by Danni Roan
He knew it was miles, but he really didn’t want the night to end with a quick car ride back to his little bungalow.
Ordering another drink he took his time dragging out the conversation with Brittany as long as he could.
“I’d better get the car back,” Brittany finally said as he finished his drink.
“Right,” James said lamely. Quickly grabbing the bill and sliding his credit card into the sleeve. “My treat,” he said with a grin. “Students should get a few breaks you know.”
Brittany smiled. It was nice that he wanted to pick up the tab, and she wasn’t going to argue. Too often men didn’t get a chance to spoil a lady these days.
After the bill had been paid James and Brittany walked out into the cool breeze that skidded across the sand making the turn around the back of the building and heading for the car.
Street lights glowed over the gravel lot illuminating the little white car that now had a massive red heart with an arrow through it glued over the front hood.
“What in the world!” Brittany exclaimed hurrying to the car. “What kind of vandalism is this?”
James hurried after her peering down at the heart shaped decal with a grin. Someone had gone to great lengths to surprise them, even adding their initials with a plus sign on either side of the arrow.
“Does this stuff happen often?” he asked checking the date on his watch to see if it was anywhere close to Valentine’s Day.
“Not that I’ve heard of,” Brittany replied eying the heart. “Do you think it will hurt the paint if we peel it off?” she asked with a tiny blush.
James ran a nail around the edge of the object finding that it would come up like a sticker if he was careful.
“Tell you what,” he said with a grin. “Let’s take it back, and I’ll peel it off when we get to the hotel. Who knows? I might even stick it to my window for a laugh.”
Brittany grinned. “You mean you want to keep it?” her eyes and voice were full of hope. Could he like her enough to keep this ridiculous thing as a keepsake?
“Sure, why not? We’re having a good time and someone obviously noticed.”
Nodding Brittany agreed and headed for the driver’s side door.
The drive home was accompanied by a series of giggles as each time they looked at the big heart they laughed.
James couldn’t decide if the laughter was from nerves or simple awe that someone would be so bold in adding a heart to a company car.
Once they made it back to the hotel parking area he carefully pulled the film from the car’s hood and held it out. With nothing behind it there was a magical almost transparent affect to it.
“Come on, let me see where you’re going to put it,” Brittany insisted following him along the beach and back to his little hut that sprawled out over the lagoon.
Inside James flicked on a light with an elbow then carried the emblem to the large bank of windows at the front of the hut carefully smoothing it into place in the center.
Soft moonlight filtered through the window casting the relief of the heart back on to the floor in a pool of hazy pinks and distorted letters.
“Looks good,” Brittany teased slipping her hand into his.
“So do you,” James replied looking down into her bright luminous eyes.
Brittany dropped her gaze at the complement. It wasn’t as if she weren’t used to men complementing her or hitting on her, in her line of work it happened all the time. But there was something about James and his gentle tone and slightly goofy grin that went straight through her.
“Let’s go for a walk,” she suggested pulling him toward the door and the shower of sparkling sea water almost under their feet.
Brittany pulled off her sandals for the second time that evening and lifted them in her free hand as her toes found the gentle lapping of the water.
James smiled kicking off his boat shoes as he fell into step with her, his toes soaking in the warmth of the sand.
“It’s a beautiful night,” Brittany said feeling shy and intrepid all at the same time.
“I’ve had a wonderful time.” James hazel eyes searched her face as they continued to stroll.
“It’s going to be strange when you go back,” Brittany said. “I’ve been here for nearly two months already, but it hasn’t felt like home until you.”
Silently she kicked herself as the words escaped. She was sure they sounded ridiculous, even desperate.
“I know what you mean,” James said seriously. “I was just here to soak up the sun and detox from all things Christmas, but when I met you, it was like learning to breathe all over again.”
Brittany stopped turning to look at him and seeing the truth in his eyes. Could two people truly fall in love in only a matter of days? Sure, she’d heard of love at first sight and even of people getting married almost as soon as they’d met, but that was just stuff crazy romance authors danced across the pages of their books.
Walking a little further along the beach, James found a spot in the sand and pulled Brittany down to sit next to him.
They were both quiet as the moon rose higher behind them reflecting off of the water with a ghostly white glow.
James wrapped an arm around Brittany’s shoulders feeling her drop her head down as she leaned close.
She felt perfect there in his embrace; warm and soft and real. How had he never felt this way before? It was like a piece of him that he hadn’t even known was missing had finally been returned.
“James,” Brittany’s voice was a mere whisper, and he turned to her expectantly.
“Do you think people can truly fall in love in a matter of days?”
James could hear the hesitancy in Brittany’s voice and he smiled. “I think that people can fall in love all kinds of ways,” he admitted. “Audrey almost ran over her cowboy on the freeway, Lisa got locked in a trunk by a goose, and they both found love.” He chuckled softly thinking about the crazy situations his two best friends had found themselves in.
“My brain tells me that it’s crazy to feel the way I do about you,” Brittany continued. “I barely know you, but I feel like we just click.” She shrugged as if the words were hard to find.
James leaned over placing a gentle kiss on her lips, but Brittany wasn’t satisfied with that simple brush of his lips. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him close kissing him back with all the pent up emotion in her heart.
James rocked forward teetering then wrapped his arms around Brittany’s waist drawing her to him and finding balance.
Brittany seemed to be made for him, seemed to fit him in every possible way. They both shared a love of the same sort of work, a passion for finding that golden getaway after pouring themselves into a job well done.
Could this be the blossoming of a new and beautiful relationship?
Brittany’s kiss deepened and James responded kissing her back until they were both breathless.
For a few more seconds they stayed there holding each other on the beach as the waves crept over their toes and the breeze toyed with their hair, while love toyed with their hearts.
“I’d better go,” Brittany finally said leaning her forehead into his as she caught her breath. “Some of us have to work in the morning.” She smiled kissing him quick and for the second time in as many nights rose, dashing back to her quarters at the hotel leaving James all alone.
Chapter 11
James yawned and stretched as morning light poured through his windows. He had stumbled home last night bewildered, and slightly giddy, falling into bed without a care in the world.
This morning his brain was bleary and his heart seemed to beat to a different tune. How could he possibly be falling for a girl he would probably never see again after this week?
It was madness, but blissful madness anyway. After last night, he longed to spend more time with Brittany. Longed to have time to pursue their relationship, but responsibilities didn’t just disappear.
How could he explore his feeli
ngs in the short time he had left on the island?
Jumping into the shower, he tried to wash the thoughts and worries from his mind, but they persisted as he toweled himself dry and slipped into a new pair of swim trunks.
He would head to the breakfast shack and see if Brittany was working there today. He should have asked her more about her schedule last night over dinner, but his mind seemed to grow foggy just looking at her.
Grinning he draped a beach towel over his shoulders, pinged his little pineapple and stepped into the warm tropical sun.
He’d only gone a few yards when a Frisbee, carelessly thrown came spinning his way, and he dodged leaping into the air to snatch the wayward missile before it could find the sea.
As he turned trying to find his footing again his shoulder connected with another body and together he and the elderly woman with the Santa man husband tumbled to the sand.
“I’m so sorry,” James said jumping to his feet and reaching for the woman who was madly scrabbling for her wide brimmed hat.
“Are you hurt?” he queried snatching the hat from the lapping waves and giving it a shake before handing it too her and freezing as he took in the even features and clear blue eyes. “Candy?” he asked his brain rebelling at what he saw. “Candy Alberton?”
“James, be quiet,” Candy hissed.
“But, but, but…”
“Yes, I know I’m not supposed to be here,” the older woman said taking her hat and cramming it back on to her head.
“Where have you been all these years? How did you end up here? Does Audrey know? Why haven’t you come home?” James rapid-fire questions seemed to come out all at once, and he only stopped when Candy placed a hand over his mouth.
“You’d better come with me,” Candy said waving him upright then reaching for his hand for support as she got to her feet. “Nick’s going to want to talk to you now that the cat’s out of the bag.”
James helped his best friend’s mother to her feet letting her take his arm and lead him along the beach, his mind reeling. He had believed that both of Audrey’s parents had died in a plane crash when she was only fifteen now here he was walking on a tropical beach with Mrs. Alberton on his arm.
“I’m sure you have a million questions,” Candy said as she guided him along the shore toward a little red and white house nestled in the dunes. “Just hold off until we get inside, and we’ll explain everything.”
James nodded absently as the shock began to wear off. He looked down at the little white haired lady again checking to see that his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.
He needed to call Audrey. He needed to call Lisa and the Ls.
“Now don’t you go getting any crazy notions in that head of yours,” Mrs. Alberton said leading him to the door and opening it. “Nick we have company,” she called into the breezy interior as she dragged James into the little house.
“Oh my!” the portly man intoned as he stepped out of another room into a neat little kitchen.
James squinted looking hard past the beard and the extra pounds to find Mr. Alberton staring back at him with worried eyes.
“You’d better put the coffee on dear,” Mr. Alberton said. “I think it’s going to be a long morning. Have you eaten yet?” he asked laying his hand on James’ shoulder and guiding him to a chair. “We were going to make our way down to the breakfast shack, but I think now we’ll stay here and have a little confab.”
Candy shuffled the coffee pot onto the gas burner and flicked it to life. It would indeed be a very long morning.
Chapter 12
Brittany tied her sarong dress style around her neck and straightened the matching swimsuit beneath.
She’d requested the breakfast shift for the rest of the week and was now anxiously awaiting James appearance.
Last night had been like a dream and her heart seemed to sing today. What a joy it was to spend time with a man who got her. Someone who understood the sacrifices you had to make to reach your dream.
She smiled dancing to the soft island music playing in the background of the little shack as she waited on another customer wondering when James would show up.
The breakfast shack wasn’t a huge draw for any of the hotel employees because it did less business than the main dining area. Tips weren’t nearly as good if you drew the short straw for the beach stand, but it was worth it to have a few extra minutes in the morning to spend with James.
Brittany still wondered what it was about him that drew her, as she whipped up a strawberry mango smoothie for a guest. James was good looking, that didn’t hurt, but there was more to it. He had a soft vulnerable side that she could see right away. It was one thing to be proficient in your job or profession, but that didn’t make up the sum of anyone.
A job was just that, a job; one facet of the many parts of the whole. Brittany could understand the organized, straight forward business side of James, but it was the other side she was interested in.
She wanted to get to know the dorky, awkward person who seemed shy and uncertain while at the same time confident in his own field.
“Where’s your friend?” Shanda asked as the crowd thinned and a warm sun crept under the open window shade.
“I’m sure he’ll be along,” Brittany mused. “Maybe he’s just sleeping in or had work to catch up on.”
Shanda smiled. It was obvious that the serious, driven Brittany was smitten. She just hoped the man was worthy of her friend.
***
“I still can’t get my head around this,” James said running a hand through his hair and making it stand on end. He’d been listening to the most outrageous tale he had ever heard in his life for the past half hour and couldn’t sit still for a second more.
“You’re telling me that that night when you’re airplane simply disappeared, bloop, right out of the sky you had snagged Santa’s sleigh with your landing gear?”
“Yes,” Candy Alberton said calmly as she sat next to her husband her hand clasped in his.
James took another turn around the miniscule living space. “You know that’s crazy. Right?” he pleaded looking at them both.
“I guess it depends on how you look at it,” Candy said her tone reasonable.
“We had a hard time accepting it as well,” Nick finally spoke up. “I mean really, Santa? He’s just that jolly man that everyone tells their kids about.”
“Why didn’t you come home?” James growled. “I watched Audrey’s whole world fall apart. That wasn’t fair. You could have at least written or called or something.”
Candy shook her head. “I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way James,” she said. “You see once you meet the man in the red suit face to face you’re bound to that secret.” Her blue eyes searched his face trying to make him understand. “It was the hardest thing in the world to not call or write. We missed Audrey every single day.”
Nick wrapped an arm around Candy’s shoulders as she sniffed, patting her gently. “After the accident and the delays we’d caused that Christmas, we were bound to take over from the former jolly elf. He had been looking for an apprentice, and well we fit the bill.”
“This is crazy,” James ran his hands through his hair again turning in a circle beneath the ceiling fan. “Have you been brainwashed? Maybe you were kidnapped and have that disorder you know that syndrome thingy.”
“We do not have Stockholm syndrome James Hamilton and don’t you take that tone with me,” Candy snapped. “We kept an eye on all of you kids from day one and worked hard to do the right thing, but this,” she waved her hand around the little house, “was so much bigger than us, than our families. There are children everywhere who have never heard the good news of the Christmas story, who have never had a toy of their own, or the right to be a child. We had to do what we thought was best and take over from the former Claus.”
James dropped in to an empty arm chair with a groan holding his head as he propped his elbows on his knees.
“Can’t you tell Audrey no
w? You weren’t even there for her wedding.”
Candy squirmed in her chair slightly. “No but she’s happy and safe isn’t she?”
“Yes,” James replied looking up. “Holden loves her to bits, and I think they’re actually enjoying figuring out how they’ll work out their new life.”
“James,” Nick’s voice was kind and James lifted his eyes to the other man. “I know it’s hard to comprehend. It was hard for us as well, but when we saw the need and understood what the job entailed, we had no choice.”
James let out a breath, pushing himself to his feet. “I have to tell Audrey you’re alive,” he stated glaring at them.
“You can’t do that son,” Mr. Alberton said. “No one knows and it isn’t time yet.”
Candy patted her husband’s hand giving him a hard look.
“Why not?” What happened to this other man? Why can’t he come back and let you go?”
“Gilbert? Oh, Gilbert is retired now dear, he can’t come back. He probably doesn’t even remember any of it now.”
James wanted to scream, wanted to pull his hair and rant and rave. He knew all too well the feeling of abandonment and isolation Audrey had experienced when her parents had disappeared.
He had felt it every time he’d been shuffled off to a new foster home, unwanted, unloved, and unneeded.
“James,” Nick said rising to his feet and placing a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “There are things in this world that exist for the joy and hope of others, but that doesn’t mean they don’t come with a price.”
Candy rose joining her husband. “The time will come when we’ll see Audrey again,” she said softly her eyes full of tears. “But for now we have to finish our work and that means you can’t tell. If you do, the consequences for all of us could be dire.”
James pulled in a long breath letting it out slowly. “I won’t tell,” he said his mind racing to find a way to let Audrey know the truth without giving it away.
