Page 44 of The Christmas Cottage
“Just follow your heart,” Imogen said, ducking out of the way as Vanessa playfully swatted at her. “I know! I sound like agreeting card! But it’s true. You’re overthinking it. Follow how you feel. Everything else will fall into place. You know what you want, deep down. You just have to find the nerve to try something new.”
Vanessa nodded, picking up the coffee to inhale the scent coming from the bag. “I know,” she admitted. “It’s scary. But I should let myself be happy.”
“Jackson is making a leap too,” Imogen said. “But the two of you are perfect for each other, I think.”
“He did agree to be the Santa to my Mrs. Claus,” Vanessa said with a laugh. “So we’ll see how that goes.”
“You’re going to be great,” Imogen insisted. “I can’t wait to see the two of you in all your Christmas-y glory.”
Deep down, Vanessa knew that she thought so too. And she was more excited than ever for the event, and getting to spend time with Jackson again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
On Saturday afternoon, everything was a flurry of activity as they got ready for the Santa and Mrs. Claus event to start. Vanessa waited to slip into her costume until she got to The Toy Chest, although she did her hair and makeup before she left Hearthside.
She’d gotten halfway through curling her hair before she remembered that she’d be wearing a wig as Mrs. Claus, and then felt her face flush as she realized that she’d been thinking more about seeing Jackson than the role she’d be playing. After that, she’d put on a bit of light makeup, and hurried downstairs to head over to the toy shop.
Mabel was a flurry of activity as they got ready, and Vanessa had to remind her, more than once, to go easy on her wrist. “I’m playing Mrs. Claus so that youdon’toverwork it,” she reminded her, and Mabel sighed, nodding.
“I’ll just go get the tables decorated,” she said, and while she did that, Vanessa started setting out the prizes on the table allocated for those.
Imogen showed up shortly after, getting her hot chocolate stand ready, and Vanessa went to change into her Mrs. Claus costume. She had to admit, the red dress with the white furedging was adorable, and with the addition of the curly white wig, she thought she made a passable—if a bit young—Mrs. Claus. The kids would believe it, she thought, and that was the important part.
She stepped into her black boots, adjusted the wig once more, and stepped back out into the back room. To her surprise, Jackson was standing there waiting for her, in full Santa get-up… including the fake beard.
The moment she saw him, she started to laugh, and he joined in. “You clean up nice, Mrs. Claus,” Jackson said with a chuckle, and Vanessa rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help blushing.
“This outfit is ridiculous, and you know it.”
“I can see this is going to be another version of the great cat ornament debate.” He leaned in before she could protest, stealing a kiss, and Vanessa couldn’t help herself. She leaned into it, reaching up to brace herself with one hand against his chest, and she felt a warm happiness flood her as Jackson backed away, his eyes bright with happiness.
“Someone might have seen!” Vanessa chided him, looking around to see if anyone had shown up early for the event, or if any customers had wandered in. She’d been just as into the kiss, but she couldn’t help herself. She wasn’t used to public affection of any kind, let alone from someone as handsome as Jackson, who flustered her as much as he did.
“Just getting into character.” He winked at her, and she blushed deeper.
“The event will be starting any minute.” Vanessa peered out of the back room to see if everything was set up. The prize table was inside, along with the table for the cookie-decorating contest, with stations for each competitor and a stack of blindfolds waiting. The huge drawing of a cartoon reindeer was inside as well, waiting for kids to line up to attempt to pin a tail on him. Another table had the raffle prizes lined up—thenutcracker, the gift card to the diner, and the box of Imogen’s chocolates, along with the tickets to purchase and a glass bowl.
There was a gorgeous snowy forest backdrop for photos, and another set up to look like a cozy Christmas interior. The chairs for Jackson and Vanessa were there, where anyone could come and take a picture with them. There was also a long table set up with the food donated from the local farm and the tavern—fresh-pressed apple cider, cheeses, and dried local meats for charcuterie boards, hot appetizers from the Snowdrift Diner, including buffalo chicken dip, steak crudites with mustard and horseradish sauces, stuffed mushrooms with brie and balsamic, and venison bites with local cheddar fondue.
There was a table with cupcakes, as well as fudge from Imogen’s shop, and another table for cookie decorating for those who didn’t want the stress of competing blind while they decorated their Christmas cookies. Outside, the station for apple bobbing was set up, along with Imogen’s hot chocolate bar, and a station with lemonade, beer, hot apple cider, and wine from the tavern.
The lines for the snowman-building race were set up outside, as well as an area roped off for snowball dodgeball fights. It was festive and elaborate, and Vanessa was truly blown away to see how much effort her grandmother had put into all of it. She’d heard it all described to her, of course, as they were getting ready for the event and planning, but seeing it all in action was something else.
“I’ve honestly never been to a festival like this before,” she confessed to Jackson. “This is almost as exciting as the market in the square that Imogen took me to.”
“I think your grandmother is trying to compete with that event, honestly,” Jackson said with a laugh. “It’s a toss-up as to which one is more popular, I think, with the adults. For the kids, this one is definitely way out front.”
Vanessa laughed, and then peered out of the door again as she heard the chime of the bell that meant Mabel was opening up for the event to start. “It’s almost our cue,” she said with a nervous laugh, and Jackson grabbed her hand and squeezed.
“This is going to be fun,” he said, his beard moving as he smiled, and Vanessa stifled another laugh as she heard the first of the festivalgoers start to filter into the shop.
There was an excited cheer from the kids already crowding the store as she and Jackson walked out, and she felt that flood of warmth in her chest again. She’d never pictured herself doing anything like this, but she was suddenly thrilled that she’d agreed. The happiness and excitement on all of the children’s faces made her smile in return, and she waved to them as she and Jackson headed to their spot of honor in front of the Christmas living-room setup.
Immediately, there was a line to take pictures with them. Vanessa couldn’t stop smiling as the kids asked Jackson if they were getting what they’d requested for Christmas, and if he’d gotten their letters. Jackson played along fully, deepening his voice and adding the occasional ‘ho, ho, ho’ and ‘Merry Christmas’ to go along with his answers.
She snuck a glance at Mabel as she and Jackson greeted and laughed with the children, and she could see that her grandmother was beaming. It was clear that the event was going just as she’d hoped, and Vanessa felt a swell of happiness at the thought that they’d managed to pull it off and make her grandmother happy, despite Mabel’s disappointment at not being able to play Mrs. Claus.
After a couple of hours of talking to what Vanessa thought must be every child in Fir Tree Grove, Jackson reached over and squeezed her hand when they had a moment where it seemed like no one was looking. “What do you say we join in on some ofthe games?” he asked, leaning over to murmur the question in her ear, and Vanessa nodded eagerly.
