Seducing Santa (Holiday Series Book One)

Chapter Fourteen ~ O' Christmas Tree

Holly made it back to the B&B later that afternoon. After meeting with Mrs. Brownstone, she went to the craft store she had spotted during her walk around the square earlier, needing to pick up some large canvases and paint supplies. She was impressed with their selection, the store had her favorite acrylic paints in stock and high quaility brushes. She probably could have spent more time in there, but after taking a whole hour she knew she had to get out of there and get to work. The time was ticking away and she wanted this done by tomorrow at the latest, having a meeting with one of the event committee suppliers she was renting the table and tent from the next morning.

After finally leaving, she drove back to the B&B and parked in the same spot as before, getting out and going to the back of the car to pull out several canvas bags full of supplies. The shop was against plastic so she had to purchase the bags as well, but they were beautiful and had the logo of the store printed on the front. A paintbrush and palette with the words Holiday Art Supplies in brush strokes across it.

Holly was not surprised in the least as Maggie came running down the front steps. She must have seen her through the window and came rushing out to help her, this time Holly actually grateful for the help and handed over the lighter of the bags to Maggie.

“What is all this for?” Maggie asked, taking a peek inside one of the bags.

“I am going to be running a booth at the Snowflake Festival,” Holly explained, not giving much more detail because she only wanted to get inside and get started.

“Oh! How lovely! Well, if you need a bigger area to work there is an enclosed section of the back porch. I can light up the small wood-burning stove and have it nice and cozy in there for you in no time!” Maggie offered, walking through the door, turning into the dining area and placing the bags on the table.

She did not even give Holly a chance to respond before she was leading her through the kitchen and opening the back door that led onto the porch. It was a bit chilly out there, the windows not very thick, but Holly saw the wood-burning stove Maggie had mentioned. The gutsy old lady headed out a side door and came back a few minutes later with a pile of wood, Holly trying to help, but Maggie shooing her off.

“Don’t worry about me! I will get this place nice and cozy in no time! Why don’t you go and look in the fridge and make yourself a sandwich? I bet you have not eaten, have you?” Maggie questioned.

As if on cue, her stomach began to grumble and Maggie gave her a knowing smile, placing down the wood by the stove before giving Holly a slight push back into the kitchen. She gave in, knowing it would just be better to do as she ordered rather than argue with the stubborn woman.

She walked to the fridge and was surprised at how well organized and stocked everything was. One of the shelves was filled with the guest's food and each item was labeled to show who it belonged to. Another shelf was set aside for breakfast and dinner food and the shelf below that was filled with different kinds of sliced meats, vegetables, and fruits.

Holly grabbed some lettuce, turkey, tomato, and found the mayo on the side door. She placed it all on the counter and pulled out a simple white plate and sharp cutting knife, dicing up the tomato before grabbing two pieces of bread from the bread box to start assembling her sandwich. She looked in the fridge again for something to drink and found some freshly squeezed lemonade, getting a clean glass and filling it up before heading over to the kitchen bar to sit down and enjoy her meal. Just as she was about to take a bite Maggie walked back through the door, going over to the sink to wash her hands.

“There, it should be warm soon enough. I will make sure no one disturbs you while you work. Though I am excited to see what you are going to do with all that stuff.” Maggie commented as she dried off her hands.

“You will get the first peek” Holly promised, quickly finishing her sandwich and drink, in a hurry to begin.

She wanted to transfer her concept drawings onto the canvas and she knew it would take her the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening time. She only took a break when Maggie called her for dinner but went right back to work after she was done, not only just wanting to get it done but actually enjoying being able to paint again. It had been a long time since she had.

After graduation she had immediately been put into the event planner position where there was not much use for her talents. The concept art she had drawn for her father had been the first time she had pulled out her drawing pencils in a long time and it had felt good, thought, it felt even better to have a brush and a palette in her hand. She was also pleased to find out that her skill had not gotten rusty from years of not practicing and that the strokes of the brush she had spent years perfecting were easily remembered, just like a reflex.

It was near midnight before she finally decided to call it a night, planning on taking another look at them again in the morning. She was smiling over the extra details she had added into the painting compared to her original concept drawings just as she opened the door to her room, too distracted to remember that large mannequin Santa in the corner.

Seeing him standing in the dark, the light from the moon coming through the window illuminating his lifeless eyes made her nearly scream and wake the entire B&B. Luckily, she caught herself and just let out a gasp, stumbling back a little through the doorway and back into the hall, tripping over her own feet and causing herself to fall onto her backside. Her attempts at not waking anyone appeared to be in vain as she heard a door opening and footsteps approaching her.

“Holly! Are you okay?” Maggie asked in a harsh whisper, rushing toward her.

“I’m fine! Sorry I did not mean to wake you! I just forgot about the Santa and got a bit of a fright is all…” Holly assured her.

“Oh! I’m so sorry about that! Do you want me to get him out of your room?” Maggie wondered while she reached down and helped Holly to her feet.

“Please, don’t worry about it. I just forgot. Go back to bed now and I am so sorry for waking you up.” Holly apologized, trying to push the old lady down the hall back to her room, feeling embarrassed and guilty for having woken her.

“Alright then, sleep well.” Maggie offered, giving in easily with a little yawn as she headed back towards her door.

“You too!” Holly called out softly before turning on the light in her room and closing the door.

She immediately went into the bathroom and grabbed one of the spare towels, walking back into the room and tossing it over Santa’s head. She would never get any sleep with that thing staring at her all night. After she was satisfied she would not be scared out of her wits again she went back to the bathroom and took a quick shower, not washing her hair but just getting the paint off her arms and hands. She dried off quickly and get into her warm comfy pajamas before falling asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

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Grayson headed to the B&B the next morning, coming to chop down the large tree that would be placed in the center of town square. They had a lighting ceremony during the snowflake festival each year, the whole thing taking place just three days before Christmas Eve. Maggie had a hidden-away area in the far back of the christmas ree farm where she kept the oldest and biggest trees to pick from. She reserved them especially for the town, having to make sure there was enough time for them to grow to the correct size.

“Are you sure you can drive this thing?” Jefferey asked, clutching onto the safety bar.

Grayson merely laughed in response, turning down the road that led to the B&B. They had borrowed a semi-truck in order to transport the tree to the town square. It had an attached flatbed but was not articulated making it easier to manage. Grayson had driven similar trucks when he was younger and worked at the Mill when it was still up and running. It had been a few years since he had gotten behind the wheel of one but it was just like riding a bike, you never really forget.

He pulled into the parking area in front of the B&B, there not being much room but he only needed to pick up Maggie before going farther up the road. He was just about to get out of the truck when he saw a familiar grey head peeking out of the door. She smiled and gave them a wave before motioning that she would only be a minute, closing the door again and coming out mere seconds later. She was zipping up her red puffy coat and putting on her knitted green hat just as Jefferey got out of the truck, nearly tripping on his way down. He tried to help Maggie inside but she shooed him away and seemed to have no trouble at all stepping up and then pulling herself into the passenger seat, a good five feet off the ground.

“I’ll keep an eye on things here.” Jefferey offered, not really much of a woodsman.

Maggie told him that there were a few customers in the fields getting trees and to keep an eye out for them before closing her door so Grayson could pull back out. They took off down the road, it eventually turned into dirt as it headed towards the edge of the forest. The bigger trees hidden within a glen just beyond the tree line. When they arrived he drove the truck as close to the trees as he could, getting out after turning the engine off and staring up at the tall and imposing pines that appeared to almost be in a perfect circle. However, one was taller than all the rest, it's top just a few feet above the others. Maggie walked towards it, inspecting its lower branches before turning to Grayson with a smile

“it’s ready,” she confirmed.

Grayson nodded and walked back towards the truck to get out the chainsaw, kneeling down at the base of the tree and starting to carefully cut a small wedge into the thick trunk. It needed to fall away from the other trees so as not to damage them and Grayson knew exactly what he was doing. Cutting away slowly at the trunk until he could hear the wood snapping, backing away quickly, and yelling TIMBER! as it came tumbling down onto the ground with a loud thud.

“Let's be quick about getting it onto the truck, we need to make sure the branches are not too damaged from the fall,” Maggie instructed.

Grayson nodded and headed back to the truck, turning on the engine so he could use the wench to help pull the tree onto the flatbed. Once he had the trunk of the tree secured, he jumped back into the flatbed and used a remote control to pull the tree carefully onto the trailer. Maggie yelling at him all the while to be careful and take it slow and to make sure the branches were laying up and not down because they might snap. It took about half an hour to get it up and fifteen more for Grayson to tie it down but it would all be worth it, in the end, to get it to the town square in one piece so the festival committee could start decorating it for the lighting ceremony.

They both got back int to the truck and made it back to the B&B, Grayson doing his best to park the truck in a spot that would not block guests from getting out if they wanted to leave. He got out, too late to help Maggie out, who was already on the ground by the time he got to the other side of the truck.

“Can you show me some good trees for the town hall lobby?” Grayson asked.

“You still have not gotten it yet? It's nearly Christmas! City decorations need to be complete by at least the first week of December!” Maggie scolded.

“Sorry,” Grayson said, unable to keep the smile off his face at her treating him like a little boy.

He should be ashamed, but the truth was, Grayson was not much for decorating. It had been Emily’s thing and each year since her death Christmas seemed to sneak up on him to the point that he would not even realize how behind he was with things until it was too late. Luckily, for the city, Jeffery was there to give him a nudge and remind him of these things.

“This way, Scrooge!” Maggie chastised, heading in the direction that led to the front fields of the farm.

They were just walking down the first few rows when Grayson caught sight of a familiar blond head over the treetops.

“What is she doing here?” Grayson asked, maybe a bit too defensively.

“Oh! She was not too fond of my large Santa so I took him out of her room this morning and told her to pick out a tree. At first, she said she was too busy, but she was up until midnight last night working and out the door first thing in the morning. I told her she could take just a little time to do something festive.” Maggie explained.

Grayson nodded but did not say anything in response. Watching as Holly inspected each branch with a gentleness just like Maggie did. She truly was beautiful and he had to admit it was hard for him to not stop and stare every time he saw her. He watched as her eyes lit up as she walked towards a tree just a few inches taller with fluffy branches. From that distance, it looked like a classic Douglas Fir which was always the most popular for its abundance of branches and full shape. Grayson noticed the axe in her hand that Maggie gave all the customers here as she lifted it up and glanced between it and the tree. He felt a bit nervous as he watched her squat down, her grip on the axe all wrong. Grayson was about to call out to stop her, but he was already too late. He began to run just as she took her first swing and her high-pitched scream filled the air.