Page 52 of Meet Me at the Christmas Cottage
Jonah laughed at the lack of greeting from the shop owner. “Not until the twenty-sixth.”
“Oh my goodness, you’re so rude.” Lily, her lavender-streaked hair pulled back into a low ponytail, stared, flabbergasted, at Declan before turning to Jonah. “How’s Bronte’s head doing? That was quite a knot. I’m a little surprised she didn’t have a concussion.”
“Yes, very large bump, but no concussion. Thank God. She’s doing good. I’m trying to stay away this afternoon so she can get some writing done.”
“And you decided to come here?” Declan raised an eyebrow.
“Declan!” Lily slapped his chest with the back of her hand. “I’m sorry about him, Jonah. Are you wanting some fudge?”
“Yes, please. I thought it might be a nice treat for Bronte after working hard all day.” He scanned the display of different fudges. “Just give me two pounds of a mix. The best ones.”
“It’s all the best,” Declan mumbled as he folded a box and began filling it with a variety of fudge.
“Hush, Declan,” Lily said. “We’ll have that ready for you in just a moment if you want to have a seat over there.” She pointed to a table in a small alcove. “There’s coffee at the end of the bar. You can help yourself if you’d like.”
Jonah poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table overlooking the main strip. The snow left on the street was more of a dirty slush pile after the events of the weekend. Even still, the storefronts with their ribbons and garland, and the lights strung back and forth across the street, gave something magical to Jonathon Island at Christmastime.
“Here you go.” Lily put a box of fudge on the table in front of him.
Jonah reached for his wallet. “How much do I owe?—”
Lily waved him off. “Nonsense. Put your money away and think of it as a welcome home and Merry Christmas present.”
“Lil, I can’t let you—” Jonah started to protest.
“Of course you can,” Declan said, wrapping his arms around Lily and resting his chin on her shoulder. “I’ve quickly learned you do what Lily says, no questions asked.”
“Thank you.” Jonah took a twenty from his wallet and shoved it into the tip jar. “See you guys at the ball.”
He pushed out into the cold air coming off the water and looked down Main Street, catching sight of the steeple of Little Stone Bible Church. Remembering what Bronte had said about church being a place where she had felt at home, he suddenly had an idea for a gift for her—well, numerous gifts. The first required he visit Doug’s again, where he thought he remembered seeing Jonathon Island stockings. Yes, they might be a little cheesy, but they’d have to do in a pinch.
Tucking his bags close to him, he made his way back up the street to Doug’s, then he planned to head to the church. He hoped Pastor Arnie was there to let him in and that there was an extra Bible he could have.
He knew just the gift to make sure Bronte had the most perfect Christmas.
ChapterTwelve
DateDecember 23
Days until Deadline12
Words to be written74,122
While helping to set up the Christmas ball probably shouldn’t have been on her list of things to do today, Bronte had to admit the break from staring at the ever-blinking cursor was nice. After writing (or staring at the aforementioned blinking cursor) for most of the morning, Jonah and Bronte had bundled up and hiked to the Grand Sullivan Hotel.
The main part of the hotel still resembled a snow-covered construction site, but at five stories high with a tall veranda and the long summer porch, the Grand Hotel really would live up to its name once it was finished. Bronte really wished it would have been possible to have stayed there. But if she had stayed there, she probably wouldn’t have met Jonah or Mia or Dani or anyone else.
Speaking of Dani, she was in full boss mode and approached them, clipboard in hand, as they were stashing their coats with the pile from the other volunteers.
“Jonah, can you help Arnie finish hanging ornaments from the ceiling?” Dani asked, consulting her clipboard before turning to Bronte. “And Bronte, if you can help Mia and me finish up with the bows for the centerpieces, that would be great.”
In all the charity events she had been to over the past few years, Bronte had never been to a Christmas ball, much less helped set up for one, but Dani was really outdoing herself. The pink-and-white-striped walls of the ballroom were lined with Christmas trees of all sizes.
Jordi, along with a woman who looked like an older version of her, strung white lights on each of the trees. Mia and another woman sat at a table, fingers threading through ribbons, making elaborate bows. Cody and Liam were setting up round tables in neat rows, leaving an open half-circle in the middle of the room for a dance floor.
Jonah squeezed Bronte’s hand and joined the pastor, who tottered on a ladder, trying to attach another ball ornament to the ceiling.
“That’s an interesting concept,” Bronte said, watching as Pastor Arnie finally got the ornament attached to the ceiling and climbed down to choose another one.
