Riley grabbed the door handle and shut the door, leaving Luke standing there watching her. She rolled down her window and waved him off with her hand. “Well, turn around. I can’t get changed with you staring at me like that.”
She caught Luke laughing as he turned around.
It was more than a little challenging getting changed in the truck, especially getting off her form-fitting leather pants. She’d been grateful to see that besides his mom’s bright-red ski pants, Luke had also tossed in some black leggings. She put those on first and then tackled the ski pants. As she wiggled trying to get everything on, she was already feeling toasty warm.
When she pulled the hat out of the bag Luke had brought her, she shook her head. “Is this some kind of joke?” The hat was a dead ringer for Santa’s red stocking cap. It made her wish she’d taken Comet’s suggestion and worn the other hat.
After she reluctantly put it on and wrapped a matching red scarf around her neck several times, she moved the rearview mirror over so she could see how she looked. “Yup, it’s official,” she said. “Forget Miss Christmas. I look like Mrs. Claus!”
When Luke tapped on her window and held up the snowshoes, she yelled back at him, “Hold your reindeer. I’m coming!”
“Ho! Ho! Ho!” Luke said, holding his belly and laughing.
She took some small satisfaction in pretending she couldn’t hear him and then opened the door.
Chapter Sixteen
Stepping out of the truck, Riley had to admit she didn’t feel cold at all. Apparently, Luke’s mom’s gear, while Christmas crazy, was Colorado Rockies–proof. She joined Luke, who was standing a few feet away laying out two pairs of what looked like vintage wooden snowshoes.
He nodded his approval when he looked up and saw her. “Much better.”
“I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not,” Riley said, adjusting her Santa hat. She eyed the snowshoes with trepidation. “Exactly how far are we going to go?”
Luke gave her a surprised look. “Into town. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
Riley laughed. “What I wanted to do was drive into town.”
“What fun would that be?” Luke asked. “Besides, I thought you’d want to check this out because it’s one of the activities I was going to suggest for the Christmas Campers. Are you ready?”
She took a deep breath. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“I thought you liked outdoor sports,” Luke said with a frown.
Riley laughed. “Let me guess . . .”
“Mike,” they said at the same time and shared a laugh.
“What else did Mike tell you about me?” Riley asked. “You might as well tell me now. I don’t like surprises.”
“Really?” Luke laughed. “You don’t like surprises?”
Riley gave him an odd look. “No. And why are you laughing like that?”
“No reason,” Luke said.
But by the look on his face, Riley felt like he was hiding something.
“Well,” she said, “I actually do like outdoor sports, but I’ve been living in Arizona. So my idea of outdoor sports is more like running, hiking, swimming, kayaking, and boating. You know, things like that.”
Luke nodded. “So snowshoeing isn’t on your list?”
“Nope. But I’m game to try,” Riley said, moving closer to the snowshoes.
“Great. I was thinking for the Christmas Campers, we could just do some of the trails right outside the lodge and down by the lake, or maybe I could give some guided walks and offer some different times, like at sunrise or sunset. What do you think?”
Riley was impressed by this enthusiasm. “I think that sounds great. So just pretend I’m one of the Christmas Campers and give me a quick lesson.”
“Done!” Luke held up one of the snowshoes. “Lesson number one: how to get into the bindings.” When he put the snowshoe back down in the powder-soft snow, he motioned for her to come toward him. He picked up some trekking poles and handed them to her. “Use these for balance. They should already be adjusted for your height.”
Riley tried the poles out. “Perfect.”
“Now just put your foot right here,” Luke said, holding the snowshoe for her. But when she went to put her furry boot into the binding, some of the fur got caught and she lost her balance.
“Whoa!” As she started to fall, she reached out for Luke and grabbed his arm.
He was caught off guard, and they both fell at the same time, landing practically on top of each other.
“Are you okay?” he asked, sounding genuinely worried.
She was covered in snow. For a moment, she just lay there and then . . .
She started laughing.
It was the kind of laugh that once you started, you couldn’t stop.
When Luke also joined in, they both lay back on the snow and looked up at the sky. They looked at each other, they just laughed louder.
“It was the boots again,” Riley said. “I swear it’s revenge of the yeti.”
This had Luke cracking up even more. “You and those boots.”
Riley was about to sit up when Luke stopped her. “Wait,” he said. “Don’t get up. We’re not done.”
“We’re not?” Riley gave him an incredulous look. “What now?”
“Uh, snow angels, of course,” Luke said and started moving his arms and legs, making a snow angel.
Riley threw some snow at him. “You’re nuts,” she said. But as she began to sit up, he took her hand and pulled her back down.
“Hey,” she said. “That’s not very angel-like of you.”
“You can’t get up without making your snow angel,” Luke said.
“Is that some kind of Christmas Lake rule?” Riley asked.
“No,” Luke said, smiling back at her. “It’s one of my rules.” He watched her and waited. “Go ahead. You act like you’ve never made a snow angel before.”
Riley wasn’t about to tell him that he was exactly right. There had been no snow angels in her past, not one.
When she realized she was still holding Luke’s hand, she let go, embarrassed, and quickly started moving her arms and legs as Luke had done.
“There you go,” he said. “You’re an angel expert.”
“Hardly,’ Riley said but couldn’t help but smile as she continued flapping her arms. Satisfied, she looked up at Luke, who was already standing. “How do I get up without wrecking the angel?” she asked.
Luke held out his hand. She hesitated a moment but then took it, and he instantly pulled her up. This time she let go of his hand right away.
“Thanks,” she said. When she turned around her, face lit up when she saw the snow angel she’d just made.
“I did it,” she said, excited. “I really did it. That’s so cool. It really looks like an angel.”
“And our wings are touching,” Luke said, pointing at his angel right next to hers. Sure enough, their angel wings were, in fact, touching.
“Does that mean something?” Riley asked.
“You’re the romance author, you tell me.”
“So it has to mean something romantic?” she teased.
Luke gave her a look. “Uh, yeah. Come on. It’s Christmastime, there are two angels, and their wings are touching. It has to mean something special.”
“Well, when I figure it out, I’ll be sure to let you know,” Riley said.
“Does that mean I’ll be reading about this in your next book?” Luke asked.
“The snow angels or us?” Riley started brushing the snow off her.
Luke caught and kept her gaze. “Both.”
For a second, Riley forgot everything else except how blue Luke’s eyes were.
He looked away first and then up into the sky. It was starting to snow. “We better get going,” he said.
Riley stretched out her arms and shook out her legs. “I’m ready to try again. Let’s go.” Her voice was full of determination.
“Snowshoeing is going to have to wait,” Luke said. “I don’t trust this weather. Let’s just drive into town.”
He was already grabbing the snowshoes and putting them in the truck. “We can try again tomorrow, but right now we need to get moving.”
Disappointed, she followed him to the truck. Who knew she’d like snowshoeing so much? Or at least trying to snowshoe.
But deep down, she knew it wasn’t the snowshoeing she liked as much as the company. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so hard or had so much fun. Luke was turning out to really surprise her in more ways than one.
As they drove into town, the first thing Riley saw was a charming hand-painted wooden Christmas Lake welcome sign in the shape of a Christmas tree alongside the road. The next thing she noticed was that there was only one main road, Lake Street, and it was lined with about a dozen mom-and-pop shops and businesses that had gone all-out to decorate for the holidays.
There was garland with big red velvet bows wrapped around all the antique black streetlights. In front of every business there was a lit-up and decorated Christmas tree in the theme of that business and beautiful wreaths on the front doors that had real pine cones and holly berries and gorgeous glittering gold bows.
Looking around, Riley thought the little town, with its Bavarian feel, looked like something you’d find inside a Christmas snow globe, and she couldn’t help but be charmed.
“This doesn’t even look real,” she said as they pulled up to a store called Merry and Bright.
Luke smiled at her. “It’s not. It’s better than real.”
Riley returned his smile as they got out of the truck. She liked that. Better than real. She’d have to write that phrase down and find a way to use it in her book.
“This is our one clothing store in town, but Lisa has a little bit of everything. She should be able to help you out,” Luke said as he continued walking down the street.
“Wait.” Riley stopped walking. “Aren’t you coming with me?”
Luke laughed. “You really want me to go shopping with you?”
Riley, embarrassed, continued quickly. “No. Of course not, but where will I find you?”
“I’m going to go talk to Brianna. She’s the local realtor. Her office is the last one on the right. Just come meet me there when you’re done.”
“Got it,” Riley said as she headed into Merry and Bright. But as soon as she walked in the door, she froze. Every inch of the store was decorated for Christmas. There were giant Santas and reindeer and snowmen and Christmas trees, wreaths, and garland, and the song “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” was playing.
Riley laughed. “Not this song again . . .”
“Not a fan of the song?” a cheerful woman asked as she walked toward her. Riley guessed she was probably in her mid-sixties. Before Riley had a chance to respond, the woman gave her a candy cane.
“Merry Christmas! This is for the little girl inside you,” the woman added with a twinkle in her eye. “I’m Lisa. Welcome to Merry and Bright.”
As Riley took the candy cane and looked around, she wondered if she was in the wrong shop. She didn’t see any clothes. All she saw were Christmas decorations. Lots of Christmas decorations. There were so many bright and blinking, sparkling things it was starting to make her dizzy.
“I’m Riley.” She held out her hand.
Instead, Lisa gave her a warm, welcoming hug. “I’m a hugger, and I know just who you are, my dear. You’re one of my favorite authors.” Lisa pointed over to a giant Fraser fir Christmas tree in the corner. “See?”
Riley did a double take. The tree was decorated with her books. Every book she had ever written was expertly tucked away in the tree branches, spotlighted with Christmas lights so you could still read every cover.
Blown away, Riley walked over to the tree. “Wow, I’ve never seen anything like this. All my books are here.”
“And some book reviews,” Lisa pointed out by taking a cut-out paper heart ornament off the tree. The review was written in the middle. Lisa started reading it out loud. “Get ready to fall in love all over again with Reynolds’s latest novel, A Summer’s Heartbeat, which shows the power of true love.”
Riley didn’t know what to say. She was so touched. She looked back at Lisa. “This is truly amazing. This must have taken you so long to do.”
Lisa smiled proudly. “I was honored to do it. I feel like your writing is such a gift to us all, and isn’t that what Christmas is all about? Giving to others? All your books are about love, Christmas is about that, too, so they needed their own special place, and I thought this Christmas tree would be perfect. I hope you like it?”
Riley touched her heart. She was still in awe. “I love it.” She gave Lisa a grateful hug. “Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome.” Lisa smiled. “We are so happy to have you here at Christmas Lake. I just know this is going to be the perfect place for you to write your first Christmas novel. You must be so excited.”
“I’m actually not going to be writing it here. I’ll be getting ideas from the people who come to Christmas Camp and then hopefully using some of those ideas when I do start writing it later.”
Lisa’s eyes lit up. “Well, maybe you’ll come back when it’s time to write it. I’m sure you’re going to find lots of inspiration here.”
Riley nodded. “I’m sure I am. Although, right now I think I might be in the wrong place. I was looking to buy some clothes.”
Lisa linked arms with Riley. “No, you are just where you are meant to be. What are you looking for?”
“A jacket, some winter clothes,” Riley said hopefully.
Lisa led her to the back of the store where there were some winter clothes in the corner on racks that were covered with white twinkle lights.
Riley couldn’t believe it when she even recognized several designers.
“Will this work?” Lisa asked, giving Riley a friendly wink.
Riley, impressed, smiled and nodded. “This will work!”
A half hour later, Riley was happily strolling down the street in one of her new outfits on her way to find Luke.
She was surprised that she’d actually found some really cute things that were all Colorado Rockies approved. Right now, she was wearing a stylish pair of black ski pants that hugged her figure in all the right places and a pretty red ski coat with a black faux-fur-lined hood. Lisa had insisted she buy the red coat instead of the black one she’d been eyeing and had promised her that with the chic black fur trim, she didn’t look anything like Mrs. Claus.
She’d also picked up some really nice wool sweaters in bright and cheerful holiday colors and a red fleece with matching red gloves and a hat. The only place she’d struck out was finding some new boots in her size. Lisa was all sold out. So for now she was going to have to keep wearing her yeti feet and hope they didn’t get her in anymore trouble.
She was just reaching the end of the street where the realtor’s office was when, through a window, she saw Luke hugging a very attractive woman. After the hug, Luke held both the woman’s hands. Riley couldn’t see Luke’s face, but by the way the woman was smiling at him, it made her think theirs was definitely more than a professional relationship.
Riley frowned. She turned back around and started walking quickly in the opposite direction.
She had no idea where she was going. She just knew she didn’t want to interrupt Luke in what looked like a private moment.
When she ended up back inside Merry and Bright, Lisa came hurrying over. “Did you forget something?”
Riley shook her head. “Uh, no, but I thought I’d just look around some more if that’s okay. Maybe get some inspiration for my Christmas novel like you were saying.�
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“Of course,” Lisa said. “I would love that. You know a lot of the things we have are made by local artists.” She picked up a beautiful ceramic Christmas platter that was white with blue snowflakes. It was big enough to fit a whole turkey. “Emily, one of our young artists made this.”
Lisa put the platter back down and walked over to a shelf where there was a collection of all white glossy ceramic angles that were about six inches tall. “And these angels,” she said proudly, “are a Christmas tradition here at Christmas Lake.”
“How so?” Riley asked.
Lisa carefully picked up an angel and brought it over to show Riley. “They’re made by the Harrison family. The family has been making these special angels for almost a hundred years.”
“Why are they so special?” Riley asked.
Lisa smiled as she led Riley over to a cozy sitting area by a crackling fire. They both took a seat before Lisa continued.
“As the story goes, Thomas Harrison was a struggling artist,” Lisa said. “Pottery was his specialty, but he was barely making enough to live on. That’s when he fell in love with our local railroad tycoon’s only daughter, Cynthia. It was a Romeo-and-Juliet love story from the start.”
Riley frowned. “Cynthia’s parents didn’t approve of Thomas?”
Lisa shook her head. “Tom was pretty much penniless, and they wanted more for their daughter, so right before Christmas, Cynthia’s parents forbid them from seeing each other.”
“But they saw each other anyway,” Riley said confidently.
“No,” Lisa said with a sigh. “Sadly, they didn’t. Thomas thought Cynthia’s parents were right, that she deserved much better than him. He loved her and wanted the best for her. Cynthia, being the spirited girl that she was, was very angry at Thomas for not fighting for their love. They argued and broke up, just as Cynthia’s parents had hoped.”
Riley leaned forward. “What happened next?”
“Thomas was, of course, heartbroken,” Lisa continued. “He went back to his workshop, and to try to take his mind off Cynthia, he started working on one of his ceramic bowls. That’s when a flash of bright white light blinded him for a moment and the bowl slipped from his fingers and crashed to the floor, breaking into pieces.”
Christmas Ever After Page 12
