”

  Dustin stepped back, and the little dancers all rushed to get into their positions. Talia’s eyes sparkled as she and her friends leapt and pirouetted and had the most wonderful time as pixies. Ryan’s heart filled with happiness for her.