Christmas Ever After

by Karen Schaler

  Riley shook her head as she stared up at the ceiling, thinking Margo may as well have been asking for all the snow in the North Pole. She didn’t have any childhood Christmas pictures, and this was something Google couldn’t help her with.

  “Riley? Are you still there? Did you hear me?” Margo asked. “I swear we have a terrible phone connection.”

  “Yes,” Riley said in a voice that sounded far away, even to her own ears. “I heard you.”

  “Great,” Margo shot back. “So it won’t be a problem to get me something right away?”

  Riley looked over at Comet and mouthed the word, Help.

  She then answered Margo with a lie that rivaled Mike’s. “No, Margo, it won’t be any problem at all.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Riley stared at the phone for several seconds after she hung up with Margo. She looked over at Comet. “Now what am I going to do?”

  When Comet looked up at her, Riley thought his big brown eyes almost looked sympathetic. It was like he understood exactly what was going on. She loved him for that. She kissed the top of his head and gave him a hug.

  Riley blamed all of this on Mike and his pitching her to media outlets as “Miss Christmas.” If there really was a Naughty or Nice List, Mike would be at the top of the Naughty List, and instead of a lump of coal in his stocking, he’d get an entire coal mine. All the stories he was spinning about her were spinning out of control, and right now, naughty was about the nicest word that came to mind when she thought of Mike.

  Riley knew she only had one last hope.

  She picked up the phone and dialed her mom. She dreaded asking her about this. She didn’t want to upset her by bringing up any painful Christmas memories. Ever since they had started going to Hawaii for Christmas, they never talked about how the holiday had been when her dad was still alive. It was like Christmas had never happened.

  They had just moved on, into the future, with their fun-filled, beach-themed Hawaii trips that had made them both happy. Yet, now here she was, about to bring up the past.

  She was halfway through dialing the last number when she stopped. She stared at the phone. She couldn’t do it. She was about to hang up when Comet barked.

  Her attention flew to him. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  Comet barked again.

  And then she heard another sound. It was her mom on the other end of the line.

  “Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?”

  Surprised, Riley looked at the phone and realized she must have accidently dialed the last number when Comet distracted her with his bark. When she gave him a look, Comet was wagging his tail.

  “Hello?” she heard her mom ask again.

  She looked at the phone and steeled herself. “Mom? It’s me. Can you hear me?”

  Her mom laughed. “I can now. I thought I heard a dog barking.”

  Riley eyed Comet, who put his head down on his paws and continued watching her. “You did, that was Comet.”

  Her mom laughed. “Like the reindeer?”

  “That’s the idea,” Riley said.

  “What kind of dog is he?” her mom asked.

  “A crafty one,” Riley answered without hesitation, but she smiled as she looked over at him. “He’s really smart. He’s a Bernese mountain dog. They’re from Switzerland, from the town of Bern. Remember when I visited there when I was doing my travel writing? That’s the first time I ever saw one. They were raised to heard cattle, and I think some of them even pulled farm carts. Comet looks strong enough to do that.”

  Comet lifted his head up when he heard his name.

  “I’ve read about them,” Riley’s mom said. “They’re supposed to be great watchdogs and very loyal companions.”

  Riley nodded and smiled. “I can totally see that.”

  “So where are you right now?” her mom asked. “You didn’t get a dog, did you?”

  Riley laughed. “Me? A dog? Come on, Mom, you know me better than that. I don’t have time to talk care of a dog. I’m in Colorado . . .”

  Riley hesitated. She hadn’t told her mom much about the Christmas Camp. As a matter of fact, she’d left the word Christmas out entirely, just telling her that she was hosting a writing event to promote her next book. She also knew her mom wasn’t on social media and rarely watched the news, so Riley had avoided telling her anything about writing a Christmas novel. But she knew she couldn’t hide it forever. She just wasn’t sure what to say.

  “Riley? Are you still there?” her mom asked.

  Riley sat up straighter. “Sorry. Yes, I’m here.”

  “So you’re in Colorado for that author event you were telling me about? How is it going?”

  “It hasn’t started yet,” Riley answered. “It’s actually starting the day after tomorrow. And that’s one of the things I was calling to talk to you about.”

  “About your Christmas book,” Riley’s mom said.

  Riley’s heart stopped. “You know about that?”

  “Honey, I saw you on the news. All my friends here in Florida are on social media, and they all follow you. They read all your books. They told me about everything about the Christmas Camp and how you’re writing a Christmas book . . .”

  “Mom, I’m sorry. I was going to tell you.” Riley felt terrible that her mom had found out this way.

  Her mom laughed. “What are you sorry about? I know you’re busy.”

  Riley took a deep breath. “About the whole Christmas thing. Trust me, this isn’t something I wanted to do. I really didn’t have a choice. Everything happened so fast. Margo says this is my last shot at keeping my publishing deal. I thought I only had to show up and host a reception or something, but now it looks like I have to do a lot more,” Riley said, talking faster and faster.

  Now that she was finally telling her mom what was going on, she felt a huge sense of relief. She always told her mom everything, but this was Christmas and they never talked about Christmas.

  “Honey, take a breath,” her mom said in a soothing voice. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

  Tears started to well up in Riley’s eyes. She quickly brushed them away. “I’m just sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I didn’t want to upset you.”

  “Upset me?” Riley’s mom asked. “How in the world would you upset me? I’m so proud of you and everything you do. Everyone, especially me, is so excited for your next novel.”

  “A Christmas novel,” Riley said in a small, faint voice. “Mom, I’m writing about Christmas.”

  “I know,” her mom said in a soft voice. “And you’re going to do great.”

  Riley fought back more tears. “I thought you’d be upset . . .”

  “Why would I be upset?”

  “Because I’m writing about Christmas.” Riley put extra emphasis on the word Christmas again. “And we don’t celebrate Christmas. We don’t even talk about Christmas.”

  “That’s because you never wanted to talk about it,” her mom said gently.

  “What? Me? But you’re the one who didn’t want to celebrate since . . . Dad . . .”

  Just saying it out loud made Riley start choking up again as a wave of emotion washed over her.

  “Riley, honey, I’m so sorry. We should have talked about this a long time ago. I just didn’t want to upset you, and if I’m being one-hundred-percent honest, I’ve felt guilty for the way I’ve handled things for a long time.”

  “Handled what?” Riley asked, confused.

  “Christmas.”

  Riley shut her eyes as her mom continued talking.

  “That first Christmas after your dad passed, you were so little and so heartbroken,” her mom said. “I hated seeing you that way. So I took you to Hawaii. I thought it would help get your mind off things.”

  “And it did,” Riley jumped in. “We had a wonderful time. We didn’t nee
d Christmas. We had each other. Even though I was so young, I knew how sad you were, but in Hawaii, it was different. We were different. There was no Christmas to make us sad.”

  “But, honey, I never planned for us to forget about Christmas. That first one I knew was going to be tough so we went to Hawaii, but after that, you wanted to go ever year. You were so excited about it, and I just wanted you to be happy. Anytime I tried to bring up Christmas, you would get so upset. I even talked to a child psychologist about it, and they told me to give you time and that you would let me know when you were ready to celebrate Christmas again.”

  Riley, stunned, sat back in her chair. “You did Hawaii all those years for me?”

  “Of course,” her mom said. “You know I would do anything for you, and we had a wonderful time, didn’t we?”

  “Yes, but I always thought you didn’t want to celebrate Christmas because it was too hard without Dad. I thought Hawaii was what we both wanted,” Riley said.

  “I wanted what was best for you. That’s all I wanted.”

  “And we never celebrated Christmas again,” Riley said, trying to take it all in.

  “Because you weren’t ready,” her mom said. “But now it looks like you are, and when I heard about this Christmas Camp and your next novel, I couldn’t have been happier for you. I always prayed you would find your way back to Christmas, and now you have.”

  Riley struggled to process everything. Her mom sounded so happy, she didn’t have the heart to tell her that she wasn’t embracing Christmas—far from it—and that she was only doing all this to save her career. Nothing had changed for her when it came to Christmas.

  “I’m glad we’ve talked about this,” Riley said because she didn’t know what else to say. “Actually, I’m calling because Margo asked if I had any Christmas pictures from when I was little. I guess some online magazines are asking for them for some feature stories they’re doing. There’s no problem if you don’t have any. I don’t remember any. I just thought I should ask before I tell her we don’t know where they are or that they’re buried somewhere in storage or something like tha—”

  “I have some,” Riley’s mom said, interrupting her. “I have some really adorable ones I think would work great.”

  Riley instantly stopped talking. “You do?” Her voice sounded faint.

  Riley’s mom laughed. “Yes, of course. One of my favorites is a picture you took with Santa when you were eight. I also have some where you’re decorating the Christmas tree with Dad and—”

  “The one with Santa,” she said quickly, cutting her mom off. “That should be fine.” She didn’t want to hear anymore. She couldn’t hear anymore. She didn’t want to remember. “Do you think you could just take a picture of it and e-mail it to me?”

  “Sure,” her mom said. “How soon do you need it?”

  “As soon as you can send it,” Riley said. “You know how Margo and Mike are. They want everything yesterday.”

  “And you’re sure you just want the one picture?”

  “I’m sure,” Riley said emphatically. “One is all I want to see.”

  “Consider it done,” Riley’s mom said. “I should be able to get it to you in the next hour.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” Riley said, feeling conflicted.

  She knew she should feel grateful that she’d found a picture, but she didn’t know how she felt about seeing that picture or sharing it with the world.

  “Oh, and Mom, I forgot to tell you—our internet and cell service have been down here. Luke was going to get it back up and running, so why don’t you wait and I’ll let you know when I can get the e-mail.”

  “That sounds great, honey,” Riley’s mom said. “And who is Luke? Is this a new boyfriend you’ve also forgotten to tell me about?”

  “Ha! No,” Riley said. “Who has time for a boyfriend? Luke is just the guy who is holding this Christmas Camp. It’s at his family’s lodge.”

  “Well, I know you’re busy, but you’re never too busy to find love.”

  Riley laughed loudly. “Mom, you must be reading too many of my romance novels.”

  “Never.” Her mom replied. “And I can’t wait to read this next one. I think this Christmas novel of yours is going to be very special.”

  “I hope so,” Riley said. “I really do.”

  “Oh, wait. I have a quick question. I know you’re busy and have to get back to work, but I have to ask you . . .”

  “What, Mom? Ask me anything.”

  “Which old boyfriend were you talking about on the news yesterday? Colin from college, Brendan, or Tyler the lawyer?”

  “Mom, I wasn’t talking about just one of them. When I said that in the interview, I meant my old boyfriends, plural. I was talking about all three of them in general,” Riley said. “There’s no big secret I’ve been hiding. I don’t have one person who was the love of my life.”

  “That’s not what it sounded like on TV,” her mom said.

  Riley groaned. “I know. Thanks to that wannabe host.”

  “Well, I think everyone’s asking the same question I am. Maybe all the mystery will help with the publicity for your Christmas book.”

  Riley laughed. “Okay, now you sound like Mike. I’m going to tell him your gunning for his job.”

  Her mom laughed. “You know I only want you to be happy.”

  Riley nodded. “I know, Mom.”

  “And I hope you do find your one true love,” Riley’s mom said. “It’s time.”

  “Actually, Mom,” Riley said, “you’re wrong about the timing. Even if the perfect guy showed up here at Christmas Camp, I would be too busy right now to even notice.”

  “Just remember you can’t see the forest for the trees,” her mom said.

  Riley laughed. “Oh no. Is this another one of those sayings you’ve made up?”

  “Oh, I can’t claim this one,” Riley’s mom said. “You can’t see the forest for the trees is an old, famous saying your dad always used to say.”

  “What does that even mean?” Riley asked.

  “It means,” her mom answered, “Don’t let your emotions in the moment prevent you from losing sight of what’s really important—the big picture, what will make us happy in the long run.”

  Riley still looked confused.

  Riley’s mom chuckled. “It’s just something to think about.”

  When Riley looked out the window, all she saw were snow-covered trees. She couldn’t see the entire forest.

  “I’ll think about it,” Riley promised. “But right now, I have to see if our Wi-Fi is working so you can send me that picture and make Margo and Mike happy. I’ll e-mail you as soon as I know.”

  “Sounds good,” Riley’s mom said. “And, Riley . . .”

  “Yes, Mom?”

  “I’m glad we had this talk . . . about Christmas. I love you. Merry Christmas.”

  Riley abruptly stood up and almost knocked over the phone again. She saved it just before it crashed to the floor.

  “I love you, Mom. I’ll talk to you again soon.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  As soon as Riley hung up with her mom, she checked her cell phone. The Wi-Fi still wasn’t working.

  “Okay, where’s Luke?” she asked Comet.

  As if understanding, Comet ran for the front door. Riley gave him a suspicious look. “Is Luke really outside, or do you just want to go for a walk?”

  At the sound of the word walk, Comet barked twice and wagged his tail.

  Maryanne came into the room, laughing. “Oh, now you’ve done it,” she said. “You said the magic word.”

  “Walk?” Riley asked.

  When Comet barked again, Riley understood. “Let me guess,” she said. “Anyone who says walk—”

  Comet barked again but this time louder

  “—has to take Comet f
or a w-a-l-k,” Maryanne finished, spelling out the word. “See?” She smiled at Comet. “I’ve learned my lesson.”

  Comet wagged his tail and then expectantly looked back at Riley.

  “Okay, okay,” Riley said. “You win. We can go. But I need to find Luke.”

  “Oh, he’s down by the lake,” Maryanne said. “And that’s Comet favorite place to go.”

  “Perfect,” Riley said.

  “The leash is in the hall closet, and you better bundle up. It’s still snowing out there,” Maryanne said.

  “No problem,” Riley said cheerfully. “I bought some new clothes in town.”

  “At Merry and Bright?” Maryanne asked.

  Riley nodded. “I found some really great things.”

  “Did Lisa tell you about the Christmas Lake Angels?” Maryanne asked.

  “Oh yes,” Riley said. “I got the full story.”

  “Isn’t it an amazing love story?” Maryanne asked. “Even though I haven’t met my own Prince Charming yet, but I still have hope someone will give me a Christmas Lake Angel someday.”

  “Or you’ll give them one,” Riley said.

  Maryanne smiled at her. “Exactly!”

  When a timer went off in the kitchen, Maryanne headed that way. “Ah, that’s my cue. You two have fun!”

  “We will!” Riley said. “Ready for that walk?”

  Comet barked and ran to the front of the door.

  Less than five minutes later, after Riley had taken Maryanne’s advice and bundled up in some of her new winter gear, Comet was leading her down a snow-covered path to the lake.

  The snow had stopped falling, but there was still an icy chill in the air that made her thankful she’d also bought some silk long johns at Lisa’s insistence.

  As she followed Comet, she had to navigate several inches of fresh powder. She was thankful for her yeti boots.

  When they’d first left the lodge, she’d thought she spotted Luke down by the Christmas trees along the lakefront. He’d looked like he was stringing some new Christmas lights—or taking some down, it was hard to tell—but as she’d gotten closer, he’d disappeared.