Chapter Five
REX
I don’t know what I was thinking back there, flirting with Holly. What would Lauren think?
The rational side of my brain knows Lauren would want me to move on. In fact, she told me to. But the other side of my brain tells me it’s too soon. I shouldn’t be entertaining the thought of being interested in another woman. I tell myself that’s why my body froze at Cassie’s touch, by her kind words, and how she was on the verge of asking me to the Christmas Eve dance.
But my heart? My heart is a traitor.
It tells me there’s a reason why talking to Holly is so easy. Why I don’t feel anxious at her touch, not in the way I did with Cassie’s? My heart tells me that maybe Holly is stranded here in Candy Cane Creek for a reason other than assignment or an ill-fated trip.
God only knows what the real reason for all of this is, but one thing I know is that I’m not ready to face the answers. Not yet.
Grabbing a thick flannel jacket out of my closet, I make my way back downstairs to the kitchen. Holly’s scrolling through her phone, mug resting against her lips even though she’s not drinking from it. She’s focusing so intently on whatever has captured her attention, and I don’t think she hears me coming.
“I’ve got a jacket here for you, if you’re ready?”
She jumps, putting her phone and mug on the counter. “Oh—yeah—I’m ready.”
Tag perks up, giving me a look I know is intended to tell me he’d rather do anything than move.
I roll my eyes at him as I close the distance between us, holding my jacket open for her. She looks quizzically between me and the jacket before finally turning and sliding her arms into the sleeves.
The fact she hesitates with a look of confusion on her face is startling to me. I know the city is different from small towns, but surely men there do things like carry luggage and help women into coats. Don’t they?
“Thank you,” she says softly, pulling her auburn hair out from the collar. “Tag doesn’t look like he’s too happy about going back outside.”
“He can stay.” Tag huffs as he flips onto his back, legs bent in the air while he basks in the sun’s rays. “Come on, let me introduce you to the others.”
Our short walk to the shelter is silent. Holly keeps her head down, her steps slow and careful, as she follows my tracks. I offer her my hand, but she waves me off, clearly intent on making it on her own.
Once inside, Lucy, Ginger, and Fluffy immediately start barking, unable to contain their morning excitement.
“Are they always this—excited?” Holly asks, taking a tentative step inside the common room.
“Pretty much.” I walk over to their large crates and open the doors. One by one, I’m bombarded with jumping furballs, all trying to get their morning pets. I laugh as I squat down and give each of them a thorough belly rub.
I keep sight on Lucy as she breaks away from the pack. Her golden curled fur bouncing as she bounds over to Holly who, in return, stands stock still with her eyes wide, looking down at the approaching animal.
“Are you afraid of dogs?” I stand and face her.
“No, not afraid.” She backs up further against the wall. “More...cautious.”
I walk to them, bending down, giving Lucy a scratch behind her ears. “Well then, this little lady would be a great dog to start with. She’s the nicest, most cuddly pup out there.”
Holly gazes down at Lucy, who’s sitting like a perfect show dog with her big brown eyes looking up at her. “Are you sure?”
“Here.” I reach into my pocket and pull out a dog treat. “Hold out your hand and say ‘shake.’”
Holly looks between me and the treat wearily before taking it. She gazes down at Lucy, sticking out her hand. “Shake?” Her command comes out as a question.
I move beside Holly, guiding her hand palm up. “Now squat down to her level like I was so she can reach your hand. Next time you say it, say it firmly. Make sure she knows you’re the boss.”
Holly rolls her shoulders back and squats down. “Shake,” she says loudly, with more authority.
Lucy diligently places her paw in Holly’s hand, looking up for approval.
“Did you see that? She shook my hand!” Holly laughs.
“Great! Now give her the treat and say, ‘good girl.’”
Holly opens her other palm and holds it out to Lucy, who immediately gobbles it up. “Good girl!”
I reach into my pocket and grab another treat, placing it in Holly’s palm. “Now ‘spin.’”
Holly gives the command and giggles as she watches Lucy chase her tail twice before sitting nicely at Holly’s feet. She gives Lucy the treat along with an ear scratch, telling her what a good dog she is.
Fluffy and Ginger look on from their dog beds by the Christmas tree, lazily watching the show.
“Are you going to be okay here while I grab their food and water?”
“I think so.” Holly sits down, continuing to pet Lucy.
I smile as I walk into the storage room. Filling their individual food bowls, I think of how much Holly has changed since she first landed in our town just the day before. She’s slowly starting to warm up, to let herself relax. I can’t stop thinking about what her life must be like in the city. How she’s become so self-reliant that it’s hard for her to accept any help.
She’s a mystery to me. One that I can’t stop trying to solve.
Walking back into the room, I stop in my tracks at the scene before me. Holly is sitting on the floor in the middle of a circle of dogs. Lucy’s head is resting on her outstretched leg as Ginger and Fluffy wiggle on their backs trying to get belly rubs.
What leaves me transfixed isn’t the dogs’ reaction, but Holly’s. The smile on her face is genuine as she laughs, scratching bellies with one hand while playing with Lucy’s fur with the other. I take in the moment, feeling like an outsider, but not wanting to disturb the peace she’s found.
“You’re just the cutest little thing, aren’t you?” she laughs as she scratches Ginger’s belly before turning to the others. “You all are.”
“You’re going to spoil them with all those belly rubs. They won’t know what to do with themselves when it’s just me now,” I joke, placing their food bowls down on their individual mats.
“Oh, sorry.” Holly jumps up abruptly, wiping her hands on her pants as the dogs scatter.
“I’m just kidding. They love the attention.” I close the distance between us, placing my hand on her arm. “It looks like you love it, too.”
The same rush I felt yesterday overcomes my body like a wave. My heart rate speeds up; I get butterflies in my stomach. I didn’t know a thirty-year-old man could still get butterflies, but here I am, and they’re swarming.
“Maybe a little.” She looks up at me through her lashes, the corner of her mouth tipped up in a shy smile.
“Let me grab their water and we can head out.” I let myself linger for just a moment longer, looking into her green eyes before I manage to pull myself away.
I make quick work of filling their water bowls and making sure the dogs have everything while we venture into town.
Stepping out into the cold, I smile as it starts snowing. There’s something about snow that fills me with a sense of peace. I don’t know if it’s the resounding silence that comes with it, or the stillness of my surroundings, but it’s always given me a sense of calm that nothing else has ever done before. Even the closing of my truck doors is muffled by the echoing silence.
“So, what’s first on the list?” Holly pulls my jacket closer around her and buckles her seatbelt.
“Food.” I rest my arm along her headrest, looking over my shoulder as I back my truck out of its spot. “Kringle’s has the best brunch food in town.”
“Kringle’s? Like Kris Kringle?”
“The one and only.” I give her a smile as we make our way onto the main road.
“Everything is Christmas themed here?” She opens her phone and starts typing.
“Yup.” I keep my eyes on the road while sending her a glance when I can. “What are you working on?”
“I’m taking notes for the blog.” She continues to type, not looking up. “You said there’s some sort of hot cocoa walk?”
“Yeah, that’s tonight. There’ll be booths in the town square to get hot cocoa and apple cider, and then everyone wanders through town and looks at the lights. There’s an official competition where you can vote for your favourite, but no one takes it too seriously. It’s all in good fun.”
“Right.” She takes a break from her furious note taking and looks out the windshield.
“Hey, why don’t you look at it as if you’re experiencing the events for fun, not as an assignment. See it how the people in town see it.”
“But this is an assignment. I wouldn’t be here otherwise. Plus, I’m going to be leaving as soon as my car is ready, so I probably won’t be here for all the events, anyway. I need to talk to you, and some other people in town, to get the facts so I can write the blog and be done with it.”
“Hmph,” I scoff.
“You don’t believe me?” Holly turns in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest.
“No, I do.” I pull into a parking spot in front of the diner and turn off the truck. “But I think it’s just because you haven’t fully experienced the magic of Christmas.”
“Oh, I have,” she bites out. “And it wasn’t so magical.”
“Maybe you need to experience it Candy Cane Creek style, then.” I get out of the truck and make my way around, but before I reach the passenger door, she has it open and jumps out. “I was going to get that.”
“Get what?”
“Your door.”
“My—door? Why would you get my door?” She tilts her head and looks at me as if I’d gone crazy.
“Why wouldn’t I get your door? It’s the gentlemanly thing to do.”
“Gentlemanly…Have I somehow gone back in time when I crossed the city line? We’re still in the twenty-first century, right?”
“Wouldn’t that be something? Time travel and a Christmas town. Sounds like your ideal trip right there.” I can’t contain my sarcasm as I watch her try to piece this together. “I don’t know what the city boys in Vancouver are doing, but around here, it’s what we do. We open doors, we pull out chairs at tables, help you into your jacket. Don’t think about pumping your own gas.”
“I…” Holly stops. I can see the thoughts crossing through her mind as she waits.
“Let me get your door next time. Please?”
“I guess so?”
“Thank you.” I smile as I open the diner door. I dramatically brush my arm in front of me, showing her the way in. “After you, m’lady.”
She shakes her head with a smile as she walks past me. Following closely behind, I’m immediately welcomed with the comforting smell of coffee and fried food.
“Morning, Rex! It’s good to see you. Grab a seat anywhere,” Sylvie says, rushing past us with a tray of food in her hands.
“Thanks, Sylvie.” Chatter fills the diner as I place my hand on Holly’s back, leading her through the tables. I guide her toward the back, where there’s a booth and fewer prying eyes.
“Is it always like this?” Holly asks, settling into the booth across from me.
“Like what?” I ask, picking up my menu and reading through the options, like I don’t have them all memorized.
“So—informal.”
“Yes. We don’t really do ‘formal’ here.” I place the menu down, clasping my hands on top. “We’re a small town where everyone knows everyone. There’s not much need for fine dining or overly scheduled events. We like to keep things simple.”
“Well, I wasn’t expecting a Michelin star restaurant, but I also wasn’t expecting—well, I don’t know what I was expecting, really.” She focuses on the menu before looking around the table. “Are those candy canes?”
I follow her gaze to a small vase at the end of the table. “Yes, would you like one?” I ask, grabbing a wrapped candy, and offering it to her.
“Um, no, thank you. It’s a little odd to be placing them with the condiments on the table, isn’t it?”
“Oh, honey, the candy canes are a condiment!” Sylvie states as she walks up to our table, coffeepot in hand. “Isn’t that right, Rex?”
“You know it.” I flip my coffee mug over and slide it in front of her.
“How is a candy cane a condiment?” Holly asks.
“Show her.” Sylvie laughs as she finishes pouring my coffee.
I pour a little creamer into my mug from the bowl of pods and unwrap the candy cane, sticking it in my coffee and using it like a stir stick. “See, instant sugar and flavouring.”
“This is the strangest place I’ve ever been to in my life.” Holly’s eyes are wide as she watches me stir my coffee.
“Would you like to try?” Sylvie asks, giving the coffeepot in her hand a slight shake.
“Oh, no, thank you. I don’t drink coffee. Do you have tea? Maybe something less minty?”
“Sure, hon. Black tea, okay?” Sylvie asks, shooting me a glance, letting me know there will be many questions once she gets me alone.
“That would be great.”
Sylvie leaves us alone and I find myself unable to look away from Holly.
“What?” she asks, looking up at me.
“Do you really hate everything to do with Christmas?”
“Not hate,” she replies, looking back down at the menu.
“Why?”
“I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Holly, I’m trying to see what I can do to help you actually enjoy your time here in Candy Cane Creek. Trying to help you write the best blog to represent our town and do it justice. Now, come on, what made you so Christmas adverse?” I watch as she keeps her head down, focusing on the menu much too intently. “Bad Santa experience? Embarrassing Christmas party?”
“You aren’t going to stop, are you?” She asks, looking up at me.
“I just want to help you, and I can’t do that if I don’t know what I’m up against.”
“Fine,” she sighs, sitting up straighter on the bench. “I was stood up at the altar on Christmas Day.”
I stare at her, eyes wide open as I process what she just told me. Of all the things I could have imagined that would have turned her off Christmas, that was not even on my radar.