by Sable Sylvan
Chapter Ten
On the tenth day of Christmas, Fate sent to Ginger ten million dollars…
Opening day was a hit. There was a line out the door, and the gingerbread kits were being sold like hotcakes—well, hot gingerbread cookies. The bakery workers were even selling them outside, bundled up in jackets, to folks waiting in line. Three registers were set up inside, run by Gretel, Patricia, and a baker named Jasmine. Meanwhile, Darius and Terrence directed their crews around. Their teams were in charge of doing the deliveries and heavy lifting of the big boxes of gingerbread kits, getting them into the pop-up shop. The crowd, upon seeing the first batch of shipments, clamored to pay for their packages in cash. Richard and James ended up handling those sales, selling the gingerbread house kits out of a large box. The rest of the lumber bears unloaded the pallets of kits onto the porch, into the house itself, and onto the shelves.
The pop-up Gingerbread House was a success, to say the least. A facade of taupe-colored wood with various types of candy decorations had made the black house look like an actual gingerbread house. There were white pool noodles, spray painted white and red and green, that looked like thick streams of icing. There were gumdrops, made of old plastic containers, spray painted in gem tone colors. There were powdered sugar details, made out of plain white spray paint shot through stencils. The decorations were simple, and a little cheesy, but Christmas magic made it all seem as if it were real. It was either Christmas magic or the spray paint fumes.
They’d used a lot of spray paint.
Upstairs, there was a private Christmas party for the folks at the shelter, complete with babysitters to manage the little ones while their parents relaxed. There was free food and beverage for all, buffet style. The foods weren’t limited to bakery fare. There was catering from a restaurant in town that specialized in good homestyle cooking. They’d come up with an entire Christmas dinner menu. It wasn’t Christmas yet, but there was no reason not to bust out the fine china and silver, serve some roast goose stuff with roasted chestnuts, and make merry.
The Toad in the Hole Café had put its money where its hole—err, mouth—is. They’d directed all their customers to the Gingerbread House pop-up. They’d also gone out and passed hot cups of cocoa out to the folks standing in line and put up chalkboard signs at their location across the street, pointing people toward the event. It looked like this year, The Toad in the Hole Café’s workers were going to make the nice list.
There was one very special guest in attendance, a bear who had listened to his employees using not just his furry little ears, but his furry little heart. He set up an easel on the porch and rang a bell to get everyone’s attention.
“Hi, my name’s Jasper Dixon,” said the werebear. “I’m the owner of Bear Claw Bakery—all of them, to put it shortly. Today’s fundraiser is for a noble cause. Many families are displaced from their homes every year. At the Bear Claw Bakery, we offer food and shelter when we can, to those that need it, and those that don’t. Our bakeries are places you can come to charge a phone, or grab a glass of water, or just sit down. But, when our stores close for the night, many folks don’t have homes to go to. Many are left out on the street. This can be devastating for families, who can be split up at shelters. Today, we’re doing something about that.”
The crowd murmured. Jasper pulled a cloth off of an easel with a picture of a house on it and a fancy logo.
“I’m going to be starting a charity to provide free housing, especially for families,” explained Jasper. “We’ll be looking for trusted families and homes that can take in some extra folks, and today, I’m starting things off by putting my money where my mouth is, and handing over the keys to my winter chalet to a special woman. Is Ivy Gray here?”
There was a gasp. The crowd made way for the woman to make her way to the front of the porch.
“Is this a prank?” she whispered.
“Ivy, you and your family have shown us all the true meaning of Christmas is to give to others, and care for others in need, so I want you to use my house until you can get back on your feet,” said Jasper. “Of course, because it’s in the mountains, you’re going to have trouble getting there in your car…which is why you’re getting a brand-new SUV too.” Jasper passed Ivy a set of keys to his house and a set of keys to a brand-new car, parked on the street. He pressed the unlock button, and the lights on the new car went off. “Don’t worry. It’s got snow tires.”
“I don’t know what to say,” said Ivy, tears running down her face. “Thank you so much. My family and I will be sure to take advantage of this opportunity.”
“Of course, helping one family isn’t enough. That’s why I’m going to be matching every dollar donated at this fundraiser tonight, in addition to a ten-million-dollar donation to this charity, to start it off right,” said Jasper. “Today’s gingerbread house sale is pay what you want, and I encourage you to pay what you can. If you can only spend a penny on a kit, that’s fine—but if you can find it in your hearts to offer some more, know those dollars are going toward providing real housing for families in need. These gingerbread houses are going to provide…Gingerbread Homes.” Jasper flipped over the board on the easel and revealed the name of the charity—Gingerbread Homes.
By the time the day was over, the Gingerbread House had sold every last gingerbread house kit, raising about two hundred thousand dollars for the foundation in a single day. Even with the set-your-own price option, people had been fair and reasonable. Some folks walked away with kits, free of charge, while others paid retail price, and most ended up paying above retail. Of course, it helped that Jasper decided that the gingerbread house kits were worth a thousand dollars each, and walked away with a three dozen of them. That was just how the crazy werebear billionaire rolled.
At the end of the night, things were the way they were when everything had first started for Ginger and her bears. She was on a ladder, being spotted by Patricia when they walked in the door.
“You two finish up everything?” asked Patricia.
“All done,” said James. “Darius is out there, ready to give you a ride back to the bakery.”
“He waited for me?” asked Patricia. “Well, guess I could use the ride…once I finish spotting Ginger.”
“Go, go,” said Ginger. “I’ll be fine. James, you can spot me, right?”
“‘Course I can,” said James. Patricia left, bells jingling on the door as she left the pop-up shop. Ginger fixed up some decorations that had been blown askew by the winter wind as it snuck its way into the shop through the front door, which had practically been open all day. Customers went in the front, grabbed kits, paid for them, and were ushered out the back of the store by Ginger’s ‘Christmas elves’—the hunks of Grizzlyfir Crew, as Hemlock Crew wouldn’t wear the cute green and red elf hats. It was a good thing Hemlock Crew was willing to carry heavy boxes for the tiny old grannies.
“Does this look straight?” asked Ginger, turning the wreath.
“No—it looks round, just like that ass,” said Richard, giving her butt the once-over, twice.
“You know what I mean,” scolded Ginger.
“Well, the pop-up’s all finished now,” said Richard.
“So?” asked Ginger.
“So that means we won’t be around anymore,” said James. “Aren’t you going to miss us?”
“You won’t be around?” asked Ginger.
“No—we did the job we were hired to do, and now, we’re needed up the mountain,” said Richard. “At least, I am.”
“Me too—and I’ve got hibernating to do, right after Christmas, so I won’t see you until January,” said James.
“January?” asked Ginger.
“January or March or so,” said James. “I am behind on my hibernating. I need to catch up. I was tired this year—explains why I was so grumpy.”
“If that was you grumpy, I’m excited to meet not-grumpy James,” joked Ginger. “Wow. I can’t imagine not seeing you two here anymore…and not seei
ng you over the winter.”
“Why?” asked Richard.
“Because…I’m your fated mate,” said Ginger.
“What if you could be more than that?” asked James.
“More than your fated mate?” asked Ginger, turning quickly, wondering if James was on the floor with a frikkin’ ring. What else came after being claimed by two bears?
Ginger slipped off the ladder and, this time, fell into Richard’s arms…and James caught her legs.
“Yeah—more than our fated mate,” said Richard. “How about becoming our girlfriend?”
“You know what?” asked Ginger. “I thought you two were the ones running from Fate…but this whole time, Fate kept pushing me into your arms. Of course, I’d love to be your girlfriend.”
Richard pulled Ginger close and gave her a kiss on the lips before passing her off to James, who gave her two kisses, one on each cheek. When he was done with her, he didn’t put her down. After all, they still had to test out that gift wrapping table and make sure it was real sturdy.
Just as her story began, so it ended—with Ginger in the arms of a bear shifter.
Well, this time, she was in the arms of two bear shifters, and that made it twice as happy an ending.
Epilogue
On the eve of Christmas, Fate sent to Ginger exactly what she’d wanted all season…
Richard removed the red and green flannel blindfold. Ginger looked around. She couldn’t believe it. She’d had no clue what to expect when James had blindfolded her and taken her into his massive SUV. She’d expected the bears were going to take her to one of the lumber bear’s camps and engage in some sort of kinky kidnapping roleplay, but she couldn’t’ve been more wrong.
The mating cabin that they’d hung out in before was fully decorated and was a perfect cup of Christmas cheer—and her bears were the two spicy cinnamon sticks that made it extra cozy. There was a giant Christmas tree, with soft white glowing lights, a roaring fire, and big fluffy blankets and throw pillows over the couch. James turned on a stereo, and Christmas carol instrumentals filled the air.
“You guys, this is perfect,” said Ginger. “You made this place into a winter wonderland!”
“Well, after how things went the last time were here, we knew we needed to make this perfect for you and make some even better memories,” said Richard. “We’ve got a stack of Christmas movies and a box of sugar cookies. You know what to do.”
Ginger looked at the stack of movies. One caught her eye—a classic silly kid’s film. She wondered if Ivy and her kids were watching that same movie that night at Jasper’s chalet.
“What’re you thinking about?” asked James.
“Do you remember Ivy?” asked Ginger.
“Of course,” said James.
“Is she doing well?” asked Richard.
“Very. Jasper’s charity is helping her find a place in a nice town in Nevada, near her folks. He’s placing her at a Bear Claw Bakery in the area, so she can hit the ground running with her new life,” explained Ginger. “I’m glad her family is getting a second chance at happiness. It feels kinda silly, us arguing about the small stuff.”
“Well, we got to help make some bigger, better dreams come true, and grant some Christmas wishes,” said Richard, squeezing Ginger’s hand.
Ginger picked out the kid’s Christmas movie for the nostalgia. They watched the movie together on the couch. When it ended, James asked, “What do you want to watch next?”
Ginger was looking around the room absentmindedly.
“Hello? Earth to Ginger?” said James.
“Sorry—what?” asked Ginger.
“What were you thinking about?” asked Richard.
“Just that I can’t believe that so much has happened since that first date,” admitted Ginger. “Remember the fight on the mountain? If you told me back then that I would’ve ended up in this cabin, with you two, today, well…I think I would’ve called you both frikkin’ nuts!”
“And now?” asked Richard, pulling her close.
“Now…I’d say that I was nuts for not seeing what Fate had brought right into my pop-up shop,” said Ginger with a grin, turning and putting her hands on Richard’s chest and putting a hand over James’ mate mark. “I can’t believe that all this time, the answer to everything was right in front of me.”
“The answer to everything?” asked James.
“What about the answer to—” started Richard.
“To what?” asked Ginger, raising a brow.
“Nothing,” said Richard, nodding at James, who was looking at him with wide eyes. “Hey. Given it’s Christmas Eve, I think we should open some presents.”
“Oh, you do that in your house too?” asked Ginger.
“My parents had that tradition too,” said James. “We can all open one present, right?”
“Uh…I mean, we could, if we had presents to open,” said Ginger.
“Then what’s underneath the tree?” asked James, motioning to the fully decorated tree. Ginger had been so preoccupied with the decorations around the cabin that she hadn’t noticed the three wrapped boxes sitting underneath the tree.
“You guys,” said Ginger. “I didn’t know we were going to do this, so I left all your presents at my place!”
“Well, I think Santa knew we were spending some time here, so there are gifts for all three of us underneath the tree,” joked Richard. He got up and grabbed the three presents. He put them on the coffee table. All three boxes were medium-sized, about the size of a toaster.
“Okay, you two go first,” said Ginger. She was excited to open her gift, but…she knew it was silly, but she’d been expecting a far tinier box, one with a ring in it. Oh well. It was Christmas Eve. It wasn’t frikkin’ Valentine’s Day, and even if it had been, she’d only been dating Richard and James for a few weeks. It’d be silly if they proposed so soon…but at the same time, it wouldn’t be absurd at all. She was their fated mate. What were they waiting for?
James unwrapped his present first. Inside the box, there were two fancy boxes. In one box, there was a pair of red satin panties. In the other box, there was a red satin bra. They both had white lace trim.
“Did you open my present on accident?” asked Ginger.
“If by your present, you mean your present to me, then no—I didn’t open it on accident,” teased James. “You really do know my tastes, Ginger.”
Ginger grabbed the gift tag. The tag was addressed from Ginger, not from Santa! She looked at the label on Richard’s gift. It said the same thing.
“Did you two really buy me gifts as your gifts to yourselves?” moaned Ginger. “Now I feel like such a stingy Scrooge! If I’d known we were coming up here, I would’ve insisted we bring the gifts.”
“Don’t talk like that,” ordered Richard. “You’ll sound like a humbug, and I think being a humbug gives you wrinkles.”
“No, that’s what happens if you pull a face when the wind blows by,” said James.
“No, when that happens, you—you know what, nevermind,” said Ginger with a laugh. “Richard, what did you get?”
Richard opened the present. Inside, there was a hot chocolate set, with three mugs, with their initials on one side in gold. There was a golden bell, topped with a sprig of holly, on the opposite sides of the mugs. The hot cocoa was from a specialty store in Portland that sold all types of chocolate. There was sweet Swiss milk chocolate cocoa, a cinnamon Mexican hot chocolate, and a white hot chocolate from Japan.
“Which one do we want to try first?” asked Richard.
“I’m in the mood for something spicy,” said Ginger. “That Mexican hot chocolate’s calling my name!”
“Well, I’ll get a kettle going…after you open your gift,” said Richard. He passed the wrapped present to Ginger.
Ginger held the box. It was surprisingly heavy. The box had a gold ribbon, with a plain brown gift tag, reading, ‘To G, From R and J,’ and the wrapping paper was red and green, in a plaid pattern. She untied
the ribbon and put it aside before tearing open the wrapping paper.
Inside, there was a toaster oven.
“Gee, thanks,” said Ginger awkwardly. “I guess we’ll be able to use this to make bagels in the morning.”
“You really like it?” asked Richard, trying to keep a straight face
“You know…it’s definitely unexpected,” Ginger said tactfully.
“Don’t you need a toaster oven?” asked James. “After all, your toaster burns toast half the time!”
“I just like crispy toast,” said Ginger with a frown. “What’s the point of toasting it?”
“It’s about toasting it, not about burning it, or singing it, or, or, or barbecuing it!” insisted James. Richard coughed, and James turned to face him. The other shifter was frowning at him.
“Well, I’m sure this toaster will help you two enjoy toast in many, many ways,” said Richard. “Why don’t you open it and read the instructions?”
“I don’t want to do any technical reading on Christmas,” Ginger said truthfully, putting the box back on the coffee table. “I really do appreciate the gift, though. I’m sure we’ll put this to good use on Saturday mornings we’d prefer to spend in bed, rather than at a brunch place on Main Street.”
“I really, really think you should read the instructions,” said James.
Ginger was suspicious, but she wasn’t sure what to suspect. “Okay…but I’m going to read the entire manual out loud, front to back, James.”
“Do it,” challenged James.
Ginger took the box and opened it. The toaster oven box opened from the top rather than the sides. She popped the cardboard box lid open, and at first, she was confused. The box was full of crinkly kraft paper squiggles. Weren’t toaster ovens usually packaged in white foam?
She reached into the box and felt paper. She tried to pull it out but couldn’t.
“What the…” started Ginger. She pulled out two handfuls of shredded cardboard paper filling. Inside the box, there was another box—this one, wrapped in green and gold wrapping, with a red ribbon.
