Finding Christmas

by Karen Schaler

  The little girl looked nervously at Lynn. Lynn smiled at her and held out her hand. “It’s okay, Bella. This is the man I was telling you all about who was going to bring us a wonderful Christmas tree. What do you think?”

  Bella ran over and took Lynn’s hand and then stared up at the Christmas tree in awe. “Is it real?”

  Sam smiled back at Bella and sniffed one of the tree branches. “Well, the only way to find out for sure is to smell it.” He gave the tree another sniff, then looked back at Bella. “Do you want to give it a try?”

  Bella still looked a little nervous. She glanced up at Lynn.

  Lynn led her over to the tree. “Go ahead, Bella.”

  “You ready?” Sam asked.

  Bella nodded slowly.

  Sam held the branch out to her. “Okay,” he said, “give it a try.”

  After she smelled the tree, Bella’s eyes lit up with joy.

  Watching her, Sam smiled. “So what’s the verdict?”

  “It’s real!” Bella exclaimed to Sam, then, excited, looked over to Lynn. “It really is real. I’ve never had a real tree before.”

  For a moment, watching Bella, Sam thought about how lucky he had been growing up. He always had a home and a family. He and his sister had always had a Christmas tree. It was something he’d always taken for granted.

  When a woman appeared and walked over to Bella, Sam knew right away it was her mom. Bella looked just like her.

  “Bella, I told you, you can’t just run off like that,” her mom said.

  “But look, Mama, it’s a Christmas tree,” Bella said, excited, “and it’s real, and it smells pretty. Come smell it.”

  Bella’s mom gave Sam an apologetic look. “I’m sorry if she’s bothering you.”

  Sam smiled back at her and at Bella. “She’s not bothering me at all. As a matter of fact, I was just going to ask Bella if she might be able to help me with the tree.”

  Bella’s eyes grew huge with hope. “Really?”

  Sam nodded. “Really. You see the tree, just like you and me, gets thirsty.”

  “It does?” Bella asked, fascinated.

  “Yes,” Sam said. “And inside the tree stand here, we need to put some water and make sure there’s new water in here every day, because the tree will drink it up fast. It likes a lot of water.”

  “Just like we do!” Bella said, even more excited.

  Sam laughed. “Exactly. You know what I’m thinking?”

  “What?” Bella asked eagerly.

  “Well, maybe, if it’s okay with your mom, you can keep an eye on the tree and make sure it has water every day, so it has something to drink.”

  “Mama! Can we?” Bella looked up at her mom. “Can we give the thirsty tree water?”

  Seeing her daughter’s excitement, Bella’s mom smiled for the first time. She gave Sam a grateful look, then turned back to Bella.

  “I think that’s something we can do,” Bella’s mom said.

  Bella ran up and hugged her mom’s legs. “Thank you, Mama.” Bella looked back over at Sam. “I will make sure it has something to drink every day. I promise.”

  Sam fought hard to keep a straight face. Bella looked so serious. It was adorable. “I believe you,” Sam said. “I trust you will take very good care of this Christmas tree.”

  Bella ran back to the tree and smelled another branch. “I will! I will!”

  Bella’s mom held out her hand. “Okay, Bella, time to go. We need to get to lunch. We can check on the tree later.”

  As Bella took her mom’s hand and they started walking off, she turned back around and looked at Sam and waved. “Thank you for the tree.”

  Her sincere little face melted Sam’s heart. He waved back at her. “You’re very welcome. Merry Christmas.”

  Bella smiled and waved again. “Merry Christmas!”

  After they were gone, Sam turned back to Lynn and touched his heart. “Wow.”

  Lynn nodded. “Thank you for being so wonderful with Bella.”

  Sam shook his head. “I didn’t do anything . . .”

  “But you did,” Lynn said. Her voice was full of sincerity. “You talked to her. You made her feel special. Children like Bella have often been through so much that even a small gesture can mean so much to them.”

  Sam looked touched. “I should be thanking you,” he said. “For helping to remind me how fortunate I’ve been . . . and still am.”

  Lynn walked over to the reception desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a little scroll that had a red ribbon tied around it and a glossy brochure. She handed the scroll to Sam.

  “I believe this is for you,” Lynn said.

  Sam laughed a little. “I almost forgot about my next clue.” He untied the bow and rolled out the scroll and read it out loud:

  “For your final Christmas Scavenger Hunt clue,

  Here is what you need to do.

  To keep the Christmas spirit alive,

  You’ll need to go on a little drive.

  Up to the mountains we will go,

  So be sure to pack a bag with clothes for snow.

  Meet me at six tonight in the dining room by candlelight.”

  Sam looked a little confused. “But where am I supposed to drive?”

  Lynn handed him the brochure.

  He flipped over the brochure where the Christmas Point Inn was circled in red. He looked up at Lynn. “Looks like I’m going on a road trip.”

  Lynn laughed. “Looks like you are, and you better get going if you’re going to make it there by six.”

  “You’re right,” Sam said as he headed for the door. “Thank you again. Merry Christmas!”

  “Merry Christmas!” Lynn answered back.

  As Sam jumped into his SUV, he couldn’t believe Candace had gone to all this trouble. She was always surprising him and keeping him on his toes, but this scavenger hunt was her best surprise ever. He couldn’t wait to get to Christmas Point to see what she had planned next.

  Chapter Eleven

  Emmie was in the Starlight Suite at the inn, in front of the mirror over the antique dresser, putting on her lipstick, when the referee whistle alert sounded off on her phone. Dasher, who had been peacefully sitting at her feet, jumped up and started barking.

  Emmie laughed. “It’s okay, Dasher. It’s just my app.”

  Dasher obviously wasn’t a fan. He started running around in circles and kept barking until she quickly turned the app off. She checked the time on her phone. It was five minutes to six. She smiled with anticipation, knowing Grant would be arriving in about five minutes.

  She checked her reflection in the mirror and knew she’d made the right choice to wear her favorite emerald-green velvet cocktail dress. Its beauty was in its simplicity. It was a figure-flattering sheath silhouette with a V-neck.

  She held up two different kinds of earrings, trying to decide. One was a pair of silver hoops, and the other was a pair of dangling silver stars. She looked at Dasher, modeling the earrings.

  “What do you think?” she asked Dasher. “I’m thinking of staying with the whole star theme and going with the stars.”

  When Dasher barked and wagged his tail, she knew she had her answer and put on the other star earring. Happy and excited, she did a little spin around in her dress and looked at Dasher. “I’m ready!”

  She was still smiling as she headed downstairs, Dasher right at her heels. The first thing she did when she got downstairs was walk into the living room and look out the window for any sign of Grant.

  She wasn’t sure when it had started snowing, but she could see it was starting to stick on the road. She hoped the mountain pass wasn’t too icy and Grant was okay. He wasn’t the kind of guy who got up into the mountains much. He was definitely more comfortable in the city.

  She laughed, remembering how she’d finally convinced him to go hiking this last summer and he’d only lasted a few hours. While he was in phenomenal shape, working out five times a week at the gym, he had worn his regular running s
hoes for the hike, and they hadn’t cut it.

  At least now he didn’t have to worry about hiking shoes, but she grinned when she thought about how she’d put snowshoeing on their Christmas to-do list. He always said he liked a challenge, so she’d found some activities that would challenge him, although maybe not the way he was expecting.

  “It’s really starting to come down out there,” Ruby said as she walked into the living room. “Is your Grant okay with driving in the snow?”

  “He has an SUV,” Emmie said, “so I think he’ll be fine or he’d call and let me know. He saw the clue about coming up to the mountains, he knew what he was getting into.”

  When Emmie’s referee whistle app alert went off again, Dasher howled. “Sorry, Dasher.” Emmie quickly turned it off.

  “What in the world was that?” Ruby asked.

  “It’s my On Track app telling me it’s time for Grant to be here. It’s an app we both use to sync up our crazy busy schedules.”

  Ruby looked skeptical. “Does it work?”

  Emmie nodded, emphatically. “Oh yeah, it works great. I swear if it weren’t for this app, I’d never see Grant. We’d be absolutely lost without it.” Emmie looked out the window again.

  “Don’t worry, he’ll be here,” Ruby said. “He’s probably just taking it slow with all the snow.”

  Emmie nodded. “I hope so.”

  “He’ll be fine,” Ruby said. “Why don’t you go make sure everything is how you would like it in the dining room. You can light the candles and just sit down and relax. I’ll let you know as soon as he pulls up.”

  Emmie smiled back at her. “Thank you. That’s a great idea. I don’t know why I’m so nervous all of a sudden.”

  “You’re just excited,” Ruby said. “You’ve worked really hard to make all this happen, and now it’s finally happening.”

  This time when Dasher barked, he also stared out the window.

  “I think he’s here,” Ruby said. She looked out the window. “I see headlights coming this way.” Ruby laughed. “Now I’m excited. Hurry, go, go get ready, and I’ll show him right in.”

  EMMIE’S HEART WAS pounding as she hurried into the dining room. When she entered, she was so grateful for how beautifully Ruby had decorated for her special dinner. The lights were dimmed low, and there were dozens of candles flickering, creating a magically romantic setting. The focal point was the one set table in the middle of the room. It was covered with red rose petals and had two beautiful place settings and sparkling crystal champagne glasses. All the other surrounding tables were covered with candles and evergreen centerpieces.

  “It’s perfect,” Emmie whispered to herself. She was admiring one of the centerpieces when she heard a man’s voice . . .

  “Candace, I can’t believe you did all this!”

  Emmie, knowing that voice wasn’t Grant’s, whirled around to see Sam entering the room. She looked as surprised to see him as he was to see her.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “The dining room is closed. I’ve booked it for a private dinner.”

  Sam did a double take. “Wait, you’re the girl who took my wreath.”

  “What?” Emmie asked, confused. Then she recognized him. This was the guy who’d let her have his Christmas Spirit Wreath. “You,” she said. “What are you doing here?”

  “I was supposed to be meeting someone,” Sam said. He looked at the scroll he was holding. “But I must have got something wrong. I must be in the wrong place.”

  When Emmie saw the scroll, her eyes grew huge. Fixated on it, she took a step toward him. “Where did you get that?”

  Sam laughed as he held it up. “Oh, it’s this scavenger hunt thing I’m doing.”

  “Wait, what?” Emmie asked, totally confused. “Are you here with Grant?” Emmie quickly looked over Sam’s shoulder.

  “I don’t know anything about a Grant,” Sam said. “I’m here to meet my agent, Candace.” He held up the scroll again. “She sent these to me for this Christmas scavenger hunt, and I must have gotten the last clue wrong, because I thought it said to come here. This place was circled in the brochure and—”

  “There was a brochure?” Emmie fought to stay calm. “Can I see that scroll, please?” She held out her hand.

  Sam shrugged. “Sure.” He handed it to her.

  When Emmie opened the scroll, she caught her breath. It was her last clue to Grant. Her eyes flew up to Sam. “How did you get this? This was supposed to be for Grant, my boyfriend.”

  “What?” Sam gave her a puzzled look. “It was delivered to my condo. It came in a red box, big silver bow . . .”

  Emmie was starting to feel sick to her stomach. “You live at Seaside Tower?”

  “Yeah,” Sam said. “How did you know?”

  “And you don’t know Grant. Grant Baxter?”

  Sam shook his head. “No. Never heard of him.”

  Emmie felt the room spin. She reached out for the table to steady herself. She had no words.

  “Are you a friend of Candace?” Sam asked. “Are you helping her with all of this?”

  But Emmie couldn’t answer. All she could do was keep looking at her scavenger hunt scroll, thinking about all the clues she had worked so hard on and the perfect vacation she’d planned. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Her present to Grant had obviously been delivered to the wrong guy. The wrong guy had followed her clues to Christmas Point!

  Ruby breezed in, holding a bottle of champagne. “Who is ready to celebrate?”

  Chapter Twelve

  Emmie paced back and forth in the living room. Sam sat on the couch watching her. They both looked like they were still dissecting the news of the epic Christmas scavenger hunt mix-up.

  “I can’t believe any of this,” Emmie started.

  “So the doorman must have given me your boyfriend’s present,” Sam finished for her.

  “And you followed my clues, thinking they were from . . .”

  “Candace,” Sam finished for her again.

  Emmie covered her face with her hand. “This is a disaster! I just tried calling Grant, but he’s not answering his phone.”

  She still couldn’t understand how this could happen. She had been planning out every single detail for months, but the one thing she hadn’t planned on was not giving Grant the present herself or having his doorman mix up the packages and give the wrong guy Grant’s gift. Never in her wildest dreams—in this case, nightmares—had she thought about a scenario where Grant’s present would go to someone else. Even if the present did accidentally get delivered to the wrong person, she couldn’t imagine the odds of a random stranger’s actually following her clues to Christmas Point. The fact that he was the same guy she got her Christmas Spirit Wreath from was even more bizarre. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was karma’s way of paying her back for taking his wreath.

  Sitting there in his jeans, hiking boots, and a cable-knit gray sweater, he looked like a model for Ralph Lauren. His thick, wavy hair was tousled, and he probably hadn’t shaved in a couple of days, but it was his sexy smile that she remembered from before that really unnerved her. It was confident and charming all at the same time.

  Sam looked over and caught her staring at him. “What?”

  Emmie, embarrassed, glanced away. “Nothing. I was just trying to figure out why you would do this scavenger hunt and come all the way up here. If you didn’t even know who sent you the present . . .”

  Sam stood up and put some more wood on the fire. “That’s just it. I thought I did know. I thought it was from Candace.”

  “Your girlfriend?” Emmie asked.

  Sam laughed. “No, Candace is more like my work mom. She’s my agent.”

  Emmie looked surprised. “So you’re what? An actor? A model?”

  Sam looked flattered. “You think I’m good-looking enough to be a model?”

  Emmie felt herself blush. “No, of course not.”

  Now Sam pretended to look hurt. “Ouch!”

  E
mmie was totally flustered. “Wait, I mean, you could be. I don’t know. I’m not talking about how you look. I just meant, who has an agent?”

  Sam laughed. “Got it. My ego is crushed, but I get it.”

  Thankfully, Emmie could tell he was just kidding. “So what are you then?”

  “I’m a writer,” Sam said. “At least when I write, and at the moment, I’m not doing much of that.”

  “What do you write? Are you a news reporter?” Emmie asked.

  Sam laughed. “Oh no. The last thing I’d want to do is cover the news these days. Way too depressing. I’d much rather make things up and have control over what’s going on. I write fiction. Novels.”

  Emmie looked surprised but impressed. “Wow.”

  “Wow, as in you’re surprised, or wow, as in you’re disappointed I’m not a model?”

  “Funny.” Emmie gave him a look. “I just meant that writing novels is pretty amazing. I can’t imagine what it takes to create an entire story in your head and then live in that imaginary world long enough to sit down and write a book. That has to be so hard.”

  Sam nodded. “Lately it has been. I haven’t been able to come up with my next story. Usually I have so many stories I can’t keep them out of my mind.”

  Emmie looked surprised. “And now you don’t have anything?”

  Sam shook his head. “Nothing. That’s why when Candace, my literary agent, told me she was going to send me some inspiration this weekend and I got the present with your clues, I thought this was all her way of helping me get out of my rut so I could get some new ideas for my book.”

  Emmie couldn’t believe this crazy twist of fate. “So first I take your Christmas Spirit Wreath, and now you take my Christmas scavenger hunt clues.”

  “I can assure you it wasn’t intentional,” Sam said.

  Emmie sighed. She knew it wasn’t his fault. She just couldn’t believe her perfect plan had turned into a perfect disaster. She gave him an apologetic look.

  “I’m sorry, I know you didn’t mean for this to happen,” she said. “I just really wanted to do something special for my boyfriend for Christmas.” She walked over to the window and watched the snow come down. “This was supposed to be our first Christmas vacation together. We’re both usually so busy, time isn’t something we have a lot of, and now I feel like I’ve just wasted the little time we do have.”