Chapter 3
Chapter Three
BELLE
This isn’t so bad. I suppose driving is like riding a bike: Once you know how, you never forget. Maybe. It’s been a few years, but so far so good.
I blast holiday music to get myself back in the holiday spirit.
A dark cloud hangs over that office, and I know I should start looking for another job.
I’m dragging out the inevitable because I’ll either turn into one of them or get fired.
That’s really the only outcome. Both of those options super suck.
Checking the time, I see I’m killing it.
The snow is getting heavier, but I think this thing has four-wheel drive.
I just don’t know how to turn it on. Maybe it does it on its own?
The roads are also a lot clearer than I thought they would be, but I left before the normal end-of-day traffic.
That means that I have a little bit of time to stop in Cheerful.
The town name alone makes me smile. I wish I could rename our office Cheerful.
I debated for half a second if I should get the book signed first or go to town, but when my stomach growled, it made that decision for me. I remembered seeing a bakery in the town called Sugar Plum Sweets, and it looked like it had the best desserts.
The thought makes my stomach let out another loud growl.
"Oh wow," I whisper when I see the town up ahead. The sun is starting to set, and all the holiday lights are on. The closer I get, the more it looks like the town is glowing.
The second I enter Cheerful, I’m hit with Christmas overload.
I’m so excited I have to remind myself to keep my eyes on the road while trying to take it all in.
The more I see, the more I wish I could spend a whole week here.
We don’t even get Christmas Eve off at my office.
There’s not a party or Secret Santa or anything fun.
When I see an open parking spot in front of Sugar Plum, I take that as a sign that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. There are a few spots, so thankfully I don’t have to parallel park. Still, I manage to bump the curb so hard it shakes the whole car.
I hop out and almost slip on the ice but catch myself at the last second.
I hurry around the car to make sure I didn’t do any damage when I hit the curb, but the tire seems fine.
Thank goodness. I still have to own up to the espresso machine.
Adding in damage to the car would be enough to give Ms. King a heart attack.
“Merry Christmas,” someone says as they pass by.
“Merry Christmas!” I shout back.
“Hey there,” a girl with fiery red hair calls to me. I glance over to see her standing in front of the hardware store next to the bakery. She’s in overalls and boots, paired with an adorable Santa hat.
“Hi,” I chirp back.
“You’re not from around here.” She doesn’t ask it as a question, so I guess I stick out?
“No, I’m passing through to see someone and wanted to stop in.”
“Well, then, stop in.” She gives me a bright smile as she waves for me to come into the hardware store.
“You own this place?” I know it’s a hardware store, but looking through the front windows, the place is loaded up with Christmas decorations.
“My gramps does,” she says as I follow her into the charming little store. “Are you looking for some decorations? You can never have too many.” She wiggles her brows.
“I wish. I live in a small apartment with roommates, so I only have my room.” I pick up a dancing snowman and smile at it.
“Who did you say you’re passing through to see?”
“I forget their name. It’s an author, Marley something?”
“Marley Jacobs?” Her brows raise all the way up.
“Yes! That’s it. His books look scary.”
“Yeah, in one of them he kills my mom.” I stare at her. “She’s the mayor.” That still doesn’t give me much context, but she smiles. “We laughed it off. In fact, if you’re going there, can you take a few things with you?”
“What do you mean?”
“We have a gift for him. And as a thank you, I’ll give you the snowman you’ve been eyeing.” She pushes down on his hat, making him dance. “Batteries included.”
"That's an offer I can't turn down. You've got yourself a deal." That sounds easy enough.
"Perfect. I'll get it loaded into the back of your car. You should check out the bakery while you wait."
"Oh, I can help you," I offer, but she waves me off.
"I got it. I'm Tilly, by the way."
"Belle," I tell her, and we shake hands.
"Belle, wow, this just keeps getting better and better."
"Am I missing something here?" I often do.
"Yes, the angel food cookies next door. Let Molly know you're headed up to see Mr. Jacobs. She might want to send a few things too."
"Okay, wow. This town is really sweet."
"If you ask me, it’s magical," Tilly says and winks at me. “I'll put this in your car too." She takes the snowman from me and gets my keys before hurrying me out of the store.
The smell of sugary sweetness and sticky caramel hits me when I enter the bakery. My eyes go right to the popcorn balls, and I grab a couple off the shelves.
I get in line behind an older gentleman, but I don’t have to wait long. There’s a pretty girl behind the counter who appears to be around my age, and when it’s my turn, she smiles brightly at me.
“Belle?”
“Um, yeah, that’s me.” This really is a small town if word travels that fast.
“Great, I’m Molly. Tilly told me you were coming over. I’ve got Becs boxing you up some goodies to take to Mr. Jacobs if you don’t mind.”
“Sure,” I say and then laugh. “For a guy who writes super-scary books, everyone seems to like him.”
“He can be a little prickly, but we’re wearing him down.”
“But he’s not scary?”
She pauses for way too long, thinking it over. “You know, he’s just Mr. Jacobs. That’s the only way I can describe him.”
“Did he kill you in a book yet?” I ask, and Molly throws back her head and laughs.
“Not yet, but maybe the next one.” She takes the two popcorn balls I snagged, putting them into a bag for me.
“These are on the house since you’re doing us a favor by taking them up to him.
” Molly grabs the boxes a young woman carries out from the back and then hands me a to-go cup.
“And this is for the road. Hot chocolate with extra marshmallows.”
“I should pay,” I tell her as I reach into my purse. I’m overwhelmed with how nice everyone is being to me.
“Nope,” Molly says and shakes her head. “Just come back and see me, and bring Mr. Jacobs with you.”
All I can do is nod as I step back with my bag and drink because this is all really strange. “Well, thanks,” I manage to say before I turn around and head back out to the sidewalk.
When I get outside, I see the snow is really coming down. The drive here took a few hours, so I should probably hurry if I want to try and make it back before the storm really hits.
“I got you locked and loaded,” Tilly says and pats the trunk of the car. Then I look in the back seat and see a bunch of stuff there too.
"He wants all this stuff?" I ask, trying to get a better look. Holy Christmas balls, I know I would. "Is that a giant inflatable reindeer?"
"That it is. The nose lights up too."
"Badass." I smile, and a giant snowflake hits me in the eye. "I should probably get going." When I look at the sky, I see the sun has now fully set, and the town's holiday lights are making the flakes glow.
Tilly hands me my keys and says goodbye before I hop back into the car. I make sure I have the address plugged into the GPS before I take a small sip of the hot chocolate. I moan at the flavor and how warm it is. It’s not as good as the hot chocolate I make, but it’s close.
"Let's do this," I tell my dancing snowman in the passenger seat.
Pulling back out onto the main road, I drive right to the edge of town. I have to take a sharp left that leads up a hill and circles around. The farther up I go, the more the road narrows. The trees have started to close in around me, and I realize this road goes straight to Mr. Jacobs' house.
The snow is coming down so heavily I have to turn my windshield wipers on faster.
The only light is coming from my headlights now, and the trees are so thick they block out the moon.
I squint ahead, trying to see if there’s a house in the distance, but there’s nothing.
Instead, a deer with two babies darts out in front of me, and I let out a scream.
I stomp on my brakes, but I’m too close and have to swerve.
When I jerk the wheel to avoid hitting them, I end up slamming myself into a tree instead. The last thing I see is the dancing snowman beside me before everything goes dark.