by T. J. Finn
Dangerously Scrooged
A Wolf Creek Pack Christmas Story
TJ Finn
Two Strange Chicks Publishing
Contents
1. Willow
2. Max
3. Willow
4. Max
5. Willow
6. Max
7. Willow
8. Max
9. Willow
10. Max
Holidays with the Romance Chicks
Thanks from the Author
About the Author
Also by TJ Finn
1
Willow
“I hope you have a very Merry Christmas, Willow. When you talk to your brother Ash, please give my regards.”
Willow looked at the woman standing by the door, mentally pushing her through it so she could close up shop. Because she knew her mother would come down from Heaven and smack her on the back of her head, Willow just gave the woman a tight smile.
“Thank you, Mrs. Briggs, and I’ll be talking to Ash tonight when I get home, so I’ll tell him you said the same for him.” She stepped from behind the counter and walked to the door. I hope Mr. Briggs loves the new power drill. If he doesn’t, you send him in, and we’ll exchange it and get him something he will like.”
Mrs. Briggs’ smile widened as she pulled her hat and gloves out of the pocket of her coat. “I’m sure he’ll love it. He’s been asking for it since June.”
Willow opened the door, stepping slightly behind it when the blast of cold air them. Mrs. Briggs waved at her and she nodded, closing the door. Locking it, she turned the Open sign to Closed, then let out a long-suffering sigh. She didn’t think Mrs. Briggs would ever leave so she could close. There was a sweet drink made with rum waiting for her and a sexy cabana boy to serve it to her.
She glanced outside. The clouds made everything seem darker and the snow seemed to be coming down a little harder with big, wet snowflakes. Mother Nature had better not mess up her plans. Willow had made reservations and got her non-refundable plane tickets to Bahamas four months ago. She’d packed last night and double-checked with her neighbor that her daughter would be staying at her place to watch Marley. Her big, beautiful golden retriever loved the sixteen-year-old, so she knew he’d be in good hands.
Willow walked back to the cash register and opened it. All that was left to do was to close the store, then she was gone until January 3rd. She glanced outside to the shops across the street. Her store was on Main Street in small town America. Grady, Illinois sat in the middle of corn fields with about 3,000 residents. It was the kind of place where the whole town closed down on Fridays, so everyone could go to the high school football team, and everyone knew everyone.
Every store on Main Street, even Main Street itself, looked like Christmas had staged a coup. Lights, ornaments and good cheer lined the streets. Well, every store except McTavish Hardware. Willow didn’t like Christmas. Nothing good has ever happened to her during the holidays so she decided that every year, she would head out of town on Christmas Eve and not returning until January. This first year she was headed to Nassau with nothing but beaches, water and drinks made of rum.
She finished counting the money and putting it in the safe where one of her employees could find and deposit it in the bank. There would be no stops tonight on her trek home from the store. She had just enough time to get home, load her stuff into her jeep, give Marley a little love and food, then head to Chicago.
Snow and cold air hit her square in the face, the only exposed part of her body, and she shivered. It was coming down harder than it was when Mrs. Briggs had left the store. She had better hurry. Pulling her coat tighter around her, she hurried down the sidewalk, making a point not to look at anyone until she passed the bakery. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast, but Willow was not going to stop. She was almost out of the woods until a soft, feminine voice called out to her.
Willow stopped and sighed. How had Abigail Huntington’s voice carried in this wind? Her best friend never seemed to speak above a whisper, and it was rarely raised in anger. Willow always had to lean forward to hear everything the woman was saying to her. But somehow, Abigail had not only spotted her, and she had no choice but to stop and say hi.
When she turned around, a box of cookies was shoved into her hands before she even knew what was happening. Willow blinked a couple of times before she focused on her best friend from high school. The first thing she saw was Abigail’s bright smile, then, she looked up, trying to force her own smile. “What’s this, Abigail?”
“Well, I know you’re headed out of town for Christmas and I figured you hadn’t eaten all day because the store was pretty busy today. These are decorated Christmas cookies for you to take to the beach with you.”
Willow quietly sighed and opened the box to see a dozen cookies all brightly decorated with thick red and green frosting. They were in the shapes of a Christmas tree, ornaments, and snowmen. She looked back up at her friend, her forced smile still in place. “Thank you, Abigail. They look good. I’ll probably have several of them eaten even before I get to O’Hare Airport, which I need to get to. You guys have a great Christmas.”
“You too, Willow. Don’t have too much fun in the Bahamas.”
Willow waited until Abigail went back into her bakery to help a customer before she turned and hurried away. She’d had to put up with seeing all the Christmas decorations on Main Street, now Christmas cookies. Shaking her head, she waited until she had turned a corner before she tossed the box of cookies in the garbage. She had to get out of town fast before anyone else decided she needed more Christmas spirit. Blah, she thought. I don’t need Christmas spirit, although I might need a sleigh and reindeers to get out of town.
She had taken two steps away from the garbage can when she heard the police siren. Stopping, she closed her eyes, her hands balling into fists. Now what?! Taking several deep breaths, she turned to see the Sheriff’s Explorer and let her breath out in a huff. What did he want?
“You know it's against the law to throw Abigail Huntington’s Christmas cookies into the trash.” Sheriff Max Tucker got out of his Explorer, zipping his coat up,then walked around the vehicle to where Willow was standing. He opened the trash can she had thrown the cookies into and pulled the unopened box out.
Willow watched him carefully, her amber eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. “Really? How long will my sentence be, Sheriff and can it start after I return from the Bahamas?”
2
Max
Mate. Max Tucker ignored his wolf and looked at Willow McAfferty, her arms crossed and tapping her foot. She’d never looked more beautiful. The wind had reddened her cheeks and made her eyes brighten. His wolf stirred again. Mate. This time the word was more insistent. Yes, she’s our mate, but she doesn’t know that. We have to take this slow. But being this close to Willow made it harder to calm his wolf down and stop his pacing.
Max opened the box of cookies and took out a star-shaped one with blue frosting on it to take a bite, is his eyes closing at the mouthwatering taste. Opening his eyes, he grinned. “This is quite the heinous crime, Willow. It might call for a life sentence.”
Willow just shook her head at him and his smile widened. Fire flashed in her beautiful amber eyes as she spoke to him. ““Ha ha, Max. I really need to get going. I want to get out of town before this storm turns into a full blown blizzard and I’m stuck here.”
She turned to walk away, but Max moved quicker and blocked her path. “Wait. It won’t be a blizzard and, I checked the forecast and Chicago isn’t getting hit with this. You’ll probably get 50 or 60 miles out and you won’t have all this snow.”
“So you’re the Sheriff and the weat
herman? Such a talented man.”
Oh, he wanted to show her just how talented he could be, but this was neither the time nor the place. “I actually had a reason for stopping. I need to ask you a question. Let me drive you home.”
Max saw the indecision on her face as the snow started falling harder, several snowflakes falling on her dark auburn hair. She brushed them off in irritation and nodded. “Alright. You can ask your question and drive me home. I’ll have just enough time to get my stuff in my Durango and get out of town.”
“When does your flight leave?”
Willow walked to his vehicle looking over her shoulder at him. “Tomorrow at 6:00 p.m.” Opening the door, she got in, firmly shutting it behind her.
Max held back the laugh that seemed to bubble up inside him and carried the box of cookies around to his side of the vehicle. Setting them in the back seat, he slid in behind the wheel.
“So you said you have a question for me? Better make it quick. My place isn’t that far.”
He chuckled and shook his head. Why was she so determined to get out of town? Especially now that it was so close to Christmas. He knew she’d gone through a tough time before she came back to Grady to take care of her parents. Hell, she’d had a tough time when she got here, losing her parents so close together. He’d ignore her attitude and see if he could convince her to help him.
Putting the Explorer into gear, he looked over at Willow. “I’ll talk fast.” She laughed and shook her head. He liked hearing her laughter. “So I was talking to Ash last night and he suggested I talk to you.”
Her eyebrows shoot up. “Ash told you to talk to me? About what?”
“Well, I don’t know if you know or not, but Grady has a Christmas program and it includes a Santa where all the kids can come and sit on his lap.”
“Let me guess. You’re Santa?”
Max nodded and Willow laughed. “What? I make a great Santa! I have a beard and an authentic looking suit. The kids love me!”
Willow laughed harder before she saw them drive past her house out of the corner of her eye. “Max that was my place.”
“I know. But I have something I want to show you before I ask my question.”
She frowned and looked at him suspiciously and he gave her a smile. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”
Max drove them around the Christian church that was just a few blocks from her place and pulled into the parking lot. Driving around the church, he pulled into a parking spot by the gymnasium. Looking over at Willow, he grinned before he got out. He was at her door before she’d even gotten her seatbelt off and offered her his hand to help her out of the vehicle. She looked at his hand, then at him.
“Max, what are you doing? I don’t need help getting out.”
He just grinned and reached in, taking her hand anyway and pulling her out of the Explorer. Touching her hand, even through gloves, sent a jolt of electricity down his spine. His wolf felt it too, and he was growling and pacing even faster. Max wasn’t sure he could calm him down this time because everything was firing inside him.
Still holding her hand, despite her efforts to pull it free, he led her inside. At least it was warm in here. He pulled her across the floor to the back of the gym and opened another door, leading her through it.
“Can we hurry this up, Max? I want to get out of town tonight before the storm gets worse.” It irritated him how she kept reminding him that she was leaving. It wasn’t sitting well with him or his wolf.
“It’s just over here, I promise.”
Max felt Willow jerked her hand out of his hold and his body seemed to settle down a little. Thank god. He turned on the lights to a large room filled with all sorts of props and costumes used by the congregation for various plays and events they put on.
“What’s this?” Willow had walked past Max, walking to the burnt remains of what had a stage.
“That’s what I wanted to show you and ask if I could convince you to help me make a new stage area for the Christmas program. After the program is over, like I said, I play Santa with my chair in the middle of that platform.”
Willow bent down to inspect what was left of the platform, peeling off some of the burnt wood. “What happened to this one?”
“Some teenagers were trying to sneak a cigarette and caught some rags on fire. The platform was an unfortunate casualty.”
Willow stood, brushing her hands on her jeans, and looked at Max. “Nope. I’m sorry I can’t help you. If you’d asked me a few weeks ago I would have been more than happy to help. But not now. Sorry.” Turning, she headed for the door. “I’ll walk home from here, Max. Good luck with the Christmas program.”
She had almost made it to the door before Max wrapped his hand around her wrist to stop her and turn her around to face him. “Why not? I’ll personally take you to the airport tomorrow. I have all the materials, I just need your expertise in putting it all together. Please, Willow?”
3
Willow
Willow hesitated a moment. Looking into Max’s dark green eyes, she almost got lost looking at all the brown specks sparkling there. She thought she had calmed herself down from when he took her hand outside. The moment he pulled her out of the vehicle her stomach felt like there were butterflies fluttering all around that moved slowly up to her chest The jolt of awareness had caught her off guard, but she was in control now. Max Tucker was her brother’s best friend since elementary school. That made Max Tucker off limits to her.
She centered herself, remembering why she was so eager to get out of town. Shaking her head, she pulled her arm out of his hold. “No, Max, I’m sorry. I’m not staying in this damn town any longer than I have to with all this holiday cheer and peace on Earth good will toward men crap.”
“Why do you hate Christmas so much? I remember how much you loved the holidays and how annoyingly sweet you were when you were younger.”
Willow took a deep breath as she shook her head. “Since I grew up, Max. I saw Christmas for what it really was. It's all commercialism and Hallmark movies where everyone has a happy ending. I grew up and realized that it's all crap. Since I grew up and went away to college. Nothing good has ever happened to me during the holidays. I prefer to be by myself on some faraway beach than listening to Christmas songs and be around all the people who are faking being nice and…”
Her rant was cut off as Max grabbed both arms this time and pulled her hard against his chest. She looked up at him and that seemed to be the opening he needed. He claimed her lips in an open-mouthed, heated kiss, his tongue demanding that she opened for him. When she didn’t and tried to pull away, he nipped her bottom lip and, for a moment, thought she’d heard a growl. Opening her mouth to protest, his tongue delved deeper in a hot, wet, deeply sensual kiss. A soft whimper sounded deep in her throat and she rose on her toes, pulling her arms from his hands and wrapping them around his neck.
He wrapped his arms around her, one hand cupping the back of her neck and the other on her back, molding her body with his. She was so close to him she could feel every hard ridge of his body. He was hard and she wanted to grind herself against him. She ached, deep inside, and, at that moment, all she wanted was for him to be inside her like she fantasized about. Finally, he lifted his head slightly and smiled down at her.
“You were right about one thing, Willow. You are all grown up and I have never been so glad of something in my life.”
“Max.” She said his name in a soft, hoarse whisper, her eyes glazed with the passion he had been igniting. “We can’t.”
He smiled down at her, leaning in to trail kisses from the corner of her mouth to her neck then to her ear. “Why? Because of Ash? Fuck Ash.”
Laughter bubbled up in her. “I’m going to tell him you said that.”
Max started to laugh and lifted his head to look down at her.“You would. At least you’d live up to your nickname, Brat.” He lowered his head to kiss her again, but this time she pushed at his chest, finally stepping out of his arms.
“We can’t do this and I have to go. I’m sorry I can’t help you with your stage or platform.”
“I think the snow may be coming down a lot harder than it was when we first came in. Why don’t you wait until tomorrow and I’ll personally drive you to the airport?.”
“You’ll drive me all the way to O’Hare airport?” Sarcasm dripped from her lips and she shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’m sure when I’m just out of town, the roads will be fine.”
“The roads will be snow packed and dangerous by this time, WIllow.” His voice was sharper than he had intended, but both he and his wolf were running out of patience. “You would be stupid to set out on them tonight.”
Willow narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “And who’s fault is that? I was headed home early so I could avoid driving on snow packed roads at night. But no! YOU had to bring me here to try to convince me to help you build some stupid platform so you can play Santa to a bunch of kids. You didn’t listen to me when I said I didn’t like the holidays, especially Christmas. I told you why, but did you listen? No! Sheriff Max Tucker did whatever the hell he wanted to. Well, not this time buddy.”
He’d taken a couple steps toward as she had finished her second rant since they’d been there. He reached out to her again, but stepped away, not looking at him with fire in her eyes. She refused to look at him as she took several deep breaths, letting them out slowly. “I have to go Max.”
Willow stepped to move further away from him, but before she could turn away and leave, he reached out to lift her chin to look at him. He frowned when he saw the unshed tears swimming in her eyes, one slipping past her lashes. Her eyes fluttered closed as he leaned down and kissed the tear before it fell too far down her face.
