“And he’d be right,” Jack answered, laughing this time. “I will admit, you do make a good Santa.”
“Ho, ho, ho,” Nick answered, huffing and puffing and sticking out his belly, which was adequately padded with lots and lots of stuffing.
Jack kept on laughing, watching as Nick sat down and put on his tennis shoes before pulling the big black boots over his shoes.
Jack had had an amazingly satisfying week here in Crystal Rock. He and Nick had taken a tour of the Crystal Rock Wounded Warrior Home as well as Crystal Visions along with Jake Loughlin. Maybe after working out a schedule, he’d eventually volunteer to work with some of the disabled kids since Nick was planning on it.
He grinned, looking at Nick. “So what about contacting Emma Caffrey? I thought you were going to stop by there again?”
“I’ve walked by her salon a couple of times, and I’ve come to the conclusion that she must eat lunch at the same time we do.”
Standing in front of a mirror, Nick slipped on the big fluffy beard, strapping the Velcro behind his head, and then put on the wig and Santa hat.
“Maybe we’ll run into her this afternoon.”
“It’s probably better if we don’t,” Nick muttered, walking toward the door of the apartment he and Jack had been directed to earlier. “Wipe that dopey smile off your face, will you?”
Jack laughed loudly, watching Nick stomp out from the apartment, slamming the door behind him.
* * *
Nick looked like he was getting into being Santa, Jack thought, and he was really enjoying himself too. The smiles on the kids’ faces as Nick handed out presents were something special to behold and Jack was amazed how Nick seemed right at home while speaking and handling the kids.
Jack had been taking a lot of pictures on his phone throughout the day.
Finally, the evening was done, and as Nick stood with a smile on his face, watching as everyone began getting ready to leave, Jack realized that he’d just seen Emma again standing near the edge of the crowd. Jack had noticed her a few times throughout the day, but Nick had been too busy for Jack to be able to grab his attention.
“Hey, Nick?” Jack called out, approaching.
Nick turned, glancing his way. “What’s up?”
Jack waved at the doorway. “I just saw her walking into the lobby.”
“You mean Emma?”
“Of course, I mean Emma,” Jack growled. “Now’s your chance.”
Nick looked down at his costume. “Shoot.”
“Go. She was here for a while, so I think she’s one of the organizers. But I couldn’t exactly tell you that I saw her here, since you were talking with all the kids. But who knows when you’ll run into her again?”
“You’re right. I’m done for the day. I can change after I talk with her,” Nick said, making his way along the edge of the room and strolling into the lobby with Jack.
As they came through the doorway, Nick saw Emma walking beside some guy through the breezeway, heading outside.
“She’s here with a date?” Nick growled.
“I doubt it. She wasn’t with anyone in the ballroom,” Jack murmured. “Come on. We’ve both got on boots. Let’s see where they’re going.”
Nick just frowned, letting Jack take the lead.
They hung around a few feet behind her, while Emma and the guy she was with appeared to be having a deep conversation. Nick was beginning to look extremely irritated, probably because he was jealous.
“It looks like the guy’s starting to come on to her,” Jack murmured, not being able to help himself when it came to instigating trouble. Jack liked Emma and had a feeling she’d be perfect for Nick.
Just then, Nick noticed that Jack had been filming their journey behind Emma on his phone. “Stop that,” he growled, looking at Jack suspiciously. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
Jack just smiled, not bothering to answer because Nick was too busy stomping towards Emma and the guy who looked like he was ready to kiss her.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Nick yelled, approaching Emma.
Laughing, Jack held his phone higher.
When Emma turned and saw she was being stalked by Santa, her mouth gaped open.
Appearing to be a little in shock himself, the guy she was with recovered quickly, holding up a staying hand. “Whoa, Santa. It’s not what you think. There’s no hanky panky going on here tonight. Emma and I are just old friends.” The guy turned back to Emma. “Is there some kind of new special Santa patrol Jake Loughlin’s added to his security team?”
Emma blinked, and suddenly started laughing. “One thing I’ve always loved about you, Matt, is your sense of humor.”
St. Nick growled, while Jack filmed the scene.
Although Jack was having trouble holding onto his phone because he was laughing so hard.
Emma finally seemed to recognize him. “Jack Wellman?”
Jack was trying to stop laughing. “Hi, Emma. Nice to see you again.”
Then she looked at Santa.
”Nick?” Emma covered her mouth with her hand.
“Yes,” he muttered. “It’s Nick.”
“Also known as St. Nick to some,” Jack murmured.
Matt barked out a laugh. “That’s a good one.”
“I’d like to introduce you to Jack and Nick. We met them on vacation in Bali. Uhm, goodnight, Matt,” Emma said. “Jack, would you and Nick like to come into the cabin and maybe have a drink? I’m staying here through Christmas.”
“I want to talk with you. Alone,” Nick growled, stomping up to her and staring into her eyes.
Jack murmured, “How about giving me your car keys, Nick, so I can drive back into town? I can come back and pick you up later.”
“If you need a ride, I might be able to drop you off,” Matt offered.
“Our apartment’s directly on Main Street,” Jack answered.
“It’s on my way home,” Matt admitted. “Come on. Let’s leave these two to talk. I’m Matt Stevens, by the way.”
“Jack Wellman,” he answered, reaching out and shaking Matt’s hand, before they started making their way along the path toward the inn.
Peeking over his shoulder, Jack grinned as Nick followed Emma into the cabin.
“Hey, Jack, since you’re a friend of Emma’s, what are you doing for dinner tonight?” Matt asked, as they made their way into the parking lot. “I’m on my way to dinner with Mom and Dad, and you’re welcome to come along.”
“Sure. I’d like that,” Jack answered.
“Maybe you want to come out with me for a couple of beers afterwards?”
“That would be great. It wouldn’t hurt for me to get to know some people here in town since I’ll be working with Nick here in town.”
“Where’s that going to be?” Matt asked, unlocking his truck remotely.
“Northwest Property Management,” Jack answered, opening the passenger door after hearing the beep.
“Well, hell. You must know Rand? He’s an old buddy of mine,” Matt murmured, stepping behind into the truck behind the wheel.
“He and Nick are my best friends,” Jack answered as Matt revved up the engine, backing out from the parking space.
“I’m a crew boss at Callahan Construction. We worked on your building,” Matt observed. “I take it you’re living in one of the apartments we just finished up?”
“I am,” Jack said. “Nick and I were really impressed.”
“Good to hear. I love the place myself,” Matt confessed, grinning.
* * *
He’d really enjoyed himself tonight, Jack had to admit. If Nick ended up getting together with Emma, Jack had a feeling he’d be spending a lot of nights alone if he didn’t make an effort to find friends.
Plus, it was good for business to be out and about. Even though Nick had never for a moment considered it business, he’d made a great impression today as Santa, which was a step in the right direction when it came to acquiring real estate contacts. Even
if people weren’t actually interested in buying a home, they would be sure to recommend the company to friends.
Matt had a couple younger sisters, one who seemed to have developed a crush on Jack pretty quickly. He had no idea why, but Matt had told him at the bar that both of his high school age sisters considered him hot, and the thought had scared him shitless, even though he didn’t have a problem discouraging women his own age.
Matt had laughed, giving him a pat on the back later at the bar. “Don’t worry, they do it all the time. They’re at that age.”
Jack had grimaced, slugging down more of his beer before being introducing to several of Matt’s friends. There were all about the same age, although many of the guys had different interests.
And wives and girlfriends had been included, Jack was surprise to realize. Most of the guys were out with their significant other.
Matt seemed to know what he was thinking before he said it. “It’s kind of a long-standing tradition with those of us who are friends here in town. At least once a month, we all pitch in a few bucks to send all the kids to the local rec center with a couple sitters so we can all get together for a few hours. There’s always one or two of us delegated as a designated driver. Our boss, Mike Callahan and his wife came up with the idea of the rec center ten years ago and donated a huge amount of time and money to have it built.”
“That’s nice,” Jack murmured.
Matt cleared his throat, staring at his beer bottle intently. “Can I ask you a question?”
Jack shrugged. “Sure.”
“This friend of yours – did you say Nick was his name?”
Ah, Jack realized, the guy was still in love with Emma. “He’ll be good for her Matt. I promise his intentions are honorable.”
Matt sighed deeply, giving Jack a wry smile. “That’s good to hear, although at the same time it’s not.”
“You’re still in love with her?”
“I am. But then again, so is just about every guy in town. I was really hoping it would work out between the two of us.”
Jack nodded, becoming thoughtful. “I liked Emma right away and knew from the moment we met that she and Nick were right for each other. It’s crazy, I know. But deep down, Nick is pretty vulnerable, but he’s also trusting and one of the most decent persons I’ve ever known.”
“Kind of like Emma?”
“Exactly like Emma.”
“Good,” Matt answered, raising his beer. “Cheers.”
Tapping his bottle against Matt’s, Jack slugged down his beer as well.
Chapter Fourteen
When Jack arrived back to his apartment a few hours later, he started to realize just how lonely he actually was.
Nick still hadn’t returned home, and now there was snow in the forecast for later that night, so Jack would just lay on the couch with the television and wait to see if he made it home anytime soon. If not, he supposed he’d better give Nick a call. Nick wasn’t exactly a great driver, even in the best of conditions, and Jack figured he’d be distracted tonight, with his relationship developing with Emma.
Just for the heck of it, Jack opened his laptop after turning on the TV and settling on the couch. He might as well visit the dealership next week after Christmas and pick up the vehicle Rand had arranged for him to drive. Nick would have to drive him to the neighboring town of Rice Lake, but it supposedly it was only about a forty-minute drive.
Well what do you know, Jack thought, seeing an email had arrived from Janelle.
Apparently, she’d spent a few days in Germany before she’d left for her mission, so she’d taken the time to send a Christmas Card.
It was one of those pretty digital cards featuring a Christmas scene with carolers singing while embellishing a tree in town square. The scene reminded him a little of the tree that was decorated outside of the Dragonfly Pointe Inn.
Thinking of you. Have a beautiful Christmas. J.
He sat straighter and laughed because she’d added a heart emoji with her name.
It was the first time he’d heard from her since she’d left for her mission, although Jack had been sending pictures of anything and everything he was interested in, including the town, the inn and all the decorations.
He’d even taken a shot of the sunset on a cold, wintry night from the top of the Crystal Rock landmark which was located at the tip of Dragonfly Pointe.
Jack was falling in love with the town and when spring arrived, he might consider moving into a house once he investigated all the available properties surrounding each of the three lakes.
Jack had been sending Janelle emails nearly every day, even though she might not be receiving them, he wasn’t going to give up his pursuit.
That’s right. Tonight, he had something better, he realized, grinning at his phone.
A visit from St. Nick, he wrote, adding a couple hearts and a smile before sending the video.
* * *
Awakening a couple hours later to the sound of wind blustering against the windows, Jack stood from the couch, moving away from the warmth of the fire to look through the living window to the street below.
“Oh, no,” he murmured. “Look at all the snow.”
It was after midnight, he realized, glancing at the watch he was still wearing and changing the television channel. Sure enough, there was a local alert, and according the announcer on the weather channel a few moments later, there had been several accidents in northwest Wisconsin.
Nick and Emma probably weren’t sitting around watching television, he figured, grinning and picking up his phone
Strange, he thought, when no one answered. “Maybe I’ll take a quick shower and hit the sack.”
A few moments later, his phone began buzzing.
“Nick?” Jack answered.
“What’s up?”
“I wouldn’t recommend driving back tonight if you don’t have to. You haven’t had that much experience driving on icy roads. There’s been a bunch of accidents tonight and they’re asking drivers to stay off the roads.”
“Geez,” Nick murmured, peeking outside through the bedroom window. “How many inches did we get?”
Jack heard Emma answer in the background. “I’d say about six. It’s still snowing, so they’ll probably wait a little longer to plow. They usually get the roads out here during the early morning because of the guests.”
There was humor in his voice when Jack asked, “Have you been with Emma this entire time?”
Nick cleared his throat, apparently putting the phone on speaker. “I have.”
Jack laughed. “I won’t ask what you’ve been doing.”
“Sleeping, for one,” Emma answered loudly.
Jack laughed harder. “Hi there, Emma. Matt and I got along great. I had dinner with his family tonight and then we went out for a few beers afterwards. I figured I might need to make a few new friends in case Nick became otherwise occupied.”
Nick sounded sheepish. “Sorry, Jack.”
“For what? I’d have done exactly the same thing if I were lucky enough to be you.”
He could hear Emma snicker. “I’ll pick up Nick’s clothes tomorrow morning and send him home as soon as the roads are clear.”
“I’d appreciate that, Emma,” Jack answered, becoming solemn.
Emma continued, “If you two aren’t busy, there’s something I’d like to do tomorrow afternoon before dark, when I’m done with my obligations at the inn.”
“Sure. Nick and I don’t know too many people in town.”
Emma continued, “We’ll try and remedy that tomorrow night.”
“What have you got in mind?” Nick murmured, apparently disconnecting the phone.
Looking at his phone in consternation, Jack laughed again, muttering out loud, “Well, Jack. I’d definitely say you’re on your own.
* * *
Later that afternoon at the Christmas tree farm, Emma had a wide smile on her face, watching as Jack and Nick dragged the freshly cut tree along the path ah
ead. Apparently, she couldn’t believe that neither one had ever been to a tree farm before, since it was something she’d been doing with her parents her entire life.
Emma’s parents weren’t around for the holidays and were cruising the Caribbean, but she’d talked with them several times.
Nick looked back at Emma. “Have you got ornaments and lights?”
“I do. But I thought we could all go back into town after unloading the tree at the cabin and pick up some snacks for the small party I’m going to have tonight.”
“You’re having a party?” Jack asked.
“We’re having a party,” she answered, giving him a grin. “Kind of like an open house. Since my parents are away on a cruise, I decided last minute to rent a cabin if one was available so I wouldn’t have to be home alone. And since a lot of my friends work at the inn, I thought it would be a good way to celebrate together, since almost everyone has to work during the holidays.”
Nick looked at her quizzically when they reached the parking lot. “You live with your parents?”
“It’s only temporary,” she answered, scrunching her nose. “My landlord hiked up the rent of my studio, and even though I could have afforded to stay there, it wasn’t worth it. I’ve got noisy neighbors for one, and he never does repairs in a timely manner. Plus, he’s not so good about having our parking lot plowed, and I don’t know how many times I’ve had to call a friend or my Dad to drive me in to work. Although there’s a shuttlebus that runs around town a couple times a day, I work a lot of odd hours at the salon. I’m thinking about looking for a house.”
Nick suddenly gave her a strange glance.
“I’m thinking about it too. I’ve even started putting together a list of properties to look at. We could do it together?”
“I’d like that.” she murmured, giving Nick another one of those sizzling looks that Jack was beginning to recognize.
“Eh, hem,” Jack murmured, clearing his throat.
Emma wrinkled her nose.
Jack's Blind Date Debacle (Hot Hunks Steamy Romance Book 8) Page 7