Wyatt raised his eyebrows. “Cool name.”

  “Your charming lady there thought of it.” Clarence pointed at me.

  One of the gnomes whose name I didn’t know tugged on the vampire’s arm. “We’ll gladly take you up on your offer.”

  “Excellent. Allow me to lead the way, kind sirs.” With a quick wave to the rest of us, the three of them trudged off in the snow towards the Wassail.

  I’d hoped to have more information to work with after the meeting, but I felt as confused and stuck as I had when I’d agreed to figure out the mystery.

  I scoffed. “I don’t suppose anybody came right out and said they took Santa’s sleigh?”

  “No,” Vale answered, echoing the other shaken heads in reply. “Mama was there longer than we were, so I’ll be sure to ask her what she observed. But as far as finding anyone with an excessive amount of Christmas spirit, I think everyone in attendance qualifies.”

  Wyatt shifted his weight but kept ahold of my hand. “I’ve never seen so much enthusiasm for the awards before. Rocky, you’ve been mighty quiet all this time. What did you observe?”

  “Hmm?” The rock troll shook his head as if waking up from a daydream. “I was just thinking about what I could hang from the outside of my cave. Maybe some lights hanging down like icicles would look appropriately festive.”

  I stared at the troll with an open mouth. “That’s…not what I thought you’d say.”

  He shook his head a little. “I…I’m not sure why I did. At first, I tried to listen in on the small talk as everyone partook of the refreshments. But after a while, I stopped paying attention to the details and just listened to the organizer speak. She was pretty dynamic.”

  Wyatt let go of my hand. “Before you came here tonight, would you have given any thought to decorating your home?”

  Rocky scratched a thick finger against his stony skull. “No,” he rumbled. “I wasn’t that interested…until tonight.”

  Vale snapped her fingers. “It’s a spell,” she said. “Someone in there cast some sort of charm over everyone. Maybe that’s why they got all riled up.”

  “Yeah, but if it was a spell, why weren’t the rest of us affected?” I asked. “I mean, I have no compunction to put even a single ribbon outside of my house.”

  “I don’t know,” she replied with a frown. “I’ll have to ask Mama what she thinks.”

  “I hope she has a good idea, because at this point, I’m feeling a little lost.” I kicked my foot through a small snowdrift, sending flakes into the air.

  Rocky rubbed the back of his thick neck. “I guess I wasn’t that much help tonight. Sorry about that.” He trudged away with thudding steps.

  Vale glanced at Wyatt and me. “I think I’ll head back to the Gingerbread General to see if Papa heard anything after the meeting and then talk to my mother. Goodnight!” She made no attempt to hide her wink at me, and I wanted the heat of embarrassment to melt me into the ground where I stood.

  “I guess reconvening at the Break Room isn’t going to happen. Not that there’s much to debrief about.” I kept my gaze down on the ground, afraid for Wyatt to see my internal frustrations so close to the surface.

  Closing the distance between us, he slipped a gentle finger under my chin and lifted my head. “You didn’t get the outcome you wanted. But that doesn’t mean tonight was a bust. It just means there’s more to figure out than you thought.”

  Overcome with joy at his words of comfort, I stood on my tiptoes and gave him a swift peck on his lips before my brain registered my actions. Realizing what I’d just done, I widened my eyes in shock. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

  He wrapped his arms around me. “I’m not. But that definitely doesn’t count as our first kiss.”

  “It doesn’t?”

  A low growl that sounded like the purr I’d heard from him when he stood in front of me in bear form emanated from his chest. “Not even close. But I don’t think you’re quite ready for that yet.” He placed his lips on my forehead for a brief moment. “Come on. You and I are going to check on Amos, and then I’m going to take you to my happy place.”

  A thought popped into my head, and it took me the whole walk to our friend’s house to fully recognize the sentiment. I looked forward to Wyatt opening up and showing me more about his life. But being with him was quickly becoming my happy place. And that both terrified and excited me all at the same time.

  Chapter Ten

  Wyatt lit the end of a piece of kindling until it glowed with an orange flame. He used it to light the pieces of wood stacked inside an old rusty barrel until a fire roared to life, casting light over his handiwork.

  “This is where I go when I need a break,” he declared, gesturing at the logs lined up around us.

  It took me a second to recognize that each one had been carved with meticulous care. “I take it you have a thing for bears,” I teased, brushing my hip against his.

  “I’ve been known to think they’re pretty great,” he responded, placing his arm around my waist. “Do you like them?”

  To be able to see each one in more detail, I risked a little of my magic to cast a floating light orb. I reached out to touch one of the bears standing on its hind legs but pulled my hand back at the last second. “May I?” I asked.

  He nodded, enthralled with my interest.

  My fingers traced over the lines and swells of the wood. Although each of the bears was smaller in stature, I couldn’t deny how much life existed in the timber.

  “How are you carving these?” I asked, inspecting one that looked like it could walk off into the woods based on the forward movement of its captured position.

  “Chainsaw to cut the logs down to the basic shape I want,” Wyatt answered. “And then a chisel and some other tools to shave off the wood until the figure just leaps out at me.”

  I walked around another bear on all four of its paws with its neck stretched out and its mouth wide open. “He looks like he’s trying to eat something.”

  Wyatt’s eyes glinted with glee in the firelight. “He is. I just haven’t figured out how to carve a fish jumping out of water yet.”

  I patted the bear’s head in appreciation. “That would be really cool if you could. I hope Amos is giving you a good rate on commission.”

  The smile that had reached from the shifter’s mouth to his eyes faded. “He does when he actually sells them. I was pleased that you had found a reason to push him to open his store once again. I just hope Wren’s pet project and her words won’t push him back into hiding again.”

  “He seemed to be pretty down when we left him,” I admitted. “At least he was willing to let Nutty keep him company for the night.”

  Wyatt snorted. “The squirrel hasn’t figured out that Amos stocks a lot of extra nuts from Gingerbread General just because he likes his company.”

  “Maybe they’re good for each other.” I thought about all my life spent trying hard not to make any friends. The loneliness of all my years weighed on my shoulders. “People shouldn’t try to survive all alone.”

  The bear of a man strolled a little closer to me. “No, they shouldn’t. And I think those like us understand that statement better than most.”

  I allowed the light orb to extinguish and took a step in his direction. “It’s so much better to have support from others who care.”

  “And it’s easy to care for someone once she lets her guard down and allows people in,” he challenged, stepping closer again until he towered over me.

  I looked up into eyes that glowed with an inhuman radiance. It would be a perfect time to kiss, and yet fear held me back. Allowing myself a different kind of touch, I brushed my fingers through his locks, letting them entangle in the curls at the nape of his neck.

  “Can I ask you something?” I murmured.

  “Anything,” he growled low.

  I couldn’t help the amused smile that spread on my face. “Is your bear separate from you? Or do you both exist together. In tandem.”

  Wyatt chuckled. “We’re two different beings that share an existence. There, that’s about as clear as mud for ya.”

  “No, I think I understand,” I countered, still brushing my fingers through his hair and recognizing the difference from when I did the same with his bear’s fur. “So, there are times when you disagree?”

  “Mm-hmm,” he admitted. “But right now, we both want the same exact thing.” His eyes flashed bright.

  Leaning his head closer to mine, he covered my lips with his. Instead of a passionate exchange, we both took our time with each other, tasting and testing. No rushing allowed. My body buzzed from the contact, and I wrapped both arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

  Wyatt broke our contact with a little sigh. “I always knew I would eventually meet someone like you.”

  Still a little dizzy and disoriented from the kiss, I grinned with goofy glee. “So, what you’re saying is that you’re glad I was caught stealing?”

  “In a way, I guess I am.” He enveloped me in the warmest of embraces, swaying me back and forth as if we were dancing to music.

  I snuggled into his massive chest. “You know, I used to hate my past. All of it. I’d wake up every morning loathing the life I’d lived. But now I wake up not focusing on what’s happened before but thinking about what adventures I might have.”

  “Ah, you’ve finally learned the art of running towards something.” Wyatt took a step back, placing his palms together before bowing. “My guru days are well and truly over.”

  I smacked his arm, certain he barely felt it. “Nobody likes the person who gloats. No I told you so dancing allowed.”

  “What about real dancing?” he asked, his voice turning a little shy. “There’s this Yule Ball thing that’s happening soon, and I’ve never attended before. But it would be my honor to escort you if you would have me.”

  His Southern manners and drawl grew more evident with his request, leaving me with no choice but to accept. “I’d be happy to. When is it?”

  He blinked at me. “It’s the Yule Ball, so it’s held on the date of Yule. Which is four days before Christmas.”

  I squeaked in alarm. “But that’s right around the corner. And according to Mrs. Claus, I have to solve the disappearance of the sleigh before then.”

  “Oh, right. The sleigh.” Wyatt frowned. “It is frustrating that we didn’t figure things out at the meeting.”

  “Or that we didn’t consume whatever everybody else had that put them in some Christmas spirit haze,” I joked.

  At the same time, Wyatt and I thought about my last statement and stared at each other.

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” he asked.

  “Depends,” I said, holding up a finger. “First, tell me this. Did you eat anything from the refreshment table?”

  He shook his head. “Nope. And I take it you didn’t either.”

  “No, and neither did Vale. But Rocky was standing right there. Chances are pretty high that he couldn’t resist eating something.” I thought about the overwhelming amount of choices the tables provided.

  “So, maybe someone laced the refreshments with a spell,” Wyatt proposed.

  A ball of stress clenched inside my stomach. “Not just anyone.”

  “You have a theory who it might be?” he asked.

  I nodded, hating my idea but everything inside of me said that I was on the right path. “Yeah. Pretty sure it was my boss.”

  “Wren? Why would she risk doing something like that? She could get into a lot of trouble.” The shifter threw another piece of wood into the barrel, and sparks of embers flew into the darkened sky.

  “Only if she got caught. And based on what I’ve witnessed in my short time working for Yuletide Yummies, I’ll bet she’s willing to risk anything to win the Seasonal Spirit Awards.” I gazed up at my companion. “You saw how she was tonight.”

  Wyatt mulled over my proposal from beside the fire. “It’s not going to go over well if you accuse her without any clear evidence.”

  My confidence deflated a little. “That’s a good point.”

  Hearing my despondency, he touched my arm. “I didn’t mean to imply that you weren’t right. Just that due to your precarious status as her employee…”

  “Which I’m working for her due to my serving a probation sentence…” I added.

  “Means you can’t just come right out and say she did it. Not unless you get irrefutable evidence,” Wyatt finished. “Which is going to take a little planning to figure out how to find it.”

  I snorted. “Maybe she’s got a big garage by her house and the Christmas lights she has strung up spell out, ‘Sleigh’s in Here.’”

  The bear shifter’s laughter boomed and echoed into the night. “That would be convenient. But I doubt it would be that easy.”

  “I know,” I sighed. “I guess I’ll have to try to find some time to take a closer look when I’m at Yuletide Yummies.”

  “I’ll bet Vale will help you.”

  I shook my head. “Under no circumstances do I want her to get involved until I’m more certain. It’s one thing for me to make an accusation that proves false. What’s the worst they could do to me? Other than kick me out of Holiday Haven and force me to serve a full prison sentence for my crimes. Which is definitely something to think about.”

  “And nothing I would allow to happen.” Wyatt’s brows furrowed. “If Wren Warbler is your number one suspect, then we might need to coordinate with the other Humbugs to investigate her.”

  “But I don’t want anyone else to get into trouble,” I insisted.

  To stop my protests, he covered my mouth with his once again and kissed me silly until my knees turned to jelly and I forgot my own name. I kept my eyes closed even after he stopped his canoodling.

  “Haven’t you learned anything yet? Everything’s better when you don’t do it on your own,” he insisted, wiggling his eyebrows for emphasis.

  A crazy notion sparked in my head, and I pulled out of his arms. “You know, that’s actually not a bad idea.”

  I strolled over to the bear carving with its neck stuck out and mouth open. Crouching down, I held out my hands. “If you want a sense of water, I know a better medium to use than wood.”

  My right hand glowed white blue as ice flowed out of it. Instead of waiting to add the heat of fire, I molded the frozen water with my left hand. Picturing what I wanted in my head, I willed the design into life.

  “That’s incredible,” Wyatt breathed out while he stood right behind me, watching.

  “Not done yet,” I managed as I concentrated. “Now that I’ve got the bottom looking like a proper river, I want to capture the bear’s meal just right.”

  Within a matter of minutes, the wooden bear held an ice fish in its mouth. Strange lights that mimicked the Aurora Borealis that ebbed and flowed over us glowed inside my own sculpture.

  “It almost looks like it’s wriggling,” exclaimed Wyatt. “How did you do that?”

  I wished I could put into words what being with him and finding my place in Holiday Haven had done for me in such a short time. But I couldn’t find the right way to say it without sounding too silly.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “Everything just seems to…fit.”

  He took both of my hands into his and brought them up to his lips. Giving them a chaste kiss, he pressed them onto his chest. “My sentiments exactly.”

  Under the Northern Lights, we explored how well we fit together until the chill of the air outweighed the heat of our passion.

  With a groan, Wyatt ended our third explosive kiss. “I should walk you home.”

  “What a true gentleman,” I teased.

  “You wouldn’t think that if you knew my true purpose was to elongate our time together and try to weasel out more information about you as we go,” he said.

  I took his warm hand in mine. “Well, communication goes both ways. Let’s see all the things we can learn about each other during our walk.”

  By the time we made it back to my little cabin, I felt like I knew Wyatt even better. It surprised me to have thoughts of possible Christmas presents I could get him floating in my head. As we approached my house, I regretted that our time together was coming to an end.

  A frown replaced his smile, and he pointed. “What in the world is that?”

  Caught up in our little mini date, I’d completely missed the spectacle surrounding my cabin. Different colored lights outlined every single element of the house, blinking on and off in manic patterns. Someone had hung a wreath on the door with a hastily tied bow hanging askew. The sound of rapid hammering echoed in the air, and Wyatt and I rushed to find the culprit.

  “Nutty, is that you up on the roof?” I called out.

  The hammering stopped, and his tiny squirrel head peeked over the edge. “Gotta put up more decorations.”

  Wyatt flashed me a look of concern before pleading with our friend. “Hey, Buddy, why don’t you come down from there and tell us what you’ve been up to.”

  Nutty’s tail twitched with erratic frequency. “Amos kicked me out. Came home and there was a box of stuff sitting in front of our door.”

  I gestured my hand at the mess of decorations. “All of this was in the box?”

  He nodded up and down several times. “Yeah, yeah. And a container of cookies.”

  I inspected the box and found the empty container with only crumbs dotting the snow around it. “How many cookies did you eat?”

  My roommate dug around the leftover decorations and pulled out a ball of tinsel, clutching it in his tiny paw. “Don’t know. Lost count after eight.” He thrust half the tinsel at me. “Here, you find a place to put this.”

  Accepting the metallic yarn from him, I watched as he scampered back to our house and up the sides until he stood on the roof. He sprinkled the spangly decoration over the top like they were seeds that would sprout more.

  “If there were any cookies left, we could have had them analyzed,” Wyatt said out of the corner of his mouth. “But I’m beginning to believe your theory about Wren.”

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15