A Green Valley Christmoose Disaster Read online

  Aaron looked unimpressed by that answer. “Trevor says you give him really awesome presents,” he said.

  Linda had disliked Harriet quite intensely, so she’d never spent much time with Trevor while he was in his mother’s custody, but she always sent expensive gifts for birthdays and Christmas. Was she suddenly on the hook for another grandson, too? She hadn’t brought anything specifically for Aaron, convinced that he would be with his mom for the actual holiday, but she had plenty of treats for Trevor in the car.

  “We’re opening presents tonight at dinner,” Aaron continued doggedly. “Because Dad and Shelley and I are all going to Madison for Christmas after the show.” He eyed Linda’s luggage. “I like Legos and Iron Man and Minecraft and movies and books.”

  “Aaron, do you remember that you were going to have your room cleaned up before dinner so that Santa would know you were good?” Shelley’s voice was firm, but warm.

  Aaron was still staring at Linda. “Clara’s grandmother sends her money and chocolates.”

  “Aaron,” Shelley said warningly.

  “Going!” Aaron said.

  He went up the stairs one slow step at a time until Shelley added, “Santa’s watching!” then scampered up the rest and began doing something noisy on the floor above that didn’t exactly sound like cleaning a room.

  “I think I’ve just been shaken down by a six-year-old,” Linda said wryly.

  “He’s eight,” Shelley said mildly.

  “Well, he really is irresistible. I brought Trevor enough that I can divide it up,” Linda said thoughtfully. “Do you have some gift tags?”

  Shelley found her a large box of wrapping paper and bows, with a mix of gift tags and clear tape and Linda retreated to her spare room to do some hasty re-labeling. It certainly wouldn’t be a hardship to have a second grandson to dote on.

  She found herself thinking avidly about seeing Turner again, and wishing she had a gift for him.

  She didn’t believe in love at first sight—that was a thing of fairy tales and poorly written movies—but she definitely believed in chemistry at first sight and she could tell that she and Turner had that in spades. There was no reason she couldn’t stay a night or two, spend time with her grandson—grandsons, apparently!—and indulge in some harmless flirtation with a hot fire firefighter who may or may not be a shifter.

  CHAPTER 5

  Jamie was sitting with her fire boots up on the break table reading something on her phone when Turner arrived at the fire station. Jamie had left the tiny apartment upstairs in order to move in with her boyfriend Devon, but she still hung around in the break room from time to time for the free snacks and coffee.

  “Does this look like a barn?” Turner asked her, kicking the snow off his boots as he came in past the battered firetruck. “Do you like to eat what you step in? Get yer feet off the table and at least pretend that someone taught you manners.”

  “Yes sir, Vice Principal Turner, sir!” Jamie said smartly, stomping her boots down onto the floor and saluting him. She had been one of his best and most frustrating students, and she had returned from fighting wildfire in Alaska to take Dean’s place on the squad as he planned his escape to Madison to study engineering. At least for the winters.

  “That’s the kind of attitude that will get you far,” Turner said.

  Jamie stared at him. “That was not the suit I was expecting you to be wearing.”

  “You’ll get to see Santa tomorrow like everyone else,” Turner said off-handedly.

  “Seriously, Turner, what’s with the penguin suit? I thought you only wore that for graduations and proms.”

  “I have a date,” Turner said, as serenely as he could manage.

  He didn’t want to admit that he was a little worried that he wasn’t going to be up to snuff at the Powells’ dinner table. They were all big city millionaires, and although they’d done a great job of trying to fit in with the humble, earthy Green Valley citizens, they couldn’t hide all their polish with a plaid flannel shirt and a tractor magazine subscription.

  Jamie stared at him even harder. “A date for...a funeral?”

  “For dinner,” Turner said frankly. “At Shaun’s.”

  “With a date?”

  Every time she said date, Turner’s moose echoed, Mate! which made it rather challenging to think.

  He grunted and went to rummage in the coffee bin for something that wasn’t mocha or peppermint or hazelnut. The coffee selection had gone girly since Jamie had taken over Dean’s role in the tiny fire department. At her insistence, they’d gotten one of those pod brewers that was horribly wasteful but made remarkably good coffee, even if they were sometimes scented like candy or perfume.

  “So, who’s your date?” Jamie demanded. “I honestly cannot imagine you stepping out with any of the Green Valley biddies.”

  “They don’t call it stepping out anymore,” Turner said as he found a plain coffee pod. “And you could be more respectful of your elders.”

  Jamie made a rude noise. “Yes sir, Vice Principal Turner, sir,” she said mockingly. “You didn’t answer the question.”

  “Linda,” Turner said. The taste of the name in his mouth was like cream.

  “Who’s Linda?” Jamie prodded mercilessly. “Linda who?”

  “Linda Powell,” Turner confessed. “Shelley’s mother.”

  “Oh. My. Lord,” Jamie said. “You’re dating a Powell? What on earth would possess you to do that?”

  “She’s my mate,” Turner said warningly. “Careful!”

  “Oh. My. Lord!” Jamie repeated, her eyes wider than ever.

  Was it a terrible mistake? Turner’s moose was absolutely convinced that she was the one, the only, and he couldn’t deny Linda’s sheer appeal. But there was a whole wide world of difference between him—high school vice principal and fire chief in a provincial little town—and Linda Powell, socialite, from big money and the big city. Where was their common ground? How could he ever make someone like that happy?

  His fleeting doubts must have shown on his face, because Jamie said swiftly, “Don’t worry, Turner, we will My Fair Lady you straight up into those circles, if that’s what it takes.”

  “Didn’t you sabotage the My Fair Lady performance your senior year?”

  “Sabotage is a strong word,” Jamie said defensively. “Anyway, I’m reformed. Have you practiced your compliments?”

  “Done what, now?”

  “Compliments,” Jamie drawled slowly. “They are nice things you say to your lady friend in order to woo her. Is she pretty?”

  Was she pretty? Turner had never seen anyone so pretty as Linda Powell in her snowy white coat and fur-trimmed boots. But pretty didn’t even start to cover it. She was elegant and sophisticated. She was like a symphony.

  And he was more like a banjo.

  “Okay,” Jamie guessed from either his silence or his undoubtedly sappy smile. “She’s pretty. Is there something specific you can flatter? Her hair or her clothes?”

  Turner frowned. “I prefer not to mention physical attributes,” he said sensibly. As a high school principal, he had quickly learned to navigate girls with raging hormones and self-esteem issues by choosing praise with extreme care.

  “Okay, that’s probably smart. Let’s talk talents. Remember to laugh at her jokes.”

  Laugh. Turner remembered her almost-laugh with longing. He didn’t consider himself a comic, but he had never wanted to do anything as much as he wanted to make her laugh. Really laugh, not that company all-for-show chuckle. A belly laugh worthy of Santa Claus.

  “Hmm,” Jamie said, typing onto her phone. “I’ll ask Abby for some tips. She babysits for both Trevor and Aaron, so she might have some good dirt on Shaun and Shelley’s mom.”

  “I cannot believe that I am taking advice from you,” Turner said with a chuckle. “Anyway, we have another problem that your investigative skills should be applied to.”

  “It cannot possibly be more exciting than this,” Jamie protested,
laughing.

  “Officer Stakes is missing,” Turner said firmly. “I swung by his house and found that it was empty. He hasn’t picked up any calls today. There’s no sign of him and his car isn’t there.”

  “He always heads down to Nebraska to see his folks, doesn’t he?”

  “Yeah, but he didn’t check in with Carter before he left and he told Andrea he’d stick around for the show to be Santa Claus.”

  Jamie sobered. “Well, that’s not like him. Did you check with dispatch?”

  “They’re the ones who let me know,” Turner said. “He isn’t answering his phone.”

  “We have a mystery to solve!” Jamie said avidly. “A proper Christmas disappearance! What can I do?”

  “I called the state troopers and they said they didn’t think it was enough for a missing persons case yet, but I thought I’d go snoop around the office tonight after dinner if Stakes still wasn’t back. Maybe you could ask around, see if anyone has seen him.”

  “Are you going to break into the police station?” Jamie said with relish. “I haven’t committed a misdemeanor in years now.”

  “I thought you were reformed,” Turner said quellingly.

  “You take the fun out of everything,” Jamie complained.

  CHAPTER 6

  “When Dean said to bring a date, I didn’t think you’d actually find one,” Shelley said in astonishment from the bathroom door.

  Linda finished applying her lipstick and did a test kiss towards the mirror. “Because I’m old and washed up?” she teased.

  “Because this is Green Valley,” Shelley said flatly. There was the humorless child she’d always been. “Who is it?”

  “John Turner,” Linda said warmly, remembering how his hand had felt in hers. “You didn’t tell me that the men here were all so gorgeous! What else have you been hiding?” A nurturing personality, apparently. Linda was still amazed at how well Shelley handled Aaron and how patient and warm she was with everyone in this house. Even Bingo was treated with fondness and tolerance.

  “John…? Wait, Turner? The vice principal of Green Valley High?”

  “Is he? He drove up in a fire truck when he rescued me!”

  “He rescued you?”

  “It was just a loose dog, I guess, but Turner was very heroic.”

  Shelley sighed. “Did you call 9-1-1 for a stray dog?”

  “Who else was I going to call?” Linda asked. “Triple A? It would have taken them hours to get there and extract that thing from my car.”

  “You can’t abuse the emergency system!” Shelley said in outrage.

  “I certainly didn’t!” Linda protested. “I had an absolutely lovely chat with the dispatcher. She said she’d been bored to tears until I called, and of course I would have gotten right off if there had been an actual emergency. You really don’t have a lot going on out here. I can’t understand how you can possibly be thinking about moving back here after Dean has finished school in Madison.”

  “I like it here, Mom,” Shelley said quietly. “I like the small town and I think it’s a nice place to raise a kid.”

  Linda looked at her and shook her head. “You hate children,” she said skeptically.

  “I don’t hate kids,” Shelley said, looking behind her in alarm to where Aaron was playing something noisy that involved banging things together. Her voice softened. “Mom, don’t even say that. Aaron is my favorite person in the world next to Dean.”

  “I see where I rank,” Linda said. When Shelley frowned at her, she sighed. “Oh, don’t be such a sourpuss, I’m only teasing. I think these two have been really good for you and I’m glad to see you so happy. Aaron is a joy, it’s just a surprise that you get along so well. If you don’t think I should bring Turner to dinner, I’ll call and break his heart by canceling. What time is it? He might even be on the way over to pick me up now.”

  Why did even the idea of calling it off fill her with regret? She really wanted to see him again, and Linda was surprised to find that it wasn’t that she needed to have someone on her arm to face her ex-husband at dinner. Turner was handsome and funny and she found herself smiling to remember how he’d looked at her. Like she’d swept him off his feet.

  “No,” Shelley said reluctantly. “Don’t call him off. I think it will be okay. But…”

  “Spit it out, Shelley. Hesitation doesn’t flatter anyone.”

  “Turner’s a nice guy, Mom, and this is a small town. If you do break his heart, everyone will know.”

  “You make me sound like a monster,” Linda chided her.

  “You’re not a monster, Mom. But you can be a little cold, I should know.”

  Linda stared at her in astonishment. Shelley thought she was cold? Ice-queen Shelley, Shelley the Shark? Even as she started to protest, she paused and wondered if there was truth in the observation. She was always forward and warm on the surface, but she held her heart in careful reserve. Even, she realized as she looked at Shelley with regret, with her children. She had tried to encourage Shelley to protect herself from being hurt. Had it been obvious to a sensitive little girl that her mother was afraid of affection that ran too deep?

  She loved her family, but what kind of heart did she have to offer to anyone? For a moment, she considered canceling with Turner in earnest, because she knew that Shelley’s warning was true. Turner deserved someone who was exactly what she seemed, all the way down to her soul. But Linda was living a lie of confidence that no one else knew and she was deeply afraid that she was incapable of true love.

  What kind of man was Turner that she was suddenly thinking about true love?

  Shelley was still looking fixedly at her, her silvery eyes drilling into Linda.

  Linda did as she always did, and gave a sparkling light company laugh. “Darling, you worry too much. I am sure that Turner and I will have a fine time at dinner, and that’s all there is to it. We’re both too old for broken hearts or silly crushes; it’s nothing more than a holiday dinner with a cute new friend before I head south to Cancun.” She could almost convince herself of it.

  Shelley looked skeptical, but there was a sudden crash from the living room and Aaron hollered, “Nothing broke!!” so desperately that everyone in earshot knew that something probably had.

  At that moment, the doorbell rang.

  “I’ll get it!” Aaron yelled, and Bingo went into a frenzy of barking.

  Linda checked her reflection in the mirror one last time.

  “It’s Vice Principal Turner!” Aaron called from the front door a moment later.

  Linda felt her heart squeeze as giddy excitement rose up from her stomach, and she wondered at her ridiculous reaction. This wasn’t like her at all. She was never the nervous one.

  Then she came more sedately to the door and saw Turner standing in the doorway. All of her unexpected nervousness turned to even more unexpected desire.

  He had shaved. Linda wasn’t sure if he looked better without the rough stubble he’d had, but she knew for sure that she wanted to put her hands on his jaws and feel his smooth skin under her fingers. She could smell just a hint of intoxicating aftershave from across the room.

  “Mom?”

  Shelley was eyeing her suspiciously and Linda realized that she had no idea how long she and Turner had been gazing at each other. She touched her hair self-consciously. “Mr. Claus,” she greeted him. “This suit is an improvement.”

  “I got a call about a vicious dog,” he teased, ruffling Bingo’s ears.

  “I am never going to live that down, am I?” she said merrily back.

  “I assure you, it happens all the time,” he said gallantly. “Roving packs of hellhounds, constantly harassing ordinary citizens in our sleepy little town.”

  “Let me get my coat before I die of mortification,” Linda said with a chuckle. “We’ll see you right over at Shaun’s, darling?”

  “Sure, Mom,” Shelley said faintly.

  Linda got her coat from the closet and pulled it on, then gathered her
gifts. Turner held the door for her—first to the house and then to his fire truck, taking the presents as she climbed up into the cab and then handing them up to her.

  “I’m afraid I didn’t get you anything,” she said, smiling down at him.

  “We just met,” he said with a grin and a shrug. “I don’t have a gift for you, either.”

  But it didn’t seem as though they’d just met, Linda thought, as they drove just a few blocks to park in front of a house with the same farmhouse aesthetic as Dean’s. She felt easy with him, like he was an old friend she was just catching up with again, even though she knew next to nothing about him. A really gorgeous old friend that she was thinking about in exciting new ways, maybe, because her libido was apparently on overdrive. She felt like she was on a real date, wondering how it was going to end.

  They chatted casually about Christmas traditions and snow, making observations about the house decorations that they passed.

  There was already another vehicle in front of Shaun’s house, and they could smell the food long before the door was opened for them.

  “Mom!” Shaun greeted them. “Turner?”

  “He’s my plus one,” Linda said quickly, handing Shaun her armful of gifts as she pressed inside and shook the snow off her boots. They weren’t very practical boots, but they were cute. “Dean said you wouldn’t mind.”

  “Of...course not,” Shaun said, sounding strangled. “There’s plenty of food. Tawny was really excited about cooking for everyone. We’ve got a folding table we can set up for the boys. They’ll love having their own space to fence with the bread sticks.”

  “Hi Linda!” Shaun’s wife Andrea was very short and full of energy as she greeted them from the kitchen door with a dishtowel over one arm like a waiter. Linda liked the young woman a great deal and had enjoyed their vacations together. “Um, hi, Turner?”

  “Good to see you, Andrea,” Turner said, sounding completely unruffled. “Thank you for having us.”