Mistletoe & Cocoa Kisses

by Stacy Eaton

  “What?” I leaned down and sniffed the carpet. “Oh, god! That’s horrible! Ew!” I jumped to my feet and wiped at the back of my pants in case fibers of the carpet were stuck to me.

  Brandy pulled her ponytail tighter as she stood beside me. “Maybe we should have taken the carpet out before we put all the furniture in here.”

  I scrutinized the offending carpet, my hands on my hips as I surveyed the room and tried to figure out what I should do. “I don’t even know where to start.”

  “If I were in your shoes, I’d start by putting everything back on the truck and leaving,” Brandy advised with a cocky grin.

  “Very funny, Brandy, but I’m not going anywhere. I just bought this place.” It was my first home, and I was so excited to say that I had gotten it on my own.

  “Tell me again why you bought this house?”

  “Stop it. You know exactly why I bought it. It’s the only thing I could find in my price range.”

  Brandy grew quiet, and I peered over and saw the pity in her eyes. I chose to ignore it and instead picked up a box marked “Bedroom”. “Why don’t we distribute these to the rooms where they belong?”

  “If that’s what you want.” She picked up a box and walked down the hallway toward a small bedroom I’d decided would be my office. I followed behind her and entered another door just past where she turned off. Just over the threshold, I paused.

  The house might be small and might need a little work, okay, a lot of work, but this room; this room made all the hard work to come worth it. In the center of the room, my queen-sized mattress and box spring sat on the floor. I still needed to figure out how to put the frame together, but it wasn’t the bed that held me spellbound; it was the window on the other side of it.

  There was a large bay window with a cushion situated beneath it, so you could sit and behold the glorious view. In the far distance was a grove of trees that stood so tall and majestic that you felt sheltered. Over to the right was a small pond, and the back of the house faced east, so the sun would rise and shine on me every morning.

  I couldn’t wait to see the first sunrise as I woke up in my new home. All of my life, I had been a morning person, always preferring to get up at the crack of dawn to enjoy the peace and quiet of a brand new day. Sometimes I exercised, other times I would clean, and then there were the times that I sat back with a cup of coffee and relaxed.

  I grinned at the window and could already picture waking up to the sunrise. I set the box down in the corner and wondered absently which box held my linens.

  “Hey, Brandy, did you see my linens box?” I asked as I walked back to the small living room.

  She waved a hand toward the pile in the dining area, “Yeah, someplace over there.”

  “Gee, thanks,” I rolled my eyes at her, “that helps a lot.”

  For the next hour, we moved boxes to different parts of the house. At least separating them made it look like I didn’t have a million of them to unpack.

  “I’m starving. Is there someplace around here we can get food and a cold beer?” Brandy asked as she shoved the last box into a corner of the living room and then rubbed her lower back as she arched to stretch it.

  “Yeah, there is a little tavern down the street. We can pop in there. I could use a beer myself.”

  “When do you start your new job?” she asked as we locked up the house. “Brr, it’s cold out here.” She pulled her coat more tightly around her body.

  “I start on Tuesday,” I replied as I unlocked my BMW, one of the few things that I had been able to retain after the whole family drama. “It is getting chilly, but then again it is November, and we are in the north.”

  “Don’t remind me. Are you looking forward to it—your job—not the weather?” Her seatbelt clicked into place.

  “I am,” I grinned at her. “I can’t wait. The hospital is really small, but I think it is going to work out perfectly.”

  “Well, you won’t have to worry about anyone finding you. No one would think to come all the way out to the backwoods to search.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked as I turned onto the main road.

  “Come on, Casey, you’re a city girl, born and bred on a silver spoon. No one would expect to find you all the way out here in the boonies.” She laughed and I realized she did have a point.

  “Well, I’m fine with that. I don’t want anyone to find me. I’ve had enough of that, thank you. I’m ready for some peace and quiet, and to have my own life.” I clicked on my blinker as we approached the entrance to Dabby’s Tavern.

  “But did you have to go so far away? You could have found a job closer to home.” I heard the whine in her voice, one that had come and gone since I told her I was moving several states away to upstate Pennsylvania.

  “Brandy, I needed a fresh start, and I found this great job. Do you know how hard it is to find a job as a nursing supervisor in an emergency department without climbing a long grueling ladder?”

  “If you had stayed where you were, you would have had that supervisor’s job in another year or two.”

  “And I would have had to face the press, the police, and everyone else that walked through the ER doors. No, thanks,” I muttered as I pulled into a spot.

  “You know all the attention will die down soon, and then you will be stuck up here in no-man’s land,” she replied as she climbed out of my car.

  “I’m fine with that. I needed a new start, and I’m going to do it right here.” The door to the tavern burst open, and two men came out, one shoving the other.

  “I told you to get off the property, Steve. Now get the hell out of here.” The man talking was burly with a dense beard and a red flannel shirt.

  “Come on, I wasn’t doing nothing,” the other man said as he swayed on his unsteady feet.

  “Yeah, but another five minutes and I would have had to call the police to come in and drag your ass outta here,” red-flannel guy said and crossed his massive arms. “Now, walk home and get some sleep.”

  “You want me to walk home? No way, you give me my keys.” Steve shoved his hand out and his feet followed, causing him to almost lose his balance.

  “You are not getting your keys. You live a half mile away, walk home; the fresh air will sober you up.”

  Steve said something else under his breath, and Brandy curled her arm around my elbow. “Maybe we should go someplace else,” she urged.

  “Go on, get home. You’re in the way of these ladies who would like to enter,” the lumberjack-style man stated, and the drunk turned to eye us.

  “Well, hello there, pretty ladies,” he slurred as he tried to step forward. Brandy pulled my arm back, but I was used to dealing with intoxicated people at the hospital.

  “I think your friend there is right. I think you need to take a little walk and sober up.”

  “But maybe I want to get to know you better,” he countered and burped.

  “Gross,” Brandy muttered.

  “Sorry, if you want to get to know me, you need to be sober.” I pulled Brandy beside me and stepped around him as the big man held the door.

  “Okay, I’ll come back when I’m sober,” he called out from behind me.

  “Steve, go home to your wife and leave these ladies alone.”

  I smiled at the man as I passed him. “Thank you.”

  “No, thank you. I appreciate you not turning and running away after seeing that guy. We don’t see too many new faces around here.” He stuck out his beefy hand, “I’m Dabby, owner of the tavern.”

  I returned the handshake, “Nice to meet you, Dabby. I’m Casey and this is my friend, Brandy.”

  “Well, I do believe the first round is on me. Come on in. You all want a table or do you want to sit at the bar?”

  I turned and scanned the room. Most of the thirty or so tables were full, and almost every eye was turned our way. “Um, how about the bar?” I replied. If we sat there, then I wouldn’t see all the people staring at us.

 
“Don’t mind them,” he waved a hand out toward the crowd. “You all go about your own business,” he called out, and slowly people began to turn around and go back to their food and drinks.

  “Sorry, small-town people see new faces, and everyone wants to find out who you are. Bar it is.” He walked off as Brandy and I followed.

  “I think you might need to buy a flannel shirt or two. Seems like the appropriate dress code,” Brandy whispered, and I almost burst out laughing because I had been thinking the same thing.

  Dabby put a couple of menus down on the bar as we pulled off our coats and sat down. “You all passing through?”

  Brandy answered before I could open my mouth, “I’m just visiting, but Casey just bought a house down the street.”

  Dabby eyed me carefully, “You buy the old Hoover place?”

  Of course, with the small town and the house so close to his tavern, he would know which one. I beamed, “Yep, just moved in today.”

  He shook his head. “I sure hope your husband knows how to fix things.”

  “She’s not married,” Brandy blurted, and I glared at her.

  “I’m sure I will be fine doing any repairs that are needed myself,” I stated firmly as I stared down at the menu.

  “Well, if you need any advice on anything, I can put you in contact with whoever you might need. I know everyone within a thirty-mile radius.”

  I grinned at him, “Then I am very glad to know you, Dabby. Now, what’s the best thing on the menu because we’re starved?”

  Chapter 2 - Thad

  “So the new neighbor’s moved in today,” Corrine remarked over the phone as I pulled up to the station. “Looks like a lesbian couple.”

  I sputtered my coffee over the dashboard. “What the hell makes you think that?”

  “I don’t know. I saw a few men there moving stuff in, and then there were just two women.”

  “So because you saw two women, you think they are gay?” I swore sometimes she was an idiot.

  “Well, you never know. I hope they are. I always wanted to know more about that lifestyle.”

  “Corrine, stop, stop right there. If they are, you are going to leave them alone. You are not going to pester them.” My stern no nonsense voice rang through the line, something she hated.

  “It’s not pestering if you become friends with them. Unless they want me to take part, and that might be kind of odd,” she paused, “but it would be cool to learn about, don’t you think?”

  Almost every male alive had the fantasy of watching two women together; I was the odd man out. That was not my cup of tea. “No, leave them alone, Corrine. Let Tommy know I’ll be home in about an hour.”

  I was a one-woman man, and the idea of sharing the person I cared about with another person or being a voyeur and watching two women together seemed strangely odd to me. Maybe I was the peculiar one.

  I had nothing against people who were homosexual. One of my best male friends was and had been since high school. We went out for beers and met up once a month for a round of hoops. I even liked his current boyfriend, even if he did shoot better than I did.

  I hung up from Corrine and made my way back into the station. My fourteen-hour shift was almost over. Normally, I only worked a twelve-hour, but I had gotten called in early this morning to cover a shift when one of the guys had to rush his pregnant wife to the hospital. I grinned to myself as I remembered the sheer panic in John’s voice as he called begging me to cover his last two hours.

  I pulled up a chair and woke up the computer to do my reports for the day. I could smell her coming before I even saw her. Missy, our nighttime dispatcher, had the most ungodly sickly sweet floral perfume that she probably bathed in daily.

  Her hands rubbed my shoulders, and I shifted uneasily away from her. “Evening, Missy, how are you tonight?”

  She practically purred in my ear, “I’m wonderful now. How are you?”

  I shifted further away from her. That’s all I needed was to go home smelling like perfume. Corrine would never let me live it down. “Glad to hear it. I’m fine, thank you.”

  “What do you have planned for tonight?” she asked as she leaned against the desk, inches from me. The desk was like four feet long, but she had to plant herself right there.

  “Going home to relax, play with Tommy, and get some sleep.” Her eyes twinkled on my last words. I knew better than to say something like that and I tried not to wince. Luckily, before she could add a come on to her suggestive look, the phone rang and I reached to pick it up, giving her a tight smile.

  “Celebration Police Department, this is Officer Wagner.” I turned away from Missy hoping she would get the message.

  “Officer Wagner, it’s Jimmy Cosgrove. Stevie is at it again. He’s knocking on everyone’s door on his way home from the bar.”

  “Alright, Jimmy, where is the last place you saw him?”

  “He’s at my front door right now.” I could hear Steve in the background asking for a beer and I laughed quietly.

  “I’m on my way. Keep him busy for five minutes.” He said he would and I hung up. When I turned to stand, I practically slammed into Missy.

  Her hands went to my chest, “Oh, you got up so fast. I wasn’t ready.”

  I pulled her two small hands off with one of my own and stepped around her, “That’s alright. You have a good night, Missy. I gotta go get Steve home.”

  “Aren’t you coming back?” she called as I hightailed it to the door.

  “Not if I can help it,” I said under my breath. “No, I’ll probably head straight home. You have a nice weekend,” I said loudly enough for her to hear me.

  I didn’t hear her reply as I was already out the door. It wasn’t that I needed to rush to get to Steve. I knew where he was and he wasn’t a danger to anyone, but I had no problem pretending it was an emergency to avoid wandering hands.

  I pulled up to Jimmy’s house to find him and Steve sitting on the porch, both drinking a beer. I shook my head as I got out of my patrol vehicle. “Gentlemen.”

  Steve turned to Jimmy, “Now what’d you have to go and do that for?”

  “Do what?” Jimmy sputtered in feigned innocence.

  Steve tried to stand and spilled half his beer, “You went and called the dang police.”

  “Steve, Jimmy didn’t call me. I saw you all hanging out, thought I’d stop and say hi, maybe give you a ride home. Where’s Bonnie tonight?”

  “My old lady is home, where she oughta be,” he stated belligerently, and I held back a grin behind a short cough.

  “Alright, then, if she’s at home, I’m sure she will be happy to have your company. Let me give you a ride.”

  “I’m not done with my beer,” he stalled and attempted to sit back down, completely missing the wooden rocking chair and planting his butt on the porch.

  Jimmy and I started laughing. It shouldn’t have been funny, but it was. I helped him up, allowed him to finish the tiny bit left in his beer can, and then escorted him to my car.

  I waved to Jimmy as I pulled out and turned toward Steve’s place. “Dabby kick you out again?” I asked over my shoulder.

  “Hell, yeah! He’s always kicking me out, and he kept my car keys, again,” his voice grew high pitched as he whined.

  And that was exactly where they should have been. Steve had crashed into quite a few things over the years, luckily none of them people. He’d even gone to prison the last time when his blood alcohol level was double the legal limit. The judge hoped that six months in prison would be good for him, but it wasn’t two hours after he was released that he was back at Dabby’s Tavern.

  I helped him out of the car and made sure he made it to his front door. I wouldn’t put it past him to turn and head back to the tavern if he knew I wasn’t watching. The minute the front door opened, Bonnie started shouting, “It’s about time, and Jesus, Steve, the cops had to bring you home again. What did you hit this time?”

  “Nothing, Bonnie, honey. I asked for a ride.�
� The door closed as I got back into my car.

  My phone rang as I pulled out of the driveway, and I sighed when I saw Corrine’s name. “Yes,” I replied dryly to her.

  “Can you stop by Dabby’s and pick up dinner. Tommy wanted pulled pork. I already called in the order.”

  What probably really happened was Corrine didn’t feel like cooking and asked Tommy if he wanted pulled pork. Whatever, I loved Dabby’s food. “Fine, I’m on my way over there now.”

  A few minutes later I parked along the front of the building. The headlights of my SUV hit the back of a silver BMW with South Carolina plates. Not many out-of-towners came in here. I wondered where they were heading.

  I scanned the tavern as I entered. All the regulars were here for a Thursday night, and I waved to a few of them as I headed to the bar. Two women sat with their backs to me, the one on the right had long brown hair pulled into a high ponytail. She was leaning close to the other woman whispering in her ear. Were these ladies my new neighbors?

  “Hey, Thad!” Dabby called out. “Your food is almost ready. You want something to drink while you wait?”

  The woman with the long brown hair turned to check me out. Her eyes slipped down the front of my uniform and then slowly back up. She leaned back to the other woman and said something while she laughed.

  “No, I’m still on duty.” I chose a stool a few seats down from the women and sat down, casting a glance toward the other woman. She was facing her friend and had dark black wavy hair, and that was about all I could tell except that she wore jeans, sneakers, and a sweatshirt.

  “I had to put Steve out again. He was bothering the Anderson girls, again.”

  “Yeah, I just took him home. Thanks for keeping his keys. He doesn’t need to spend any more time in jail. I’m not sure Bonnie would let him back home, and then what would we do with him?”

  We both laughed, and I noticed the dark-haired woman peer around her friend at me. I gave her a friendly smile and a nod.

  Dabby lowered his voice, “Your new neighbor, and she’s cute as all get out.”