Page 31 of Second Chance Christmas

Whether he wanted to admit to it or not, though, the answer stared him in the face more so now that she was back in Dixen, but no way he would outright say it. Not to Kade, and definitely not to himself.

“Seeing how messed up you are over Ivy, do you think what happened with your ex turned out for the better?”

“That’s anotherwhat ifquestion I don’t have the answer to. Ask me in another year and we’ll see.”

Aspen killed the lights and stepped out of the storage room.

“Look, we have things to do and I have a Santa sleigh to set up. Are you going to help or are you going to keep pestering me about things that are better off left buried?”

“A little of both. I’ll help carry the boxes out but no way in the world I’m helping you set up that hideous monstrosity you call a Christmas decoration. Sheriff's been a little on edge lately with his daughter expecting any day now. With your current luck, he’ll pass by and arrest us for even thinking about putting this thing up again this year.”

“It’s tradition.”

“Sure back in the day before the whole big dix name was pinned on our asses. We can’t live that shit down. Now all the high school kids stick their mom's dildos on the reindeer antlers as a joke. I didn’t like being the one sent out to de-dildo the sleigh last year, Aspen, Kade countered.

Aspen had to admit, the slight of a twenty dildos in his brother’s hands and catching a picture to torture him with was priceless.

“Please don’t make me set this up again.”

Aspen paused. “My current luck? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Are you going to deny the kids of Dixen, Alaska their Santa sleigh?”

“Abso-fucking-lutly.”

“Fine. I’ll do you.” Aspen grabbed a stack of boxes. “The men will be back soon,” he called over top of the stack.

“Yeah, yeah. I know,” his brother waved him off. “My turn to slave to the apron. Not sure I like this whole older brother’s also my boss angle,” he teased, punching his brother in the arm playfully. “But I’m telling you. Mom would be proud of what I’m whipping up today. This one I think I nailed. Practiced all through college.”

“What? Ramen noodles?”

Before raising a family, their mother had been a master chef at one of the finest restaurants in Vancouver. When she married their father and moved to Dixen, she opened her own restaurant all while raising five rowdy boys and a sassy daughter. The woman saw to it her children knew their way around a spatula and skillet. Except for Kade. The man took to the kitchen like Rocco would take to the desert.

“Please tell me you asked Mom to cook it and bring it by.”

Kade rubbed his hands together with a shake of his head. “Not this time. I’m going full all in. All Kade, all the way.”

“That’s what scares me. Thank God Ivy turned me down.”

“We’ll come back to that in a little while,” his brother promised—or threatened, depending on how you looked at it. “I’ll have you know today’s menu will be so good it’ll knock the suspenders off the entire crew.” His brother pressed the tips of his fingers to his mouth and made an audible kiss. “You’ll want me on kitchen duty for life when you taste what I have in the works. Like I said, I’ve been practicing.” Kade turned away but did a one-eighty. “I forgot. I need a couple of things for the store and Dad phoned while you were out doing heroic deeds at Ivy’s.”

He didn’t have the energy to touch that one. “And?”

“He asked you to stop by when you get a chance. Something about Ryder needing to run through some safety measures with the new bakery equipment he’s having installed.”

Ryder, the third oldest of the Kennedy crew, took over the family-operated grocery store when Aspen stepped down to become a firefighter and later a hotshot down in Cali. “Got it. Leave the list on the counter and I’ll pick up the items in a few minutes.”

Maybe if he kept busy enough, he could forget Ivy was in town long enough to survive Christmas.

IVY SNATCHED THE KEYS to the Caddie from the side table by the kitchen door after disconnecting with Jon and took a second to pray over the wheel the old-timer would crank. Faded shades of yellow cracked through a few split clouds and glistened across the ice crystals formed over the hood. “Please. Please. Please let something go right today.”

After several years away in Seattle, Ivy wasn’t used to the heavy snowfall anymore. But then, Seattle brought its own challenges.

Relief warmed her veins even if the cold of the leather bit through her jeans. She missed the seat-warmer of her car on days like these. She slumped over and let a sigh of half relief, half dread at what came next as heat filtered through the vents and gradually warmed the spacious cabin. She snatched a quick glance at her watch.

In record time, Ivy wove through the light traffic and hoped the oversized white Caddie would not stand out among the crowd as she paid little attention to the speed limit.

Snow-capped peaks rose in the far distance and offered a stark relief against the once again graying skies and lent a touch of elegance to the small town. Fresh snow dusted parts of the sidewalks and manicured pines the size of small buildings dotted the entire length of Main Street. In between each tree stood old-fashioned lamp posts straight off a Hallmark card. From each post hung giant red velvet ribbons with their clipped ends waving in the chilled breeze as if greeting holiday shoppers and passersby.

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