Welcome to Christmas, Texas: A Christmas Network Novel

by Katie Graykowski

  “Deal.” Lana stacked the biscuits into a sloppy pyramid on the remaining tray she’d found in the storage closet.

  The swinging door thwacked the wall as a man in a police uniform stepped into the kitchen. “Mom, I smell biscuits.”

  “Nick, there you are.” Nell nodded in Lana’s direction. “I believe you know Lana.”

  “Lana?” Nick stopped short, and the door swung back and banged him in the butt. He didn’t seem to notice.

  It was Nick Van De Berg right here in the kitchen of the Christmas Tree Inn.

  Lana lost control of the tray and almost dropped it but caught it right before biscuits went flying. “Nick.”

  Nell took the tray of biscuits. “I’ll take those out. If I’m not mistaken, you two have lots to talk about.”

  Nick looked the same. His curly blond hair was still unruly, his barrel chest still looked like the best place to snuggle into, and his swimming pool blue eyes still looked at her with wonder.

  Nell backed out of the kitchen and left Lana with the only man she’d ever really loved and the only man she’d ever really hated.

  Chapter 4

  Nick was rooted to the spot. He couldn’t make his feet move. Lana was here. Right in front of him. “How is it possible that you’re here?”

  Her huge dark blue eyes turned from shocked to squinty-skeptical. “Car accident.”

  His feet started working again, and he was a foot in front of her before he had time to think about it. “Are you okay?”

  He was almost sure it was her car that had been totaled. She had to be hurt.

  “I’m fine.” She looked around and then zeroed in on the door out to the dining room.

  He had the distinct impression that she was looking for a way out.

  Her gaze landed on the dirty dishes in the sink, and she limped over to the huge commercial sink.

  “You’re limping.” He wanted to put his arm around her to help her walk, but he wasn’t sure if that was okay. If she was hurt, what was she doing in the kitchen?

  “Not from the accident. That’s from walking in uncomfortable boots.” She refused to look at him as she limped the rest of the way to the sink.

  He was pretty sure she didn’t want any help with walking or, for that matter, help with anything that included him.

  He had no choice but to follow her. “We need to talk.”

  “No, we don’t. There’s really no explanation for the way you ghosted me.” She turned on the faucet, grabbed the yellow rubber gloves hanging off the side of the sink and slid them on.

  “About the accident. We need to talk about your car accident.” He mashed his lips together to keep from smiling. He could still make her blush. It was wishful thinking that she might still have feelings for her. “Had you been drinking before you got behind the wheel?”

  Slowly she turned her head and leveled a can’t-believe-you-just-asked-me-that stare on him. “I’ve never been much of a drinker, so no. You can breath-a-lizer me or whatever you normally do to check for alcohol or narcotics.”

  He took the opportunity to lean in and sniff her. Gardenias and something under it that was all Lana. “That won’t be necessary. You don’t smell like you’ve been drinking.”

  She picked up a coffee mug, rinsed it out, and put it into one of the green dishwasher baskets to run through the commercial dishwasher. “Is that all you wanted to know?”

  “No, tell me about the accident.” He could guess that it was weather related, but he needed the official version.

  She told him everything.

  “You said something jumped out in front of your car. What was it?” He really should do this in a more formal setting, but right now she was needed here.

  “I don’t know. Something large and brown. It was a blur.” She set another glass into the commercial basket.

  “I didn’t see any evidence on the car that you hit anything … well, except the welcome sign. Then again, with the rain, I didn’t really get that good of a look.” He had an idea of what had jumped out in front of her. Prancer liked to roam. Reindeer were cute, but they were also high maintenance.

  She sighed like she was exhausted. “I didn’t hit anything but the sign.”

  “If you’re tired, I’m sure my mom can handle the food.” Tentatively, he put a hand on her left shoulder.

  She squealed and jumped back. She rubbed her shoulder.

  “What is it?” He stepped into her personal space. He tried to see through the wide neck of her turtleneck, but all he could see was shirt.

  She waved it off. “It’s nothing. The seatbelt locked and I have a bruise. No big deal.”

  “Let me see.” He reached out to lift her shirt and then pulled his hand back. That was a bad idea. He waited and waited and waited for her to show him.

  “What?” She stepped to the side to put some distance between them.

  “Show me your shoulder.” He hadn’t meant it to sound like a command, but it had come out that way.

  “No, I’m fine.” She picked up a plate, rinsed it off, and stood it up in the basket.

  “I’m not leaving here until I see your shoulder.” He crossed his arms and looked down his nose at her.

  “Then you’re going to be standing there for a very long time.” She rinsed another plate.

  Tense silence pressed down on him, but he wasn’t giving up.

  He was willing to stand here forever if that’s what it took.

  “Fine.” She slammed off the faucet and tore off the gloves. She untied her apron, unhooked it from around her neck, and tossed it on the deck of the dishwasher. She slipped her sweater over her head. Underneath she had on a clingy white camisole.

  His eyes traveled up her torso.

  “Oh my God.” The bruise ran from her neck to her upper arm. He shoved his hands into his pants pockets to keep from tracing his index finger down her bruise.

  “It looks worse than it feels.” She shoved head through the turtleneck and stuffed her arms through the armholes. She refused to make eye contact. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have dishes to do.”

  He unbuttoned his sleeves and rolled them up. “It’ll go faster if we work together.”

  He grabbed a bowl and rinsed it before putting it in the dishwasher basket.

  The awkward silence separated them like an invisible wall.

  “I’m sorry.” It wasn’t an explanation, but it was all he had to offer. He picked up a glass and rinsed it.

  It was a little hard to explain that his father was Santa Claus, that he lived in a town that technically didn’t exist, and that he’d used up his lifetime allotment of days away from the town to go to college. If he’d stayed one second longer, he’d never be able to return—and possibly, the fabric of the universe would unravel. The last one was more myth than fact, but he certainly didn’t want to be the person who tested it.

  “I had family responsibilities.” It was lame, and he knew it.

  “Really? Wow.” She plucked up the scrub brush off the ledge behind the faucet and did her best to scrub a hole in the bottom of a pan.

  “I don’t have a good reason.” He did, but she’d think he was crazy.

  She halted the assault on the pan but continued to stare down at the sink. “Look, we only have to suffer through each other’s company tonight. I’ll be gone in the morning. Surely, we can either avoid each other or be civil for the next eleven or so hours.”

  She resumed pot scrubbing.

  “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but with all of this rain and the rain upstream, all of the low water crossings are already at flood stage and not expected to peak until Christmas Eve. You aren’t going anywhere.” He could see it now. The flood would give him some time to show her his life in Christmas, and maybe she would come to like the town.

  She looked over her shoulder at him. Her brow was all scrunched up. “That’s six days from now. I have to leave in the morning. I have a 9:00 am in Fredericksburg and a 1:30 in San Antonio. I’m out of he
re tomorrow.”

  “Ever heard the phrase, turn around and don’t drown? No one will be able to cross the low water crossings even by boat. The water is flowing too fast. Face it, Sunshine, you’re going to be here for a while.” He mashed his lips together to keep from smiling at her complete dumbfounded-ness.

  “But… I have to leave… I have appointments with some very big, potential clients.” She looked like she just couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that she was stuck here. “Wait a minute, I didn’t cross a low water crossing walking into town.” She thought about it some more. “Nope, I definitely didn’t cross a low water crossing.”

  “On your way into town, you crossed two. Both are impassable now. At the moment, there’s no way in or out of this town.” He scooped up a handful of dish soap bubbles. The wad of bubbles looked kind of like a hill. He pointed to the top of the hill. “Let’s say this is Christmas, Texas.” With his index finger, he drew a circle around the base of the hill. “This is the Blanco River. It rings Christmas like the lazy river we rode at Schlitterbahn. In fact, we tube the Blanco in the summer. You just grab a tube and float around the town and get out where you got in.”

  She held her hand up like a cop stopping oncoming traffic. “So, you’re telling me that Christmas is surrounded by a mote.” She shook her head like she didn’t believe it.

  “One man’s mote is another man’s lazy river.” He smiled. “You’re going to miss those meetings.”

  “Maybe I can Skype?” It was wishful thinking, and by her tone, she knew it. “My cell doesn’t work here.”

  “No one’s cell works here. In fact, no one in town has a cellphone because we’re way out of any cell company’s coverage area.” There were only two land lines that connected with the outside world. One was here, and the other was in his father’s office. “You can use the phone at the front desk.”

  “What about internet? My laptop didn’t get a wireless signal.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Don’t tell me, you only have dial up.”

  “No dial up.” He shook his head.

  Her shoulders sagged in relief. “Whew, thank God. What’s the network password. My laptop didn’t detect a network, but maybe the router needs to be reset or something.”

  “Sorry to burst your bubble. There’s no internet–dial up or otherwise. No cell phones and no internet. We live a quiet life around here.” One of the many reasons he hadn’t told her about this town and his family. Anyone who knew the truth had to stay. Deep down he’d known that she couldn’t leave the outside world behind.

  “You’re kidding, right?” There was a lot of hope in those three words.

  “No, we’re about as low-tech as you can imagine. Landlines only.”

  God, she was so beautiful. He’d missed her in a way that he hadn’t thought was possible. It had cost him part of his soul when he’d left her.

  “So, let me get this straight, there is no internet.” She looked totally lost. “Not even satellite or dial-up?” Still, so much hope.

  He shook his head. “Here’s the bad news, in Christmas, Texas your cell phone is barely more than a paperweight with a camera. But the good news is, you can still listen to music with it.”

  She snapped the dish gloves off her hands and ran her fingers through her shoulder-length dark, red hair. “You’ve got to be kidding me. This is a nightmare.”

  “Or a blessing. Being here will give you a chance to slow down and enjoy life. The week before Christmas is the best time to be in Christmas, Texas. Tomorrow, we light the tree on Main Street and then there’s the Christmas Eve Eve Feast. So much fun.” He couldn’t see her taking the time or enjoying anything Christmas. He remembered that her father had died on Christmas. She told him that it was a holiday to be endured instead of enjoyed. It wasn’t likely that she would change her mind in the next few days, but he had to try. This was their second chance. His life didn’t work without her in it.

  Chapter 5

  “I’m stuck here?” Lana was standing next to the only person in the world who’d broken her heart. And she couldn’t even leave? Forget going to hell, she was already there. And they didn’t have cell service or internet. It was like going back in time to … well, she didn’t remember a time when there hadn’t been cell phones.

  “I’m afraid so.” Nick rinsed off a dish and set it in the basket. He seemed so nonchalant. This was a big deal, a very big deal.

  “What about a helicopter? Couldn’t they fly in and get me after the rain lets up?” She knew she sounded desperate, but she needed to get out of here and away from Nick before she admitted to herself that she was still in love with him. She wasn’t running away so much as looking for a location change. She wasn’t above strapping herself to a giant balloon bouquet and floating out of here like that old guy did in UP.

  “I think life flight already has its hands full saving people who were swept up by the flood waters.” It sounded like that statement came with an eye-roll, but since she refused to look up at him, she couldn’t confirm it.

  It was final. Christmas, Texas was her new home for the next few days. She really didn’t have a choice. She’d have to cancel her meetings. And then there was all of this Christmas spirit that she’d have to wade through, which just might be worse that the rising flood waters. What else could she do?

  What were the chances that she could hide out in her room until the roads were passable? Or Christmas was over … whichever one came first.

  But Janis really needed help, and she really wanted to make cookies with Nell.

  She glanced around in case the ghost of Christmas Past was ready to pounce on her and remind her that Christmas was a happy time for everyone else. Oh wait, the ghost of Christmas Past was standing next to her washing dishes. She sighed long and hard in case anyone cared that she was in her own personal hell.

  “I take it from that epic sigh that you’ve accepted that you’re not going anywhere any time soon.” He set another pot in the basket behind the one they’d already filled.

  “I can’t believe that I’m stuck in the one place where I can’t ignore Christmas.” Yep, personal hell right here.

  “It’s not that bad.” He pegged her with his baby-blue eyes. “It’ll be fun.”

  Since she’d come to despise every single twinkle light, plastic light up Santa, and fake Christmas tree, she doubted fun would be the word she used to describe the holiday.

  Her father had loved Christmas. He’d start decorating the house on Thanksgiving right after the big meal. Grief punched her in the heart again. It didn’t matter that he died fifteen years ago, it could have been yesterday. She still missed him.

  Nick threw an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a one-armed playful hug. “Suck it up, Green. No one’s going to make you sing Christmas carols, or force-feed you sugar cookies, or hold you at gunpoint to decorate a gingerbread house.” He dropped his arm. “I can throw you in the town’s jail if it makes you feel safer from all of this Christmas spirit.”

  She missed having his arm around her. For a split second, she’d forgotten that she hated him. She wriggled out of his semi-embrace. She could not fall back into their old routine. She couldn’t afford another broken heart.

  She couldn’t help the lip snarl. “I’ll just have to muddle through. Your mom promised to show me how she makes her famous sugar cookies.” It was thin hope, but it was still a hope that she could make it through the next few days. She’d focus on helping out.

  “Look at you all silver-lining it.” He rinsed off the last bowl and placed it in the dishwasher basket. “Wait, she promised to show you how to make them? Like let you see the recipe?”

  “Yes.” She dried her hands on a dishtowel. “Why?”

  “No one knows her Christmas Cookie Recipe. It’s top secret. Even my dad doesn’t know it. This is big.” He seemed impressed.

  “I like your mom.” It was on the tip of her tongue to ask why he’d gone out of his way to not introduce them, but it didn’t
matter now.

  The kitchen door flew open, and a handsome blond man ran into the kitchen. “Nick, you’ve got to get out here. The seniors are about to throw down. Dotty McKonary accused Ethel Lattice of stealing a chocolate chip cookie off her plate which somehow ended up with Ethel accusing Dotty of stealing her husband. Since both of the ladies are in wheelchairs, they’re pretty much just bouncing off of each other, but the fight is escalating. While I’m intrigued by the idea of a senior’s girl fight, I’m afraid things are getting out of hand.”

  Nick grabbed a towel from the counter and dried his hands. “I’m coming.” He turned to Lana. “I’ll be back to help.” He went through the swinging door into the dining room.

  The blond man’s eyes found Lana. He grinned held out his hand. “Well, hello. I’m Chris, Nick’s younger brother.”

  His sky-blue eyes twinkled as he shot her a dazzling smile. He was a charmer. She was willing to bet that he broke a lot of hearts.

  She shook his hand. “I’m Lana.”

  Chris’s jaw practically hit the floor. “Lana? Are you THE Lana from A&M?”

  “I don’t know. I dated your brother in college if that’s what you mean.” It was hard not to like Chris. He was just one of those people that everyone couldn’t help but like.

  He slung his arm around her shoulders in the same playful hug as his brother. “We need to talk.”

  “It looks like I need to make another batch of chocolate chip cookies so let’s talk while I mix.” She pointed to the two clean, but still wet baking sheets as they rolled out of the conveyer belt dishwasher. “Can you dry those while I mix up the batter?”

  “Yep, I’m on it.” He dropped his arm, picked up the pans, and grabbed a couple of clean kitchen towels from a drawer next to the sink. “So, tell me everything.”

  She grabbed ingredients from the pantry. “Like what?”

  “Like what my brother did to screw things up between you and how he can fix it.” Chris wiped off the first pan and set it down on the counter next to her.

  She was at a loss and had no idea how to respond. “It was a long time ago.”