Chapter Ten
REX
“C ome on, Fluffy. You can do it.” I try to encourage her to go after a ball I threw for her. She huffs at me as she lies on the grass, digging her face behind her paw, hiding her eyes.
I stand up from my kneeling position, brushing grass off my jeans. I was hoping the dogs would perform a little better, considering we’re in a gated tent at the Christmas Festival, trying to raise money to train these pups to be service dogs.
Right now, I can’t even get them to play fetch.
As if on cue, feeling my disappointment, Lucy gets up from the ground and dives headfirst into a kiddie pool I have set up filled with plastic balls. The multi-coloured orbs go flying, some over the fence, hitting people as they walk by. Undeterred by the mess she’s making, Lucy decides to run circles around the tent before diving back into the pool, sending another round of plastic projectiles into the air.
I rub my hands over my face, unsure of how to handle the scene playing out before me.
Ginger barely looks up from her nap in the corner while Tag huffs, gets up, and turns so his back is facing the chaos. He sighs, the force of his displeasure sending the pompom of his hat into the air before he closes his eyes and takes another nap.
This isn’t how I envisioned today going. I thought I’d trained them all enough to do simple commands. Well, enough to impress some of the people of the town into possibly donating some money to bring in a professional to train them properly. The way they’re going, I’ll be lucky if I raise enough to feed them for the day.
“You’ve got your hands full, I see,” Jacob Winters laughs as he walks up to my tent.
He may be my best friend here in Candy Cane Creek, but that doesn’t mean I appreciate his commentary.
“I’m trying my best here,” I grit.
“Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it.” Jacob holds out his hands in front of him in surrender. “Do you need any help?”
“Not unless you know how to train these dogs in the next five minutes.” I look at Lucy, who is now chasing after a blue ball along the inside of the wooden fence I’ve put up. She yips and wags her tail before jumping at the ball, sending it flying another foot in front of her before she repeats the process all over again.
“Uh, no. I don’t think I can help you there,” he answers, watching Lucy while rubbing the back of his neck. “I actually came over to see if you could help me.”
“Sure, what do you need?” I ask, picking up a ball and throwing it for Ginger, who only watches the ball as it rolls past her snout. I let out an exasperated breath, not sure what I was thinking trying to convince the town I could get them trained well enough to be service dogs.
“I was hoping you could introduce me to your reporter friend.”
Now that gets my attention. “Who, Holly?” I look at him, wondering what my friend is up to. “She’s not a reporter. She writes a blog.”
“Same difference,” he says with a shrug.
“Why?” My heart picks up speed at the thought of Jacob wanting to meet her. He’s single, my age. The women in town seem to think he’s handsome with the way they give him attention. I don’t know the full reason why he hasn’t settled down yet, but he’s a good guy. Any woman would be lucky to have him.
So why does the thought of him having an interest in Holly make my stomach turn?
“I’m hoping she would be interested in mentioning the inn in her story. I heard she wanted to stay there when she first got into town, but we were full.”
Right. Or course it has to do with his inn. It’s the centre of the tourism in our town. People book a year in advance to stay there around Christmas. Of course he would want it mentioned.
But it doesn’t lessen the twisting feeling in my gut.
“Yes. She hadn’t planned on staying in town and didn’t think to book a room, not that you would have had any available this time of year, anyway.”
“No, but I would have shown her around, given her the full experience without having a room. You know how guests love the dining room and the library.” He looks behind me, surveying the town square. “Where is she? Can you introduce us?”
“She’s, uh, not here.” It’s my turn to rub the back of my neck, avoiding his questioning gaze.
“Why not? I thought you were showing her around while she’s here. Giving her the real Candy Cane Creek experience.”
“I am,” I say hesitantly. I don’t really want to tell Jacob why I snuck out of my own house early this morning to come to the market without Holly seeing me. I don’t want to bring up the fact that I might be falling for her, and that stirs up a bunch of emotions that I’m not ready to deal with.
I really don’t want to tell him about Cassie and how I don’t know what’s going on there, other than she’s no longer just the one I get my Holly Jolly Lattes from anymore.
I still, worry rushing through my body.
I can still get my Holly Jolly Latte, can’t I?
“What is it? What happened?” Jacob asks, concern written on his face.
“Um, nothing?”
“It’s not nothing when you answer that with a question.”
I look around, breathing out a sigh of relief that no one is around. I don’t need the people of Candy Cane Creek hearing this and making it part of the gossip chain by morning.
“I’m not sure, exactly, but I think Cassie might have been flirting with me.”
He looks at me with a blank face, taking a moment and blinking as he stares at me. “And?”
“What do you mean, ‘and?’”
“Cassie always flirts with you,” he says nonchalantly, as if it was a fact everyone knew. When he takes in my shocked expression, he continues. “Wait, you didn’t know?”
“No! How was I supposed to know? I go in, I get my Holly Jolly Latte, and I leave. It wasn’t until the other night I thought maybe she was. She brought up the dance and touched my hand…”
Jacob chuckles, shaking his hand. “Touched your hand? That’s it; you two have to get married now.”
“Jacob,” I huff, closing my eyes and rubbing them with my fingers.
“Relax, Rex. It’s not a big deal.”
I drop my hand and open my eyes, looking at him and his smug face.
“So what does this have to do with Holly? Wait, do you have feelings for Holly?”
“I…don’t know. Maybe? I don’t know. It’s complicated.”
“Because of Lauren?”
I look away and nod. I’m not ready to admit that I might be ready to move on. My stomach turns at the thought of it, but my heart? Well, it’s not so hesitant. I look at the people milling about the square. Kids are running, chasing each other. People stop at different booths, buying Christmas goodies and laughing with the vendors. Couples walk hand in hand as they peruse the items for sale.
This is what Lauren would have loved. She had been looking forward to all of the holiday events Candy Cane Creek had to offer. Sadly, she got sick and passed before it happened. The thought of her missing out on this, something she would have loved so much. It breaks my heart knowing she never got to see any of this.
A heavy weight drops in my stomach when I realize I’m experiencing this with someone else.
“It wouldn’t be a bad thing, you know?” Jacob says, drawing my attention back to him. “If you had feelings for someone.”
“It hasn’t been that long, Jacob.”
“I’m not saying you need to go and get married tomorrow; I’m just saying that it’s long enough that you can start thinking about it. Maybe go on a date. Holly’s planning on going back to the city, right?”
I nod, knowing that everything about Holly is probably public knowledge by now.
“That’s perfect. Have fun and see what feels right. If you’re not ready, there are no hurt feelings since she’s leaving.”
Why does the thought of Holly leaving send a wave of panic more than the idea of me taking her on a date?
Rex lazily gets up from his slumber and trots over to me, sitting at my side. He looks up at me, the pompom of his Santa hat resting over his eye, causing him to shake, trying to move it. After the third unsuccessful attempt, I take pity on him and move it for him, securing it safely behind his ear.
I’m still astonished the thing stays on his head. It must be by pure Christmas magic.
“Maybe you’re right. It’s been so long. Heck, I don’t even know when I’m being flirted with. I haven’t tried to date anyone in ten years. Where do I even start?”
I give Tag a scratch on the head, knowing I’m asking Jacob, but secretly wishing it was Tag that would answer. They both stood beside me while Lauren was sick. As I helped her through her treatments that did more harm than good. They were with me when she passed; being there for me in more ways than I could count as I tried to navigate life without the one I thought I would grow old with.
Now I’m asking the two people—beings? Mammals?—I’m closest with in town how I restart a life vastly different than what I had imagined my life being.
“You start by taking your time and seeing where this goes. Do you like Holly?”
I take a deep breath and nod, not wanting to lie to Jacob, but not ready to say it out loud, either.
“Then use your time together to explore that.”
“When did you get so wise?” I ask jokingly, needing to lighten the mood—more specifically, my mood.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve always been wise,” he laughs.
I roll my eyes but laugh along with him.
“What’s so funny?” Holly asks, walking up to the tent, her eyes searching between Jacob and me. The smile on her face nearly takes my breath away.
“Just Rex here doubting my intelligence,” Jacob says with a smile. He holds his hand out to her. “I’m Jacob Winters. Owner of The Mistletoe Inn.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Holly Day.”
“Holly...” Jacob starts, but I cut him off by catching his eye and giving him a sharp shake of my head. He narrows his eyes at me briefly but continues, “It’s nice to meet you, Holly. I’ve been hoping to catch up with you to talk about my Inn. I understand that we were regretfully full when you were looking for a room, but I would love to give you a tour for your blog. Really show you what it’s like.”
They discuss Holly stopping by for a tour tomorrow, but I can’t help but watch her as she interacts with Jacob. She’s being professional and polite. She’s asking him questions about the history of the Inn and its role in the holiday festival line up. I try to pay attention, but I can’t. I’m mesmerized by the smile on her face and the way her eyes light up as she gets into her work mode. I watch as her hands become more animated as she speaks excitedly with Jacob. I’m learning that she’s interested in the history of the building and how it played an important role in the development of Candy Cane Creek as a city.
History. That’s what gets her excited. What motivates her behind her stories. I’ll just need to tie in the history of some of our traditions and that will keep her interested.
Maybe for longer than just the next few days.
As if reading my mind, Tag gives a yip beside me, pushing his nose into my palm.
“Yeah, yeah. I get it.”
I know what I need to do now. The question is, what will I do if she wants to stay?