It's In His Christmas Wish (A Red River Valley Novel Book 7)

by Shelly Alexander

  Turning onto Main Street, she drove away from Ross’s Automotive.

  Drove away from Ross.

  Without a backward glance, she drove up Main Street, turned left onto a side street just past her office, then pulled into the parking lot behind their office complex. She took the stairs two at a time, throwing the door open as soon as she could get it unlocked, and beelined it straight to her office for a pair of scissors.

  She clipped and snipped until all the hair extensions were laying in the sink.

  When she was done, she looked down at her matchy-matchy clothes. So, they were mostly black, because that was the easiest color to coordinate with, but still. She would get rid of those when she got back to her place.

  Okay, maybe she’d keep the clothes. They did make her feel good.

  But the hair extensions? She was going to have a bonfire with those suckers.

  She grabbed a rag from the cabinet and scrubbed off every remnant of stupid makeup and ridiculous red lipstick. Unfortunately, she’d have to have the lashes removed at Shear Elegance after she was done with her road trip to deliver the gifts, but she dug through her purse and found the Grinch green nail polish. With a dunk shot, it hit the trash can dead center.

  Score.

  Rummaging through every cabinet and drawer, she finally slammed the last one shut.

  Dammit, why hadn’t she kept an extra do-it-yourself dye kit at the office for nights like tonight?

  She froze and stared at her cropped hair and plain face in the mirror. And finally let the pieces of her broken heart start to fall apart one tiny sliver at a time.

  Tears slipped down her cheeks, but she swiped them away, and buried the rest of the tears the same way she’d had to do when leaving every foster home and every school to move on to the next.

  To hell with keeping extra dye kits handy at the office.

  “There will never be another night like tonight.” In a low, controlled voice, that didn’t sound at all like herself, she made herself that promise. Promises were usually broken in her experience. But unlike just about every person she’d come across in her life who broke the promises they’d made to her, she’d keep that one.

  She’d make damn sure of it.

  Ross sat outside of his parents’ house in his old classic pickup for a long, long time.

  He needed to think. Think about his parents and the pain they must’ve felt when they saw the Wishing Tree sign with Noelle’s name on it. Think about how that pain must’ve crushed them all over again when a little girl named Noelle walked up and said she’d wished for parents. Think about Kimberly and what she’d done.

  Think about how much he must’ve hurt her because of the things he’d said.

  He leaned forward and tapped his head against the steering wheel.

  He’d waited two years for Kimberly to open up to him, and then in record time, he’d destroyed his chance to show her she could count on him.

  Talk about a Grinch.

  He was Grinch, Scrooge, and the Abominable Snow Monster all in one.

  By the time he was finally ready to confront his folks, frost had started to accumulate on the windshield.

  He trekked across the snow-covered walkway up to the front door and knocked.

  A few moments went by with no sound coming from inside. Just when he was about to give up, the door cracked.

  “Ross,” his dad said, then unhooked the chain latch and opened the door wide. “Come in. You don’t have to knock, son.”

  “Yeah, Dad.” Ross brushed past his father. “Unfortunately, I do. That’s what I came to talk about with you and Mom.”

  His dad walked toward the den, waving Ross to follow.

  His mother was in a recliner that rocked, covered in a crocheted afghan, staring into the fire. She looked up and a barely-there smile appeared on her lips that didn’t reflect the desolation in her eyes. “Hi, son.” She motioned to the sofa. “Take off your coat and have a seat.”

  “I’ll sit, but I’m not staying long.” He kept his coat on and claimed a spot on the sofa. The brown paneling made the room darker than necessary. When they’d sold him the lodge and the cabin he’d grown up in, they’d moved to an older home deep in the woods. He’d never liked the fact that they’d moved to forget the pain of losing his sister, but he’d offered to help remodel the place and brighten it up with nice paint and new furniture.

  They’d refused.

  Of course, there were no Christmas lights. Not a single holiday decoration. It was as dull as his parents’ souls had been since they lost Noelle.

  He stayed perched on the edge of the sofa cushion. “I just came to say that I can’t do this anymore. I’m sorry. I love you both, but I can’t keep tiptoeing around the fact that we lost someone we loved.”

  His mother’s eyes moistened.

  His father’s usual frown deepened. “Now, son—”

  “No.” Ross held up a hand. “I have to say this. If you want any kind of relationship with me in the future, I’ve got to get this out, because it should’ve been said a long time ago.”

  A heavy breath filled his lungs, then he pushed it out again. “When Noelle passed, it was like you died with her. You forgot that I still needed you. I was just a teenager, and I needed…” He thought of Kimberly having no real parents at all. “I … I needed parents, but you weren’t there.”

  He stumbled over his words.

  Kimberly had had even less support growing up. He’d promised not to let her down. Promised her that he wasn’t going anywhere.

  Then foolishly, had done exactly what he’d promised her he’d never do.

  He rubbed the corner of his eyes with a thumb and forefinger, then continued. “I lost Noelle, too, but neither of you thought of how I needed to grieve, or what I needed to do so I could move on from her loss.” His voice grew ragged, because for the first time, he was admitting to himself that his parents hadn’t just been grieving for years. They’d been selfish, too.

  He’d been their enabler and had hurt the most important person in his life with harsh words over a sign with his sister’s name on it. All to keep enabling his mom and dad.

  His mother sniffed.

  His father stared at the dark brown shag carpet.

  “I got over it. I forgave you guys because I knew what you went through.” He let the years of pent-up frustration and anger toward his parents tumble out all at once. “But you never got over it. Out of respect for you, I’ve played along and not mentioned Noelle’s name in your presence, but I was wrong. And you were wrong for asking that of me. We should’ve been talking about her all along, and celebrating her life the way she wanted us to.”

  “Oh, son.” His mom’s voice shook. “I had no idea.”

  “Sure you did, Mom. You knew exactly what you were doing.” Ross’s tone filled with sorrow. “You wanted her memory to fade so the pain would fade, too.” His throat thickened. “But it didn’t, did it?” He looked around the dark, dreary room. “It only got worse for you because her memory is always going to live in our hearts, the way it should.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Tonight, I hurt someone very special who didn’t deserve it because I’m so scared to talk about Noelle. I mean really talk about her. I never fully explained the situation to Kimberly in detail. How unfair it was to expect her to just know.” Like she should be able to read his mind or something. What he was going to say next was going to be hard for all of them. “Noelle would be so disappointed in us.”

  His mom burst into tears.

  His father went to her and rubbed her shoulder. “Ross, I think you should leave now.”

  “No.” His mom shook her head. “He’s right about all of it.” She reached for the small side table next to her chair and retrieved a tissue. “When your friend, Kimberly, called us, she didn’t say what she had planned, but I realized how much of your life we’ve been missing. How much we must’ve let slip by unnoticed when you were still a teenager.” Mom dabbed at her nose. “I didn’t even kn
ow you had such a wonderful girlfriend, who obviously loves you, or she wouldn’t have gone to so much trouble.”

  Ross’s heart stopped beating.

  Kimberly had been doing what she always did—good deeds for others. Never for herself. And he’d broken his promise by walking away from her for it.

  Ross stood. “I’ve got to go.” He doubted Kimberly was still his girlfriend. She was too smart to stick with an idiot like him, but he had to go find out for sure.

  He had to fight for her the way no one else ever had, because she was worth it.

  As he reached the doorway that led into the hall, he turned. “I love you both. You know that, right?”

  “Of course, we know, son,” his dad said. “We love you, too. You won’t be able to comprehend how much we love you until you have kids of your own.”

  He stared into their blazing fireplace for a moment.

  If he ever had kids of own. He’d likely chased off the only person he’d ever cared enough about for their relationship to possibly lead to children.

  “I’ll see you soon,” he promised his parents, then turned to go.

  He couldn’t get out the front door fast enough. The tires on his old pickup squalled as he backed out of the drive and headed toward Red River city limits.

  There was only one way to find out if Kimberly would ever forgive him, and that was to go ask. Talk was cheap to a person who’d lived the kind of life Kimberly had, though.

  Maybe he could convince her by showing her. Then maybe, just maybe, she’d give him one more chance, whether he deserved it or not.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Kimberly let the firefighters know that she’d be delivering the gifts around the state herself, then she spent the next few days letting the rest of the packages arrive via their mail carrier. When she had every wish accounted for, so not one kid on her list would go without, she packed a bag and planned her delivery route.

  On a conference table at her office, she unfolded an old-fashioned road map she’d picked up at the pharmacy. With a sparkly purple pen, she started marking dots on the map. Every time she scribbled a small circle, she checked that name off her list. If she could plan out a route and get on the road by lunchtime, she might even be able to get back to Red River to have Christmas dinner with Angelique and her gigantic extended Italiano family, who were arriving in droves.

  After she’d flipped through every page on her clipboard and filled the map with purple dots, she grabbed her small bag filled with every color of clothing she could find in her closet, just because she damn well could, and tossed the bag over one shoulder.

  “Hey, girlfriend.” She blew into Angelique’s office. “I’m blowing this pop stand.” She put on a pair of fashionable sunglasses from the dollar store. “Maybe I’ll be back in time for Christmas dinner at your place.”

  Angelique looked up from the file she was reading. “Oh. Okay. Well, do what you can.”

  Kimberly peered over the rim of her shades. “What? No Italian mob threat if I don’t show up for turkey and pumpkin pie?” That was new. Angelique loved for Kimberly to stick around for family gatherings. It took the heat off of Angelique when her aunts started in with their charming advice. Instead of critiquing her marriage and parenting skills, they focused more on Kimberly’s unorthodox wardrobe and hairstyle choices as the cause of her single marital status.

  Since that was absolutely the truth, Kimberly didn’t mind the well-meaning constructive criticism.

  “Sorry,” Angelique said. “I’m just trying to finish up this case before all of my family arrives and starts smothering me and the kids. You know how they are.”

  Kimberly did. And Angelique was lucky to have those nervy overbearing Italian women doting on her.

  Angelique gave her a sympathetic smile. “I haven’t been very supportive after what’s happened with Ross.” She tapped the file. “If we didn’t have bills to pay, maybe I’d be a better friend.”

  “To heck with Ross.” He hadn’t come looking for Kimberly. Hadn’t called.

  She didn’t need support because of him. “He’s history.”

  Emptiness filled the pit of her stomach.

  Except that he wasn’t history. Not by a long shot.

  Eventually, he would be, though.

  “I’m over it,” Kimberly said.

  Angelique gave her a worried look. “You sure about that?”

  Now that Red River was completely and uselessly decorated because of two meddling elderly sisters’ evil plot to make a love match, Kimberly could get on with helping others. That was all that mattered to her. “So over it.”

  Angelique frowned and glanced at her watch. “I’m not so sure. Maybe you should sit with me for a while. Have another cup of coffee with me before you hit the road.”

  Kimberly rolled her eyes. “You’re the best friend I could’ve ever asked for, but stop it. And that obnoxious family of yours are the only people who’ve ever treated me like family, so lay off them and enjoy their visit.” Kimberly slid the shades up the bridge of her nose again. “I’ll try my best to make it back before they leave Red River so they can complain about my hair and clothes. Maybe I can even pick up a few pairs of obnoxious leggings while I’m gone. That should make up for me missing the first few days of them giving you endless marriage and child-rearing pointers.”

  “Are you sure you’re going to be okay out on the road alone?” Angelique asked. “I’m worried about you.”

  “Well, don’t. Alone is what I need right now.” Kimberly should’ve never stopped being alone. Letting Ross in had been a mistake. “I’ll call you every night.” She spun on a heel to leave.

  “You better!” Angelique yelled after her.

  Kimberly trotted down the back stairs. She threw her bag into the passenger seat, then climbed behind the wheel to go make a bunch of wishes come true.

  Exactly the thing she was supposed to be doing.

  So she’d allowed herself to get distracted by an old woman and her gavel. And by a man who had been too tempting in bed and too slick with words for Kimberly to resist.

  Her head was clear, again, and she was back on track.

  She turned the key in the ignition.

  A sickly whirring sound filled the cab, then died out completely.

  She tried to fire up the engine again.

  That time it didn’t even whir.

  No. No, no, no!

  This could not be happening.

  She got out and kicked the tire. Screamed into the air.

  Kimberly didn’t bother going back into the office to ask Angelique for help. Ang was an incredible attorney, but she had zero skills with automobiles. Instead, Kimberly started out on foot, going to every business, every restaurant and café. She went up and down Main Street asking anyone and everyone for help. No one could.

  No one would.

  The universe hated her. Or maybe it was just the people of Red River who hated her.

  Everyone in town suggested she call the only mechanic in Red River—Ross Armstrong.

  Hell no.

  She traipsed back to her office. Hours had gone by and it was getting dark. Angelique must’ve gone home because her car was gone from the parking lot behind their office. Only the broken-down moving truck was left, parked diagonal across several spaces. Kimberly folded her arms on top of the hood and buried her face in them.

  What was wrong with these people? Why on earth had she uprooted her life and moved to a place that couldn’t lend a helping hand to someone who needed it?

  Even if she could find someone to tow the truck to a nearby town for repairs, she’d never be able to deliver all the gifts before Christmas. She turned and slid down to the ground, leaning back against the grill of the truck.

  As she put her head in her hands, the sound of a massive automobile engine roared past her office building, obviously traveling down Main Street. Then another. And another, and another.

  She wasn’t going to get up and walk around to the fron
t of her building to see what was going on because she didn’t care. She was tired of Red River.

  She was tired, period.

  After the holidays, she’d break the news to her bestie that this town wasn’t for her, then she’d move her practice back to Taos, where she could actually make a difference in the community.

  She looked up at the sky, the purple hue slowly darkening to black. “When am I ever going to catch a break in this life?” She wasn’t sure who she was asking. God, the universe in general. Hell, if Santa was up there somewhere loading up his sleigh, maybe he’d hear her plea.

  “Kimberly?” A head, belonging to Cal Wells appeared from around the side of the truck. When he saw her sitting there, he stepped to the front. “Ms. Clydelle sent me to find you.”

  Kimberly was no longer going to be at the beck and call of the old woman’s gavel. “Tell Madam Chairperson I’m unavailable, Sweet Cheeks.”

  “Um … okay, but…” Even in the dark, Kimberly could hear the blush in Cal’s voice.

  So she poured it on even more. “You don’t mind me calling you Sweet Cheeks, do you?” Why not? It was her last hoorah in that town.

  Cal cleared his throat. “There’s something going on in the park. Ms. Clydelle said you needed to come quick.”

  Kimberly grumbled with extra flare just so the universe … and Cal, AKA Sweet Cheeks, would know how fed up she was.

  “Fine.” She pushed herself to stand. “But this is the last time that woman, or anyone else in this town, tells me what to do.” She followed Cal to his truck and climbed into the passenger seat.

  He pulled around to Main Street and turned right in the direction of the park. As it came into view, Kimberly leaned forward, letting her eyes bug out. “What in the world?” Her head swiveled toward Sweet Cheeks.

  His expression said he was a little scared of her. “Don’t know.” Both of his shoulders lifted. “All I know is I’m supposed to deliver you to the park, where Ms. Clydelle is waiting.”

  A line of luxury tour buses sat along the curb in front of the park, one in front of the other.