by Tamara Lynn
“I guess that makes sense,” Kate replied. She imagined it would be twice as hard to shut that off when you were sharing a bedroom with a stranger.
“Just always assume the best of her,” Wyatt said as he reeled in his line again. “I promise you; she is a really good person with a huge heart.”
“What’s the deal with her and Carl?” The bad blood between the two was obvious.
“Honestly, no one knows,” Wyatt cast his line again. “I can’t remember when their beef started. Whatever it is, Daniela is not letting it go. It just sucks because we’re family, you know? No matter what, you always forgive family.”
Not always, Kate thought to herself. There was a reason she’d left La Conner, and it wasn’t just to become an actress.
CHAPTER THREE
Buddy was a traitor. He’d curled up on the bed with Kate. When he noticed that Daniela was up, he wagged his tail and jumped off the bed. Busted.
Fajita Margarita night was a success. Maybe too much of a success. Kate moaned as she tried to lift her head.
In front of her, on the nightstand, was a bottle of Tylenol and a glass of water.
“How are you feeling?” Daniela sat down next to her and laid a hand gently on her arm.
“Tell me I didn’t do anything stupid,” Kate mumbled as she wiped at her face trying to find her way through the blonde mop. She looked a complete mess.
Daniela let out half a giggle. “No, but you clearly have a thing against piñatas.”
“There was a piñata?” She’d clearly had too many margaritas. “You guys really take this seriously.”
“A gingerbread man piñata, no less. You killed him.” Daniela got up from Kate’s bed and walked over to the chair to lace up a pair of white Adidas. She was wearing navy capri joggers and a white University of Michigan jersey.
“Are you a Michigan fan?” Kate asked.
Daniela shrugged, “When in Rome.”
Kate sat up and gripped her head. She felt dizzy and her headache was making her nauseous.
“You need to shake off that hangover STAT. We're going to Fishtown to do some exploring.” Daniela walked back and offered Kate a hand. “If you think last night was a little extra, you have no idea how Christmasy things can get around here. Tonight, we play themed games and bake cookies. It is completely over the top.”
“It’ll take me at least an hour to get ready,” Kate protested.
“No time for that. Besides, we are going incognito,” Daniela threw a baseball cap at her. “Just put on a hat, some sunglasses and slum it.”
“I don’t slum it,” Kate mumbled. “Give me 15 minutes.”
“Deal,” Daniela agreed.
◆◆◆
An hour later, Kate emerged looking fully recovered. Her make-up was flawless, and she was wearing a cute hobo skirt, white cotton shirt and Birkenstocks.
“What the…” Daniela grumbled. “You’ll be recognized.”
“No,” Kate countered. “I won’t. I played a minor role on Wyatt’s show. No one knows me yet.”
Wyatt wrapped his arms around her from behind and pulled her close. “They will soon, baby.”
“If anyone is going to be recognized, it’s you,” Kate said to Daniela.
She looked down at the joggers and football jersey. “How? I look like an absolute scrub?”
“I’ve never seen a jersey look better,” Kate confidently pointed out.
It was true, even when she was dressing down, Daniela couldn’t hide the fact that she was gorgeous. She was one of those women who made it look effortless. She’d turn heads, and if anyone took a second glance, they’d probably recognize her.
“Let’s do this!” Carl pounded his chest as he walked up to them.
Daniela’s eyes darkened and she shot a sideways look at Wyatt. “Really?”
He gave her an innocent grin and held up his hands. “I call shotgun!”
◆◆◆
Fishtown is an historic collection of fishing shanties in Leland, on the shores of Lake Michigan. In the 18th century it was a bustling commercial fishing town. While Fishtown is still a working fishing village, most of the shanties have been converted to small shops and art galleries. A river runs through the middle of the small town, and docks lined with fishing boats frame the clear water. It looks much like it did 100 years ago.
“Let’s see if we can get on one of the boats,” Carl began walking toward the docks.
Daniela draped her arm around Kate’s shoulders. “You guys do that, and we’ll start shopping.”
Before Wyatt could protest, Daniela steered them toward the village cheese shop. Once inside, Daniela kept her sunglasses on. Kate found it a little unnerving talking to Daniela when she couldn’t see her eyes. But Daniela was dedicated to her disguise.
“How are you feeling?” Daniela asked.
“Better,” Kate replied and began to walk around the store.
“Good enough to eat something?” Daniela was starving and got straight to the point.
“What are you thinking?” Kate looked at Daniela, and then decided there was no point, since she couldn’t see Daniela’s eyes through the dark shades.
“There is a killer ice cream shop here.”
“Ice cream for breakfast?” Kate asked.
“It’s noon Kate,” Daniela was unimpressed.
Kate ran her hand through her light blonde hair. “Yeah, okay. Let’s go.” Inside she was dreading it. These people were clearly trying to make her fat. The calories from Fajita Margarita night were enough to last her a week.
“You know for someone who comes off as really nice, you sure are grumpy in the mornings,” Daniela pointed out. She enjoyed giving Kate a hard time.
“Your family got me sorority girl smashed,” Kate defended herself. “But you are on to something. I need my morning coffee and a few minutes of calm before I can handle people.”
“How about some coffee ice cream?” Daniela offered. She was in a fantastic mood and needed Kate to catch up to her.
As they talked and walked around the docks, Kate noticed that she was really starting to enjoy Daniela’s company. She playfully leaned a shoulder into her new friend.
“How are you feeling about your new job at work?” Kate asked.
“New job?” Daniela was confused.
Kate continued, “That new job you are starting next month. It’s always exciting when you get a new position at work.”
“My new job,” Daniela nodded. Now she got it. Kate was trying to be discreet as she asked about the new show.
“I’m a little nervous,” Daniela confessed. “We thought we had the perfect team assembled for this project. But one of the most important people just transferred to a new location. Now we have to scramble to fill her vacancy before we can start working.”
“It must be difficult interviewing people and searching for the right team,” Kate continued the charade.
This was nice. Daniela felt more normal than she had in a long time. In that moment she wasn’t an A-list star. She was simply a woman talking to her friend about the struggles of work.
“It is hard,” Daniela decided to open up. “We don’t want to pick the wrong person. And I have a lot of pressure because I feel like I have to try even harder to make sure that I’m easy to work with.”
“Really?” Kate was shocked. Daniela was such an amazing actress. Those who were hoping to act opposite her should be adjusting their style to mesh well with Daniela’s.
“We’re just really down to the wire,” Daniela explained. “If I have to change my approach to make it work, I will.”
“Don’t do that,” Kate stopped walking. “It will kill the chemistry if you aren’t authentic.”
“How?” Daniela asked. She was surprised to see Kate so serious. Even her green eyes turned a shade darker.
“Look, you know your role,” Kate lowered her voice. “You know who Reed is. You know how to play her. Stay true to what you feel. When the right Anne enters the
room, you’ll know. Just keep looking until you find the right girl.”
Daniela stood silent for a moment, and then raised her glasses and gave Kate a disapproving glare. “You read the script,” she said. Her tone was flat, yet clearly drenched with annoyance.
Kate reached up and gently slid Daniela’s glasses back over her eyes. All of the sudden it became easier to talk to her if she couldn’t see those whiskey orbs.
“Not all of it,” Kate quietly replied and then resumed walking along the docks.
Daniela caught up to her, but remained silent.
“It’s really good, Daniela,” Kate made sure to speak softly enough that she couldn’t be overheard. “Really good.”
No words came, only a mildly frustrated sigh.
Kate continued, “I think it’s going to be a big deal. No. I know it is. The script is so well written, the story is solid. To top it all off, they have the most beautiful and talented woman at the helm.”
“Don’t try to flatter me,” Daniela grumbled.
They walked in silence a little farther down the docks. Kate wondered if Daniela would be mad for the whole day. Had she fully ruined the mood?
“The problem is,” Daniela broke the silence. “I don’t really know Reed. Not yet. I’ve been so busy with my movie that I haven’t had time to delve into the character. I mean, I’ve read the script and I thought I was getting a feel for her, and then I flew halfway across the globe and put it in the back of my head. I had to shut that off.”
“And now you’re having trouble getting back there?” Kate was starting to get it.
Daniela grew bored with her ice cream and tossed it in a trash can. “Right. And I need to get my head straight quickly because I pretty much have a week and a half before I have to fly back.”
“You’ll do it,” Kate put an arm around Daniela’s waist. “You’ll figure it out, and you will lead this project so successfully that they will want to give you the whole company.”
“Future CEO,” Daniela laughed.
◆◆◆
Lady Gaga’s version of “White Christmas” played on the radio as the cookie competition began. The kitchen was large, but with six bakers in the space, things became a little crowded. Otis was the only one not competing. He was the illustrious judge. They’d nicknamed him RBG for the evening.
“I forgot to come up with a recipe,” Daniela quietly admitted to Kate. “I had to Google one.”
“I heard that.” Wyatt was standing on the other side of Daniela. “Don’t use that as an excuse when you lose.”
Kate turned on the kitchen aide mixer and the noise drowned both of them out. She was taking this contest very seriously. Kate was using her Grandma’s recipe. It was sure to be a knockout.
Across the kitchen, Carl pulled a box of frozen chocolate chip cookie dough from the freezer. As usual, he was shirtless.
“Do you need another margarita honey?” Dixie asked in attempt to distract Kate from her cookies.
Kate shook her head, “I will never in my life need another margarita.”
Dixie shot a look at Betsy. They’d intended to sabotage as much of the competition as they could by getting them all intoxicated.
“Well, how about some of my moonshine?” Betsy offered. “I make the best moonshine in Davidson County.”
“It is really good,” Wyatt added, unknowingly playing in to their hands.
“Now Betsy will be right offended if you don’t give it a sip,” Dixie added.
Cookies, cocoa and moonshine. This family is killing my diet plan. “I’ll gladly drink some,” Kate lied. “But I think everyone should join me so that we have an even playing field.”
“Fair enough,” Betsy began passing around mason jars filled with the sugary alcohol.
When Dixie handed out the moonshine, Kate noticed that Daniela handed hers to Wyatt. Neither of them said a word, they just went about working on their cookies like it was nothing. Wyatt easily drank both jars.
The elixir was strong, and Kate had no desire to end up like she did last night, so she paced herself and kept a glass of ice water close.
She pulled dough from the mixer and began to roll it into a flat sheet. As she pressed a star cookie cutter into the dough, Wyatt wrapped his arms around her.
“You look so beautiful,” he declared. “I love you more today than ever before.”
“You’re so sweet,” Kate leaned back into him.
“Now what exactly is in that dough?” Betsy came over and tried her best to spy.
“Magic,” Kate replied. “You’ll see.”
An hour later, Otis crowned Kate the champion of the Christmas cookie bake-off. From that day forward, Betsy referred to them as magic cookies. Apparently, Otis wasn’t the only one who liked the cookies. The whole batch was nearly decimated. Carl’s cookies, however, remained untouched.
As the group transitioned to the great room, Karen Carpenter’s voice sang, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.”
“What are we playing?” Wyatt asked as he placed a few more logs in the fireplace.
“We’re doing a reindeer ring toss,” Dixie answered.
Dixie declared herself the gamemaster and with that Otis’ time as the boss came to an end. She divided the group into two teams. The red team was made up of Daniela, Wyatt and Otis. The green team was Betsy, Carl, and Kate.
Carl and Daniela were up first. Dixie put a hat with inflatable reindeer antlers on each of their heads.
“Now here’s how we play. Each team has six rings. You’ll throw the rings at your team mate’s antlers. Whichever team finishes with the most rings on their antlers will win.” Dixie tried her best to explain the game, but she’d had too much moonshine. It was a good thing that the game was fairly simple.
Kate leaned back into the couch and took in the scene. Heidi would have loved it. Donning the inflatable antlers, Daniela Dantangelo looked every bit a Hallmark movie star in her fuzzy white sweater and artfully ripped jeans. Wyatt and Carl were wrestling by the fireplace, and it looked like they would surely break something. To top it all off, country music legend Dixie was the ringleader, expressively waving brightly manicured nails through the air.
“All right, ya’ll come now,” Dixie waved them over.
Betsy and Kate divided the green rings between them, and lined up to begin the toss. Every ounce of competitive nature boiled to the surface as the grown adults tried their best at this child’s game.
It was much harder than it looked. By the end of the round, on Carl’s head, the green team had successfully hooked one. Daniela’s antlers, on the other hand, remained empty.
They rotated positions. Otis and Kate faced off next. The second round would have ended the same if it weren’t for Kate’s moves. Without leaving her designated spot, she stretched and contorted her body to reach each ring that sailed remotely in her vicinity.
“Yoga?” Daniela asked as she admired the way Kate moved.
“Dance,” Wyatt corrected her.
Daniela nodded. “Makes sense. She has phenomenal balance and athleticism.”
The score after round two had team green at 7, and team red at 4. Things were starting to heat up as Betsy and Wyatt took their respective turns under the antlers.
“Wait, wait,” Betsy held up her hands. “I need more moonshine for this.”
The southern belle walked over and filled her mason jar. To the very edge. She then took a healthy swig and placed the reindeer antlers gently on her big red hair.
“I make this look good,” she announced. It was true. Betsy wore the antlers like a pageant queen wears a crown.
Wyatt stood perfectly still as the rings sailed his direction. Otis had figured out a strategy and successfully tossed the red rings onto his team’s antlers. And in that final round, the red team stole the win from team green.
After a few more games, only Kate and Daniela remained sober. They decided to hang out on the couch while the rest of the family headed off to their beds. Buddy jum
ped up on the cushions and laid down between them.
“Want to stay up and talk a while?” Daniela asked.
“Sure,” Kate said. Female friendships were important to her, and she loved relaxing and simply speaking with other women.
Daniela got up and turned off the overhead lights so that the room was lit only by the fireplace, the Christmas tree, and the strings of lights that were wrapped around the loft.
“I’m going to grab some water.” Kate slid gently out from underneath Buddy’s paw. Do you need anything?”
“I’ll take one of your cookies,” Daniela requested.
“Sorry, they’re all gone,” Kate said from the kitchen. “Do you want me to make some more for you?”
“No,” Daniela grinned. Kate really was the sweetest person she’d ever met.
A minute later, Kate returned with two glasses of ice water. “I brought you one just in case you change your mind.”
“Thank you,” Daniela took the glass from her.
“Hallelujah,” by Pentatonix came through the speakers and Daniela held up her hand.
“Shhhh…. This is my favorite song.”
Mine too. Kate thought to herself. She slowly looked around the room, trying to memorize the way everything looked. A stone fireplace rose the entirety of the great room. It gave a rustic and warm feeling to the room. Boughs of holly were wrapped around the bannister and railing along the loft. Every foot or so, red bows tied it in place. Soft white LED lights were woven throughout the boughs.
A 16-foot Christmas tree stood in the corner next to the fireplace. It as well was decorated with soft white lights. Kate wondered how they got it there. Did Dixie and Betsy bring it on a plane? Did they ship it?
White reindeer sculptures adorned the mantle, and cranberry scented potpourri was scattered around their hooves. On the coffee table in front of them, there sat a large glass container filled with shiny round ornaments.
As Pentatonix raised their voices in the final chorus, Kate was filled with emotion. It was radiating through her body like the warmth of the sun. A single tear escaped and began to trace its way down her cheek.