Page 104 of The Holiday Grump
Noelle had told me about her friend who got her the Christmas store job. Grace! She’d never mentioned her nationality, but I was fairly sure her boss had been Korean. Maybe Grace was, too.
“Let’s go,” I said.
We drove to the bookstore, crawling past The Christmas Wonderland. No lights inside. The window was entirely covered with pages fromThe Almanac. Why paper them so thoroughly, and why now? The season wasn’t even over. Who would renovate during the busiest week of the year?
“Stop!” I told my sister. “I need to get closer.”
“I checked the door. It’s locked,” Jackson said, but he got out and helped me out of the car anyway.
We tested the door and examined the window for gaps. There was no way to see inside. Getting a closer look at the town paper, I browsed the story of me hitting Ralph and the one about my store. They painted a picture of a deeplytroubled man. Jealous, possessive, and allergic to change. I bristled. Could I really blame Noelle for running? On paper, I sounded worse than her ex-fiancé.
“I just wanted to let you know it’s cute. The whole being in love and delusional thing. Adorable.” Jackson patted me on the back. “I much prefer this to the walking zombie. Even if it’s, what, the seventh stage of grief?”
“I thought grief only had five stages.”
“I guess you’re more advanced, my man.”
I shook my head at him and pressed my ear to the door. Delusional or not, I didn’t care. “I hear something. Like music.”
Something faint, rhythmic. Christmas carols.
Jackson moved me aside and listened. “Could be coming from next door. Or upstairs.”
“Or from that back room!”
“Sure.” He looked at me with compassion and pity.
We walked to the bookstore, and I unlocked it, bracing myself for the chaos we’d left behind. But Felicity had already cleared the broken shelf and stacked the books by the wall. Otherwise, everything looked the same. Crowded, dark, and ugly. Suddenly, I saw what Noelle had seen. Why she’d wanted to add lights and decorations.
She’d been right. And she was the only hope my business had. I was running out of cash. If I didn’t want to close shop, I needed her. Every part of my life needed Noelle’s magic touch.
Bracing my ribs, I climbed upstairs and checked the office she’d been sleeping in. The bed was made, the desk clean. The Christmas lights still hung in the window, butshe’d left nothing else behind. No clues. No sign she’d ever been here.
Was I delusional? Clinging to baseless hope? I wandered down the hall into the bathroom, praying for a miracle. A Christmas miracle.
And there it was. A damp towel. Hanging on the rack, far too wet to be two days old.
She’d been here. Maybe last night or perhaps this morning. I held the towel to my face, tears stinging my eyes. It smelled of berries and vanilla. Of her.
If she was hiding in her store and using my bathroom, I had hope.
But first, I had to take my reformed philanderer friend’s advice and make room in my life. Not just a little. A lot of room.
I hurried downstairs, ignoring the way my ribs ached. “Guys. I need your help.”
CHAPTER 35
Noelle
“Ithink you need to hydrate,” Grace told me, handing me the bottle of water I’d been avoiding.
“His car is still out there, and I already need to pee.” I carefully closed the gap I’d peeled into the papered window and sat back on our picnic blanket, picking up my crocheting.
I’d already made five little elves, complete with fluffy gray beards made from unspun yarn Grace had scored for me from the local craft shop. I was getting a little crazy in my self-imposed house arrest, but Christmas was coming, and I’d decided to create as many gifts as I could. I’d drop them off before getting on the bus on Friday. Or rather, Grace would.
I loved that my nightly wanderings had started the loreabout a Christmas elf, and I didn’t want to break the illusion by revealing myself. But I’d still chosen to crochet elves. I couldn’t help it. Maybe they would help the people of Hideaway Harbor keep the myth alive.
The night before, Grace had acted as my substitute elf, dropping off Santa hats for the snowmen I’d made earlier for the schoolyard and the library entrance. I’d even made her check the café steps for ice buildup.
