'Tis the Season for Love: A Charity Box Set

by Maggie Dallen

  “Good-bye, Jordan.” Her eyes danced with laughter as she got into her car and started it up. The back window slid down just far enough for Daisy to stick her head out and pant up at Jordan. Then Eve took off like a rocket, leaving him in the rear view mirror.

  The only thing he could do was kick himself as he let her drive away, knowing that their chances of meeting again were slim to none. So much for a damsel in distress. She had needed a knight in shining armor just about as much as he needed another hole in the head.

  That was some woman.

  Chapter 4

  Laurie nearly fell over her own feet and planted her hands on the top of Eve’s desk. “You did what?”

  “I left him standing on the side of the road, his mouth hanging open,” she replied, blinking up at her friend. “You should’ve seen him. He was cute and blond, with just a touch of scruff. And he had muscles for days. Seriously, there’s nothing like that for a hundred mile radius.”

  “Eve Walker…” Rhiannon Rink, the director of the Snow Pines Foundation and the final piece to their dynamic friendship trio, dropped herself into a folding chair. She had highlighted dark blonde hair that fell in soft curls around her face. She stared at her friend with big brown eyes ringed in dark lashes. “You mean to tell me,” she said with mock anger, “that a beautiful man showed up in the middle of nowhere to rescue you and you didn’t even get his number?”

  “No.” Eve sunk into her chair and leaned her elbow on the desk. She glanced over at Daisy sleeping peacefully on a doggy bed in the corner of the office. Regret filled her head. “He didn’t ask me. You should’ve seen him acting all macho and trying to change that tire. That boy hadn’t changed a tire in his life, but he sure looked fine pretending.”

  “Why didn’t you ask him?” Rhiannon demanded. An ornery smile pulled at her lips as she poked her friend in the side. “You’re always telling us there are no more rules. And you were right. Look at where that got me.” She held up her left hand and flashed a gorgeous white gold setting with a one carat diamond in a princess cut.

  The girls sighed and gazed adoringly at the ring. Rhiannon’s fiancé, Ash Allen, had just proposed to Rhiannon last weekend. It made all of them squirm with happiness that one of their own was getting married. Already, a stack of wedding magazines had been piled in the waiting area of the lobby, with dog ears on the pages that the girls liked.

  “I guess you’re right,” Eve said eventually, resting her elbows on her desk. “But maybe I’ll still run into him. Snow Pines doesn’t have many places to hide. If he’s working here in town, chances are good.”

  Silently, she swore that she’d do better next time and drag up the courage to ask him out. Rhiannon was right. She was always preaching to them about how the rules no longer existed and women needed to exert their confidence. If she could go back in time and slap herself, she would. It was silly to think she’d been so tongue-tied and shy around him. Eve Walker didn’t do shy.

  “I’ll keep my eye peeled on my way to get us coffee,” Rhiannon said, shouldering her purse and sending Eve a wink. “Any handsome strangers I meet, I’ll send them here right away.”

  They all laughed as their boss headed out the door. The irony in finding a handsome stranger in Snow Pines wasn’t lost on them. It was a small town and not exactly filled with young, single gentlemen.

  But with a day full of work left to do, Eve brushed off the thought and got busy. There were numbers to be crunched and spreadsheets to be analyzed. Not to mention, paychecks to be written. They couldn’t make it through the holiday season without a little money in the bank accounts. Rhiannon and Laurie would be on her rear end until she got the paychecks deposited.

  A few minutes later, she ignored the tinkle of the front door as someone entered the office. Knowing the Christmas season, it was probably UPS delivering a package. Or Rhiannon’s mom dropping off another batch of gingerbread cookies for the office – her favorite. Either way, intercepting visitors was Laurie’s job as office manager.

  Daisy wasn’t as collected as her foster mom. She jumped up from her dog bed and lunged for the door, her tail wagging. Laurie mumbled a greeting to the visitor and Eve kept her head down, concentrating on the books. It wasn’t until she could feel two sets of eyes on her, did she manage to tear her gaze away from her desk.

  “How can I help…you?” She shot out of her chair and pointed a finger at the man standing in front of her.

  Tall, blond, and handsome didn’t even begin to describe him. He towered over her with shortly cropped hair and a dazzling white smile. Underneath his jacket hid his noticeably muscular arms. She remembered the delightful shiver that had gone down her spine when he’d handed her his coat, so gentleman-like. The same man who had attempted to change her tire only a half hour ago stood in front of her, a boyish grin pulling at the right side of his face. At his side stood Daisy, happily leaning against his leg as he gave her head a scratch.

  Eve couldn’t help but wonder if this man was an early gift from Santa himself. He definitely looked as good as a present wrapped up underneath the tree. And the way he was looking at her gave her all kinds of Christmas cheer.

  “We meet again.” Jordan set down his briefcase. His voice was smooth and bold. Nothing like the flustered man she’d left on the side of the road.

  “I guess so.” She tilted her head to one side and frowned at Daisy. That pup would make a horrible guard dog, unless you wanted her to lick someone to death.

  “If I’d known we were going to work together, I would’ve offered you a ride.” Jordan continued, drawing Eve’s gaze again.

  He really was a beautiful man. Was he a fundraiser? She imagined he had no trouble getting people to donate to a cause with that boyish grin. Heck, she’d write him a check just to keep him looking at her like that.

  His lips quirked into an even brighter smile, as if he knew what she was thinking, and he held out his hand. “You didn’t say you went to school to be an accountant. I’m impressed.”

  She looked at his outstretched hand as if it were an alien object. “Well, I didn’t plan on it. I wanted to be a lawyer, but Professor Garret changed my mind. He’s the best teacher I’ve ever had.”

  Jordan’s smile slipped right off his face and his hand fell back to his side. “You don’t mean Richard Garret?”

  Her lips twitched in surprise. It really was a small world. “Yeah, you know him?”

  “Nope.” He worked his jaw, jealously sparkling in his eyes. “I never got to take one of his classes. And now he’s the chief CFO for the Minnesota Vikings. That’s only my dream place to work.”

  “Um, yeah. He started working there just before I graduated. Sends me a Christmas card every year with a purple Vikings theme.”

  Jordan frowned at her. She could tell the wheels were turning inside his head, but couldn’t understand what was getting him so excited. Had he followed her here? Maybe he wanted her phone number after all. But he said they were going to be working together. That didn’t make sense.

  “I’m glad you two have so much in common,” Laurie offered as the silence between the two of them stretched on into an awkward phase. “Eve, Mr. Davis is here from the State. To do the audit.”

  Finally, something clicked in Eve’s brain and it all made sense again. This was the auditor she’d been waiting on from the Department of Education. The man standing in front of her certainly wasn’t what she’d expected.

  “Right!” Her cheeks warmed in embarrassment. She’d been making the assumption that he’d followed her to the office, but in reality, he probably wasn’t even interested in her. He was here for a job, not a date. “It’s nice to officially meet you, Jordan.”

  She thrust her hand out a little too eagerly. His lips twitched in an amused grin, but he reached out to shake hers. His hand enveloped hers in warmth, sending little shockwaves dancing up her arm. She dropping it fast and tried to hide her grimace by leaning nonchalantly on the back of a nearby chair.

  “I g
uess we should get to work.” She shook her head and swallowed hard. “Have a seat.”

  He thanked her and dropped into the chair, looking around at their tiny office. Six towers of silver filing cabinets lined the wall behind her desk. The door to the right led to Rhiannon’s office, and the desk near the door was Laurie’s domain. In all, they didn’t take up much space.

  “Where would you like to start?” she asked, nerves entering her voice. She cringed at the sound. Eve Walker was never nervous. She needed to pull herself together.

  “Last year’s records should be a good place.” He pulled a computer from his bag and gave her a warm smile. “If that’s convenient. Thank you.”

  A boy who had charm and manners. Her mother would be impressed.

  Eve tried not to think about it as she went about shuffling her files and getting organized for him. Instead, she focused on the Christmas music Laurie had turned up at her desk. They’d been listening to it since Halloween. It made the cold weather seem lighter, somehow, and easier to bear. She swayed along as a Mariah Carey tune filled the silence.

  “I don’t suppose she sings anything a little less, well, cheesy?” Jordan asked from his chair. He made a face and then laughed. It was a nice laugh, like the deep, rich tone of a bell. “I’m not sure I can handle that for the next three weeks.”

  “Three weeks?” Eve gaped at him, the files of last year’s receipts nearly slipping from her hands. “You’ll be here that long?”

  “Well, yeah.” He leaned back in his chair, as if afraid to be any closer to her. “Audits take a long time. I have to comb through every receipt, every documentation you have. The state needs to know you’ve been reliable with your bookkeeping and records. They’ll especially want to know if they can trust you with more money for all of your recent grant requests.”

  “I promise that our bookkeeping is flawless,” she shot back, lifting her chin high. “And every dollar accounted for.”

  “I’m sure it is!” He held his hands up in surrender. “I believe you. I just have to prove it to my boss. And speaking of…” He took a buzzing cellphone out of his pocket, looked at the screen, and sighed. Holding up a finger, he shrugged and jumped out of the chair. “Just a minute. I’ve got to take this.”

  Eve didn’t listen as he chatted with his boss. She was too busy grumbling over the filing cabinet, yanking out folders. The Snow Pines Foundation had never needed a babysitter before now. They had nothing but a sterling reputation. But if they wanted to expand their support of the community, they needed more than just the funds from the Allen & Allen cooperation that had started them – the company that Rhiannon’s fiancé now ran. The foundation needed state funds. They needed Jordan.

  And she had to let him scrutinize her every mood.

  In frustration, Eve walked over to the radio and dialed up the volume on the Christmas carols. Jordan watched her as he listened to whoever was speaking on the other side of his phone, and raised one eyebrow at the bold look Eve shot him. Inwardly, she laughed at the prospect of torturing him for three weeks. He might be the finest man she’d ever seen, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t mess with him just a bit.

  Rhiannon and Laurie might call her crazy, but there was no way the two of them would work out. He didn’t like Mariah Carey, for heaven’s sake. He didn’t know how to properly change a tire and he couldn’t even keep his suit from wrinkling in the front. So what if Daisy seemed to like him? That dog would befriend anything with a pulse and a free hand to scratch. Eve had bigger things to worry about – like finding a lead for her Christmas musical.

  “Talk to you later,” Jordan said, finally hanging up his phone. Weary lines crossed his forehead as he rubbed his temples. He grimaced up at Eve. “We’d better get started. My boss is already jumping down my throat for some progress.”

  “Whatever you say.” She dropped a piles of files in front of him, papers spilling out across the desk. This was her life’s work, reduced to a few insignificant paper records. “Have at it.”

  They worked that way for a couple of hours – Jordan requesting more files and Eve handing them over, tight-lipped and tense. She dared him to find any mistake. A single one. But he didn’t say a word. He tap-tap-tapped on his laptop, analyzing the pages she’d given him and periodically answering his phone. It was on the fifth call of the afternoon that she finally felt the need to flash an annoyed glance his way.

  He had the phone plastered to his ear. There were the occasional yes, ma’am and no ma’ams, but mostly he seemed to be tuning his boss out. Eve watched him from the corner of her eye. Every time she looked across the office at Laurie, the trim redhead would give her a goofy smile and two thumbs up, making her want to toss a stapler at her.

  It was lucky for Laurie that at that moment, Eve’s favorite song came on the radio. Brian McKnight’s sweet tenor voice crooned about being home for Christmas. She closed her eyes and soaked in the tune, feeling a calmness settle like a warm blanket over her body.

  There was nothing that a good Christmas carol couldn’t solve.

  As she listened, a hum interrupted her thoughts. It matched the notes of the music, but sounded much closer. She snapped her eyes open to locate the sound. Jordan was humming along, seemingly unaware he was making any noise at all. He stared at a poster of the Snow Pines Pet Shelter hanging on the office wall, the phone to his ear while the buzz of someone talking came through the speaker.

  Adrenaline spiked through Eve’s system. Maybe it was her imagination, but it seemed that Jordan could carry a tune. Jumping out of her chair, she moved closer to him, leaning in to hear more clearly. The annoying buzz of his boss didn’t seem to bother him. He swayed along with the music, his shoulders even dipping the slightest.

  Unaware of her close observation, he escalated from humming to quietly singing along, hitting every note with extreme clarity. Daisy perked up from her spot on the floor, her ears twitching as she heard Jordan sing. Laurie had even paused her typing to listen and smiled up at Eve with a knowing smile. This was it! A more perfect Christmas present couldn’t have dropped into their laps.

  When Eve could take no more, Jordan ended his call. He pulled it away from his ear just in time for Eve to plop herself on the desk next to him.

  “You can sing?” It came out more like a demand than a question. Jordan stared up at her, bewilderment clouding his eyes. “You can sing,” she repeated.

  “What are you talking about?” A line appeared between his eyebrows.

  She waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t act like you don’t already know. You can sing. And I just happen to be in need of a man who can sing.”

  “That’s great.” He rolled his desk chair backwards and gave her a fake smile that didn’t hide the nervousness in his voice. “I hope you find him.”

  “What she means is that she needs a man to sing in her musical,” Laurie offered, leaning over her own desk. She gave him a reassuring smile and nodded her head. “Eve’s putting on the Snow Pines Christmas Eve play. We had auditions this afternoon, but she’s had no luck for the part.”

  “And I’m really sorry for you, but that’s got nothing to do with me.” He held up his hands, the phone grasped tightly in his fingers. “I’m just here to do the audit.”

  Things were quickly unraveling. Eve tried to think fast.

  “Please!” She had to find some sort of motivation for him to join. “It’s a great cause. The whole town turns out for the Christmas Eve service.”

  “I can’t...”

  “And Daisy.” She pointed at the dog. “This is Daisy’s big stage debut. She’s in the musical, too. In fact, she’s your character’s costar. It’ll help her get adopted to a loving family. You can’t say no to that, right?”

  “I’m sorry, but I really can’t help you.” He shook his head, leaning back in his chair. “My boss would kill me if I got involved in anything other than the audit here. I can’t afford to lose this job.”

  Eve bit her bottom lip, frustrated at the id
ea of losing him for the part. He just said he was going to be in Snow Pines for three weeks. That would keep him around until after Christmas, long enough to perform in her musical. It was perfect. She just needed the right motivation.

  “Richard Garret!” She nearly shouted the name as it came to her. That was it! The ticket he needed. “Professor Garret. You do this, I can get you an interview with him.”

  She grasped onto the edge of the desk as tightly as she could, excitement bursting in her veins. Surely, she could convince Richard to see Jordan. After all, he was a fellow alum and she happened to be one of Professor Garret’s favorite students. Easy! What happened after that was up to him.

  Jordan’s eyes narrowed in disbelief and he smirked. “That’s like dangling a carrot in front of a starving horse. Don’t joke around with me. That’s seriously my dream job.”

  “I’m not.” Crossing her arms, she fixed him with a hard stare. It was time to cut a deal. “This is a legitimate exchange of goods. An interview for a musical performance, plus rehearsals. How badly do you want this dream job of yours? Accountant for the Minnesota Vikings football team. Sounds pretty cool to me.”

  The muscles in his jaw worked as he returned her stare. She was sure he was going to say no. The defiant tilt of his head told her as much. She’d never find the right star for her play and then Ashley Lynn would hold it above her head for the rest of their lives. The prospect set a two ton boulder in her gut, weighing her down.

  Without her male lead, she’d have to revert back to the traditional old school version of the manger scene. That meant working with a couple dozen kids dressed up as donkeys and sheep and a fake baby doll in a wooden bassinet. It meant a boring service with a forgetful performance. Eve didn’t do forgetful. She was, if anything, an overachiever.

  Without warning, Jordan stuck out his hand and sucked in his cheeks. “Okay. I’ll do it,” he announced. “How complicated could a little musical be?”