Page 41 of Frostbite & Mistletoe
While Maggie spoke with Rob, Gabriel studied their hastily created fake event poster on his tablet.“The BPRFD Christmas Eve Potluck,” it proclaimed in bold letters, promising live music, food, and holiday cheer.
A Christmas Eve holiday party for the fire department volunteers was the cover story they’d come up with to protect Kymberlie’s pride.
Maggie had manufactured a story about a last-minute venue cancellation and called Kymberlie to see if her club could host the event on short notice.
According to Maggie, Kymberlie had agreed on the spot.“I don’t see why not,” she’d said.“It’s not like I can afford to reopen right now. Sure, go ahead. I’ll drop the keys off at Cinnamon + Sugar for you.”
“Rob’s in,” Maggie announced now.“And he’s really excited about it, actually. Bearly Able to Sing got their start playing gigs at Kymberlie’s club, and he says he’s wanted to play here again for a while now. He and his mate are on their way home for Christmas, and the rest of the band members live in the area. He’s waiving their usual fee. Says to consider it a Christmas present to Kymberlie.”
“That’s great.” Gabriel tapped his pen against his notepad.“Now that we’ve figured out the food and entertainment, let’s set the ticket price.”
Maggie nodded.“It should be high enough to generate some real money for the club, but not so high that we scare people off.”
They debated figures for a few minutes before settling on a reasonable amount.
Then Maggie’s phone chimed with an incoming text.“Grandma Elle and Great-Aunt Margaret wrote they’ll be happy to loan us anything we need, as long as we’re willing to pick up and return whatever we borrow.”
Gabriel knew the two sisters, both of them mated to sabertooth shifters from Gabriel’s new Cougar Lake Pride, had been running a successful B&B and events business for years on their respective ranches. They’d have all the festive decorations the event would need.
“That’s great! Why don’t you ask your uncles if they and some of Kymberlie’s pack mates can handle picking up decorations from the Grizzly Creek Ranch and the Cougar Lake Ranch?”
“Perfect. I’ll ask Mom and my aunts if they want to help me bake Christmas cookies and pies for the event.” Maggie typed another text message on her phone.“I’m sure Violet would be up for helping us as well. And I have the cake layers from Melissa’s wedding sitting in the freezer over at Cinnamon + Sugar. We can fill and frost those and serve them at the party.”
Gabriel nodded, impressed by how quickly their plan was coming together.
Then, unbidden, a memory of Kymberlie’s devastated expression flashed in his mind. The sabertooth in him rumbled with protective instinct.
“You’re worried about her,” Maggie observed.“That makes two of us… more, actually. She hasn’t been responding to any of her parents’ messages, or Violet’s, either.”
Gabriel heaved a sigh.“She hasn’t been sleeping well. Even after I’ve done my best to wear her out.”
Maggie blinked. Her cheeks turned a faint pink, but she didn’t comment.
Gabriel added,“She’s really worried about meeting with her pack alphas the day after tomorrow.”
“Telling them she’s in trouble won’t be easy, no matter what,” Maggie agreed.“But going in with this plan already in motion might give her some confidence.”
“We can’t tell her yet,” Gabriel reminded her.“If this works, the surprise will be worth it.”
Gabriel’s phone buzzed with a text from Tyler confirming he and a crew of wolf shifters stood ready to help with Swanson Construction’s trucks.
“It will be. We’ll save her club,” Maggie said with absolute certainty. Then she gave Gabriel an assessing glance, and added,“You know, when you first joined the fire department, I thought you had a stick up your ass. I’ve known Kymberlie for years, but I’ve never seen her look at anyone the way she looks at you.”
Heat crawled up Gabriel’s neck.“I do have a stick up my ass,” he agreed.“And that’s not gonna change. I’m crazy about Kymberlie. My sabertooth cat thinks she’s the one.”
“Good.” Maggie grinned.“And for what it’s worth, I think you guys make a great team. You’re good for each other. I swear, dating you is the only thing that’s kept Kymber going since the fire.”
Gabriel returned her smile.“She makes me feel like I can do anything… even save her from this mess.”
They worked for another couple of hours, coordinating volunteers, soliciting donations of auction items, and working out the timing for each set of tasks.
By the time they took a dinner break, Gabriel was awash in optimism. This plan was going to work.
Gabriel’s sabertooth growled beneath his skin, urging him to go to Kymberlienowand tell her that everything would be okay, that half the county was working behind the scenes to help her.
That shewasn’tas alone in this crisis as she thought she was.
But he knew that her damned pride would probably drive her to reject this offered help. Therefore, he and Maggie and the others had to keep their plans under wraps until the last possible moment.
