Not Your Average Vixen: A Christmas Romance

by Krista Sandor

  “The snow. He’s probably stuck there because of the weather,” Bridget replied, leaning against the wall.

  No gondola to the chapel.

  No judge to marry Lori and Tom.

  “And the rings,” Tom called from the main room.

  “The rings?” Lori repeated, her voice going up an octave.

  “I’m sorry, honey. I gave them to Scooter for safekeeping. He put them in his pocket, and I don’t think he ever took them out.”

  “Oh no!” Lori cried on a tight breath.

  Bridget’s heart hammered in her chest.

  Had Soren kept the rings on purpose?

  Anger, coupled with intense disappointment, burned in her veins.

  “I’ll run to the room and see if the rings are there,” she said, breaking from the group.

  Had this been his plan all along?

  She blinked back hot tears as she went through his things, throwing his clothes onto the floor, and found nothing.

  She set her sights on the chest of drawers. One after another, she rifled through the extra towels and sheets but found most of the drawers empty. She slammed the last one closed, then banged her fist on the top of the dresser.

  How many more things could go wrong?

  At the end of her rope, she rested her head against the wall.

  “What now? How do I fix this? What would you do?” she whispered to her grandmother. But instead of hearing a voice from the great beyond, a five-year-old called out.

  “Hurry, Birdie! It’s coming up the mountain!” Cole cried from the main room.

  She wiped a tear from her cheek and released an exhausted huff of a laugh. Another near Christmas fairy sighting, she presumed. Add it to the list of disasters and near misses.

  She could sure use a little Christmas fairy magic right about now!

  “It’s Rudolph!” the boy cried, waving her over.

  Rudolph?

  “Birdie, you’ve got to see this,” Lori said with a bewildered expression.

  “What is it?”

  She found Tom and Lori standing together, staring out the front window with the rest of the Abbotts. What in the world could have made the bride reveal herself to the groom and break wedding protocols? It had to be something big.

  Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long for the answer.

  The floor vibrated, and a low rumble grew louder as a red flashing light projected onto the snow.

  “See, Birdie! It’s Rudolph! The same Rudolph that I got to ride in,” Cole said, tapping the glass as Rudolph and two other snowcats lumbered up the mountain, easily traversing the heavy drifts of snow.

  “What are they doing here?” Carly chimed.

  Bridget stared wide-eyed as the snowcats came to a stop in front of the mountain house. The door on the Rudolph snowcat opened, and a man climbed down from the humming vehicle.

  “It’s the judge!” Cole called, giving a play-by-play to the stunned adults.

  Bridget gasped, hardly able to believe her eyes. But when the door to the mountain house swung open, the judge entered.

  “Now, that’s a way to make an entrance,” he said, smiling as Cole and Carly hugged him around the waist, peppering him with questions about riding in Rudolph.

  The rest of the family gathered around the elderly gentleman, making quite a fuss, but he waved them off.

  “I’m fine. I’m fine. Now, the snowcats are here to take us all up to the chapel, and I’ve got the rings,” the man said, holding up the velvet bag.

  Bridget wrapped her arms around the judge and gave him a grateful hug.

  “Thank you! You’ve saved the day,” she said as the tension melted from her body.

  The man chuckled. “I didn’t save the day. None of this was my idea.”

  “Then whose idea was it?” Tom asked.

  The judge opened the door and waved to the snowcat, and a second man emerged from the purring vehicle.

  Bridget stared in disbelief. “It’s…” she trailed off, feeling weak in the knees. She’d know those dark curls and that large, muscular frame anywhere.

  Soren hadn’t left Kringle.

  Not only that, he was here.

  Her heart hammered in her chest.

  Did she want to kiss him or throttle him? Both seemed like reasonable options.

  “It’s Scooter, and I’d like you all to hear what he has to say,” the judge said, then came to her side and offered her his arm. Gratefully, she took it.

  And before anyone could object, the door to the mountain house swung open again, and Soren appeared.

  Red-cheeked, he scanned the room, then his eyes fell on her.

  “Hi,” he said with a nervous grin.

  She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Hi.”

  He held her gaze, and those cat-like eyes sparkled with an intriguing hopefulness. He looked like a new man.

  “I need to talk to your sister first, but then there’s something I’d like to ask you.”

  “Okay,” she replied, limited to one-word utterances.

  What was he doing here?

  “Don’t even think of upsetting my fiancée,” Tom said as he wrapped his arm around Lori protectively.

  Soren took another tentative step into the room. “Tom, I know that I betrayed your trust and that you’re furious with me.”

  The man huffed an incredulous bark of a laugh. “Furious? Furious doesn’t even come close to how I feel.”

  Soren put up his hands defensively. “I understand that, Tom. I owe you and everyone in your family an apology. I’m not making any excuses for my behavior. I did come to this wedding to stop it. That’s the truth, but it’s not as simple as that.”

  “Enlighten us,” Tom said, but there was more hurt than anger in his tone.

  Soren looked around the room. “I thought I was on the brink of losing everything that was good in my life. I allowed my fear of losing all of you to bring out the worst in me. I convinced myself that you weren’t ready for marriage, Tom. But it wasn’t you who wasn’t ready. The minute I saw you with Lori all those months ago at the restaurant, I knew you loved her. And I could see how much she cared for you. I just couldn’t admit that to myself.”

  “What did you think was going to happen?” Tom asked as pain and confusion flashed in his eyes.

  Soren held the man’s gaze. “I thought that if you got married, you’d move on without me. No more Abbott family holidays, and no more Scooter. When I’m Scooter, I’m whole. I’m kind. I’m the person I want to be. But this is where I made a mistake.”

  “And what’s that?” Tom asked, his voice softening.

  “I used to think that I never learned how to love because of my parents. I focused so hard on that and couldn’t see that I’d spent the last sixteen years surrounded by love. From Grace and Scott, to Denise and Nancy, and then to Cole and Carly, and now, from you and Lori, I’ve seen firsthand what love is. Tom, you’ve been my best friend for most of my life. You taught me acceptance and loyalty, but fear kept me from understanding that Scooter and Soren could be the same man. And that’s why I want to make a promise to Lori,” he finished, turning to her sister.

  “To me?” Lori asked, sharing a perplexed look with Tom.

  “Well, to you and to your baby. Will you hear me out?” Soren pleaded.

  Lori’s lips parted once, then twice, before she finally nodded.

  Soren blew out a shaky breath. “I was nothing but sullen and cruel, and you met my horrendous behavior with nothing but kindness. I promise that from this day forward, I’m on your side. I promise to always be there for you, Tom, and your child. You’ve made my best friend happier than I have ever seen him, and I’m grateful to you. But you don’t have to take me up on this promise. I know my relationship with Tom, and everyone here may be beyond repair. And if none of you want to see me again, I understand. But I give you my word that, from this moment on, I’m going to live my life in a way that would make you proud,” he said, looking as if the weight of th
e world had been lifted from his shoulders.

  Lori glanced up at Tom, who nodded with tears in his eyes.

  “We accept, Scooter,” Lori replied, then embraced the man.

  But Bridget wasn’t convinced. Not yet. Not after what he’d said and what he’d done.

  “You don’t make promises,” she said as her voice, sharp and strong, sliced through the room.

  He met her gaze head-on with conviction written all over his face. “I do now because I understand what it means.”

  “What does it mean to you?” she challenged.

  Her senses heightened as he walked toward her—each of his footfalls vibrating through her body.

  “It means something like this,” he replied, unzipping his coat and retrieving a folded packet of papers from his breast pocket. He handed them over to her, and she stared at the first few lines.

  Bridget Dasher

  Owner

  Cupid Bakery Corporation

  She glanced at the judge and then back to Soren.

  “You’re giving me a company? When did you have time to put this together?” she asked, dumbfounded.

  The hint of a boyish grin bloomed on his lips. “Kringle Acres has a remarkably robust business center, and Mr. and Mrs. Angel just happened to be in the lobby, so I asked them if this was a workable solution to their company’s situation.”

  Workable situation?

  She kept reading. “It says here that Mr. and Mrs. Angel only want to remain involved in an advisory capacity.”

  “Yes, no one in their family is interested in taking over the business. They’re ready to retire, and after sampling your cookies and seeing how you jumped at the chance to help the Kringle Cares group without a second thought, they feel the company would be in good hands with you at the helm.”

  “Oh,” she answered, back to one-syllable utterances.

  Not ten minutes ago, she was ready to forge ahead and open her own shop. Never, in a million years, did she see herself in charge of hundreds of bakeries across the country.

  “All it takes is a signature, and it’s yours if you want it. But there’s a condition,” he said.

  She schooled her features and stared him down. “Of course, there is. What is it? The second I lose a penny, the company gets sliced and diced for profits?”

  “No, you would be in complete control of the company. Rudolph Holdings will provide a healthy injection of cash to implement whatever changes and upgrades you choose to make. Rest assured, I’ll have no say in what happens after that. If you choose to sell the business or decide you only want to specialize in making those croque-whatever ball desserts, it’s all up to you.”

  Holy Christmas surprise!

  In her hands, she held the chance to save a company that cared about its employees and its community. But that wasn’t all she held.

  This was a chance to save herself—to take the leap. But could she trust Soren?

  She turned to the judge. “Is this for real?”

  The man nodded. “It is, Birdie. And Mr. and Mrs. Angel expressed quite passionately that they very much want you to take over.”

  She stared at the contract in disbelief. “But they hardly know me?”

  “They know your character, and they also know that you’ve always been on the nice list,” the judge replied, cracking a grin.

  She frowned. This was getting stranger by the second. “The nice list? That’s really a thing?”

  “And,” the judge continued, “Ernie Angel would also like you to bake him a dozen sugar cookies. Not to mention, the residents of Kringle Acres also requested more of your peanut butter blossoms. It seems your baking skills have impressed even the most highly acclaimed cookie enthusiasts. If anyone knows good baking, it’s a bunch of retired Santas, wouldn’t you agree?”

  It seemed too good to be true.

  “Birdie, think of what Grandma Dasher wrote,” Lori said from the other side of the room.

  She met her sister’s gaze, then looked around the room. All eyes were on her.

  She lifted her chin a fraction and focused on the man in front of her. She wasn’t sold yet.

  “What’s the condition?”

  “That’s the second promise I need to make today,” Soren replied, his eyes burning with determination.

  She watched him closely. “The condition is a promise?”

  “Yes, but don’t worry. Cupid Bakery is yours whether you choose to believe what I’m about to promise or not. But I hope you do.”

  “Are you two a thing?” Russ asked, scratching his head as Denise gave the man duh eyes.

  “So, you were the ones who raided Frosty,” Delores added, biting back a grin.

  Oh boy! She’d almost forgotten they had an audience.

  “Russ, Bridget and I met the day before we arrived at the Kringle Mountain House, and from that moment on, I haven’t been the same,” Soren answered.

  “Do you mean that?” she asked.

  “Every word. You’ve challenged everything I thought I knew about myself. You took me to task, and you never gave an inch. I didn’t believe that someone like me deserved someone like you. I didn’t trust myself. I thought I was destined to follow in my parents’ footsteps. But I was wrong. I don’t have to be like them. I get to choose the kind of man I want to be. And I choose to be someone worthy of you, Bridget. I’m sorry for all the terrible things I said last night. None of them were true. But here’s what is. I choose you over everything else. I promise I will guard your heart and never be reckless with it again,” he said, taking her trembling hand.

  “You do?” she whispered.

  He stroked his thumb across her knuckles. “I want to be with you. I want to dance with you while you bake. I want all your chocolate kisses. I want to watch you eat funnel cake. I want to kiss you under the mistletoe. If you let me, I want to spend my life proving to you that I’m worthy of your heart. I know I can be that man for you. I know because I’ve learned from the best,” he said, first, meeting the judge’s eye, and then, glancing over his shoulder at the Abbotts.

  Who was this man?

  “What happened to you?”

  She had to ask.

  He chuckled. “A bunch of Santas kicked my butt in poker last night, then they sat me down this morning and helped me get off the naughty list.”

  “The naughty list?” she repeated, unable to hold back the ghost of a smile.

  “Let’s just say that they helped me see the person I need to be for my friends and for the woman I love.”

  The breath caught in her throat. “You love me?”

  He cupped her cheek in his hand. “You know, I do. I was just too stupid and too blinded by my fears to admit it. And that’s the promise. Right here, right now, I promise to love you and protect your heart every day for the rest of my life.”

  Time moved slowly. She could see the edge and feel the pull to follow her grandmother’s advice and take the leap.

  But not yet.

  “Your best friend is marrying my sister. You could have just pretended to like me if you wanted to be around them.”

  “I never thought of that,” he replied, those cat-like eyes glittering with mischief.

  She cocked her head to the side. “It might have been an easier solution than professing your undying love and giving me a multi-million-dollar company.”

  His jaw dropped, and she laughed.

  “I’m just giving you a hard time,” she added with a vixen smirk.

  “She’s a real Alice, this one, isn’t she?” the judge said, clapping Soren on the shoulder.

  “She sure is, Judge,” Soren answered with sweet devotion coating each word.

  “Tell me if I’ve got this right,” she said, unable to hold back a grin. “You want to give me a company. You love me, and you promise to always protect my heart.”

  “And I’m not going to be a giant creep to your sister anymore. Don’t forget that part,” he added with a playful wink.

  “Thanks, man! We appr
eciate it,” Tom teased with his good-natured grin back in place.

  Bridget shook her head and laughed. “I can see why the Santas beat you at poker. It looks like I’m holding all the cards, and you’re supposed to be the big-time businessman. From where I’m standing, it appears I’m getting all the perks in this deal.”

  Soren’s expression grew serious. “That’s where you’re wrong. If you say yes, then I’ll have closed the best, most consequential deal I’ve ever made. From the first time I held you in my arms, I knew that I didn’t want to be without you. Tell me you feel it, too.”

  She stared at his beautiful face as a memory bubbled to the surface. She was seven or maybe eight as she watched Lori leap from bench to bench in the Kringle Chapel.

  Now, with her guardian angels watching over her, it was time for her to jump.

  She blinked back tears. “I agree to your terms, Mr. Rudolph.”

  “All of them? Me and the bakery?” he asked, his gaze growing glassy.

  “As long as you also promise you’ll always hold the pastry cone when I make a croquembouche, then my answer is yes.”

  “Somebody, get me that damned cone,” he replied, gathering her into his arms.

  She melted into his embrace. Who would have thought that this wild journey from anonymous lovers to mortal enemies would end with them as soul mates?

  “A deal should be sealed with a kiss,” the judge said and pointed to the ceiling.

  She and Soren glanced up and found a sprig of mistletoe hanging from one of the rafters.

  “When did that get there?” she asked.

  “The Christmas fairy must have done it!” Cole answered,

  “I think you’re right, buddy,” Soren replied, holding her gaze. In it, she saw nights spent warm in his embrace, gatherings with family and friends, and Christmases to come filled with love and joy.

  The life she’d always wanted.

  “I love you,” she said, hardly able to believe that this man was hers.

  He leaned in, a breath away from kissing her, and whispered against her lips. “And I love every part of you, Bridget Dasher, not your average vixen.”