When it stopped moving, Candi let out a sign of relief and pushed it back into the coffin. It was spring-loaded. No big deal.
She was just about to close the lid when she heard a footstep behind her.
* * *
Troy followed the footsteps around the building and saw them end at the cellar door. Had the vandalizing female no clue that he could easily track her in the snow? He could go in there and scare her, but that was deviant behavior, and the social worker in him restrained his mischievous side.
He was twenty-nine and not a boy anymore. If the damsel wanted to hide in the cellar of the Herschfield House, otherwise known as the haunted house, let her.
Of course, all the props were in the basement by now, and they had been decorating the main floors for the Gala Christmas Ball—a first for Sapphire Falls, so she would be in there with all the Halloween ghouls and goblins.
Troy turned around and headed back to the Come Again. It was his bad luck that the first woman who’d rocked his brain, heart, and cock was a lunatic tourist with an affinity for stealing mistletoe branches.
Weird. His fingers still tingled where he’d touched her, too briefly, to keep her from falling, and he could still sense her distinctly feminine fragrance, vanilla and cherries. Her blue eyes mirrored his—bright and clear, and he’d been so close to kissing her and doing the dumbest thing he’d ever done—asking her to marry him on the spot.
Which was a real loser move. Something he’d never recommend his lovesick clients do.
He sauntered back into the bar. The missing mistletoe had been replaced, so truly, no harm done. The lady wanted a souvenir—he could see it on Ebay already, Genuine Mistletoe from Sapphire Falls—where falling in love is hard, fast, and steamy.
After waving and nodding to the people he grew up with, he headed straight for his corner. They knew well enough to leave him be when he sat in his corner, the one they dubbed the Shrink’s Couch, because that was the booth from which he’d handled everyone else’s problems.
The entire thing was crazy, and maybe he was committing a Sapphire Falls faux pas, but he pulled out his phone and checked his text messages.
There was one from Honey. Did you catch the prankster who pulled down the mistletoe?
No, but no harm done. They’ve already replaced it.
Oh … well, I heard there might be a heist at the haunted house, she texted.
Maybe, you should call Scott or Ed, he texted.
Scott and Ed were the extent of the police force in town. Scott was a young guy, and Ed was the veteran who’d been around forever.
Let them handle the Mistletoe Miscreant, and her blue eyes, and her sexy lips, and her trim, fit body, and …
Ed was married, but Scott was not, although it was no secret he was interested in another unstable young woman. But still, that was before this blond beauty waltzed into town.
Maybe he’d better check it out.
He took one last look at his apps and noticed a new message had been posted to the relationships forum. It was Dumped, and she had reported progress. Good for her.
Troy pictured the woman high-fiving herself virtually. He dashed a quick note to her.
Dear Proudly Dumped,
I am proud of you. You’ve won the first battle against heartbreak. Not only did you discover you didn’t have real feelings for your ex, but you’ve also successfully avoided a repetition of the very behavior which got you dumped in the first place.
You were wise to hold off on the kiss. You have now created a curiosity in the man to find out more about you as a person. If you’d given him the kiss, his body would have reacted and then, as you know, one thing leads to another, and the two of you would be in the fires of lust and limerence—a heady state of being insanely attracted and obsessed with the object of your desire that many people mistake as romantic love.
Good job at staying calm. As I’ve said before. The more interested you are in a man, the less interested you should appear. This is not game playing, but being wise. By not appearing interested, you can see what the guy is made of, whether he’s only after you for your appearance, sex, or a conquest. See if he is willing to be a friend first. That way, you can get to know his personality and assess whether you are compatible or not. Have you made your checklist of the qualities you require? If not, go ahead and make one.
Best of all luck, Dr. T
With that settled, Troy ambled from the bar and headed back to the haunted house. He recalled Hailey warning him about jealous people from other towns who resented Sapphire Falls for being the premier holiday location. There was that town in California and another one in Pennsylvania. The idea of holiday towns had caught on, and rivals were putting on festivals and special events to boost their economy.
This blonde was obviously from a place where snow was rare—likely California, since she had no clue that all he had to do was follow her footsteps as she traipsed across the snow-covered field to the haunted house.
Troy easily pulled the cellar door open. Of course, the hasp had fallen back over the loop, and if the woman had tried to get out, she couldn’t.
No one stood on the stone stairway, and the basement door was ajar.
Which meant Honey was right. An attack on the haunted house, or their Christmas Gala Ball decorations was next. Slowly and stealthily, he descended the steps and pushed through the door.
A tiny light bobbled about fifty feet from him and went out.
“I know you’re in there,” Troy said. “If you don’t get out, I’m going to have to call the police. Breaking and entering is a felony.”
“I might have entered, but I didn’t break in.” A small voice came from his left. “I’m trying to find a way out.”
Her hot pink parka flashed from behind a trunk, and he pointed his light, gasping at the exquisite sight she was with her silvery blond hair, pale skin, and luminous blue eyes.
His body perked and his cock jerked to attention as she came toward him. His hands tingled and his mouth watered. He wanted that kiss. The one she’d cheated him out of.
Lowering the beam of light, he said, or rather croaked, “Give me that kiss you owe me, and I’ll get you out of here.”
“Sorry, I’m not interested.” Her voice was cool as glacier water.
“Not interested in me or in kissing?” Hey, he was a psychologist. He always asked clarifying questions.
“Not interested in kissing men.” She hadn’t stopped advancing on him, slowly but surely.
“Where are you from?” he asked, not sure if the man kissing ban was temporary or part of her sexual orientation.
“San Francisco.” She held her hand out for a shake.
He let her power grip his hand and gave her back a strong, but not crushing shake.
His cock twitched, not getting the message, and Troy was glad it was dark in the basement.
“Let’s be friends,” the woman said. “My name’s Candi and you are?”
“Uh, Troy.” He let go of her hand, unable to take the jolt of electricity sizzling through a simple shake. At the same time, a dreary soggy blanket slumped over his shoulders, cooling his ardor to a small degree.
He didn’t want to be friends with this woman. It didn’t make sense. Not one bit. He wanted to take this Candi in his arms and hold her forever. He wanted to know what made her tick, what her dreams were, what she treasured in life, and yes, he wanted to make love to her. He’d never met anyone else who’d implanted all these insane desires in him, and yet, like the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, she was female all over from head to toe, but not a female he could ever have as more than a friend.
“Sure, friends,” he said, holding onto her hand as he guided her from the basement. “Want to have dinner at one of the newer restaurants on Highway 81?”
“Is there a local diner?” she asked evenly, as if holding his hand had zero effect on her.
Of course not. Not if she swung the other way.
“Yes, but I’m warning you, th
e menu’s really limited.” Not to mention the gossip was thick as thieves.
“I’m sure it’ll work,” she said. “I’m looking forward to some down-home cooking for a change.”
All he was looking for was to go down on her and do some cooking with his tongue. After all, it was lips on lips, something she was used to.
Chapter Four
Honey hid behind the bushes and watched Candi and Troy walk toward Dottie’s Diner.
Satisfied with their progress, she headed to Scott’s Sweets to confer with her friends. She had moved to Sapphire Falls after coming for the Halloween Festival and was surprised how welcoming everyone was—especially once they found out she was a romance writer.
Scott’s Sweets was the gathering spot for her weekly readings, and even though she’d given up eating sweets, she enjoyed their hot chai and green tea along with a bowl of fruit.
“Did Troy take the bait?” Phoebe, the town busybody, asked as soon as she stepped through the door.
She was a gorgeous redhead and was born and raised in Sapphire Falls, and she was descended from the pioneers who’d settled here originally. She obviously knew everyone and had a brain like an encyclopedia.
“What are you girls up to now?” Adrianne Riley, the owner of Scott’s Sweets, rolled her eyes.
“A little matchmaking, what else?” Phoebe hooked her arm around Honey’s shoulder and they bumped hips as they gathered around the corner table where they had their Plotting and Character working group.
It was supposed to be an informal class for several of the other women who wanted to try their hand at writing romances, but, as always, the plotting and characters turned from imaginary people to helping someone they knew.
In this case, Honey’s sister, Candi.
And Troy Caine, one of the sweetest men in town who was due for his own happy ending, despite providing for others through his advice and counseling.
“How’s the scavenger hunt going?” Hailey Bennett, one of the voracious readers in the group looked up from her coffee. Millie and Megan, Max’s twin sisters were also in the group, and they were both working on their first novels.
“It’s working like a charm,” Honey reported. “He chased after her when she pinched the Come Again mistletoe. There wasn’t an actual kiss, because she ducked out from it.”
“Good tactic.” Lauren, another Bennett wife, smirked and laughed under her breath. She was a scientist and founder of an agricultural company. No one would have pegged the serious and competitive researcher to read romances, but it turned out that she had hotter material on her ereader than scientific articles.
“How so?” Megan had her pen poised, ready to glean wisdom from the more experienced women. She was working on a paranormal romance involving some of the characters who had haunted the town during the latest Halloween festival.
“The rule,” Lauren explained. “It’s basically old-fashioned playing hard-to-get. Especially important in this day and age of instant messaging and social media. You can’t let the guy think you’re too available.”
Lauren had played her version of “The Rule” with her now husband Travis, where she asked him to drive her out of town. She wanted to hate Sapphire Falls because she thought of herself as a city girl, and Travis was supposed to prove to her how wrong Sapphire Falls was for her. Men, being the handy creatures they were, loved challenges, and Travis had stepped up the plate and turned Lauren into Mrs. Travis Bennett and permanent resident of Sapphire Falls.
“Just like Honey divorced Max to get him to come back to her,” Millie, Max’s other sister, chimed in. “Now he’s as tame as a St. Bernard puppy.”
“It was not, and he’s not tame, not at all.” Honey gaped at her sister-in-law. “He was a workaholic.”
Not to mention he would disappear unexplainably at times, and then claim he didn’t remember a thing. It had made him unpredictable, fun, and exciting while dating, but a disaster as a husband and father.
Fortunately, their move to Sapphire Falls had calmed down his episodes, and having an entire village around to watch out for him helped when he experienced his bouts of amnesia. Someone knew him and could bring him home, for one.
“Let’s see the rest of your plan.” Hailey Bennett, who used to be the workaholic mayor of Sapphire Falls, opened her ubiquitous planner full of sticky notes and tape flags. She tapped her pen, impatient with the idle chitchat. Hailey was always go, go, go. Even though she was no longer mayor, she loved Sapphire Falls so much she wanted the town to be the premiere destination vacation spot for holidays such as Independence Day, Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day.
Honey produced the list. “I’ll need your help in hiding some of the objects. I’ve told Candi that I need these things for my wedding. The trick is to get Troy to either protect the object or help Candi get it. That will depend on how their dinner at Dottie’s goes.”
“I can definitely do the Peppermint Booze soaked panties,” Phoebe said. “And let her into Levi and Kate’s place to get a candy cane off their tree. Actually, I can arrange everything except for Santa’s boxers.”
Phoebe, along with Hailey, had grown up in Sapphire Falls, and she knew everyone in town. Her uncle and aunt, Tex and Mary Borcher, owned the liquor store and gas station and had only recently sold the Come Again to a young man who’d returned to town.
“Santa’s boxers should be one of the last items,” Hailey said. “That would be like going for the gold.”
“I can get Mrs. Bennett’s German chocolate cake frosting,” Lauren said. “But that would have to go after Santa’s boxers.”
It was a well-known tradition in Sapphire Falls that whenever someone got engaged, Kathy Bennett, Lauren’s mother-in-law, would present the young couple with a German chocolate cake with an extra helping of frosting for other creative uses.
The candy canes also had alternative uses, as well as double fudge brownie frosting for body painting, and champagne for body wash and licks.
“Post-it notes can be the next one,” Hailey said. “We can place them all over Santa’s throne along with a large mistletoe branch.”
Lauren snorted at the mention of Post-it notes, and Adrianne chuckled. “Even Post-it notes have alternative uses around this neck of the woods.”
Basically, anything that could stick to human skin had more than one use in Sapphire Falls.
“What’s the story we tell Troy and Candi?” Phoebe asked. “I still think they need to get some of that Peppermint Booze.”
“That would be after the Post-its and before the make out session,” Hailey said.
“Oh, yeah, we all know what happens when Booze is involved.” Lauren chortled. She knew all too well how loose her lips became once touched by Booze.
“What do we do with the notes?” Honey’s eyes scanned her group of readers and aspiring writers.
“I say we dig up dirt.” Lauren flicked her well-polished and manicured fingernail. How that woman could look so perfectly put together while being a mother to a toddler was amazing. “Let’s write something about Troy on every note. Stick them on the throne and then insert one lie in there. Candi has to figure out which note is a lie, and Troy’s the only one who can help her. We’ll call it Santa’s little lies.”
“But Santa shouldn’t lie,” Megan, who was working on an inspirational romance, said. “Besides, why would Candi believe you need notes on Troy for your wedding?”
“Good point.” Hailey pointed her pen at the younger woman. “Why don’t we do a lump of coal from the mayor’s stocking? I’m not the mayor anymore, but I still have the key to the office.”
“I just don’t see how Candi’s going to buy that all of these things are needed for your wedding.” Phoebe glanced over the list. “Usually, it’s something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. The skeleton key from a skeleton in the haunted house is old. The Santa’s boxers are borrowed, and I can make the booze soaked panties blue.”
“Then let’s go with
those,” Honey agreed. “I’ll need Max’s help to make sure Troy shows up at the same time Candi does to stop her from stealing these things.”
“Sounds like a plan. Let’s head over to Dottie’s and see how our lovebirds are doing.” Hailey, who had somehow become the town’s champion in matchmaking, as unbelievable as it seemed, snapped her planner shut. “I still think the tell-on-Santa activity will bring lots of interaction.”
“Huh, maybe you should just have Santa strip in the gazebo,” Lauren huffed. “There might be a viral video in there somewhere.”
“Don’t egg her on.” Phoebe put on her coat and flung her red hair over her shoulder. “If this town keeps growing as fast as Hailey wants, we’ll soon be the Sapphire Falls metropolitan area.”
“Over my dead body, ladies,” a deep voice boomed from the doorway. It was TJ Bennett, current mayor of Sapphire Falls, who wanted to keep the town safe and traditional. “What are you ladies up to now, besides writing romances?”
“Uh, nothing.”
“We’re done here.”
“Hey, Mayor, have a spare stocking?”
Giggling, they buttoned their coats and escaped the mayor’s scrutinizing eyes.
Chapter Five
Candi had to play this one cool. Dr. T had said to be friends first and find out about him. She hadn’t had time to prepare her checklist, but she knew the basics of interviewing someone for a job. After all, she used to have her own business and hired assistant instructors.
Troy’s hand around hers felt comforting and tempting, but he was a stranger, and he could be a player—picking up a woman for a night of hot sex and then dumping her.
Although she could do a lot worse than a night of hot sex with a hometown hunk who looked not only wholesome and fresh, but good enough to devour. She tamped down her hormones and hoped he had no clue how tempting he was.
They approached the diner which looked so typical, she almost laughed. It had a large lighted sign that plainly said, “Diner.” Glass windows wrapped the brightly lit interior where a pile of Formica topped tables were pulled together in the center, and vinyl booths wound around the perimeter.
Sapphire Falls: Going Toe to Mistletoe (A Christmas Romance) (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 3