Mistletoe Kisses

by Marnie Blue

  Hannah reached out and touched Justin on the arm. “Except…Mom is telling the truth.”

  Justin stared at Hannah and noticed his mom was staring at her, too. Hannah nodded. “I saw him with her once. I didn’t say anything to either of you because…I just didn’t want to. I couldn’t believe it. They were at the same movie Lilly and I were at. I’m not sure if she saw them, but I did and…” Hannah swiped at her eyes. “It was pretty awful. They were all cuddly and kissy and…” She shuddered. “I’m really glad this is out in the open, because every time I see that shrine in the den, I want to throw up.”

  “I’m sorry you had to see that.” Mom put her arms around Hannah. “You should have told me.”

  “And said what? I thought you loved Dad, that you thought he was a hero,” Hannah croaked. “Then he died and you were heartbroken and…there didn’t seem to be any point to it.”

  “He was a hero. And I did love him. He just didn’t love me, is all. Not anymore.” Mom leaned her head on Hannah’s shoulder. “I didn’t want you two to know that he was anything but a good man, a brave one. And he was a great dad. Just a lousy husband.”

  “How did I not know this? I mean, there are signs—clues. How come I didn’t…” Justin fumbled to find the right words.

  “Maybe you’re not as observant as you think you are.” Hannah raised a brow at him.

  Not possible.

  “Maybe you were a kid and there were things you didn’t know then. Things you didn’t understand.” Mary reached out to him, placing her hand on his arm. “It’s okay. I know you had to grow up fast that night, Justin. I felt so awful about that—I tried to protect you, by letting you believe your father was a hero and that I was the bad guy. It seemed better that way. I was wrong. And I’m sorry.”

  Justin swiped his hand over his forehead. “I need to go for a walk or something. This is too much to process right now. I…” I based my entire life on a lie. And pushed away the woman I love because of it. “I’m an idiot.”

  “No one’s arguing with you.” Hannah smiled through her tears.

  Mom laughed through tears of her own. “You kids. Stop picking on each other.”

  “I’m not picking on him. I’m telling him I love him,” Hannah said.

  “I love you, too, sis.” Justin slid off his stool and moved around the kitchen island to wrap his arms around two of the three most important women in his life. Suddenly, things seemed so much less dark. But still—the world wasn’t as bright as he knew it could be. “So. Now that I know the truth, I have a question. How do I get Lilly to come home for Christmas?”

  “I have an idea,” Mom said, and leaned back on her stool. “But we need a few things.”

  …

  Lilly frowned as Hannah pulled down Justin’s street. “Um…Hannah. The airport is in the other direction. I’m going to miss my flight.”

  “I need to drop something off,” Hannah said. “You’ve got plenty of time. Your plane doesn’t leave for another two and a half hours.”

  “I need to get through security. And you know I need my preflight glass of wine to relax. I hate flying.” Another reason she’d wanted a steady job where she wasn’t traveling all over the world chasing stories. Too bad. That opportunity was over.

  It didn’t seem to matter, really. The only thing that did matter was not seeing Justin. Because it broke her heart. She needed to get away from him.

  “You’ll have plenty of time,” Hannah told her.

  “Is he there?” Can you drop me off on the sidewalk and I’ll wait for you down here on the corner? It’s dark, no one will see me…

  “He’s working. No worries. Besides, you can stay in the car.” Hannah pulled into Justin’s driveway and shut off the car. The house was dark, but there were cars parked up and down the street.

  Including the news van.

  In fact…Lilly gasped as she saw Cisco getting out of it. He lifted his camera to his shoulder and turned on the lights. He was recording.

  But he shouldn’t be. She’d left Channel 10 and burned a bridge as well. Besides, the Ho-Ho-Ho Patrol was finished. There was no story left to cover. “Hannah. What’s going on?”

  Officer O’Rourke appeared beside the car and opened Lilly’s door. “Step out of the vehicle, ma’am,” he said in an authoritative voice. Lilly was so surprised, she couldn’t refuse. She stepped out and stared at him.

  “Kevin? What’s going on?”

  “Move to the front of the car, please.” He grasped her elbow.

  “Am I under arrest or something? What’s going on? Where’s Hannah?” She couldn’t see past the bright light of Cisco’s camera; Cisco himself was just a silhouette in the darkness. “Is this Justin’s doing?” She pulled her arm out of Kevin’s grasp. “Cisco? Why are you doing this?”

  The cameraman shifted, and she heard him say, “When Justin called me, I knew I’d have to be here—to give your piece the perfect ending. Sheila agreed, by the way. And she said she expects to see you in her office tomorrow. She’s not taking no for an answer. This time.”

  “I can’t—what? Why did Justin call you? Where is he?” Lilly frowned at Cisco’s silhouette.

  “There’s no Justin here,” said a familiar voice. Lilly spun to see—“Santa? Justin. This isn’t funny. What’s going on?” She put her hands on her hips and stared at him. He looked different. For one thing, his eyebrows were frosty white. And his suit fit better. “Is that you?”

  “It’s me. Santa,” he said, moving close to lift her hands in his white-gloved ones. She could still feel the heat of him against her skin. And then a familiar scent wafted into her nostrils.

  “Justin…why do you smell like candy canes?”

  “He wanted to smell like your favorite scent. We almost struck out because we didn’t have time to shop for it. I mean, we were able to get him a new suit that smelled better than the old one, but we wanted to—you know, spritz it up for you. Fortunately, one of the K-9 officers likes to spray his dog with dog cologne, and he just happened to have candy-cane fragrance in his locker,” Kevin said, peering over Justin’s shoulder. “So if Weav starts barking, you know why.”

  “Would you please just shut up, for once?” Justin said over his shoulder, shaking his head so that the bells—bells?—on his Santa hat rang merrily. “This is my moment. Go over there with my sister. And don’t get any ideas. You’re not allowed to date my sister.” He pointed behind Lilly with his bearded chin.

  Lilly tried to see Hannah behind her. Her heart pounded, and her throat tightened. This was all wrong. She didn’t want to stay here. Not anymore. Not without Justin in her life. “Hannah, you were supposed to take me to the airport. I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but it’s not going to work.”

  All of a sudden, then, Santa—Justin—got down on one knee, her hands still clasped in his, right there in his driveway. “Lilly Menace,” he said. “Will you be my elf?”

  “What?” She stared.

  “Hit it, Mom!” Justin called.

  “Hope we don’t blow a fuse,” Hannah said behind her.

  Lilly heard a rustling in the bushes, and then the sound of a vacuum. Many vacuums, and suddenly Justin’s darkened lawn glowed with light. She stared as a plastic snow globe slowly and almost majestically inflated on his front lawn. Behind the clear plastic, a winged Barbie fairy thing stood in the center of the globe beside a sparkly pink unicorn.

  She stared at the display, more eclectic and festive than anything Mary had ever had on her lawn. It was everything Lilly could have ever wanted. “It’s…it’s…”

  “It’s freaking god-awful. And it’s for you. Merry Christmas, Lilly.” He got to his feet but didn’t let go of her hands.

  With a final bump and whir, the globe started vomiting plumes of opalescent “snow” that swirled around the winged Barbie thing and the unicorn. Beside it, a giant snowman unfolded; his scarf waved in a nonexistent breeze. Somewhere behind him there was a gingerbread man, and a soldier, and even the
Holy Family, some sheep, and an inflatable camel. A loudspeaker began to play “Silent Night,” loudly; the lights on the shrubs began to move in a synchronized pattern to the words.

  It was over-the-top festive. And it was perfect.

  But then Lilly couldn’t see anymore; her eyes were full of tears.

  “Justin…you did this for me? It’s beautiful.”

  “It’s…” Justin said. “Well, really, it defies description. Beyond hideous, that is.”

  “It does.” Lilly smiled and looked up at him. “I always wanted a display like this, but my parents would never allow it. They only used ‘tasteful’ decorations.”

  “Good for them. Seriously. I don’t know what’s wrong with tasteful.”

  “Tasteful is boring. Especially at Christmas.” She stared up at him. “Justin Weaver. You’re the best Santa in the whole world. And this is the best Christmas present. Ever.”

  “No, it’s not. It’s a horrific, glitter-vomiting eyesore of plastic crap. But if it makes you happy, I can deal with it. The thing is, it’s on my lawn, which goes with the house. So I’m hoping that someday—after we date awhile—we can do that married thing Mom and Hannah keep going on about. That way, you can live with me, and we can have the tackiest, loudest, most garish lawn display. Every year. Because I love you, Lilly Menace. I always have. And I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.”

  “Funny,” she said. “I was about to say the same thing.” She lifted her face to his. As Justin swept her into his embrace and his mouth fell to hers, Lilly knew she was home.

  Want more? Turn the page for a sneak peek at book two!

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  Chapter One

  “Gammie, put your teeth in. We’re going to be late.” Kevin O’Rourke tucked his police shield in his pocket, stood in the bathroom doorway and frowned at his grandmother. She stared back defiantly, with a puckered-lip frown.

  “I’m not going.”

  “You’re going. You have to go, Gammie. Who’s going to take care of you when I move? You need to find a place, and Happy Acres is supposed to be one of the best.”

  “It’s a hellhole.” The elderly woman crossed her arms and gave him The Look.

  When he was six—hell, even now at age twenty-six—it made him pause, but right now he couldn’t allow himself to back down. He stared at her with his own version of The Look; part-Gammie, part-Drill Instructor Harris. It worked for perps and with civilians in general.

  It didn’t work for Gammie. “I’m not going, so stick that in your craw and live with it, Kevin Patrick O’Rourke.”

  “Gammie, I’m not going to let you blow off another appointment.” He took a step into the bathroom. If Gammie was an offender, he would have tazed her by now. But she wasn’t. She was his only family, and the woman who’d raised him from the age of ten, when his parents had been killed in an accident. She was the person he loved best, and the one who loved him best, and he only wanted what was best for her.

  So tazing could be an option. It was the only way he was going to get her to visit the retirement community. God only knew how he’d get her to sign up and actually move there.

  One step at a time…

  “C’mon Gammie. Please? I’m only asking you to do this because I love you.”

  She narrowed her eyes and exhaled. “If you loved me, you’d let me stay here. In my home.”

  “I wish you could stay in your house. But you’re in the middle of nowhere.”

  “I’m not in the middle of nowhere. I’m here. Exactly where I’ve been for the past sixty years!”

  “Your nearest neighbor is two miles away.”

  “Good. I like it that way.” She shrugged, then pushed past him and left the bathroom—and her teeth, in a glass on the edge of the sink. Kevin grimaced and scooped up the glass. Then he followed her to the kitchen to find her standing at the stove.

  The gas stove. He had nightmares about it. What if she got distracted turning it on and the flame went out and…? He wasn’t just being imaginative. He was a cop. He’d seen it happen. People dead from gas inhalation. People in tiny bits from gas explosions. It wasn’t a random fear.

  This time, however, she plunked the kettle over the low, blue flame. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m having a cup of tea. Sit down. I’ll make you breakfast.”

  “I don’t want breakfast.” Kevin put the glass of teeth onto the table, then thought the better of it and picked it up again. “I want you to get dressed, fix your hair, put your teeth in—” He rattled them in the glass. And visit Happy Acres.”

  “It sounds like a farm for old people. Except no one grows there. They only die.” Gammie shook her head. “I’m not going.”

  “Gammie—”

  “Did you ever see the movie ‘Soylent Green’? No.” She shuffled to the cupboard and got down two mugs. “I’m making poached eggs. Do you want white or wheat toast?”

  “I want no toast. I want you to—”

  Kevin’s phone dinged with a text message. He put the glass on the back of the kitchen sink and reached into his pocket.

  Danny. Hey, can you come over? I need your help.

  Danny Hutchins had been his best friend since Kevin had first moved to live with Gammie. He was the closest thing Kevin had to a brother—besides his police partner, Justin—and he’d do anything for Danny. Even now, in the middle of this standoff with Gammie, which wasn’t going his way anyhow. He was going to have to resort to trickery when she wasn’t expecting it, which made him sad, but not as sad as the thought of him moving away for his new job and Gammie being all alone in her house, two miles from the closest neighbor. So much could go wrong…

  He sighed and pulled out one of the kitchen chairs with his foot. “Wheat toast, please.”

  “Ha! I win again.” Gammie chortled and shuffled across the kitchen to the sink; she put her teeth in as Kevin texted Dan back.

  Sure. What’s up? Gammie made her way to his one-cup coffee maker and popped in a pod of hazelnut; he could smell it as it brewed.

  I’ll tell you when you get to my house. Brenda and I have an opportunity for a missions trip to Uganda.

  Nice.

  Kevin had grown up and gone into law enforcement after a stint in the military. Danny had grown up and become a pastor like his father before him. There were times that Kevin had envied Danny his close knit, loving family of siblings. And foster siblings.

  He was an only child.

  Maybe he could ask Danny to persuade Gammy to move to Happy Acres…after all, Kevin would do anything for him. He knew his friend would respond in kind.

  So what do you need? An extra suitcase? A donation? Just ask, buddy. I’m here for you.

  Good! Can you come over around seven tonight? Brenda’s making her famous meatballs.

  That sealed the deal. Kevin responded with a resounding Yes! and tucked his phone away. “All right, Gammie. We won’t go.”

  He could have sworn his grandmother did a little jig, but he shook his finger at her. “For today. I’m going to reschedule the appointment with Happy Acres.”

  The elderly woman plunked his coffee down in front of him. “I don’t know why you’re bothering, Kevin. I’m not going to live there, so you’re just wasting your time.” She reached out and cupped his cheek with her soft, warm hand. “And I know you hate wasting time.” She gave his cheek a soft, stinging slap, then turned back to the stove. “I’m glad you got that new job. I won’t have to worry about you getting shot all the time.”

  Little did Gammy know, Kevin thought, his new job was with the FBI. She’d worry more than ever once she found out. He just needed to find the right time to tell her. Maybe after he got her settled in Happy Acres. The sooner, the better.

  …

  “I’m sorry, Samantha, but you don’t have the experience we’re looking for.”

 
The tall, thin, made-up woman on the other side of the conference room table gazed at Sam through extra-long, fake eyelashes.

  Sam grit her teeth. Stay pleasant, she told herself. Be polite. “I’m sorry, but I disagree,” she said. “I’ve been a foster kid. I know the system. I’ve seen things that would—” make you puke all over your fancy shoes—“curl your hair. How is it that I don’t have the experience you’re looking for, when I’ve lived it?”

  “That might be the case—”

  “It is the case.”

  “Be that as it may, you don’t have the experience we’re seeking.” The social worker supervisor stood on those high heels. A waft of perfume came Sam’s way, along with a not-unpleasant rattle from a slew of metal charm bracelets.

  “I have a degree. What more do you want?”

  “You have an Associate’s Degree. You don’t have a Master’s. At the very least, we want a Bachelor’s degree.”

  “I’m working on that now.” Sam stayed seated, even though Tall and Skinny were making all the “the interview is over” gestures.

  “That’s good. We’ll keep your resume on file. You can contact us when you’ve graduated.” Tall and Skinny put her hand on the doorknob and pointedly opened the door.

  “Yeah, right,” Sam muttered. Then she winced as the woman blinked her eyes in a startled flutter.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Nothin’.” Sam slammed her notebook shut then shoved it into her backpack. Why bother being polite when Tall and Skinny wasn’t being polite, either? “It doesn’t matter anyway.”

  The woman paused, shut the door quietly, then turned to face her. “You know, Samantha,” the woman said, “there was a reason I brought you in for an interview, in spite of the fact that you don’t have a Bachelor’s.”

  “Yeah, I know. My foster brother talked you into it, right?” Sam rolled her eyes.

  Tall and Skinny blinked again. “Well, yes, that was part of it. But it was your cover letter.” She tilted her head. “You’re right. You do have experience of the foster system that we don’t usually have. Insider information. And it was clear in your cover letter that you have a big heart and huge passion for helping others. Especially children.”