Page 24 of Mistletoe Love Match
“Do you know about Mistletoe Manor and the Krangles?” Calliope asked the smiling brood.
“Nick Krangle is Santa’s best friend,” Oscar answered.
“He helps Santa make wooden toys,” Phoebe chimed, then lifted a hot dog to her mouth and took a bite.
“He and his wife have a reindeer farm. When Santa’s over Colorado, he stops by Mistletoe Manor to let the reindeer play with the Krangles’ reindeer and get a little rest before they visit the houses in North America,” a gap-toothed Oscar explained.
“They’ve got a channel on the LookyLoo website,” Aria volunteered. “We’re watching their Christmas Eve livestream on our e-tablets. Look, their dog, Frank, is playing with Comet.” The girl lifted a device and showed them a live shot of the Krangles in a barn surrounded by reindeer—and a dog.
Nick and Noreen weren’t lunatics. They were Christmas social influencers. Now the bizarre behavior made sense.
He turned to Calliope. “And we thought they were serial killers.”
“What did you say about the Krangles, Alec?” Sebastian asked with a thread of boyo energy.
Shit!He was met with four pint-sized scowls. For the second time today, it was a think-fast opportunity. “I said I forgot mycereal chiller. That’s it—cereal chiller. Because I like my cereal very, very cold.” His explanation was utter bullshit—more like reindeer shit—but it was the best he could come up with on the fly.
Sebastian pursed his lips. “I’ve never seen you chill your cereal at home in Denver.”
“I do it in private,” Alec blathered. Now he sounded as creepy as the Krangles did.
Phoebe pointed at the screen with the hot dog. “Is Alec all right, Calliope?”
Calliope patted his cheek like he was an amusing golden retriever. “Alec will be fine. I’ll be sure to put his cereal bowl in the snow to keep it chilled. Now, where is Callista? Can you lot bring the phone to her?”
And the kids were off. The picture on the screen wobbled and blurred as Sebastian descended the staircase, and the hum of voices grew louder.
“There’s Callista and Anders. They’re sitting together on the window seat,” Sebastian whispered, then turned the phone and gave them a view of the couple.
The kids had caught the pair in an intimate moment, seemingly unaware they were being watched. Anders had his arm around Callista’s shoulders. With their heads bent together, they whispered to each other, smiling and giggling.
A warmth tinged with a touch of sadness washed over Alec. His brother looked happy.
“As you can observe, they’re like a hot dog and a bun on a plate,” Phoebe whispered as if she were narrating a caught-in-the-wild animal documentary.
“Sebby,” Calliope chided, “stop spying on them and hand the phone to Callista, please.”
For a few seconds, all they could see was the floor as the boy skipped across the room and handed the phone to his aunt. “It’s Calliope and Alec,” he said brightly.
Callista pressed her hand to her chest. “We just listened to your message a few minutes ago,” she said, holding the phone so she and Anders could be in the shot. “I’m so sorry we didn’t get back to you sooner. Anders was with Raz for the last hour or so. He’d left his mobile in the kitchen and didn’t see the text come in.”
His brother leaned in and blinked a few times, like he’d forgotten how video calls worked. “I was talking to the spiked eggnog, then we started drinking Erasmus,” the man slurred. Jesus, the guy was plastered.
“Now that is being trollied,” Calliope said under her breath. The woman was right.
Alec took in his inebriated twin. “Would you like to try that again?”
“Not really,” Anders replied, grinning like an idiot.
“Raz and Anders might have overdone it on the spiked eggnog,” Callista reported, smiling as she shook her head. She turned to Anders. “What were you two doing in there—besides knocking back far too much drink?”
Anders smiled a sloppy grin. “Talking,” the man answered, then gazed into the camera. “Did you get what I need from the elf dude?”
He must have meant the ring.
Calliope pointed toward a table with the red bag and her purse.
Alec nodded to his brother. “Yeah, we’ve got it.”
