Page 51 of Sleighing You
Chapter 23
Avery
That night, I barely slept at all. I curled up on top of Kringle, allowing his fur to absorb my tears, and silenced my phone. But I could still see Chris’s name lighting up the screen every few minutes. He filled my voicemail with unheard messages until finally, I shut the damn thing off and tossed it on top of my pile of dirty laundry.
But even without the distraction of Chris’s constant phone calls, I couldn’t sleep.
And now, I had to wear the stupid Mrs. Claus outfit and stand beside him in the parade today. I groaned, looking at myself in the mirror.Why did I sleep with him when it just complicated everything?
I leaned down and slipped the reindeer antlers onto Kringle’s head. He whimpered and tried to paw them off. “Nu-uh,” I scolded him. “If I have to do this, then so do you.”
Knock, knock, knock!
The sudden hard rap of knuckles against the store’s door made me jump. The store wasn’t open yet… and everyone knew the parade was starting in a few minutes.
I gulped as Kringle let out a bark and charged downstairs. Almost like we both knew who it was. The only person who would knock on our closed door early in the morning.
Only, when I got to the bottom step, it wasn’t Chris’s face peering in at me through the window. It wasEd’s.
My stomach twisted and I lurched for the door, unlocking it. “Ed! Are you okay? Is anyone hurt?” There was no logical reason for him to be here other than an absolute emergency.
He swatted at the air between us. “I’m fine. Sheesh. A guy can’t show up early for work?”
“But… we’re not open until 10.”
“The parade! I’m riding the float in the parade.” I winced. Of course. Riding the float was part of Ed’s ‘prize.’ “Also, I thought I’d get some cookies for the road.”
I sighed, but a smile curved on my lips. Even though Ed was a grumpy ol’ coot, he was still perfectly lovely in his own strange way. I slid the plate of cookies his way and he grabbed a couple of handfuls, shoving gingerbread cookies into the pockets of his elf costume. “Where’s your boyfriend?” Cookie crumbs spewed from his lips as he spoke.
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” I said simply, and clipped Kringle’s leash to his collar. “We should go. We’re going to be late.”
Ed snorted. “Don’t have a boyfriend? Who are you kidding? We all know you’re dating fancy pants!”
I sniffed and tears welled up in my eyes. Dammit, I told myself I wouldn’t cry. “I’mnot,” I said firmly. “Not anymore.”
“Well, damn.” Ed lifted a gift bag and set it onto the counter. “That makes this gift a bit awkward.”
“You got me something?”
Ed shrugged. “A thank you. This town has been seeing through me like I was some kind of a ghost for years. Mr. Fancy Pants offering me this job,” he paused, gesturing at his elf costume, “helped me feel alive again. Made me feel needed again.” He waved his hands in the air in my direction. “Now don’t get me wrong… you were always kind to me. As were many people. But I always felt like I was a burden. This week was different, though. I helped the store… contributed to Christmas Fest for the first time. I have you to thank for that.”
I wrapped my arms around Ed’s frail body and hugged him tightly. “You were a huge help,” I said. “Such a help, that I think I want to keep you on as an actual employee. One who gets paid in money… not just cookies.”
He pressed his lips together, rolling the thought around in his head. “Can I still eat the cookies?”
“Of course. I can even show you how to bake some of them.”
“Good, good. I can make them to bring over to my girlfriend’s house for Christmas Eve.”
My jaw nearly smacked the hardwood floor. “Girlfriend?”
He nodded. “That’s right. And I’ve got you and your boyfriend—” He held his hands up in front of his body like a shield. “Sorry… your boss to thank for it. Without him, Mary Lou and I never would have gotten back together. I never would have had the guts to ask her out.” He nudged the gift back toward me. “Well, go ahead. We ain’t got all day. Like you said, we’re gonna be late.”
I opened the gift bag and pulled out the snow globe… the stupid snow globe from my bet with Chris. I barked a laugh, covering my mouth with my hand. “You know we were desperately trying to get rid of this… it was the whole reason you got the gig as an elf here.”
“Oh, I know.” There was a twinkle in Ed’s eye. “I’m old, not deaf. But yesterday morning when you two were ice skating… you looked just like Mr. and Mrs. Claus in this snow globe. I could hear your laugh clean across the park. The only time I ever laughed like that was with Mary Lou. Decades ago when we were in love as teenagers.”
I shook my head. He must be exaggerating. I’d seen Ed around town for years. He never looked outright happy, but did he always look miserable?Oh, my God. Yes. Healwayslooked miserable… until this week.
