He looked at her oddly, but agreed. “Yes, it seems to be wonderful. Come on, let’s go find some of this marvelous pie.”
She tucked her hand into his, and felt him tighten his fingers, as he looked down at her and said softly, “Don’t forget. You have the rest of the weekend to come clean before that adorable behind ends up across my lap.”
She looked up at him, and said as seriously as she could, “I completely understand. Oh, look! A Rudolph scene in that window! Let’s go look at it! Wouldn’t that look fantastic in the bay window in the dining room?”
“Where’s the nativity set going?”
“On the mantel, of course! Oh, we are going to have so much fun this afternoon.” It would be fun for him, she vowed. He needed some fun.
He opened the door for her at the cafe and she said, “Thank you. That was very thoughtful.”
Sitting down, she didn’t open the menu, listening as he ordered them both toasted cheese, tomato basil soup and two slices of cherry cheesecake, along with a couple mugs of hot chocolate. Good, she needed to get warmed up.
“You planning to eat?” he asked.
She nodded. “It sounds wonderful! So, tell me about how work is going. Is it hard to step in to be the boss when everyone else has been there for years?”
He gave her that look, which she ignored, but he said, “Well, their old boss retired and it had to be someone. I’ve worked for the company for ten years, so it’s not like I’m coming in raw. I know what I’m doing.”
“Everyone seems to be accepting you?” she asked. Looking to the server, she said, “Thank you,” as he put the soup and sandwiches in front of them.
“Your dessert will be here in just a few minutes,” he said, staring at her.
“That will be fine,” Luke said, in a tone that made Ellie want to giggle. She couldn’t help that the man looked at her. He meant nothing by it.
She took a sip of soup and tried not to make a face. Food was so bland down here, but she would try and eat and not make a fuss. She didn’t want to end up over his knee before she had to. Which would be tomorrow night, because she knew he wouldn’t let it go, and she wasn’t, couldn’t, tell him anything more than she was his Christmas Elf. Maybe more one day, but for this season, that was all she was or could be. She would take her spanking. She knew going in that he was a spanker, and did some research. Accepting that would be easy enough if she could stay with him. Well, she hoped it would be easy.
Pushing her cheesecake toward him, a few minutes later, she smiled and said, “You eat it. I have to maintain my elfish figure.”
He opened his mouth to say something and she popped a bite into his mouth. “There you are. Finish up, we have decorating to do!”
“So, who is coming over again?” Luke looked around his decorated house. Even the kitchen seemed all Christmasy. How had she done that? They got four trees up and decorated, and then, apparently, decor, all over the house It had been a long, but fun, night. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had fun, or laughed. Now she danced in the kitchen while she cooked for their guests.
“Here. This is how you knead.” She showed him a rhythmic over under push movement on a slab of dough on one of the counters. “Could you knead it for me for about ten minutes, please, so I can get the rolls on?”
She wanted him to knead rolls? He didn’t cook. That’s why microwave dinners and outside grills were invented. Weaving her arms between his, she moved his hands. “This way.”
Once he got the rhythm, Luke took a deep breath. Actually, this seemed as good as hitting the boxing ring. He watched her as he felt the dough move under his hands; watching her flit about the kitchen dicing and slicing, mixing and pouring, dashing spices. So many spices. Did all cooking have spices like that? He’d never noticed before. Maybe that’s what made hers smell so good, and not some elf magic. Who knew? Spices for some reason made him feel better. He could understand spices easier than magic.
He just kept kneading until she told him, “Good enough. Want to learn to roll them out?”
Sure he did. What else was he doing? “Time is counting down, Ellie,” he said softly as she brought the rolling pin over. “Six more hours and we are going to have a discussion.”
“You can discuss,” she air quoted the word, “all you want, but honestly, Luke, I can’t tell you much more than I have.”
“We will see about that.” He took the rolling pin from her and tried to figure out what to do with it.
“Divide the dough,” she suggested, “it will be easier.”
She didn’t know that no matter how pleasant things were, nothing was easy with her. And his spanking hand was itching to find out why. He and his wife had settled many a disagreement with her over his lap. It was amazing how a red bottom helped a female mind to focus. Well, human females anyway. What it would do to an elf brain, he couldn’t wait to find out.
Did he really think she was an elf? He didn’t know, but she was something different and he needed to know what. Waiting a few more hours wasn’t a hardship. They would have all evening together alone and he planned to make the most of it. His fog lifted more by the hour it seemed and he occasionally even found himself looking forward to the future. Would Ellie be in it? He’d only known her three days. There was no way he could find out tonight, but for some reason he really thought he might.
Ellie laughed and he looked up, wondering if she’d heard his thoughts, when she said, “I forgot your Christmas song!” Somehow and he didn’t know how, some weird sounding song came into the room. “Christmas, Christmas time is here, time for toys and time for cheer.”
“Chipmunks?” he guessed, knowing it was.
“See how smart you are! Keep rolling!”
Luke couldn’t help himself, he kept smiling at the lyrics and her rendition of singing along. Apparently, elves’ magic didn’t include the ability to carry a tune. By the time the song was over, he was almost in tears, he’d laughed so hard. Why did elves sing Chipmunk songs and so badly? Why did it matter? He hadn’t belly laughed in years. But, “Hey, there was no Dave and snow in there!”
“No, that was another song, but I thought you’d rather laugh.” She turned and bent over to take something out of the oven.
Admiring the view, he said, “You were right.”
“You will find I am often right.” She put the tray down on the counter as he inhaled.
Why did everything she make smell so good?
“Let me finish these rolls up.” She beamed up at him with those blue eyes he wanted to drown in. “You can make a beer run.”
“Beer?”
“Men drink beer. I researched.” She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Your new friends will want a beer while you all gossip about games and women.”
“Is that what men do?” He couldn’t stop his lips from twitching.
She nodded emphatically. “And you are going to moan that you don’t know what to get us for Christmas.”
“I have so much to learn.” He laughed. Was he buying her presents? Would she still be here next week at Christmas? He hoped to find out so much more tonight.
“It is a tangible sign of your love, and besides, it’s the season of giving and people like presents.” She flashed those blue eyes at him.
“So, I’m getting a present?” he teased her and almost gasped. When was the last time he’d teased? And here he just kept doing it.
“Well, take a look.” She spun around, curls bouncing and dimples showing. “Here I am.”
Laughing, Luke grabbed his keys to make a beer run. For some reason he didn’t doubt one bit, she was right. Besides, he hadn’t had a beer with ‘the guys’ since before his wife died. Would there be a time, he wondered, when he would stop delineating his life between before and after? One, where he was normal and life was good, and after when he spiraled and nothing seemed worth doing, mostly. He’d focused enough to decide to move out of the house they’d shared and into a new town where he knew no one, and could start life
over again.
His realtor had found this house and he’d signed the contract without really looking at it, just vaguely understanding that there were obligations that came from owning a historical home. He couldn’t change the outside, could only paint it certain colors, all kinds of odd things he’d finally read about one night when he couldn’t sleep and his mortgage agreement was the only thing he could find to occupy his racing mind. And, of course, the walks. Apparently, there were three of them a year. The Christmas walk, a Spring Fling walk and a Patriotic walk in July. He liked the house, it was within two miles of his work, had a decent yard that he planned to work in this spring, the price was right and it was available when he needed to move. The takeover of the office had been fast, the manager had decided to retire, but then he’d had a heart attack, and so the timeline got moved up, and he got moved in.
In a week, he’d emptied the house his wife had passed away in, sold most of it, packed up the rest of the furniture, left the place he’d lived for ten years, and moved to Blizzard, South Dakota, a place he knew nothing about. Oh, and then he had an elf move in with him. Or so she said. He’d find out later.
Right now, some beer and then home to meet, perhaps, new friends in his new place. Grinning, he wondered how Ellie planned to introduce herself to them. Should be interesting! For the first time in a long time, he was finding himself looking forward to things. It was all the fault of the blue-eyed elf with the bouncing curls, dimples and a giggle that made him want more. The thought of putting her over his knee later, to paddle that cute butt till she confessed who she really was made him feel more alive than he had in years.
Right now, though, beer and afternoon brunch were on the agenda. Did beer and brunch go together? How would he know? If Ellie said it did, then it did. Why did he trust her so much? It made no sense and he still thought she was slipping something into his food. If so, he hoped she kept it up because he liked laughing again and he liked sleeping at night and not obsessing over the past. He loved the mystery that was his Christmas Elf. Why did he get a Christmas Elf? Would she disappear at the stroke of midnight on Christmas and would he forever think she was only a figment of his imagination to get him through a tough time? He would make sure to get the phone numbers of their brunch guests so he could call sometimes and say, “Hey, remember Ellie?” As long as he remembered. Would she wipe his memory? Had he watched too many science fiction movies? That never happened in real life, did it? He guessed he’d find out.
An hour later, Ellie danced into his bedroom, where he was changing. “This shirt. The gray makes your eyes smolder. They will be here in fifteen minutes.”
“Smolder? And exactly, or give or take a few minutes?” He pulled his sweatshirt off over his head and watched her blue eyes grow even bigger. Had she never seen a male before? Interesting. He pulled the sweater on, and when his head emerged, she was gone. Did he scare her? He halfway hoped he had. She was so confident, so assured, anytime he saw a glimpse of nerves or real person shine through, he liked it.
Hearing the doorbell chime – he did enjoy that old fashioned chime – he headed out of his room to the front door, just in time to meet her there. “Look better?” he asked her.
“Sure enough.” She beamed at him. “Gorgeous. Now, you just enjoy yourself, you hear?”
“Yes, ma’am, and after everyone is gone, you, me and the paddle will have a discussion I will also enjoy.” Fine, he enjoyed the shiver that went through her too, but she threw it off and opened the door.
“Stormy! And you must be Cade, come on in, this is Luke, and I see Lily and Sam coming up behind you. We can hang your coats here. It’s gotten cold, hasn’t it?”
Luke watched her play perfect hostess, almost in awe.
“Luke, want to take them into the family room while I help Lily and Sam hang up their coats and we will join you? Might as well bring in the drinks!”
“I’m glad to meet you both,” he said. “And I understand that you are bringing dogs here next week?”
He threw Stormy a look that must have struck her as funny because she giggled. So many women who giggled in this town. “Don’t worry. I can handle the dogs. We will make sure they are freshly groomed so they won’t shed much and not many of them bite.”
Bite? Had he mentioned bite? Stormy laughed again. “You look like you boys need a beer. Sam will catch up in a second and you all go crack open one, and Cade, help the new boy chill out.”
“Might take more than one beer.” Cade said it solemnly, but winked at Luke.
He laughed and said, “Beer on the sun porch.”
“Ellie, your house is so gorgeous,” he heard one of the women say.
“Thanks to your contribution, the flowers just make all the details pop, don’t they?” Ellie said.
Her house? Had she told them they were married? Siblings? What? He put that on his list of things to talk about tonight with her cute little butt perched over his lap. In the meantime, he turned to Cade and Sam and pulled three beers from the icy cooler.
“How are you liking Blizzard?” Cade asked him. “Heard you just moved here.”
“Yeah, just over two weeks ago, and so far, I’m enjoying. I took over the Tom Murphy office when he retired.”
“How’s he doing after that heart attack, have you heard?” Sam took a drink of his beer, then looked at the label. “Good stuff.”
In the kitchen, Ellie said, “We can put the food on the table in there, then I thought we’d have desserts in the family room in front of the fireplace.”
“Are you ready for the walk Saturday?” Lily asked her as they started moving food.
“Oh, other than a few little details here and there. What time will you be here with the dogs, Stormy?”
“About half an hour before it starts, to get them settled. I’ll have one volunteer with each dog, and your idea to go out on the sun porch since there’s a door to the yard right there, sounds perfect. Oh, this smells so good!” Stormy said.
“Thank you. Cooking is one of my hobbies,” Ellie told her. She liked her new friends and hoped they enjoyed brunch.
“So how did you and Luke meet?” Lily asked.
“Through work.” Ellie smiled. “I’ve had my eye on him for a while.”
‘Can’t say I blame you.” Stormy laughed. “He’s every bit as handsome as Cade.”
“Thank you, sweet thing.” The men had come in and Cade kissed the top of Stormy’s head.
Ellie felt a little pang. Would she ever have that with Luke? If her plan worked, she would. If not, well, who knew?
“Sit, everyone, and I’ll bring in the rolls Luke made.”
“You bake, Luke?” Lily asked.
“I kneaded,” Luke answered. “Ellie did everything else.”
“I can’t believe how good everything smells,” Sam commented, lifting a pot lid.
“If Ellie sticks around very long, I’m going to weigh four hundred pounds,” Luke said, and took a breath as everyone held still a minute. Think fast, Luke. “So that’s why I think I’ll keep her,” he said as she danced back into the room with a platter of steaming rolls.
No one acted like he’d said anything stupid, but he was still relieved when they all left a few hours later. Good. He’d help finish up the few dishes that the women had left, when they insisted on cleaning up, and gossip, as women did, and then he and Ellie would have that promised discussion.
“That went well.” She smiled at him and those strange blue eyes sucked him in again. He blinked and carried in the last of the pie plates.
“It did.” He wasn’t waiting any longer. The dishes could wait, but he was done with it. He needed some answers and he needed them now. He piled them in the sink. They could sit. Life wouldn’t end.
Chapter 3
Luke took her by the hand and his heart didn’t melt any at all when her small fingers laced into his so trustingly. “Come on, it’s time,” he said. She didn’t fight him at all, which was good. He was twice her size and would h
ave tossed her over his shoulder if he needed to, and carried her in. He sat down on the couch and pulled her next to him. Sometimes it was easier to talk if there was no eye contact. He stared into the fire, and started, since she was uncharacteristically silent.
“So where did you learn to cook?” he asked. Just start easy and work your way up, he told himself.
“My grandma taught me,” she said, and nestled her head against him.
“So, elves have grandparents?” Now they were getting somewhere.
“Did you think Santa made us in his shop?” She giggled.
“You’re the first elf I ever met,” he said.
She shook her head vigorously, making her curls bounce. “No, I’m not, silly.”
“So, are you here to take over?”
“Take over? Like the world? Only around Christmas time.” She leaned forward to stare into the fire. “It is the best time of year, isn’t it?”
“Ellie, I swear,” he started. “I mean it, you need to tell me the truth about what is going on and you need to do in now or you are going to be over my lap so fast you won’t know what hit you.”
“I imagine it’s going to be you,” she said. “I’m not looking forward to a spanking.”
“Then talk to me,” he commanded.
She shook her head and he felt he had no other choice, but pulled her across his lap, face down. “Comfy? Make yourself so, because you are going to be here a while, young lady.” His hand came down on her bottom, not hard, but enough to make her jerk. At least her bottom was human. So were her reactions. “Try to hold still,” he suggested, but if she was as human as he thought, she wouldn’t be able to.
He’d spanked his wife many times over the course of their marriage and he often thought that was why they had such a strong bond. He didn’t know why, but he knew for a fact that a red bottom helped her think, a good cry helped her stress level drop, and the glow she had for days after made him smile. There wasn’t a downside, in his opinion.
12 Naughty Days of Christmas 2018 Page 58