Chapter Thirty-Four
Jack watched Charley laughing with his mom as they worked on building a snowman together. He was finally ready to admit that his reunion with Charley and his uncle was nothing short of a miracle. To think that his car navigation system had actually sent him directly to his uncle’s residence, but he had been too blind to see him. Jack shook his head, knowing he’d never call his navigation system stupid again.
Jack truly felt blessed. Even his last hurdle, the long-distance issue, appeared to have found a possible solution. If all went right with Charley’s job, and if he could help her fall in love with Denver, then he knew he could make her happy.
“It’s almost four,” Jack called out. “We better go.”
“Okay, son.” His dad got up from a bench with his uncle.
“What do you think of our snowman?” his mom asked.
The little guy was out of proportion and leaning to one side, but his pink macaron eyes and his broken candy cane smile made him memorable. “Best snowman I’ve ever seen.”
“We nailed it.” Charley high-fived his mom.
Jack smiled, putting his arm around her, and then they traipsed over to the town square for the announcement of the home decoration contest.
“It’s a full house,” Charley said, looking around at the ever-growing crowd.
There was a makeshift podium erected next to the Christmas tree, with a few city officials buzzing around the back of it. Jack heard a hearty laugh and glanced over to see a burly man in red who looked exactly like the trucker from the diner.
Charley gasped, also catching sight of him. “Is that R.C. talking to Mary?”
“I think so. Come on.” He grabbed Charley’s hand and tried to hurry over, but several locals suddenly got in the way. When they finally reached her and Joe, R.C. was gone.
“Where’s Bill and your parents?” Mary asked.
“They’re on the other side.” He looked over his shoulder and waved at his family to join them. “Where did R.C. go?”
“Who?” Mary plastered on a smile.
“Reality Check,” Charley said. “The retired trucker you were talking to a minute ago.”
“Oh, that R.C.” Mary nodded, casting a quick glance at Joe. “He had to run.” She looked past Jack and Charley as Bill and Jack’s parents made their way over. “Bill, we’re so glad you’re here. I’ve got a really good feeling about this.” She crossed her fingers and held them up.
As Bill and the Carrolls began talking about the model train display, Charley pulled Jack aside. “That R.C.?” she repeated. “There’s more than one? And did you catch the brush-off?”
“Hard to miss. R.C. is definitely connected to the legend.”
“Good evening, St. Nicholas!” a short, jolly man in his early sixties called out to the crowd who answered him with cheers and applause. “Is everyone enjoying the festivities?” The crowd roared loudly. “Very good. As you know, I’m here to announce this year’s winner of the home decoration contest. It was a difficult decision, and I must commend all the residents for going above and beyond with so many additional decorations. However, one home stood out among the rest. This home, or should I say inn, has a miniature town of our beloved St. Nicholas and a working model train to boot. Joe and Mary Carroll!”
Mary squealed while Joe let out a big belly laugh as everyone erupted in whoops and hollers.
“Come on, Bill.” Mary grabbed him by the arm and swept him up to the podium with Joe. The mayor handed Mary a plaque, and she took to the mic. “Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and a thank-you to our guests and friends who volunteered a full day of their time. But mostly, I want to thank Bill Brody for his incredible design. Bill, this is as much your win as it is ours.”
The crowd clapped for Bill while the mayor jumped back in front of the microphone. “Fantastic job, Bill. The judges and I were so impressed that I’m hoping you’ll say yes to being our official Christmas decoration designer for the entire town.”
Bill looked totally shocked. Jack, Charley, and the Brodys clapped furiously as he was gently pushed by Mary to stand in front of the mic. “I’m...so honored. I would love to be your designer.”
“Wonderful.” The mayor shook Bill’s hand.
“Can I have you look over here, please?” The town’s official photographer took a picture of the mayor with Uncle Bill and the Carrolls proudly holding the plaque.
“Now, it’s time to put this tree in sync.” The mayor pushed a big red button, and the lights on the tree began dancing to “Jingle Bell Rock.”
“Congratulations,” Charley said as they came down from the stage.
Jack clapped for them. “Well deserved.”
“We couldn’t have done it without you all.” Mary was all smiles.
“Time to celebrate,” Jack’s dad said to the Carrolls. “We’re going to get a bite to eat if you’d like to join us.”
“We’d love to,” Mary said, “but unfortunately our work is never done. Have a good time.”
Charley and the Brodys headed over to the diner, where the hostess sat them at a large table in the middle of the restaurant.
“Man, oh, man, I have worked up an appetite today.” Bill rubbed his hands together, looking over the menu. “The food here is almost as good as Mary’s.”
“I can second that,” Charley said. “Jack and I have eaten here almost every night.”
“Evening, folks.” A good-looking guy in his late twenties stepped up to the table. “My name is Gabriel, and I’ll be taking care of you this evening.”
Charley and Jack shared a look—Angel, now Gabriel—the continuous Christmas theme was not lost on them.
“What can I get started for you?” Gabriel asked.
A half hour later, Charley and the Brodys were sharing plates and enjoying good conversation. Michael was telling funny stories about Bill, keeping everyone entertained.
“I’ll take some more of that delicious turkey potpie.” Allison held up her plate for Jack to scoop two spoonfuls onto it. “Splitting meals is a great idea.”
Jack smiled. “Charley got me hooked on it, way back in high school.”
“I think you might have started a new tradition.” Michael winked at Charley as he helped himself to some Italian meatballs.
Allison looked around the table. “Speaking of traditions, we need to decide where we’re all celebrating Christmas. Will it be here, Denver, or Los Angeles?” She set her eyes on Charley, and Charley’s heart soared. First Jack, and now his mom was including her in Christmas plans.
Jack spoke up. “I’ve already invited Charley to Denver.”
“How wonderful!” Allison said. “Grandma Nellie is going to be very happy.”
“Does she know?” Charley asked. “About Bill?”
“We spoke to her on the phone this morning, and it was one big cryfest,” Allison said. “She always believed Bill was alive like Jack.”
“She did.” Jack nodded. “I gave her progress reports just about every time I spoke with her.”
“I can’t wait to meet her,” Charley said.
“Bill, would you like to come to Denver for Christmas and stay a week or two after the New Year?”
“Like to?” He dropped his fork as a big grin took over his face. “I’d love to!”
“Excuse me, Jack?” a familiar female voice interrupted.
Charley glanced up to see Jack’s ex standing at their table. Lisa? What is she still doing here?
“I’m sorry to intrude,” Lisa said, looking at Jack anxiously, “but can I speak to you for a moment?”
“What do you want?” He put his arm around Charley.
“Can I talk to you alone?”
“No. Please. Go home.”
Lisa frowned, wringing her hands. “I can’t. I’ve tried.”
“What do you mean?”
Irritation rippled through his voice.
“I got a flat tire on the way out of town, so I tried again yesterday morning and my car stalled. It was completely dead. A mechanic helped me push it to the side of the road. Now he says it’s going to take a week to fix.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said on a sigh, “but I’m not sure there’s anything I can do about it.”
She glanced at the others, nervously biting her lower lip, before she put her gaze back on Jack. “The mechanic told me about the Scrooge Legend. He said my car probably conked out because I was meant to stay in town. He said it happens all the time to people who have no idea they’ve been swept up in the Scrooge Legend. Did you involve me, Jack? Did you suggest me as a Scrooge?”
The irritation on Jack’s face instantly vanished, leaving him ghost white from shock, which told Charley everything she needed to know. “She was the one you suggested?”
He met her gaze, confusion filling his eyes. “I... I didn’t think it was real. I just wanted to get the mailbox door to open.”
She wanted to believe him, yet how could he have been thinking about Lisa while he was standing at the mailbox with her? When she’d suggested Jack, she had been testing the theory, but she’d also wanted him to show up in St. Nicholas. She’d wanted to see him again. She shook her head, not understanding. “Wasn’t there another name you could have used?”
“We were talking about drug dealers and bank robbers. I didn’t—”
“Couples reunite all the time under the Scrooge Legend,” Lisa said. “At least that’s what the mechanic told me. I’m sure Jack—”
“Stop!” Jack ran a hand over his face in what looked to be pure exasperation. He then took a deep breath and spoke slowly to his ex. “Let me say this as plainly as I can. You are not my girlfriend. Charley is my girlfriend, and you will never ever be my girlfriend again. Now, please, leave me alone.” He turned to Charley. “I didn’t suggest her for the reasons you might think. I—”
Lisa stepped closer to the table. “Jack, if I could just—”
Charley shot out of her chair. “I don’t know why you refuse to listen to Jack, and I don’t know why you can’t leave St. Nicholas,” Charley heard herself saying in a surprisingly calm voice. “Maybe you need to regain your Christmas spirit, maybe you’re here to meet your soulmate, or maybe your car really is broken. But whatever you think is going on between you and Jack, isn’t.”
“How would you know?” Lisa stiffened, seeming offended. “You didn’t even know we’d been dating.”
“That’s enough,” Jack said, standing next to Charley, as if the two of them together became one united front.
And that was when Charley finally felt it, Jack’s strong, unwavering loyalty to her. Why he’d suggested Lisa as a Scrooge no longer mattered. She had complete faith in him. She could see a real future with him, and she was going to fight for it.
Charley gently laid a hand on Jack. “You’re right, Lisa. I didn’t know you two had dated, but I do know Jack and how he feels about me. It’s unfortunate you haven’t come to terms with his decision on ending it with you, so this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to leave, in order for you to truly grasp the situation between you two. But let me save you some time. No matter what you tell yourself, no matter how hard you try, you can’t make somebody love you.” Charley gathered her things, then looked at his parents and Bill. “Thank you for a lovely day.” She turned and walked away.
Jack ran after her. “Charley, wait.” He caught her right at the door. “Please don’t go.”
“I don’t want to.” She searched his eyes. “But I need to, so that you’re able to get things resolved with her.”
“It is resolved. I broke up with her. Why she won’t accept it is something she’ll need to figure out on her own.”
“I would agree if you hadn’t suggested her as a Scrooge. Jack, anyone can see she’s having a hard time facing facts. But you thought enough about her to put her name in the mailbox, and now she can’t leave. Whether you like it or not, you’re wrapped up in it.”
Jack sighed. “I hear you, Charley, but what more can I do?”
She looked away, trying to understand, thinking about all the Scrooge stories she’d heard, and about everything that had happened between them, and then she saw it. “Do what you do best. Listen to her. That’s how you helped me.”
“Hey, guys,” Tom called as he and Rebecca approached. “We’re heading back to the B&B, if you need a ride.”
“That would be great.” Charley zipped up her coat, then looked at Jack. “You got this.”
Jack opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by Rebecca nudging him.
“We’ll take good care of her, Jack, don’t you worry,” she said as Tom opened the door for his wife and Charley.
Before Jack could say another word, the door quickly closed behind them.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Jack could not understand what was going on. Charley thought he could fix things by listening to Lisa, only it hadn’t helped when he listened to her for three solid hours while he’d broken up with her. Everything was going so well. Why had he made such a stupid mistake and put Lisa’s name in that mailbox? All he wanted was for her to be happy without him. Why couldn’t she want that too?
Jack trudged back to the table and discovered that things were worse than when he left. Lisa was sitting in Charley’s chair and she was crying. Jack wanted nothing but to grab his keys off the table and go—only he couldn’t. He had to stay and figure it out for the sake of his relationship with Charley.
“My job was the one thing I could depend on,” Lisa managed through tears, “and now I’ve lost that too.”
“You’ll get another one.” Jack’s mom reached over and patted her hand.
“Is everything all right?” his dad asked.
“Better than here,” Jack replied. “What happened?”
“Lisa’s boss called to tell her she’d been let go.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” He sat next to her.
“It’s not your fault.” She wiped her tears off with her napkin. “I didn’t mean to barge in on you, I really didn’t, but I don’t understand what’s happening. I got evicted from my apartment for absolutely no reason, which made me think I should come up here even though you told me not to.” She looked at him with puffy red eyes. “I wasn’t going to come here, Jack, you’ve got to believe me, but I kept hearing this phrase in my head, that if I drove to St. Nicholas, I’d find true love. How crazy is that?”
“After everything I’ve experienced here, it’s not,” he said. “To me, it sounds like you were listening to a gut feeling.”
“I was. I thought that maybe you had changed your mind about our relationship. But when I discovered you had moved on from me so quickly, I realized what a fool I’ve been. I don’t understand how my instincts could have been so wrong. I can’t believe I came up here for nothing, and now I’ve lost my job.”
“Maybe all of this is happening for a reason,” Jack said. “Maybe you need to think about moving to a new town where you’ll find a new job and make new friends.”
“You think so?”
“Haven’t you been wanting to move because of your noisy neighbors?”
She nodded, then gave him a sheepish look. “It was part of the reason I pushed moving on to the next level. I knew we weren’t ready, but I figured we’d work it out.”
“Oh.” Jack couldn’t hide his surprised reaction. “I wish you would have been straight with me. I could have helped you find another apartment.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I’ve wanted to move for months. Come to think of it, I’ve also wanted to quit my job, so maybe the little voice in my head wasn’t off after all.”
“Now that you don’t have anything to tie you down, you could make some major changes,” he suggested.
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br /> “I’d like to.” She shrugged. “I just don’t know how to go about it.”
“What are your career aspirations?” his mom asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t like to work. I like parties, and friends, and I just realized I sound like a snob.” She shook her head with an embarrassed laugh. “What I meant was, work feels like work. I was an assistant to a cold, heartless boss, and I despised every minute of it.”
“It’s a good thing you got out of that toxic environment,” his mom said.
“Yeah, the only days I enjoyed were when I was in charge of planning the office functions. My boss was so pleased with a reception I’d planned for important clients that he was nice to me for two whole weeks.”
“How come you never told me about your caustic relationship with your boss?” Jack asked.
“You’re out there catching criminals. My differences with him seemed petty.”
He felt awful for missing how miserable she’d been at work. “Nothing is petty when it interferes with a person’s well-being. I’m sorry I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay.” She offered him a brief smile. “I’m glad we’re talking about it now because I just realized something. I really enjoy event planning. Those days didn’t feel like work to me. Maybe I could find a job in that industry.”
“Seems like a much better fit for you. I think you’d be a fantastic event coordinator,” he said.
“Thank you.” She sat up a little taller as their waiter reappeared.
“Are we ready for dessert?” Gabriel asked.
“I believe they are,” Lisa said, standing. “Thank you, Jack, and Mrs. Brody for listening. Again, I’m so sorry for the interruption.” She put on her hat, scarf and gloves, something she rarely did in Denver for fear they would mess up her hair.
Colorado Christmas Magic Page 27
