Trouble With Christmas (9781455544066)

by Mason, Debbie

  “You’re all getting on my last nerve,” Nell said. “Of course I’m up to it.”

  Annie pulled a face. “Maddie, my dad won’t play Santa.”

  “You let me handle your daddy, sugar, and you and Nell handle the rug rats.”

  “This I gotta see.” Nell chuckled. “Last I saw of him, he was out front with Ethan.”

  “Did you spot Rick Dane in the crowd, Annie?” Madison heard Nell ask as they went in opposite directions.

  As someone who’d spent time on the front page of the Chronicle, Madison felt a smidgen of sympathy for Gage, but only a smidgen. It was about time someone took the heat off her. She smiled as an image of Gage dressed as Santa popped into her head. She could think of a few things she’d like to ask Santa Gage for Christmas. Her smile faded. She’d already mentioned a couple of ideas to him, and his response hadn’t been what she’d hoped for.

  She hadn’t thought through the consequences of dating a single father, especially a single father who put his daughters’ feelings above everything else. She didn’t blame him. His devotion to Lily and Annie was just one of the many things she admired about him.

  He’d made it clear he wanted to keep their relationship on the down-low, but she was beginning to wonder for how long. Maybe he’d be more confident they’d make their relationship work if it wasn’t for the long-distance thing. His attempt at one with Sheena had been a disaster. Obviously, since they were divorced.

  Madison caught a glimpse of Gage through the glass doors. When his winter-green eyes locked with hers, all her worries faded. There was something about the way he looked at her, a softening of his expression that made her breath catch and her heart flip-flop in her chest. They could be together forty years, and she didn’t think her reaction would ever change. Maybe she’d found her one-and-only after all.

  Hmm, at that moment, her one-and-only looked a little nervous. She wondered if someone had tipped her hand. Fast walking—she wasn’t about to let him get away—the bells on her black slippers jingled. As Gage opened the door, she hit a patch of ice. “What… oomph,” he said when she plowed into him.

  His hand went to her waist to steady her, and his icy fingers brushed the thin strip of bare skin between her skirt and top.

  “Cold.” She shivered.

  With a sneaky move he’d probably perfected in his years of being sheriff, his eyes did a thorough sweep of her body—one that no one would notice but her. “Hot,” he murmured, his hand tightening on her waist, his peppermint-scented breath warming her cheek. She lifted her eyes to his. He grinned, flicking the bell on her hat. “Cute.”

  Ethan cleared his throat. Gage’s good humor instantly faded, and he set her away from him. Madison knew how Gage felt about PDA, but he was being ridiculous. It wasn’t like they were making out on the street. But she didn’t have time to get into it with him now.

  “Hey, Ethan,” she said, taking Gage by the hand. Probably something else she wasn’t supposed to do, she thought grumpily, but it was the only way she knew to make sure he didn’t get away. “Come on.”

  “Madison, I have to talk to you for a sec.” Gage reached past her to open the door. He was a gentleman, she’d give him that, and in her current frame of mind that was about all she’d give him.

  She tightened her hold on his hand and kept walking. “I need your help.”

  “Okay, but what I have to talk to you about is important.”

  The urgency in his voice caused her stomach to dip. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear what he had to say. The worry that he might be having second thoughts about them returned. Maybe he was beginning to realize she wasn’t a fan of keeping their relationship on the down-low, wasn’t particularly good at it, either.

  She cut through the people in line and walked down the hall to the supply closet. Nervously moistening her lips, she checked to be sure they were alone. It’d be less painful to get it over with quickly instead of listening to Gage list all the reasons they weren’t going to work out. “Are you…” She hesitated, feeling stupid, feeling like a dorky fifteen-year-old asking the captain of the football team if they were breaking up. “Are you breaking up with me?” Her Southern drawl thickened the words, making it difficult for even her to make out what she’d just said.

  The corner of his mouth twitched. He glanced over his shoulder, nudging her back against the door. His gaze roamed her face, then he gently nipped her bottom lip. “No. Why would you ask?”

  Relief swamped her. She tried to answer him, but with the warmth of his hard body caging her in, the words jumbled up in her head. So she looped her arms around his neck instead. “Kiss me.”

  “Happy to.” He smiled before fitting his lips over hers. She tangled her fingers in his hair, absorbing his heat and his woodsy scent. The warm, seductive slide of his lips over hers turned fierce and hungry. He was as desperate for her, it seemed, as she was for him. She reached behind her, fumbling for the doorknob with one hand while fisting the other one in his jacket to drag him into the supply closet with her. Two minutes, she just needed two more minutes in his arms, with his mouth on hers, before she told him about Santa.

  Gage backed her against the now-closed door. His leanly muscled body was the only thing keeping her from sliding to the concrete floor as the hot, openmouthed kiss they shared weakened her knees. His hands went to her waist, his fingers caressing the strip of bare skin there. “Umm, nice,” he murmured against her lips, sliding his hands under her top.

  “Oh, God,” she moaned, as his fingers moved higher. In a passion-induced haze, she decided two minutes wasn’t enough, an hour, a lifetime, wouldn’t be enough. She began to undress him. Smoothing her hands over his chest, she worked her way up to push his jacket from his broad shoulders.

  He lifted his head, his breathing a rough rasp against her cheek. “Honey, as much as I want you, and I really, really want you…” She kissed his throat. He stopped talking, releasing a low groan instead.

  She tried to wrap her fingers around his wrists, to guide his hands lower. He took the hint and slid them to her thighs, to the hem of her skirt. “Oh, yes,” she breathed, working the sleeves of his jacket over his flexed biceps, down his arms to his hands. One tug, then another, and his jacket fell to the floor at their feet. Next she went to work on the buttons of his shirt.

  He put his hand over hers, stringing kisses from the corner of her mouth to her ear. “Aren’t you supposed to be out there with Santa?”

  “Santa’s in here with me.” She undid a button, kissing the warm skin she revealed.

  Slowly he raised his head. Patting the wall, he found and flipped on the light. Once his eyes adjusted, he scanned the cluttered room. He took in the tidy pile of clothes in the corner with Santa’s fur-trimmed jacket on top. His gaze swung back to her. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

  She saw the worry in his eyes. Good Lord, he thinks I knocked off Santa. “Oh no, you found me out. And here I thought I’d done such a good job cleaning up all the blood.”

  His sheriff’s face firmly in place, Gage crossed his arms.

  “If you didn’t look so hot making that face,” she ran the tip of her finger along the shallow dent in his chin, “I’d be really annoyed with you right now. I fired Santa. Ted and Fred got him out of costume, dressed, and, I’m assuming, home.”

  “And?”

  She smiled, moving into him, lifting her eyes to his as she undid another button. “Can you say, ‘Ho, ho, ho’?”

  He stilled her busy fingers. “No, no, no.”

  She rose up on her toes, fluttered her lashes against his cheek, then kissed the corner of his mouth. “Please, for me? It’s only for an hour or so.”

  “And what’s in it for me?” His voice was toe-curling deep, his eyes hot.

  “Me.” She pushed the sides of his shirt open, baring his sculpted chest to her enthralled gaze. “I’ll be your little helper.”

  He kept his eyes on her as he moved away from the door, shrugging out of h
is shirt. “Yeah, what exactly do little helpers do?”

  “Well, we help get you into your costume for one thing.” She picked up Santa’s jacket, drawing it over his arms, her fingers caressing his chest as she lingered over her job. “And we help you out of your clothes too.” She reached for the button on his jeans just as the door flew open.

  A camera flashed.

  Rick Dane came into focus. “The ladies are going to love this issue.” He grinned then turned to Madison. “Ms. Lane, do you want to comment…”

  She’d give him a comment all right, but as she opened her mouth to tell him exactly what she thought of his sleazeball reporting methods, he finished, “… on Hartwell’s decision to reopen the resort deal?”

  Chapter Seventeen

  From the guest bedroom window, Madison watched Nell’s neighbor Stella shovel her driveway as Harrison confirmed the rumors of the night before.

  Harrison confirmed them, not Joe.

  Between handing out candy canes last night, Madison had left several urgent messages, which either her boss chose to ignore or his nephew deleted. Her shock over the news had faded several hours ago, and now all she felt was a deep sense of betrayal. She deserved a heads-up at the very least, the courtesy of a phone call from Joe.

  Harrison bawled her out for calling him at home—with Nell’s help she’d found his unlisted number—before nine on a Saturday morning. She’d been waiting out his angry rant for the last five minutes.

  “So, as I’m sure you’ll agree, it’s for the best.”

  Huh? “Wait… what did you just say?”

  He sighed. “I said, I’m sure—”

  “No, before that.”

  “Since you seem to have such a difficult time understanding, I’ll be blunt. You’re fired. Your services are no longer required. There, does that clear it up?”

  “I have a contract,” Madison said, her voice a strangled whisper.

  “Which, if you’d read carefully, included a clause that states in the event Hartwell undergoes a change of ownership or restructuring, your contract can be terminated. We are, and it has been.” He sounded like he was taking a great deal of pleasure in delivering the news, the Snake.

  Harrison had won. He’d slithered in and stolen everything she’d worked so hard for, everything she cared about. He was right about the clause, but no way would she let him hear her panic. “You can’t fire me, Harrison. I quit. You’re the last person I’d work for. You’ll bankrupt Hartwell Enterprises within the year.”

  “We’ll see who comes out on top in the end, Madison. Enjoy the unemployment line. No one’s going to hire you, not after the negative publicity you’ve generated of late.”

  He was right. No one in the industry would touch her now. And she didn’t put it past Harrison to slander her further. She was hurt and scared, but more than that, she was angry. “I know you set me up, Harrison. I was the only one standing between you and what you wanted—a Hartwell resort in Christmas. But guess what? This isn’t over yet. I have friends here, and I won’t let you destroy this town.”

  It was an idle threat, and she knew it. Once word spread through the town hall last night that the deal was back on the table, the citizens of Christmas couldn’t contain their relief or excitement. If she didn’t know how it would all turn out in the end, she would’ve been as happy as they were.

  Harrison laughed. “Good luck with that. From what I’ve been told, the only one in town who doesn’t want the resort built is you. Let it go, Madison. You have more important things to occupy your time than beating a dead horse. I’ll expect to see you in the office first thing Monday morning. We’ll take care of the paperwork then, and you can clean out your desk and hand in your phone and laptop at the same time.”

  Her heart jackhammered against her ribs. If it hadn’t seemed real before, it did now.

  “Madison?”

  Struggling not to hyperventilate, she took a minute before she could get the words out. “Yes, yes, I’ll be there at nine a.m. Monday morning.”

  “See that you are.”

  The line buzzed in her ear.

  Breathe, she ordered herself in an effort to overcome the panic rising back up inside her. Logically she knew she could go without a paycheck for at least a year, but that didn’t stop the roller-coaster ride her stomach was on. She didn’t want to use up her savings. If Harrison started slandering her reputation, who knew when she’d get a job? But the real reason behind her topsy-turvy emotions was the thought that she had to leave Christmas, and Gage.

  Their long-distance relationship was going to start sooner than expected. She hoped he was up for it. Last night, he’d been furious on her behalf, protective and supportive, but every so often when he wasn’t bouncing someone on his knee or ho, ho, hoing, he looked worried.

  Worried, she imagined, what the citizens of Christmas would think of the picture Rick had taken of them in the supply closet. After everything that had happened, Madison had expected him to invite her back to his place, if only to explain to the girls about the photo, but all she got was a promise to call her later. He didn’t.

  Maybe he’d be glad to be rid of her, after all.

  She rubbed her temples, trying to squelch her worries. Her cell rang. She checked caller ID. Finally. “Vivi, why haven’t you returned any of my calls?” Now that Madison had her friend on the line, she wasn’t letting her off until she found out what was going on with her. She’d deal with her own problems later. At the thought, her stomach did that topsy-turvy thing again.

  “I’m calling you now. What’s up?” Vivi sounded like she had something in her mouth.

  “What are you eating?” When her best friend was upset, she withdrew. When she was really, really upset, she sat holed up in her apartment eating gallons of Rocky Road ice cream.

  “Umm, strawberry ice cream.”

  Vivi hated strawberry ice cream. “I don’t believe you. Skye said you’re upset. She thinks…” Madison hesitated, trying to come up with a diplomatic way to say: she thinks you’re upset because the guy you’re in love with dumped you.

  A frustrated sigh gusted over the line. “I know what she thinks. It was stupid. I was stupid. You can’t fall in love in a week. It was lust, nothing more. I’m over him. All the women’s magazines say you shouldn’t sleep with a man until you’ve been together for at least three months. I should’ve taken their advice.”

  “Really, that’s what they say?” she said, instead of asking Vivi when she’d started reading women’s magazines. The funny thing was, Madison had unconsciously been following their advice for years. She’d been paranoid about getting involved with a guy who had a wife hidden away and, like her friends, didn’t sleep with a man unless she thought they’d go the distance. Both of which took at least a few months to figure out. Probably the reason why, although she’d dated several men over the years, she’d only slept with one.

  But now that she was head-over-heels-stupid in love with a man she’d known for only a few weeks, Madison took exception to the theory. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. One minute everything’s perfect, and then he was… gone. He never made any promises. I just thought… He told me he moves around a lot with his job and doesn’t do long-distance relationships, but…”

  Hot Bod sounded a lot like Gage. And an image of Madison and Vivi sitting cross-legged on her couch sharing gallons of Rocky Road ice cream popped into her head. She suddenly wished she hadn’t pressed for details, but that didn’t stop her from asking, “What does he do?”

  “I don’t know. Can you believe this is me talking? I don’t know anything about the guy.” She went quiet for a long beat then said, “When I didn’t hear from him for a few days, I tried to look for him. I can’t find him, Maddie. It’s like he’s a ghost.”

  “What possible reason—”

  “I don’t know.” Her laugh was brittle, fragile, very un-Vivi-like, and that worried Madison. “What I do know is I’m sick to death of those three
words.”

  “I’m coming home. I’ll be there tonight or tomorrow at the latest.” Madison ignored the hollowed-out feeling in her chest at the thought she was really leaving.

  “If you’re coming home because of me, don’t. I’ll be fine.” She huffed out an exasperated breath. “I am fine, and I won’t let you put your job at risk because you’re worried about me.”

  Might as well get it over with. “I don’t have a job. I quit. Actually, Harrison fired me, and then I quit.” It was worse saying the words out loud. She took a slow, even breath to steady the panicked gallop of her pulse.

  “Shit. I’m sorry, Maddie. I’d heard rumors Joe was stepping down, but I thought if it was true you would’ve heard them, too.”

  “You’d think, wouldn’t you? I have to face it, Vivi. Just because I felt like I was more than an employee to Joe doesn’t make it true.” Suddenly exhausted, she lowered herself to the edge of the bed. “Keep your ear to the ground, will you? Harrison’s got it in for me. I’m worried he’s going to do something to make it impossible for me to find work.”

  “Let him try. He’s an idiot. Men are idiots, and I say good riddance to them all. Who needs them, anyway? We’ll both be fine. Hartwell won’t last a year without you.” It sounded like Vivi was talking around another spoonful of ice cream. And if eating ice cream was Vivi’s endorphin-releasing therapy, she needed to try something else. Because clearly, it wasn’t working.

  “I’m sure you’re right. I’d better go book my flight. I’ll text you shortly with my arrival time.”

  “For someone who practically had to be blackmailed to stay in Christmas, you don’t sound very enthusiastic about leaving.”

  “Of course I’m happy to be coming home.” But aside from her best friends being there, at least Vivi, New York didn’t seem much like home anymore. Christmas did. “It’s just that I’ll be missing the pageant, and I hate to let down the kids and Nell.” She heard the tap, tap of keys.

  “Umhmm.” There was a smirk in Vivi’s voice. “Nothing to do with Santa baby?”