Page 30 of The Christmas Cottage
An idea hit her, and she dug her cell phone out of her pocket. It was a long shot, but Russell’s company sourced plenty of things as well, filling orders for all kinds of businesses. It waspossible that they might be able to source the toy, even if Mable’s distributors hadn’t been able to find it.
Katelyn answered on the first ring, her voice brightening when she heard Vanessa. “Hi, Vanessa! How are things? I feel like I haven’t heard from you in ages.”
“I’m doing really well, actually. Being in Fir Tree Grove has been surprisingly refreshing. Something in the air, I guess.” Vanessa laughed. “I wondered if you could check on something for me.”
“Of course. Whatever you need. And I’ve been keeping up with things on the backend here too.” Katelyn lowered her voice. “I know Russell is always on your back about everything, but I’m keeping it under control. You enjoy your semi-vacation.”
“I’m doing my best,” Vanessa assured her. “A friend of mine here actually has been looking for a toy for her daughter, but she hasn’t been able to find it anywhere. A Unicorn Princess Paint figurine? It’s apparently the hot toy this Christmas, and even my grandmother hasn’t been able to source it. It’s sold out everywhere.”
There was the sound of scribbling on the other end, as Katelyn hastily wrote down the information about the toy. “I can send you a picture too, when I’m back at my laptop,” Vanessa added.
“I’ll start looking for it today,” Katelyn promised.
“Thank you. She really wants it, and we haven’t been able to find it anywhere.”
“I’ll do my absolute best to find it. Don’t work too hard!” Katelyn added, before Vanessa heard the sound of Russell in the background. “I’ll let you go before he realizes it’s you,” Katelyn whispered hurriedly, and then hung up the phone.
Vanessa smiled, tucking her phone back into her pocket as she took a sip of her latte, picking up her pace as she headed toward The Toy Chest. She was hopeful that Katelyn would beable to find the toy for Katie, and that it would be a little bit of a Christmas miracle for Imogen.
She couldn’t help but laugh a little at that thought. It seemed like the magic of Fir Tree Grove was really starting to get to her, after all.
Jackson had the day off, and he’d spent it doing chores around his house and property, getting things done that he’d been putting off with how busy the diner had been for the holiday season. He’d done a thorough cleaning of the house, gotten rid of some dead plants out front, and cleared and salted his driveway.
He had a long list of gifts that he knew he needed to start shopping for, and the first one he could check off of his list could be gotten at Imogen’s candy shop. While he was there, he thought, he could get himself a treat as well, since he’d gotten so much of his to-do list done that day.
He changed his chore jacket for a nicer one to go into town, a heavy burgundy corduroy jacket with a fleece collar and lining, and a thick cable-knit wool sweater under it, a beanie tugged down over his ears. Once he was ready to go, he headed out on the walk into the main part of town, enjoying the bright sunshine and the thick snowdrifts banked up on either side of the sidewalks.
As he neared Artisan Chocolates, he couldn’t help glancing a little further off down the street, where The Toy Chest was located. He knew he didn’t really have any reason to stop in there—Mabel had ordered the gifts for his nieces and nephews already, and she would let him know when they arrived.
He really just wanted an excuse to see Vanessa, but he knew he should manage his expectations there. He’d spend plenty oftime with her playing Santa to her Mrs. Claus, and he reminded himself once again that she was leaving. He shouldn’t let himself start to imagine what it would be like to actually try to see if there was more of a connection there.
He couldn’t shake the thought though, as he headed into Imogen’s store. The minute he walked in, his senses were filled with the mingled scents of sugar and chocolate and mint and caramel. It was sweet enough to make his head spin, but he still took a deep breath, loving the rich smell of it all.
“Jackson!” Imogen greeted him warmly as he walked in, right as Katie ran over to give him a hug, before darting over to the table of samples and bringing him a sliver of fudge.
“Peppermint,” she told him very seriously, handing it over.
“Thanks, Katie,” he said, grinning at her before popping it into his mouth. “Hey, Imogen.”
“What brings you in?” Imogen tied off a satin ribbon on a package of chocolates before handing it off to the customer waiting at the counter. “Need a sugary pick-me-up? Or a gift?”
“The latter,” Jackson said, glancing over the glass cases of perfectly arranged chocolates and holiday candies. “I was thinking a box of your hot chocolate bark for my mom, actually. She raved about the one I sent last year. And seeing how famous it is around town, I thought I should jump on getting one early.”
Imogen laughed. “Well the good thing about that is, if there’s a demand, I can always make more. But I appreciate your enthusiasm.” She walked down to one of the cases near the hot chocolate bar, opening it up and picking up a pair of tongs to begin adding pieces of the bark to a tissue-lined box. “Want a cup of hot chocolate while you’re here?”
“Hm?” Jackson realized his thoughts had drifted off as Imogen started talking, and he felt bad for not paying attention. But he’d been wondering if he should get Vanessa a present this year, and then if she’d still be in Fir Tree Grove on the actualholiday at all—and then wondered why he thought he should get her something. Surely the free coffee and special creamer was enough of a gift for someone he’d barely met?
“You look like there’s something on your mind.” Imogen raised an eyebrow as she layered more bark into the box. “You know,” she added slyly, her mouth tipping up on one side. “It was nice to see you at the holiday market. And you and Vanessa definitely seemed to get along really well. The two of you just seem to click, you know?”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re getting to be as bad as Mabel,” he groused, watching as Imogen set the lid on the box of chocolates and began to tie a bright tartan ribbon around it. “I see what you’re doing, you know.”
“What’s that?” Imogen asked innocently, looping the ribbon.
“Trying to convince me that there’s a reason for me to take Vanessa out on a date.”
Imogen looked up at him as she tied off the bow, grinning. “Well, I never said anything about that. But now that you mention it?—”
Jackson sighed, pulling his beanie off and running a hand through his hair. “I’ve thought about it, obviously,” he said, leaning up against the hot chocolate bar. “But she’s not staying in town. There’s no real point in it, right?”
