One Night in Christmas

by Debbie Mason

  “But I was right to be worried, wasn’t I? Last week, Logan broke Autumn’s heart.” And if it weren’t for finding her best friend crying in her tea the next morning, Sophia would have been dancing for joy.

  “You’re being dramatic. He didn’t break her heart. His kids need time to adjust to the idea their daddy wants to date, that’s all,” Ty said.

  “Really? So if he didn’t break her heart, why is she calling her new line of candy Heartbreak Brittle, Fickle Fudge, and Bitter Brownies?” She nodded at the face he made. “I am waiting. I want to hear you say I am sorry, Sophia. You were right, and I am wrong.”

  “Ty, apologize. We want to hear more about her date,” Dame Alexander said. Then the other women chimed in with “Where are you going? What are you wearing? Are you nervous? Are you excited?”

  Stella, Nell McBride’s best friend and the town’s biggest gossip, lifted the hair dryer she sat under to say, “If I were forty years younger, I’d give you a run for your money, Sophia. Adam Dane is hunkalicious.”

  Sure, but she wasn’t going on a date with him. “I’m going to dinner with Jake.”

  “Wait. Whaaat? You’re cheating on Adam?” Ty said.

  Stella lifted the dryer next to hers. “Nell’s holding out on us again, Evelyn. Sophia and Adam are engaged, only Sophia is cheating on him with Jake.”

  “But Sophia is such a nice girl.” As though just realizing she was there and listening to the conversation, Evelyn gave Sophia a finger wave and whispered to Stella, “You better tell Nell.”

  “On it.” Stella pointed her cell phone at Sophia. “Word of advice: hell hath no fury like the grandmother of a man scorned. You better watch your step, young lady.”

  “I did not scorn him. I only spent one night with him, and I haven’t spoken to him since.”

  “Hussy.”

  “Trust me, Stella, I’ve tried to turn her into a hussy, but no go. And we’re going to take care of the Adam situation right now.”

  “There is no Adam situation. I came to see you about my gray hair, and all you have done is—” Ty shoved a phone at her, Adam’s face filling the screen.

  The face spoke. “Soph, what’s going on? Where are you? And why would you come see me about your gray hair? You haven’t returned any of my—”

  “Ty!” Sophia shot from the stylist’s chair and headed to the back of the shop, away from prying eyes and ears.

  “Okay, I get it now. You’re at Ty’s salon, and he decided you needed your own Joe for Valentine’s Day.” He grinned. “I’d like to help out with that, Dimples. But I’m working all night. Ty got lucky and caught me on a break.”

  Her shock at having Adam talking to her, smiling at her, rendered her momentarily speechless. She shook off her shock. “I don’t need a Joe. I have a Jake. And I don’t have gray hairs. I have a gray hair.”

  He looked as shocked as she felt, and not just about the gray hair. “You’re dating?”

  “Yes. Jake Callahan. He owns Callahan Automotive. He takes care of me and my car.”

  “When are you going to listen to me, man? I told you you should have—” an unfamiliar voice began.

  She heard what sounded like arguing, and then a table with a menu and a ketchup bottle filled the screen before a man’s face appeared—a handsome man with a goatee. “You weren’t kidding; she looks just like Sofía Vergara.” White teeth flashed when she made an irritated sound. “Hey, beautiful, do me a favor and give my amigo a break. He’s—”

  There was the sound of a chair scraping, and people sitting at tables filled the screen before Adam reappeared. “Sorry about that. I’ve gotta get back to the courthouse, Soph. But it was good talking to you.”

  At the drop-a-pin quiet of the salon, she glanced over her shoulder. Ty pretended to be blow-drying Grace’s hair, except the dryer was off, and everyone else was looking at their cell phones or intently reading gossip magazines. Sophia ducked into Ty’s office and shut the door to the sound of disappointed groans. “I’m sorry I didn’t respond to your texts and e-mails. Nell and Ty confessed that they set us both up.”

  “Does your willingness to forgive me have anything to do with Logan and Autumn taking a break?”

  “They’re not taking a break. They’re over. Se acabó.” She told him about Autumn’s new candy line.

  “We’ll see. I really do have to go, Soph. Happy Valentine’s Day. Enjoy your date with Callahan.”

  “Enjoy your Valentine’s with Yvonne. And be careful, Adam. I read about the bomb the day of the arraignment. The jury’s deliberating on the case against three senior members of MS-13, aren’t they?”

  He gave her one of his slow smiles. “You keeping tabs on me, Dimples?”

  Hours later, sitting across from Jake at an Italian restaurant outside of Christmas, Sophia was having a difficult time getting Adam’s last comment and his face out of her mind. Maybe she’d been fooling herself and she hadn’t been following the case because of her interest in crime stories but because Adam was involved.

  “Your pasta okay, Sophia?”

  “It’s wonderful. How’s your steak, Adam?” She briefly closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that.”

  Jake smiled. He was a handsome man with black, wavy hair and a square jaw. “It’s the second time you have. What’s up? You don’t seem like yourself.”

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have agreed to go out with you, Jake. I’m a terrible date. I don’t think I was ever a good one.”

  “You’re not a bad date. And don’t be sorry. You gave me bragging rights. I’m the first guy who asked you out that you said yes to. Now all you have to do is say yes to the right guy.”

  “But I like you.”

  “I like you too. And maybe that’s the problem. I’m safe, and you’re safe. We were probably always destined to be friends, not lovers.” He laughed. “Your mind never even went there with me, did it?”

  “No, but don’t be offended. My mind doesn’t go there with any man.”

  “Not even Adam?”

  Before she’d fallen in love with Bryce, it had. In the beginning, she’d felt guilty about once lusting after her husband’s older brother. But since lusting after Adam Dane had been the favorite pastime of the majority of single women in Christmas, she’d given herself a pass. And now her phone provided her with another one. “Sorry,” she said at the sound of the alert. She glanced at the update on her phone, and her breath caught in her throat.

  “Sophia, what is it? Are you okay?”

  “There was a shooting at a San Francisco courthouse. Two US Marshals were critically injured. I…I think one might be Adam.”

  Chapter Seven

  It had been weeks since the shooting at the courthouse in San Francisco. Adam had thankfully recovered from his injuries, but his friend and partner had died. Sophia had contemplated visiting Adam at the hospital in San Francisco, but she knew his family wouldn’t want her there. Besides Nell and Calder, of course. He’d also have his girlfriend and many friends at his side, and Sophia hadn’t been sure what she was to him anymore. So instead she sent flowers and chocolates and get-well wishes. She hadn’t heard from him and wrestled with whether to text or e-mail, but she’d been preoccupied these last few days.

  Spring had finally sprung in Christmas. The bluebirds warbled, the grass grew, wildflowers bloomed, and the breeze that wafted down from the Rockies carried with it a sweet, earthy fragrance. But there was something more than the smell of spring in the air, and it worried her.

  This past week, she had seen the undeniable signs that love was in the air in Christmas. Actually, it was sitting right beside her on the couch in the house on Holly Lane, hugging a bowl of popcorn.

  Autumn, the only person Sophia trusted to help her bury a body if the need ever arose, was keeping secrets from her again, and Sophia was very much afraid the secret was a renewal of her love affair with Logan.

  Staring blindly at the sixty-five-inch TV screen hanging above the whitewashed
brick fireplace, Sophia debated what to say. So far her tentative queries had left her with more questions and concerns than answers. Anytime Sophia mentioned Logan, Autumn would abruptly change the subject or pretend she didn’t hear her.

  Sophia squared her shoulders. No more pussyfooting around. She’d lay her evidence on the table and get a straight answer even if that answer would force her to have a come-to-Jesus conversation with her best friend.

  She shifted on the black sectional and opened her mouth.

  Autumn glanced at her with a grin. “I knew you couldn’t keep the killer’s identity to yourself. Go ahead, tell me. You’ve ruined every Saturday Mystery Movie Night for the past five years. Why should this one be any different?”

  Because lately everything had been different. “I couldn’t ruin the last two. You were with Logan, remember?”

  “No, I—”

  “Yes, you were.” She cleared her throat of what had sounded like petulant anger instead of what it actually was, hurt. Then she made a concerted effort to slow down her normally fast-paced speech to ensure Autumn understood the jig was up. “I know it wasn’t Ty who put that I-had-sex glow on your face two Saturdays ago. And maybe that is why you’re not thinking straight. Logan broke your heart three months ago.” When Autumn opened her mouth to no doubt deny what Sophia had seen, she pointed her long, cherry-red painted nails at her eyes. “He made you cry! Just like he did before. Just like he always does.”

  Autumn stared at the television screen. “It’s not the same. You don’t understand.”

  The background music became suspenseful, signaling the killer was about to be revealed. “It’s the FBI agent,” Sophia said, unable to let the moment pass.

  She typically solved the crime within the first ten minutes of the movie. It was her special talent. Sometimes she thought she’d missed her calling. She should have gone in to law enforcement. As if on cue, there was a bang and then a gasp. The FBI agent shot herself in the thigh before turning the gun on her partner.

  Sophia returned her gaze to Autumn. “How? How am I supposed to understand when you lie to me?” She patted her chest. “Me. Your best friend. The sister of your heart.”

  “We’ve had this conversation before. I knew how you’d react. But it doesn’t matter anymore. I can’t do it. Logan and I can’t make it work.”

  Sophia made the sign of the cross and then pressed her bunched fingertips to her lips, blowing a kiss to the Virgin Mother. Her prayers had been answered.

  Beside her, Autumn sighed. “I guess I should be grateful you’re not cheering or dragging me to the bar to celebrate.”

  “I would never do that. I can see you’re sad, but it could have been worse. You could have been dating for months instead of weeks.” She pulled Autumn in for a hug. “It’s for the best, you will see.” She rocked her in her arms. “We’ll have fun, just you and me. We’ll put a pond in the backyard like you wanted and refinish the stairs and railings in that gray stain you loved.” The stain Sophia hated. She wasn’t a fan of the pond or the goldfish Autumn wanted either.

  “It doesn’t matter. Nothing—”

  “A dog! We’ll get a dog.”

  “You hate dogs.”

  This was true. But she was willing to put up with animal drool, hair, and piddles on the white shag area rug if it made Autumn happy. “We’ll get a little one. It can come to work with us. We’ll dress it up.”

  Autumn’s lips twitched. “You’ll bling it out.”

  “Of course.” She loved bling, but what she loved even more was seeing the hint of a smile on her best friend’s face. “It’s too late to go to the shelter tonight. We’ll go first thing in the morning.”

  Sophia smiled and settled back on the couch, reaching for the popcorn container. Over the past week, the worry that Logan had sucked Autumn in again had ruined her appetite.

  After devouring a handful of popcorn, she made a face and shook the red-and-white-striped container at Autumn. “It tastes like cardboard. You forgot the butter and the salt.”

  “No, I didn’t. I just didn’t drown it in butter like you do.”

  Sophia got up from the couch and headed for the recently renovated kitchen. A short hall off the adjoining living and dining room led to the kitchen at the back of the house.

  “You’re thirty-three. You have to start watching what you eat,” Autumn called after her.

  “I went for my annual checkup in January, and Dr. McBride, he said I am the picture of health,” Sophia called back as she entered the kitchen with its white-painted brick walls.

  Dr. McBride had actually said her blood pressure was higher than he would like and recommended she start exercising to help manage her stress. Autumn’s news that she and Logan were once again terminado the week before Valentine’s Day had taken care of Sophia’s stress.

  After shaking salt onto the popcorn, she opened the kitchen cabinet for the butter. In the living room, Autumn’s cell phone rang, and she answered. There was something in her best friend’s voice that caused Sophia to turn her head and listen. She strained to hear the conversation, but Autumn had lowered her voice.

  Sophia turned on the microwave. The noise would enable her to sneak back undetected and listen. She turned on the fan above the stove for added coverage and then tiptoed across the kitchen and down the hall, wincing when the hardwood creaked.

  “I have to go. No, I…Okay.”

  Peeking around the corner just as Autumn ended the call, Sophia noted the rosy tinge to her best friend’s usually pale skin. Despite Sophia’s heart beginning to race at the telling sight, she walked casually into the room. “Who was that?”

  Autumn frowned and held up her cell. “You mean on the phone? It was a wrong number.”

  Unless a phone-sex operator had called her best friend by mistake, there was only one explanation for Autumn’s glowing skin and sparkling eyes. Sophia swore she felt her blood pressure rising. Logan Dane would be the death of her.

  Autumn gave an exaggerated yawn and made a show of stretching before standing. “You know, I think I’ll go to bed.”

  “It’s nine o’clock.”

  “I want to get up early and head to the store. I have some ideas for Easter that I want to test.”

  The holiday was less than a month away. “Good. I will come with you, and we can coordinate ideas for window displays.”

  Years ago, the Christmas Business Association had voted that stores would close on Sundays. Some shop owners had balked, but Autumn and Sophia were all for it. Although lately Sophia wondered if being open the extra day would help boost their sales or just spread them out. Things hadn’t picked up since the holidays. She was pinning her hopes on her new spring and bridal lines.

  Autumn laughed. It sounded like a nervous laugh to Sophia. “When I say early, I mean early as in six a.m., not noon. We can talk about it tomorrow night when I come home.”

  Sophia crossed her arms, positive her BFF’s plans didn’t include testing Easter candy recipes. “What time will you be home?”

  “Around eight,” Autumn mumbled, walking past her.

  * * *

  Birds chirped outside Sophia’s bedroom window, and the sun shone directly on her face. She squinted at her bedside table, looking for her cell phone. It seemed awfully bright outside for five in the morning. She’d been positive Autumn would sneak out early, so she’d set her alarm accordingly. She planned to follow her BFF to see what she was up to.

  But Sophia’s phone wasn’t on her bedside table. She sat up and spotted it lying faceup on the floor. She squinted, trying to make out the time. It didn’t help. She leaned over to open the bedside table drawer and pull out the pair of cheaters she’d hidden there. She fitted them on her face and read the now-clear numbers on her screen.

  “Ten!” She shot out of bed, stuffed her feet into her slippers, and then raced down the hall. She threw open the door to Autumn’s room with its rich wood furnishings and blue-and-cream accessories. Her bed wasn’t as neatly made as
usual, so Sophia had a feeling she’d also slept in. Which made her feel slightly better.

  Still, she ran out of the room, down the hall, and down the stairs, grabbing her car keys off the console table. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and made a face. She weighed the consequences of taking the time to change out of her pajamas, brush her hair and teeth, and put on makeup. Too much time had passed for her to take the risk. She wasn’t going to see anyone anyway. But to be on the safe side, she grabbed her trench coat out of the hall closet and a piece of gum out of the console table drawer.

  She stepped outside into the bright Sunday-morning sunlight, her flower beds catching her eye. Pink tulips, white crocuses, and yellow daffodils were poking through the garden soil. The bucolic sights and fragrant smells of spring were everywhere, and she felt the stirrings of gardening fever. But instead of indulging in the feeling, she had to go chasing after her best friend, who had the other kind of spring fever. The kind that would get her in trouble.

  Sophia hurried to her SUV and got inside, her eyes lifting to the Victorian and the cluster of cherry trees on either side. She’d never thought she’d be house proud, but she was. She and Bryce had lived a nomadic life and had kept only a small apartment in Christmas for when they were home.

  After she and Autumn had bought the house on Main Street, they’d moved into the two-bedroom apartment above the stores. Now they rented it…Sophia swore. The apartment was empty. A new tenant was taking over the lease at the beginning of April, which was ten days away. The perfect love nest in which Autumn could once again lose her heart to Logan.

  Sophia put the car in Reverse and stepped on the gas, nearly taking out their neighbor and his dog. She lowered the window, yelling sorry as she put the car in to Drive and headed down Holly Lane. She turned onto Main Street, driving at a crawl as she searched for signs of Logan’s Range Rover on the street. She wouldn’t put it past him to park several stores away from Sugar and Spice.