by Caroline Lee
“Completely lost, girl.” Jaclyn interrupted, looking up without halting her piggy-scratches. “The fairies can tell these sorts of things. You don’t know what you’re going to do now that school and your reign are over. You’re wandering around lost, and this poor dear” –she tickled Tootles once more, who gave a happy little snort and tried to roll over in her lap like a cat— “has been stuck following you around. But once you live here full-time, he’ll come to visit me and my bunnies. Won’t you, dearie?”
Jaclyn’s attention turned back to the pig, but Belle’s breath had caught at the woman’s casual mention. “What do you mean, ‘when I live here full-time?’”
The old woman tsked. “I’ll bet no one told you about the Kids’ Korral that’s opening soon and looking for teachers, did they? Or the fact that the kids’ ski instructor quit last month and they’ve had to cancel the program for the remainder of the year?”
Belle’s heart slammed into her chest. What? What was Jaclyn saying? That there might be a place for her here at River’s End Ranch? No…she must’ve misunderstood. Belle turned to Elf to see how he was reacting, but every thought went right out of her head when she saw him.
Elf—big, burly, blacksmith Elf—was sitting on Jaclyn’s couch, covered in Jaclyn’s rabbits. There had to be six of them in his lap, and another two on each forearm where they rested beside him. A particularly large rabbit was draped across his shoulders and the back of the couch behind him like an angora shawl…and there was a tiny little gray bunny sitting on his head.
And as Elf looked at her with a mixture of pleading and resignation, keeping his head perfectly still, Belle burst into laughter. His brows dipped in warning over his lovely blue eyes, but that just made her laugh harder.
Jaclyn sniffed. “Well, Mr. Santa’s Helper, if my bunnies approve of you, you must not be all bad.”
“Who said I was bad? And stop calling me those silly nicknames. Being called ‘Elf’ is bad enough.”
The way he rolled his eyes when he said it made Belle want to laugh even more. Briefly, she wondered what his name really was, if ‘Elf’ was only a nickname.
“Well, you have to admit it’s a festive name. Very holiday-appropriate.” Jaclyn winked. “We’ll have to find you a lady with an equally festive name. Like Carol. Or Noelle. What other Christmas songs are names too?”
Elf’s blue eyes crinkled, but he didn’t grin. “I’ve always liked ‘Silver Bells.’”
Belle’s heart flip-flopped, and she knew she was blushing.
“Belle!” Jaclyn gasped with not-at-all-convincing surprise. “Now there’s a thought!” She winked at Belle this time, then set Tootles on the ground. The little pig immediately hurled himself at a huddle of rabbits, who scattered. He ran off, chasing them and bleating happily.
“And I never said you were bad,” the old woman told Elf, as she reached forward to pick up a tray of cookies, “I just said you must not be all bad. Cookie?”
Elf leaned to pick up a cookie from the tray, dislodging the rabbit on his shoulders, the ones on his arm, and a few on his lap. Interestingly, the tiny one on his head stayed put. “I’m not even a little bit bad though.” He took a bite. “Mmmm, these are great.”
“Peanut Butter Blossoms. The fairies told me you’d like them. Elvis loved peanut butter, you know.”
She pierced Belle with a sharp look that was so startling Belle had to keep herself from jumping.
“Um. Yes, I know.” Any real Elvis Presley fan knew that his favorite sandwich was peanut butter and banana.
“Good.” Jaclyn nodded. “Usually I make snickerdoodles, but the fairies were insistent I try something new. They must like you because you’re one of them, Mr. Elf.” She smiled at her own joke and Elf rolled his eyes, probably tired of the “elf” jokes.
“And you’re not so much bad, as early. Or late. I’m not sure.” Jaclyn seemed irritated
Elf’s mouth was full, so Belle asked for him, “What do you mean? We didn’t tell anyone we were coming.” She thought about how she’d stopped by to find him that morning, but he hadn’t been there. “I supposed we should’ve called…”
“No, it’s not that.” With a sigh, Jaclyn sat back in her chair. “Listen, how long have you two known one another?”
Belle glanced at Elf, who managed to shrug without moving his head, then answered for them both. “We met last Friday.”
“That’s what Simon told me too.” Jaclyn pinched the bridge of her nose. “But that timing’s all wrong. According to the fairies, you’ve known each other much longer. Or not at all. Or haven’t even met yet.” She blew a raspberry and slumped backwards. “You’re not here at the right time, that’s all I know. They’re very confused, and that gives me an almighty headache.”
Not here at the right time? It was Christmas; that’s the time Belle came every year. “I’m sorry?”
“I don’t suppose you could come back next week, could you? To see if my head hurts less?”
Belle giggled. “I’m sorry you have a headache, Jaclyn, but I don’t see how it could be our fault for arriving today. Besides, I did have a good reason for coming.”
Belle glanced towards Elf to see if he was still holding the present. No, it was there beside him. His eyes flicked down at it, then back at her as he very carefully lifted a Peanut Butter Blossom to his mouth and looked at her helplessly. The gray bunny on his head twitched its nose. She continued giggling as she reached to pick up the present.
Jaclyn gasped. “You brought me a gift? What is it?” She didn’t give Belle a chance to respond, but lunged for the gaily wrapped package.
As the old woman ripped into the paper, Belle exchanged a smile with Elf who had crumbs in his beard, which the two bunnies left on his lap were staring at intently, as if hoping he’d drop more.
Then, with the green and silver foil wrapping in shreds around her feet, Jaclyn gasped. “Oh, Belle.”
Reverently, the old woman pulled her gift from its nest of tissue paper. It was a ceramic gnome, only about a foot tall, with the ubiquitous rosy nose and chubby cheeks. What made it unusual, was that it was a she…and she was wearing a hula skirt. It was rare enough to see a female garden gnome, but a Hawaiian one was the ultimate in rare kitsch.
Judging from the look of awe on Jaclyn’s face, she loved it.
Belle smiled. “I remembered from last year that you didn’t have any lady gnomes. Maybe you did, but they were covered in snow? I don’t know. But I saw that one, and she just looked so perfect—”
“She is perfect, my dear.” When Jaclyn looked up, her eyes were a bit misty. “Thank you. I shall place her beside Gorgeous George, and I’m sure they’re going to be fast friends.” Her smile trembled a bit when she placed the figure on the coffee table beside the cookies. “Well, I say ‘friends’, but I’m pretty certain the fairies can arrange something for them. I’ll bet George is partial to blonde hula dancers, too.” Her eyes flicked to Elf. “Don’t feed him that, dear. Bunnies don’t like peanut butter.”
“This one seems to.” Elf lifted up another cookie towards the small one perched on his head, and it nibbled away, crumbs dropping onto Elf’s head.
“Hmm.” Jaclyn stood up and stomped over to the couch. With one swift movement, she pulled the bunny down and pressed it against her chest. “I suppose I have to like you, because you like Belle and the fairies think you’re here together, if not at the right time. But you’ve never come to visit me before—”
“Oh, I’ll come more often, if you have Peanut Butter Blossoms,” Elf interrupted around a mouthful of cookie, causing Belle to press her lips together to keep the laughter from escaping.
“—and I’m assuming you didn’t have a thing to do with this wonderful present from my dear friend, Belle.”
“Not a thing,” Elf answered cheerfully. “I’m just here to protect her from bunnies and eat all your cookies.”
He was irreverent and strangely charming, and Belle saw Jaclyn trying to hide a smile as she ro
lled her eyes.
“Tootles! Come back here, darling. Your human is leaving,” Jaclyn called.
Oh. Apparently we’re leaving. Belle stood up just as her pig barreled around the corner and bumped into her leg. Elf was standing up too, brushing off rabbit hair and crumbs and trying to gently nudge a bunny off his foot.
As Jaclyn hugged her goodbye, she whispered, “Thank you so much, Belle. You are a dear, and I know George will adore his new friend. I think I’ll name her Bella after you.”
Belle smiled. “I’m so glad you like her. Merry Christmas, Jaclyn.” And when she hugged the old woman a second time, she took a moment to savor the feel of her arms around the dear woman. Jaclyn Hardy had been a staple of River’s End Ranch and Christmas since Belle was a little girl. It was such a blessing to see her each year.
“Now.” Jaclyn straightened. “Get out of here. Take your pig, and your poor-mannered oaf—I mean Elf—and go on your date.” She shooed them out the door. “And the next time I see you, it had better be the right time.”
“Bye, Jaclyn!” Elf waved good-naturedly, a huge grin on his face. “Thanks for the cookies.”
Belle swore she saw the old woman blush and smile before the door slammed.
“Well.” Elf dropped his hand. “That was certainly interesting.”
They walked beside one another—Tootles trotting along behind, never too far away, snuffling and snorting at the flurries—towards the Old West town, sharing stories about Jaclyn. When Elf said he had to get to work, he took her hand in his larger one.
“Lunch tomorrow, yeah?”
She blushed slightly. “Yes please. Noon at the café?”
“Yeah.” He squeezed her hand. “It’s a date.”
It’s a date. Belle didn’t tell anyone in her family about it. First of all, Matt would be jealous she’d gotten a date when he’d failed so badly with Miranda. Second of all, there just didn’t seem to be a good enough time to bring it up during dinner, or the ornament-making event in the big barn. But Belle thought of it the whole time she crafted the rustic twig-and-glitter snowflake she’d designed for her father.
A date. She was going on a real date with a super-dreamy blacksmith who seemed to like her for her and had said some really sweet stuff about her. So why did she still feel a little guilty? Like she was deceiving him by not telling him about her online friendship with Hunk?
It was just a friendship, she told herself. Still, when she logged in that night—for the first time since Monday—and he wasn’t online, she was disappointed. She missed him.
But tomorrow, she had a date with a real life River’s End Ranch blacksmith! It wasn’t until she was almost asleep—Tootles snoring softly beside her—that she thought to wonder about Jaclyn’s words.
There were job openings here at the ranch that would be good for Belle? And what had the old woman meant about the fairies thinking she’d known Elf for so much longer? Belle grinned sleepily and pulled the pillow over her head.
Fairies! Who needed fairies, when she had her very own Christmas Elf?
CHAPTER FIVE
Apparently Tootles didn’t need to go everywhere with Belle, because she’d left him with her mother for their lunch date at the diner. Elf wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or not; the little oinker sure was cute, and kinda sweet with the way he vibrated with excitement and concern whenever Belle wasn’t around. Hopefully he wasn’t too upset to be without her…but the pig’s loss was Elf’s gain.
He’d met Belle at the door and escorted her to their table, where they’d made small talk while they ordered. He’d gotten up to wash his hands, and hadn’t heard her give her own order, so when Kelsi laid all the food out on the table in front of him, Elf’s eyes widened. “That’s seriously all you’re eating?”
Over his mound of Bob’s taco burger, giant stack of onion rings, and chocolate shake, he eyed her single bowl of vegetable soup.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
It wasn’t until he saw her flush that he realized how insensitive he’d sounded. “I only meant— I mean— Well…” He trailed off, trying to figure out how to get his foot out of his mouth. “Sorry. That was probably sexist. You can eat whatever you want. I mean, you know you can eat whatever you want. You shouldn’t feel like I’m judging you or anything.”
Her honey-colored brows rose, and he swore he saw her lips twitch. Elf’s shoulders slumped. “Listen, all I meant was that I know sometimes it can be nerve-wracking, going on a date with someone new. I didn’t want you to think that you had to eat like a bird to impress me or anything. If that’s what you want, fine, but if not…” He sighed. “I’m making a mess of this, aren’t I?”
“Yes, you are.” She nodded solemnly. “It’s actually kind of endearing.”
“Oh, good. I’m not charming all the time.”
“Apparently not,” she agreed.
“Forget I said anything.”
She cocked her head to one side. “Well, as it happens…you’re right. Old habits die hard.” Before he could figure out what she meant by that, Belle had leaned across the table and snagged his largest onion ring. When she bit into it, her eyes widened. “Wow. This is good.”
Elf grinned and raised his hand to get Kelsi’s attention. “Can we get an extra order of onion rings and a spare plate?” He was going to share some of Bob’s awesome taco burger with her. “But just holler at me when it’s ready—don’t bother bringing it out again.”
From behind the counter, Kelsi snorted. “I’m pregnant, not an invalid! I can bring you some onion rings without hurting myself or Sara.”
“Sara? Really?” Kelsi was his brother-in-law’s sister, which made them almost family, and that meant that he could tease her as much as he wanted, as far as he was concerned.
The cheerful blonde rubbed her protruding belly. “Today she’s Sara.”
“Yeah, but…” Elf exchanged glances with Belle, seeing his surprise mirrored in her expression. “Isn’t that pretty, uh…tame? Compared to your usual names for her?”
“Yep!” Kelsi’s mischievous grin was infectious. “I’m trying a new tactic to confuse Shane.”
Elf laughed. “I’m sure it’s working.”
“You bet your sweet patootie it is, Belf.”
His brows rose over that last word. “Did you just… What did you just call me?”
“Belf,” Kelsi explained from behind the counter. “You two make an adorable couple, so I mashed your names together. Belle and Elf. Belf.”
Elf grunted, not sure if he was amused or embarrassed by the even-dumber-than-Elf nickname. But Kelsi’s words had warmed him; she saw them as a couple, and even thought they were adorable. And honestly, Elf agreed. He wanted to be an adorable couple with Belle.
As Kelsi moved off to another table to refill drinks, Belle leaned across the table. “She’s so happy to be pregnant,” she whispered, and Elf agreed.
He pushed the plate of onion rings her way, and when the new order came, they shared those too. He liked the way she poured extra salt over them, although he warned her about letting Bob see her do that. “He’s real particular about his spices.”
Belle rolled her eyes. “I’ve learned to be sneaky. Mom would kill me if she saw me eating like this; she keeps telling me that I’m getting fat.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Elf let his eyes travel over her perfect body, and made sure that she saw his appreciation. “But we can keep this our little secret, if you want.”
She laughed and they ate, quizzing each other on their favorite foods and things to cook. She ate about a third of his burger, and he had to admit that the vegetable soup she’d ordered was among the best he’d ever tasted. Better even than Muz’s, which was saying something.
The burger was finished and the stacks of onion rings were diminishing, when Belle sat back in the booth and said, “So. Tell me something no one else knows about you.”
Elf was startled by the demand. “What, no one?”
“Well,
no one here at the ranch.”
He reached for the milkshake. “My parents are here at the ranch, remember.”
“Hmm, good point.” She swallowed the last of the onion ring. “Okay. Tell me something no one on the ranch besides your family knows.”
“And you’ll do the same?” Elf unwrapped two straws, eyes narrowed, wondering what he’d tell her.
“Sure. Although I’ve probably got it easier, since no one here knows me.”
“Exactly.” He shoved both straws in the thick chocolate concoction and took a long slurp. Then, pushing it towards her to try, he said, “So I think that you should go first.”
“Fine.” Her eyes narrowed in thought while she wrapped those lovely lips around the end of the second straw, and then suddenly widened. “Wow! This is really good, too!”
“I know, right? Have as much as you want.”
“Thanks.”
She took another slurp and flicked her tongue out to catch a drop of the ice cream. Elf had to look away; he really wanted to taste the chocolate on those lips.
“Okay, I got it.” She smiled. “I hate brussels sprouts.”
“Come on!” He rolled his eyes. “That doesn’t count. Everyone hates brussels sprouts.”
“My sister doesn’t. She’s weird.”
Elf grinned, remembering Jace’s comment on Monday about hating the vegetables, when Ellie and Will had announced their pregnancy. “Still, it’s not a particularly incriminating secret, is it?”
“OK, mister wise guy. Give me a better one.”
“Fine, I will.” He lowered his voice and did his best to sound threatening. “But if you tell anyone…”
He let the warning hang, and she nodded as she held up two fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
“Pretty sure the Girl Scouts use three fingers there, lady.”
She quickly flicked up a third finger and tried her best to look contrite. He grinned.
“Okay…” He took a deep breath, and decided to share a Christmas secret no one would believe came from a big burly blacksmith. “I once danced the part of Herr Drosselmeyer in the Nutcracker.”
