Christmas In Tinsel Town
Teagan Brooks
Copyright © 2019 Teagan Brooks
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Adult Content Warning: This book is intended for readers 18 years and older. It contains adult language, explicit sex, and violence.
The only legal means of acquiring this eBook is through Amazon, Amazon KU, Amazon’s lending program, or if someone gifts it to you through Amazon. If you acquire it in any other way, you have stolen it, and I hope it came with a virus.
Created with Vellum
To everyone who loves Christmas as much as I do.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to my editor, Melissa Rivera, without her, this book wouldn't have been published. She also waited by the computer until I finished at 3am to do a final read through. As always, she pushes me for more, and I can’t thank her enough.
Next up is Courtney Lynn Rose, who took time away from her family to write a kick ass blurb for me literally the very minute I asked. She is the Blurb Queen, and I am in awe of her amazing ability.
And of course, my PA, Brittany Franks, who helped me design a cover at the last minute in the wee hours of the night, and didn't disown me the next morning when I told her it was live before she had time to make graphics and pull teaser lines.
And my girls that beta read at the absolute last minute - Jennifer Ritch, Jenna Sage, Tina Workman, and Sandy Alvarez.
To all of you,
Love you; Mean it
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
About the Author
Also by Teagan Brooks
1
Jacquelyn
I smiled when I saw the name flashing on my cell phone. “Hello, my darling Gabby.”
“Gigi!” my granddaughter squealed in my ear. “Can we do the Christmas village this weekend? Pleeeeaaasssseee.”
I laughed at her enthusiasm. “It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, sweetie.”
“But I’m out of school this whole week. Please, Gigi,” she begged.
I couldn’t refuse her anything, and she knew it. She had me wrapped around her little finger the first time I met her. I’d once been best friends with her mother, but we lost touch many years ago, and then she died six years ago while giving birth to Gabriella. However, fate stepped in last year and my son fell in love with Gabby’s older sister, Keegan. Well, he married her first, then fell in love with her, but that’s their story to share. When Gabby’s father was sentenced to life in prison, Keegan and Jacob adopted Gabriella, giving me a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter in just a few short months.
“Have you asked for permission?”
“Not yet, but I know they’ll say yes,” she said excitedly.
“Okay, let me speak to one of them and we’ll see if it’s okay.”
“Okay, Gigi. Just a second,” she said and failed to move the phone away from her mouth before yelling for her sister. “Here, Sissy. It’s Gigi.”
“Hey, Jacquelyn,” Keegan said.
“Hello, my dear. I was just chatting with Gabby and we were wondering if she could come help me set up my Christmas village this weekend.”
Keegan laughed. “Yes, please. I don’t think she’s talked about anything else since Halloween.”
“Really? I knew she was excited about it, but I didn’t realize it was that much.”
“Oh, Jacquelyn, you have no idea. She’s questioned Jacob on a daily basis about the buildings and houses you have so she could plan the layout. I think she has fifteen, maybe twenty, potential layouts drawn in her notebook.”
“I can’t wait to see what she’s come up with. When would you like her to come? I don’t have any plans until Thanksgiving Day, so I can drive down and pick her up, or we can meet halfway,” I offered.
Keegan snorted. “Are you kidding? You know Jacob is always looking for a reason to fly that helicopter of his.”
I sighed. “Yes, I know. He makes me a nervous wreck with that thing.”
“He should be home around five or six. Do you want us to come tonight?”
“Oh, no. I’d rather him fly during the day. Could you come tomorrow morning?”
“That’ll work. I’ll go tell Gabby the good news.”
With that, I ended the call and went up to my bedroom to change into something I didn’t mind getting dusty and dirty. Dressed in an old pair of jeans, a flannel shirt, and a pair of work boots, I opened the door to the storage space where I kept my Christmas decorations and began shuffling the boxes around to get to the ones containing my Christmas village.
I’d just finished moving the boxes out of storage and was heading back to pull the tables out when my head of security materialized out of nowhere and nearly gave me a heart attack. “Ronan!” I gasped and pressed my hand over my pounding heart.
“Sorry, Jacquelyn, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said and held his hands up in a placating manner.
“I’ll never understand how someone of your size can move around without making any noise.” I let my eyes drink him in for a few seconds before I quickly turned away. Ronan was a very attractive man, and his physique was certainly something to admire, which I found myself doing more often than I should.
He grinned. “And I’ll never understand how someone of your small stature can sound like a herd of elephants running through the house.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I’m moving boxes. Of course, it’s going to be noisy.”
“I know. Did you forget what’s below this room?”
I felt my cheeks flush. It had slipped my mind that Ronan’s section of the house was directly beneath where I was standing. After my husband died, I had three rooms converted into a built-in apartment for my head of security—at my son’s request. Prior to that, the guards on duty stayed in the three-bedroom, three-bathroom guest house on the property. Personally, I thought having twenty-four-hour security guards on staff was a bit excessive, but it was something Jay had arranged for me when business kept him away more than he was home, and my son made me promise to continue it after Jay’s death. I had to admit, it was nice to know there was another living being somewhere in the house.
“I’m sorry, Ronan. It didn’t occur to me that I might be disturbing you. I can finish moving these boxes tomorrow morning before Gabby gets here.”
“Gabby’s coming tomorrow?” he asked in surprise.
I slapped my hand over my face. “I can’t believe I forgot to tell you. I must be having an off day.” I paused and shook my head. I’d been having a lot of off days or moments, particularly when Ronan was around. “Yes, Gabby called earlier today. She’s out of school all next week and wants to help me set up my Christmas village.”
“What time are we leaving to pick her up?” he asked as he typed something into his phone.
“We’re not. Jacob is flying her here in the morning.”
He put his phone away and nodded. “Well then, let me help you get all of this moved downstairs. You and
I both know Gabby will be ready to get started as soon as she comes inside.”
I laughed at that. “Keegan said she’s been drawing various layouts in her notebook since Halloween.”
Ronan’s eyes widened. “Really? She’s what? Six years old?”
I nodded. “Impressive, isn’t it?”
“Indeed, it is,” he agreed. “I can’t wait to see what she came up with.”
We spent the next few hours moving totes, boxes, and tables downstairs. When I started to rearrange the furniture, Ronan made a suggestion. “Maybe we should clear this room out completely to give Gabby a blank canvas to work with.”
“That’s a great idea, Ronan,” I said and picked up an end table to carry it to another room.
When I returned, my other two full-time guards, Seth and Ian, were in the sitting room lifting one of the couches. I looked to Ronan who answered my question before it was verbalized. “You didn’t think I was going to let you move couches and display cases, did you?”
“I’m very capable of moving furniture, Ronan,” I snapped.
“I didn’t say you weren’t. But, it would be a shame if you accidentally got hurt and couldn’t set up the village with Gabby, wouldn’t it?”
“Well played, Ronan. Well. Played,” I said with a wink.
2
Jacquelyn
When I heard the unmistakable sound of a helicopter approaching, I grabbed my jacket and headed for the door so I could greet Jacob, his wife, and my granddaughter. I was reaching behind me for the other coat sleeve when Ronan’s familiar scent filled the air. “Let me,” he said softly and helped me with my jacket.
“Thank you.”
“Let’s take the cart down,” he suggested.
Several years before, I purchased a golf cart so I could move around the estate easier. I rarely ventured out onto the grounds, but every now and then Gabby wanted to go “exploring.”
As we got closer to Jacob’s helipad, I could see Gabby bouncing in her seat while impatiently waiting for the blades to come to a stop.
Once it was safe to exit, Jacob helped Keegan out first, and then lifted Gabby from her seat and placed her on the ground. “Gigi!” she squealed and ran to me as fast as her little legs would carry her.
“Gabriella!” I returned and caught her when she launched her little body into my arms. “Did you have a good flight?”
“We did! We saw snow on some of the mountains,” she said excitedly.
“You did? Do you think we will get any snow this year?”
“I hope so! I want to go sledding with James and help the babies build a snowman.”
“Hey, Mom,” Jacob rumbled and pulled me in for a hug before he turned to greet Ronan.
“My boy, you look handsome as ever. And Keegan,” I said and turned to hug my daughter-in-law, “you’re positively glowing.”
She laughed and waved her hand dismissively. “It’s just the cold air making my cheeks rosy.”
“Come on; let’s go back to the house where it’s nice and warm. Gabby, would you like some hot cocoa?”
“I’ll never say no to anything chocolate, Gigi,” Gabby replied and promptly climbed into the golf cart. Once we were all seated, Ronan drove us back to the house.
“It really is getting chilly out,” I noted and started pulling out the ingredients to make my special hot cocoa.
“Do you need help bringing the village downstairs?” Jacob asked.
“No, but thank you for offering. We brought everything downstairs last night.”
“We?” he asked with an arched eyebrow.
“Yes, we. Ronan helped me carry everything down and then Seth and Ian moved the furniture for me,” I explained.
Jacob nodded but didn’t comment further. “Okay then. Do you need help with anything else while I’m here?”
“No, I’m not going to get the rest of the decorations out until the day after Thanksgiving, and you’ll be here then to do it.”
“Seriously, Mom, call me next time. I can be here in an hour, hour and a half tops.”
“You know good and well I will never call you and ask you to fly up here to help me move something, especially at night. We might be rich, Jacob, but that’s far too exorbitant for me.”
“Well, the offer is always there if you ever want to use it.”
I patted his cheek. “Thank you, dear. I’ll remember that.”
A high-pitched squeal followed by raucous laughter had us all moving from the kitchen to the great room. Ronan had Gabby tossed over his shoulder and was spinning her in circles.
When he placed her on her feet, I instinctively said, “Gabby, be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Just watch,” Keegan whispered.
Gabby proceeded to walk across the room in a perfectly straight line. She whirled around with a huge smile on her little face. “Told ya,” she said and held out her palm.
“You did,” Ronan said and pulled ten dollars from his wallet to place in her hand.
“Gabby,” Keegan scolded. “What did I tell you about betting?”
“That I couldn’t do it unless I asked for a twenty,” she pouted and handed the money back to Ronan as we all laughed.
“Did you tell her that, or did your grandfather tell her that?” Jacob grumbled.
“I told her that,” Keegan said, then mumbled, “after Ranger told me to.”
“Would you two like to stay for lunch?” I asked.
“Sure. We have some time before we need to head back to Croftridge.”
I was thrilled that my child was happy, but a large part of me wished he’d found that happiness closer to me so I could spend more time with the new additions to our family.
After lunch, Gabby and I sat on a bench in the garden and watched Jacob and Keegan take off. It gave me chills to watch, but Gabby loved it.
Once they were out of sight, we went back inside. “Are you ready to get started on the village?”
“Yes!” she almost shouted. “I have drawings in my notebook. It’s going to be so beautiful, Gigi.”
She sat down beside me with her notebook and started flipping through the pages to show me her plans. I was taken aback by how detailed they were. “You drew these? By yourself?”
“Yes,” she said cautiously. “I used a ruler to make the straight lines, but Sissy said that wasn’t cheating.”
“Oh, no, that’s not cheating, honey,” I assured her. “Gabriella, these are very, very good. Did you show these to your sister?”
She shook her head. “No, I wanted you to see them first. She can see the real thing when we’re finished.”
I glanced at her, slightly confused by her statement, but continued to look through her notebook. Each page had a street with houses or buildings lining it. The amount of attention and detail she put into each structure would have been astonishing if an adult had done it, but a six-year-old. I was blown away by her rare talent, and made a mental note to make sure Keegan and Jacob were aware of it.
The last page of her notebook was a map. Upon closer inspection, I realized she had put together all the streets from the previous pages and formed a town centered around a large ice-skating rink with a Christmas tree in the center.
“Gabby, this is truly amazing. I’m not sure I have everything we need to replicate your drawings, but what we don’t have, we’ll go to the store and get.”
She beamed at me. “Okay, Gigi. Where do we start?”
“Follow me, sweetheart.”
The sitting room was completely empty except for the totes and boxes of village pieces and the tables Ronan and I had set up along the walls the night before.
“We’ll need to rearrange the tables to fit your design, but I think you and I can manage that,” I told her.
Gabby stood in the middle of the room clutching her notebook and looking utterly confused. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”
“How are we going to fit a village in here, Gigi?”
It was at that moment, I
realized Gabby and I had only talked about the village. She’d never seen it. “The houses are really small. Come here and I’ll show you.”
I carefully opened removed the lid from a tote and unboxed one of my favorite pieces—the home of Santa and Mrs. Claus. “This is the biggest house in the village. The rest are much smaller.”
She frowned and looked down at the notebook in her hands. My heart broke when a tear dropped onto one of the pages. I pulled her into my arms and cradled the back of her head. “Tell me what’s wrong, baby.”
“I thought it was a real village, Gigi,” she cried against my shoulder.
“A real village? How on earth would I set up a real Christmas village in just a few days?” I asked and had to force myself not to laugh at her misunderstanding. She was truly upset and the last thing I wanted to do was hurt her feelings.
“Because you can do anything, Gigi. And it’s Christmas, when magical things happen,” she said with eyes full of wonder and awe.
I leaned back from her and cupped her cheeks in my hands. “I’m not promising anything, but Gigi has an idea.”
Her frown instantly morphed into a beautiful smile. “I knew you could do it.”
“Uh-uh-uh. Remember, I’m not promising it will work,” I reminded her. “Let’s put on a Christmas movie for you to watch while I see what I can do.”
Once Gabby was settled with her movie, I made a beeline for Ronan’s room and knocked on his door with more urgency than necessary.
He yanked it open and immediately shoved me behind him, shielding me from whatever threat there may be. “Where’s Gabby?”
I dropped my forehead against his back. “Everything’s fine, Ronan. She’s watching a movie in the theater room.”
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