by Jill Sanders
Red Hot Christmas
Just in time for the holidays, take another wonderful trip to Oregon. Enjoy this sweet story about some new small-town people and learn about the lives and loves of a hot young couple. Don’t miss this opportunity to catch up on some of your favorite book people and the enchanting town of Pride.
Amber is new to Pride. As the new manager of the Golden Oar, she has big plans for helping make it one of the finest restaurants along the Oregon coast. But when she moved into town, she hadn't count on running into, and almost killing, the most gorgeous man she'd ever laid eyes on.
Luke thinks he knows what he wants out of life. That is until the woman he's been waiting for all his life takes him down. Literally. Now he's out to prove he's not just another man-boy, but someone Amber can trust and come to love.
Other titles by Jill Sanders
Finding Pride – Pride Series #1
Discovering Pride – Pride Series #2
Returning Pride – Pride Series #3
Lasting Pride – Pride Series #4
Serving Pride – Prequel to Pride Series #5
Red Hot Christmas – A Pride Christmas #6
Secret Seduction – Secret Series #1
Secret Pleasure – Secret Series #2
Secret Guardian – Secret Series #3
Secret Passions – Secret Series #4
Secret Identity – Secret Series #5
Secret Obsession – Secret Series #6
Secret Demands – Secret Series #7
Secret Sauce – Secret Series #8
Cowgirls Ride Harder – Book one Cowgirls Series
Cowgirls Ride Faster – Book two Cowgirls Series
Cowgirls Ride Longer – Book three Cowgirls Series
RED HOT CHRISTMAS
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Copyright © 2013 Jill Sanders
Edited by Erica Ellis – http://ericaellisfreelance.com
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Red Hot Christmas
Jill Sanders
Dedication
To my loyal readers...
Happy Holidays
Prologue
The wind kicked up as Amber locked the back door of the Casa Del Sol. It wasn’t a five-star restaurant, but it had been all hers for the last three years. Well, not hers, but under her command. She’d worked harder than the two owners who were, no doubt, somewhere off the coast of Mexico in the small sailboat they’d named after their restaurant. She’d been left in charge almost two years ago and hadn’t really heard from them since, except for an occasional request here and there.
When she tried to get a hold of them and to request funds to upgrade equipment, it had fallen on deaf ears. To be honest, she’d had enough. The place was starting to fall in, the customers were tired of sitting in ripped booths, and the chefs were tired of working with half the equipment broken down. She’d taken this job hoping that she would be able to build the place up to something more. But the owners just seemed to want to squander their profits instead of investing them back into the place and making it something great.
She pulled her coat collar up around her neck as she adjusted her bag and purse. The parking lot was empty except for her white Jeep, which sat at the far end of the lot. She didn’t mind locking up by herself; she’d done it many times. She found herself doing it more and more since she’d broken it off with Chris. But she wasn’t as enthusiastic about heading home early. The small apartment seemed smaller. She’d thought about getting a cat to keep her company, but the poor thing would end up being alone all the time.
She walked to her Jeep, keys in hand as she thought about why she was alone, yet again. Maybe it was her? After all, having three boyfriends cheat on you was just a little too coincidental. Right? Tom, the first cheater, was her high school sweetheart. He was the one that she was supposed to live happily-ever-after with. Instead, she’d walked in on him and her friend Beth shortly after graduation.
Then there was Mike. Sure, she’d only been seeing Mike for three months. But after seeing him stick his tongue in some girl's mouth across a bar, she’d still been just as upset if they’d been dating longer.
She’d thought better of Chris. Four months ago he’d finally worn her down, and she’d allowed him to move. Shortly after he’d moved in, she’d realized the mistake. Chris was a man-child. Sure, they were only in their mid-twenties and fresh out of college, but that didn’t excuse him from sitting around playing video games twenty-four seven.
She’d leave for work at one in the afternoon and come home at one in the morning, and she’d swear he hadn’t moved a muscle. Her couch actually started to smell like body odor since he didn’t shower, but just sat there, playing games. It didn’t help that a few days after moving in, he’d lost his job at the grocery store.
Still, it had been a huge surprise when she’d come home early one night due to a bout with flu and had found Chris on her couch with her neighbor Samantha. At the time, she’d looked at it as a blessing. She finally had a reason to kick him out without feeling guilty.
“Woohoo, pretty girl.” The deep voice broke her concentration, and she turned around quickly. There were two of them, one on the left and one on her right, making it impossible for her to run away. She gripped her mace key chain close to her and tucked her purse behind her, ready to sprint.
“The restaurant is closed. My husband is going to be here any minute. What do you want?”
“She don’t got no husband. I told you, I’ve been watching her,” the smaller one said, holding his hands out so she wouldn’t run by him.
“We ain’t gonna hurt you—much,” the larger one said as he lunged for her. She used her mace on him and kicked the small one in the groin, dropping him as his buddy fought to clear the burning from his eyes.
Then she was in her Jeep and peeling out of the parking lot, vowing never to return.
Chapter One
The small town finally came into sight after the two-hour drive from Portland. She’d been raised nearby, but the beauty of the area never ceased to amaze her. The trees with their large brown trunks were greener than anything she’d ever seen, as they swayed in the light breeze of the first day of fall.
She’d always lived in the city, but had enjoyed an occasional trip to a state park for picnics or camping with friends. Looking around the small town, she realized this was no picnic. She was here to stay.
She pulled into the small grocery store and looked up at the sign. O’Neil Grocery hung in new red letters over the white two-story building. The large windows looked into a quaint little store, and she could see people coming and going inside. There were several checkout lanes in the front, and when she pulled into the front parking spot, every eye turned her way.
What was she doing here? She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead on the steering wheel. The memory of those two men, their hands outstretched, walking slowly towards her with laughter in their eyes, made her shiver. She had needed to get out of the city after that in
cident.
She wasn’t going to chance another run-in like that. She knew it wasn’t just the city that had thugs like that, but she’d been thinking of moving for a while. When she’d received the call offering her one of the most sought-after jobs along the Oregon coast, she’d jumped at it. It had only taken her two weeks before she’d had everything in order to move. She was surprised it had been that easy, and it seemed like everything had just fallen in line. Her rent was month-to-month, and she’d easily given her notice for the last day of the month. She’d called around and found the small rental above O’Neil’s.
Looking up at the building, she assumed the long stairway to the side led to her new apartment. Putting her best smile on, she got out of her Jeep and walked up to the door. When she walked in, a bell chimed above the door and she realized every eye was still on her.
She stopped inside the doors and tried not to look nervous. After all, if she was going to be successful here, she needed to win over the locals.
“Hello.” She smiled and walked over to a large woman in a bright green dress with yellow daisies on it. “Are you Mrs. O’Neil?”
“The woman nodded and started wiping her hands on a small white apron. “You must be Amber Kennedy, my new tenant.” The last part was said more to the crowd than to Amber herself.
Amber noticed several of the customers’ heads turn as they started talking quietly. She smiled and shook the woman's outstretched hand.
“Yes, I've just driven into town. Is this a bad time to show me the apartment?”
“No, not at all.” She turned to a frail-looking woman who had been straightening up a few boxes near the front door. “Janice, would you watch the store for me for a few minutes?”
Amber followed the woman outside. “We're so pleased to have you help us out. I know the Jordan's have had their hands full, since Lacey and Iian both got married. Lacey's had her hands full at home with the little one and can't seem to get enough time down at the Golden Oar. Iian, well, he's a super man, and with Allison working from the house he has more time, but he just doesn't like to run the place. He always left the business side to Lacey.” She turned and looked over her shoulder as she walked up the stairs slowly. “Lacey's always been the one with the business smarts in that family, at least for the restaurant. Knows how to run the restaurant and the whole family, if you ask me.” She turned and walked up the rest of the stairs. “You'll enjoy working for them, sure enough.” She took a set of keys from her dress pocket and opened the door.
Amber walked in and smiled. The place was larger than she'd imagined. She walked over to the large front windows and looked out over the main street and the quaint little town she was about to call home. She could just see over the building across the street and saw nothing but the blue of the ocean and sky. She could make out boats as they came and went in the small port.
She turned and looked at the room. Older hardwood floors creaked under Mrs. O'Neil’s weight. To Amber it just added charm to the place. The walls were a nice off-white color with a fresh coat of paint.
“There are two rooms and one full bath. The kitchen has new appliances, just replaced last year after Toby moved out. Toby was the Leif's oldest boy. He was just visiting after his mother's surgery. Nice boy, about your age.”
Amber knew Mrs. O'Neil’s type. She had matchmaker and meddler written all over her face. Amber smiled and walked past her to get a look at the rooms. One was slightly bigger than the other. The bathroom was very clean and looked nice enough. She could just imagine spending some quiet time alone in the white standard tub, relaxing.
“This will do nicely. The moving truck should be here sometime tomorrow. I've got my deposit and first month’s rent.” Amber pulled out the envelope from her purse.
“Oh, well.” Mrs. O'Neil said, holding her hands together. “We don't have to bother with all that. We mainly just go on the honor system here.”
“I'm sorry?” Amber held the envelope.
“Well, I know you've just moved all the way down here. You probably had to pay for the truck and all that. Why don't you just pay what you can, when you can? I don't want you to feel burdened down, financially.”
Amber blinked and looked at the woman in a whole new light. Then she smiled. “Mrs. O'Neil, I appreciate your kindness, but this was my deposit from my last place, so it's no burden.” She handed her the envelope.
“Oh, well. Okay. But don't get yourself in a pickle. I know young people move around a lot and it can get expensive. The Jordan's will take good care of you, and if they think that you're trustworthy enough to run their place, then that's good enough for me.” She smiled and took the envelope. “Please, call me Patty. Now, did you need some help moving things up?”
“No, I just have a sleeping bag and a few items. Everything else is on the truck and the moving company will handle all that tomorrow morning.” She walked back to the windows. “Is that the Golden Oar?” She nodded towards a large two-story warehouse a few blocks away.
“Sure is.” Mrs. O'Neil walked up and stood next to her. “I'm sure you're anxious to go have a look.” She looked down at her watch. “Lunch hour is just starting, I'm sure you could get a good look at what you have in store if you swing by now.”
Amber turned to the woman and smiled. “You must have read my mind.”
Back in her Jeep, Amber watched Mrs. O'Neil walk back into her store and start talking to the same group of women who were still standing there like they had nothing better to do. She knew she needed to embed herself into the tight little community. After all, not just her fate depended on it, but that of the restaurant. She knew from all the research she'd done on the place and the owners that the Jordan's were very tightly knitted into the community. All she needed to do now was to keep her head low and not screw up and she could be sitting exactly where she wanted to be: managing a highly successful restaurant. It was a job she not only loved, but was very good at.
She was focused on the faces in the market when she started backing her Jeep out of the parking spot. She pulled up to enter the street and didn't see the kid until it was too late, and he was flying over the front hood of her Jeep.
Luke took the corner a little faster than he intended and almost rolled the bike. He knew better than to challenge Iian to a race down to the pier, but he just couldn’t help himself. Speed was in his nature, as well as Iian’s. Iian was smiling at him when he turned the corner onto Main Street, a good two yards ahead of Luke. Luke knew the finish line, the white stripe that marked the pedestrian crossing at the end of Main. They’d been using it since they were ten, when Luke had finally gotten his very own bike. Iian’s Skyway bike, dubbed White Lightning, was no match for the Green Machine, his nickname for his new Haro Freestyle BMX bike.
Since that first summer, the two of them had been inseparable. Now it was a few weeks into fall and Luke been sitting on his gran's porch swing after fixing a few shingles on the roof. Of course Iian had been there to help out. After the hard work was done, they’d sat and talked about the old days. Since Iian was deaf, he leaned on the railing across from Luke so they could use sign-language. Naturally, the bikes had come up, since they’d spent half their childhood riding them everywhere.
Luke’s bike still sat in his grandparents’ garage in like-new condition alongside his cousin Blake’s bike, which they kept for when he visited. Blake’s bike was a newer model of Luke’s Green Machine, but both bikes still shined.
Luke had lived in the large, two-story house just outside of town since his eighth birthday, after both his parents died in a car accident. His grandparents were older, and having already raised their two boys, weren’t sure they wanted to start over. But after the tragedy of losing their oldest son, they had welcomed Luke with open arms and hearts.
It had taken a lot of adjustments, not just on their side, but Luke’s, as well. He was an only child and was used to having his parents work full time and not give him much attention. But when he moved into the big house, n
either of his grandparents worked. Naturally, they hovered over his every move. The bike had been the first freedom he’d tasted since arriving in Pride, Oregon.
It wasn’t that they coddled him. They just didn’t quite know what to do with him. They finally settled into a pattern and learned the balance of raising another kid while they were in their sixties. His grandfather passed away from a stroke when Luke was twenty-two. It had been a hard blow, to both him and Gran. He’d instantly moved back home from out east where he was attending college so he could be with her. He’d finished his education online and had been working from home ever since.
Of course his gran had mentioned something about winter being around the corner and how the roof above her sewing room leaked the last time it had rained, so Luke had enlisted his best friend and they’d spent the morning pulling shingles and doing the patch work. It wasn't as if his gran had been in her sewing room for a while, since it was on the second floor. For the last few years, she'd been staying on the main level of the house, due to a hip injury.
