Page 13 of Wounded Christmas Wolf
“I don’t know if the Colonel told you much about Christmas Ranch?” Holly asked.
Jace shook his head.
“Okay, well, we used to run this place as a B&B, mostly catering to military guests, but it hasn’t been in operation in a while. The cottages all have names.” Holly raised a finger, pointing to each in turn. “That’s Mistletoe Manor, and next to it is Kringle Kabin—with a K. The others are Sleigh Bell Chalet, Gingerbread House, Pine Cone Cottage, and Blitzen Bungalow.”
There was a brief silence.
“You rent these to men?” Jace said at last.
“And women!” Holly protested defensively. “There are women in the military, you know.”
“I know. Some of the finest soldiers I’ve ever worked with were female soldiers.” And they wouldn’t stay here either, hung unspoken in the air between them. Holly’s beautiful face grew chilly. Aware that the temperature was dropping both metaphorically and literally, Jace said, “Uh, I’ll take Mistletoe Manor, I guess.” It sounded like the least terrible of the options.
At least he thought that, until he got inside, duffel over his shoulder, and discovered that it was filled with mistletoe.
Mistletoe, everywhere.
He wasn’t sure he could have picked a mistletoe out of a lineup before. He had probably been confusing it with holly, and there was certainly plenty of that here, too, which wasn’t helpful because now it just made him think of human Holly. But the mistletoe was definitely in abundance, hanging in bunches over every place where it could be hung: over the chairs, over the fireplace, over the door ...
He took a hasty step to one side to avoid being under it, but now he was being threatened by another bunch.
“Oh,” Holly said. She had stepped in after him, then saw where he was looking and hastily sidestepped the door frame, only to nearly run into another bunch of it. “Oh, that. I forgot—look, you could change cottages if you want.”
“What’s the Kringle Kabin like?” Jace asked, edging to the side so he at least wasn’t directly under the nearest menace.
Holly grimaced. “How do you feel about Santa Claus watching you sleep? And eat. And shower.”
“Not so great, honestly.”
“Then you don’t want that one.”
“This one’s fine.”
It was chilly. He could see his breath. Holly thumbed upthe thermostat on the wall. “We keep the heat turned down while the cottages aren’t ... in use.” The pause had come as she noticed that, in reaching for the thermostat, she’d gotten under yet another clump of mistletoe. She sidestepped hastily.
This place was going to be the death of him, Jace thought. It was like playing Twister. And then he vividly pictured Holly playing Twister, and that did not helpat all.
Holly cleared her throat. “Anyway, there are a few things to eat here, microwave meals and that sort of thing, that’ll do for tonight. I’ll bring up a breakfast basket in the morning and see if you need anything else. Most days it’s grab and go until dinner, which is served promptly at six, and the Colonel will expect you to be there tomorrow. Oh, that reminds me. The house rules.”
She jabbed a finger at a list posted beside the door. It was headlined THE NAUGHTY/NICE LIST.
“See you tomorrow,” Holly said, while he was still reading it. She stepped back through the door and closed it.
“Wait—” Jace began, but she was gone.
JACE
Jace suppresseda brief urge to run after her and apologize for—what? Outside, he heard the engine of the ATV start up.
He went to the window and watched her drive away. Then he read the list of rules.
He had been a little worried the rules were going to be as cutesy as the cottages, but refreshingly, they were straightforward and simple. Well, all but a couple of unusual items. Most of the rules were basic guidelines such as any rental might have.
Take shoes off inside.(Jace removed his boots and placed them in the rubber tray that was evidently provided for the purpose.)
No pets without prior approval.
No overnight guests.
