Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
“Where are you taking me?” Felicity asked as Jackson led her away from the cabin and toward the storage shed on the other side of the drive. “I thought we were headed inside where it’s warm. Where we can get naked and fall into bed.”
It was just after ten at night, and the full moon was shining down on the fresh snow. After she’d closed up the store, she’d gone home to change and found Clara and her pretty boy smooching on the couch. Not wanting to be a third wheel, she cleaned up and headed to Sleighed again.
It wasn’t exactly a hardship. She’d planned to find her way back to the cabin before the night was over anyway, but she hadn’t expected to look like an impatient teenager waiting for her boyfriend to get off work.
But that’s what she’d felt like, and she realized after she’d finished a glass of wine that she didn’t even care.
Marissa had teased her good naturedly, but when she didn’t get a rise out of Felicity, she’d let it go and said she was proud of her friend for giving Jackson a chance.
Honestly, Felicity was proud of herself, too.
“It’s a surprise,” Jackson said.
“One that requires a puffy coat and gloves?” she asked, looking down at her arms. He’d supplied the coat and gloves and had even offered a knit cap, but she’d stuffed that in her pocket in case she needed it later.
“We’re outside at night, right?” he said as he rounded the storage building and waved at the snowmobile that was sitting there with the key in the ignition.
“We’re going on a snowmobile ride? Now?” she asked. Just as she said the words, the orchard behind her lit up with what seemed like a million twinkle lights. “Silent Night” started to play, and a very light dusting of snow started to fall.
“Looks like now is the time,” he said, waving at the snowmobile. “You first.”
“Oh my gosh. This has the fairies’ fingerprints all over it.” As she climbed onto the machine, she glanced back at him. “How did you get them to do this?”
“It wasn’t me,” he said as he stepped up behind her and took a seat. “I’m just the messenger.”
“Oh, wow,” she said softly, hardly able to believe that the fairies were putting on this show just for her. She’d worked at the orchard her entire life, and never once had they done something like that for her.
The only time they’d shown themselves to her was when her grandmother had passed.
They’d been there singing a soulful song the day they’d said goodbye and scattered Kitty’s ashes.
Felicity also believed that they’d come to her in a dream, asking her to take care of the land as her grandmother had, but she hadn’t been sure if that had been real or just her imagination working overtime.
An orb of light appeared in front of Felicity and then started moving toward the orchard. She knew without anyone telling her that she was supposed to follow it. With zero hesitation, she fired up the snowmobile and eased it forward through the trees.
It wasn’t long before they came to a small clearing that had a fireplace, a cozy couch, and a tree that was decorated with candy and popcorn.
She heard laughter ring out, followed by a shriek of delight right before a little blond girl came running into the meadow, stopping only when she got to the tree.
An adult suddenly appeared and helped the little girl hang a homemade Christmas tree ornament that was made out of construction paper and candy.
Felicity sucked in a sharp breath. The little girl was her, and the adult was her grandmother. They’d spent the day doing crafts and making Christmas cookies.
Once the ornament was hung, Kitty swept up little Felicity and swung her around until Felicity was dizzy with joy. The scene vanished and was replaced by the image of the cabin and the tree that she and Jackson had decorated the night they’d been snowed in.
The orb moved on, taking them to a treehouse that was perched in one of the few maple trees that were on the property.
The treehouse had been built by her father when she was very young, but never maintained, so now it was only a shell of what it used to be.
But tonight the fairies had made it look like a gingerbread house with lights strung around the trunk.
The snow fairies fluttered around it, showing her the scene of when her father had first shown her the little house.
He’d helped her climb up into the structure, and then he’d read a favorite book to her.
All she remembered was lying next to him with her head in his lap while he ran his fingers through her hair, reading The Velveteen Rabbit.
It was one of the only cherished memories she had of her father before he’d left.
The memory made her chest ache, and she was happy when the orb moved on.
This time it stopped at the edge of a stream, showing a fluffy white puppy in the bright sun, playing in the water.
“Bixly!” she cried, and the dog she’d had as a kid ran over, jumping into her arms, giving her a sloppy kiss before he faded away. “Oh my gosh,” she said, pressing her hand to her face where she could still feel the wetness from his tongue. “He was the best.”
Jackson tightened his grip on her waist and leaned in as they moved on.
The final stop was another clearing, only it wasn’t one she recognized.
There were sweet little cabins that were all decorated for Christmas, a large tree in the middle, and fairy lights everywhere.
The air was scented with something that smelled like peppermint and chocolate.
If she hadn’t known better, she’d have thought maybe they’d stumbled on a village at the North Pole.
But when ethereal fairies started to appear on the porches of the cabins, she suddenly understood. This was where the woodland fairies of the Hill property lived while watching over the land.
A red-headed fairy with long, wavy locks slipped into the clearing.
She was wearing a green velvet dress with golden ties around the waist and had golden dangling balls for earrings.
The necklace around her neck glittered like Christmas lights, and she was so beautiful she left Felicity momentarily speechless.
“Hello, Felicity,” the woman said, her voice tinkling like delicate bells. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you.” She nodded toward Jackson. “It’s lovely to see you again, Mr. Bell. Thank you for watching over Felicity for us.”
“It’s been entirely my honor,” Jackson said.
Felicity whipped her head around. “You’ve met this fairy before?”
“She’s the Christmas fairy,” he whispered to her. “She asked me to help you find your Christmas cheer.”
“You did all those things because a fairy asked you to?” she asked, feeling strange, like she’d been lied to or betrayed.
“No, I did them because I wanted to,” he said. “Just like I am right now. I care about you, Felicity. And if that means helping the fairies that watch over you, then I’ll do it every time.”
She could hardly argue with that. Instead, she turned to the fairy in front of her. “Why did you ask Jackson to bring me out here?”
“To remind you why you love this property. So you can see it’s worth fighting for.”
Felicity scoffed. “I didn’t need that reminder. It’s ingrained in my DNA to fight for this land. I’m doing everything I can to make sure it doesn’t end up in the hands of some opportunist who just wants it to build condos or tract homes.”
“We know. That’s why we want to help.” The Christmas fairy waved a hand, making the tree disappear. In its place, a gorgeous trunk appeared. The top magically opened, and inside sat an intricately carved treasure chest. One Felicity had seen before.
But as soon as she registered what she was looking at, the box vanished just like the tree. This time all that remained was an old-fashioned key.
“That’s for you, Felicity. Find the treasure chest, and you’ll find what you need to keep this land safe,” the Christmas fairy said.
“But I don’t—” She abruptly stopped talking as an image of the chest on a fireplace mantel flashed in her mind. A mantel that she hadn’t seen since the last day she’d seen her father. She swallowed hard. “I remember now.”
The Christmas fairy nodded once and then slowly drifted off back into the trees. As soon as she disappeared, so did the other fairies and their charming houses, leaving Felicity and Jackson alone in the snow-covered woods.
The only thing that remained was the golden key that glinted in the snow.
Jackson climbed off the snowmobile, walked to the center of the clearing, and retrieved the key for her. It was hot in his bare hand, almost too hot to touch. By the time he made it back to the snowmobile, his hand was burning from the heat.
“It’s really hot,” he said as she picked it up and tucked it into her palm.
“No it isn’t,” she said, staring at him with confusion as she held it up. “It’s neither hot nor cold.”
Jackson touched the top of the key one more time before snatching his hand away. “It feels like it’s on fire to me.”
She eyed it curiously and then nodded slowly.
“It’s meant for me and only me. I bet if I anyone else touched it they’d say it was too hot, too.
But me?” She pressed the key to her cheek.
It was hot enough to him that Jackson expected the metal to leave a mark.
But when she pulled it away, there weren’t any marks or imperfections, just her perfect, peaches-and-cream complexion.
Felicity tucked the key into her pocket and said, “Ready?”
He tightened his hold around her and said, “Always.”