The Christmas Surprise _A Billionaire Single Daddy Romance

by R. R. Banks

  "Ready?" she asked.

  "Yep."

  She reached over and turned off the lamp, sending the room into darkness. I heard her exhale softly as she relaxed, slipping closer to sleep.

  "Why Hollister?" I asked.

  "What?"

  "When you filled out the registration card, you put down that your name is Hollister."

  "It's a name that I sometimes pretended I had when I was younger."

  "Why?"

  "You heard my explanation about why my name is Holly," she said. "Would you want to go through life with that as your name?"

  "I think that Holly sounds cute," I said. "What do you think it's like going through life being named after a cinnamon-sugar cracker?"

  There was a brief pause before Holly spoke in a soft, unsure voice.

  "I think Graham sounds delicious."

  Chapter Ten

  Holly

  "Look at this," I said as Graham walked out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel.

  "What is it?" he asked.

  "'I'm reading the latest issue of the Holler Holler. Anyway, do you remember when Boom Boom picked us up and he asked if we had seen his brother BillyBob?"

  "Yeah," Graham said. "Looked exactly like him…"

  "But not like him at all. Right. I found out what happened to him."

  I held the paper out to Graham, pointing out the recipe that I had just read.

  Boom Boom Badge's Whiskey Gingerbread BillyBobs

  A favorite every year at the Cookie X-Change, these cookies are adapted from a recipe from Boom Boom's Grand-Mawmaw. They are named for his dear big brother BillyBob who was last seen streaking across Old Man Johnson's back field to go skinnyfishing, his combination of skinny dipping and ice fishing. Annual vigil to be held next Thursday by the cow pond. Thank you to Boom Boom's younger brother Boo and sisters Bernadette, Bernice, Bambi, and Bargret for the serving suggestions. Particularly protecting BillyBob's dignity with festive clothing.

  You'll need

  1 cup flour

  1 egg

  ½ stick butter

  1 tablespoon white granulated sugar

  ¼ cup brown sugar (go for the light stuff, since there is so much molasses in these cookies already)

  1 tablespoon cocoa powder

  ½ teaspoon ground ginger

  ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

  ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

  ½ tablespoon fresh ginger (that's about half an inch of one of the fingers of the root. Go at it with a spoon to scrape off the skin and then toss the rest in the freezer to use later)

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  ½ teaspoon baking soda

  1 ½ tablespoons molasses

  1 tablespoon heated whiskey

  ¼ cup raisins plumped up in whiskey

  Whole bunch of sugar for rolling

  Powdered sugar for your fingers

  1 ½ cups powdered sugar

  2 tablespoons whiskey

  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

  Cream the sugars and the butter until they are creamy

  Mix all of the dry ingredients except for the baking soda together in a separate bowl, whisking them around to make sure that they are all combined

  Add egg, molasses, and ginger to the butter and mix up really well

  Mix the baking soda into the heated whiskey until it's totally dissolved

  Pour half of the dry stuff into the butter mixture and combine

  Add in the baking soda whiskey

  Add in the rest of the dry stuff

  Stir in the raisins (now if you aren't a fan of raisins, like Bargret, you can trade them out for cherries or dates)

  Put your whole mixture into the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to chill

  Once you're ready, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or one of those fancy silicone sheets if you have it

  Cover your fingers in powdered sugar and scoop up some of the dough

  Roll it around in the sugar

  Form the dough into the shape of a man and pat it out on the cookie sheet

  Make sure that all of your men are the same size so that some of them don't get done before the other ones

  Bake for 12 minutes

  Let them cool

  Mix the whiskey and powdered sugar to make a glaze. If it's too thick, add some more whiskey

  Dip the cooled cookie BillyBobs into the glaze and let them dry

  Boom Boom's sisters recommend serving your BillyBobs alongside a nice hot toddy or a cup of eggnog. If you are so inclined, make up some simple icing and make little clothes on your BillyBobs. While this won't be exactly accurate to the events as they unfolded, it is a bit more appropriate if you will be in delicate company. If you are adding clothes, don't roll the dough in sugar before forming them, since that will just make them far too sweet and while we love BillyBob and hope he didn't skinnyfish his way to Glory, he just wasn't always that sweet, especially with this much whiskey involved.

  "Those sound delicious," Graham said, handing the newspaper back to me.

  I felt my cheeks flush and looked away.

  I turned the page to the next segment, another holiday recipe.

  Hiram Berkowitz's Christmas Morning French Toast

  Now this recipe comes from a story of seasonal brotherhood and joy that is just so wonderful it would touch the cold, shriveled-up soul of Ebenezer Scrooge himself. Well, you know, before he got all scared to hell by Marley with his chains and got that crippled boy the turkey. That's a good story right there. You should read that one. But this one's pretty good, too. And I want to say that that Marley fellow was Jewish, too, so what I'm saying is we've kind of got our own little Hollow Christmas Carol. Anyway, back to the story. It all started when Miss Ruby Belle Buchanon found out that Hiram Berkowitz didn't have any plans for Christmas. Now, we all know why, but at the time Miss Ruby Belle was 102 and not all with it anymore. Being our only Jewish hollow neighbor, Hiram hadn't really gotten around to establishing much of Hanukkah tradition in his few years here, but he was happy to join Miss Ruby Belle for her Christmas morning. He even brought along a loaf of his fancy braided bread that had won him the Whiskey Hollow Baking Contest that spring. He named that bread in honor of his award and it's available at his bakery, so go ahead and grab some to make this recipe.

  So, anyway, he showed up at Miss Ruby Belle's home that morning and discovered that she was having one of her flaky days and had put together cracker, peanut butter, and M&M sandwiches and put them in little brown bags for him to take to school with him. Of course, Hiram had been out of school for quite some time, but he went along with it to not hurt her feelings. After holding his paper bag and walking around the house a few times, he went back inside and found her back in her right mind, but upset that she didn't have any Christmas morning breakfast for him. Hiram took that loaf of bread, grabbed up a bottle of moonshine eggnog, a few eggs right out from under Miss Ruby Belle's prized laying hen, also Ruby, and whipped up the most delicious French toast to ever be eaten before opening a stocking full of walnuts and handmade beeswax candles.

  You'll need

  1 loaf Whiskey Hollow Challah from Hiram’s bakery

  8 eggs

  ¼ cup sugar

  ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

  2 cups eggnog

  ½ teaspoon or so of pie spice or such warming spices if you like things really festive

  Butter

  Powdered sugar

  Maple syrup

  Beat together the eggnog, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and spices until they are all mixed up

  Slice the bread into medium slices. You don't want them too thick or you'll end up with a middle that doesn't have any of the mixture, and if you make it too thin then they'll just all fall apart and you'll end up with a mess

  Soak the bread on either side for about 2 minutes

  Coat a hot griddle in butter and cook until golden brown on either side

  Serve with melted
butter and a little powdered sugar. If you want to make it really holiday special, put a seasonal cookie cutter on top of the toast and put the powdered sugar in it for a shape

  Drizzle with maple syrup before eating

  Edit: Hiram tells us that if there is an issue with slices that are too thin, and they start falling apart, just go with it. Rip up the bread and tuck it down in the mixture until it looks pretty balanced, put in a buttered dish, and bake at 350 degrees until cooked through and crispy on top. Christmas bread pudding.

  Reading the story had brought another glimmer of sadness into my heart and I folded the newspaper, putting it aside and standing.

  "I'm going to get some breakfast," I told Graham.

  Without waiting for him to respond, I put on my coat and headed out. It had snowed even more in the early morning hours and it took me several minutes to make my way all the way to the building. I was breathing heavily by the time that I got there and started to rethink the extra pancakes that I had been planning on eating that morning.

  No. Just think of all the extra calories I'm burning going through the snow. I need those pancakes. Carbo loading.

  The breakfast room was just as crowded as it had been the day before and I noticed many of their eyes were on me as I made my way through to a table. I could only assume that these people were in attendance the morning before and had witnessed the chase. I sat down to eat my breakfast and seconds later Day came into the room.

  "How are you this morning?" she asked.

  "Doing fine, thank you. How are you?"

  "Fine. Excited for tonight's festivities."

  "What's going on tonight?" I asked, taking a sip of my orange juice.

  "The Grand Illumination and Cookie X-Change!" she gushed. "You and Graham will have to come out to see it."

  "I don't know," I said. "I'll tell Graham about it, but I'm not sure that I'm feeling up to it."

  "Why not?"

  The giddiness was gone from her voice and Day suddenly sounded stern and serious again.

  "I'm kind of lacking in Christmas spirit," I told her.

  “To be honest, I don't believe that for a second. You'll come tonight, I’ll call Rue to give y’all a lift."

  It wasn't an invitation, but a command, and I suddenly felt like it was being presented as a condition of my room rental. She stood and walked to another table, making her rounds around the breakfast room. Graham came in as I was finishing up. He dropped down into the chair across from me and let his phone scuttle across the table.

  "Still no wi-fi. I've called Bryan so many times that he's not answering, but even when he was, he couldn't find any flights or even cars that are willing to come out here. The forecast says that more snow is coming, so it seems like we're going to be staying for a while longer."

  "Yay," I said.

  "What's that look?" he asked.

  "Apparently, we have to go to something called a Grand Illumination tonight," I said.

  He shrugged.

  "That sounds like it could be fun."

  "Day didn't specify what is being illuminated."

  "Come on, Holly. You can stop acting like you are the coal in the bottom of someone's stocking. If we're going to be here for the next few days, we might as well make the most of it."

  Graham and I spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon going through the notes that he had made about the letters to Santa that we had snagged from Coy. That finished, we caught a ride with Boom Boom and Cornelius back down to the village and visited Bambi for a showing of Ghostbusters 2. I had almost forgotten about that night's event until we got back to the motel.

  "I read about your brother in the paper," I said to Boom Boom as we climbed out of the wagon. "I'm sorry to hear that."

  "Oh, thank you, Holly. I appreciate your thoughts. I'm telling you, this time he sure has been causing trouble."

  "This time?" I asked.

  "Oh, yeah. BillyBob's got a way with disappearing. Usually it's nowhere near this long, though. I'm sure hoping we find him soon. Not that I'm not happy that I found you two the night that I did, but between us and Cornelius, that ride up to the train station is getting a bit dull. You two are definitely the most exciting thing that's happened up there in recent recollection."

  I smiled at him.

  "I'm going to take that as a compliment."

  "You should," he said sincerely. "Especially since the next most recent exciting thing that happened before you was when Ella Mae Eckhardt tried to win back her husband's affections by tying herself to the train tracks and pretending that the stable boy had done it to her. Of course, the bottom fell out of her story real quick because it was the stable boy who had been the one to tempt those affections away from Miss Ella, and he was otherwise occupied when she was trying to lash herself to the tracks with his best Sunday tie. I'm telling you, that special edition issue of the Holler Holler was a doozy. People were talking about it for weeks."

  "Scandalous."

  He nodded.

  "You and Graham going to the Illumination tonight?"

  I sighed.

  "Seems so. Rue's coming to get us a bit before."

  "You don't sound too excited about it."

  "I'm going to miss my cruise," I said.

  "Was there a cruise going out of Whiskey Hollow tonight?"

  "No, I was traveling on the train to get to the port city for an island cruise."

  "Oh. OK. I was wondering because I could swear that Shannon Buffet gave up on trying to start his cruise line when his first boat fell apart on its maiden voyage."

  "Is there a big body of water around here somewhere?" I asked.

  "Just the lake, the creek, and the swamp. Therein lies the problem."

  "Well, where I was going there was the great big ocean in front of me and I was really excited to go spend some time in the sun."

  "That doesn't sound very Christmassy."

  "Exactly."

  "You don't see it yet, do you?"

  "See what?"

  Boom Boom's eyes lifted over my head briefly and then back to my face.

  "Exactly. I'll be seeing you there."

  "See you soon. Bye, Cornelius."

  The turkey didn't say goodbye as they pulled away. He was too dignified in his new blue and white striped scarf.

  When I turned around, I saw Graham standing at the doorway waiting for me.

  "You need to get ready. Rue's going to be here soon."

  There was something heavy in his voice and I looked at him quizzically as I walked toward the door.

  "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing. I'll be out here waiting."

  There was nothing lit up as we followed behind Rue, Richard, Clementine, and Boom Boom toward the center of the village.

  "I thought this was an Illumination," I said.

  "It is."

  It was an unfamiliar voice and I turned to see a man who could see the light at the end of the tunnel of middle age and seemed to be wearing the same clothes from when he entered that tunnel coming toward us.

  "Evening, Cletus," Boom Boom said.

  "Graham, Holly, Cletus is just about the best mechanic in or around the hollow," Rue said.

  "Just about?" Cletus asked.

  "Well, can’t forget ol’ Jeb can we. Plus I wouldn't want you getting a big head." She laughed and looked at us again. "He's also the one who sold Richard the truck that Clementine was almost born in."

  "I'm still holding out for my finder's fee."

  "I've told you before, Cletus. You did not find my baby. I knew where she was the whole time."

  "I still thought that this was an Illumination," I said, trying to bring the conversation back around to where it started.

  "It is," Cletus said again.

  "Then why are there no lights?"

  "Because the Illumination hasn't happened yet," Cletus said. "If the lights were already on, it would be called an Illuminated."

  We finally made it to an open area with a glowing fire and
logs set up around it. There was something set up behind the fire, but in the darkness, I couldn't see what it was.

  "Take a log," Rue said.

  I sat on one of the logs and Graham settled beside me. I was extremely aware of the warmth of his body against the cold of the night and I felt a tremble that had nothing to do with shivering in the chill.