"The staff described you well. A beautiful woman."
A flatterer. “You asked about me?"
"Couldn't help it. The lure to know who you are is so strong, hard to resist."
"To know who the clumsy idiot who skied alone."
"You weren't the only one who had done that. By the way, it's not idiotic to ski alone. You took the challenge. You're brave. I like that in a woman."
"Thanks for trying to make me feel good."
"Where are you heading, Cara?"
"To the Christmas Wish Tree. I haven't done my wishing yet."
"Great. I am heading that way, too. I'll walk you there. A beautiful woman like you shouldn't be alone in a place like this."
"She's not alone. She's with me."
Cara didn't have to turn around. She knew who stood behind her. “Karsen, this is my friend's brother Lucas.” She glanced back at Lucas, scowled then gave Karsen a winsome smile. “He happened to be here when I fell. A knight saving a damsel in distress."
"Such flattery, my lady. So, you're the agent who found Cara.” Karsen offered his hand to Lucas. “Great job. Devil's Jump is known for its tricky run."
"Lucas McLeod.” Lucas shook Karsen's hand before turning to Cara. “Cara has the tendency to lose her way. Now I know what to get her for Christmas—a leash. Ready to go?"
"Yes, but I'm going with him. Karsen offered to take me to the Wish Tree.” She tried to hide her annoyance in front of Karsen. A leash. Yeah, to wrap around your neck.
Lucas stared at Cara with a straight face. “Cara, you are walking with me."
"I'll find you at the base of the tree, Cara. Now that Agent McLeod is here, I think you're going to be safe.” He surprised Cara by taking her hand and kissing her knuckles. “I'll be there. Nice meeting you, Agent."
"I'll be looking for you.” She waved at Karsen and waited until he disappeared among the crowds before she faced Lucas. He was looking at her as if her head suddenly multiplied in front of him. “A leash. You will give me a leash for Christmas."
"Seems a perfect gift. It's such a short walk from our cabin to the tree, but you got lost. Maybe—"
"I didn't get lost. I stopped to talk to Karsen. If you were not ogling your girlfriend and looked back to see me once in a while, you would have seen what happened."
"You landed on your butt."
"Yes. Lucky me Karsen was here to help me."
Arms akimbo, he narrowed his eyes at her. “So you decided to flirt with him."
"You must have mistaken me with someone else. I don't flirt, Lucas."
Lucas pulled his skullcap down shaking his head. “What happened to you Cara? What happened to us?"
"Us? There is no us, Lucas. We were just friends."
"Yeah? The way you introduced me to Karsen. I'm just your friend's brother."
Cara bristled. She should have at least said he was a friend, but at the time he made her angry and she didn't even want to be friends.
"There was an us until you broke it, Cara."
"How?"
"Instead of waiting for me to come home you dated, what's his name? Rick?"
"I dated Rick because you—what? You thought I didn't wait? You thought while you're gone I simply went on a date? Hey! For your information, big lug, I dated Rick because I heard about you and Rochelle getting back together. Do you have any idea how I counted every minute and second of the day, using the mental power I didn't have to make the time go by faster so I could see you. And then your Rochelle called to tell Amy that you two hooked up."
"She's part of why I went to Florida. Job related."
"What kind of job?” She put emphasis on the last word.
Lucas tsked. “Such a dirty mind, baby."
"You work for the DEA, not with the pageant business. The only connection I see between the two is your relationship with Rochelle."
"Give me time and I'll explain everything."
"Well then, while I am waiting, I will continue thinking that your promise of a talk is just that. An empty promise."
"Work didn't give me the opportunity. Calling you or my family was the last thing I had on my list because it's a must for me to keep my head clear. Still, I thought of you when bullets weren't whizzing past my head."
"What bullet?"
"Nothing. Cara, baby—"
She quickly waved aside whatever it was he wanted to say. “You seriously pissed me off so to forget about you, I went out with him. But we broke up anyway because you, like a freaking tick under my skin, bugged me all the time. An itch that won't go away. So don't you dare accuse me of breaking whatever we had."
"Did you hear what I just said?"
"Yes, you went to Florida to see Rochelle and you didn't have time to call me."
"Wow. You're so green from jealousy Kermit the Frog would be jealous if he saw you."
"Funny. You should join the circus."
* * * *
Cara turned away, stomping her feet on the slushy snow. If she looked back, she would have seen the grin spread on Lucas’ face.
Lucas watched Cara walk pass Rochelle like a soldier marching, her hands straight on her side. Did she just call him a big lug and a tick? Laughter escaped his mouth. He couldn't help it. Cara had just admitted that she cared for him. Like the warmth a fireplace provided, Cara's words heated up the cold part of his heart caused by her refusal to acknowledge his presence. She thought he and Rochelle were back together. Like a clear sky after a heavy rain, everything that had happened in the past week made sense. Cara ignoring him. Her cold greeting. Cara was really jealous.
What the heck. He'd met women in the past, but only Cara could jumble his senses.
When the right time comes, he'd explain to Cara why he was chummy with his ex-high school sweetheart again. For now, he'd focus on his task. Squeeze information from Rochelle about Ramon Rivera.
Amy and his parents had already secured a table and were sipping cocoa when they made it to the town center. Lucas waved back at them and was about to join the group when Rochelle pulled him over to the Starbucks station. He looked back at Cara. She met his gaze then strode toward his sister. The two hugged and left the table. Most likely to get their paper to hang on the tree. He wondered what Cara would write for a wish.
The original version of Jingle Bells floated in the air. A man in a Santa suit ringing his bell followed by three little people in Elves outfits urged the crowd to join the singing. Lucas took in the beauty of the surroundings. Trees bright with Christmas lights looked so pretty as if they were all covered with fireflies. The ten feet Christmas tree adorned with colorful ornaments from teddy bears to small bells stood in the middle of the village like a giant. Except, unlike a giant, the tree was mighty pretty. There was an atmosphere of excitement. Everyone was felicitous, enjoying their vacations, the holiday with pleasure obvious on their faces. He loved the holiday season, but right that moment all he wanted was Cara. To have her beside him. To feel her warmth and share his with her.
He spotted Cara and Amy again checking the table laden with all kinds of cakes specially baked for the auction. From where he stood, it looked like the two were bidding on every cake. He bet Amy would bid on a carrot cake and Cara on a double chocolate layered cake. It was incredible how the two could eat sweet desserts like hungry barbarians and still manage to keep their slim shapes. Good. At least scums selling diet pills wouldn't victimize them. Not that Amy and Cara were fool enough to fall for the scams. But there were those who fell victim to the lure of companies selling vitamins and medications to keep a slim waist. Why? Because society defined beauty as tall, slim and fat-free. Freaking shallow view and destructive. How many teenagers killed themselves because they thought they were too fat and unattractive?
Lucas felt a gentle touch on his arm. Rochelle held two cups of steamy hot lattes.
"Nine dollars, Lucas."
"I'll take care of it. Why don't you join my parents? I'll be right there."
"Sure, darling.” Rochelle
smiled then sashayed her way to the table.
Lucas tried to get a glimpse of Amy and Cara, but the throng of people grew thicker by the minute. He paid for the coffee, greeted the young woman behind the counter a happy holiday, then wound his way to the spot where he last saw Cara. With his six feet and two inches height, he towered over most people. His height also gave him the advantage to spot the man Cara met earlier—Karsen. His gaze followed Karsen's line of vision.
Karsen looked in a hurry to reach Cara. Most likely to grab the paper Cara was in the process of tying on the highest part of the tree that she could reach. The man was surely pissing him off.
In his haste, Lucas nearly tripped on a little man whose head barely reached his knees.
"Hey, pal! Watch it. Little people around, you know."
"Sorry,” he quickly said then looked back at Karsen who, despite the noise, must have heard the little man's voice.
To Lucas's surprise, the man stopped walking, looked at him, then grinned. He couldn't tell what it was, but the son of a bitch sent cold dread slithering down his spine. It was as bone-chilling as finding himself face to face with death. Lucas answered with a curt nod of acknowledgment.
Karsen disappeared behind a booth.
"Hey, how about gingersnap cookies? Money goes to the Children's Hospital Cancer Research."
"Give me a box.” Lucas said without taking his eyes off Cara who laughed at whatever his sister said to her.
"Ten fifty."
Lucas took the box from the man and handed him his twenty. “Keep the change.” With a careful stride, he dodged people and walked toward Cara.
Flecks of snow began to fall. The atmosphere turned the crowd's cold feeling to a buoyant spirits. People laughed as downy white snow blanketed tables and chairs. Children looked up at the sky with their tongues sticking out catching the biggest flakes they could spot. One by one, couples started dancing unmindful of who was watching. This, Cara thought, was what it must be like being inside a snow globe. So beautiful, romantic, and freezing.
"Do you think someone would try to get our papers and grant our wishes?"
Cara grinned at Amy who'd been biting her nails since they hooked the small red folded paper on the tree. Both of them picked the highest spot, but still reachable. “Why ever not?"
"Well, in case you haven't noticed. Most people hung their paper wishes down below where anyone could get them easily. Ours are way up there as if we didn't want anyone to pick them and we didn't exactly ask for a bread toaster or a pair of Gortex gloves. What if an old, pruney man happens to pick your paper?"
"Then one pruney man will be happy before Christmas."
"Ewww! Cara, I think we should get the papers back and wish for a box of underwear instead. A wicked night before Christmas is just too wicked. I don't even know what it entails. The word wicked could be interpreted as anything from pole dance to lick a snow covered post."
"Don't be silly. Of course, no one will answer our wishes."
"Okay, what if someone did and he happens to look like a hot cowboy, ruggedly handsome, with lips so sensual butterflies would flicker in your belly just by looking at them."
"Well, then we'll have the best Christmas present ever."
Amy laughed and gave her a high-five. “You are so naughty. So we're supposed to pick a wish and make it come true for whoever hung it."
"Yup. Well, I pick this one.” Cara unhooked the small folded piece of paper and opened it.
Amy followed suit. “Wow, this is easy. A bird cage. How about yours?"
"A Starbucks Home Barista. Crap! That's expensive."
"Put it back and pick another one."
"That's cheating, Amy. I suppose this is better than one wicked night. All I have to do is go to Starbucks and buy one."
"Yup. You don't have to get hot and sweaty."
Amy and Cara burst out laughing. On their way back to the auction table, through Cara's peripheral view, she saw Lucas. She turned, but he didn't stop walking. He disappeared among the crowd.
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Four
* * * *
Smiling, Rochelle moved her body with Lucas in sensual rhythm while the crowd sang along with the most stupidest song ever, Feliz Navidad. Why the hell would they want to sing in Spanish? She bet they didn't even understand the lyrics. This wasn't she wanted. A warm and soft bed was what she had in mind for a great night. Not this. So full of crap. Whoever thought of selling cakes as a way to raise money should be shot. She felt like she already gained ten pounds just thinking about a slice of cake. It had been so long since she had one. And the row of delicious looking desserts on the table was a temptation she didn't need.
She looked at her watch. Ramon said he'd call back. He better. That ass. If she hadn't threatened him with snitching him to the feds, he wouldn't have agreed to help with her plan. What a bastard.
Her ankle throbbed so badly, Cara couldn't stand anymore. She and Amy danced for hours and now her foot screamed from pain. The McLeods were having so much fun. Lucas's parents saw an old acquaintance and had been chatting their night away. Rochelle and Lucas were in the middle of the dance area. The two looked ready to gobble each other's faces. She bet they would have, too, if no one were around. Amy met Steve and the two were now dancing in the moonlight. Snowflakes of Love echoed in the night. Sitting alone at the table, watching love arc around her, her heart ached as much as her foot. She should just go back to the cabin, rest her foot and take Tylenol PM.
She waved to Amy hoping to get her attention, but her friend was busy laughing with Steve. Cara sighed. Well, she supposed it would be okay to leave without letting Amy know. Her friend would only insist that she walk her back to the cabin no matter how much fun she was having. Yeah, she'd go now and call Amy's cellphone when she returned to the cabin.
Ambling her way back to village's main road, she hugged her coat tight around her. The farther she got from the Wish Tree, the less people she saw walking around. It was almost two in the morning and the whole village was still alive. Stores were still open, restaurants filled with customers to the brim. Everyone seemed happy, enjoying the night one would think it was already, Christmas. She wished. As it happened, she'd have to wait a few more days before she could go home. Back to Seattle where she belonged. For now, she would just have to endure the pain from watching and hearing Lucas and Rochelle flirt with each other.
The only light left at the McLeod cabin was the porch light. Cara tipped the small clay pot then ran her fingers underneath to find the house key. She found it buried in the small pack of dirt. Wiping her hand on her ski pants, she unlocked the door. She was about to step inside when someone touched her elbow. Instinctively, she pulled her arm and swirled around.
"Easy, Cara. It's me."
"Karsen. Sheez! You scared me. What are you doing here?"
"Following you."
"Why?"
"I should think it's obvious. May I come in?"
"The McLeods are not here. I don't think—"
"I know they're not here. That's why I followed you.” Karsen pushed the door open, grabbed her wrist and dragged her inside.
Her heart thumped harder against her chest when she heard the lock click into place. “Karsen, what are you doing?"
"Doing my job, darling."
"What job?"
"To get rid of you."
Cara's legs began to fold beneath her. If it weren't for the console table she grabbed hold of, she would have collapsed on the floor. “Why?"
"Nothing personal, darling. Just doing my job."
Oh god, he's going to shoot me. I will bleed. I hate blood. Think Cara, think. Don't panic. “Can I turn this lamp on? I can't see."
"Sure. At least you'll see a handsome face before you go, eh?"
Cara didn't think he looked handsome right now, but kept the thought to herself. “So, you have a boss telling you what to do. You're a runner or a lackey or a boy doing your master's bidding."
/> "Shut the fuck up. Don't make me rethink about what I'm going to do with you. I like you, Cara and I don't want you to suffer. But if you won't keep your mouth shut, I might just bleed you dry, watch you die slowly. Do you want that?"
"No. Do you mind telling me what I did wrong? I think I deserve to know."
"You did nothing wrong really. But the bitch wants you out of the way. She asked Rivera for help and threatened him that she'll go to the cops if he didn't give her this one favor."
Cara shook her head. What Karsen said didn't make any sense at all. “I'm sorry, but I don't know any Rivera. Who is this bitch who wants me out of the way?"
"Miss Washington, Rochelle Luna. The loony bitch is jealous of you. She figured when you're gone, Lucas McLeod will love her instead of you."
"Lucas loves me?"
"Cara, don't tell me you are that fucking blind."
Oh my god. “Rochelle asked Rivera to get rid of me. So he hired you to kill me because Rochelle wants me dead."
"That pretty sums it up. Rivera will do this one favor for her and it'll be her turn."
"Turn for what?"
"Rivera hates bitches. He doesn't have time for them. Rochelle is not only a bitch but also a pain in the ass. When you're in pain, what do you do?” Karsen's eyes brightened as if the thought of killing excited him.
"And what do you get in return?"
"Everything a man like me wants in life. Money, young and untouched pussies, vacations reserved only for the rich."
And a place in hell, she wanted to add but thought better of it. “Earlier, when I fell. You didn't just happen to be there. You were following me."
"Yes. But your boyfriend came back for you. If it weren't for that prick, I could have been back in Florida enjoying a fresh wannabe Miss Universe. Now turn around."
Where the hell did Cara go? Lucas looked around. Last time he saw her she sat alone at the table. Fishing his cellphone out of his coat pocket, he dialed Amy's number. His sister answered after the third ring.
"Hey Sis, have you seen Amy?"
"No. She said she'd sit down for a bit. Her foot is sore."
"Where are you?” Lucas started walking toward the ladies bathroom.
Wicked Night before Christmas Page 5
