Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
“So, you’re dating Jackson Bell now?” Clara asked as she sipped wine from her favorite chair in their sunroom.
Felicity gave her annoying friend a flat stare. “You know I don’t date the marrying kind.”
“Oh?” Clara brushed back a lock of her raven-colored hair and smirked when she said, “Then I guess you won’t mind if I ask him out?”
A lightning bolt of irritation shot through Felicity’s limbs, and she gritted her teeth as she said, “If that’s what you want to do. I know he’s exactly your type.”
Clara threw her head back and cackled. “If only you could see the look on your face. Are you really sitting there telling me that you wouldn’t want to murder me in my sleep if I started dating Jackson?”
“I didn’t say that,” Felicity said, leaning back into the love seat. “But who am I to stand in the way of two people finding love and their happily-ever-after.”
“You’re full of crap.” Clara plucked a piece of cheese off the plate sitting on the end table next to her and popped it into her mouth.
“And you know damned well I’d never go after one of your men, even if you are determined to sleep with every bachelor under the age of forty. ” She grinned at Felicity.
“Don’t slut shame,” Felicity said haughtily, even though she knew Clara was only joking.
The truth was, that while Felicity talked a good game and enjoyed a night out with a fun date every now and then, she rarely hooked up with anyone.
Maybe she was picky, but she just hadn’t found anyone worth the trouble.
Or she hadn’t until Jackson Bell had come along.
Clara raised the bottle of wine, offering it to her friend.
“I think I’m going to go for coffee instead.” Felicity got to her feet. “Need anything while I’m in the kitchen?”
“The number of a hot man who’s looking for a serious girlfriend, please,” Clara said. “And a hex for that loser Peter, who turned out to be dating three of us at the same time.”
“Gladly. One that will shrivel little Peter and make it burn when he pees,” Felicity said, still fuming over the seemingly sweet guy who’d taken glass blowing classes from Clara over the spring and then wined and dined her through the fall.
She’d thought they were getting serious and had been over the moon when she’d accidently stumbled upon tickets for a Hawaiian vacation for two.
She’d thought it was going to be a surprise for her birthday.
It was a surprise all right. But it wasn’t a trip to Hawaii for her.
It was for another girlfriend he’d been dating for three years who lived down in the Bay Area.
When all was finally out in the open, Clara had learned Peter currently was dating her, the woman in the Bay Area, and another up in Lake Tahoe.
He traveled for work all over the northern part of the state, and that was how he’d managed to juggle everyone at the same time.
She’d really liked him, and he’d broken her heart. But worse, he’d caused her to lose some of that eternal optimism that made her Clara. And for that, Felicity would gladly hex him into oblivion. Too bad she wasn’t that kind of witch. Her magic was focused on healing and joy, not revenge.
Hopefully Peter would run into a vindictive witch someday soon. It was what he deserved.
Felicity had just doctored her coffee when the doorbell rang. “Jingle Bells” started to play, and she groaned. “Clara! Seriously?”
“It’s festive!” her friend called back.
“Why couldn’t you have chosen Vince Guaraldi instead? At least that’s tolerable.”
“Because the Charlie Brown Christmas music is the only music you let me play normally. I wanted something fun. Live with it.”
“Fine,” Felicity shot back. She knew she could be a Grinch, but they played all the holiday favorites at Apples and Spice and Everything Nice all day. A girl could only take so much.
“I knew you’d see it my way.”
Chuckling, Felicity opened the door to find the very handsome Jackson Bell standing on her doorstep, looking like an angel with a bag of groceries. “Jackson Bell, are you really cooking for me and Clara tonight? I made that comment for your mom’s benefit.”
“That’s the plan. As long as you both like mushroom risotto.”
“Risotto? Oh. Em. Gee. Let the man in, Felicity,” Clara said as she rushed to push her friend out of the way. “Come in, come in,” she added as she held the door open wider, giving him space.
Felicity rolled her eyes and muttered, “Hands off the man candy.”
“You said you wouldn’t mind if I dated him,” she muttered back.
“What was that?” Jackson asked as he glanced back at them, frowning.
“Nothing,” they both said at once.
Felicity fell into step behind Jackson and couldn’t help admiring him. He looked amazing in his tight jeans and fitted sweater, and he smelled of something woodsy that made her warm all over. Or was that the way his butt filled out his jeans?
Maybe both.
“Want some wine, Jackson?” Clara asked once they made it into the kitchen.
“Not just yet,” he said, already making himself at home as he unpacked his groceries. “But definitely with dinner.”
“All right.” She glanced between Felicity and Jackson before grinning like a fool when she said, “I’m gonna go do some work on my computer and give you kids some time to chat. Call me if you need help with anything.”
“You don’t need to go,” Felicity called after her friend, but Clara just raised a hand in the air and hurried off to her bedroom.
“That was subtle,” Jackson said with a chuckle.
“She’s a dreamer,” Felicity said as she took a seat at the bar, still holding her coffee mug. “Clara thinks that taunting me with asking you out is going to make me want to lock you down.”
“Is she right?” he asked, his lips twitching with amusement.
Yes. “No. I’m not the commitment type,” she said for what felt like the hundredth time.
But the words rang hollow, and she frowned, wondering where that feeling had come from.
She quickly pushed the thought aside and changed the subject.
“Were you able to find anything out about the person behind the foreclosure?”
Jackson pressed his lips together and shook his head.
“Not yet. I did order the LLC paperwork. The company has a registered agent listed as the owner, which means I haven’t been able to track down who exactly is behind the foreclosure yet.
My next step is to go down to the assessor’s office to check the archives on your property.
The LLC associated with the lien is relatively new.
That means the lien has been updated. The archives should be a treasure trove of information. ”
“I want to go with you,” Felicity said. “When do you have time? Tomorrow?”
He nodded. “I can be there right when they open. How about you, can you take time away from your shop?”
“For something this important? Yes,” she said. Marilyn would just have to handle the morning rush without her. If they didn’t figure out what to do about the loan, there wouldn’t be an Apples and Spice and Everything Nice in just a few short weeks.
“It’s a date then,” he said.
“A date?” Clara echoed as she walked back into the kitchen. “Are you taking her to the Christmas ball, Jackson?”
“The Christmas ball?” he asked. “What’s that?”
The petite woman clapped her hands together as she bounced on her toes.
“It’s a fundraiser for underprivileged kids.
Everyone is supposed to dress in their holiday best and dance the night away under an enchanted moon.
It’s next Friday night. You can get tickets at the Frost Family Tree Farm.
The Frosts are sponsoring it this year.”
“That sounds very festive,” Jackson said. “What do you say, Felicity? Will you let me spin you around the dance floor for an evening?”
“I don’t—” she started.
“It’s for charity, Felicity,” Clara said, giving her a stern look. “You’re going one way or another. You can either be Jackson’s date or be the third wheel on mine.”
“Who are you going with?” Felicity demanded.
“That’s a surprise.” She gave her friend a cheeky grin, and Felicity suspected that Clara didn’t have a date at all.
“You’re a pain in my butt, you know that?” Felicity said to Clara. Then because she secretly really did want to go to the ball with Jackson she said, “Yes, I’d much rather go with you than be a third wheel with Clara and Old Man Percy at the Christmas ball.”
Clara burst out laughing. Percy was the old farmer who was in a hometown rock band.
He often hung out at Sleighed when they weren’t playing and told stories of what Christmas Grove used to be like when he was a younger man.
He had tales of saloons and brothels, including one that started selling enchanted glass ornaments.
He was forever telling Clara that she needed to get in on that market even though she already did.
“Now he might be a fun date,” Clara said, shaking her head. “But only if I wanted to hear all about his first ‘experience’ with one of the madams at the Naughty and Nice Gentleman’s club.”
Felicity snickered. “You might learn a few things.”
“Maybe so,” Clara agreed.
Jackson cleared his throat. “Do I want to know about the Naughty and Nice club? It sounds like a roadside girly bar one might find on Interstate 5 outside of Sacramento.”
“Oh no. It was a brothel right here in Christmas Grove. It’s actually, in its own weird way, how this town ended up being built up around Christmas,” Felicity said.
“They sold enchanted glass ornaments, and the men would buy them for their significant others when they were passing through. From there, other Christmas-related businesses built up, and now here we are.”
“You’re kidding,” he said.
“That’s what Old Man Percy says,” Clara said.
“My grandmother said it didn’t quite happen like that,” Felicity added, “But I think she might have been trying to spare my delicate ears.”
“Well, that certainly adds a little flavor to Christmas Grove now, doesn’t it?” Jackson said, clearly amused.
“It does,” Both Felicity and Clara said at the same time.
“Now, how can I help?” Clara asked as she moved into the kitchen.
Jackson had her stand by the stove to keep stirring the risotto while Felicity set the table. By the time dinner was ready to be served, the entire house was filled with an aroma that made her stomach growl.
“Someone is hungry,” Clara said. “Should have joined me when I had that snack earlier.”
“No way. Now I have room for more,” she said as she took her seat next to Jackson. “Do you take on private clients? I think Clara and I might want to hire you as our personal chef.”
“Sorry,” he said, shaking his head. But then he put on a teasing smile as he added, “I’m not for hire. However, I am persuadable.”
“Persuade him!” Clara said with a mouthful of risotto. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she swallowed the yummy goodness. “You’re a god.”
Felicity glanced at Jackson.
He raised one eyebrow. “Did you hear that? I’m a god. What more could you want in a man?”
The ridiculously handsome man cooked. He helped plow roads. And he was trying his best to help her save her orchard. Honestly, Felicity had no idea what more she could possibly need.