“If you’re like me, Jack, I’m sure you don’t mind skipping the shopping,” Joe said, “but you’re definitely going to want to take advantage of all the Christmas-themed treats.” He patted his belly. “Tomorrow is eggnog, which is one of Mary’s favorites. But Sunday is English toffee, which is mine.”
Jack was instantly propelled back to the first Christmas when Santa left him a small box of handmade English toffee in his stocking. He and his dad loved that toffee. They’d eat the nuts and chocolate first, by scraping it off with their teeth, and then they’d save the toffee for last. It had become a tradition. What had also become a tradition was for Uncle Bill to slip Jack his own tiny box of toffee when his mom wasn’t looking. Jack would hold onto it until New Year’s Day, so he could start off the year by having the sweet treat.
“...and every food establishment has at least one item on the menu that features the Christmas-themed treat,” Mary explained. “The foodies go crazy this time of year.”
“We can’t miss out on that, can we, Jack?” Charley nudged him with her elbow.
“Definitely not,” he agreed, clicking back into the conversation.
“You weren’t planning on doing another stakeout, were you?” Joe asked.
“Not with the festival.”
“Not ever,” Mary said. “It’s a big waste of time, Jack. You’ll never catch an elf.”
“Right you are. No more stakeouts.” He wasn’t going to allow a so-called elf to get the best of him. He was, however, going to take a break from it. “We heard your town has a house decoration contest. Maybe Charley and I can help you with that.”
“That would be wonderful!” She clapped her hands. “We’ve never won. Joe keeps adding Christmas decorations to the front yard, but it never puts us over the finish line.”
“Have you ever thought about a model train display?” Charley took the words right out of his mouth.
“That’s a fantastic idea,” Joe said, “though it might be too late to put one together for this year.”
“Not if you have a few extra hands. We can help you all day tomorrow.” He glanced at Charley since he’d just volunteered her time without asking.
“You’ve done so much for us, Mary. It would be our pleasure,” Charley said. “Maybe Mike could advise us on how to set it up.”
With that one gesture of support, Jack could see how much he needed her in his life. They were completely on the same page. She realized how important it was for him to know whether or not Mike was his uncle. Not only was she supporting him in his effort to discover the truth, but she also wanted to be involved in it, and that touched him beyond words.
“Great idea, Charley. I’ll give him a call right now.” Joe walked away, pulling out his cell.
“Guess I better get back to it.” Mary shoved her hands in her pockets. “Thanks for the enjoyable entertainment tonight. You two should think about moving here. St. Nicholas could really use you.”
Move here? If he and Charley wanted their relationship to continue past Christmas, one of them would have to move. He’d never thought about both of them moving...
“Oh, uh...” Charley seemed taken off guard, struggling to answer Mary, and he didn’t know how to read it.
“It’s definitely beautiful here,” Jack said. “Though I’m not sure if your town would be able to use a guy like me. There doesn’t appear to be enough crime to keep me busy.”
“Work isn’t the only thing that keeps people busy.” Mary raised a brow to him before walking away.
Charley tucked her chin and stared at the ground, holding back a smile.
“Boy, the locals know how to speak their minds.” He rocked on his heels.
“Yes, they do.”
“They also know how to tell a tall tale,” he added, trying to change the channel that was privately playing in his own head. “An elf picking up the mail?”
“Several eyewitnesses claim the same thing, Detective. Who’s to say it wasn’t an elf?” A challenging smile played on her lips.
“Listen to Miss Scrooge now,” he said, teasing her, and she finally laughed.
“I have to admit, I’m even surprising myself.” She moved closer as they walked along the path toward Main Street. “Here’s something more shocking. I’m craving an old-fashioned, decadent cup of hot cocoa.”
“I believe we’re in the right town for that. But where to go...”
“Anywhere warm has my vote.”
Would she ever like cold weather as much as he did? He didn’t want to move back to Los Angeles. It was so crowded and expensive. He would, of course, if that was what Charley wanted, but maybe he could convince her to give Colorado a chance. “Close your eyes.”
“What?” She laughed. “Why?”
He waggled his brows. “I’m going to spin you.”
“To choose a restaurant?”
“Do I need to get a blindfold?”
“Okay, okay.” She closed her eyes.
For a moment, Jack saw her as the sixteen-year-old he’d spun around on her birthday. When she opened her eyes that night, a bunch of her friends were standing in front of her, ready to take her to a concert.
“Do you remember doing this before?” He studied the beautiful woman that Charley had become—the way her delicate nose turned up, the way her lips curved into such a gorgeous smile.
“Yes. Did you fly in my high school friends?”
“I thought it should just be you and me tonight.” He slowly turned her, watching her stiffen with anticipation, and then he stopped her facing the restaurants and stores across the street. “Now point.” She did, and he chuckled. “Your hot cocoa is going to be decadent all right. Take a look at what you picked.”
She opened her eyes and saw the Candy Cane Sweet Shoppe before her. “No way.”
“You chose well.”
Charley fixed her gaze on him and held it. “Yes, I did.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Charley loved the look of the Candy Cane Sweet Shoppe. The walls were painted with tiny red-and-white-striped candy canes, and the tables were in the shape of candied hearts. Sweet treats and baked goods were displayed under laser-focused lights on glistening glass shelves. The store not only offered all the traditional Christmastime favorites from old-fashioned peppermint-flavored ribbon candy to maple walnut fudge, but it also sold other goodies like Australian Christmas Fairy Bread, German Christmas Pudding, and Irish Christmas Cake.
“I thought English toffee was extravagant,” Jack said, equally wide-eyed with wonder.
“What a beautiful yule log cake.” She admired the lifelike pine-tree needles made from green frosting. “Perhaps you’d care for some miniature snowflake fritters dusted with powdered sugar.” She ran her hand along the display shelf, as if she were a model on a TV game show.
Jack laughed. “Check these out. Christmas fortune cookies dipped in chocolate with candied sprinkles.” He held one up by the corner of its plastic wrapping.
In an instant, her mind whirled back to the night she wished for her soulmate, the night she received two fortunes telling her that she’d reunite with Jack.
“What’s going on in that head of yours, Ms. Dawson?”
She snapped her attention back to Jack. “It’s all connected somehow.”
He eyed her with a surprised look on his face. “What did you just say?”
“It’s all connected, though I’m not sure how, exactly. I had Chinese food the other night, and both fortunes in my cookies said I would reunite with the one that got away.”
His mouth curved into a lopsided grin. “Am I the one that got away?”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Obviously.”
“I like that,” he said, standing taller. “But, yeah, unless Reality Check, or Santa, or one of Santa’s helpers was communicating with you through cookies, I’
d chalk that one up to coincidence.”
“I suppose so.” She sighed, not entirely convinced.
“Do you want to get that hot chocolate, or do you have an eye on something sweeter?”
“That’s a loaded question.”
“It was intended.”
She laughed, grabbed his hand, and got in line. They gawked at the beverage board with their mouths hanging open like identical twins. There were over twenty hot chocolate choices.
“Maybe I’ll just get coffee,” he said, which made her laugh.
“Evening, folks,” a young freckle-faced employee spoke up. “Can I help you?”
“I’ll have your salted caramel hot chocolate,” Charley replied, then looked to Jack.
“And I’ll take your s’mores hot chocolate.”
“Would you like the elf size, snowman size, or super Santa size?” the employee asked.
They shared a smile, then at the same time, said, “Elf size.”
While Jack got their drinks, she found them a small table tucked in the corner by the store’s Christmas tree.
“Here you go.” He handed over her drink as he sat down.
She took a sip and hummed with pleasure. “This is crazy good.”
“So is mine.” He smacked his lips. “It actually tastes like a s’more.” He passed it to her to try.
“Wow, it does. This reminds me of those weekends on the beach—swimming and playing volleyball with our friends, and then roasting marshmallows as the sun went down.”
“Those were good times.”
The tiny smile on his lips seemed bittersweet. Was he thinking about the end of their high school days, or was it about their present situation? Her departure date was looming near. One of them would need to move or else they’d be forced to carry on a long-distance relationship, and she already knew how well it turned out last time.
“Do you miss living in California?” she asked, wondering if he’d ever move back.
“Sometimes. I miss the ocean, the great places to eat, the incredible weather.” He set his eyes on her, then lingered, searching her face. “And for a very long time, I’ve missed you.”
Charley’s breath hitched in her throat, and she swayed from the lightheadedness that followed. It was something she had wondered for years—had he ever truly missed her after he moved away?
They had talked about their breakup the night before, but she was the one who had done most of the talking. Jack had blamed it on his family’s move, and though he’d said some nice things to her, he hadn’t really bared his soul—not the way she had. Now he was volunteering information. He had missed her for a very long time. Did that mean he’d suffered the kind of deep pain she had from their breakup as well?
“I’ve missed you, too, Jack. Very much.”
He took her hand in his. “I should have had more faith in us.”
“Thank you for saying that.” She caressed his hand. “But as you said, we were kids.”
“Maybe now we can continue this new chapter we’ve started as adults.”
“I’d like that.” She scooted her chair closer to him, and he put his arm around her while they enjoyed their hot cocoa. A new chapter. Will it be a short one or one that goes on forever?
“What about you?” His voice was smooth and gentle. “Would you ever leave LA?”
It appeared Jack had been pondering the two-state dilemma as well, but who would be the one to compromise? He could be a detective in LA, though the crime rate was higher, and she supposed it would depend on if he could get transferred. She liked working at the magazine, though much of her job was done from a computer, so she might be able to work from anywhere. She loved the weather and the beach and had great friends. She had a decent one-bedroom apartment, but her rent had gone up again. When she thought about it, she was starting to grow weary of the daily grind. She was getting tired of the constant traffic. It took forever to get anywhere in LA, and the cost of living was almost as bad as New York. Maybe she should think about moving.
“Yes,” she finally said. “If the reason was important to me, I would.”
He tilted his head so he could look directly into her eyes. “My California girl would move?”
She loved her new nickname. “To Antarctica, no, but for new adventures I’d consider it.”
He held her tighter and gave her a tiny kiss on her cheek. “What do you think of Colorado?”
“I’ve only been here for a few days, but I like it so far.”
“Not too much snow for the beach enthusiast in you?”
“I guess I’d have to see.” She shrugged. “It’s definitely not beach weather, but it’s much warmer than Antarctica.”
He laughed and pulled her closer.
Wrapped in the comfort of his arms, it was warmer than any Southern California day.
After the Sweet Shoppe, they headed back to the B&B and slowly ambled to their rooms.
“I had a great time tonight,” she said.
“Even with my total failure on capturing you know who?”
“You mean the elf?”
“The mail collector yet to be identified.”
“I’ll never forget the look on your face,” she teased.
“Yeah, well, I’ll be getting the last laugh when I finally catch the guy.”
He stopped at her door and reached for her hand. She met his gaze and she found herself getting lost in the deep pools of his blue-gray eyes. They were beckoning her, mesmerizing her. She drank in the perfect shape of his mouth, the soft look of his lips. She so desperately wanted him to kiss her, and he must have wanted the same because he slowly leaned into her, asking her for permission. She leaned into him, saying yes, and without hesitation, he gently kissed her. The sensation was warm, sensuous, and electrifying.
He finally pulled away, and in a sexy, low voice, he said, “Until tomorrow?”
She nodded, lightly biting her lower lip, as he slowly let go of her hand. Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough.
* * *
Jack tossed his key on the table, then went into the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. That one short satisfying kiss had practically rendered him useless. Talk about a spark.
He shook his thoughts of Charley from his head as he sat in front of his computer. He checked her blog and thankfully found that Reality Check hadn’t posted any additional comments. He then spent the next hour trying to find anything he could on the trucker. He looked over several trucker blogs and discovered that the guy had been traveling all across the country for years. Every mention of him was positive.
“You’re a regular Boy Scout,” he said under his breath as he continued to read all the glowing comments about R.C. The man mostly gave great advice, but once in a while, he brought someone an inexpensive present that had priceless sentimental value to that person.
Jack sat back, trying to figure out how R.C. fit into the Scrooge Legend. Like everything else he had experienced in St. Nicholas, Reality Check was also an enigma. He went back to Charley’s blog and began reading comments from people who had actually been to St. Nicholas. There were Scrooge accounts that seemed in line with the interviews she had collected. So many of them talked about how they found love or a purpose in life, or both. No one had a negative thing to say about the town, and if Jack was being honest with himself, he didn’t have a negative thing to say, either. Sure, he got frustrated with his failed stakeouts, but no more than some of his previous cases in Denver. The rest of the time had been bliss. That’s what Charley created—bliss. And he didn’t want it to end.
* * *
Charley woke to her cell ringing. She rolled over, noticed Liv was on FaceTime, and took the call. “What’s wrong?” She rubbed her eyes, trying to focus. “Did something happen to Clarence?”
“He’s fine,” Liv assured her. “I was worried about you. I
s everything okay?”
“Yes,” she said groggily. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“You were supposed to call me back yesterday,” Liv said, a little miffed, as the camera on FaceTime jerked around.
“Oh, right.” She winced. “I’m so sorry. Jack and I ran out the door to—”
“That’s why I’m calling. Why haven’t you told me about Jack? That Reality Check person mentioned him on your blog. Is Jack, the Jack Brody?”
“Uh-huh.” She smiled and stretched. “And he’s staying at the same B&B as I am.”
“Get. Out.” Liv’s eyes bulged wide with shock. “Is Jack the one who sent you the invitation?”
Charley sat straight up. “I never thought of that. He showed up right after I suggested him as a Scrooge, so I assumed it was because of my suggestion, which sounds crazy, I know.”
“I wouldn’t have understood any of that if I didn’t already know about the legend and the Scrooge suggestions,” Liv said, her phone jostling around again. Her hand went in front of the camera for a second, but when she removed it, Charley could see Liv sitting on the end of her bed, zipping up her boots with Clarence and Liv’s dog, Murphy, lounging on the bed behind her.
“How do you know about the Scrooge suggestions?” Charley finger combed her hair.
“Hello? Your blog?” She smirked into the camera. “You really must start paying attention to it again. There are some wild stories from people who commented on your post.” Liv’s face filled the screen, appearing to be on the move.
“Thanks for the reminder. I promise to do that.”
“Sooo.” Liv drew out the words, applying her lipstick. “Give me the highlights.”
“Jack was the one that got away, and now we’ve reconnected,” Charley said, still surprised that it actually happened.
Liv stared at her. “Is it serious?”
Colorado Christmas Magic Page 18
