Deck the Halls

by Leah Sanders

  “These are really good.” He handed the book back to her.

  She accepted it from him and flipped back to her spot, avoiding his gaze. “Thank you.”

  Luca didn’t know what to make of her humility. He furrowed his brow. Kate was clearly talented, but she seemed so embarrassed by praise of her work. Maybe his time at this resort had jaded him, but he had never known anyone with as much talent as Kate seemed to have who was as uncomfortable with accolades as she was.

  “What does Mrs. Hall say?”

  Kate’s gaze shot to his face, a look of abject terror flashed there, like he was threatening to grab her sketches and run them right up to Mrs. Hall’s room this minute, and just as quickly the look disappeared.

  “She won’t look at them.” Her attention returned to the sketch.

  “Won’t look at them?”

  “Mrs. Hall doesn’t accept unsolicited sketches. It’s pretty standard procedure.”

  “But you want to be a designer, don’t you? How will you break in if she never sees your work?”

  “I thought when I first started working for her, it would be an easy hurdle. Eventually, she’d have to see my stuff. But it’s been five years, and I’ve kind of lost hope, you know?”

  “That’s a shame. The world of fashion is missing out.” He lay a hand on her shoulder, and when she looked up at him, he thought he saw tears threatening there in her shining green eyes. He withdrew his hand and sat on the arm of the couch.

  “What if she has to look?”

  Kate raised an eyebrow in question. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I was thinking, maybe something could be arranged where she doesn’t have any choice but to see your designs.”

  Her brow furrowed and she turned to gaze into the fire as if in thought.

  “She wants a gown for the ball. She asked me to find her something… Maybe I could pick up a gown, design some alterations… if it passes the Cynthia Skye-Adams test, and she wears it, she’s bound to ask who designed it, and then…”

  “And then she’ll ask to see your portfolio.”

  Kate’s eyes lit up. “That might work!” Then she cringed just a little. “But…”

  “Uh-oh. What? What’s that look?”

  “I’ll need an escort to the city. Do you suppose Peter will be available?”

  “I don’t think you’d have to go all the way into the city. There’s a shop here in town.”

  “Dresses by Linda?”

  Luca nodded. “That’s the one.”

  Kate shook her head. “She won’t even let me go in there. It’s a whole big thing.”

  “I see.” He rubbed his chin in thought. “There’s another town just over the mountain. There might be a place there. I can check with Roald. And as far as an escort goes, you shall just have to make do with me once again. I hope you’re not too disappointed.”

  “I guess I can take one for the team,” Kate said, and her smile warmed him.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Strike the Harp and Join the Chorus

  “TODAY IS MY SPA DAY, SO I won’t be near the phone at all. Once you’ve secured my gown for the ball, I’ll leave the rest of the day to you.” Mrs. Hall lounged on her sofa sipping a cup of tea. “Jake assures me he has a full day of his own planned, so we won’t need you. You go ahead and treat yourself to some fun. We are on vacation, after all.” She smiled sweetly and paused to leave room for Kate to express undying gratitude.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Hall. That’s so nice of you,” Kate responded as she knew was expected. She did not, however, tell Mrs. Hall about the details of her plan to secure the requested gown. No use in giving the woman information she wouldn’t be able to handle. Kate glanced at her watch. Luca would be waiting for her. “Is there anything else?”

  “No. You may go. It’s almost time for my massage.”

  Mrs. Hall seemed far too relaxed for someone whose spa day had yet to begin. Kate wondered exactly what was in that tea. Wasn’t Wyoming a medical-use only state?

  But she had no intention of sticking around to find out.

  “SHE WANTS AN EVENING gown for the Christmas ball, but I know she won’t wear anything that isn’t an original.” Kate pulled aside one of the gowns on the rack to get a better look. Everything here, while stylish and beautiful, was mass-produced. Mrs. Hall would know that with a glance.

  “Will it work to alter something like this?” Luca suggested, pointing to the mannequin draped with a gorgeous full-length off-the-shoulder sheath gown in gold chiffon.

  “That might work. I won’t have the time to do it myself though, not with all the stuff Mrs. Hall finds for me to do. Are there any seamstresses or modistes in Huckleberry Falls, I mean, other than in Dresses by Linda?”

  “I’m sure there is. Let me call Roald and find out.” He pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket and stepped outside the shop to make his call.

  Kate strode closer to the mannequin in the gold chiffon. It would look amazing on Mrs. Hall. Of course, it would need a few modifications. Kate reached into her purse for her idea notebook and pencil and began to sketch the dress with the changes that had popped into her head.

  “Excuse me,” a female voice came from the far side of the shop. “Do you have anything in the back that isn’t already on display? I’m looking for this—this blue poufy dress, the color of ice. I need it for the royalty crowning ceremony.”

  Kate glanced toward the voice, pausing in her sketch for just a moment. A woman stood at the counter a few feet away speaking to the salesclerk. The gold chiffon was beautiful, to be sure, and would work for Kate’s needs, but if there were other things in the back, perhaps she should take a look first.

  “No, I’m sorry, Ms. Klausse. Everything we have is already on display.”

  The young woman’s expression sank, but she nodded at the salesclerk and seemed to force a smile. “Thanks anyway. I’ll just find something else.”

  Kate turned back to the gold chiffon and her sketch, trying to focus on her concept. The woman stopped beside her, studying the gold gown, head tipped thoughtfully to the side.

  “It’s beautiful,” Kate offered, even though it was the very dress she was considering.

  “It is. I just—I have this stupid vision in my head, you know? Nothing else is working.” The girl turned to her, big brown eyes sparkling. “I sound crazy.”

  “No, not at all. I totally get it.”

  The woman grinned. “I’m Cleo. Love love love your dress, by the way. It’s amazing. Where’d you get it? —if you don’t mind my asking.”

  Kate glanced down at her own attire. She was wearing the ivory mid-thigh sweater dress of her own design with taupe leggings and knee-high boots. It was one of her winter-weather favorites.

  “Actually, I designed it,” she said. A twinge of embarrassment warmed her cheeks. “I’m Kate, by the way. Nice to meet you.” Kate mentally kicked herself. If she was ever going to make it in the fashion world, she was going to have to get over that pesky humility and own her talents. That was precisely why she was still Mrs. Hall’s personal assistant instead of working on the design floor.

  “You’re a designer? That’s so cool!” Cleo’s bright eyes lit up her face. She glanced over her shoulder for a second, then lifted her hand to the side of her mouth and whispered conspiratorially, “If there’s one thing this shop is lacking, it’s a designer.”

  Kate wanted to tell Cleo that all she’d ever wanted to do was be a designer. She wanted to tell her that she had been working for Cynthia Skye-Adams for years, hoping the fashion mogul would notice she had talent. She wanted to show Cleo her portfolio and get her opinion. But she didn’t do any of those things. Instead, she smiled and turned back to the gold chiffon sheath gown.

  “I am participating in the Christmas royalty pageant in Huckleberry Falls,” Cleo said, once again pulling Kate’s attention from her sketch. “I waited too long and now I’m having a difficult time finding a dress. I have a picture in my mind of what I want,
but nothing in here is quite right.”

  Kate studied Cleo’s face. She recognized the struggle there. Kate had felt it often enough. When you want something so bad, but it seems just out of reach. Her heart went out to the girl. She scanned the racks around them until one caught her eye. Something the color of ice.

  “What about that one?” She gestured toward the glacier blue fabric peeking out between a scarlet mermaid gown and a vermillion A-line. “Is that the color you were thinking of?”

  Cleo’s gaze followed Kate’s finger to the rack on their left. The moment she found what Kate was showing her, her whole face lit up with excitement.

  “Yes! Yes! That is the exact color!” In three long strides she was at the rack, pulling the two red dresses to each side so she could maneuver the blue gown to the front.

  It was a gorgeous shade of blue. It had a long waist and a bouffant skirt. Kate knew with just one look that Cleo would look amazing in that dress.

  “It is the perfect color. And I do like the way the bodice and skirt are.” Cleo’s eyebrows drew together in a pensive scowl. “It’s probably the closest I’m going to get to the image I have in my head.”

  “What if—” Kate began, then thought better of it, though ideas for the gown flew through her mind at a dizzying pace. Designing alterations for Cleo would take time, and as much as she loved the prospect of the project, she knew Mrs. Hall’s 24-7 demands would make it impossible. Plus, she didn’t even know if there was a local modiste who would be willing to take on the job.

  As if on cue, the bell on the shop door chimed, and Luca returned, frowning.

  “So, Roald said there was another seamstress in Huckleberry Falls, but she retired two years ago.” He nodded a silent greeting at Cleo, then fixed his gaze on Kate. “I know it’s not ideal, but if it helps, I can track down any tools or machines, or whatever you need to do the alterations.”

  Deflated, Kate shook her head. There wouldn’t be time. Not if Mrs. Hall and Jake kept her as busy as they had over the last couple of days. The whole airline-losing-the-luggage fiasco, while amusing at first, had made Kate’s schedule even more unbearable. “I appreciate it, but there is no way Mrs. Hall will give me that kind of uninterrupted time.” She knew this one afternoon would not be enough time, and even with Mrs. Hall telling her she was free to do what she wanted, there was a distinct possibility that that tea would wear off in a couple of hours, and Mrs. Hall would change her mind.

  “Even if she knew what it was for?”

  “Are you kidding me? Mrs. Hall would never allow me to design something for her. I’m untried as far as she’s concerned. An unacceptable risk. No. She can’t know. She probably thinks I’m asking Paige to overnight her one of her new gowns.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “Tell me about it.” Kate turned back to the gold gown and slid the fabric between her thumb and forefinger sadly. Her vision for the gown would never happen now.

  “Wait…” It was Cleo. “Are you talking about Mrs. Stradley?” She was talking to Luca.

  “That’s right. Do you know her?” Luca raised his eyebrows.

  “Yeah! She does a lot of volunteering at the animal sanctuary. I see her all the time.”

  A spark of hope flared in Kate’s heart. “Do you think she would be willing to work with me? I mean… does she have the time?”

  “I’m almost certain she’d do it. In fact, I’ll call her right now.” The light in the girl’s smile fanned the spark into a flame of hope.

  Kate watched as Cleo slid her phone out of her purse and tapped on the screen. As she put the phone to her ear and took a couple steps away, Kate turned to Luca and grabbed his forearm, unable to contain her own excitement. “Can you believe this? What an amazing girl!”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Luca said, but his eyes were locked on Kate’s, and she couldn’t help but think they weren’t talking about the same person.

  Perhaps it was just wishful thinking.

  Hope had a way of multiplying itself, even when it wasn’t warranted.

  Kate let her hand drop from his arm abruptly.

  When Cleo turned back to them, the brightness of her expression was encouraging. “Okay, so I talked to Mrs. Stradley, and she would be happy to meet with you to discuss what you want to do. She said she has too much time on her hands and would love a project.”

  “That’s fantastic!” Kate said.

  “Here. I’ll give you her number.” She glanced back to her phone. Her eyes widened in alarm at something she saw there. “Oh crap! I have to go!” She scribbled down the phone number on a piece of paper and thrust it toward Kate. “I’m so sorry to rush out like this. Mrs. Stradley is expecting to hear from you. Just tell her Cleo gave you her number.” She hung the ice blue gown back on the rack and tucked it in deep between two others. “I’ll have to come back for this.” Cleo waved at Kate and headed for the door. “It was nice to meet you!” And she was gone.

  Kate glanced up at Luca. He shrugged as if he wasn’t sure what just happened. Then he pointed at the slip of paper she held.

  “Would you like me to call for you?”

  “No, I can do it. Thank you.”

  She dialed the number and waited for Mrs. Stradley to answer. Her eyes traced the rack of gowns until it stopped on the ice blue dress Cleo had left behind.

  “Hello, this is Kate Curtis. Cleo gave me your number. I was wondering if you had time to do some alterations for me… yes, that’s right… Actually, there will be two gowns.”

  AFTER KATE AND LUCA left Mrs. Stradley’s house, Kate was almost giddy. Mrs. Stradley had agreed to do a rush job on both dresses. The two ladies had gone over her designs, and Mrs. Stradley’s enthusiasm for the project was more than Kate could have asked for. Her creative energy spilled over into her mood, and she found herself almost bouncing down the sidewalk with excitement.

  “Are you ready to go back to the resort?” Luca asked, eyeing her.

  “I’m too excited to go back yet. Would you mind just dropping me off in town?” she asked. “Mrs. Hall has given me the afternoon to myself, and I don’t know how much time I have before she comes to her senses and calls me back in.”

  He cast a glance toward the direction of the village center and frowned. Was he disappointed? When his gaze returned to hers, there was a spark of mischief in his eyes.

  “Well, I could do that, of course. But I might have a better idea.”

  “Don’t you have to get back?”

  “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

  Kate giggled. “What did you have in mind?” She bounced lightly on her feet, hardly able to contain herself. The way her day had come together, bringing her a huge step closer to her dream of becoming a designer, made her heart happy, and that was translating as electric energy to the rest of her body.

  Above her was a wire strut holding up an awning, laden with snow. An awning positioned directly over where Kate and Luca stood, as luck would have it.

  Bouncing in high heel boots, though stylish, was ill-advised. Kate lost her balance. She was forced to catch herself… grabbing hold of the only thing that was within reach. The ill-fated wire strut.

  The awning collapsed, dumping several pounds of ice-cold snow unceremoniously onto Luca’s head.

  Maybe it was the nervous energy—maybe it was the priceless look of shock and mortification on Luca’s face—but Kate couldn’t help herself. She shrieked with laughter.

  “You think that’s funny, do you?” Luca said, raising a frosty eyebrow, as he grabbed a handful from the pile of damp snow on his shoulder. Slowly, he lowered the clump of snow and began to methodically form it into a small white ball.

  Just right for throwing.

  “Now, wait…” Kate said, suddenly breaking off from her laughter. A thrill of fear shot through her. “What are you going to do with that?”

  “Oh, nothing much,” he said, narrowing his eyes. Luca cocked his arm back into position.

  “
No, no, no! Don’t you dare!” she squealed and jumped off the sidewalk into the yard, trying to dodge the inevitable.

  When the snowball hit the tree just ahead of her, it disintegrated on impact, spraying snow in a wide circular pattern. She tossed a glance over her shoulder, barely able to keep upright, but hoping Luca would have no chance with a moving target. He scooped up another handful and chased after her, laughing.

  “Come back here!”

  Kate stumbled but somehow managed to keep her feet under her. These boots were not made for running. Heck, they weren’t even made for snow; she could already feel the melting ice seeping in through the leather and spreading through the fibers of her socks.

  Another snowball whizzed by her ear, catching a wayward strand of hair and lacing it with snowflakes. She shrieked, turning to look behind her again, just in time to take a direct hit to the face. Snow everywhere. Her foot came to an abrupt stop, hooking on a root or something hard buried under the snow, but her body kept moving forward. She twisted in the air and managed to land squarely on her rear in the middle of a well-placed snow berm. Dazed, she sputtered and spit clumps of snow out of her mouth.

  Luca caught up to her, laughing, and working to catch his breath. He bent at the waist and rested his hands on his knees. “There. Now we’re even,” he said as he offered a hand to help her up.

  Through the snowflakes coating her eyelids, Kate saw a blurry grin, the only evidence of his mischievous intent.

  “Even?” she breathed. “Hardly. Mine was an accident.” She glanced at the pile of snow at her side, making a sudden decision. Before Luca could react, Kate scooped a giant handful and forced it into his face, taking care to rub it in a circular motion, effectively whitewashing his perfectly beautiful Swiss features. Then she spun around onto her hands and knees and lunged away to escape his grasp.

  She almost made it.

  He leapt toward her, grabbing her heel, but their combined momentum brought them both sliding forward and firmly into the base of a nearby tree—a tree, as luck would have it, whose branches were fully despondent with the unbearable weight of wet, ice-cold December snow.