by R. E. Butler
Danny hummed. “He’s a good fellow. He cares about you.”
“I care about him, too.”
“Well,” Layne said, clucking her tongue, “Danny asked me to marry him on our second date, so I do understand when kismet and fate and all that good stuff rolls just into the right place at the right time. You don’t need our permission to follow your heart, Ellie, but if you were looking for it, you have it.”
“From both of us,” Danny said.
It took a moment for Ellie to be able to talk. “That just means the world to me. Thank you so much.”
Layne gave her a hug. “You’re the daughter we never had. We want you to be happy and have a wonderful life.”
“I’ll have that with Declan.”
Danny nodded. “When are you leaving?”
She looked at the tracker. “In about an hour.”
“Will you come back to visit?” Layne asked.
“Next Christmas for sure. We can also video call each other.”
“I just got a new tablet,” Danny said. “Layne dropped the other one in a sink full of soapy water when she was using it for a recipe.”
Ellie laughed. “Oh my!”
Layne smirked. “You should’ve heard him carrying on about it, like someone gave away his puppy.”
“Hey!” he said with a grin. “I liked it. I like the new one, too, though.”
“We’ll be able to keep in touch,” Ellie promised them, stopping at the door leading to the shop where customers waited. “That’s what matters. I love you both, and I’m so glad to be able to call you my family.”
Layne smiled. “You’re ours, too.”
Chapter 9
The hour went by so fast that Ellie dreaded even looking at the tracker. She was excited to start her new life in NPC, but she was going to miss Layne and Danny terribly.
The bell rang over the door as another customer entered. Ellie looked up from where she was wrapping delicate pink roses in paper and paused, wondering why the woman looked so familiar. She was pretty sure she’d never seen her before in her life, but at the same time she was sure that the woman wasn’t a stranger.
Aware she was staring, she turned her attention back to the flowers and finished wrapping them, then handed them across the counter to the customer.
“Merry Christmas,” Ellie said to the man.
“Merry Christmas to you, too. Thanks for your help. My wife will love these.”
Ellie smiled as the woman approached the counter and said, “Hello, dear.” All at once, the face that Ellie was looking at seemed to morph into something different. From dark hair, green eyes, and a youthful face came white, curly hair, bright blue eyes, and smile-line wrinkles.
“Oh!” Ellie said, when she realized she was looking at Mrs. C. “What are you doing here? I was expecting Hayden and Fiona.”
Mrs. C chuckled. “I wasn’t sure Declan would make it home in time for work, but when he did, I thought it would be nice for me to come get you instead. You don’t mind, do you?”
“No, of course not.” Ellie lowered her voice so the customers milling around in the shop couldn’t hear her. “What should I call you?”
“Call me Clarise. You can say I’m Declan’s aunt.”
“Will they recognize you?” she asked.
“It’s part of my magic. I’ll appear as I did when I first came in.”
Ellie nodded. “Come meet my bosses.”
“I have a gift for them,” she said, opening her coat and pulling out a small potted rosebush.
“That’s the one I told Declan was extinct!”
“I thought it would be a lovely way to stay close to them. They’ll have a piece of your new home without even realizing it.”
Ellie hugged Mrs. C, careful not to crush the plant. “Thank you for thinking of me, and them. It’s so sweet.”
“It’s what family is for.”
Ellie nodded and took Mrs. C into the back to meet Layne and Danny, introducing her as Declan’s aunt.
Mrs. C shook their hands with a sweet smile, then handed the potted plant to Layne. “I wanted to bring you a Christmas gift, and I thought you might enjoy a unique rosebush.”
Layne’s eyes went so wide that Ellie was surprised she didn’t wince in pain. “This is… it’s extinct. Where did you find it?”
Mrs. C smiled. “I do a lot of traveling, and I love roses.”
“We can’t take this,” Danny said. “It’s too precious. You should keep it.”
“I have a few more of them, so it’s no trouble. Whenever you see it, you can think of Ellie.”
Layne smiled. “Oh, we’ll always think of her.”
Ellie blinked at the tears that verged on spilling down her cheeks. “You guys are being so sweet. You’re going to make me cry.”
Layne gave her a quick hug and pecked her cheek. “Is it time for you to go?”
Mrs. C looked at her tracker and said, “We can stay for a little longer. I’d love to help. Put me to work.”
Ellie was in awe of how easily Mrs. C fit in, as if she’d known Layne and Danny their whole lives and had been friends with them forever. She wondered if that was part of her magic, too, putting people at ease and making them feel loved.
Two hours later, the shop’s sign was turned from Open to Closed, and Ellie stood in the back with Layne and Danny and said goodbye. She hugged them both tightly, sad to leave but happy to start the next chapter of her life.
“When you and Declan get hitched, we hope you’ll invite us,” Danny said.
Immediately, she thought about a wedding the following Christmas, wondering if they could pull it off. She made a mental note to talk to Declan about it; she wasn’t even sure if the people of NPC got married.
Mrs. C waited for her outside as Layne and Danny locked the door behind Ellie, waving and blowing her kisses before they headed off.
She zipped up her coat and slid her hand into her pocket, where she’d tucked a roll of red velvet ribbon. Her heart pounded at the thought of tying a bow around herself for her man.
Ellie turned to Mrs. C, her eyes clouded with unshed tears. “Thank you for bringing the flowers for them, and for letting me stay longer. I wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to them.”
“It was my pleasure, dear.”
“Ready?”
Mrs. C stared across the street, her brow arched and her gaze curious. “I think we should stop over there for a minute.”
“A bar?”
“I just have a feeling.”
“A good one, I hope?”
She chuckled. “Yes, dear. This has been a very magical Christmas, and I don’t think the magic is done quite yet.”
“Lead the way,” Ellie said, hooking her arm through Mrs. C’s. “I’m all for magic. After all, it’s what brought Declan and me together.”
* * *
Mrs. C walked across the road to the bar, her intuition signaling like a traffic light that something special was inside. This would be the second time this Christmas that her magic had alerted her, and she wasn’t about to head back to NPC and leave whatever was inside alone. There were still two quads who needed to find their fated mates, and she was betting this place contained one.
Maybe two.
The bar was called Holly’s. The wooden sign over the door was decorated with holly leaves and berries, and tangling vines of ivy. Neon brand-name beer signs filled the blacked-out windows.
Ellie grabbed the handle on the bright red door and pulled it open, allowing Mrs. C to step inside first. The bar was half-full, with patrons at the long counter hunched over drinks, others seated at small round tables in front of a stage. A young woman sat on a stool on the stage with a guitar plugged into an amp and a microphone on a stand in front of her. A single spotlight shone on her, highlighting the long golden hair that flowed over her shoulders in soft waves.
She plucked at the strings effortlessly as she played an old Christmas song.
The moment the woman’s mouth opened
and she began to sing, Mrs. C’s magic sparked within her so hard that she was concerned her skin was going to erupt into flames.
“Are you okay?” Ellie whispered.
Mrs. C looked down at her hands, half expecting them to be glowing. With a chuckle, she said, “I think I just figured out why I needed to be here.”
* * *
After spending a little over an hour in the bar, Mrs. C transported Ellie back to NPC, directly into the greenhouse.
“I thought you’d take me to Declan’s,” Ellie said, looking around at the plants. It was so wonderful in the building. She wanted to live there and spend every waking second tending to the plants.
“I actually wanted to offer you a job.”
Ellie’s brows popped up in surprise. “You do?”
“This isn’t the only greenhouse we have. There are three more in NPC. This one has a little bit of everything in it, from flowers to vegetables. One of the greenhouses is trees, shrubs, and flowers, one has all fruit plants, and one has all vegetables.”
“Really? I’d like to see that.”
“I’m happy to show you.”
They transported to the vegetable greenhouse, where she plucked a cherry tomato from a plant and popped it into her mouth. It was sweet and perfectly ripe. Then they went to the tree, shrub, and flower greenhouse, where beautiful poinsettias were interspersed among roses, lilies, and a variety of trees and shrubs. In the fruit greenhouse, Ellie took a blackberry from a large bush and ate it, finding it sweet and juicy.
She turned to face Mrs. C. “So, the job?”
“We need a greenhouse supervisor. There’s a group of elves who work with the plants, from planting to harvesting, but we need someone with knowhow to oversee it all.”
“I only really know about flowers.”
“You can learn. If you’re willing.”
Getting to run greenhouses full of the most amazing plants she’d ever seen? She’d be an idiot to pass that up. “How will I get around if I can’t transport? I didn’t see vehicles anywhere.”
“Either Declan can transport you, or we’ll get you a motorized sled. We do have some vehicles, but we don’t use them except for transporting large quantities of things, such as taking building supplies to a home site.”
She looked around the greenhouse. “Can I talk to Declan about it?”
“Of course. Would you like me to take you to his room?”
“Yes, please.”
Mrs. C took Ellie’s arm and dropped her off in Declan’s room. After saying goodbye, Ellie glanced at her watch. She had several hours until Declan would return, which was enough time to unpack and grab a shower. She was tired, but she was too excited about the start of her new life to sleep, so she unpacked the plants from the boxes and set them around Declan’s room. She’d need to put them in the greenhouses fairly soon so they could get light from the artificial bulbs hanging overhead, but that could wait until the following day. After clearing a space in a drawer for her things, she gathered a robe and toiletries and went to the bathroom.
When she walked into the bathroom, she realized how easy it would be for someone to come in. She wasn’t sure if anyone else lived on the floor besides the quads, so she turned the deadbolt to make sure she had privacy. After showering, she dried her hair with her travel dryer, brushed her teeth, and put on a little makeup. Gathering her things, she unlocked the door and returned to Declan’s room.
After closing the door to the bedroom, she slipped off her robe and hung it in the closet, then found the ribbon in her coat pocket. She hadn’t thought to bring scissors, so she had to use the tiny ones from her manicure kit to cut the ribbon. With some clever twisting, she tied the ribbon around herself in a way to cover her breasts and the juncture of her thighs. When Declan tugged on the flowing ribbons that cascaded down her stomach, the whole thing would unravel.
She climbed onto the bed, arranging herself until she thought she looked her sexiest.
And waited for her mate.
Chapter 10
Declan was so glad to be back in the stable and done with the Christmas Eve run. Although they moved faster than a human eye could track, it felt as if they were moving at a snail’s pace that night. When they finished delivering the toys and returned to NPC, Declan stamped his hooves impatiently as the elves in charge of the sleigh team hurried to unhook them all. He snorted, dragging one hoof across the wooden floor.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Lan, the head elf in charge of the sleigh team, said as he hurried to Declan and began to unhook him from the sleigh.
SC bellowed a laugh. “You quads finding your fated mates. It never gets old.”
Mrs. C appeared, walking toward them with a smile on her face. “How was the run?” she asked as SC folded her into his embrace.
“Wonderful as always,” he said before kissing her soundly. “I thought you’d be waiting for me, my sweet.”
She blushed and swatted his shoulder. “You old horndog. I need to speak to you, Vaugh, and Jack right away.”
SC’s brows rose. “Is everything all right?”
“Better than all right, actually, but time is fast running out.”
The moment Declan was unhooked from the sleigh and the harness unbuckled, he shifted and raced to the clothes he’d left in the stable. As he hurriedly dressed, he said to SC and Mrs. C, “Do you need me to stick around?”
Please say no. For the love of everything holy, please say no!
Mrs. C gave Declan a sweet smile. “Of course not. You have a new mate waiting for you in your room. We’ll fill you in later, when you and Ellie join us for dinner. Please invite your parents to join us as well.”
Normally after the Christmas Eve run, Declan would go to his room and pass out, waking up in time for his parents’ traditional Christmas Day lunch, where they’d exchange gifts and spend the day together as a family. He’d already told them about meeting his fated mate and promised to bring Ellie with him to their home for lunch.
“I’m sure they’d be pleased to join us. Thanks.”
“Your mate is a sweetheart,” Mrs. C said. “I’m so glad you found each other.”
“Trust me,” Declan said, shoving his feet into his boots and grabbing his jacket off the hook on the wall, “glad isn’t even close to how I feel knowing that she’s mine.”
“We’ll talk tomorrow about you two taking one of the cabins,” SC said.
“Thanks.”
He saw Vaughn and Jack head out of the barn with SC and Mrs. C, their expressions anxious and determined. For a brief moment, he wanted to ask what was going on, but then he thought about Ellie waiting for him in his room and all other thoughts disappeared.
“Merry Christmas,” he said to Lan.
“Same to you, Dancer,” the elf said with a wink.
Declan transported to his bedroom. His breath caught in his throat when he saw Ellie on the bed, wrapped in strategically placed red ribbon. Her arm was tucked under her head and she was asleep on top of the covers, facing the door as if she’d tried to stay up and hadn’t made it.
For a heartbeat, he considered not waking her so she could get as much rest as she needed. A lot had happened since they’d met on Christmas Eve morning, and anyone would be exhausted. But she’d sexily trussed herself up for him, and there was no way that he was going to let her just sleep.
He stripped, his beasts rolling under his skin and urging him to wake Ellie so they could love her. Declan wanted to wake her, but he wanted to do it properly, easing her away from sleep to wakefulness. He climbed onto the bed and stretched out next to her, running his fingers gently down her arm. Her skin was velvety soft, and her honey-sweet smell made his mouth water. He traced invisible patterns down her arm and back up, skirting over her collarbone and down her chest, where the red ribbon covered her breasts.
She rolled to her back with a soft sigh and stretched, blinking at him.
“Oh!” she said with a smile. “I was just dreaming about you.”
“I’m all yours, Declan,” she murmured. “Just open your gift.”
* * *
Declan could’ve lain in bed with Ellie tucked against him for the rest of his life and been entirely content. His beasts were purring in his mind; even the owl was hooting happily. He’d dozed for a while after they made love, but he’d woken up just moments before NPC was once more magically closed for a year. He watched the clock on his nightstand until the time read 6:00 a.m. He’d never really paid much attention to the opening and closing of the city – aside from occasional trips to the human world with his friends, he’d always been home well before dawn on Christmas Day – but not today. Today he was very aware of the time, because he had Ellie now.
At first he’d been certain that Ellie would want to stay in the human world. Even with Neve not being able to stay because of Tom’s shifting issue, she’d cared so deeply for Layne and Danny. But it wouldn’t have been a hardship for him to walk away from NPC. He would’ve gladly done that for his fated mate. He would’ve missed his parents and his friends, but being with Ellie was the single most important thing in his world now.
Sleep called to him and he swiftly drifted off, secure with his mate in his arms.
When he woke several hours later, Ellie smiled at him from where she was leaning against the headboard with a pillow behind her.
“Merry Christmas,” he said, stretching with a yawn.
“Merry Christmas.” She smiled sweetly. “I think you’re stuck with me.”
He sat up and scrubbed his hand through his hair. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Good.”
“I hope you don’t mind going to lunch at my parents’ house. It’s a family tradition. They’re looking forward to meeting you.”