'Tis the Season for Love: A Charity Box Set

by Maggie Dallen

  Callie studied the picture. “I remember them. That lady came in with her granddaughter all the time. She was my grandma’s best friend. I never really got to know her, though. I know she died this last October.”

  “I bet Sapphire came back for the funeral.”

  “That would make sense. Maybe she saw my grandma at the funeral and made her plans then.”

  “I’m going to go talk to her. Turn on the recorder on your phone.” Josie led the way, and Callie followed her to the living room where Sapphire was watching tv.

  Josie grabbed the remote and paused Sapphire’s show.

  “What’s up?” She smiled up at them like nothing was wrong.

  Josie crossed her arms. “We know you’ve been taking rare books from Mrs. Ellison and selling them for way less than they’re worth.”

  Sapphire kept her face still, not moving a muscle. Not showing a single emotion. “I haven’t done a thing wrong. Mrs. Ellison gave me those books. And you have no proof, so at this point, it’s your word against mine.”

  “We have proof. Callie took pictures of your computer screen.”

  Sapphire looked at Callie, and her eyes widened with fear. The emotion only lasted a second. “So what? I sold the books. Mrs. Ellison gave them to me. I can do whatever I want with them.”

  “But those books were Callie’s inheritance. They were worth way more than what you got for them. Why do you think you could sell them so fast?”

  “I’m perfectly aware of what they’re worth and what I sold them for.”

  Because she was desperate for the money. Only a person in trouble would be so rash. Otherwise, why not take the time and sell the books for their full worth? At that point, Sapphire could start an entire business off of the rare copies she’d been able to get.

  “What’s the big rush, Sapphire? Who do you answer to?” Josie asked.

  “You don’t want to know. Let’s just put it this way, the person I answer to is more powerful than you could imagine. And I owe him a lot of money.”

  “Are you in some kind of legal trouble?” Josie wondered what Sapphire gotten herself wrapped up in. Maybe Will could help her out.

  “I had a deal go bad.”

  “Like what? A drug deal?” Callie asked.

  “I didn’t want to get involved. I didn’t deal any drugs. It was my ex-boyfriend, but he’s pinning everything on me. I’m trying to use the money from the books to pay these guys off so they’ll leave me alone.”

  “Why don’t you go down to the police station and see what Will can work out for you?”

  “You think the cops care about me? They’ll just send me to jail. They’re all the same.”

  “Not if we explain to Will that you’re innocent. He’ll listen to us. But we’ll only help you if you give all the money back to Mrs. Ellison.”

  “I can’t give it back to her. I’ve already given my first payment to these guys.”

  “Then give her the rest of the books. She worked her entire life to build up a collection like this. Don’t take that from an innocent woman.”

  “I don’t think Sapphire cares a bit about my grandmother. She’s only out to save her own skin.”

  “If you give us the books and tell Mrs. Ellison you can’t accept them, then we’ll tell Will your story and vouch for you. He can get you into witness protection, and you can out the guys hunting you down.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  “Then we send this recording to the police, and we tell them you’re planning to sell these books to pay off a drug dealer.”

  Sapphire’s face turned red, but then her shoulders slumped. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

  Chapter 14

  The night before Christmas, Noah stood on Josie’s front porch. He held a potted poinsettia in one arm and a wrapped Christmas present in the other. Behind him stood most of the Maple Creek Fire Department. He reached out an arm and rang the doorbell with a pinky. His arms were so full it was all he could spare.

  Josie opened the door, and they broke out into a terrible, off-key rendition of We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

  When they finished, Josie clapped and cheered. “That was so great, guys!”

  “I have something for you, Josie.” Noah handed her the poinsettia.

  “Thank you, Noah.” He could see hope lighting in her eyes.

  She wanted him to change his mind. Good. That made him a lot less nervous.

  “Josie, I’m madly in love with you. I want you, and no one else. I’m here to let you know that I’ve been a complete idiot who needs to beg for forgiveness. But please don’t make me beg too hard, or I might have to get on my knees and grovel.”

  Josie laughed. “No need to grovel. I forgive you, you ridiculous man. And I love you too.”

  “Does that mean I get a kiss?”

  She rose her eyebrows. “You really are pushing your luck tonight.”

  But then she fell into his arms and laid a kiss on him. The crowd behind him whooped and hollered and cheered. He wrapped his arms around her, which was a little awkward because he was still holding the gift for her, and she had the plant. But she felt amazing in his arms. His heart was about to explode with joy. How many years had he waited to be held like this by the woman of his dreams? Well, minus all the awkwardness with their full hands. He’d have to give her a proper hug later. And there would be plenty of time for all of that later. They had a beautiful, bright future together. Josie was the kind of girl any guy would be lucky to have. She was responsible and hardworking. Cute and funny. The perfect partner in crime. He had no idea how he’d gotten so lucky.

  They pulled apart, and he handed her the wrapped present. “This is for you too.”

  “Do you guys want to come inside while I open this?” Josie said.

  The group cheered, and Josie ushered them all inside. Noah could see her filling the role of the fire chief’s wife one day. But that would be down the road a bit.

  They settled around Josie’s Christmas tree. A fire crackled in her wood-burning fireplace. Noah knew Josie had chopped the wood herself. That was the kind of woman she was. And he loved every facet of her. She was unique and beautiful. Quirky and sweet.

  “Open the present,” Noah said.

  Josie smiled at him, her teeth brilliant white against her bright red lips. She tore off the red paper, revealing a flat white box. She lifted the lid and gasped. Inside, nestled among cotton, was a sparkly crystal necklace. “Noah, this is gorgeous.” She waved him over to her and lifted her hair to the side. “Help me put this on.”

  Noah scooted closer to Josie. He took the delicate clasp between his fingers and fastened it for her.

  “Someone’s going to have a good night tonight,” McNeil teased.

  “Not too good. You know Josie isn’t that kind of girl.” He’d known Josie well enough to know that she put the brakes on too much physical activity. And he was perfectly fine with that. But he would have a good night with Josie. One of the best nights of his life so far. Because it was Christmas Eve, and now she was his. The woman of his dreams. He couldn’t have asked for a better gift. And they both had someone to spend their holiday with.

  “Josie, I think it’s time to kick these goobers out of here. I’m not finished giving you your Christmas present.”

  His buddies whooped and hollered and teased them good-naturedly.

  “You’re making me blush, Noah.”

  The other firefighters left, and Noah went to where Josie stood in front of the fire. “Ready for your Christmas present?”

  “You really are cheesy, you know that, right?”

  “I’m okay with that assessment.” He pulled her close and brushed her hair back from her face with the gentlest touch. “I adore you, Josie Sparks.”

  “I adore you back, Noah Stanley.” She looked up into his eyes. “I’ll remember this moment forever.”

  “The moment where I’m about to kiss you until your toes curl?”

  Josie giggled. “I think you’ve already done
that twice.”

  “Wait. I have?”

  Josie nodded. “You’re very good at it.”

  “Making your toes curl?”

  Josie brushed her nose against his. “Mm-hmm.”

  When he could stand it no longer, he leaned in and kissed her tenderly. She was the sweetest woman he’d ever known. And he never planned to let her go. And that thought brought him the most exquisite joy.

  The next morning, Noah went back over to Josie’s house. Her parents were there with her, and she was just pulling orange sticky buns from the oven.

  “Merry Christmas!” Noah called when Josie let him in.

  She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.

  “Noah!” Mrs. Sparks greeted him with a big smile. “I hear that you’ve finally decided to date my daughter.”

  “Finally?”

  “I’ve seen the way your face lights up when she’s around. We were just waiting for you to go for her,” Mrs. Sparks explained.

  Noah wasn’t aware that he’d been that obvious, but he wasn’t too surprised by it either. He’d had feelings for Josie for a long time.

  He sat with Josie down to breakfast, and he savored every bite of her delicious rolls.

  “I have a question for you, Noah,” Josie said. “What did you do to get Sapphire to break up with Dustin? Callie told me they’d broken up.”

  “I caught her making out with McNeil again, and I took a video. I told her to end it, or I’d show it to Dustin.”

  “Did you show it to him, anyway?” Mr. Sparks asked.

  “I did. I figured he deserved to know. I was worried Sapphire would try to talk him into dating her again, and I wanted to make sure that bridge was fully burned. My buddy deserves to know.”

  “Dustin’s not a bad guy,” Josie said. “He wasn’t right for me, but he doesn’t deserve to be mistreated. I hope he finds someone great for him.”

  “He will,” Noah said.

  “Callie and I did a bit of recording ourselves. We got Sapphire to admit that she was selling Mrs. Ellison’s books so she could pay off her ex-husband’s drug debt. Will’s going to help her get protected so the authorities can take down the drug dealer who was threatening her.”

  “That’s scary,” Mrs. Sparks said. “I hope you weren’t too wrapped up in that.”

  “Not really. Just enough to get Sapphire to do the right thing and go to the authorities. She’ll be helping to take down a big drug operation.”

  Who knew Sapphire had some good in her after all? Even if she was cornered into making the right choice. It was still better than trying to destroy the evidence or talk her way out of it.

  After breakfast, they settled around the tree, and Josie gave Noah a gift. “I wasn’t expecting you to get me anything.”

  “Are you kidding me? You think I’d get presents for everyone else and not you?”

  “I wasn’t sure how you really felt about me. And after the way I turned you down, I thought you might take my gift back to the store if you had gotten me anything.”

  “Nope.” Josie shook her head. “Now open it. I’m dying to see your reaction.” She practically bounced out of her seat on the couch next to him.

  Noah tore off the paper, and a gigantic smile crossed his face. “You got me a new ratchet set? How did you know I needed this?”

  “I’m observant. I saw that you were missing a bunch from your own set. And it was all rusted up. It wasn’t easy to know what tools to get you. You already have everything.”

  Next, Josie’s parents opened their gifts. Her dad was thrilled with the toolset Josie and Noah had picked out for him. Josie got a new e-reader from her mom, and her dad got her a stack of books to add to her collection. Because she always wanted more books.

  Josie’s parents even had a gift for him. They got him a new dress shirt and a knitted hat her mother had made. “When Josie told us you were dating, we knew we couldn’t show up here without gifts for you.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t get you anything,” Noah said. He was still new to the whole family-by-the-fire-at-Christmas thing. His dad had loved him, but their Christmases were sparse. Josie had been the one to teach him how to celebrate the holidays properly. And now he had a family to celebrate with.

  And that was the greatest gift of all.

  THE END

  Want the next book in the series? Check out Kiss Me, Baby, One More Time to see if Onyx ever gets her happily ever after.

  Keep scrolling! Christmas Magic by Lucy McConnell is up next!

  Breck Mitchell is a street magician hoping for a Christmas miracle that would take his small MyHeartChannel to the next level. He's planned a series of Christmas themed magic tricks, but he needs an assistant to pull them off. When a woman volunteers to pick a card, he forgets about all his worries and focuses on helping her smile.

  Harmony Hall didn’t mean to stop at the magic show; but, she’s glad she did. Breck’s infectious smile and enthusiasm chase her holiday blues away. But, when he asks her to be his official assistant, she runs. Her record with handsome, charming men is disastrous. Later, she watches the episode on his channel and is reminded of the woman she used to be--the one who looked at the world like it was a big adventure. Something inside of her sparks back to life and she accepts the position.

  Breck's interest in Harmony quickly grows from wanting her as an assistant to wanting to kiss her under the mistletoe. But, she's locked her heart in a box and she doesn't have a key.

  Can this magician's love unlock the secret door to Harmony’s heart before she leaves town or will he be left on the outside when Christmas morning dawns?

  Chapter 1

  December 1st

  Breck

  Breck Mitchell glanced around the busy street corner, looking for the best place to set up his camera. Filming in public without a script and without actors was a risk. At any point in time, someone could steal one of the three cameras he used to get different angles, heckle and completely ruin a good shot, or get angry that he was blocking foot traffic and drop a swear word that would take him off Santa’s good list. But the risks were worth the smiles on children’s faces and the brightness in people’s eyes as they were genuinely amazed by one of his card tricks.

  Hopefully, some of that wonder and awe would translate through the cameras, because he really needed this MyHeartChannel thing to work. There were dozens of magicians with their own channels. They explained how to do simple tricks and even showed the workings behind the curtain that made stage magic appear real. He had no desire to do any of that. What fun was there in a magic show if you knew how the trick was done?

  Breck blew on his cold fingers. The temperature had dropped overnight, turning the slush to icy crystals that crunched underfoot. It was the kind of day mint gum commercials were made of. He grinned and puffed air so it gathered around his head. In another half hour, the temp would reach its predicted high for the day and he wouldn’t be able to see his breath.

  He’d better be filming by then or he’d miss his window. Stepping up to the streetlight post, he secured the camera with a zip tie. The image on his phone showed the top of his head, so he moved aside and his small, hip-high table appeared. Perfect. The gold tinsel he’d wrapped around the edge of the table showed up well, and the mistletoe on the camera stand screamed holidays. He tugged on his fur-lined Santa hat. Yep, Christmas was in the air.

  He quickly checked the angles of the other cameras. One pointed down at the tabletop to allow the viewer a close-up of the cards. The third was pointed over his shoulder as he stood at the table to catch his volunteer’s reaction. He widened the lens slightly so that others could be seen as well. Not that there was a crowd—yet.

  They’d come. Three in the afternoon was the time when shift workers switched. It was also when school got out. Kids were good for the crowd because they were expressive and believed that magic was real. Well, it was real, at least at Christmas time.

  He pulled out a deck of Santa-themed cards and shuff
led them in the air, then fanned them out and cut them one-handed to loosen up his fingers. He could sure use some of that Christmas magic this year.

  With a deep breath to calm the stage-frightened butterflies in his stomach, he called out to the silver-haired man in a camel-colored trench coat, “Pick a card!”

  Chapter 2

  Harmony

  Harmony Hall—no, Harmony Green—tightened her purple pea coat around her body to ward off the December chill. Who was she kidding? It wasn’t December that had left her cold to her bones—it was divorce mediation.

  There weren’t many things in her life that she’d like to go back in time and undo, but if she had to make a list, then marrying Sam would be at the top—even if she checked it twice!

  Before she knew they were having problems, before she understood that her husband wasn’t happy, he’d taken the money they’d saved for a house, $60,000, and run off to Barbados with their real estate agent. Bambi—what a name!—was a leggy blonde with brown doe eyes and a penchant for giggling. Harmony had given her heart to the man, and instead of protecting it, he’d tossed it to the wolves.

  She’d dealt with most of the pain. Looking back, she could see the warning signs were there all along, but she’d been too naïve to see them for what they were. Well, she wasn’t naïve anymore.

  But finding out that Sam had cashed in his retirement and hidden it in an offshore account that her lawyer couldn’t get to was a blow she felt like an icicle to the chest. Half of that retirement fund should have been hers. The money was her ticket to Georgia, where she could start fresh. Tears formed as she thought of her parents’ warm fireplace, the stockings hung with care, the tree aglow with multicolored lights, and the scent of cinnamon and vanilla filling every breath. Home. How she longed to be in a place where people loved her and waved as they passed on the street. The big city was no place for a small-town girl, though she’d loved Baltimore when she’d first arrived.