All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by means mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior permission from the author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events or persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or featured names are assumed to be the property of their respective owners and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement of any of these terms used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or in part, mechanically or electronically, constitutes a copyright violation. Published in the United States of America in December 2020; Copyright 2020 by Annelise Reynolds and Dawn Sullivan. The right of the Author’s Name to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by them in accordance with The Copyright, Designs, and Patent Act of 1988.
Published by Dawn Sullivan and Annelise Reynolds
Cover Design: Alluring Write Productions
Editor: Grace Brennan
Copyright 2020 © Author Annelise Reynolds and Author Dawn Sullivan
Language: English
Contents
Introduction
Wedding Bell Rock
1. Xander
2. Everly
3. Xander
4. Everly
5. Xander
6. Everly
7. Xander
8. Everly
9. Xander
10. Everly
Epilogue
Christmas of Love Collaboration
Cassia
Note From The Authors
About the Author
Other Books by Annelise Reynolds
About the Author
Other books by Dawn Sullivan
Introduction
Welcome to Santa Claus, Indiana where Christmas isn’t just a holiday, it’s a way of life. Join these 12 amazing authors with 11 wonderful books as they bring you some instalove, a little mystery, and maybe some thriller, for a romance filled holiday!
The community of Santa Claus was designed in 1849. The story of how it received the name of Santa Claus has roots both in fact and legend. In January 1856 the town applied for a post office to be installed.
On June 25, 1895, as part of a nationwide standardization for place names, the post office name was changed to the one word Santaclaus. The town's unique name went largely unnoticed until the late 1920s, when Postmaster James Martin began promoting the Santa Claus postmark. The name was changed back to Santa Claus on February 17, 1928. It was then that the Post Office Department decided there would never be another Santa Claus Post Office in the United States, due to the influx of holiday mail. The growing volume of holiday mail became so substantial that it caught the attention of Robert Ripley in 1929, who featured the town's post office in his nationally syndicated Ripley's Believe It or Not! cartoon strip.
Learn more about this unique town here: https://santaclausind.org
Wedding Bell Rock
If the ornaments are rockin’, don’t come a knockin’…
Xander
Life as a rock star is all I thought it would be when I left town to chase my dreams just over nine years ago. Exciting, amazing… and exhausting. So, when we have a couple of weeks off over Christmas during a three month tour we are on, the band flies home to be with family, but I decide to stay with the bus. A few days in the city alone sounds like Heaven.
What I didn’t anticipate was the bus breaking down just outside of Santa Claus, Indiana. Although, running into one of Santa’s adorable elves has me feeling as if my luck might be turning around.
Everly
The first wedding I ever helped plan was right after high school, shotgun style for my best friend. Since then, I’ve grown my business, Wedding Bell Rock, into a much sought-after wedding venture, specializing in winter wonderland weddings.
Which is why I’m dressed as one of Santa’s helpers when I run smack into Xander Scott, famous musician and lead singer of my favorite band. Why he’s made an appearance in my small town, I have no idea, but what I do know, is things are about to heat up this Christmas.
For Charity, a good friend and inspiration for Wedding Bell Rock. I mean, how many people out there can forget to pick up their marriage license, and still pull off getting married the next day?
1
Xander
The snow fell lightly outside as our tour bus made its way down the long, dark stretch of highway we were traveling on. It was quiet, except for the soft chords I was strumming on the old acoustic guitar I held close. My mind was full of the past this holiday season, some good, some bad, but all of it had shaped me into the man I am today.
I grew up in Denver, Colorado. A punk kid moving in and out of several foster homes after the death of my parents when I was seven years old. My older brother, Eric, got out on his eighteenth birthday, leaving me behind. I had just turned ten when he left, but was already on my sixth foster family. Partly because no one wanted to take on two brothers, but mostly because I tended to find trouble wherever I could. I was difficult, hard to get along with. Angry at life and anyone who tried to become a part of mine.
Things went downhill after Eric left until Greg and Mary Scott came into my life almost a year later. They took me in, stood by me through the hard times, and showed me that I had enough room in my heart for more than the family I’d lost.
A small smile turned up the corner of my lips as I ran my hand over the top of the sleek, light brown guitar. Greg had given it to me the night he asked if he and Mary could adopt me. They’d never insisted I call them Mom and Dad, but that was what they’d been to me until the day I lost them. Greg to cancer, and Mary a year later to what I would always think was a broken heart.
Two days later, I graduated from high school. With no one there to watch, I didn’t bother walking across the stage with the rest of the class to receive my diploma. After that, there’d been nothing holding me back. I left in the middle of the night, with just my old, ratty guitar case in one hand and a duffle bag full of clothes in the other. A year later I was on the fast track to becoming famous, and I only went to Denver one time a year, when I flew back to visit Greg and Mary’s graves and thank them for being there for me when it felt like no one else was. It was always on the day they adopted me—giving me their last name and hope for the future.
Sighing, I leaned my head back against the bus seat, closing my eyes. I’d been given the chance of a lifetime just a couple of years after leaving home. Being able to stand on stage in front of thousands of people, playing my music and belting out lyrics to the roar of the crowd, was exhilarating. Something I normally lived for. However, I was exhausted, both mentally and physically. I loved what I did, but I was getting burnt out. I needed a break badly.
“It’s picking up out there, Xander,” the driver called from the front of the bus. “Getting slick, too.”
Turning my head, I let my eyes slowly open as I stared out into the dark of the night. We were on our way to the next stop for a tour my band, Rebellious Dynasty, was doing. The rest of the band had flown back to California to spend Christmas with their families, but I decided to keep going with the bus. I didn’t have anyone waiting for me at home. Just a large, quiet condo in downtown Los Angeles that an interior decorator designed while I’d been out on tour. It was a place to eat and sleep when I was home, nothing more.
Sometimes, when I wasn’t on stage performing in front of a crowd, life felt lonely. It wa
s then that I wondered what it would be like to have a family again. I would contemplate hiring someone to track down my brother, but then I would remember that he was the one who left me and never looked back.
It didn’t matter. I had my band. My guitar. My fans. That was all I needed. Well, that and a few days of downtime.
Suddenly, the bus lurched forward, making me almost drop my guitar and jerking me from my thoughts. A low, muttered curse emerged before I could stop it, and I slowly rose to my feet as I glanced out the window across the aisle with a frown. Where the hell were we?
“Tom?” I yelled up to the driver, setting the guitar down on the seat beside me. “What happened?”
“Damn thing died,” Tom grumbled, shaking his head in agitation.
“Can you fix it?”
“I have no idea. I don’t have a clue what’s wrong.” Tom stood, opening the door before he glanced over in my direction. “Hang tight for a few minutes. I’m going to see if I can figure out what happened.”
Ignoring him, I grabbed my black leather jacket off the back of one of the seats and shrugged it on before following him out the door into the darkness. It was cold, and the light snow that was falling not too long ago had turned into more of a flurry. Shoving my hands into my pockets, I walked around to the back of the bus and watched as Tom flipped a latch and opened the hood.
After several minutes of rooting around inside, the dull beam of his flashlight skimming over everything, Tom sighed and stepped back, shaking his head.
“What’s the issue?” I asked quietly, walking over to stand beside him. I wasn’t a mechanic. I had no clue what to even look for, but I had high hopes that Tom did.
“Not sure,” Tom muttered, slowly closing the hood and latching it shut. “Might be a fuel line.” Taking out his phone, he looked at it and then grunted, “Damn thing has no service.”
After checking my own, I raked a hand through my thick, dark hair and turned to walk back to the front of the bus. “Any idea how far we are from the nearest town?”
“I’m pretty sure we are only about a mile away from Santa Claus.”
I paused, glancing back in his direction. “Santa Claus? Seriously?”
“Yep. Santa Claus, Indiana. It’s the next town we were going to drive through. I was thinking of stopping there for the night. Looks like we have to now.”
“Guess we better close up the bus and get moving.”
Before Tom could reply, I heard the loud honk of a horn and then was momentarily blinded by bright lights as a large truck pulled up beside our bus. The window on the passenger side rolled down, and a deep voice yelled, “You folks okay?”
I hesitated a moment before walking over to look in at a man about my age with light blond hair and brown eyes. “Bus broke down.”
Resting an arm over the steering wheel, he leaned over to look out the window toward the bus. His eyes widened and his gaze swung back to mine, then they narrowed on me. “You with that Rebellious Dynasty band?”
“Son, he is the band,” Tom said, coming up beside me. Squinting into the truck, he asked, “Think you can give us a lift into town so we can find someone to take a look at the bus?”
The man nodded slowly, his eyes going from Tom back to me. “Yeah, I reckon I can do that. Won’t be tonight, though. Storm’s picking up, and I won’t be able to see much out here in the darkness in this weather.” Reaching out a hand, he waited until I clasped it with mine before saying, “Noah Chase.”
“I’m Alex Scott,” I said, giving him my real name instead of my stage name. “This is Tom.”
Tom cocked an eyebrow, tilting his head to the side as he got a closer look at the stranger. “You a mechanic?”
“Sir,” the man said, his eyes twinkling with suppressed laughter, “I am the mechanic.”
I burst out laughing, shaking my head as I glanced over at Tom. “He got ya there, buddy.” Slapping the bus driver on the back, I turned to head to the bus to grab my overnight bag and guitar. Looking back, I asked curiously, “Tell me, why do they call the town Santa Claus?”
He grinned. “You’ll see.”
Ten minutes later, we were driving through the small town lit with more Christmas lights than I’d ever seen in my life.
“I feel like we’re at the North Pole,” Tom grumbled from the back seat. “Is this how the town got its name?”
Noah chuckled, pulling up in front of a large, white house that was lit up like a Christmas tree. “Naw, but we do like to play off the name.” Nodding toward the house, he said, “I know Mrs. Roop has a couple of rooms open right now. Why don’t you check in and get some rest? I’ll meet you at my shop in the morning. Chase Automotive, just two blocks down that way.”
I looked where he was pointing and nodded. I could see his sign from here. After thanking the man, I got out of the truck and faced the bed-and-breakfast in front of me. This wasn’t exactly how I had planned on spending the next couple of weeks, but maybe a few days here wouldn’t be so bad. It was a Friday night, so whatever was wrong with the bus, I was pretty sure we wouldn’t be able to get parts for it until Monday at the earliest. Gripping the handle of my guitar case tightly, I walked up the sidewalk behind Tom. Three days wouldn’t be so bad.
I hoped.
2
Everly
“I can’t believe you’re still up.” I looked up to see my sister, Madeline, coming down the stairs in flannel Christmas pajamas that matched the ones I was wearing. This year’s were green and white with candy canes everywhere; last year was reindeer.
Ever since we were kids, Mom would get us a matching set of pajamas on December first. We groaned as kids, but as we got older, it was a funny gift that we always enjoyed. A few years back, we didn’t get our December first present, and Maddie and I ended up going out and buying our own. It had become a tradition to us by then, and it didn’t feel like Christmas without them.
“What are you doing up?” I reached for my coffee, needing another hit of caffeine because it was getting obscenely late and I had a full day tomorrow. There were two different weddings happening, and I’d planned everything out for both. The brides both loved this time of year and thought Santa Claus, Indiana was perfect for their getaway Christmas wedding, and holiday themed weddings happened to be my specialty.
“I’m thirsty. You do realize it’s two in the morning, right?” She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took a seat at the table across from me.
“I know.” I flinched as I looked at the clock again. “It’s my busy season, though. I have two weddings here in town tomorrow. Then, there’s a staff Christmas party in Owensboro on Monday night that Gia asked me to organize for her brother’s company. I was thinking I might stay down there Monday night and drive back Tuesday morning.”
“Drew, Gretchen, and the kids are coming in on Monday night,” Maddie pointed out. Our oldest brother went to college in the big city after high school and never came back. He liked living in the city, but he made it a point to come home every Christmas to be with the family. Living in Santa Claus meant that not only were you obligated to enjoy the holiday season, but you were required to go overboard with it. Drew wanted to give his kids a taste of what we had growing up, so every year during the holidays, they came down for the week to enjoy being with the whole family.
“I know. I hate to miss it, but the party probably won’t be over until nine, and I have to help with clean-up afterward. If I get out of there before eleven, I’ll be surprised. I’m not going to drive back that late, especially since we are supposed to be getting heavy snow next week.”
“Okay,” Maddie yawned, and picked up one of my other spiral notebooks for the Carter wedding tomorrow night. “What can I help with so you can get to bed? You look exhausted.”
“Thanks, Maddie.” I rolled my eyes. “Do I really look that bad?”
“Nope, for a raccoon, you look great.”
I grabbed a Cheez-It from the box and threw it at her. She snatched it out of
the air and popped it into her mouth, laughing.
“Brat,” I mumbled affectionately. “If you want, you can make sure there are receipts in this folder,” I handed her a red file folder that was bulging with receipts, “that match up with this list.” I flipped open the spiral to the correct list, with lots of items already checked off.
“Okay.” She sighed. “I think I’m going to need something stronger than water for this.” Swiping my coffee mug, she took a sip and winced. “Just not that. Blech. You don’t put enough sugar in it.”
Maddie got up and went to the coffeepot to pour herself some coffee. After she sat back down across from me, we both worked in silence as I accounted for everything on the Ridgeway wedding while she worked on the Carter wedding.
“Hey, this isn’t checked off, and I don’t see a receipt for it,” Maddie said, handing me her list and pointing at line number thirty-eight.
I looked at the spiral and saw what it was, relaxing a little because that was one of the few things that wasn’t on me. I should have confirmed that the bride and groom had gotten the wedding license as I’d instructed them to, but ultimately, that task fell to them. Even still, I wasn’t going to relax until I knew they had carried out the task of getting the license from the courthouse.
“That’s because the marriage license is something I needed them to do. I will have to wait until the morning to verify they actually went to the courthouse and got it.” Blowing out a breath, I went back to working on my list for the Ridgeway wedding.
Wedding Bell Rock: Christmas of Love Collaboration Page 1
