A Heartwarming Christmas: A Boxed Set of Twelve Sweet Holiday Romances
Page 37
“Julianna would kick you in the shin if she heard you trying to gossip about her.”
It was so cold, Rick could see Tanner’s laughter escape his mouth like a cloud of smoke. “I’m not gossiping about her. I saw the way you were staring at her. I think it would be good for you to make some time for something other than this firehouse, that’s all I’m saying.”
Rick focused on the task of changing bulbs. There was no other way to get Tanner to drop something other than by ignoring him. Julianna was sweet, but this was no time for Rick to start cutting back on his responsibilities at the station. That promotion to captain was so close, he could taste it.
“She had a hard time taking her eyes off you, too,” Tanner said from down below. “I think you could get a date if you asked. You did save her life today.”
Rick tossed one of the bum bulbs at his friend’s head. Tanner ducked and the glass shattered on the pavement. At twenty-seven, it wasn’t like Rick was over the hill, but many of his friends were married and starting families. Lord knew his mother was ready for both him and Ben to settle down. As things were, poor Josh had to endure the sole responsibility of giving the woman a grandchild. She was famous for saying, “One would be nice before I die, you know.”
“Don’t get all feisty on me. I’m suggesting that you ask her out to dinner, not go kiss her under the mistletoe or anything.”
Christmas Town legend said anyone who kissed under the mistletoe on Christmas Eve would be married in the next twelve months. There would be no dinner and definitely no kissing. Rick needed to stay focused on his work, so there were no questions when the captain position became his.
“I’ll ask out Julianna Kramer as soon as you take the lieutenant’s exam,” Rick said, hoping that would do the trick to quiet Tanner down.
Tanner’s smile was broad and slightly disturbing. There was no good reason for him to be grinning like that. “I guess you better find out where Jules likes to eat dinner because I took the test last week.”
“What?” Rick almost fell off the ladder.
“I didn’t say anything because I figured I wouldn’t have to tell you if I bomb it. You better hope I didn’t bomb it.”
Rick climbed down and gave Tanner a hug. “I’m so proud of you. I can’t believe you did it.”
“Well, let’s not get too excited until we find out if I passed.”
“You passed. You would have passed if you had taken it when I did. We’re going to go out and celebrate when you find out for sure.”
“Maybe we can make it a double date. Me and Trish, you and Jules.”
Rick had hoped Tanner forgot all about that. “You’re hilarious.”
Tanner’s hand came down hard on Rick’s shoulder. “You work too hard. Take it from me, finding the right woman can change your whole outlook on life. It’ll make you do things you never thought you’d do.”
“We’re just not compatible.”
“She’s single. You’re single. She’s beautiful. You’re … not ugly.”
Rick rolled his eyes. “I don’t have time. I put in for a bunch of overtime the next few weeks.”
“Excuses, excuses. The Rick Fisher I know is a man of his word, and you said you would ask Julianna out if I took the exam. Are you telling me you are not the man I thought you were?”
“Not fair.”
“Reneging is not fair.”
Rick blew out a frustrated breath. This was a bad idea, but something deep inside pushed him to give in. “She used to be have a crush on Ben when we were in high school. Even if I ask her, she’ll probably say no.”
Tanner began to cluck like a chicken.
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t,” Rick conceded. Shouldn’t but not wouldn’t. “If I run into her, I’ll ask her. But don’t hold your breath. Jules and I don’t exactly run in the same circles.”
“Ah, you never know, my friend. It’s Christmas Eve in Christmas Town. Anything is possible.”
Chapter 3
“Sorry I’m late,” Julianna said as she rushed in and traded her jacket for the apron that hung from a hook in the kitchen of Lynn’s Pudding and Pie Shop. “It’s been a crazy morning.”
“No worries.” Julianna’s aunt Lynn stopped boxing pies to greet her niece. Her jet black 1960’s bouffant with a flip was pulled back by a green-and-red yarn headband tied in a bow. The Christmas lights on her knee-highs blinked on and off and coordinated nicely with her Christmas striped hi-tops. Julianna’s own unique sense of style was definitely inherited from her favorite, albeit eccentric, aunt. “Everything okay?”
Julianna didn’t want to bother Aunt Lynn with her troubles. The woman did enough for her as it was. “I’m fine. The dogs were a little rambunctious this morning.”
“Dogs are like kids — they love Christmas. I swear my Scooter knows what day it is. He’s been staring at my fireplace like someone’s going to pop out of there at any moment.”
Julianna laughed. “Some dogs are smarter than others.”
“Have you heard from your parents?” Aunt Lynn asked as Julianna got ready to head up front. When Julianna’s parents became empty-nesters, they decided they should fly the coop as well. Less than a year after Jules started college, her parents were on a plane headed for Istanbul. In the last eight years, they had been everywhere except Christmas Town, leaving their daughter without a home base.
“Not since my mom texted they had landed safely in Paris. I’m sure they’ll call tomorrow.”
Aunt Lynn gave her a sad smile. “I bet they wish you were with them, but I am so glad to have you here. I know your grandfather feels the same.”
Aunt Lynn and Grandpa Kramer had taken Julianna under their wings in her parents’ absence, but she often worried she was a burden. Her grandfather gave her a roof over her head and her aunt gave her a part-time job. Aunt Lynn always acted like Julianna was doing her a favor by helping out, but she knew her aunt was only saying that so Jules didn’t feel like a bigger mooch than she already did.
Today, her gratefulness seemed more sincere. Despite its name and location, they didn’t sell any Christmas pudding because plum pudding was like fruitcake—people associated it with the holiday but didn’t actually want to eat it. People typically came to Lynn’s for a slice of warm fruit pie topped with a scoop of creamy, delicious homemade ice cream or a cup of their famous banana pudding. At Christmastime, it was all about the pies. The tiny shop had limited seating. The five cafe tables sat four people each if they didn’t mind being scrunched together, but customers weren’t there to eat in today.
Lynn’s was only open until one o’clock on Christmas Eve, so everyone had come early to pick up their pies for their holiday dinners. The line stretched out of the store and down the street a bit. Julianna tied her apron around her waist and joined the carefully constructed assembly line that was busy boxing, bagging, and checking out pies in record time. Her job was to take new orders from the people who hadn’t planned ahead.
A few minutes before closing, Sam Collins made it to the front of the line. “Please tell me you still have some peppermint pies left,” he said with his hand pressed against his chest like he might have a heart attack if Julianna said no.
“We might have a couple hiding in the back. How many do you need?”
“Only one,” he said. “Marnie loves Posey’s peppermint pie, so I figured I can’t go wrong with one of Lynn’s.” His cheeks turned pink. “I’m trying to make a good impression.”
Rumor had it that the local handyman and his best friend had become an item. There was something about this time of year and this town that brought people together. It was sweet and a little discouraging. Julianna had no one to bring her a pie for Christmas dinner. Not that she wanted one. Yet. She was happily unattached. At least that was what she told herself.
“I’ll see if I can find one,” Julianna said. “We wouldn’t want to be the reason you don’t put a smile on Marnie’s face.”
“You’re the best, Jules.”
“How are we doing on cream pies? I need a peppermint.”
Aunt Lynn nodded toward the freezer door. “I boxed a few and put them in the walk-in.”
Julianna yanked on the freezer handle and used her foot to move a square of two-by-four between the door and the jamb. The old freezer had not been up to code since the interior release latch broke. Aunt Lynn planned to have someone come fix it right after the holidays. For now, the hunk of wood did the trick and kept workers from getting locked in.
Boxed pies were lined up on the shelves above the fresh cylinders of ice cream sitting on the floor. Aunt Lynn had brought home one filled with caramel fudge crunch the day Julianna returned to Christmas Town with her broken heart.
Two months had passed since then, and Julianna had been doing everything she could to reestablish herself as a strong, independent woman (a strong, independent woman who got herself stuck in a tree and needed a man to save her, but she wasn’t going to hold that against herself). In fact, she’d give Rick Fisher a pie as a thank-you to prove she wasn’t ashamed of having a moment of weakness. That was how strong, independent women handled these types of situations.
She grabbed a box with a candy cane sticker and kicked the doorstop out of the way.
“Jules, we need an eggnog cream, too. Can you grab one?” Aunt Lynn asked.
Julianna turned and placed another pie box on top of the one she was holding. It wasn’t until she spun back around that she realized she had forgotten to put the block of wood back in place to hold the door open. The cooler door latched shut just as she reached for the handle.
Of course. She knocked on the glass window with her forehead since her hands were full. Aunt Lynn’s head popped up and she shook a playful yet scolding finger at Julianna.
“This must be your way of reminding me I need to get the door fixed.”
“All part of my master plan,” Julianna joked as her aunt made her way over to the freezer.
She watched as Aunt Lynn pulled on the handle and the smile on her face vanished. Their eyes met and Julianna wondered why her aunt’s held so much worry. It all became clear when she stepped back, the handle of the freezer still in her hands.
Julianna felt her heart stop then stutter back to life. She was trapped inside the freezer. She pushed on the door with her shoulder, hoping it would give way since the handle was off. No luck.
“Don’t panic!” Aunt Lynn shouted, perhaps more to herself than Julianna. “We’ll get you out. Just sit tight.”
Sit tight? What else was she supposed to do? She was stuck inside a freezer. Suddenly, she remembered why she had come back there.
“Get Sam! He’s out front waiting for a pie! He should be able to help!”
Yes, Sam would be able to get her out. He was a handyman. Being an expert at opening stuck doors was probably something he had on his resume. Julianna just needed to relax and give Sam a few minutes to figure it all out.
Aunt Lynn found Sam, who spent the next thirty minutes trying to get Julianna out to no avail. She tried not to think about how she was only wearing a Pudding and Pie T-shirt and jeans or how the goosebumps on her arms had goosebumps. She feared icicles were forming on her nose. She did jumping jacks and jogged in place to warm up, but nothing really helped. She was frozen to the bone.
“I can’t get it,” Sam said, his voice full of apology. “We’re going to have to call the fire department for some help.”
“No!” Julianna flung herself against the door. Not the fire department. She could not face them again, especially Rick. “You can do it, Sam. Come on.”
Poor Sam shook his head. “I don’t have the tools I need to get you out. If I could, I would. I’m sorry, Jules.”
“I already called!” Aunt Lynn shouted with the shop’s cordless phone in her hand. “They’re on their way, honey!”
Julianna turned and rested her back against the door. She slowly slid down to the floor. The cold settled in, making her afraid her bottom would freeze to the tile beneath her. Were her fingertips turning blue? She cupped her hands and tried to breathe warm air into them.
Rick and the other firefighters were sure going to get a good laugh about this. Why did she care what they thought? Before she went to medical school, Julianna was confident and self-assured. She hadn’t let the opinions of others influence her choices. When things had gotten tough during her second year, the doubt had seeped in and poisoned her thoughts. It was still so difficult not to constantly worry about making the right decisions and feeling like she always made the wrong ones.
“Julianna?” Rick’s voice was more welcome than she had expected.
She scrambled to her feet and was taken aback by those green eyes once again. Why did he have to be so good-looking?
“You okay?” he asked, his face showing his concern.
She nodded. “I’m doing fine considering the fact that I’m almost a human Popsicle.”
Rick’s smile was so wide his dimples showed. “We’re going to get you out of there, but I need you to step away from the door. Okay?”
Julianna did as she was told and found a spot amongst the brown cardboard ice cream barrels. She pictured them firing up the Jaws of Life and waited for the whirling and grinding of machines to save her. Maybe sparks would shoot out as they sawed through the metal door.
Nothing that dramatic happened, however. Rick had nothing more than a crowbar in his hands when the door opened with a soft pop.
“I heard you’ve got a delicious peppermint pie in here for my pal Sam,” Rick said, taking a step inside.
Julianna pulled two boxes from the wire shelf and handed one to her rescuer. “This one is yours for saving my life again.”
“I didn’t save your life.” Rick reached up and tapped her nose with his finger. “Maybe your nose from getting frostbite, but not your life.”
His playful touch made her face suddenly feel very warm. “My nose thanks you, then.”
She scooted past him, conscious not to make physical contact since she was practically an ice cube. He lifted his pie box above his head while she kept hers at waist-level so they didn’t collide. Her embarrassment heated her face but not much else.
Tanner stood just outside the door with a blanket, which he wrapped around her shoulders. “You’re doing a good job of keeping us busy today, Jules,” he said, his eyes glancing over her shoulder in Rick’s direction.
“Just trying to make sure you boys aren’t slacking off because it’s a holiday.”
“Fisher never slacks off. He’s always ready to come to your rescue. Right, Rick?”
Rick swatted Tanner on the arm with the back of his hand. Julianna wasn’t sure if Tanner was making fun of her or Rick. Maybe both of them. She spotted Sam and delivered the pie he had been waiting for all this time.
“This one’s also on me. Sorry for your trouble, Sam. I hope you and Marnie have a wonderful Christmas. Tell her I said hi.”
Sam was quick to refuse. “You are not buying my pie. I’m not the one who just spent the last forty-five minutes in the freezer. I feel like I should buy you a hot chocolate or take you out for a big bowl of steaming hot soup.”
“I think you better move along, Collins, before Marnie finds out you’re being so friendly,” Tanner interrupted. “Let’s give completely unattached and one-hundred-percent eligible guys like Fisher a fighting chance with the other single ladies in town.” Tanner pushed Rick in Julianna’s direction, causing him to stumble, drop his pie box, and fall into her.
Everyone from the firefighters to Aunt Lynn let out a collective gasp as the two of them (and the pie) landed hard on the floor. All of the air was knocked from Julianna’s lungs.
“Are you okay?” Rick asked as he lifted the bulk of
his body weight off of her by doing somewhat of a push-up.
His eyes searched her face for the answer she couldn’t quite put into words. He smelled outdoorsy, like pine trees and juniper berries, and she could almost taste the cinnamon on his breath. Even given the absolute ridiculousness of their current situation, Julianna couldn’t help but think Rick Fisher was exactly the kind of guy she would want to fall for her when she was back on her feet.
But she wasn’t on her feet. Literally or figuratively. Not even close. And Rick probably thought she was nothing but trouble.
“Jules, talk to me,” he pleaded with his words and those darn eyes.
“I’m fine,” she finally said. “Really.”
Rick scanned her face for any sign she might not be telling the truth and then was on his feet before she took her next breath. He held a hand out to help her up. Stubbornly, she refused to take it, and got to her feet on her own.
“Careful, you hit your head,” Rick said. “We should check you out, make sure you don’t have a concussion.”
“I’m all right.” She rubbed the back of her head where she was certain there would soon be a lump.
“I’m going to have one of the EMTs check you out. Just to be sure.”
“Really, it wasn’t that bad.”
Rick wouldn’t take no for an answer. They sat her on a stool and checked her out. It was obviously too much to ask for this day to not get any worse.
Chapter 4
As soon as Julianna was cleared by the EMT, Rick pulled Tanner aside. “You and the other guys go take the truck for a spin around the green. Wave to the kids. Stop and let them look at the equipment.” He reached in his pocket for his wallet and pulled out a ten dollar bill. “I’m going to try to make up for the mess you made. You take this and buy some candy canes at The Sweet Shop to hand out.”
Tanner refused the money. “I’ll pay for the candy canes. I really am sorry about knocking you over.”
The Christmas spirit forced Rick to go easy on him. “Apology accepted. Now get out of here.”