Chapter 3
Why had he even bothered? That man was no one’s hero, least of all hers. So why had he stopped to help last Friday when they’d been unloading the armoire? Gritting her teeth, Jayna pushed Derek out of her mind and focused on the armoirethat now stoodfor sale inJamie’sstorefront.
How did Jamie refinish it so quickly? It looked amazing.But as Jayna stared at it,all she could visualize wasDerek Brennan holding her in his arms.
The man was an ape.A great smelling ape.
She blinked and forced her focus to the armoire once more. Jamie had outdone herself with this piece.She’drepainted half a deep blue and the other half white. Where the blue met the white, she painted blue and white flowers that blended the two colors in such a unique way. Simply stunning.
‘You love it,’he’dwhispered in her ear when he caught her mid-fall. Yeah right! She blinked again. A weeklater,she stillcouldn’tget him out of her mind. So not a hero.Morelike a zero.
Stop thinking about the ape.
Tonight was Midnight Madness and the annual Christmas window display contest. She turned her attention to the two front windows of the store. Wow, both windows looked incredible.
Last weekend,shehad scoured the stockroom, looking for inspiration. And there she found it, nestled in the far corner, covered in dust and spider webs, an unexpected gem—a replica leg lamp from the beloved classic,‘A Christmas Story.’Why had Jamie kept this hidden away? It was perfect and sparked what she hoped would be the award-winning idea.
They recruited Jessica to help andspentthe entire day on Sundayexecuting her idea.The left window would transport shoppers into the cozy living room of‘A Christmas Story’,while the right window would pay homage to the second most iconic Christmas movie. In her opinion, that could only be ‘Christmas Vacation’.Amidst the carefully curated scenes,Jamie’srefurbished furniture would shine and hopefully not only win the contest but also boost sales.
The leg lamp cast a warm glow from its perch atop asmall,cherry wood table in the cozy ambiance of the first window.Nestled beside it, a beautifully refurbished armchair invited guests to sink into its’ embrace.Jamie’s craftsmanship showed in every detail, from the refinished electric fireplace to the restored vintage Persian rug. A towering Christmas tree stood beside the fireplace adorned with glittering ornaments and beneath its’ branches sat the familiar red foil box. It was the gift Ralphie had been obsessing over—a Red Ryder air rifle.
While the first window captured her initial vision, it was the second display that held her heart. Paying homage to the chaotic charm of ‘Christmas Vacation’, they had set a beautifully refinished oak harvest table using key pieces from the dinner scene in the film.
Jessica hadDIY’da remarkably lifelike deflated turkey out of Papier-Maché. Using silicone, Jamie had painstakingly recreated AuntBethany’sinfamous green Jello mold. She had even included the embedded cat treats. The branches of the second tree hadbeen strippedand spray-painted brown, mirroring the burned tree from the movie, with a stuffed squirrel and a cat nestled underneath its’ boughs.
She opened the front door and stepped onto the sidewalk, eager to see the storefront from a customer's perspective as Jamie pulled off the brown paper that had kept it hidden. The countless hours spent perfecting the window displays were evident, and excitement and pride surged through her. They had truly captured the magic of the holiday season. No amount of money could buy the deep satisfaction she felt; it was all a result of hard work and dedication—something her mother and father would never understand.
Her parents had both been born into wealth, marrying in their early twenties. It had been an arranged marriage that had not been written in the stars but had been featured in Forbes magazine. The union had joined two powerful families. They had dutifully produced an heir, unlocking both of their trust funds. Unlike her parents, Jayna had no interest in accessing her substantial bank account. The money felt tainted, having turned her parents into stereotypical trust fund babies, a fate she was determined to avoid.
Normally, Jayna never touched her trust fund except to make charity donations, but she dipped into it to finance Jamie’s dream of becoming a business owner after several banks rejected Jamie’s loan applications. Jayna provided all the funds needed to start Yesterday and Tomorrow, a very wise and satisfying investment. Winning the contest tonight would bring yet another kind of satisfaction.
In the tight-knit community of Blythe Landing, the annual Christmas window contest was the holiday season's Super Bowl. The quaint main street transformed into a winter wonderland, with dazzling lights and storefront windows showcasing over-the-top, imaginative themes. Shop owners were determined to out-sparkle the others and the competition turned fierce and secretive. Brown butcher paper covered the windows, which would not be unveiled until the eve of Midnight Madness. Everyone had their eyes on the same prize: the highly coveted title of ‘Best Christmas Window’.
For Jayna, the annual competition was more than just spreading holiday cheer or attracting new customers. She poured her heart and soul into every tiny detail, driven by an intense desire to win. The thought of losing yet again churned in her gut like a bad fruitcake. This year, she was determined to leave her rivals in a cloud of tinsel and glitter, proving once and for all that she was the queen of Christmas displays. She wanted first place so badly that she could taste it.
Strolling both sides of Main Street, she surveyed the competition with a critical eye. Everyone had upped their game this year. ‘Notion for Lotion’, Leighton’s store, boasted a very impressive display, as did ‘Frank’s Ice-cream and Sweet Shoppe’. However, it was Frank’s window that set the bar. He won every year.
Scrutinizing his display, she wrinkled her nose in disdain.It was the same scene that he always showcased, merely adding new pieces.Frank had designed a miniature village that was an exact replica of Blythe Landing during the holiday season.This year, hehadintroduced a skating pond with tiny skaterswho actually glidedacross the ice.She rolled her eyes and begrudgingly admitted that it was an incredible display.
She glanced at her watch as she crossed the street. Ten to six, almost time to open. A group of four individuals, each holding clipboards, ambled down the sidewalk, pausing at each storefront. The judges. Her eyes widened. Ophelia Meddler was among them. Since when had she become a judge?
“Red alert! Judges are two stores up, and the Meddler is one of them.” Jayna was breathless as she rushed into the store.
“Yeah, I heard that,”Jessica said, pausing as she filled a shelf with antique snow globes.
“Why?” Was the universe out to get her?
“What happened to Earl Taylor?” Jayna’s frown increased. Nick Taylor’s grandfather had a great sense of humor. He would fully appreciate their window displays.
“Earl and Norm got creative, turned a riding lawnmower into a snow plowandEarl was thrown off it,”Jamie answered, looking up fromchangingthe cash register tape.
Norm Brennan was Earl’s partner in crime. The two old men were notorious for their hare-brained ideas which often landed them in the emergency department.
“Is he okay?”Jayna leaned against the checkout counter. Absently,shestarted rifling through a wooden box filled with antique Christmas cards. Jamie found the most incredible, unique items for the store.
“Ithink he just hurt his leg or back, nothing serious. But he had to step down from the judging panel this year, and somehow Ophelia got his spot.”Jamie closed the lid on the cash register.
“Great!” Jayna exclaimed and then pointed. “Heads up! There they are.”
The four judges stoppedin front ofthe Christmas Vacation window, making notes on their clipboards.
“Just look at her,” Jayna dramatically blew out her cheeks. “She hates it! That woman wouldn’t know a good window display if it bit her in the ass.”
Ophelia sported an intense frown, shaking her head back and forth as she scribbled notes.
“Can’tyou cast a spell over her? Give her a sense of humor.”Jayna turned back to Jamie.
“You know I can’t do that.”
“Then how about putting a curse on her?”Jayna implored.
“I can’t do that either,” Jamie laughed.
“Where’sthe benefit of having a witch as a friend if shecan’tturn your enemy into a toad?”
“I’m not a witch!” Jamie exclaimed.
Jayna waved her hand.“Witch, empath, medium.It’sall the same.”
“It’snot all the same!”
“Could you believe Derek Brennan last Friday?”Jayna changed the subject as she continued to rifle through the cards, pulling out a couple that she wanted for herself.“Idon’ttreat men badly.”
Jessica chuckled as she stepped behind the counter to seta couplemore snow globes on the display shelf.“Yeah, okay.”
“Idon’t! Come onJamie, defend me here.”
Jamie coughed loudly.
Jessica turned back around.“You two are so much alike.”
Jayna’s mouth dropped open. “Pardon me? Are you saying that I’m like two-date Brennan?”
“Alittle bit?”Jamie grimaced as she said it .
“Not just a little bit,she’sthe female version of him,”Jessica stated bluntly.
“You’re both the worst,” Jayna barked out.
“Speaking of the worst bestfriends,and last Friday night,”Jessica leaned her palms on the counter, the teasing tone leaving her voice.“Can we discuss what you two were thinking? Todd has been lighting up my phone all week!”
“I’dchange my number if I were you,”Jamie offered.
Jessica’s head snapped to the left. “Change my number? If my FRIENDS hadn’t signed me up for that dating site, then I wouldn’t need to! And that’s another thing,” Jessica snapped her fingers. “My email is full of dating requests.”
“Maybe you should change your email and password whileyou’reat it,”Jayna giggled.
“It would probably be easier to change my friends,”Jessica grumbled.
“Oh, now that I would not recommend,”Jayna said and reached forJessica’shand, squeezing it. “Without us, your life would be miserably ordinary and terribly boring.”Jayna’slife would be empty as well without these women in it. They were her family.
“Oh, a girl could only dream,”Jessica sighed.
“Okay, on your best behavior now.”Jamie strolledfrombehind the counter to flip the open sign as holiday shoppers filled the street.“It’s6 p.m. Time to open.”
Midnight Madness ran from six to ten. Why it was called ‘Midnight Madness’ was a mystery to Jayna. However, ‘10 p.m. Madness’ didn’t have the same ring. Despite the inaccurate name, it was certainly popular. The door chimes rang continuously, and the new cash register tape almost ran out.A successful evening for Yesterday and Tomorrow.Their window display had been a big hit as well.Jamie sold all the displayed furniture and more from inside the store.
An unexpected warm front had settled in earlier in the week, dispelling the usual December chill, which likely was the reason for the largest crowdthey’dever seen. At10 p.m., they flipped the“closed”sign, marking the end of a very lucrative event.
“It’ssuch a lovely evening,”Jamie said.“And still quite warm. It would be a shame to waste it. I have firewood in the back of my truck. We should have a winter bonfire by the river.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea. I’ll run home while you close and grab marshmallows,” Jessica offered.
“Whatever,” Jayna grumbled.
“Come on, it will cheer you up.”Jamie gently nudged her.“And we did win third place.”
“Third place is not winning,”Jayna pouted. First placewent to Frank again, andLeighton’sstore took second.“Ophelia seriously has it out for us.”
“Iagree.But Frank and Leightonbothhad incredible window displaysas well,”Jamie offered, always the diplomat.“We should ask Leighton if she wants to join us.”
Jayna held in the groan and her breath while Jamie called Leighton, praying that the other woman would decline.
“Leighton’s in too.” Jamie grinned.
“Look what I found.”Jessica came out of the back room with thick moving blankets and a bottle of ice wine.“Here, take these.”Jessica shoved the blankets and wine toward Jayna.“I’llrun home and grab some plastic glasses and extra glovesas well. Meet you there.”
“Great! Ice wine and the ice queen will both be joining us.”Jayna scrunched up her nose at the way-too-sweet wine.“Perfect!”
“Whydon’tyou like Leighton?”Jamie asked her as they walked out the back door to her battered truck.
“Why do you like her?”Jayna shot back.
“She’s nice.”
“Never said shewasn’t.”Jayna pulled open theheavyrusty door.“You made decent money this year. Whydon’tyou buy a new truck to replace this bucket of bolts?”
“Shh, you’ll hurt Bessy’s feelings. She is a great truck.”
Jayna shook her head and hid the smile when it took three tries to get Bessy running.“You have questionable taste in friends and trucks. ”
“That’swhat my dad always says every timeyou’rearound,”Jamie shifted the ancient truck into drive and headed to the parking lot beside the bridge where Jayna had left hertruckearlier.“Thanksfor all your help tonight. The display was first-place worthy, regardless of the judges’ opinion.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jayna grumbled.
The unseasonably warm evening air was filled with the sound of crackling wood along with the laughter of Jamie and Leighton. The scent of the burning wood mingled with the earthy aroma of the riverbank. It was pure magic.
Jayna leaned back on the log, staring up at a sky filled with a thousand twinkling stars. In the city, with its relentless lights and smog, the stars were lost.
For years, all she could think about was escaping this small town’s suffocating bubble of familiarity and resistance to change. She had done exactly that, heading to school in Toronto. She’d shared an apartment with Kylie while they both earned their nursing degrees. When school finished, she took a job in the busy ER of Toronto Hospital.
It had been the big adventure she’d always craved, a place where anonymity reigned supreme. However, the novelty wore off quickly, and she found herself missing the simple pleasure of being greeted by name on the street. She even missed the scent of manure and green grass in the summer. It was a stark contrast to the overpowering odor of exhaust fumes and burnt street meat from the bustling carts lining the busy streets.
The sweet smell of Blythe Landing wasn’t the only thing she missed. She missed the silence. In her city apartment, falling asleep had been a challenge, with the constant noise of honking horns and loud sirens. Yet, back in her hometown, with her bedroom window open, she realized it wasn’t silent after all. The country had its own symphony: the sound of crickets in the fields, the rustle of wind through the cornstalks. It was the soundtrack of her childhood.
“Look who I found,” Jessica announced, emerging from the path, waving her arm behind her.
Ben Brennan, Nick Taylor, and—just her luck—Derek the ape-man appeared behind Jessica. What had she ever done to karma to deserve this kind of payback?
Jessica flashed her a knowing smile. Okay, maybe signing Jessica up for the dating app had earned her a little payback.
“Well played,” she mouthed to Jessica.
Ben opened the cooler and started passing around beer cans while the men settled around the fire. Jessica poured out her syrupy sweet wine into glasses. Jayna took one and dumped it out after two sips. It tasted like cough syrup, except cough syrup tasted better. She leaned back on the log, her eyes travelling around the gathered group she’d known since kindergarten. It truly felt good to be back home. But instead of contributing to the conversation she found herself observing.
Who needed reality TV when real life was more interesting? Last week at Patty’s Pub, she had observed Kylie and Jovanny closely. Now she found herself staring at Nick Taylor across the flickering flames. The cop had called off his wedding to Piper Reynolds, Leighton’s best friend. He insisted it was just a postponement now that Tommy had been found alive. He wanted his best friend to be there when he tied the knot.
But was that really the whole story? Nick’s eyes held a haunted look, which was hardly surprising. Every day, as a city cop, he faced trauma. Jayna knew the difficulty of disconnecting after a long shift, fighting against heart-wrenching images that haunted her sleep. However, there seemed to be something more troubling him.
Nick looked miserable. He had ever since Kylie had started dating the movie star. Was Kylie’s engagement the cause of the perpetual frown Nick was sporting?
While rooming with Kylie during nursing school, she’d been aware of the brief fling between her friend and the cop. And it ended badly between them. There was a reason why a brother’s best friend was off limits. When the relationship soured, as they tended to, the guy was still around. Kylie seriously should have known better. And Jayna should have had the same insight when she’d taken up with Kylie’s brother in high school. Seriously stupid move.
However, the person that she truly felt sorry for was Piper, the sweet schoolteacher. Judging by Nick’s current state, the woman was in for a world of hurt. Jayna wondered if the wedding would ever be back on.
There it was. More validation to add to her oath of remaining single.
Jayna turned her gaze to Derek Brennan, perched on the log next to Nick, and memories flooded back, blurring her vision. Suddenly, she was fifteen again, sitting in this very spot. Derek's eyes had met hers across the fire. He’d looked straight through her, as if denying that just the weekend before, she had been the girl on his arm, the one he’d been kissing. The girl he’d rejected when he learned she was still a virgin. He couldn’t get out of the back of his hand-me-down jeep fast enough.
Derek Brennan didn’t do virgins.
He also didn’t do feelings.
Never in her life had she felt so humiliated. She’d never hated anyone before.
With Lucy Bellamy by his side, he sat there with his lips all over the new girl. Lucy, with her blossoming modeling career and effortless beauty, had made Jayna feel so small and inadequate. Yet, even with the popular Lucy next to him, his attention had been diverted. As always, it had been on Leighton, his brother’s girl.
For years, Derek had been the guy she wanted, the boy she had dreamed of. Her crush on him had been huge, and then he’d crushed her.
It was the last crush she’d ever had. He was the last guy she’d ever chased.
Having lost her virginity to a guy in twelfth grade who meant nothing was something she deeply regretted. And she blamed Derek for that. Derek had changed her that night when he’d acted like virginity was the plague. He’d made her feel unworthy, which then caused her to place such little worth on something that should have been so special.
“Nick, how’s your grandfather?” Jessica’s voice pulled her out of the past. She blinked away the painful memory.
“He’s doing okay,” Nick answered.
“What exactly happened?” Leighton questioned.
“Well, he and Norm decided to strap the oversized box from his new flat screen on the front of the riding lawn mower. Then they attempted to plow the driveway with it.”
“Hey, that’s a great idea,” Ben said.
“It would have been if the snow had been lighter,” Nick chuckled. “But it had been a heavy wet snow and, well, Grandad went flying. Luckily, he landed in a snowbank, but he tweaked his back.”
“Those two,” Jayna laughed, forcing her mood to lighten. High school was ruined for her by Derek Brennan. She wasn’t going to allow him any more power over her life.
She pretended he wasn’t seated across from her. It helped that he was ignoring her as well. Despite the ape-man’s presence, it turned out to be a wonderful evening. She loved sitting around the fire, enjoying the unseasonably warm weather with good friends. It was great to be home.
“Congratulations on second place,” Jamie said to Leighton.
“Thanks, and congrats on taking third place.” Leighton held up her glass of cough syrup in a toast.
“We were cheated!” Jayna exclaimed, and her great mood vanished just like it had when Derek walked down the path. “The Meddler has it in for us.”
“Not that you didn’t deserve second place,” she quickly added, meeting Leighton’s shocked expression at her sudden outburst. “But Frank wins every year with the same display.”
“Your window display was just too imaginative for Ophelia,” Nick offered. “Which should be taken as a compliment.”
But the compliment just wasn’t enough. Jayna had wanted to win this year. She hated coming in second place and definitely third place. What she hated most though, was that she still noticed that Derek only had eyes for Leighton. More than she hated losing, she hated not being seen.
Jayna trailed behind the group, making her way toward the parking lot. Only her truck remained, along with Derek Brennan, who stood in the center, scratching his head.
“Looks like Nick forgot he was my ride home,” Derek said and shrugged.
She tossed the moving blankets into the back of her truck and let out a loud snort. “Your best friend forgot you? That’s classic!”
“Classic Nick these days,” Derek agreed. “He’s been really distracted.”
After hitting the key fob, Jayna opened the driver’s door. “So, I’m guessing you need a ride home?”
“Looks that way,” he said, staring at her. “Thanks.”
How sour did thanking her taste in his mouth?
Derek opened the passenger door and jumped in. “You haven’t had too much to drink, have you? My mom warned me to never drive with anyone under the influence.”
“Not nearly as much as you!” He’d been pounding back the beer at the bonfire.
He raised a skeptical brow.
“I had half a glass of ice wine,” she made a face. “I have no idea how Jamie and Jessica drink that. It tastes like cough syrup.”
She fired up the engine and snapped on her seat belt. “So, why is Nick so distracted?”
“No idea.” Derek fastened his seatbelt.
“You haven’t asked him?”
“Why would I?” He turned, gaping at her.
“Because he’s your best friend. And that’s what friends do. They listen, offer support and advice.”
“They do?” Derek scoffed. “Is there a friend’s rule book that I missed reading?”
Now she scoffed. “I’m forgetting who I’m talking to. You’d need a soul to be that kind of friend. Nick’s better off, actually. Any advice you’d offer wouldn’t be worth taking. ”
“Ha ha.” Derek leaned forward and changed the station on the radio.
“Hey!”
“Country music sucks,” Derek grumbled, settling on a rock station.
“Says no one ever. At least no one with taste.”
Derek shook his head. “Less than a minute, and you’ve called me soulless, a bad friend who offers terrible advice, and now tasteless.”
“Yeah, I must be slowing down,” Jayna laughed.
Derek reached inside her purse which sat on the console between them.
“Hey,” she snapped. “And without boundaries. Didn’t your mother teach you that it’s bad manners to rummage through a woman’s purse?” How had she drawn the short straw and got stuck chauffeuring Two-Date Brennan home?
“And I have bad manners with no boundaries,” he chuckled, holding up a foil-wrapped package. “Why do you have so many glow sticks?”
“I bought them to hand out to the kids who came into Jamie’s store tonight.”
“Ah.” Derek reached into her purse again and pulled out a handful. “Turn right,” he instructed.
“Why?”
“Do you want to administer a little payback to the Meddler?”
“Always.” She paused at the parking lot exit, looking left at the bridge that led towards his home, then glanced right.
“I have an idea.”
“Like Nick, I’m also too smart to listen to any of your advice or IDEAS,” she emphasized the last word.
“It’s a good one!” he waggled both brows.
“A good one?” Jayna snorted again. “I don’t think you’ve ever had a good idea in your entire life!”
“True story,” he admitted. “But tonight, I have an absolutely brilliant one. Come on, you must be curious, otherwise you would have turned left by now. ”
“Derek, your ideas, brilliant or not, always end badly. Someone ends up bleeding or needing a trip to the ER to reset a broken bone. Nine times out of ten, the police are called.”
“Not this time, I promise.” He held up his right hand, which was filled with glow sticks. “No risk of bodily harm or property damage. No police. I swear!”
Her eyes narrowed again. Good thing she had great wrinkle serum because five minutes in Brennan’s presence could cause permanent crow’s feet.
“I’m listening.” She couldn’t believe she just heard those words pass her lips.
Another five minutes later, Jayna parked her truck a few feet from Ophelia Meddler’s house.
“Pull ahead,” Derek instructed. “You’re under a lamppost.”
She shook her head. This was not going to end well.
He tossed her mitts at her as they climbed out of the truck.
“Oh, nice to see that Nick made it home!” Derek’s voice was laced with sarcasm as they walked up the sidewalk.
“I still can’t believe he built a house across the street from Ophelia.”
“Land was cheap.”
“That I can believe!” Jayna paused beside Derek, staring at Ophelia Meddler’s darkened house. “What is this brilliant idea of yours?”
He crossed the road and stepped onto the front lawn. “Come on,” he whispered.
Crouching down, he began to form a mound in the snow.
“We’re building a snowman?” Jayna bent down beside him. “That’s how I’m getting back at her?”
“Not just a snowman, but snow aliens. Come on, help me. We need three mounds.”
When had she last built a snowman? Probably when she was around twelve. But she had never done it as a prank. Derek hadn’t lied. There would be no bodily harm, property damage, or police involvement in this prank. She was just failing to see how this would qualify as a way to get back at the Meddler. Three mounds of snow on the busybody’s front lawn? Derek was known for his bad ideas, but this was just lame.
After digging out two eyes on each snow mound, Derek tore open a glow-stick package and gave it a snap. Setting it inside one of the eyeholes, Jayna suddenly understood his ‘prank’. She grabbed two glow sticks, activated the chemicals, and placed them inside the eyeholes of her mound. Stepping back, she giggled. The three mounds with glowing eyes did indeed look kind of spooky.
“Okay, now go knock on her door and run.” Derek pointed to the dark front porch.
“Why me?”
“Because it was my idea. Besides, you’re the one dishing out the revenge,” Derek answered and then waggled his eyebrows again. “Come on, Jayna, you’re not chicken, are you?”
No one had called her chicken since she was twelve either. However, the taunt still had the same effect; her back stiffened and her chin jutted out. “I am not chicken!”
With determination, she brushed the snow off her knees and marched up the driveway toward the front porch. Nicky-Nicky-Nine- Doors was another thing she hadn’t done in a very long time. With three loud pounds against the heavy wood door, she added two taps to the doorbell and ran like her life depended on it.
“Come on, Brennan,” she called as she raced past him down the sidewalk.
Derek caught up and seized Jayna’s arm. He pulled her into the bushes bordering the adjacent property. They crouched down, peering through the branches as lights came on in Ophelia’s house.
Ophelia swung open her front door and let out a shriek. The woman placed a hand against her fuzzy housecoat, just over her heart. Her gaze fixed on the glowing eyes of the three snow mounds on her front lawn. “Who’s out there? If that’s you again, Bobby McDermott, I will call your mother. You know I will!”
“She definitely will, poor kid,” Derek whispered .
The porch lights of the house they hid in front of switched on. Jayna sucked in a breath.
As Shamus stepped out onto his front porch, he spotted them. Derek greeted him with a swift wave before holding a finger in front of his mouth.
With a nod of understanding, Shamus turned his attention to his alarmed neighbor. “What seems to be the trouble, Ophelia?”
“Look!” She pointed to her front lawn.
Shamus let out a loud guffaw. “I see the mothership has sent down drones to retrieve their queen.”
“Are you saying that I’m an alien queen?” Ophelia braced her hands on both hips.
“Well, it would explain a lot. You are far from human.”
“I’m far from human? You’re the one who’s not human. You’re a caveman!” Ophelia yelled in her grating voice. “A bagpipe-playing caveman and a bad one at that!”
“A bad one?” Shamus bellowed back. “I’ll show you a bad one!”
Shamus slammed his door as he stomped back into his house.
“Let’s go,” Derek grabbed Jayna’s hand again and made a dash for her truck. The sound of doors slamming followed by bagpipe music filled the air.
“Shamus, you stop that incessant noise right now!” They heard Ophelia scream as lights came on in the surrounding houses.
“We just woke the entire neighborhood.” Jayna moaned. “And reignited the Ophelia-Shamus feud.”
“Mission accomplished,” Derek held up his hand for a high five and she punched him in the arm instead.
They reached the truck just as a police cruiser turned the corner. It slowed and came to a stop. The window rolled down and Burke leaned out, shining a flashlight on both of their faces. “Well, well, well. I shouldn’t be surprised, yet somehow, I am!”
“What’s up, Burke?” Derek inquired, all innocent-like.
“That’s what I was about to ask you.” The cop’s eyes narrowed.
“We’re just out for an evening stroll,” Derek maintained eye contact.
“Is taking an evening stroll illegal?” Jayna stepped next to Derek.
“Dispatch received a complaint from Mrs. Meddler. Apparently, someone built menacing snowmen on her front lawn.”
“That’s against the law as well?” Jayna’s brows shot up.
“No, but disturbing the peace is. She said that same someone also banged loudly on her door.”
“We wouldn’t know anything about that,” Derek deadpanned. “Like we told you, we were just out for an evening stroll.”
“I thought you two hated one another?” Burke continued the interrogation. “And if you weren’t involved, then why are your knees wet?” He shone the flashlight down, illuminating Derek’s wet jeans.
“Jayna pushed me into a snowbank. Like you said, she hates me.” Derek shook his head. “She’s real mean.”
“Why are her knees wet, too?” Burke moved the flashlight over her legs.
“Because he returned the favor,” Jayna answered. “He’s such a brute.”
The bagpipes grew louder, as did Ophelia’s screeching. Burke let out a loud, annoyed sigh. “Now I have to deal with Shamus too. If you two join forces, this town will not be safe.”
After rolling up his window, Burke continued down the street.
“No police will be involved, I swear,” Jayna imitated him. “Get in the truck before I leave you stranded. Last time I ever listen to you.”