Secret Santa

by Fern Michaels

  “I’ll admit I was pretty glad of a cup of coffee this morning,” Reuben said.

  “Have your bosses call me if there’s any trouble,” Barb said. “Or you call me yourself.”

  “I’m hoping you’re right and since it’s Christmas, they won’t raise a fuss.”

  “You’re in a more positive mood this morning,” Barb said.

  He shrugged. “It’s hard not to feel good on a day like today.”

  Barb had to agree. The sun shone brightly in the bluest sky she’d ever seen, not a cloud in sight, and snow sparkled in the trees and draped everything in a blanket of white, as if the world was a wedding cake, and they were figures in a tableau atop it.

  The door to the house opened and Mae emerged, carrying a stack of folded quilts. Pearl rushed to her. “Go on now,” Mae fussed at the dog. “If I slip and break something the two of us would be in a pickle.” She made her way across the yard to where the rest of them stood.

  “Merry Christmas,” Jimmy said.

  “I’ve got something for you all,” she said. She handed Barb the quilt on top of the stack, then distributed the others to Elena and Reuben. “These are to keep in your vehicles, to use if you ever get stranded by weather again.”

  Barb unfolded her gift. It was smaller than a bed quilt, but bigger than a baby blanket, with a patchwork of blockish hearts framed by a border of postage-stamp sized squares. “Mae, it’s beautiful! Thank you.”

  Mae looked away, toward where the boys and the dog played. “Just something practical to remember me by.”

  “As if any of us could ever forget this Christmas,” Barb said. “Or you. Thank you for everything.”

  Mae waved away her words, then froze, hand in the air. “Do you hear that?”

  “Hear what?” Reuben asked.

  But Barb heard it—the sound of an engine, and of metal scraping on snow. “It’s a snowplow!” she said, and pointed up the little road that connected the fishing cabins to the highway. The bright orange hulk of a plow hove into view, like a second sun cresting the horizon. With a screech of the heavy blade against pavement, it pushed a wall of snow to one side and chugged toward them. Behind the snowplow came a Highway Patrol SUV.

  When the plow reached the end of the drive, it made a sweeping turn. The group standing in front of the cabins cheered and waved, even the boys and the dog adding their voices. The driver smiled and saluted, then headed back the way he’d come, widening the driveway with his second pass.

  The SUV stopped and Officer Kates climbed out. “I’ve brought you all a Christmas present,” he said. “The road’s open.”

  Another cheer went up. “We can still have Christmas dinner with Maggie,” Barb said, hugging Jimmy.

  “And we can make it to Tito Ramon’s,” Elena said.

  “Where are you headed?” Officer Kates asked Reuben.

  The truck driver shoved his hands in the pockets of his leather bomber jacket. “I thought about something Barb told me. I think I’m going to finish my run to Montrose and give my mom and sister a call, wish them a Merry Christmas.”

  Barb resisted the urge to run over and hug him; it would just embarrass them all, but she smiled and nodded at him, and he offered a shy smile in return.

  “What about you, Mae?” the officer asked. “Will you be all right when everyone leaves?”

  “Pearl’s going to miss those boys.” She nodded to where the children and the dog had resumed their play. “But it will be good to have my peace and quiet back.” But she smiled when she said it.

  “Are you sure you don’t need help with anything?” Kates asked.

  “What I need help with is eating all the food left over from our party last night,” she said. “There’s a huge ham, and a Christmas cake I baked when I couldn’t sleep last night.” She gave the officer a stern look, though her eyes sparkled with laughter. “You come and eat dinner with me. And bring the plow drivers and anybody else who’s on duty near here. They’re entitled to a lunch break, aren’t they?”

  He grinned. “All right, Mae. You asked for it. We’ll come help you eat your leftovers.”

  “You do that.” Mae turned to her guests. “As for the rest of you, you’d better go on and pack up. You’ll want to be on the road, soon.”

  Barb hugged her. “Thank you for everything, Mae. I don’t know what we’d have done without you.”

  “You’d have probably ended up in some hotel with cable.” She patted Barb awkwardly. “This was a Christmas I’ll never forget, that’s for sure. Safe travels to you. And stop by anytime you’re in the neighborhood.”

  Giving in to another impulse, Barb slipped out of the mink coat. “I want you to have this,” she said, and draped the coat around Mae’s narrow shoulders.

  “No! I can’t take your coat!”

  “I’ll wear Jimmy’s jacket until I get to Eureka, then I’ll borrow one from my friend, Maggie, or I’ll buy a new one.” She stroked the mink. She’d worn it all these years because Jimmy’s mother had expected her to, but she wanted Mae to have it, to replace the one she’d had to give up, along with everything else when her husband went to jail. “I want you to have this. As a Christmas present.”

  Mae pulled the mink tighter around her neck. “Won’t I be in style down at the grocery store?” She squeezed Barb’s hand. “Thank you. I’ll cherish it.”

  Afraid if she stayed with Mae any longer she’d burst into sentimental tears, Barb turned away and hurried to their cabin. Jimmy followed and they silently began to pack, collecting all the belongings they’d scattered across the cabin in their short stay there.

  “I’ll have to buy Maggie some more tea,” Barb said as she stuffed her makeup bag into the already full suitcase.

  “And I’ll have to buy you a new coat.” He put his arm around her. “Why did you give yours to Mae?”

  “You don’t mind, do you? I know it was your mother’s and everything . . .”

  “It’s been yours for years. I don’t care what you do with it, I’m just curious.”

  “I wanted her to have something luxurious and special. And I didn’t need the coat anymore. When I first inherited it, I felt like somebody every time I wore it, someone who was somehow worthy of everything I had. But I don’t need to feel that way anymore.”

  He kissed her, the sweet, tender kiss only a couple who have been together a long time can share, a kiss that fills a silence filled with unspoken, but well understood, sentiments.

  “What’s that music?” Jimmy raised his head and looked toward the window at the front of the cabin.

  “Music?” Barb listened, and heard the faint, tinny notes of a pop song. “I think that’s my phone!”

  She dove for her purse, which sat on the end of the unmade bed, and dug out the phone. “It’s Maggie!” she cried, and punched the icon to answer the call. “Maggie!” she cried. “It’s so good to hear from you. Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas to you.” Maggie’s voice was so full of happiness and life and love. Barb felt close to tears all over again. “I heard the road was closed. Did you get stranded?”

  “We’ve been staying at some fishing cabins near a lake—us and a couple with children and a truck driver who was caught out with us. It’s been an incredible time. I’ll tell you all about it when we see you.”

  “I’m resisting the urge to open your presents and claim them all for myself,” Maggie said. “The Highway Department website says the roads are open now, so will you be here soon?”

  “As soon as we can get our car loaded and dug out of the drifts.”

  “Wonderful. I’ve got a lot to tell you, too. We’ve had a pretty incredible Christmas ourselves, thanks in part to the weather.”

  “We’ll talk ourselves hoarse when we see each other,” Barb said. “And I want to talk to a real estate agent while I’m there, too.”

  “Why? Are you planning on moving to Eureka?”

  “Not exactly. But I need a big house. One with lots of bedrooms.”
r />   “Stop being so mysterious. What are you planning?”

  Jimmy gave her a curious look, silently echoing Maggie’s question.

  “There aren’t that many places to stay in the area, right?” Barb said.

  “There’s the hotel, and some tourist cabins . . .”

  “Well, I’ve decided what I want to do when I grow up.”

  “What’s that?”

  Jimmy moved closer, expression still questioning.

  Barb couldn’t contain her grin. Excitement rose in her, just as it had when she was a girl and opened a particularly wonderful present. “I’m going to open a bed and breakfast. In Eureka. I won’t have to be there full time—I can find someone to run it for me and spend part of the year there and the rest in Houston.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Maggie said. “But what made you decide this?”

  “It’s a long story, but let’s just say that I’ve been thinking about what I’d really like to do, and this is the perfect job for me, the one that utilizes all my talents.”

  “I can’t wait to hear all about it. Now hang up the phone and finish packing. I can’t wait to see you.”

  “All right. See you soon.”

  She disconnected the call and looked at Jimmy. “What do you think about my new plan?” she asked.

  He pulled her close in a bear hug. “I think you’d be great at anything you tried, but especially this.”

  “I’ll put your bell on the front desk,” she said. “Guests can ring it when they need help. And I’m thinking of asking Mae to make quilts for all the bedrooms.”

  “It will be beautiful.”

  “I hope so.” She stepped back and returned to the suitcase. “Your mother would have been horrified by the idea,” she said. “Some of our friends in Houston will be shocked, too. They’ll think I’m doing this because we need the money.”

  “I hope the new business makes money—that’s kind of the point. But you don’t care what other people think, do you?”

  “I’m trying not to.” She zipped the case shut and set it on the floor. “It’s a little scary, launching something like this when you’ve never done it before.”

  “Now you know how I feel, starting the golf ball business.”

  “If you’d never decided to start your own business, I wouldn’t be thinking of doing the same,” she said. “And to think when you first told me, I was so upset about things changing. Now I’m looking forward to change.”

  “Should I buy you a new mink coat to celebrate?”

  “No. I want to buy my own coat. And I’ll figure things out for myself with this business, too. Scary as that prospect is, it’s exciting, too.” She looked around the almost empty cabin. “Are you ready to go?”

  “I’m ready.” He picked up the suitcases and headed for the door. She gathered up her purse, the box with the bell, and a totebag filled with books and other miscellaneous items. Time to get started with the rest of her life, and show the world—and herself—that Barb Stanowski was more than a pretty face.

  Dear Readers,

  I hope you’ve enjoyed reading Barb’s story. You can read more about Eureka, Colorado and Maggie’s story in The View From Here, Book One in my Eureka series. And be sure to watch for Book Two in the series, The Mountain Between Us, on sale this month!

  Cindy

  Fern Michaels is the USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of the Sisterhood and Godmother series, The Blossom Sisters, Tuesday’s Child, Southern Comfort, Betrayal , Return to Sender and dozens of other novels and novellas. There are over seventy million copies of her books in print. Fern Michaels has built and funded several large day-care centers in her hometown, and is a passionate animal lover who has outfitted police dogs across the country with special bulletproof vests. She shares her home in South Carolina with her four dogs and a resident ghost named Mary Margaret.

  Visit her website at fernmichaels.com.

  Marie Bostwick was born and raised in the northwest. In the three decades since her marriage, Marie and her family have moved frequently, living in eight different states at eighteen different addresses, three of them in Texas. These experiences have given Marie a unique perspective that enables her to write about people from all walks of life and corners of the country with insight and authenticity. Marie currently resides in Connecticut where she enjoys writing, spending time with family, helping out at church, gardening, collecting fabric, and stitching quilts.

  Please visit her on the web at mariebostwick.com, on Twitter at twitter.com/mariebostwick and on Facebook at facebook. com/mariebostwick.

  Laura Levine is a former sitcom writer whose credits include The Bob Newhart Show, Laverne & Shirley, The Jeffersons , The Love Boat, Three’s Company, and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. As an advertising copywriter, she created Count Chocula and Frankenberry cereals for General Mills. Her work has been published in The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times. In her latest (and favorite) incarnation as a mystery novelist, she has been an IMBA paperback bestseller and winner of the RT Book Reviews award for Most Humorous Mystery. She and her husband live in Los Angeles.

  Visit her on the web at lauralevinemysteries.com.

  Cindy Myers worked as a newspaper reporter, travel agent, and medical clinic manager before turning to writing full time. She’s written both historical and contemporary romance, as well as dozens of short stories and nonfiction articles. Former president of San Antonio Romance Authors, Cindy is a member of Romance Writers of America, Novelists Inc., and Rocky Mountain Fiction writers. She is in demand as a speaker, teaching workshops and making presentations to both local and national writing groups. She and her husband and their two dogs live in the mountains southwest of Denver.

  Visit her on the web at cindimyers.com.

  CLASSIFIED

  A Life Filled With Riches

  The riches that mean most to Teresa “Toots” Loudenberry are the loving friends and family she’s accumulated over the course of a life well lived. And now that her daughter, Abby, has married her beau Chris and settled down near Toots in Charleston, life is even more satisfying than the delicious pralines sold at Toots’s bakery, The Sweetest Thing.

  Abby isn’t the only one enjoying a little romance. Toots’s friendship with Dr. Phil Becker has grown unexpectedly close . . . and that brings both joy and complications. As a distraction, Toots throws herself into helping Abby and Chris open an animal rescue shelter on their plantation. But life takes a serious turn when two young children disappear after visiting The Sweetest Thing. Toots immediately enlists Ida, Sophie, and Mavis to help in the search. But as Sophie’s psychic abilities draw them closer to the culprits, they realize the stakes are much higher than they ever could have imagined . . .

  BETWEEN HEAVEN AND TEXAS

  In this luminous prequel to her beloved Cobbled Court

  Quilts series, New York Times bestselling author Marie

  Bostwick takes readers into the heart of a small Texas town

  and the soul of a woman who discovers her destiny there . . .

  Welcome to Too Much—where the women are strong-willed and the men are handsome yet shiftless. Ever since Mary Dell Templeton and her twin sister Lydia Dale were children, their Aunt Velvet has warned them away from local boys. But it’s well-known that the females in Mary Dell’s family have two traits in common—superior sewing skills and a fatal weakness for men.

  While Lydia Dale grows up petite and pretty, Mary Dell just keeps growing. Tall, smart, and sassy, she is determined to one day turn her love of sewing into a business. Meanwhile, she’ll settle for raising babies with her new husband, Donny. But that dream proves elusive too, until finally, Mary Dell gets the son she always wanted—a child as different as he is wonderful. And as Mary Dell is forced to reconsider what truly matters in her family and her marriage, she begins to piece together a life that, like the colorful quilts she creates, will prove vibrant, rich, and absolutely unforgettable . . .

  DEATH BY PANTYHOSE
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  Freelance writer Jaine Austen has never been able to resist the siren call of an Eskimo Pie, just like she can’t resist renewing her romance with Andrew, an old crush. With her bank account hitting new lows, she’s also just agreed to write jokes for Dorcas, a stand-up comic who throws her pantyhose into the audience as a punch line.

  Not only is Dorcas’s act a bomb, she is heckled by Vic, a gorgeous fellow comic. Naturally when Vic is murdered with Dorcas’s pantyhose and that same Dorcas is standing over his dead body, the police arrest . . . Dorcas. They figure it’s an open-and-shut case, although Jaine figures no killer can be that dumb.

  But when Jaine sets out to find the real culprit, she is distracted by one dating disaster after another with Andrew—and she may not see the dark side of comedy until she faces the business end of a gun and a cold, deadly grin . . .

  THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US

  From acclaimed author Cindy Myers comes a big-hearted

  story of pulling together, facing life’s challenges—and

  knowing what it means to really come home . . .

  Cut off from the outside world by a blanket of snow, the holidays are usually a time for peace and quiet in tiny Eureka, Colorado. But this year the mountain town is in trouble. Thanks to a corrupt investor, the treasury is bankrupt, leaving residents to struggle through an especially harsh winter. Then there are those with more personal problems, like Maggie Stevens, pregnant and torn between single motherhood or drawing the father-to-be into a life he’s not cut out for. And Olivia Theriot, the mayor’s prodigal daughter, is harboring a secret so painful she may never be able to settle down. But mother nature is about to put things in perspective . . .