The Secret Santa Project

by Carol Ross

  CHAPTER NINE

  CRICKET KNEW HE probably shouldn’t ask the question even before it came sailing out of his mouth. But Hazel had brought the cookies, and the sunroom had been her spot, their favorite place to hang out. Also the scene of the crime, so to speak, which was why it wouldn’t be a good idea.

  On the other hand, Hazel was right; they needed to form a different relationship, create new memories. And, he reminded himself, she had a boyfriend. So that would make it easier to keep his distance. Theoretically, he amended as he watched her walking a few paces ahead. Why did everything about her have to be so appealing?

  “I like this,” she gushed, taking a seat on the love seat and falling back against the plush velvet cushions. “So much!” She lifted her feet to rest on the matching ottoman and patted the seat next to her.

  The sensible, friendly move would be to take the adjacent chair. But they’d always sat there together so they could look out the windows. And he wouldn’t want her to think he was avoiding her. That would be uncomfortable, too. He placed his cup on the end table and settled next to her. She pulled the blanket from the back of the sofa and arranged it to cover them both. The movement brought her so close he could smell the sweet, tropical scent of her hair. Feel her warmth. He ached to reach out and touch her skin, still sun-kissed from her recent travels.

  “It’s even more comfortable than your old one. All I need is my new pillow and a...” Her voice trailed off as Mitt, his giant fluffy brown-and-white cat, lumbered into the room. Her eyes lit with pleasure.

  “Cat! Cricket, you have a cat? How did I not know this?”

  “I do.” He smiled. “Two cats. That’s Mitt.”

  “Wow,” she whispered as Mitt padded closer, his almost comically large paws thudding on the hardwood. Cats were supposed to be graceful and stealthy and sure-footed. The ballerina of the animal world. Not Mitt. He was more like a bull in a China shop and, at eighteen pounds and with enough fur to knit a king-size blanket, he more closely resembled a small musk ox. He jumped onto the sofa next to Hazel. Standing close, tail twitching, he proceeded to give her the sniff test.

  “Mitt?” she asked as the cat awarded her a passing grade by helping himself to her lap.

  “Yeah, it’s short for Mittens. That was his name at the shelter when he was about the size of my fist. But look at him now—you can see he’s a tough guy.” Mitt was purring loudly, circling, pausing here and there to make biscuits. “Needed a name to match.”

  “Mmm-hmm,” Hazel droned sarcastically. “So tough. I hope he doesn’t go for my throat. Hi, Mitt,” she cooed, scratching the sweet spot behind his ears. Smart cat was already in love. He flopped onto his side, sprawling and stretching his neck so she could better reach his chin, his other sweet spot. He had several.

  “That’s a real possibility. I wouldn’t recommend making any sudden moves.”

  She laughed. “And you have another one?”

  “I do,” he said and glanced toward the door. “And there she is—there’s my sweet Valentine. Her friends call her Val.”

  In opposition to Mitt, Val was petite and lean with short velvety gray fur. Also, unlike her “brother,” she was not particularly fond of strangers. She glided into the room and hopped directly onto Cricket’s lap, where she daintily folded her legs beneath into a regal sphinxlike crouch, where she haughtily assessed Mitt’s brazen ploy for attention.

  Hazel quirked a brow and tipped her head. “That’s the one to watch out for.”

  “True,” Cricket agreed with a chuckle. “She is a bit possessive. So, you were saying you need a pillow and a what?”

  “I said I need my new pillow. My Secret Santa struck again. And I was going to tack cat onto the end of that sentence because there’s nothing I like better than taking a nap with an actual cat.”

  “Ah, yes,” he said, relishing yet another Secret Santa score. “You and your catnaps. You can borrow one of mine anytime.”

  “I might take you up on that.” She smiled down at Mitt. “With this one, anyway.” Her gaze bounced around the room. “I like everything you’ve done, Cricket. It’s perfect.”

  “Thank you. I’m glad you think so.” Cricket couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this content and wholly in-the-moment at the same time. That wasn’t true; he remembered very well because it had been here. With her, just like this. The years were melting away, and the sense of rightness settling over him was almost overwhelming.

  He stretched one arm along the back of the sofa, admitting that his hand was only inches from her shoulder. “I thought about you when I picked everything out. Wondered what you’d think.”

  Her lips curled at the corners as her gaze latched onto his. “Did you?”

  “I did. We used to talk about houses and decorating stuff, remember? And watch those home improvement shows.”

  “I remember. You were building your deck that summer.”

  While fantasizing about sharing it all with you, he silently added. A niggle of guilt crept over him. Was it fair to let her go on believing that she’d struggled with emotion that he didn’t return? That she was the only one who’d suffered all these years? He needed to tell her. If it was possible to have a genuine chance at friendship, he needed to be honest about how he’d felt, too. Take responsibility for his part in it all.

  It would be okay to admit now because she was over him. She’d moved on. He should also let her know how happy he was that she’d found someone. In other words, lie. Lying would be the right thing to do.

  “Hazel, I need to tell you something.”

  “Okay, sure,” she said. “You know you can tell me anything.” Her voice was low and sincere, and her eyes were soft and shining with curiosity.

  Gathering his thoughts, he let his gaze wander over her. She was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her. He wanted to tell her that, too. And that she was the sweetest, bravest, most interesting person he’d ever met and the only woman he’d ever... Wait. What was that crawling on her shoulder? He leaned closer for a better look.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Don’t move. There’s a spider on your shoulder.” From the table beside him, he plucked a tissue from its box and then slowly shifted toward her. Val, irritated by the disturbance, moved from his lap to perch on the sofa’s arm.

  “Sometime today would be fine with me,” she whispered with a hint of urgency.

  “I don’t want to scare it.”

  “I don’t want it on me anymore!” she shot back. Mitt let out a soft meow. “See? Mitt agrees.”

  That was when he realized his mistake. “Huh.”

  “Cricket, seriously! What are you waiting for?” Her tone was full-on impatient now.

  He plucked the object from her shoulder. “Why, Hazel James,” he said, meeting her gaze, “intrepid traveler, bold adventurer and all-around fearless human—I did not know you were afraid of spiders?” He was very close now, mere inches separated their faces, and he couldn’t help but think about kissing her. Anyone would, right?

  “I’m not,” she said. “I just like them better when they’re not crawling on me.”

  He turned his palm up for her inspection.

  Squinting, she peered closely. “Yeah, that’s a piece of fuzz.”

  “I know.” She glared at him, and he couldn’t contain his laughter. “I swear, I thought it was a spider. You have to admit, it was a little bit funny how your eyes got big, and your voice went all high.” Then he went on to imitate her very badly, “‘Cricket, seriously!’”

  “That is funny,” she said, smiling and nodding appreciatively. “It’s funny that you think that’s what I sound like.” Then her hand shot out, latched onto his fingers and squeezed. Hard.

  “Ouch!” He belted out a laugh and placed his other hand over hers, trying to reduce the pressure. “Jeez, you’ve got a grip on you.” At the
same moment that she loosened her fingers, he stopped struggling, which left their hands all tangled together. They were still close, staring into each other’s eyes, and he became aware of her rapid breathing and his own and... And maybe she wasn’t quite as over him as she claimed?

  He could find out, he reasoned, if he carried through with that kiss. Just one, to remind her what a kiss should be like, in case, as he suspected, the chemistry between her and Kai was lacking. That was literally the only thing on his mind. So focused was he on that train of thought that the sound of another person entering his home didn’t even derail it.

  Until his best friend strode into the room. “Hey, doorbell’s not working and what’s with—” The questions abruptly halted as Tag took in the scene, zeroing in on their hands, still entwined. “Oh.”

  Cricket glanced at Hazel. She grinned, and with them both chuckling softly, they untangled their fingers. Not guiltily, just deliberately. But still, Tag’s gaze landed briefly on Hazel before his features morphed into a puzzled scowl that he directed at Cricket.

  Cricket could see the question in his eyes, along with curiosity and maybe a hint of disapproval.

  “Um, hi, guys,” Tag said. “What’s going on?”

  “Spider on my arm,” Hazel explained, now looking at Tag, seemingly unfazed by her brother’s expression. “Cricket decided to let it spin a web before removing it from my shoulder, which I did not appreciate. I’m here returning Cricket’s generator. Dad borrowed it.”

  “Power’s out,” Cricket added.

  “Ah.” Tag nodded slowly. “ That explains why you’re not answering your phone. Ashley has been calling. She even emailed.”

  “Yep, it’s dead. Haven’t even plugged it in yet. What’s up?”

  “Can you take a cargo flight for me today? Medical supplies—it’s kind of urgent.”

  * * *

  AT FIRST, HAZEL assumed Ashley was just doing her job by helping prepare for their flight the next day. After all, she worked for Tag here at Copper Crossing Air Transport. Because Iris had held the position of all-purpose employee before Ashley, Hazel knew the job involved a wide variety of tasks. Answering phones, scheduling flights, cleaning and preparing the planes, loading cargo, helping passengers board, and on it went. So, even when Ashley exited the office with a duffel bag hitched over one shoulder and a smaller satchel strung over the other, the alternative still did not occur to Hazel.

  Hazel and Kai were standing in the passenger waiting zone, an area located beneath a covered patio right outside the lobby, adjacent to the runway at Rankins’s airfield. There were a couple of vending machines and several benches where travelers could enjoy a very cool view of the planes landing and taking off. Hazel imagined how well that would go over with tour clients.

  Not to mention the stunning scenery. The morning air was crisp and cold, and the sun illuminated bright, clear skies with no threat of precipitation. Sparkling frost blanketed the grounds, and silver-tipped mountains glimmered in the distance. The two-day forecast, while not good for JB Heli-Ski, was perfect for the journey ahead.

  Beside her, Kai was on his phone, cataloging Instagram hashtags for Our Alaska Tours’ future promo possibilities. Hazel could not have been more pleased with either his creativity or his work ethic.

  Nerves and excitement jostled for position inside of her. She and Cricket seemed to have conquered a major hurdle. Visiting his house had been almost therapeutic. They’d had fun. All signs suggested that they could have a friendly platonic relationship. Now, if only she could get her heart and her body in line with her brain.

  There had been a moment with the fuzz-spider. When she’d grabbed his hand, the air had gone all heavy and intense. And the desire in his eyes, how he’d looked at her, had tied her in knots. But she’d been the one to touch him first, and even though she hadn’t meant to be flirtatious, it had sort of turned into that.

  Then Tag had shown up, and the connection had passed. Good timing, she told herself, before she did or said something stupid and things turned awkward. She couldn’t expect her feelings to dissipate all at once just because she wanted them to, right? Right. So, in conclusion, she’d experienced certain sensations, but she refused to read more into them than that. No more projecting her reactions onto him.

  Ashley stowed the bag in the plane and then sauntered over to join them. “Hi, Hazel. Nice to see you. How’s it going?”

  “Hello, Ashley,” she answered politely. “Fine.” She might not despise the woman any longer, but that didn’t mean they were going to be friends.

  “I hear you’re home for the holidays this year?”

  “Yep.”

  “Very nice. Tag said it’s been a while.”

  “That is also true.”

  Ashley was eyeing Kai curiously, so Hazel performed a quick introduction. “Kai, this is Ashley Frye. She works here. Ashley, this is Kai. He works with me.”

  They shook hands and began making small talk. Hazel studied the tentative schedule she’d come up with and tried to tune them out.

  “Utah!” Ashley loudly exclaimed, startling her and redirecting her attention. “So beautiful there, right? Someday, I’d love to see all those canyons. Hazel did this post on her site a while back about this slot canyon. The walls are so high that you can barely see the sky when you look up. You’re surrounded by all this red rock and phenomenal light and shadows. The colors are stunning.”

  Ashley followed her blog? Huh.

  “We have tons of those,” Kai said, and Ashley appeared enthralled as he went on to describe his favorites.

  “So jealous!” she said when he’d finished. “The only other state I’ve ever visited is Hawaii. Went to Maui on my honeymoon.”

  “Well, you picked a good one. Hawaii is fabulous,” Kai said. “Epic hiking there, too. And snorkeling.”

  “Unfortunately, my ex didn’t want to leave the resort or get in the ocean. Afraid of jellyfish. Such a dud. Should have been my first clue, huh?” she said and then laughed at her own joke. Which, Hazel grudgingly but silently admitted, was kind of funny.

  Peeling back her jacket sleeve, Ashley peered at the watch on her wrist and then gestured at the backpacks sitting on the bench beside them. “I should probably get your bags loaded. We’ll be boarding in about seven minutes.” Reaching out, she snagged Kai’s pack, slung it behind her and slipped one strap over her shoulder.

  “I can get that!” Kai protested.

  “Don’t worry,” Ashley said brightly, brushing him off with a wave of one hand. “It’s my job.” She turned toward the airplane, and, tossing a grin at Hazel over her shoulder, she chirped, “I bet you never thought you’d have me tagging along on one of your adventures, did you, Hazel James? Even if it is just to Juneau.”

  Tagging along? Hazel blinked slowly. Before she could even form a question to clarify, Ashley was at the plane with Kai’s bag.

  Hazel thought fast. Did she have a right to be upset? How much of this reaction was due to her dislike of Ashley? And how much to the fact that she hadn’t made arrangements for a fourth person? The logical assumption could be made that Cricket planned for Ashley to share his room, which pretty much answered the question that had been gnawing at her since she’d seen them at the Faraway Inn. Cricket and Ashley were a couple. Why hadn’t he mentioned it?

  Why did this bother her so much? Jealous, yes. She owned that. She was always jealous when she knew he was dating. The last time she’d come home for Christmas, she’d thought he was going to date her cousin Adele, and she’d ended up cutting her stay short. Thankfully, that relationship had fizzled before it ever got very far off the ground.

  She tried to set her personal opinion aside. From a strictly professional standpoint, it was inconsiderate not to have filled her in on these plans.

  Cricket pushed through the door behind them, picked up Hazel’s pack and swept a hand toward
the plane. “Everyone ready?”

  “For sure,” Kai said, still looking at his phone.

  “Wrap it up, Montauk,” he said bluntly, his tone not quite snappish. “Can’t use your phone on my plane.”

  “Got it. I was just—”

  He interrupted, “When you’re finished, Ashley will walk you through our boarding and safety procedures.”

  And that was another thing—he didn’t seem to care for Kai.

  “Cricket,” Hazel asked. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

  * * *

  CRICKET WAS IN a bad mood.

  No matter how he tried to spin it in his mind, the days stretched out before him like an emotional gauntlet. Two days with Hazel and...Date. Hours and hours of traveling—spending time in close quarters, boat rides, car rides, meals, conversations. Between hearing them laugh and listening to their incessant “travel speak,” it was like being tied down and bitten by a thousand mosquitoes. While the entire town scraped their nails on a giant chalkboard.

  As wonderful as it had been at the time, he now likened her surprise visit to that stupid menu tasting. He didn’t want a tiny piece of Hazel; he wanted all of her. And now here he was, forced to watch while someone else got what he wanted.

  The only thing worse would be starting the trip off with a visit to Otter Falls Correctional Facility. Oh, that was right—he was!

  Visiting his brother in prison was always depressing. But because he still hadn’t been able to deposit money into Lee’s account, that meant he’d likely be spending time in the administrative offices, as well.

  But wait, there was more! Today he had the added thrill of escorting Ashley on her first visit to the facility. He’d been surprised when she’d approached him a couple of months ago and asked if he ever visited Lee. His brother’s incarceration wasn’t a topic he discussed. But he’d soon learned that Ashley’s ex-husband, Roy, had been recently convicted of fraud and was also currently housed there. Roy had mentioned to Ashley that he’d met Lee.

  For reasons that she didn’t disclose, Ashley wanted to visit her ex, which had been the point of her inquiry. Cricket had helped her navigate the visitor approval process and then offered to take her with him on his next visit. Despite her determination and brave face, Cricket fully expected it to be an emotional experience.