Page 35 of Dancing in Lake Mistletoe

As we come to the front of the resort, it’s quiet. Most people are still hunkered down inside, waiting to start their day on the freshly powdered slopes.

Dutch steers the sleigh toward the sidewalk, and when we come to a stop, he hops down and helps me out of the sleigh.

“Thanks for the ride,” I say, my voice full of gratitude. “Definitely the best commute I’ve ever had.”

He grins, and bringing his lips to my ear, he whispers, “Anytime.”

I glance toward the door, knowing I should head inside, but part of me doesn’t want to leave just yet. I look back at him, at the sleigh and the snow dancing around us, and I want nothing more than to climb back up and be beside him.

“I’ll see you later?” I ask, the words coming out a little more pleading than I intended.

Dutch meets my gaze, his eyes warm, a quiet promise in them. “Josie is staying at Sela’s tonight. She and Cobie are helping her make stockings for the mayor’s booth at the Christmas Market. So, I’m all yours tonight. We’ll get dinner and see where the night takes us from there.”

“Perfect,” I say instantly.

“Great. I’ll be back to pick you up this evening—in the truck,” he clarifies.

I stick my lip out in a mock pout.

He places a finger under my chin and lifts my face to his. “It’s hard to find a restaurant with available sleigh parking, but I promise I’ll take you out on it again before Christmas,” he says before quickly kissing the corner of my mouth.

“Okay,” I whisper. “See you tonight.”

Dutch

Imeet Bran, Keller, Bob, both Keller’s brothers-in-law, and Hoyt at Keller’s showroom, and the seven of us load the four pieces that make up the motor housing and the base for the town Christmas tree into our trucks and move them to the town square, where we assemble them.

The tree lighting and Christmas Market is the weekend after Thanksgiving, which is only a couple of weeks away, but the tree itself will be here in a couple of days, so we have to make sure everything is ready for its arrival.

Once all the pieces are in place, I hook the fuse box up to the square’s circuit board, and we give the base a test run. It roars to life, but the music isn’t working, so I have to climb under theplatform and check some connections before we give it another go. The second time’s a charm, and we all let out a collective breath as soft music drifts out of the stage’s loudspeakers.

Keller and Bran then lock the motor housing into place, and we fasten it securely to the platform.

“There you go, Mayor. Lake Mistletoe’s own life-sized music box,” I say as I shake Hoyt’s hand.

“That’s damn impressive, boys,” he says as he grins up at the creation.

“Glad you like it,” Keller says.

“Like it? I love it. It’s a showstopper,” Hoyt says.

We pack up our tools, and Keller invites us all to the inn for lunch. We leave our trucks and walk across the street. Trixie, Alice, and Willa are expecting us and have a feast of fried chicken and fingerling potatoes ready and waiting in the atrium.

We take a seat, and Trixie comes around, pouring water and lemonade.

Bran piles his plate high and starts to dig in before looking across to me. “I heard you have a big date tonight.”

Word travels fast around here. I should have known that Sela would call Hannah the second I asked her if Josie could stay the night.

“Yeah,” I confirm.

Keller chuckles. “You should have seen Romeo this morning. He drove up in the sleigh to take her to the resort.”

Willa slaps the back of his head as she places a container of coleslaw in the middle of the table. “Don’t give him a hard time. It was romantic,” she says.

Bran’s eyes come to me. “Damn, pulling out the big guns,” he muses.

I start to defend the move, noting the two feet of snowfall overnight and the fact that the horses needed to be exercised anyway, but they know—and I know—it’s bullshit. I wanted tomake her smile. Plain and simple. After our conversation, where I learned that she didn’t really have any special Christmas memories, I thought I’d create one for her. Something she’ll remember long after she’s left Lake Mistletoe. One she can tell her own kids. That one time she was taken to work in the snow by a real Christmas sleigh.

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