Page 22 of The Christmas Cottage
It was a thriller set during the holidays, at a remote Scottish resort. It sounded intriguing, the kind of fast-paced book that wouldn’t let her mind wander while she read it, and she took it up to the counter to purchase. Ten minutes later, she was headed back out into the sunny, cold, snowy morning, the Holly and Ivy Market the next stop.
It was a large log-sided building with a green tin roof, with double doors at the front that had wreaths hung on each of them and garlands strung along the edge of the roof. A stream of customers headed in and out, and the moment Vanessa walked in she breathed in the scent of fir and spices, especially cinnamon.
The general store would have had most of what she needed, but Mabel had told her to stop by the Market instead. She needed a few necessary clothing items, and also to replace a few of her toiletries. Mabel had told her that there was local-milled soap sold at the Market, and despite Vanessa’s hesitance, she’d been convinced to check it out.
The soap was on a table at the front of the beauty and health section, creamy white bars stacked on top of each other in three pyramids, with small leaflets next to them explaining the scents and the benefits of using goat’s milk soap. Vanessa wrinkled her nose, a little unsure if she wanted to be quitethisrustic, but when she picked up a bar infused with peppermint essential oil, she found herself wavering. Itdidsmell good, and the bar felt soft and even a little luxurious. She decided to try it, and put oneof the bars in her basket, before heading off down the aisles to collect the rest of what she needed.
The Market was full of seasonal items—locally made candles, peppermint chocolate cookies that looked deliciously chewy, a candy cane dip with soft sugared pretzels. There were displays everywhere with stations for tasting some of the seasonal food items, and Vanessa found herself ignoring the little voice that warned her that sheneverate this much high-calorie food. Instead, she took samples as she walked through, tasting a little of each of the treats, and by the time she’d walked through the Market, she’d ended up with a box of the sugared pretzels and a jar of the candy cane dip in her basket, as well as a tin of fresh peppermint tea and a jar of local honey.
She could get treats and tea at the bed and breakfast, of course, but there was something luxurious and cozy about having something already up in her room waiting for her. She liked being able to do things for herself as well, and not depend on someone else to bring them to her. The idea of having those things waiting for her while she read her new book by the fire gave her a warm, cozy feeling that she couldn’t recall having in a long time… if ever.
With her purchases made, Vanessa checked her watch for the time. Her phone was in her back pocket, and she’d promised herself she wouldn’t take it out unless it buzzed, and if itdidbuzz, she would only answer it if it was Mabel. Not Russell. He could be okay with her taking a Sunday off for once… probably the first day she’d fully taken off since she’d started working for him.
She headed back outside, the reusable shopping bag with a Christmas tree printed on it that she’d bought at the Market as well slung over one shoulder, and decided to stop in and see Imogen. She’d enjoyed talking to the other woman when she’d gone into the chocolate shop before, and a cup of hotcocoa sounded good, even though she knew she’d probably had enough sugar for the day already.
The store was bustling when Vanessa walked in, but Imogen saw her immediately, raising a hand and waving cheerfully as she finished ringing up a couple that had a stack of chocolate boxes in front of them. As soon as the line cleared, Imogen went straight to one of the glass cases, sliding out a slice of white chocolate peppermint fudge and handing it to Vanessa on a napkin.
“On the house,” Imogen said with a grin. “It’s incredible. One of my favorites, honestly.”
“Miss Vanessa!” Katie called out as she ran over to the counter, nearly bouncing as she held up a stuffed toy for Vanessa to admire, just as Vanessa accepted the slice of fudge. “Look what Santa brought early!”
“I’m bad at surprises,” Imogen said with a smile. “So I give her something small on the twelve days leading up to Christmas.”
“It’s the beginning of December,” Vanessa pointed out, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips as well. “Not even the twelfth, yet.”
“Well, like I said.” Imogen laughed. “I couldn’t resist giving it to her early. I told her Santa came by for her list and left it because she’d been so good this year.”
“It’sperfect,” Katie said enthusiastically, holding up the toy higher so Vanessa could see. “It’s a unicorn!”
It was a stuffed blue unicorn, with a rainbow iridescent horn. “It looks very soft,” Vanessa said, taking a small bite of her fudge. She looked back at Imogen. “This fudgeisincredible. I’m going to gain ten pounds while I’m here. I came in for hot cocoa and you give mefudge.”
“I can make you hot cocoa too,” Imogen said with a grin. “Just say the word.”
“How do you like my unicorn, Miss Vanessa?” Katie pressed, and Vanessa took another long, serious look at the toy.
“I think it’s the best unicorn I’ve ever seen,” she said firmly, and Katie beamed.
“She’s all ready for Christmas. And now she wants to go build a snowman!” Katie bounded toward the back door, singing the song fromFrozenoff-key, clearly pretending to be Anna while the unicorn ‘sang’ the part of Elsa.
“Katie is clearly excited for Christmas,” Vanessa said with a laugh as she took another small bite of her fudge.
She’d never spent time around children, really, but Katie was adorable. So full of energy that it made Vanessa’s head spin, but adorable all the same. Much like a lot of things in Fir Tree Grove this time of year, she thought. Overwhelming, but wholesome and full of joy. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about all of it. She didn’t mean to be a Scrooge, but it all felt so… different from what she was used to.
“She is,” Imogen said fondly, watching her daughter run out into the snow. “Actually, that makes me think. I was wondering if you could ask your grandmother about a toy for me.”
“Of course,” Vanessa said, and Imogen gave a happy laugh.
“It’s just… there’s this thing called a Unicorn Princess Paint figurine that Katie can’t stop talking about. It comes with washable paints, and you can basically paint and start over, again and again. It was in her letter to Santathreetimes,” Imogen added with another laugh. “Katie loves doing her own art projects, and as you can see, she’s obsessed with unicorns right now. But I can’t find it anywhere.”
“If anyone can find it, it’ll be Mabel,” Vanessa promised. “I’ll make sure to ask her to look.”
“Thank you so much!” Imogen said enthusiastically. “I keep meaning to go by the shop and ask, but it’s so hard to get away from here with how busy it is.”
“It’s no problem at all, really,” Vanessa assured her. “I’m there every day as it is. I’ll tell her tomorrow.”
“I heard you were staying longer too?” Imogen smiled. “I’m so happy to hear that. It’s nice having someone else my age around.”
“For a little while—at least another week or two, I think,” Vanessa said. “Mabel really needs my help. When things slow down and her wrist seems better, I’ll head back to San Francisco.”
