The Secret Santa Project

by Carol Ross

  Sure, Roy was a royal-class jerk, something Cricket knew all too well as he’d found Ashley an attorney when her ex had tried to bully her into lowering his child support payments. Tag, in a generous show of support, had paid her retainer. In the end, Roy’s payments were significantly increased. Regardless, seeing someone incarcerated was shockingly difficult. Not to mention the man was also the father of her three children.

  Caught up as he was in his own mental quagmire, he wasn’t prepared for Hazel’s reaction when he followed her inside Copper Crossing’s small lobby. There was no one else inside, and when she spun around to face him, the set to her jaw, the lines of tension around her eyes suggested she was not in a good mood either.

  “Why didn’t you tell me Ashley was coming with us?”

  “Oh, uh...” He raked a hand across his jaw. “I thought you two patched things up. Ashley said you were fine.”

  “‘Patched things up’?” she repeated flatly. “Cricket, we didn’t have some sort of spat. There’s been a pattern of behavior on her part that... You know what? Never mind.” She paused to inhale a breath. “I’m over what she did, yes, but that doesn’t mean I want to be her travel buddy. And besides that, a simple heads-up would have been helpful.”

  “I didn’t mean to...” He wasn’t sure how to explain without revealing Ashley’s personal business. “Is this a problem?”

  “Um, no, not really. I just wish you would have asked me first.”

  “Well, technically, Ashley was the one I needed to ask.”

  “What?”

  “Remember when Bering pointed out how I was flying to Juneau today anyway?”

  “Yes,” she said with a scowl before her features transformed to wide-eyed understanding. “Ohh... You and Ashley already had this planned. Kai and I are the ones commandeering your trip.”

  “Correct, but—”

  “No,” she said, bringing a hand up, palm out in an apologetic gesture. “You know what? I’m sorry. You can invite whoever you want wherever you want to invite them. Besides, it’s your airplane.”

  “I’m sorry, too. And I appreciate you being so cool with it. I probably should have given you a heads-up. It’s just that I’ve had a lot on my mind. And I did need to talk it over with Ashley first. Make sure she was okay with bringing other people along with us. If you knew the situation, you’d understand how difficult this is for her.” Shaking his head, he added, “That’s cryptic and annoying, isn’t it? What I’m trying to say is that she’s going through something very personal right now.”

  “Say no more. It’s not my business.” She nodded and added a smile. Sort of a smile, he realized, noting it was more of a lip-curling that didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m glad she’s, um, okay. So, that settles it, then. I guess we better get going.” With that, she pushed through the doors and marched toward the plane.

  CHAPTER TEN

  ANOTHER BONUS, HAZEL silently acknowledged, about flying in a plane this small was that it required headphones to communicate comfortably, making it easy not to talk if you didn’t want to. And, right now, that was what she preferred. Not talking. Or listening. With her headset tucked into the forward seat back, she pretended to study a book about the history of Alaska’s gold rush, which she’d already read but had brought along for reference purposes.

  Surprising how much Cricket and Ashley bothered her. But on a positive note, this settled it. Sealed it tight, in fact. Once again, she’d been confusing chemistry with emotion when she’d misinterpreted the moment at his house. And now she got to spend two days watching him with the woman he actually wanted. Tears pooled in her eyes, and she turned to stare out the window into the blur of clouds. How was she going to get through this? These were going to be the longest two days of her life.

  Thankfully, the flight was short, albeit a bit bumpy. Cricket nailed the landing. They disembarked, gathered their bags and headed to the parking lot, where they soon gathered together. An uncharacteristically subdued Ashley stood close to Cricket, looking pale and possibly unwell.

  “Ashley, are you okay?” Hazel asked because she couldn’t help but be concerned.

  Ashley flinched, probably surprised by the question. Hazel couldn’t blame her. It was likely the first time she’d ever gone out of her way to talk to the woman where they weren’t on a crash course to a confrontation.

  “Oh, um, yeah, just a queasy stomach.” She flattened a hand to her abdomen.

  Motion sickness, Hazel assumed, further stirring her sympathy. She suffered from that herself on occasion and always carried these certain candies she’d discovered in Switzerland for that very reason. Digging one out of her pocket, she offered it to Ashley. “Try one of these. Peppermint and ginger. Nothing settles the stomach better.”

  “Thank you, Hazel,” Ashley said, accepting the lozenge with a weak smile. “That’s very kind.”

  Cricket caught her gaze, and she saw approval and what looked like more than affection. He held it for a beat, and there it was—that too-familiar, disconcerting buzz. Nope, she told herself, breaking eye contact. Didn’t mean anything.

  She said, “I ordered a car to take us downtown. Our boat leaves for Gold Bend in an hour. Exploring there will take all morning. When we get back, we’ll show Kai around Juneau, let him get the layout and a sense of the place, and then start looking at potential lodgings—”

  “Uh, hold up a sec, Hazel,” Cricket interrupted. “You two go ahead without us. Ashley and I have plans. I’ve been to Gold Bend many times, and I trust your judgment. Kerry will be there to meet your boat. He’ll help you out, answer all your questions. I’ll text you later this afternoon, and we’ll meet up.”

  Then he looked at Ashley. “Ready?” he asked softly, and the expression he turned on her was filled with so much tenderness, Hazel decided she needed a candy, too.

  * * *

  GOLD BEND WAS nothing short of awesome. Both Hazel and Kai agreed with Cricket and Bering that it should be a part of the tour. As promised, their friend Kerry was welcoming and informative. After showing them around, he introduced them to the Inn at Gold Bend’s owner, who was enthusiastic about their plans.

  The excursion was a complete success, and Hazel and Kai were back in Juneau by late afternoon. She still hadn’t heard from Cricket, so they grabbed a late lunch of crispy, tender-flaky halibut fish sandwiches and piping-hot, perfectly seasoned onion rings. Feeling rather miffed after checking her phone yet again, Hazel tried not to let it show. A stirring of guilt followed when she imagined how Cricket must have felt when she was in Utah and out of touch.

  She and Kai set out on a walking tour, where she focused on absorbing the magic that was Juneau. Between the lights, the creative displays and the cheerful shop windows, it was impossible not to embrace a bit of the holiday spirit.

  Afterward, they wandered through shops filled with unique handcrafted items. Hazel found a perfect necklace for Shay and a stuffed orca whale for Lily that was so cute she’d probably end up giving it to her before Christmas. She bought a gorgeous keepsake box with an inlaid salmon on top for Victoria’s daughter, Scarlett, a twelve-year-old sweetheart who could already fish almost as well as her mom and Seth.

  Hazel was so focused on her musings that it took a while for her to realize Kai was less than his usual energetic self, too.

  “What do you think of this?” he asked about a finely knit wool scarf in a lovely sea-green color that reminded her of Cricket’s eyes.

  “Very pretty,” she said.

  “You think it’s too feminine?”

  “Uh, that depends. For your mom? Or Emma?”

  “Ugh, no. Pretty is not what I’m going for here.”

  “Hold up,” she said, noting the distress on his face and realizing what was likely going on. “Is this a Secret Santa gift?”

  “Yes.” He let out a little groan. “This is harder than I thought it would
be. Even with your mom’s advice, I’m struggling.”

  “You want to tell me who you have, and I can help?”

  Expression twisting with uncertainty, he admitted, “I do, but I don’t want to get into trouble.”

  “You think Mom is going to find out and put us in Christmas jail?”

  He chuckled. “Good point.”

  “My mom is all about Christmas happiness. You know her charity is literally called Operation Happy Christmas, right? I promise that if Mom knew this was causing you even a smidgen of angst, she would want me to help. This is supposed to be about spreading joy, and I can tell you whoever has my name has already made me ridiculously happy. And spoiling my person is turning out to be just as fun. This whole thing is making me feel like a kid again, which is the point, right?”

  “Okay.” He added a sigh. “You make an excellent case. I have Cricket, which I thought would be easier because, you know, I’m around him and stuff. But he doesn’t talk that much at the office. Plus, he’s so... I don’t want to say grumpy, so I’ll go with serious.” Shifting on his feet, he looked away for a second before forging ahead. “This is kind of embarrassing, but I think it’s me. I can tell he doesn’t like me very much, and that adds to the pressure.”

  “It’s not that he doesn’t like you.” Was it? She didn’t know because she, too, had noticed his behavior where Kai was concerned. Either way, it wasn’t like Cricket. He could be reserved, for sure, but he was always cordial and kind. If Kai had picked up on it, she was going to have to talk to Cricket.

  In the meantime, she could do this for Kai, help him be a kick-butt Secret Santa for Cricket. And, truthfully, it would be fun to make Cricket happy, too. She knew she could make him happier than Ashley could if only he would... Okay, enough with the going off on the Ashley tangent.

  Determination stirring inside of her, she looked at Kai. “Cricket can be hard to read, but he’s surprisingly easy to buy for because he has tons of cool hobbies and is interested in lots of things. But you can put the scarf down—he doesn’t wear wool.”

  “Ugh.” Kai groaned and slapped his forehead. “I got him wool socks for his first gift. No wonder he hates me.”

  “He didn’t even know it was you! How could he hate you?” Hazel reassured him and meant it because there was no way Cricket could hate someone as nice as Kai. “Come on, I have a few suggestions.”

  * * *

  HE’D BEEN ONLY nine years old, but Cricket distinctly remembered the first time he’d visited his father in prison. First, there’d been the long journey of traveling to the facility. Which proved to be nothing compared to the ordeal of getting through security.

  He’d never even seen a metal detector before that day, didn’t understand the purpose. All he knew was that he’d had to remove his favorite belt to walk through the towering arch, and then a harried-looking man had hovered over him with a strange beeping flashlight, which he now knew was a metal detector of the handheld variety. But as a child, he’d felt like he’d done something wrong himself, and he’d been terrified.

  Next came “the tunnel”—that was how Lee had described the seemingly endless hallway beforehand, and how Cricket would forever think of it—with its series of doors clicking open and then snapping shut behind him. Once through the tunnel, he was inundated with the clanking sounds of metal on metal, echoing footsteps and the acrid, antiseptic odors that burned his nose and throat.

  That was when it had hit him. He was trapped. The room spun, and the walls closed in around him. He barely remembered the visit. All he could think about was how badly his lungs ached and how much he needed air. Afterward, it had taken Lee months to convince Cricket the sensation wasn’t real. Nightmares plagued him, and he’d awaken in the middle of the night, tightly twisted in his blankets, thrashing and choking on nothing.

  Trauma, shock, claustrophobia—he didn’t even know how to describe the experience. No matter what the experts called it, he and Lee had vowed that they’d never end up there.

  Lee had broken his vow. Multiple times. And while Cricket had overcome his debilitating fear, the undertaking was never pleasant. But today, he discovered that there was something worse than visiting Lee in prison: arriving for a visit and finding that he wasn’t there.

  “My brother has been released?” Cricket asked the question even though the official behind the sheet of Plexiglas had already confirmed this information. Twice.

  “Yes. Ten days ago.”

  That explained the problems with the commissary account. Why hadn’t Cricket thought of that possibility? “I didn’t even know he was being considered,” he said, answering his own silent musing. “Can you tell me where he is?” he asked, knowing this was a pointless question, too.

  “Sorry.” The man shrugged. “No.”

  Not that it would do much good even if he could. Lee had no home, no permanent address, preferring instead to drift from town to town, often staying with acquaintances, sometimes temporarily renting an apartment, room, trailer or cabin. Cricket frequently received mail for him. No doubt he’d gone to a friend’s place to camp on a sofa until he could save enough to get back on his feet.

  As an experienced mechanic, he had little trouble finding work. Unlike their father, Lee was smart enough to never steal from his employers, and thus, even with his record, he always had excellent references.

  Cricket journeyed back to the parking lot to wait for Ashley and ponder the aspect that bothered him the most. Why hadn’t Lee told him he was getting released? Best-case scenario, he hadn’t known himself until the last minute and didn’t want to put Cricket out. Worst-case scenario, he was planning something and didn’t want Cricket to know.

  His phone vibrated with a text. From Hazel:

  Hey, any idea what time you’ll show up at the hotel? Thinking about making a dinner reservation. How about that steak you’ve been craving?

  Nope. No way. He could not do it tonight. He had his limits. With Lee’s unexplained disappearance on his mind, he couldn’t sit through another dinner with those two and act like it didn’t bother him, not even for the promise of a rib eye.

  He tapped out a response: Not sure yet. Go without me. And then, with his reluctant fingers hovering above the keyboard, he forced himself to add Have fun.

  * * *

  HAZEL WAS UP early the next morning. They’d agreed to meet in the lobby of the boutique hotel where they’d spent the night. Anxious and unsettled, she headed downstairs early and was surprised to discover Cricket seated in the cozy lounge next to the lobby. Long legs stretched out before him in the dark leather club chair. He was staring into the glowing flames burning in the massive stone fireplace, looking contemplative and so handsome that it made her ache.

  She fetched a coffee and a donut from the complimentary bar and joined him. “Good morning,” she said brightly. Nibbling on her donut, she felt exceedingly proud of her cheerful tone.

  He looked up and gave her a small smile. “Good morning to you.”

  “Missed you at dinner last night.” She took a seat in the chair across from him.

  “Sorry about that. We got tied up.”

  “How was your day?”

  “Not great.”

  “I’m sorry,” she returned, wondering how that could possibly be true. She waited for him to elaborate. Wasn’t surprised when he didn’t.

  “Did you guys get some scouting done? What did you think of Gold Bend?”

  “We did.” Glancing around, she added, “It went well. Gold Bend is fabulous. All you guys described and more—easy boat ride, fascinating history, interesting sights. And that scenery—wow. The lodge is also perfect. Kai and I are totally on the same page.”

  “Why am I not surprised?”

  She peered at him, trying to decide if she’d heard a sliver of sarcasm in his tone. Unsure, she added, “Would have been nice to have your opinion, too, t
hough. Where’s Ashley?” she asked, mostly to remind him why he hadn’t been there to provide one.

  He absently glanced around. “I don’t know. Probably upstairs. She missed her flight back to Rankins and had to stay over.”

  “Missed her flight?” she repeated. “I didn’t know she was supposed to fly back yesterday.”

  “Yes. Didn’t I mention that?” He sighed. “She was supposed to hop on a Copper Crossing flight yesterday afternoon. But like I said, we were delayed, and she missed it.”

  “Is everything okay? Did you guys...?”

  “Did we what?”

  Gah. She hated how she didn’t know what the boundaries were here. Was it too much to ask about his dating life? Did she even want to know? But she cared about him, and she could see that something was bothering him.

  “Did you guys have a fight?” she asked. What kind of a person did it make her that she wanted the answer to be yes?

  “A fight?” he repeated sharply, confusion knitting his brow. Then, after a drawn-out moment, his features softened along with his tone. “Hazel, do you think that Ashley and I are a couple?”

  “You’re not?”

  “No. We...” His lips flirted with a smile. “Ashley and I are not dating. Never have, never will. She is not my type.”

  Then his gaze traveled over her, and she felt her neck go hot. The look was back. And this time, she was very close to calling him out on it. But what would she say? You’re looking at me with that certain expression that makes me feel funny in a way that I like. But I need you to stop because it makes it harder to get over you. Oh, yeah, I lied when I said I was over you. She was beginning to think this was impossible. Not to mention, why was Ashley here, then, if not to be with Cricket?