“Sigmund, can she call you right back?” asked Wil before nodding and hanging up.
He then came right for Jolene, touched her chin, dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was hardly chaste, and she had to admit it made her toes curl.
He stepped back quickly. “You going to the party tonight?”
“Wil? You kissed me.”
He ignored the bit about the kiss. “Are you going?”
“Yes.”
He nodded. “Don’t run off with Marty between now and then, okay?”
“O-okay. Wil, are we going to discuss what just happened?”
He kissed the tip of her nose and walked past her. “Lupine, get your backside in here and make sure she’s okay. Help her close up the shop for the day. Marty, it would be best for you to vanish from my line of sight for a bit.”
“You don’t scare me, Messing,” said Marty.
Hugh approached the office. “He should. The man is about as stable as a one-legged table. Head on out, Marty. I got things covered here.”
“You’ll stay with her?” asked Marty, concern in his voice.
“I will. And I’ll keep Wil in line,” said Hugh.
Wil huffed. “As if that boy could keep me in line.”
Jolene touched Wil’s chest lightly. “You need to stop. I mean it. Keep behaving this way and we’re going to return to not speaking or even making eye contact. Is that what you want?”
His gaze moved to the present once more. “No. I don’t want that in the least.”
“Then stop behaving like a child, Messing,” she said.
He nodded. “I will. I promise. Just promise me you won’t run off and really marry Marty between now and the party.”
“I think I can promise that,” she answered. “What are you going to do?”
“Something I should have done long ago,” he said, walking out of the office as Hugh entered.
Chapter Seven
Jolene wrapped the red shawl around her more as she entered Hugh and Penelope’s home. Hugh had lovingly redone the home himself, expanding it, making it into the big, beautiful work of art it was. To each side of the front entrance were all-white snowman decorations and green garland with blue lights.
Penelope smiled wide as she held open the door for Jolene. “You look stunning!”
Blushing, Jolene fiddled with her hair, which was swept up in the clip. She felt as if she were the Queen of England, all gussied up. She was also cold. Nothing about dressing up was warm.
Shivering, she stepped into the foyer area.
Penelope hugged and released her, taking her hand. It was as if the woman sensed Jolene’s desire to cut and run before others saw her. Penelope had on a green dress with a red thick belt and an elf hat with a small jingling bell on the end. Dangling earrings with elves on them, holding wrapped presents, rounded out the look. It was all very Penelope. She was always an eccentric dresser.
Kelsey came around the corner with a glass of eggnog. Her eyes widened. “Holy guacamole, Jolene, you are a knockout.”
“That’s it, I’m going home,” said Jolene, pivoting, her intention to leave. It didn’t matter that she’d been picked up by a limo. The driver was the same boy who bagged groceries at the general store. She wasn’t aware he was even old enough to drive. But there he’d been, waiting at her front door, dressed every bit the part of a limo driver. He’d even helped her to the limo, making sure she didn’t slip in the dress flats.
Penelope grabbed Jolene by the shoulders and turned her tenderly. “Oh no you don’t. Come on. We’re celebrating Christmas if you want to or not.”
“You know, it’s moments like that I’m reminded whose granddaughter you are,” said Jolene, earning her a laugh from Penelope.
“Honey, she wants her mommy,” said Hugh, coming down the stairs with a small bundle of joy.
Prudence was dressed like a small elf, all in green and red like her mother. She was also fussing softly.
Jolene put her arms out, wanting the baby at once.
Hugh was smart enough to come straight to her rather than Penelope. He handed Prudence over and stepped back. “I’m not sure why she’s upset. She’s been fed, had a nap, and I just changed her nappy.”
Kelsey snorted. “Here’s to hoping your diaper change stays on.”
“Hey now,” said Jake, Kelsey’s mate, from the other room. He had Jayson in his arms. The baby was dressed all in red, looking like a small Santa. Jayson was also out cold, despite the Christmas music playing in the background and all the voices from the other room.
“Oh, look, he’s like Hugh,” said Penelope, as she kissed the top of Jayson’s head softly. “He sleeps through anything too.”
Hugh waggled his brows. “Good boy.”
Jake chuckled and looked at Jolene. His eyes widened. “Wow.”
Hugh laughed. “Yeah. I thought the same thing when I saw her, but I was smart enough to avoid voicing it. I know her well. She’ll throw a wrench at us or something.”
Smiling, Jake neared Jolene and gave her a partial hug, seeing as how he was holding a baby and so was she. “Yeah, and since we basically gave her a bouquet of wrenches, she’s got a whole new set of weapons to throw at us.”
“What?” asked Jolene, hugging Prudence to her. She kissed the little one’s cheek and rocked her in place, soothing her at once.
Penelope bit her lower lip and looked at Hugh.
Hugh shook his head. “No, honey. This was something you and Kelsey cooked up. The two of you can explain it to her.”
Jake glanced around the foyer. “Wait. You two didn’t tell her you’re her Secret Santa yet?”
“No,” said Kelsey with a stern voice. “We were going to surprise her later tonight.”
Jake paled. “On that note, Jayson and I are going to find a nice safe corner to hide in.”
Laughing, Hugh followed him. “Good idea. The girls are fine. Jolene is holding Pru, so she won’t do anything violent.”
The men hurried off, leaving the women all standing there.
Jolene stared at the girls. “Ladies, do you have something to tell me?”
Kelsey and Penelope stood side by side and nodded.
“You see,” started Kelsey, before stopping. “Well.”
Penelope sighed. “We’re the ones leaving you the gifts.”
“Why?” asked Jolene, kissing Prudence again because it was impossible not to kiss her chubby cheeks.
“We wanted to make it look like Grandpa was leaving the gifts for you,” she confessed. “We hoped it would make the two of you get closer, like we think it’s supposed to be.”
Jolene said nothing, choosing instead to stare at them and let them keep explaining.
They did.
Kelsey cleared her throat. “It was going according to plan, right up until we showed with up flowers at your house, early in the morning, to find Wil there. Since he knew he didn’t leave them, we couldn’t exactly hint that he had. We really thought it was a perfect plan. We bought the hairclip and necklace from the shop, knowing you’d like them. Wil had commented once on the necklace. He’d said he thought it would be pretty on you. Then he ran away grumbling about something or other to cover his slip.”
Jolene found it difficult to be upset with the girls. It was clear they meant well, and they had gone to great lengths to give her very nice gifts.
“Since we’d already hatched our scheme, we were committed, even though Grandpa sort of tossed a wrench in our plan,” said Penelope. “It was easy to see he was worked up over the gifts, and we already knew he was jealous of the time you were spending with Marty. Seemed logical to shift the plan in that direction—to let him think it was Marty.”
Kelsey nodded. “We thought it might give him the kick in the seat of the pants he needed to act on his feelings for you. And before you deny it, he totally has feelings for you, and you have them for him, right?”
Jolene inclined her head. “Yes.”
“The two
of you would be perfect together,” said Penelope. “I don’t like seeing either of you alone, especially when each of you cares so much for the other. Grandpa is thick-headed and stubborn when it comes to you. I think he’d wait another hundred years before he confessed how he feels for you.”
“Making him jealous was how we thought to hurry him along. It worked, but there were some unintended consequences,” said Kelsey. “Like him tackling Marty this morning.”
Jolene did her best to hide her smile.
Penelope glanced at her nervously. “And like how he took off after that, and no one has seen him or spoken to him. He’s not answering his phone. He’s not at the shop or his house. Hugh even checked the hunting cabin. Nothing.”
Jolene tensed. “He’s missing?”
The girls nodded.
Fear raced through Jolene. Wil wasn’t like Lloyd. If he never returned home, she wouldn’t be happy. It would devastate her to her very core.
She instantly began to pace, patting Prudence’s backside lightly as she did, worry seeping into every pore of her being.
“I’m sure he’s fine,” said Penelope, though she didn’t sound so sure.
“Yes. He’s probably fine,” added Kelsey.
Just then, the front door opened, and Jolene moved out of its path quickly and deeper into the foyer to avoid a draft reaching Prudence, who was still quiet and content.
“Merry Christmas!” shouted Petey Williams from the entranceway, dressed head to toe as Santa. Though the outfit was too big and hung off him, making him look more like a wino Santa than a department store one.
“Petey!” Kelsey ran to him and hugged him. “What are you doing here? I thought you were down in Louisiana for the holidays this year.”
“I was,” said Petey, stroking the white costume beard. “But something came up, so here we are.”
“We?” asked Kelsey.
“Yes, we,” said Curt Warrick as he came through the door, holding the hand of a beautiful young woman. He kissed her temple. “Everyone, this is my wife, Mississippi.”
The woman smiled. “Missi is fine. I’ve heard so much about all of you that I feel like I already know you.”
Curt came right for her, easing Prudence from her arms. “Hi, Jolene! Here, let me take the little rug rat. She needs time with her uncle Curt.”
“Uncle Curt?” asked Hugh, returning. “Petey? Missi?”
They all smiled at him.
Next in the door was Leo. He went right for Kelsey. “Happy Christmas, little sister. I want to see my nephew. Tell me he takes after our side of the family and isn’t a donkey, like his father.”
Kelsey hugged him tight and squealed before slapping his abs playfully. “My husband is a centaur. Not a mule.”
Leo shrugged. “Like there’s a difference.”
Petey put his arms out wide. “Ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas! I’m hungry.”
He moved past everyone, kissing Prudence’s cheek quickly before going for the kitchen.
“Honey?” asked Hugh of Penelope.
She shook her head. “This isn’t my doing or Kelsey’s.”
“No. It’s not,” said a voice that made Jolene’s breath catch.
She looked up to find her nephew filling the doorframe. His hair was longer than when she’d last seen him, but he looked amazing. In fact, she couldn’t recall a time in his life he ever looked so healthy and happy.
“Merry Christmas, Aunt Jolene.”
She rushed to him and hugged him tight. “Sigmund!”
Stepping back, she patted him all over to be sure he was real.
He laughed softly and put his arm around her. “It’s me. I missed you.”
Unable to hide her emotions, Jolene burst into tears and hugged him again.
He held her and patted her back. “Shh, Aunt Jolene.”
“I missed you so much,” she confessed, and then cried harder.
He eased back a touch. “What’s wrong?”
“Wil is missing!” she said, her bottom lip trembling. “When Lloyd went missing, I was so happy. But not Wil. I can’t lose him.”
He watched her closely. “Because you love him?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “Because I love him.”
“That’s good to know, considering the extremes he’s gone to today for you,” said Sigmund, turning her toward the still open front door.
Wil was standing there, his mouth open, his eyes wide. “Jo, you look amazing.”
She launched herself at him, so happy to see he was alive and well.
He caught her, lifted her off her feet and held her close. When he set her down, he kissed her again, like he had in her office. As he finished, he locked gazes with her. “I love you, too.”
“Oh, how sweet,” said Kelsey, earning her a raised brow from Wil.
She laughed. “I’m shutting up now.”
Wil came in all the way and shut the door behind him.
Jolene shook her head. “I don’t understand. How are they all here with you?”
“I went and got them,” he said, puffing out his chest.
“More like he showed up out of the blue and hogtied me,” said Sigmund. “Thankfully, Leo stopped by the bed and breakfast, or I’m sure I’d still be bound and gagged.”
Wil shrugged. “I wasn’t taking no for an answer. Your aunt missed you. You were coming home for the holidays, no matter what.”
Sigmund eyed him. “I came willingly. The rope wasn’t needed. But we all know how you like to tie people up.”
“For the last time, Jake was fine,” said Wil.
Sigmund laughed.
“Did I hear my name?” asked Jake, coming back, still holding his son. “What are all of you doing here? How did you get here?”
They all looked at Wil.
“No way you drove to Louisiana and back in that short of a window,” said Hugh. “You couldn’t have even gotten flights in or out with the snow storm moving in.”
Wil looked around. “I used an artifact I picked up in Europe years ago. It’s a teleportation device. Worked like a charm. Took it with me to Jo’s house the other night in a black bag with the intention of surprising her with a trip to see Sigmund, but well, that didn’t work out the way I wanted. I got sidetracked and then let jealousy control my actions.”
Hugh grunted. “What? You mean to tell me that I had to ride in a van that was hardly road worthy, with Leo, Curt, you, and Petey—who was gassy—all the way to Louisiana, and you had a teleportation device?”
Wil smiled. “Yes. That is what I’m telling you, Lupine.”
Hugh made a move to go at him, but Penelope blocked his path.
“Honey, I’m sorry but I’m going to have to kill him.”
“Bring it, wolf-boy,” said Wil with a wink.
Hugh laughed and then began ushering everyone out of the entranceway. “Come on. There’s plenty of food and eggnog. Let’s give Gramps and Jolene some time alone.”
Sigmund kissed Jolene’s cheek then followed Hugh and the others.
When it was just she and Wil, Jolene looked at him and teared up. “I thought something bad happened to you.”
He cupped her chin gently. “Marry me.”
“W-what?”
He got down on one knee in front of her and took her hand in his. “Jolene, will you do me the honor of being my wife? Say yes, since you’re my true mate, and it would be awkward if you turned me down for a were-polar bear.”
It took her a moment to register what he was saying. “We’re…? You and I are…? Wil?”
He stayed on one knee and withdrew a small black box from his pocket. He opened it and held it out to her. The ring within was beautiful. “Will you marry me?”
“Holy guacamole, she better say yes,” said Kelsey.
It was then Jolene realized they had an audience again. Blushing, she turned her focus to Wil. “Yes. I’ll marry you, you old goat.”
He shot up fast and lifted her again, kissing her passionately. When he was d
one, he set her down and turned to leave.
She grabbed his hand. “Wil?”
He slipped the ring onto her finger and put his hand over hers. “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?”
“To kill Marty,” the men all said, hurrying around her to grab Wil. They lifted him, and Jolene moved back, staring wide-eyed as they carried her mate in the direction of the kitchen.
“Put me down!” shouted Wil.
“Not a chance,” said Hugh.
Penelope laughed and teared up. “I’m so happy for you two.”
“Me too,” said Kelsey.
Jolene went to the women and hugged them both. “Thank you for all you did.”
There was a knock on the door, interrupting them.
Penelope went to it and opened it.
Father Walker was there, grinning. “I heard there’s going to be a wedding.”
“Wil called you, didn’t he?” asked Kelsey.
Father Walker nodded. “He did. I think he was hoping I’d oversee the ceremony on the spot to be sure Jolene couldn’t get cold feet.”
Jolene smiled. “I’ve loved him nearly all my life. It’s safe to say my feet are fine.”
“That is darn good to hear, woman,” said Wil, surprising her by being behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist. “Father, how fast can you get this show on the road?”
“Wil!”
“Hey, Wilber,” said Petey, coming out from the kitchen with a Christmas cupcake in each hand. Frosting was all over his face and the costume beard and crumbs were sprinkled down the front of the Santa suit. “You told me I could marry the two of you. I married Curt and Mississippi.”
Father Walker grunted. “Petey, we’ve had this talk before. That’s my job. Just because you got a certificate from the internet does not mean you’re more qualified than me. I don’t try to run your bait and tackle shop. You don’t take my weddings.”
Petey eyed him. “You don’t run my shop because the last time I asked you to mind it for me, when I had to step away, you sold everyone the wrong type of bait for the fish they wanted that day. I don’t know what they taught you in seminary school, but it sure wasn’t how to fish.”
“Petey,” said Father Walker.
An Everlasting Christmas (The Happily Everlasting Series Book 7) Page 7