by Mary Leo
“So you and Carson have a past I never even knew about?”
“He didn’t know I was even alive back then, and if he did, I was just some shy little kid. But I certainly knew who he was. It was right around Christmas and we were playing double-dog dare you at Skaits Ice-Skating Rink. I think it was a birthday party. Lana only lived a block away back then and never missed an opportunity to attend a party.”
“And here I thought we told each other everything.”
“Never fear. I’m telling you now.”
“But it would have meant so much more back then.”
Zoe shook her head. “I think it means much more now. Carson’s kissing her behind the ticket booth, then dating her, should have been a clue that he was a bad boy even back then.”
“You might be right. This is worse than I thought.” Piper sat up, put her arm around Zoe’s shoulders and looked into her eyes, sincerity staining every delicate feature on her face.
“Why? That was years ago. She couldn’t possibly be interested in Carson now. Besides, he’s getting married soon. Today is almost gone, so there’s only thirteen more shopping days until Christmas.”
“Even more reason for you to be there tonight. Thirteen is a very unlucky number, which means it’s probably extremely lucky for Lana. Wasn’t she born on a Friday the thirteenth?”
“You’re making that up.”
“No. It’s true! I remember it from when we were kids.”
“And so?”
“And so in order for our business not to go under, which neither one of us can afford, and because we need to preserve this town’s love of their first rodeo hero in thirty years, you’re going to have to suck up your emotions and do everything in your power to make sure Carson Grant and Marilyn Rose Connor tie the knot really tight on Christmas Day. And it’s going to have to start with you volunteering to be an elf tonight. You have to keep an eye on Lana to make sure her fangs don’t come out. Maybe carry some garlic and a cross.”
“Me? That’s never going to happen.” Zoe slid off the big Santa chair, determined not to allow Piper to influence her. In fact, there was nothing that could possibly convince her to put on an elf costume, not even the looming threat of Lana Thomson.
“You don’t have a choice,” Piper said, a sly smirk turning up the corners of her wine-colored lips.
“I most certainly do, and I absolutely will not dress up like an elf. No matter what you say.”
* * *
“WHY I EVER volunteered for this, I’ll never know,” Carson told Sal as he helped him into his scratchy elf costume. It was made with all natural fabrics, which would be fine with him if they didn’t prickle his skin with every movement. The green coat, reminiscent of the green costume worn by Will Ferrell in the movie Elf was made out of some kind of rough felt that itched Carson’s neck and arms. Fortunately, he wore his own pair of black jeans or there was no telling what kind of misery he would have to endure wearing the pants that went with it. There was no way he would even consider slipping those things on.
“You look great,” Sal said. “But don’t you need to put on the right kind of elf shoes?”
They were standing together in the back of Holy Rollers. The bakery had been turned into the official headquarters for the annual Christmas tree ceremony in the town square. The place hummed with activity from all the volunteers, which included Milo Gump practicing his Ho-Ho-Ho’s. The sound of his baritone voice reverberated off the walls and large metal ovens that surrounded the group of men and women slipping on costumes over their street clothes. Zoe Smart just happened to be one of them.
Carson hadn’t seen her since his dad’s birthday party. Being with her again only made him realize how much he’d missed her. For the past week, she’d been ignoring him and he wanted to know why. He tried to catch her attention, but she simply wouldn’t look in his direction.
Sal held up the elf shoes and distracted Carson from his quest.
“Those dang things will kill me,” Carson said, focusing in on the wacky elf shoes he was supposed to slip over a pair of sneakers. He’d worn his boots, so if they didn’t fit over his boots, then so be it.
“Seems to me they set it up special so’s you’ll be sitting the whole time. You don’t have to do anything but walk over to the gazebo across the street and give them kiddies a great big smile and a candy cane. Done it myself a few times. Ain’t nothin’ better at Christmas than handing candy to a child. Now go on and slip these on.”
Sal pushed the shoes against Carson’s chest so he had no choice but to take them. The pressure on his chest only exacerbated his annoyance with the fabric. Carson immediately grabbed the shoes, but his heart simply wasn’t in this event. Not when his upper body itched like crazy and all he really wanted to do was slip away with Zoe somewhere quiet and get this whole thing straightened out.
“They’re not going to fit over my boots.”
“Seems like they might have fit better over a sneaker.”
“I don’t own sneakers.”
“Sure you do. I’ve seen ’em.”
“Whose side are you on?”
“It’s Christmas and you’re an elf,” Sal said with a twinkle in his eye. “Now get with the program.”
A confusing fact suddenly drifted into Carson’s thoughts. “Wait a minute. Aren’t you Jewish?”
“Sure am, but my wife was a practicing Catholic. I know exactly what an elf should look like. Elf was one of her favorite movies. Must’a seen it twenty times. Can probably give you quotes if I’m pressed.”
“So elves are Catholic?”
“Elves are nonsectarian, just like Santa. Now put them shoes on your feet and a smile in your heart. Those kids are dependin’ on you.”
Carson leaned over to step into the shoes. It was a struggle, but somehow he managed to get the elastic band to fit up over his boots. Fortunately, the tops were black, so they kind of blended in with his black boots. Except for the curved-up toes, and the tiny bells hanging from the tips that jingled every time he moved, they weren’t all that bad to walk in. He took a few steps forward.
“How do I look?” he said as he stood up straight, but it wasn’t Sal standing in front of him. It was Zoe, dressed in the exact same outfit, looking as if she really was one of Santa’s elves. He could almost see her standing in Santa’s workshop, surrounded by wooden toys, laughing it up with the other helpers. She put a smile in his heart just as Sal had ordered and he couldn’t help the big childlike grin that popped out despite his best efforts to control his enthusiasm. Jinxed or not, Zoe Smart was systematically taking over his heart and he couldn’t seem to stop it.
“Great, but you’re missing your elf hat,” she told him as she leaned forward and reached up to fit a pointed red hat on his head. She smelled of cinnamon and ginger, as if she’d been baking cookies all day. He moved in closer, staring into those gorgeous eyes of hers, losing himself for a minute, imagining all sorts of sinful bedroom scenes. A growing need to pull her in tight and kiss her consumed him just as Lana Thomson’s voice broke his trance.
“Why Carson Grant, you dog, you. What would Marilyn Rose say if she saw you flirting with Zoe Smart? Having second thoughts about the bonds of matrimony? ’Cause if you are, cowboy, I’d like to saddle up.”
Carson immediately hopped back, away from Zoe, then lost his footing. Zoe grabbed his arm to stabilize him, but he fell backward into several large cooling racks loaded down with various decorated Christmas cookies.
Not only had Lana’s voice startled Carson out of his stupor, but the little vixen had managed to turn the over-the-top elf costume into a showcase for her feminine curves. He’d long ago become desensitized to her charms, but that didn’t stop him from noticing when Lana Thomson walked into a room. For that matter, every red-blooded man in the kitchen was giving her the once-over.
“No. I was not... You’ve got it all wrong, as usual. I was definitely not flirting,” Carson said, wanting to sound convincing. How Lana always seemed to show up during his most vulnerable moments was beyond him. When Marilyn Rose had dumped him at Sammy’s Smokehouse, he’d spotted Lana with her latest acquisition just pulling into a parking space. A few more minutes and she’d have been there to witness the entire episode, and in less time than it would take for lightning to strike, the entire town would have known he’d been dumped.
Now, looking at Zoe’s beautiful face as she searched his eyes for the truth, he knew he didn’t have the stomach to tell her that Lana was right: he damn straight had been flirting and hoped like hell Zoe knew it.
Chapter Six
The evening progressed with a tree lighting ceremony as the mayor, Sally Hickman, a fourth-generation Briggs political leader, in her late forties with blond hair and boundless energy, led the town in welcoming Milo-Santa.
“Let’s hope the tree doesn’t catch on fire,” Zoe overheard someone say as she stood among the group waiting for Santa to hit the switch.
“I think we’re safe,” a female voice said. “Piper put this all together. Zoe Smart didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“Thank goodness for that,” a male voice offered.
Zoe’s first instinct was to slink out of there as quickly as she could, but the group was packed in tight. She’d only cause more speculation if she tried to escape. Her best bet was to cross her fingers and hope the generators had enough power to light all the trees.
She closed her eyes as Santa placed a hand on the main switch. The crowd seemed to hold their collective breath and a hush came over the square.
Then, a moment later, a resounding cheer went up. Zoe opened her eyes to see the entire square ablaze with color. The main tree that stood well over twenty feet high sparkled with thousands of lights and great big glass ornaments. Christmas had officially arrived in Briggs, and Zoe couldn’t be happier.
Piper and the volunteers had done an amazing job, and seeing everything go so smoothly only reminded Zoe of how amazing Piper really was at her job. It seemed as though everyone had come out for the ceremony, including most of Carson’s family. His sisters Kenzie, Coco and Callaghan were there, along with his parents, but Kayla seemed to be a no-show.
The town’s many musicians and singers entertained the crowd with various carols, while employees from Holy Rollers and High Octane Brew handed out cookies and hot chocolate to the many participants. Travis Granger and his wife, Bella, owners of Dream Weaver Inn, had hosted the annual ice-sculpting contest, and this year a lighted path was provided from the town square to the inn. Along the way, several of the more life-size sculptures were on display: Santa sitting in his sleigh and all his reindeer, Cinderella’s carriage, a dragon breathing fire, Buddha and even a giant pair of Clydesdales. The ice-sculpture contest had turned into a popular event, thanks to Travis’s sister-in-law Maggie Granger’s keen social media campaign. The contest had become a financial boon to the town with ice sculptors flying in from across the country, choosing to add Briggs to their holiday plans.
The night wore on without a hitch, so Zoe seemed to be off the hook...at least for now. She hadn’t heard any other derogatory comments, even though she knew the doubters were still there ready to raise their nasty selves if anything wild happened.
Lana Thomson had left early with the owner of High Octane Brew. John Dees was a recent widower from Cody, Wyoming, and a newcomer to Briggs. It seemed Lana was so busy bewitching John that she didn’t pay much attention to Carson, who apparently had no interest in her. Other than her shirking her duties as Santa’s elf, which consisted of handing out candy canes to all the children in line, the town’s only true diva had kept her talons off the town’s only rodeo hero.
Because of Lana’s early departure with widower John, Zoe had been forced to work side by side with Carson, who had said only a few words to her the entire evening. She’d tried several times to open up a conversation, especially when a few of the kids on Santa’s lap asked for something outrageous like a vacation on Jupiter, or a sixty-inch TV for their bedroom, but he’d never connected. At one point she thought perhaps she should give him a pass. His line was equally as long as Santa’s line, if not longer. Parents from neighboring cities had driven their children in to get a chance to meet Carson Grant once word got out he was attending the event. At one point during the night, he seemed to be more popular than Santa. Most of the kids, and parents, wanted either a picture taken with Carson or his autograph. And all of them wanted to know when he would be back on the rodeo circuit.
“Hard to say,” Carson said to a little tyke who seemed to be one of Carson’s biggest fans. He knew all his stats and could rattle off most of Carson’s best times on a bucking horse.
“Does that mean tomorrow?” the boy asked.
“Not exactly. I still have some healing to do.”
The boy thought about it for a moment. “Will I still be six years old when you start bronc riding again?”
“You might be or you might be seven years old.”
He thought some more. “My cousin is seven years old and he won’t play with me anymore. I don’t think you should wait until I’m seven. Anything can happen.” His little arms went up, emphasizing his point.
“Like what?” Carson asked the boy who seemed completely enamored with him.
Zoe thought he looked positively charming and totally engaged with the boy. It seemed as if he’d become a different person around the children tonight. She had the distinct impression that Carson really enjoyed children and was going to make one outstanding dad.
“I might not like rodeos anymore when I’m seven, then I’ll never see you ride. Maybe you should keep getting better until I’m ten.”
“Why, is ten better than seven?”
The boy stuck his fist to his hip and rolled his eyes. “Because everyone knows that seven ate nine.” Then he giggled at his little joke, and Carson laughed out loud, giving the boy a tight hug.
When they stopped laughing and hugging, Zoe handed the sweet boy a candy cane, and the child marched back to his parents as proud as could be.
“What a cutie,” Zoe said to Carson before a teen girl walked up to meet him.
“He sure is,” Carson said, tugging at the collar on his elf coat.
Zoe started to say something about his long line of kids, but Carson had already tuned her out and his focus was on his next fan. She couldn’t tell if he was purposely trying to avoid her or if he was simply being overly cordial to his young admirers.
Whatever his reason for seemingly ignoring her, she felt certain he’d gone over to the dark side with the rest of the town. It was only a matter of time before he paid her what he owed and went with another company for the final details of the wedding, thereby putting the last nail in We Do I Do’s coffin.
On the bright side, there was always that counter-girl position at Holy Rollers.
* * *
THE EVENING FINALLY ended and as Zoe made her way back to Holy Rollers to turn in her costume, she was thankful to be alone. It was a bitterly cold night and all she wanted to do was crawl into bed, lick her wounds and watch a classic Christmas movie.
“Zoe, wait up,” Carson called out from behind her. His voice sent a shiver down her spine.
For a brief moment she thought about speeding up or telling him she was in a hurry or how she wanted to be alone, but she knew none of that was possible, so she turned and waited for him. He wasn’t using his cane anymore, but he still favored his left leg.
“I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get out of this awful itchy costume.” He was already yanking off the sleeves as he wiggled out of the elf jacket. “I’d rather freeze.”
He wore a thick black sweater underneath, thick enough to kee
p him warm in the gazebo where the heat lamps helped ward off the cold, but definitely not thick enough for the short walk down a snowy sidewalk in Briggs in December.
“Apparently, you wore one of the unlined costumes,” Zoe pointed out as they strode along side by side. Simply being around him again, especially now when they were alone, sent her mind racing with bad-girl scenarios. She really had a thing for him, and being around him for any length of time only brought those feelings to the surface. The next thirteen days were going to be tough to get through.
“Tell me I didn’t endure an entire evening in this itchy getup when there were better costumes to choose from?”
“Okay, I won’t tell you,” Zoe said, hardly able to control her smiles.
He took off the elf hat and pulled the costume over his head. “This darn thing distracted me all night. I barely spoke to anyone. I was too afraid I would go off about the costume and some starry-eyed little kid would hear me. It could have done years of damage to see an elf raging over his clothes. It was like torture and now I find out I didn’t have to suffer? Just my luck.”
Zoe blinked. She’d been thinking he had ignored her, and all along it had been his bothersome costume.
She snickered and shook her head at the irony of it.
“You think it’s funny? My misery amuses you?”
“Yes. I mean, no. I thought you were still... It doesn’t matter now.”
“Wait, you thought I wasn’t talking because of what happened at my house last week?”
He stopped and stared at her with those amazing eyes of his, bedroom eyes, all smoldery and sexy. She could get lost in those eyes with no trouble at all.
She nodded. “Of course I did. What other reason could there possibly have been?”
