ROMANCE: Holiday Romance: Her Christmas Surprise (Sweet Clean Holiday Romance) (Holiday Bride Book 1)

by Mercy Levy

  “Hey, that’s not where you put those, c’mon, how many times do we have to go over the rules? We have to function like a real business, even if you are volunteers.” Meredith turned in surprise at the female voice chastising her.

  “I was just putting them back where I found them.” She countered. She faced the woman and planted her feet like she did in court, bracing for the fight.

  “Who the hell are you?” The woman looked genuinely surprised to see her.

  “My name is Meredith. I came down to see if you could use my help, and was put to work. No one has actually spoken to me until now.”

  “I’d ask how you got put to work, but I see the culprit standing behind you.” Meredith turned to see a now sheepish bearded mountain looking furtively from side to side as the woman stepped closer. “What was your name again?”

  “Meredith. I just happened to be driving, and thought I’d just swing by and see if there were any supplies I could donate, or if you wanted a check. I can still write a check, though I might take off a little for the dishes done tonight.” Meredith teased. The woman rubbed her hands over her face.

  “I’m Cecily. I’m sorry you got stuck in here. Jake doesn’t really do strangers, at least not well.” She gestured quickly with her hands, and the giant did the same. At least now she knew why he hadn’t said anything to her. She wouldn’t have understood him if he had. Cecily turned back to Meredith, who was fascinated by the speed with which they moved their hands.

  “I can’t blame him, the only other language I speak is Spanish, I don’t think I’ve ever actually met a deaf person before,” Meredith shrugged. “And the dishes got done, right? So, no harm, no foul as far as I can tell.”

  “You’re right. Thank you for just jumping right in. This early cold snap has moved up our timeline for getting everyone inside. We need every able body we can get.” She thought for a moment. “Spanish, you say? I have real work for you, if you can handle riding around all night with this nut.” She pointed toward an open doorway, and like magic, a dark, handsome man materialized in it.

  “Hey, did I just hear I’m getting a partner?” The man’s smile lit up the room and even the harassed Latina running the place softened around the edges at his grin. Meredith was shocked by her intense physical reaction to the sparkle in his brown eyes. She felt the hot flush of embarrassment creep up her neck, but no one seemed to notice.

  “Meredith, this is Jonathan Ramirez. If you’re okay with helping him out for an hour or so, you can grab your things and head out with him. You’ll be delivering meals to some of our older and disabled friends tonight.” Meredith nodded her head and scurried off to the lockers. After a couple of attempts, she kicked the locker in frustration and turned to tell Cecily she’d have to just come back for her purse.

  “Morally, I approve of you kicking that stupid locker. Logically, however, it makes the problem worse, and since we won’t be getting money to fix it anytime soon, we should avoid it.” Jonathan held out his hand for the lock combination, and Meredith handed it over with a dramatic sigh. He spun the combination into place and the locker opened with a “snick”.

  Meredith rolled her eyes at Jonathan and grabbed her purse and coat while he laughed. He led her to the van he’d be driving, and she wondered if he’d been the driver next to her in Park City earlier that evening. She slid in next to him and stared out the window, wondering a how she’d gone from celebrating her promotion to delivering meals to the elderly and infirm in such a short time. She mentally shook herself as she realized Jonathan was speaking to her.

  “Wow, I’m even less interesting than I feared.” He chuckled and Meredith stammered out an apology.

  “I’m sorry. This is not how I expected my day to go. All things considered, it’s actually turning out better than it should have.” She flashed him a quick smile.

  “What happened?” Jonathan sounded genuinely interested, and Meredith tried not to sound too sorry for herself as she related the events of the day.

  “I got a great new job, and I think, won my court case, and then immediately after, my date cancelled my celebration, and shortly after that, I found out it’s because he’s cheating on me with his receptionist.” She managed to sound calm and in control, and the little voice in her head suggested it was because she got rid of Clark and got to be the good guy at the same time.

  “I’m really sorry. That’s terrible. I’m so impressed and in awe of you for coming out to help and choosing to be so selfless in the face of your own troubles. It can’t be easy to enjoy good things when something ugly tries to steal your sunshine.” Meredith gaped at him. That was exactly how she felt. She could admit that she was not hurting for the loss of him. She just needed her happiness back for her achievements.

  “Thank you so much, Mr. Ramirez,” she murmured. “I had not thought of it that way. I couldn’t make myself choose to be happy when I was dealing with that, even if I am glad he’s gone.

  “First, its Jonathan. Second, exactly. In fact, if you need to, some of us have opened our homes to the people we help and to each other. If you need a couch… or I guess in your case it would be, if you need me to sleep on my couch so you can use my bed, I’m happy to help.

  “No, I have my own place. We’d only been dating for a year or so, we hadn’t even talked marriage yet.”

  “No kidding? Man, when I met my wife, I was thinking about marriage within the first week, and could barely wait the six months I did to ask her to marry me. I guess we were the odd ones though, for these days.”

  “You’re married? That’s lovely. Your wife wouldn’t mind you giving up her bed for me?” Meredith arched an eyebrow at the handsome driver.

  “No, my wife passed away almost two years ago. Breast cancer. She was only thirty years old. Now I do this with my evenings so I don’t do something dumb, like fall back into a bottle.” He smiled at her, but there was so much sadness behind it, that tears stung the backs of her eyelids.

  “I am so sorry for your loss.” She replied. It flat, and she wished there was something better to say.

  “Thanks. Truly. Most days, I just have a lot of good memories, mixed with a few regrets. At night, it gets lonely.” Jonathan pulled up to the curb in front of a dilapidated old shack. He hopped out, and Meredith followed him around the back of the truck, where he grabbed an insulated bag and pulled out five containers. He checked his list, then handed the containers to Meredith and showed her the shorthand they used, and how to quickly match the meal to the list, by the color-coded labels.

  They walked up to the door together, and it was answered by a tiny old woman with a wizened face like a fallen crab-apple. She grinned broadly, and gave Jonathan a warm welcoming hug. He introduced Meredith, and the woman, Claire, hugged her across the walker she used, and let them past her into the kitchen, where Jonathan put the food away.

  While Jonathan cleared the old containers off the counter and filled Claire’s fridge with food, he explained that they usually didn’t go inside the homes, and asked Meredith to never go inside without him present.

  “But, for Claire, it’s full service, all the way, right Claire?” The elderly lady beamed up at Jonathan as he spoke, and leaned in for a second hug before they left. Meredith couldn’t stop smiling all the way back to the truck.

  “You are really good at this.” She grinned at Jonathan as he pulled away from the curb. “She loves you.”

  “Then I’m the lucky one. Claire is a special old lady. She’s seen a lot of pain, but she always has a smile. She liked you too. She can’t speak since her second stroke, but she’s always kind to everyone.” Meredith looked over at him. His hair had fallen across his forehead, and she had the almost irresistible urge to run her fingers through it. “Pull yourself together woman.” She thought to herself. Sure, he had the biggest dark chocolate eyes she’d ever seen, and a tan that spoke of hours in the sun, but that was no reason to get crazy. His shirt pulled tight over his muscles, and her mouth watered a little. Grea
t. She was crushing on the guy dragging her around with him because he was forced to, while her boyfriend was probably back at the receptionist’s place, “closing the deal”.

  Meredith sighed, and Jonathan glanced over at her. He reached over and patted her knee. It made her stomach clench and her mouth get dry, even though he barely touched her and then his hand was gone. He pulled into a gas station and instructed her to wait. When he returned, he had two fountain sodas and a bag of snack foods.

  “I don’t know about you, but when I’m down, and you do seem to be a little down, my go to is Dr. Pepper and salt and vinegar chips.” He handed her a soda and the bag. “I guessed you would prefer Diet Coke, and those Chaos chips in there? They’re like an every-flavor chip. They’re insane. And tasty.” Meredith took a sip from her soda. It was delicious.

  “Thank you, Jonathan. I can’t remember the last time I had soda. It’s amazing.” She laughed and clasped the tall plastic cup in her hands. “I’m really glad I saw the sign for the Road Home today. I’d only just been thinking about where I could put my time, and I guess I was guided here.” Jonathan looked across the cab at the pretty redhead.

  “I think you were too. I’m glad you’re here. I love watching people get that fire in their eyes about helping others. There’s nothing in the world that compares with how I feel when I hand this food over to people who need it. I think You’re an incredible person for making the choice to be here.”

  “Me? Look at you, you do this every day!” He laughed.

  “Actually, I only do it three days a week for most of the year. But around Christmas, when the nights get cold and people must decide between food and heat, well, that’s when my business picks up. So, I’m happy to have company.” Meredith nodded. She’d always done more than her fair share of pro bono work as an attorney, but she’d been hoping to find something less depressing than fighting a corrupt system to keep people who didn’t deserve to have their lives ruined, out of jail.

  “Where do you go when you look like that?” Jonathan asked her. They had pulled up to another house, and he’d parked against the curb again.

  “I’m an attorney. I was just thinking about the pro bono work I’d done. This is less heartbreaking, so far. All those hours of work, and sometimes it seemed like it was for nothing. I can’t even tell you off the top of my head how many families I’m corresponding with still, because I’m the only person they can talk to, who cares about what they’re going through. I was there. I was in that courtroom with their sons, their fathers, most of whom just happened to be guilty of not being… well of not being white.” She rushed the last few words, ashamed that she was such a clear representation of the privilege she often fought.

  “Wow. You really are an amazing woman.” Jonathan’s voice was soft. She glanced at him, thinking he was mocking her. His face was serious, as if he was seeing her for the first time. “We were definitely meant to do this work together. Yeah, seeing how these people live can be hard, and sometimes, it will get to you. But, you will always be making their lives better for showing up. Even if it feels like you should be doing more.” Meredith felt light and free as he helped her down from the cab of the truck. She hadn’t thought about how much weight of responsibility she’d been carrying, but she felt like Jonathan had lifted a hundred pounds off her shoulders.

  Maybe Clark wasn’t the only one to blame. She’d taken on so much, maybe he’d been lonely too. She lost the edge to her anger as she delivered meals. One house, one delivery at a time, she forgave him for not being like her. Each new person she helped made the distance between her and her anger greater. After, all, Clark didn’t understand what it meant to have nothing. Maybe now that they weren’t together, he could find someone who would make him happy. The little voice in her head still had a parting shot of “good riddance to bad rubbish” and Meredith scoffed at how much like her own grandmother her internal conversations sounded.

  They reached the end of the delivery list, and still had a dozen or so meals in the back. Jonathan piled them up on the bench seat of the truck and Meredith kept them from sliding all over as he drove back into town. He seemed to know just where to look to find someone out in the cold, and he’d handed every meal out to the homeless of Salt Lake City before returning her to the Road Home.

  “Thank you for tonight.” Meredith smiled and shook his hand. “Can I come back tomorrow?” Jonathan grinned.

  “Sure thing. But, you need to get a food handler’s permit first. No big deal, the test is pretty much just common sense. Should only take a brilliant lawyer such as yourself a few minutes.” She agreed that she’d come prepared, and he grabbed her and pulled her into a bear hug. “You did good kid. See you tomorrow.”

  Meredith floated back to her car. She didn’t know if it was the euphoria of a service project gone right, or if she just liked the way he smelled that much. Either way, she was happier than she’d been in a long time. Unlike the new job, this didn’t take any time to sink in. She loved feeling like she had made things better for someone. The wipers on the car gently swished back and forth as snowflakes began to gather on her windshield. She had been afraid to be alone for Christmas. Now, it was only a week away, and she had never been more excited to celebrate it.

  3.

  Morning broke, dazzling bright, as the sun reflected off the snowfall from the night before. It was Saturday, and Jonathan had told her during their most recent delivery run together, that radio stations were doing their annual clothing and toy drive for the Road Home. She had enlisted the help of her sister and had gathered two big black garbage bags full of clothes, blankets, even diapers and toys. It was exciting to think that she could help, but not so exciting to make her happy to leave the warm refuge of her electric blanket.

  With a heavy sigh, she peeled back the covers and set her feet on the marble floor with a hiss. She called her sister to remind her that she was driving to the donation center, and took a quick shower to warm her and wake her up. A quick cup of coffee after and Candy, her older sister, was buzzing to be let in.

  They chatted about the upcoming family Christmas party and how much they dreaded their mother’s inevitable wine-induced breakdown. Candy was watching her with bright eyes.

  “What is it, Candace?” Meredith finally probed.

  “You just seem, I don’t know, more cheerful than usual for this time of year. I just can’t believe that your new job is enough to make you… glow like that.”

  “Well, when you come with me to the Road Home today, you’ll get to see why I glow, I guess.”

  “You’re dating a homeless man?” Candy choked on her coffee.

  “No, Candy. I do volunteer work there. The people who work there full-time, and the other volunteers, are amazing and positive. It’s impossible for it not to rub off on you.”

  Candy smiled at her little sister. She was glad to hear that her sister had found a better way to spend her time than mourning that idiot she’d been dating, but there was no way those soft eyes and sappy smiles were from doing dishes at the homeless shelter. Not that it mattered. She’d get it out of Meredith one way or another.

  Meredith ran off to dry her hair so it wouldn’t freeze when they went out in the frosty chill of the post-snowstorm morning, and Candy poured herself a second cup. Within a few minutes, Meredith was wrapping her scarf around her neck and pushing her favorite beanie over her curly hair. The sisters each grabbed a large, black garbage bag that Meredith had filled with used and newly purchased toys and clothing for the children and headed down to Candy’s car. The sky promised more snow, but the roads were still clear, and they made good time to the shelter.

  When Meredith saw the radio personalities in the cold out in front of the main building of the Road Home complex, and the crowds of people there to make donations on air so the world could hear their names, she was glad she got to slip in the side door with the other volunteers and skip the commotion. She introduced Cecily to Candace, and a few of the others she’d gotten to
know over the couple of weeks prior. They worked together in the kitchen and anywhere else that was short-handed, and as they finished, Candy heard the director of the shelter ask Meredith if she’d be doing food deliveries. Meredith explained she had no ride home, and promised to be back the next Monday.

  A little of the blush had faded from her younger sister by the time they were going to leave, and Candy noticed Meredith was stalling. She finally decided just to ask her about it, when a handsome, dark-haired man walked up and greeted her with a warm hug that had every set of eyes in the room on the pair. Meredith lit up like the Christmas tree she’d been helping to decorate, and rushed the man over to Candy to introduce them.

  “Jonathan, this is my sister, Candy.” Meredith gushed over him as they shook hands.

  “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Candy. Meredith has said so many nice things about you on our drives.”

  “Drives?”

  “Oh, Candy, Jonathan and I deliver meals to the elderly and some disabled people a few times a week. We spend a lot of time on the road, and shock of shocks, you are my only social life, so I may have talked his ear off about you once or twice.” Jonathan shook his head and laughed.

  “I’ve really enjoyed our conversations, and she doesn’t talk that much, but when she does, it’s all good.” Candace smiled and hugged her sister across the shoulders.

  “Is that what that Cecily-lady was talking about? You needed to do deliveries?” Candy looked at her sister thoughtfully.

  “It’s no big deal, I told her you drove today, and she understood.” Meredith shrugged her shoulders and smiled. “I’ll be back next week.”