by Sable Sylvan
“I don’t know,” said Ginger.
Richard looked over Ginger’s beautiful curves. “Did we fuck the sense out of you, woman? Think, think real hard, about some of the best moments you had today. Think about closing up shop.”
“The best part about closing up shop was—oh!” said Ginger. “I see!”
“I don’t,” grumbled James.
“James, you two kissed me underneath the mistletoe, but what else was underneath the mistletoe?” asked Ginger.
“Oh, shizz—that holly-topped bell!” exclaimed James.
“I guess Fate works in all sorts of ways,” said Richard. “I’ve heard of answering Fate when she knocks on the door—but I guess sometimes, Fate rings a bell.”
“You know what this means, right?” asked James.
“I don’t think it takes an astrophysicist to figure it out,” said Ginger with a grin. “This ménage…it’s fated, isn’t it?”
“That’s right, babe,” said Richard. “Now, how long did you rent this cabin out ‘til?”
“We’ve got it until two in the morning,” said Ginger slyly.
“Then what I’m hearing is that we’ve got a lot of time to prove to you that this ménage is very, very, very fated,” said Richard, before pulling his fated mate close to kiss her and start round two.
Chapter Eight
On the eighth day of Christmas, Fate sent to Ginger, eight friendly volunteers…
Ginger made her way down the street to the pop-up shop, where she was planning on meeting with James and Richard. They’d texted her that morning, asking her to meet them at the shop so they could ‘show her a good time.’ Well, after the time they’d had before, she was hoping that whatever date they had planned primarily took place in the bedroom. They’d nearly torn off each other’s heads during their first group date. In the bedroom, things had gone pretty well. Sure, James and Richard still had competitive streaks, but they hadn’t ripped each other apart. They’d been too busy ripping off her clothes.
Ginger waved at James and Richard, who were waiting for her out on the street, outside the pop-up shop. She smiled to herself. It was a little thing, but those small gestures made her feel special. It was a chilly day, and they didn’t need to wait outside for her, but they did anyway.
“Hey, you guys,” said Ginger, coming up to James and Richard, giving them each a hug and a kiss on the cheek in turn. “Sorry I’m a little late. So, where are we going? What are we doing?”
“Come on,” said James, taking Ginger’s hand. Ginger looked at Richard. Richard motioned for her to follow James up the stairs. Ginger walked up the stairs to the house. Had the two bears come up with a romantic evening in? And exactly how much trouble would she get in when Patricia found out about it?
Well, Patricia was actually inside the store, so apparently, they weren’t about to get up to much trouble at all!
“Patricia?” asked Ginger warily. “Don’t tell me we had something planned that I forgot.”
“Not exactly,” said Patricia. “Jasper met up with me last night, told me to rally the troops. I talked with James and Richard, and we came up with a dream team.”
“Rally the troops? Dream team?” asked Ginger. “Hold on. What are you on about?”
“I think maybe I can explain,” said a deep voice, as a man in a red and green flannel shirt turned the corner. It was Jasper Dixon, in the flesh. “After our talk last night, I came up with a plan. But, to execute it, I need the whole Bear Claw Bakery family to help make my dream a reality.”
There were two coughs. Two men behind Jasper had raised eyebrows.
“Err—the whole extended Bear Claw Bakery,” Jasper said sheepishly. He was big, but Darius and Terrence had the numbers advantage. “Grizzlyfir Crew and Hemlock Crew are going to be helping us put together a very special Christmas pop-up within the pop-up.”
“What do you mean?” asked Ginger.
“Day after tomorrow, we’ll be selling gingerbread houses for a charity promotion via a pay-what-you-want promotion,” explained Jasper. “Gingerbread house kits from the Seattle bakeries are being shipped down as we speak, and I have bakers at the local locations working overtime to ensure we have many kits to sell.”
“Why?” asked Ginger.
“Well, I’m still working out the kinks, but I can promise you that you won’t be disappointed,” said Jasper.
“You’re going to be selling the kits for pennies?” asked Ginger.
“Not pennies—pay-what-you-want,” corrected Jasper.
“Right, what I said—pennies,” said Ginger, putting a hand on her hip. “Jasper…won’t folks see the promo, and just pay the least they can pay, and make off with the kits? You’ll lose a ton of money!”
“Tomorrow isn’t about me,” said Jasper. “It’s about other folks. But, we’re going to need to put in a lot of work.”
“It’ll be a miracle if we can get this pop-up-in-a-pop-up set up that quickly,” said Ginger. “Do you really think we can do it?”
“Christmas is a season of miracles,” said Jasper. “All kinds of things happen during Christmas that just don’t happen during the rest of the year. I swear, it’s almost like there’s some kind of magic in the air—call it Christmas magic.”
“Port Jameson’s a pretty special place,” said Patricia, quirking a brow. “Mix a special time with a special place, and you’ve got double the special.”
“So, what can we do to help you, Jasper?” asked Ginger.
“Well, the real question is, what can we do to help you?” asked Jasper.
“Me?” asked Ginger. “But it’s your company! Your project!”
“You’ve been the one working this location,” said Jasper. “Bear Claw Bakery may be my company on paper, but in reality, each bakery is really owned by the workers that put in the hours. It’s their bakeries, in spirit, if not on paper. The only reason we hadn’t looped you into this project was because we didn’t want to put more on your plate.”
“You’ve put in the hours, babe,” said James.
“If this is anyone’s pop-up…it’s yours,” said Richard, squeezing Ginger’s shoulder.
“You’ve got a good set of bears here,” said Patricia. “This morning, they contacted me, asked if there was any way they could help, and well, they’re the proof in the pudding that during Christmas, both crews came come together and make some magic.”
“Uhm…well, if we’re going to get this thing off the ground, the first thing we’re going to need is more volunteers—and more registers,” said Ginger. “We’ll need some way to track the sales.”
“I thought we could just have jars for cash,” said Jasper. “People could drop the cash in and get out.”
“Well…” started Ginger, and she stopped herself.
“What?” asked Jasper.
“Not everyone pays with cash, especially for larger amounts,” said Ginger.
“I thought you thought people’d only pay pennies for the kits,” said Jasper, raising a brow.
“You and Patricia said it—this is a special place, and it’s a special time,” said Ginger. “I think the whole community will come over to support the cause—whatever the heck it is. Besides, you’re going to want to know how many kits were moved.”
“So I know how many to order next year for each location,” said Jasper with a wink. “Now you’re thinking like an entrepreneur. You might just give me a run for my money!”
“That really means something, given it’s a lot of money,” said Patricia, rolling her eyes.
The front door jingled. Ginger turned. There were seven people in the bakery—Darius, Terrence, Jasper, Richard, James, Patricia, and Ginger. It didn’t seem like anyone was missing.
“Hey, Ginger,” said Ivy sheepishly. “Sorry, looks like you’re busy. Have a Merry Christmas!”
“Ivy, wait,” said Ginger. Ivy and her brood turned back. “Take a seat. Warm up. Let me make you some cocoa.”
“I wouldn’t want to be any tro
uble,” said Ivy. “You know, we were just stopping by to say thank you anyway.”
“I mean, you’re welcome, but it’s no trouble,” said Ginger.
“I hope that we’re shown as much kindness in the next town,” said Ivy.
“The next town?” asked Ginger. “Did you find a new apartment already?”
“Not exactly,” said Ivy. “The shelter, well, it has a certain number of beds, and we’re a big family. They want to have the boys go to another shelter, but I’m their mama. I gotta keep the flock together, you know? We’ve got to keep moving, somewhere with another shelter, that can take all of us.”
Jasper dipped out of the room, mostly unnoticed. Ginger looked over the family. She had a small apartment. She couldn’t house them all, but maybe she could find someone in town that could. It was the middle of the winter. Still, regardless of season, it was essential to keep families together, even during times of need.
“At least let me get you some things for the road,” said Ginger. She looked over the pop-up shop. The shelves were stocked with gift items. There were bottles of mulling spices for making cider, fancy vanilla cookie scented candles, and glass ornaments for trees. There wasn’t much that was useful. Ginger grabbed one of the wicker baskets and started to fill it with decorative soaps—better than no soap at all—and warm woolen socks, scarves, hats, and three giant quilts, as well as a few totes bag to carry the items in. She knew the items were expensive, but she’d pay for it herself. There was no time to go to a giant superstore to buy the family more useful things for a lower price.
Ginger went to the register and started to ring the items up. But, before she could enter her card, somebody put their card into the card reader and signed for the purchase. Ginger looked up. Jasper was there, putting his credit card away.
“Thanks for handling this for me,” said Jasper with a wink. “I would’ve picked the purple and puce blanket, personally, but I’ve got a thing for ugly blankets and rugs.”
Jasper put the items in the bags and set them aside.
“Miss Ivy, I hope I haven’t overstepped, but I put in a call at a local inn, The Brambling Bear, and booked you a four-bedroom suite for the week until you can get back on your feet,” said Jasper.
“Is this a prank?” asked Ivy. “There’s no way I’ll ever be able to pay you back!”
“Well, you know, we need this space for something else day after next,” said Jasper. “You can help us out by taking these bags of excess product back to the hotel, and using them as you see fit.”
“There must be some way I can help out here,” said Ivy.
“When you go back to the shelter to get your stuff, can you spread the word and tell folks to come by the day after next, if they can?” asked Jasper. “We’re going to be providing free food and drink and Christmas cheer to those that want it.”
“That, I can do,” promised Ivy. “You’re going to be putting smiles on a lot of faces that’ve darn near forgotten what it feels like to show their teeth. This’ll be a Christmas many won’t soon forget.”
Chapter Nine
On the ninth day of Christmas, Fate sent to Ginger nine naughty toys…
Ginger spent the rest of her time at the pop-up on Monday making sure that as much pop-up stock as possible was sold. She was letting folks know about the fundraiser happening that Tuesday. James and Richard were busy working with other members of their crews on making and hanging up decorations for the pop-up shop. Ginger kept the store open an hour past usual closing time to see if any folks wanted to make last-minute purchases. Then, she started to box up the items left out on the shelves. Her two shifters could carry the boxes back into the basement for storage. With every box they carried down to the basement, they brought up a box of gingerbread house kits for Ginger to shelve.
Ginger was lost in thought as she shelved the gingerbread houses. She wondered if Ivy was doing okay, as she hadn’t seen her that day. She’d put aside a bag of day-olds for her. The pictures of the happy, jolly houses on the gingerbread house packages usually put a smile on Ginger’s face. That night, they almost seemed like a cruel parody of domestic bliss. How was it that cookie people could have beautiful houses, but real people like Ivy didn’t even have a shed to call their own? Where was the Christmas magic in that?
The front doorbell jingled.
“Sorry, we’re closed,” said Ginger.
“I’ll come back tomorrow, sorry,” said a familiar voice.
Ginger got up so fast she hit her head on a shelf. “Ivy! Sorry! I didn’t know it was—”
Ginger stopped. “I just hit my head real hard. Am I seeing double?”
“No, I brought my new friend by,” said Ivy. “Meet Andrea.”
“Andrea and I’ve met before,” said Ginger, crossing her arms. “What’s up, Ivy? Can I grab you a bag of pastries?”
“No, that’s quite alright,” said Ivy. “Actually…I came here to give you an update on that job I was doing for Jasper.”
“The job?” asked Ginger.
“He asked me to get the word out about the fundraiser, and I did,” said Ivy. “You should expect a lot of people tomorrow. Patricia gave me a stack of posters, and I hung them up all over town and handed them out as flyers. People seemed like they were really into the idea!”
“We’ve even hung the posters up at both Toad in the Hole Café locations,” said Andrea.
“You…you did?” asked Ginger warily.
“Whatever Jasper’s raising money for, it’s sure to be a good cause,” said Andrea. “I’m talking to my boss about ways that the café can support the fundraiser.”
“Wow, that’s real decent of you,” admitted Ginger.
“Hey—I still hate Bear Claw Bakery,” said Andrea, putting her arms up. “I don’t hate charity or Christmas. It’s the season of giving, so we’re going to be giving it all we’ve got.”
“Andrea, I misjudged you,” admitted Ginger. “Ivy, thanks for getting the word out. You sure I can’t get you a bag of day-olds to take back to the hotel?”
“Jasper’s been kind enough to provide us with food as well, but…maybe Andrea wouldn’t mind helping you out with those,” said Ivy.
“I’m headed over to the shelter to drop off our day-olds,” explained Andrea. “Got any you want to contribute?”
“You know what? I do,” said Ginger with a smile.
Ginger and Ivy and Andrea cleared the pop-up shop’s pastry shelf out into bags and carried the bags to Andrea’s SUV. Ginger waved them goodbye and went back to the store to close up.
“Hey, we were wondering where you disappeared to,” said James, who was leaning against the gift wrapping table.
“It’s a long story,” admitted Ginger. “You know, I’ve learned a lot this week.”
“Do share,” said Richard, arms crossed.
“I might not get along with everyone in this town, but that doesn’t mean I know their stories,” said Ginger. “If you give people a chance, you’ll be surprised about what they might do and what side of their heart they might show.”
Ginger and the bears walked out of the house. Ginger locked the building up and walked toward the car. She’d been picked up by James that morning.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” asked James.
James turned Ginger around. Ginger turned and looked over the edifice. “What am I supposed to be looking for?”
Richard tapped at his phone, and the gingerbread house came to life. White icicles were hanging down from the rooftops. There were white lights in a simple checkerboard net pattern over the roof. They looked just like the icing on a gingerbread house. There were bright Christmas lights, in all the colors of Christmas—green and red and yellow, along with blue, purple, orange, and pink—strung along the porch. Underneath the lights, Ginger could see the decorative details that the two lumber crews had worked on. They were bright and cheery and had heart.
“It’s beautiful,” whispered Ginger.
“It’ll look b
etter by the light of day,” said Richard. “But, we’re going to be leaving the lights on all night.”
“I mean, you have to—look at all the effort you put into it!” said Ginger. “I can’t believe that the whole town’s coming together for this fundraiser—even though we don’t even know what it’s for!”
“It’s for giving back,” said James.
Ginger opened her mouth to argue with James, but then, closed it and smiled.
“What?” asked James.
“You know what?” asked Ginger. “You’re right. It is the season of giving.”
“In the spirit of giving, did you remember to bring your Secret Santa gift with you to work?” asked James.
“Of course, I did,” said Ginger. “It’s in your car, where I left it this morning.”
Ginger, James, and Richard headed up the mountain, but not to James’ Hemlock Lodge. They went to Richard’s Camp Grizzlyfir. There was snow all over the large lawn. The snow was peppered with snow structures—snowmen, snowwomen, snowbears, snowcubs, dens, walls for snowball fights.
A snowball hit Richard right in the chest as they walked toward the large wooden building, which had bright Christmas lights strung over the edge of the roof.
“Where the heck were you?” called Santa Claus. There was a big man dressed as Santa, complete with the red and white suit, a big barrel chest, and a white beard.
“Closing up shop on the last minute job you assigned me to,” said Richard, brushing himself off as he walked toward his boss, Darius.
“Yeah, yeah—you would’ve done it for free, just to see your mate,” said Darius. “Come on in. We’ve already started.”
Grizzlyfir Crew’s early Christmas party was a tradition. That way, folks that were heading to see family for the holidays could still celebrate the holiday with the rest of the crew. The same was true of Hemlock Crew and their members. There was Christmas carol music on, and some lumberjacks, holding steins of beer, were singing rather loudly and off-key. Well, they were lumberjacks, not professional singers. There was lots of eggnog, cider, and cocoa, as well as Christmas pastries, straight from the Bear Claw Bakery location at the base of the mountain.