Sugar, Spice, and Shifters: A Touch of Holiday Magic

by Élianne Adams

  “That would be nice,” her grandfather said gruffly. “Then maybe you can introduce me to that young man you were skiing with the other day, if he’s still here.”

  Oh God. Dawson. “Maybe,” she said cautiously, sitting down at the table with her grandparents to eat. In her rush of panic, she’d totally forgotten about her afternoon date with him. She was going to miss it completely. Sadness filled her, and she wondered if she should stop by his cabin to say goodbye.

  No, she thought to herself as she looked at the clock on the wall. If she did that, she might end up back in bed with him, and then she’d definitely get back late. She couldn’t afford the distraction. Much as she hated it, she was going to have to leave without saying goodbye.

  EIGHT

  Dawson waited outside the rental shack for over an hour, but Jade never showed. Frowning, he scanned the snowy landscape for her with his keen eyes, then turned and walked around the shack so he could search the slopes, wondering if he’d missed her somehow. He didn’t know how that could happen, since she would have had to walk passed the shack without him, but that must've been what occurred because the only other explanation was that she’d stood him up.

  And there was no way that had happened—not after the incredible sex they’d had last night, and the wonderful companionship they’d shared for the last two days.

  But as one hour became two and his search of the slopes turned up nothing, Dawson had to admit that though she might not have purposely stood him up, she definitely hadn’t shown. The worry that had been steadily gnawing a hole in his gut started to burn, and, unable to handle it anymore, he turned and headed toward the lodge where Jade had told him she was staying.

  “Hi,” he told the woman behind the desk, a dark skinned Latina who bore a faint resemblance to Jade. He wondered if they were related and then remembered that it was a family business. She most likely was. “I’m looking for Jade Garcia. Have you seen her?”

  The woman—whose name tag announced her as Rachel—sat up straighter, her dark eyes glowing. “Oh, you must be the guy she’s seeing,” she said, her voice bubbling. But then a frown bunched her brows together. “She... she didn’t tell you that she’d left?”

  “No.” Hurt, he recoiled. “She... she’s gone? As in, gone from the resort?”

  Sympathy filled Rachel’s eyes as she nodded. “Her boss called and told her she was needed back at the studio. She left in a real hurry early this morning.”

  “Oh.” A hollow ache filled his chest. So she really had left. And she hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye?

  Maybe last night hadn’t meant as much to her as it had to him. The thought filled him with a kind of helpless anger. Even if she hadn’t felt the same way, she could have at least told him so. For fuck’s sake, they’d had another date this afternoon, and she knew where he was staying! She could have stopped by to tell him she was leaving.

  “Hey, don’t take it so personally,” Rachel said, clearly reading his thoughts from the expression on his face. “She didn’t say goodbye to me either, and I’m related to her. The only reason I knew is because Gabriel told me when we were changing shifts... and I doubt he would have known if he hadn’t seen her charging out of here with her luggage.” She smiled a little. “When Jade’s got something on her mind, she tends to block out everything else.”

  “Okay.” He wasn’t sure how to take that since he didn’t know how close Jade was to the rest of her family outside her grandparents, but he had to admit Rachel’s words made him feel a little better. “Do... do you think maybe you have a phone number for her? I really wanted to say goodbye.”

  Rachel shook her head. “I don’t have anything like that... but you should ask Abuelito Garcia.” She pointed towards the elevator. “I saw him go back up the elevator. He might be in his rooms right now.”

  “I’ll go talk to him.” Relief coursed through Dawson as Rachel gave him her grandfather’s room number, and he quickly headed for the elevator and took it up to the third floor. As he rode, he admitted to himself that he didn’t want Jade’s number so he could say goodbye. He wanted her number so that he could meet up with her again. For Christ’s sake, they both lived in the LA area. The chemistry between them had been so explosive it had rocked his world, and he couldn’t let her get away, not if it was possible that she could be his mate. And, with the way things had been between them last night, it was not only possible, but likely.

  Taking a deep breath, Dawson knocked on the door Rachel had told him to go to, anxiety biting into his chest. This wasn’t exactly the way he’d introduce himself to a prospective mate’s family... but what else could he do?

  The door opened to reveal an older woman with smooth, coffee colored skin and graying black hair wearing a long woolen dress and Native American jewelry. Fine wrinkles fanned out from the corners of her eyes and around her mouth, and the wizened look in her dark eyes told him, along with the shape of her mouth and face that were so similar to Jade’s, that this was Jade’s grandmother.

  “Good afternoon, Mrs. Garcia.” God, but this felt so incredibly awkward. “I’m looking for Mr. Garcia. Is he here?”

  “No, he’s taking care of a plumbing issue in one of the guest rooms.” Her brow furrowed. “Did Rachel send you up here to find him? We don’t usually handle guest matters at our private residence, but I’d be happy to help you.” She smiled graciously but the tone underlying her words told Dawson that Mrs. Garcia was going to have some choice words for Rachel.

  “No, no, it’s not about that,” Dawson said, rushing to correct the misconception before Rachel got in trouble. “I’m completely satisfied with my experience here at the Lodge.” He smiled at the woman. “It’s just... I was supposed to meet Jade this afternoon to go skiing, and she hasn’t shown up.”

  “Oh!” Surprise flared in the woman’s dark eyes, and she smiled. “So you are the young man that Jade has been keeping from us.” She looked him up and down with a critical eye, then made a sound in her throat that sounded a lot like approval. “I don’t see why, though. I would be happy to have any of my children or grand children bring home a man who looks like you.”

  A smile twitched at Dawson’s lips—damn, but this woman was forward. “I’m happy that you think so, Mrs. Garcia... but I guess Jade didn’t feel the same way.” His mood plummeted. “Rachel told me she’d been in a hurry and that she had to go back to work. I was wondering if I might be able to get a phone number from you.”

  Mrs. Garcia arched a brow. “I’m not sure a phone number will do you much good,” she said. “Jade might not be back for a long while.”

  “Still,” he said doggedly. “I have to try. She told me that she lives in LA, and so do I. I can’t pass up the opportunity to get to know your granddaughter better. I would regret it for the rest of my life, knowing that she lives nearby but not being able to see her again.”

  Jade’s grandmother nodded, her dark eyes gleaming with approval. “I don’t have her cell phone number, but I do have a landline,” she said. “Give me a moment to get my phone book. You might not be able to reach her now but you should be able to get hold of her once she’s home, and then you can convince her to come back here and marry you.” She winked and then shut the door so that she could get her book of phone numbers.

  Dawson grinned despite himself. Maybe marriage wasn’t on the table yet, but her grandmother definitely had the right idea. He’d get her on the phone and brow beat her for breaking his heart and then reel her back in so he could decide once and for all whether or not they were truly meant to be together.

  NINE

  Two weeks later.

  Jade staggered out of her friend Emily’s bathroom, her legs weak and shaky and her stomach roiling with nausea. “God,” she rasped, her throat still burning as she collapsed onto Emily’s couch. The taste of vomit lingered at the edges of her mouth even though she’d rinsed with Listerine three times. “I’m so sorry, Em.”

  Emily, who was sitting in the recliner watch
ing her flat screen TV, paused and turned to look at Jade. Her pale blue eyes were round with concern. “Hon, there’s nothing for you to apologize about. You're the one who feels like shit.”

  “I know,” Jade groaned, leaning her head back against the couch cushion. She knew that she should go hunt around in the kitchen for some saltine crackers to try and settle her stomach, but she was afraid that if she moved again she’d start retching. “But still, nobody likes to have a sick person crashing on their couch.”

  Almost as soon as she’d arrived back home, her apartment manager had informed her that they were redoing all the plumbing and electric in the apartment and that she wouldn’t have any running water or electricity for about two weeks. Why they’d picked the Christmas season to do this kind of thing was beyond Jade, but they’d compensated all of the tenants for the inconvenience... sort of. The money was only enough for a closet sized motel room, so Jade had instead asked Emily if she could crash on her couch, which was much more comfortable than a motel room mattress plus included the luxury of being bed-bug free. It was shortly after she’d moved in that the sickness had started.

  “Honey,” Emily said slowly. “I’m not sure that you're ill.”

  Jade chuckled and then immediately regretted it when her stomach pitched. “Of course, I’m ill. What the hell else would this be?”

  Emily’s brow furrowed. “I’d believe you if it weren’t for the fact that you've got no other symptoms of illness, and your nausea seems to strike at totally random intervals.”

  Jade lifted her head, an uneasy feeling forming in the pit of her stomach... which was saying something considering how awful she already felt. “What exactly are you saying, Em?”

  Emily sucked in a breath. “Have you had sex recently?”

  A flush crept over Jade’s cheeks at the memory of Dawson’s muscular body covering hers as his cock plunged into her. “Maybe,” she said defensively.

  Emily snorted. “I’m going to try not to be offended that you didn’t tell me you got some on your vacation because you're feeling so shitty.” She folded her arms. “Fact is, hon, you need to take a pregnancy test because you could be expecting.”

  Jade sat up straight, shock making her momentarily forget the nausea. “No way!” That couldn’t possibly be true. “I’m on the pill!'

  Emily gave her a sympathetic look. “There’s a reason the HHS says it’s ninety-one percent effective.”

  Jade scowled. “That’s only if you miss days or run out of pills, and I haven’t. It’s supposed to be ninety-nine point five percent effective if you take it correctly.”

  Emily gave Jade an arch look. “Yeah, well, tell that to the baby growing inside of you.”

  “There’s no baby growing inside me,” Jade declared. Yeah, okay, so her stomach was turning itself into knots but that was probably because of the illness. Seriously, she was working 12-hour days trying to fix this advertising nightmare. The stress was bound to be taking a toll on her body. Good thing she was wrapping up because she desperately needed some R&R time so that she could kick this bug.

  “Oh yeah?” Emily challenged. “Well then, there should be no problem with you taking a test—just to make sure.”

  “I’m not going out to the drug store, Em,” Jade groaned, leaning her head back against the couch cushion again. “I just can’t do it right now. I’ll hurl all over the cashier.”

  “Not to worry.” Emily jumped to her feet. “I've got some stashed away in case of emergencies like this. I’ll go and get one right now.”

  Dread curled Jade’s toes as she watched Emily disappear into her room. Try as she might to deny it, Emily had sewn the seeds of the possibility of pregnancy in her mind, and she couldn’t ignore it. God, what if she really was pregnant? What was she going to do? Should she get an abortion?

  Dawson’s achingly handsome face rose up in her vision and guilt jabbed at her heart. The idea of crushing such a tiny life inside her, one that would have its father’s features, was too much for her to contemplate. But how was she going to raise this kid by herself? She’d never wanted the single mother life. She firmly believed that a child needed both parents to have a truly balanced childhood. She’d never planned on having children out of wedlock. But, she didn’t have Dawson’s number, didn’t have any way of contacting him at all outside of calling the lodge and seeing if she could get hold of him. And that was a long shot, too.

  Emily came back into the room and tossed a pink, rectangular box into Jade’s lap. “Here you are,” she said. “Go pee on the stick.”

  Jade sighed, shoving aside her fear as best she could. Gripping the box tightly, she gingerly shuffled off to the bathroom so that she could determine the truth of things once and for all. There was no point in being afraid and worrying if she didn’t even know whether or not there was a kid growing inside her, right?

  When she came back out of the bathroom, her face was ashen.

  Sympathy filled Emily’s eyes. “Positive, huh?” She crossed the room to give Jade a hug, who was standing there looking shell-shocked. “Normally I’d squeal and dance around the room with you... but I get the idea that you're not thrilled about this.”

  “I... I don’t know what to think.” Jade wrapped her arms around Emily’s slender waist and held on. “I... I've never been pregnant before.”

  Emily laughed, then stepped back. “There’s always a first time for everything,” she said, shaking her head. “Trust me, you’ll get through this. You're a strong woman, and you've got childbearing hips.” She squeezed said hips playfully.

  Jade’s lips twitched at the saucy gesture. “I don’t know, Emily. I don’t want to be a single mom.”

  “Then don’t.” Emily placed her hands on her hips. “Call the guy up and tell him. If he’s half the man you think he is, he’ll accept the baby and you guys can get married and live happily ever after. Or not,” Emily added with a shrug. “Not everybody has to get married.”

  “Okay.” Jade let out a long breath. “Yeah, you're right. I’ll call the resort and see if I can get him.” It was late at night, so he should be at his cabin right now... unless he was with another woman.

  Her gut twisted at that thought, and she tried to ignore how awful the thought made her feel. She had no right to feel betrayed by that idea—she’d left him without so much as a goodbye. Any guy would have written her off by now, which only made calling him even scarier now that she thought of it. What if he’d found another woman and actually liked her? Or worse, was in love with her?

  Stop it. Even if he doesn’t want to be with you, you still have to let him know he’s going to be a father.

  She pulled out her cellphone and then dialed the number for the lodge.

  An unfamiliar voice answered the phone. Whoever they’d assigned for the night shift wasn’t family. “Encantamiento Lodge and Resort, how can I help you?”

  “Hi.” Jade paused for a moment, scrambling to remember which cabin Dawson was in. “Can you patch me through to Cabin 104, please?”

  “Certainly. Please hold.”

  The phone rang for a minute and then someone picked up. “Hello?”

  Jade’s heart plummeted into her stomach at the sound of a woman’s husky voice. “Umm... hi.” She wanted to hang up, to pretend that the call had never happened, but she knew that she would be up all night, conjuring up visions of what the woman on the other end looked like and wondering whether or not Dawson gave her the same molten silver look that had made feel Jade so wanted and desirable. Plus, she had to tell him. “I’m looking for Dawson McKinnon?”

  “Dawson McKinnon?” Annoyance crept into the woman’s tone, driving the sleep from her voice. “There’s no Dawson McKinnon here, it’s just me and my husband. You should call the lodge back and make sure you have the right number. Goodnight.”

  “Wait!” Jade cried. “You... are you staying in Cabin 104?”

  “Yes.” The woman sounded cross. “And I’d really like to get some sleep now. Goodnight.” />
  There was a sharp click and then the sound of a dial tone. Relief swept through Jade so fast she felt light headed as she sagged back down onto the couch cushions.

  “Well?” Emily asked, a curious expression on her face. “What happened?”

  “He wasn’t there,” Jade told her. The relief gave way to another bout of anxiety. “He’d already left the cabin. I... I don’t understand. I thought he was staying there through Christmas.”

  “Maybe something came up and he had to go,” Emily said gently. “You're not the only one that happens to.”

  “Yeah,” Jade said bitterly, staring down at her stomach. “But when I have to go, the person I leave behind isn’t usually pregnant.”

  TEN

  When Jade trudged into Emily’s apartment the next day, she was so exhausted she nearly collapsed right then and there on the floor. She’d hardly slept last night—so worried about the baby, on top of the sickness and the grueling workday—she could barely stand.

  Wearily, she dropped her bags on the coffee table and flopped down onto the couch, groaning with relief as she finally took some of the strain off her poor, overworked body. Emily was gone, at some kind of social function for her PR job, so Jade had the entire apartment to herself—not that this was necessarily a good thing because it meant being alone with her thoughts.

  Between approving scripts, revising storyboards, and going in and out of meetings with the client and her bosses, her mind had still somehow found time to pepper her with anxiety. Should she get an abortion after all? What was she going to do if she couldn’t find Dawson? Would she have to hire a babysitter full time so she could continue to do her job, or did she need to find employment that was better suited for a single mother? Maybe John would allow her to bring the baby to work. Maybe her grandparents would be willing to help her take care of it.