Page 20 of Mistletoe Love Match
And the butterflies in her belly were back.
Do not get all hot and bothered in front of the fake Santa people.
“What’s wrong with my hand, doc?” Nick Krangle asked.
Alec slipped on the exam gloves, then used the alcohol wipes to disinfect the tweezers and Mr. Krangle’s palm. He probed the irritated bump. “You’ve got a splinter on the verge of becoming problematic. The good news is that we’ve caught it in enough time to ensure it won’t get infected or impact your important duties. I’ll remove the sliver, clean it, and apply antibiotic ointment and a bandage. In a few minutes, you’ll be as right as rain, or in your case,rein-deer.”
Sure, that was a corny-arse thing to say, but it was also a kind way to connect with the man and inject a little humor.
She opened the case and removed the ointment. “Here you go,” she said, setting the cream and a small, circular bandage on the table.
“You two are a good team,” Mrs. Krangle remarked. “And you’ve done my husband a real act of kindness. We’re fortunate Mother Nature sent some weather our way and that our Comet wandered onto the road,” she continued, as Alec attended to Mr. Krangle’s hand.
“The magic of the season often has an uncanny way of delivering a Christmas surprise. This is the time of year when unexpected gifts often come our way,” Mr. Krangle answered.
Noreen Krangle sat back in her chair. “I imagine you both thought you’d be doing something very different tonight.”
It felt like a lifetime had passed since she and Alec had left the community center. “We did,” she replied through a little laugh.
“The spirit of Christmas had other plans,” Mr. Krangle offered, then tapped the box with his free hand. “Why don’t you open this, Calliope.” With a twinkle in his eyes, he slid the rectangular container toward her.
Ten minutes ago, she would have been ninety-nine percent sure there was a severed limb inside the box. Alec looked up, and she caught his eye. His playful gaze told her he was thinking the same thing. Now, she was pretty confident she wasn’t about to encounter a dead creature or freaky Christmas voodoo doll. But that didn’t mean she was about to whip off the lid like a magician’s assistant.
Carefully, she lifted the top and—thank God—she wasn’t met with a decaying squirrel corpse. What she’d uncovered was quite beautiful. The earthy scent of wood and fresh-cut greenery swirled in the air. She peered at the mound of leaves dotted with mistletoe. The festive rustic foliage sported a crisp gold bow that wound around a knotty white log. She touched one of the mistletoe’s scarlet berries. “It’s lovely. Is it a centerpiece?”
“It’s a Yule log adorned with mistletoe,” Mrs. Krangle answered. “Take it out of the box, dear. There should also be two slips of paper and two pencils on the bottom.”
“Why do you include school supplies with the Yule log?” Calliope asked as she removed the elaborately decorated piece of wood.
“It’s for you and Alec to write your Christmas wish,” Mr. Krangle answered.
Alec glanced at the items. “How does it work?”
“You pen your holiday wish, fold the paper in half, then tuck it beneath the ribbon before you add the Yule log to the fire,” Nick Krangle answered without an ounce of anxiety or trepidation as Alec continued to attend to his hand.
“It’s a tradition to burn a Yule log on Christmas Eve,” Mrs. Krangle continued. “The people who were supposed to be here tonight requested the romance Yule log. That’s why this special log is adorned with mistletoe. It’s said that a Yule log with mistletoe has the power to usher in true love. At least, that’s what my mother used to say. Burning a Yule log decorated with mistletoe is how I ended up married to a man who made toys and raised reindeer.”
Sure, the Krangles were bizarrely devoted to the whole Santa ruse, but their love of the season was starting to grow on her.
“You wished for each other?” she asked.
“Not exactly,” Mrs. Krangle replied with a wry grin. “Nick stopped by to visit my brother on Christmas Eve as my family and I were penning our Yule log wishes. I wished for love and adventure.”
Love and adventure.
Could they go hand in hand? Calliope had always categorized them as a choice between one or the other. She’d never put them together. “Is that what you wished for, too, Mr. Krangle?” she asked, truly intrigued.
The Santa lookalike gazed lovingly at his wife. “My wish was a bit more specific.”
“His wish was to catch me under the mistletoe,” Mrs. Krangle answered with a little smirk.
Nick Krangle tossed his wife a flirty wink. “And my wish came true.”
Calliope studied the Christmas couple. Warmth kindled in her chest, and she basked in their peppermint-scented affection. They might be lunatics who thought they were the fictional Santa and Mrs. Claus, but they were blissfully happy lunatics in love.
Would she ever experience a love like that?
She tucked the thought away.
