Mistletoe and Mr. Right

by Sarah Morgenthaler

  “I know,” Lana said, voice softening as she leaned into him. “The feeling is mutual, dearest.”

  It felt a little wrong to be making out like this dressed as he was, especially when his snowy Santa beard kept tickling her chin and making her giggle.

  So Rick settled in to lure a moose, trying not to be nervous about the fact that Lana had a tranquilizer gun in her hands once again, hiding out in the bushes, waiting.

  He tried to stay patient, but there was only so long he could sit out on a stump, trying to look festive.

  “This isn’t working,” he told her.

  “Sing a Christmas carol.” Her whispered suggestion only horrified him a little. It was possible Rick was starting to get used to all this.

  It was even more possible that he liked it.

  “What do you want for Christmas?” he asked her instead, taking out his phone and turning on his downloaded holiday-themed music.

  “A present isn’t necessary, love.” She hummed from her hiding spot behind a large clump of blackberry bushes. “I appreciate the classics, but this moose seems more of a contemporary creature.”

  He dutifully switched over from Bing Crosby to Mariah Carey. “Is the beard really necessary?” Rick asked, tugging on the scratchy thing.

  “I doubt the moose will be fooled without it,” Lana piped up. “This seems to be an above-average-intelligence animal.”

  “I’m getting you something for Christmas,” he said. “If you don’t give me any ideas, I’ll have to wing it, and no one wants that.” Hearing a giggle from the bushes warmed his heart, even if his hands were cold. “How do you feel about hedgehog-themed ugly Christmas sweaters?”

  “If you’re trying to turn me on, it’s working,” she said.

  If only. Memories of the previous night curled through his mind, leaving him warm all over, even his hands. She had felt so perfect against him, sleeping with her nose pressed into his bicep. And yes, the sex had been great, but waking up like that? With Lana in his arms? That feeling blew everything else out of the water.

  “I care about you,” Rick said to the woods, because it was true. Because she needed to hear it more than in the middle of the night, when he was reaching for her.

  Vulnerability wasn’t his thing, but neither was luring moose in Santa suits. He’d do more than this to make her know she was cared for, that the things that mattered to her mattered to him too.

  The only reason she was out there was to try to make people happy.

  “I’ll stay out here until New Year’s,” he added calmly. “Just know that you don’t have to do this. People can think whatever they want to. I know you. I know you care about us. There’s nothing you have to be forgiven for.”

  Silence, then he heard a rustling in the bushes, followed by his absolutely perfect snowlady in her winter camouflage ghillie suit emerging from the woods.

  Lana joined him on the stump, her hip pressed to his. “Do you really think so?” Lana asked softly.

  “I know so.” Finding her within the ghillie suit’s fronds wasn’t easy. But it was kind of fun.

  “I care about you too, Rick. So very much.” Those liquid dark eyes pooled with sincerity. There was a time he’d never have believed it. But he believed it now.

  Life had never felt this good.

  His phone beeped with a text message. “Sorry, Lana. Your quarry hit the Lockett property.”

  “Is everyone okay?”

  “Graham says its pandemonium. Whatever that means.” Standing from his stump, Rick stretched. “We probably should get over there.”

  * * *

  “I didn’t know what was happening.” Ash sounded a little dazed. “I was out on the porch, checking my email, and then boom. Something was attacking the lights.”

  On the front yard of the Lockett family home, several tall, very attractive people were gathered, gazing up at the destruction done to the porch in front of them.

  In the midst of them was tiny little Zoey, her pocket notebook out as she took charge of the situation, rapidly scribbling down notes. “Something attacked lights. Can you be more specific?”

  “Specific?” Ash tilted her head in confusion, vibrant hair catching the low sunlight.

  Yep, these were definitely some attractive people all squished together in front of a backdrop of pristine snowdrifts beneath rich evergreens. If Lana were to make a flyer for Moose Springs to entice people to come look at her condos, this was the picture she’d use.

  “Were they blinking lights or nonblinking lights? What color coordination?”

  Ash looked over at Easton for help, where the massive man was nudging a broken porch rail with his gloved fist. “Umm…blinking? I think?”

  “They were blinking,” Easton grunted. “Red, green, blue, white pattern, small outdoor bulbs.”

  “Small…outdoor…bulbs.” Zoey finished scribbling in her notebook and turned to Lana. “What do you think it means?”

  “What do you think it means?” Graham asked Zoey, sounding amused.

  “I think it means the Santa Moose is establishing a pattern. It seems to be triggered by the brightest light combinations, high-pitched Christmas carols, and life-size decorations. The moose definitely has a thing against the larger holiday decor.”

  “Like Rick over there?” Easton wondered.

  “I was wondering if anyone was going to mention that,” Graham said to Ash.

  Lana shifted in front of him. “We were moose luring. When one tries to capture a sadistic holiday scrooge, one must use the tools at one’s disposal.”

  “One can also admit when one looks stupid, sweetheart,” Rick said in her ear, looping an arm around Lana’s waist. He pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Can I take the beard off yet?”

  “If the moose is close, you may be our best chance at finally nabbing it.”

  Graham jutted his head at the porch, then at Lana. “What’s your plan?”

  Zoey actually growled. “Graham, it’s not her responsibility. If she wants to find the moose, she’ll find it. But don’t you put pressure on her.”

  Instead of teasing her in reply, Graham grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Besides, you’re the mayor now. Isn’t it your job to do something about the Santa Moose?”

  Graham blinked. “Me?”

  “Lana and I have nothing to prove to you or everyone else in this town. We are perfectly fine how we are.”

  “Zo—”

  “Not finished.” She continued to scribble in her notebook. “But just because we don’t need to catch this moose doesn’t mean we aren’t one hundred percent capable of doing so. This is for us, not you. So hush. I’m sure you have all these witty things to say, but I’m working.”

  Everyone suddenly grew very quiet, startled and staring behind Zoey.

  “Here’s what we’re going to do.” Zoey held up the game plan she’d drawn. “Lana, we’re going to need some spaghetti. No, hear me out on this.”

  Lana’s breath caught, not hearing a word her friend was saying.

  “Hey, Zo?” Graham said gently. “I know you’re busy, but I can’t wait anymore, darlin’.”

  Zoey turned around and saw what the rest of them were seeing. Graham had knelt on one knee in the snow, a ring box in his hand.

  “I wanted to ask you on Christmas Eve,” Graham told her. “Jake has a special outfit. It was supposed to be a thing. But I can’t…”

  He cleared his throat, and for the first time since they’d met as children, Lana saw Graham at a loss for words.

  “Zo, you’re just…and I can’t…”

  The poor man was completely overcome. Lana reached for Rick’s hand, unconscious of the action until his fingers tightened around hers.

  “Need some help there, buddy?” Easton asked kindly.

  Graham shook his head. “I c
an do this,” he said. “I want to do this.”

  He wanted to, but it was clear he was fighting back tears. Graham was not the kind of person to let people see him cry, and keeping those tears away was causing his shoulders to shake with the effort of containing his emotions.

  Zoey knelt in front of him, taking Graham’s hands in hers. “Graham Barnett. You have made me so happy from the moment I walked into the Tourist Trap,” she told him with a watery smile.

  “That was my line,” Graham told her, voice cracking despite his curving lips.

  “And every day since has only been better.”

  “My line too.”

  “I love you, and I can’t imagine spending a day without you at my side. You and me and Jake. Our family.”

  “You’re really good at this,” Graham said in a low, rough voice.

  “So if you’re going to ask me, it’s okay. You already know what I’m going to say.” Zoey pressed a kiss to his rough knuckles. “Also, it’s really cold down here.”

  “Dammit,” he groaned. “I love you.”

  Wrapping her up in his arms, Graham whispered something into her ear, something Lana couldn’t hear. Immediate tears filled Zoey’s eyes, but she was smiling too as she nodded. Another whisper, more words that were for them and them alone. This time, Zoey was bawling as she choked out a yes.

  Then Graham put the ring box in her hand. Zoey gasped as she opened it and saw what was inside. A sparkling diamond set in a hand-carved cedar band, decorated with delicate images of the forest and mountains of Moose Springs.

  “Did you carve this?” Zoey asked, eyes huge.

  Graham nodded, wiping at her tears and keeping her tucked close. “Do you like it?”

  “This is perfect.”

  The couple finally seemed to realize they had witnesses to their engagement, and they turned. Lana had managed to keep herself contained until the moment Zoey looked at her, holding up the ring box.

  “Lana, we’re engaged!” Zoey said, as if she couldn’t believe it herself. With a squeal of delight, Lana closed the distance between them and flung her arms around Zoey.

  The others gathered in to congratulate the couple.

  “You can put it on,” Graham said into Zoey’s ear. “I did make it for you.”

  “I’m afraid I’ll drop it. What if it falls off my finger? What if I ruin our happily ever after? I have really slim fingers. No, it’s staying in the box.”

  “What if you lose the box?” Graham countered.

  At her worried look, Graham took the box from her hands and carefully slid the engagement ring onto Zoey’s finger.

  “It won’t slip off.” He glanced over at Lana. “L helped me size it right.”

  “You knew?”

  “Dearest, everyone knew the night he met you.” Lana was feeling a bit misty-eyed herself. “I told him your ring size the day you decided to stay in Moose Springs.”

  Lana turned to Graham, and to her pleasure, he squeezed her in a hug so tight, he lifted her off her feet. Setting her down, Graham kept an arm around Lana’s shoulders.

  “Thank you for bringing her up here,” Graham told her. “I met the love of my life because of you.”

  “Zoey brought herself here,” Lana assured him. “She would have found this place eventually. I was lucky enough to be here when she did.”

  “Yeah, me too.” He squeezed her shoulders. “How are you? You took a dip in an ice bucket yesterday.”

  “I’m fine. Not even a sniffle. Rick’s been taking good care of me.”

  Graham followed her line of sight to where Rick was standing with Easton.

  “He’s a good guy. Being around you has made him a lot happier than I’ve seen him in years. Let me know if he causes you any trouble. I’m happy to play protective big brother anytime you want.”

  They shared a grin.

  “Thank you, but I can’t imagine him doing a thing wrong,” Lana told him. “Actually, since I have your ear, I was wondering if I could talk to you. Not now, obviously.”

  Sighing dramatically, he leaned into her. “You’re going to make me do actual mayor things, aren’t you? On my engagement day. You’re so mean to me. They haven’t even sworn me in yet.”

  “Oh, no one will care if a few formalities are skipped. I only want a little meeting to talk about some things we can both do for Moose Springs. I’m thinking Jonah desperately needs a day off and some help.”

  Chuckling, he pressed a swift kiss to her temple. “All right, darlin’. Only because I love you.”

  He ambled away to rejoin his friends, steal a kiss from his fiancée, and wrap Zoey up in his arms. Knowing those two, they wouldn’t be letting go of each other anytime soon. Standing off to the side, Lana watched them celebrate. Four friends…five now that Zoey was officially one of them.

  Rick came up to her, his Santa beard now tucked into his coat pocket.

  “You belong here,” Rick said in her ear. “With them. You’re part of their family too.”

  She wanted to believe him. Large, fat snowflakes were falling, dusting his shoulders, and he looked so cute in the Santa costume, Lana wrapped her arms around his waist.

  “This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had,” Lana told him. “I know it’s two days away, but still…”

  Those hazel eyes had lightened to a shade of green she’d only seen last night.

  Taking her face in his hands, Rick kissed her, a long, slow kiss that made Ash start gagging in the background. He kissed her again, mouth lingering. “You’re gorgeous.”

  Lana started to reply she had nothing on his Santa-ed self, but he added, “You are, inside and out, and braver than anyone I’ve ever met. You’ve taken on the Santa Moose.”

  “The Santa Moose isn’t that scary. Elusive but not scary. I’ve completely failed at catching it so far.”

  “The Santa Moose is terrifying.” He pressed the softest of kisses behind her ear. “And I know you’ll catch it.”

  Lips curving, he drew her deeper into his arms. Lana really didn’t care when her phone started to chirp in her back pocket, but when it went to voicemail, she checked the caller ID.

  “It’s my parents’ home,” she told him. “My mother’s office line. They have to be the only people still living with more than one landline.”

  Lana answered when her phone started to ring again. “This is about the worst time possible,” she said as Rick pressed another kiss to her neck, then her collarbone. “I promise to call you tomorrow on Christmas Eve, Mom. But I decided to stay in Moose Springs for Christmas this year.”

  “Lana, you need to come home.” Jessica’s voice was sharp with the kind of tension she never let anyone see. “It’s Killian. There’s been an accident.”

  Chapter 15

  Flying wasn’t new to Rick. He’d travelled plenty in his semipro days and more than a couple of trips to see his parents. Flying in a chartered jet from Anchorage to Chicago on a moment’s notice? That was definitely new.

  Rick had packed a bag without even asking if she wanted him to go with her. He knew how much she loved her cousin, and from what Rick could tell, Killian was in bad shape.

  Like…really bad.

  He’d gone through this before, and Rick’s heart was breaking for Lana. He didn’t want her to lose someone she loved. But if she did, she wasn’t going to go through the trauma alone. So he had boarded the plane with her, holding her hand as they flew directly to O’Hare. He kept her hand on the ride to the hospital.

  Only when they stepped into the lobby did she let go, shifting the slightest bit away from his shoulder.

  Lana kept her head held high as they walked through the hospital, her face a mask of dispassionate professionalism that didn’t match the caring, passionate woman he knew at all. The clicking of her heels on the floor seemed louder than normal, grating on Rick’s
senses if only for the fact that she had changed into them on the plane. As if Lana felt she had to wear heels to the hospital.

  “Are you sure you want to come in?” Lana asked him as they reached the elevators. “My aunt says that Killian’s hard to look at.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Rick said, respecting the extra inch she’d put between them. The instant she needed him, he’d close that distance faster than she could blink. “Are you sure we’re allowed in ICU? I thought only one family member at a time.”

  At least that was how it had been after Diego barely survived his own family’s car crash as a teenager.

  “The Montgomery name is on the side of the building. They’ve been letting us back in pairs.”

  Two people were in the hall outside the hospital room, a man and a woman familiar to Rick from the pool hall, but he didn’t know them personally.

  “Those are Killian’s best friends. My mother said they were there when he crashed,” Lana explained before stepping up to the pair. “Enzo, Haleigh. How is he?”

  “Killian woke up finally.” Haleigh’s eyes were red rimmed, and her mascara had smeared from tears. “He’s upset.”

  “What do you expect?” Enzo snapped at her. “He’s paralyzed.”

  “They don’t know that. And at least he’s not dead.”

  The two began to argue about whether or not Killian would survive his crash, their voices rising and falling, pulling glares from the nurse’s station.

  “I don’t know what he sees in either of you,” Lana said with unusual sharpness. “If you’re intent on making a scene, please do so somewhere else.”

  Ignoring their offended expressions, Lana brushed past them and entered the room. Rick didn’t know where he would be most helpful—tossing these two out of the hospital for her or following her.

  He chose to follow her.

  The astringent scent of chemicals hit his nostrils, combined with sweat and urine. Rick tried to ignore all the wires and the IV running from the machines behind him into Killian’s arms and torso, and the plastic tube leading to a catheter bag hanging on the edge of the bed. If the substantial bruising and lacerations on Killian’s face and arms didn’t clue him in to how hurt Lana’s cousin was, the blood in his urine was a bad sign.