The Santa Express

by Leeanna Morgan

  “The boys will be looking forward to seeing her.”

  “We haven’t told them when she’ll be home. If something changed, Charlie and Andy would be devastated.”

  “Will they live at The Welcome Center when Andrea returns?”

  “That’s the plan.” John knotted his twine around the garland and moved to the next wall bracket. “Someone else is staying in the room where they were before Andrea left, but I found another room they can use. Long-term, we really need to find them somewhere to live outside of the center.”

  “Somewhere with two bedrooms, a family-sized bathroom, and a new kitchen?”

  John looked at her as if she’d lost her marbles. “Do you have somewhere in mind?”

  “I know a cottage that will be ready in a few months’ time. But it might be too late for when they need it.”

  “The cottage beside yours?”

  Shelley nodded. “I can’t think of anyone who’d appreciate it as much as Andrea and her boys. I’ll keep the rent as low as possible and they’ll have an almost new house to live in. What do you think?”

  “I think that’s a very generous offer. Unless something major happens, I’m sure Andrea and the boys would love living there.”

  Shelley tied a knot around another bracket. “Even if you thought one of the cottages should be condemned?”

  “It won’t be like that forever,” John said ruefully. “At least Patrick’s apprentices are working on them. He’ll make sure the quality of the workmanship is high.”

  “That’s what I’m hoping.”

  “When are you officially the new owner?”

  “Tomorrow at four o’clock.”

  John attached the last length of garland to the rail. “We’ll have to celebrate your entry into the world of mortgage payments.”

  “I shouldn’t be happy that I’ve got a mortgage but I am. It feels good to have a home of my own.”

  “You’re putting down roots.”

  “I guess I am.” Shelley clipped some little red bows to the garland. After she was finished, she pushed a button that was hidden in the first section of the foliage. White fairy lights twinkled from between the deep green pine branches and cherry red bows. “What do you think?”

  “It looks as though Christmas isn’t far away.” John turned her toward him and held his hand above her head. “Look what I found.”

  She lifted her chin and frowned. “How did the mistletoe get inside the box? I didn’t order—”

  “Forward planning,” John said against her lips. “I always try to be prepared.”

  And without wasting any more time, he showed her just how prepared he was.

  Shelley had a feeling that Thursday would disappear in a blur of phone calls, unexpected meetings, and last-minute emergencies. Her main priority today was making sure Mabel and the other volunteers had the ingredients they needed to make the first batch of food for Saturday night.

  When she walked into The Welcome Center, the smell of freshly baked cookies drew her straight to the kitchen. Usually, at this time of the morning, breakfast dishes were being packed away and boxes of cereal were being stored for the next breakfast rush.

  But nothing about today was normal. When Shelley stepped into the kitchen, she could only marvel at the production line working at the counters.

  “There you are,” Mabel said with a smile. “Did you finish decorating the carriages last night?”

  Shelley’s cheeks grew hot under Mabel’s scrutiny. Did anyone see her kissing John under the mistletoe, or was Shelley’s overactive imagination creating a Facebook post out of nothing?

  “Everything’s finished. We even had a few decorations left over.”

  “You could take the extra decorations to the barn. It’s such a big space that it will take an enormous number of decorations to make it feel like Christmas.” Mabel handed one of her volunteers a sack of flour.

  Shelley watched the volunteers as they worked. In one area, four people were mixing cookie dough, cutting it into Christmas shapes, then placing the shapes on baking sheets.

  Another two volunteers were making muffins filled with huckleberries. Mabel had shown her the recipe last week. By the time they were decorated with buttercream frosting and red and green cherries, no one would mistake them for anything other than Christmas muffins.

  Shelley handed one of the cookie-cutter volunteers a clean rolling pin. “Do you need me to help with anything, Mabel?”

  “Goodness, no. At the rate we’re going, we’ll finish most of the baking by two o’clock. If we had more ovens, it would be sooner.”

  “In that case,” Shelley said. “I’ll drive to the Colemans’ ranch and help with the decorations.”

  Mabel rushed around the counter and handed Shelley a bag of wrapped cookies. “Send my regards to Jebediah and give him these. It might take the sting out of so many people being on his property.”

  “Thanks, Mabel.”

  “You’re welcome. Good luck!”

  Shelley hoped they had more than luck on their side. Before she’d left home, John had called to say that one of the cherry pickers wasn’t working. Without that, hanging the decorations from the ceiling of the two-story barn would take twice as long. They were hoping to hire one from Polson, but the chances of a cherry picker being available were almost as likely as a heatwave hitting Montana in the middle of December.

  Chapter 9

  John raced across the barn. So far, decorating everything had gone without a hitch. Even their last-minute effort to fix the cherry picker had worked out okay. Thankfully, after an hour of tinkering with the engine, Patrick and one of his team had managed to fix the hydraulics.

  “Wait there!” He yelled to one of the building apprentices. “I’ll hold the ladder.” Sometimes, he wondered where people’s common sense was. Standing nearly two stories in the air without someone anchoring the ladder to the ground wasn’t a good idea.

  Maybe it was his age, but working alongside the construction trainees made him feel old. Apart from Patrick, Caleb, and Steven, the average age of everyone in the room wouldn’t have been more than twenty-two.

  He looked at the person dangling from the ladder and growled. “You should know better, Mark. Your dad wouldn’t be impressed if I told him you’d broken your back.”

  Mark looked contrite. “Sorry, Pastor John. One of the fasteners came off the wall. I thought I could fix it before anyone noticed.”

  “I saw you and I was on the other side of the barn.”

  Mark came down the ladder. “Thanks for helping. I’ll ask someone to stand at the base of the ladder next time.”

  “You do that.”

  Patrick stopped beside them. “It’s just as well John saw you before I did. You know the rules.”

  “Sorry, Mr. Devlin. It won’t happen again.”

  “You’re right. It won’t. Now go and see DJ. She needs a hand to decorate the kitchen.”

  Probably as quickly as he’d rushed up the ladder, Mark went in search of DJ.

  Patrick rested his hands on his hips. “The barn hasn’t turned out too bad for a bunch of construction workers with no design style.”

  John smiled. “It could have something to do with the plans Shelley gave us. I can’t believe she had everything mapped out, right down to which decorations were going on the bathroom doors.”

  “She’s got a good mind, that’s for sure. It made our jobs a lot easier. Steven and Caleb have already gone home. They mentioned something about a surprise for Shelley. Has anyone told her that she shouldn’t be here?”

  John looked over his shoulder, hoping the person in question wasn’t standing behind them. “It’s a surprise,” he whispered. “I’m taking her into town soon.”

  Patrick’s eyebrows rose. “You might want to make a move now. She’s about to fill two hundred balloons with helium.”

  “Thanks for the warning. Will you be here tomorrow?”

  Patrick nodded. “I promised Ben I’d help carry the Chri
stmas tree into the barn. After that, I’ll go back to the tiny home village and check on the next three houses.”

  “The families moving into them will be grateful. They can’t wait to live in the village.”

  “It’s a shame we didn’t get the full twenty-five houses finished before Christmas, but they’ll get done in the New Year.”

  “It will be great to see the village operating at full capacity.” John checked his watch. “I’d better find Shelley. Thanks for everything you and your team are doing today.”

  “That’s what we’re here for. Shelley’s upstairs in the bedroom that overlooks the Colemans’ house.”

  With one final look around the lower floor, John headed toward the stairs. An apprentice would drive Shelley’s truck into town while he took her to one of her new homes.

  Hopefully, she’d enjoy the surprise party they’d planned. But, knowing Shelley, she’d have a thousand things running through her brain and wouldn’t be able to relax.

  Shelley wiggled the blindfold a little higher.

  “No touching,” John warned. “And no peeking. It will spoil the surprise.”

  “I don’t know why I have to wear a blindfold,” Shelley complained. “It’s pitch-black outside and the only way I’d see anything is if it was in front of your headlights.”

  “Sit back, close your eyes, and enjoy the ride. We’ll be there soon.”

  Shelley had no idea where they were going. When John had insisted she leave with him, she wasn’t happy. Even though someone else was driving her truck to her sister’s cottage, she had a few things she wanted to do before Saturday’s event.

  She just hoped John’s surprise was in town and not in the opposite direction to the Colemans’ ranch. At least that way she could sneak in a little work after they’d finished whatever he’d organized.

  “Can’t you give me a small clue?” Shelley asked. “I might need to prepare myself for the surprise.”

  John sighed. “Surprises are meant to be spontaneous events. Wasn’t that one of the most important items on your personal improvement plan?”

  “I wish you’d never seen that piece of paper,” Shelley muttered. “Some things should never be shared.”

  “Like where we’re going tonight. As luck would have it, we’ve arrived.”

  Shelley lifted her hands to remove the blindfold. She heard the click of a seatbelt and, suddenly, John’s cold hands landed on hers.

  “Not yet.”

  “But you said we’re here, wherever here is.”

  “We’ve arrived at our destination, but not where we need to be standing. I’ll help you out of the truck.”

  The driver’s door opened and Shelley felt a cold blast of air. Even blindfolded, she wasn’t a helpless damsel in distress. She’d climbed out of enough trucks to be able to do it now, even without the benefit of seeing where she was going. Quickly, she took off the seatbelt and opened the door.

  With her legs dangling over the edge of the vehicle, she carefully slid forward. With a yelp, she realized the ground was farther away than she thought.

  Instead of landing on her bottom, a strong pair of hands grabbed her arms and pulled her against his chest.

  “Do you ever listen to instructions?” John growled.

  “I do if they make sense. I thought I could get out of the truck on my own.”

  “What happened?”

  Shelley relaxed against his chest. “The ground was farther away than I thought.”

  John kissed her forehead. “Next time, listen to me. It might save you from getting a few nasty bruises.”

  “Yes, boss. So, where are you taking me?”

  “How does a romantic getaway to Paris sound?”

  “Like bliss—as long as our flight leaves after Saturday.”

  John chuckled. “I hate to tell you the bad news, but Paris is off the schedule. The first thing we’re going to do is step away from the truck. Then you’ll let me lead you somewhere else.”

  Shelley rolled her shoulders. “Okay. I’m ready.”

  And with untold patience on Shelley’s part, and more than one moment of laughter, they made their way to the surprise location.

  “This part of the journey is a little tricky,” John warned. “Follow my instructions precisely.”

  With more caution than she’d shown before, Shelley did as she was told. Her sneakers scrunched over icy snow, then she felt the ground change and she climbed four steps.

  In front of her, a door opened, and she stepped into blessed warmth.

  “Okay, we’re here.”

  Shelley breathed a sigh of relief. “Can I take off the blindfold now?”

  “I’ll take it off on the count of three. Are you ready?”

  “I’ve been ready since we left the barn.”

  “I never would have known,” John said dryly. His hands touched the back of her head. “One…two…three!”

  “Surprise!”

  Shelley nearly leaped out of her skin. Blinking furiously, she saw a blur of fairy lights, family, and wine glasses. She looked around the room and frowned. “We’re in one of the houses I bought?”

  “It’s a surprise party,” her mom said from beside John. “We wanted to congratulate you on the purchase of your first homes.”

  Her dad stepped forward and gave her a hug. “And to tell you how proud we are of what you’re doing. Giving someone else the opportunity to live in a home is a wonderful thing.”

  “And if you ever need free labor,” Caleb said, standing beside Sam, “you can call us anytime. Except when Sam is the size of a bus, then we’re going nowhere.”

  Sam poked her husband in the ribs. “None of that bus talk around here, thank you very much. You’re surrounded by Jones women and we know how to stand up for ourselves.”

  Bailey smiled at Shelley. “What Caleb is trying to say is that we’re here for you. If you need anything, just ask.”

  “Thank you. It’s really sweet of everyone to do this for me.” Shelley looked at her parents’ smiling faces. “Did you come all the way from Bozeman just for the surprise?”

  Elena glanced at her husband. “Not exactly. We have been planning this trip for a few days.”

  Bailey grinned. “Mom and Dad have wanted to come here since the day you called to say you’re dating John. We persuaded them to wait until today.”

  Shelley had a quick look around the room. “Did Mom bring any wedding brochures with her?”

  Ted smiled at his daughter. “I convinced your mother that we didn’t need to bring them.”

  “But if anyone is interested in the latest ideas, I have saved everything electronically.”

  Caleb looked impressed. “You’ve joined the digital age, Elena.”

  “I have been doing some technology classes at the library.”

  “And getting herself into all kinds of trouble,” Ted added. “But enough about us. Let’s get John and Shelley a drink and make a toast to new beginnings.”

  With the most important people in her life surrounding her, Shelley felt truly blessed. And to be standing in the home that would make someone else happy was even more special.

  She took the glass of wine that John handed to her. “Thank you for organizing the surprise. It’s lovely.”

  “You’re welcome. And just for the record, I’m proud of you, too.”

  And with a kiss that would give her mom something to think about, John made sure everyone knew they were celebrating more than the purchase of two homes.

  Shelley picked up her clipboard and yawned. She hadn’t gone to bed until after midnight. After enjoying a delicious dinner, cooked ahead of time by John, her family had sat around talking and drinking coffee until it was time to go home.

  John hadn’t minded her over-the-top Italian-American family. Which didn’t surprise her, even though it was a little frightening. He’d enjoyed her mom’s hugs and liked talking about his favorite Italian dishes. With her dad, he’d talked about fishing, hiking, and how to fix leaky pip
es.

  She was so late getting out of bed that she’d eaten her breakfast on the way to the Colemans’ barn.

  “The tree’s arrived,” Patrick said as he hurried toward the main doors.

  Shelley forgot about the list of things they still had to do and followed Patrick. On this morning’s tour, she’d been impressed with what they’d achieved yesterday. But the crowning glory of the lower floor would be the Christmas tree.

  Her eyes widened when she saw the size of the truck Ben had brought to the ranch. It was huge. If that was any indication of the size of the tree, it would be spectacular.

  John and some of the trainees were already attaching large hooks to the tree. A special hoist would lift it off the trailer, but it was up to everyone to carry it into the barn.

  “I’ll need three people to carry the stand inside,” Ben said to the group of trainees. “Everyone else stay clear of the trailer while I lift the tree to the far side of the truck.”

  With the large stand removed and the tree swinging to the right, Shelley held her breath. The Christmas tree was massive. She just hoped they had enough decorations to do it justice.

  It took almost an hour to carry the tree into the barn and make sure it wouldn’t fall over. The stand Ben had brought with him was designed for tall trees, and it looked as though it weighed a ton.

  “What do you think?” John stood beside her as she took in the sight of the incredible Christmas tree.

  “It’s amazing. I can’t wait to see what it looks like after we’ve decorated it.”

  Ben walked toward them. “Everything’s secure. If you have any issues or concerns just call me. Otherwise, I’ll be back on Sunday to take it down.”

  “Thank you. It’s absolutely stunning, but there’s one thing I’m worried about.” Shelley pointed to the gap between the top of the tree and the ceiling. “Are you sure you’ve given us the right tree? It looks a lot bigger than the one I ordered.”

  Ben took off his gloves. “It’s a little taller than the one you asked for. I came out to the ranch on Wednesday and Jebediah showed me around. This is a much better fit for the space.” He smiled at Shelley. “If you’re worried about the cost, don’t be. After you’ve finished with the tree, I’m taking it into town. The Business Association wants a tree for the end of Main Street. They were happy to pay the full price so the church doesn’t need to pay anything.”