The Christmas Plan Read online

Before he could answer, she got up, walked over to the desk, and found the hotel binder with all the amenities and local attractions. “Aha! Room service!” she cried victoriously. Then she came and sat close beside him so he could look at the menu with him. “It’s nothing overly fancy but there are definitely some yummy things on here.”

  Glancing at the selection, he said, “I’m going to get the bacon and mushroom burger and fries. I’ll go back down to the car and grab the coolers so we can have drinks and snacks if you need them.”

  “Need? Um, yeah. Definitely. But they have apple pie on the dessert menu. And milkshakes.”

  “And?”

  Her blue eyes went wide. “And? Are you serious? There is nothing in our snack cooler that compares to apple pie and milkshakes, Gabe. Those are much better options and we should totally order them.”

  “Aspen…”

  “Fine, you eat the snacks from the cooler–but not all of them!–and I’ll order something fresh and delicious.” She stood and walked over to the phone on the desk. “My nana used to make the best apple pie, but honestly, I’ve yet to have a really bad apple pie.” Then she shrugged and called in their order.

  And when it arrived, Gabe immediately regretted not ordering the pie too because it looked amazing.

  They set up the food on the small table by the window and luckily, it had two chairs. The food looked and smelled good and they both must have been hungrier than they thought because they were several bites in before either of them spoke. Besides her milkshake and pie, Aspen had ordered crab cakes and fries.

  “How’s your burger?” she asked.

  Nodding, he replied, “It’s good. Want a bite?”

  She smiled knowingly. “Sure. Want a taste of the crab cake? We are in Maryland, you know, so they’re really good.”

  They swapped bites, and he had to admit, she always ordered the best dish on the menu. You’d think he’d learn to just get whatever she does because as soon as she offers him a taste, he always regrets what he ordered.

  Like now.

  Gabe heard her low snort and knew she was on to him.

  Again.

  “Next time, just let me order for you,” she said before popping a fry into her mouth. “I don’t know why you’re so stubborn about this.”

  Neither did he, but rather than debate this particular topic, there were other things on his mind.

  “So tomorrow,” he began. “I’d like to get on the road early–not the crack of dawn, but definitely between seven and eight. Is that okay with you?”

  “No problem. It’s eight hours of driving and I figure we can sort of push through with quick bathroom breaks, maybe lunch in the car, and a few stops for gas. I’m guessing there aren’t many places to stop and sightsee along the road again.”

  “There are some cool things to see once we hit upstate New York, but I figure at some point over the course of the month, we can break away and do a day trip or something. I know how much you’d enjoy that.”

  “You are too sweet,” she beamed. “Thank you.”

  “If we get on the road by seven, we can realistically be in Silver Bell Falls by four. It will start getting dark by then but it’ll still be light enough for you to get your first glimpse of the town. Then after dinner I thought we could go walk around downtown so you can see all the decorations and lights and whatnot. Again, I know how much you love seeing Christmas lights.”

  “I seriously do,” she replied before taking a long sip of her milkshake. “Oh, my God, Gabe. You have to try this. It’s beyond chocolatey.” She handed him the glass and he took a sip and groaned at how good it was. Aspen quickly took it back before he drank more than his share. “That’s your punishment for mocking me for ordering dessert. It’s delicious and you only get a sip.”

  “And the pie?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You’ll get the obligatory bite, but after that, it’s all mine.”

  Before he could second-guess himself, he walked over to the desk phone and called room service and ordered his own pie and shake before triumphantly walking back to the table. “Problem solved.”

  “Fine. But I get to take a ginormous sip of your shake.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because that’s what you did with mine. Fair is fair.”

  There was no point in arguing. “Fine. You can have a sip of mine.”

  “A ginormous sip,” she corrected.

  He nodded as he sat back down. “Sure. A ginormous sip.”

  She preened in her seat for a moment before they picked up their conversation about the drive tomorrow. “I think seven is totally doable. I’m exhausted and will probably be asleep by nine.”

  “Same.”

  “I was thinking that when we’re close to Silver Bell Falls, you need to be the one driving.”

  “Why?”

  “I want to get the whole ‘Welcome to Silver Bell Falls’ experience! You’re going to have to play tour guide and there’s no way I can keep my eye on the road and see everything.”

  “I can do that,” he agreed. “But I think you’re expecting way more than what there really is. I don’t want you to be disappointed.”

  “Will there be snow on the ground?”

  “Probably.”

  “Are Christmas decorations already up?”

  “Definitely.”

  “So what are we going to see first when we get to town?”

  “If I tell you that, you won’t be surprised,” he teased and smiled when she laughed. Aspen had a great laugh.

  “Ugh…you know I hate surprises.”

  “No. You hate bad surprises. This is a good one.”

  “Technicalities,” she murmured before finishing her dinner. “I hope your order gets here soon so we can eat dessert together.” She took another sip of her milkshake before adding, “Although I’m pretty sure this will be gone by then. Still, we can have our pie together.”

  “Sure.”

  “Ooh!” Jumping up excitedly, she said, “Let’s get our pajamas on and then we can eat our pie in bed while we watch TV!” And before he could answer, she was opening her suitcase and pulling clothes out. “Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready! You can get changed out here. Just call out when you’re done!” The slamming of the bathroom door came next and Gabe let out a long breath as he stood.

  Pajamas, pfft…

  He normally slept in his boxers, but since he was going home to his parents’ house, he had packed a couple of pairs of flannel pajama pants. He had assumed that he’d be alone in a hotel room tonight, but it looked like he was getting a head start on wearing pants to bed.

  Dammit.

  Changing quickly, he slid a clean t-shirt over his head as Aspen walked out of the bathroom and breezed by him wearing her own flannel pajama pants and t-shirt. She smiled as she walked over to her bed. “Hey, we almost match!”

  Glancing down at himself, Gabe shrugged.

  There was a knock at the door and he went and retrieved his dessert and even helped clean up their dinner dishes so room service could take them away. Once the door was closed, he turned to see Aspen sitting on her bed flipping through the channels on the TV to find something to watch. After a moment, she huffed with annoyance. “I’m just going to pull up something on Netflix. Is that okay with you?”

  “Yeah. Sure.” He got himself situated with his dessert–but not before giving Aspen a sip of his milkshake. Once he was comfortable, he pointed to the TV. “How about Master of None? We haven’t watched that in a while.” She nodded and got it set up. Once the show started, she leaned back on the pillows. Gabe could feel the heat of her stare and glanced over at her. “What? What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing,” she said quickly, looking down to study her slice of apple pie. “I was just feeling really happy.” Then she looked up at him again. “I’m excited about spending Christmas with you and your family.”

  Unsure of how to respond, he simply smiled and nodded.

  “I mean it, Gabe. The la
st few years I’ve really dreaded the holidays.”

  “Because you were always working and didn’t get to see your family?”

  “Pretty much. There was nothing special about the days because they were just like any other.” She took a bite of her pie before adding, “Although, it did save me from having to deal with going home and dodging and weaving the whole time.”

  “Because of the outlaws?”

  She laughed softly. “Exactly. It’s hard to be joyful and relax when you always have to be on guard for wayward hands and gross innuendos.”

  “I still can’t believe your sister married someone like that.”

  “I know. Maddie’s a bit uptight and it seems to go directly against everything about her, but for some reason it doesn’t seem to register with her or bother her. It’s kind of bizarre.”

  “Well, I can totally promise you that there will be no wayward hands or gross innuendos. And if by chance there are–and it would have to be a tourist because no local resident of Silver Bell would do something like that–just tell me and I’ll take care of it.”

  Her smile grew from ear to ear as her hand flew up over her heart. “My hero.”

  “Yeah, well…”

  Aspen got up and walked over to him and sat herself beside him on the bed, placing her head on his shoulder. “You are, you know. You’re like the best best friend ever and totally have the hero thing going on, so…thank you.” She straightened and kissed him on the cheek before putting the smallest of space between them. “Come on, take a bite of the pie and let me know what you think!”

  It took a minute for him to actually do it because he felt mildly uncomfortable with Aspen sitting so close to him.

  On his bed.

  It shouldn’t be a big deal because this was just who she was, but…it suddenly felt weird. Or maybe it was just him.

  Probably just me…

  Forcing those thoughts from his mind, he took a bite of his dessert and moaned because it was seriously delicious. He glanced at Aspen and saw her smiling at him.

  “Stick with me, Gabe. I will always pick the yummiest things for you.”

  And if that wasn’t a loaded statement, he didn’t know what was.

  They finished eating in silence as they watched TV and after the second episode ended, Aspen yawned loudly. “That’s it for me. I can’t even hold my eyes open anymore.” She slid off the bed and put her pie plate over on the table where they ate before she slowly shuffled to the bathroom.

  Gabe stood, stretched, and straightened up a bit, turning off all the lights except the one next to his bed. Setting the alarm on his phone, he plugged it in to charge. When Aspen came back out, he took his turn in the bathroom. By the time he came out five minutes later, she was already asleep.

  He felt a little weird about not saying goodnight to her, but as he slid beneath the sheets with a big yawn of his own, he figured it wasn’t that big of a deal. Turning out the light, he slid further beneath the blankets and got comfortable and just when he was about to fall asleep, he heard her soft voice wishing him sweet dreams.

  Gabe had been driving for the last hour and Aspen was teetering between being super excited about getting to Silver Bell Falls and complete and utter boredom. They were off the main highway and there hadn’t been anything of note to see in a while. Now the road was getting narrower and the sky was getting a little darker. “So, um…are we almost there?”

  “About another mile up the road and we’ll hit the town limits.”

  “Yay!” she cheered, bouncing in her seat. Honestly, she had no idea how Gabe did this drive alone. It was long and monotonous and there was nothing of real interest to see.

  A few minutes later, Gabe slowed the car, pulled over, and rolled down the windows.

  Aspen looked at him curiously before he motioned at the giant sign on the side of the road.

  “Silver Bell Falls Welcomes You!”

  “Oh, how festive!” she cried excitedly and then paused. “Wait…is that…?” For a minute she was certain she was hearing things. Gabe had turned off the car radio, and that’s when Aspen realized what was going on. The song “Silver Bells” was coming from the massive sign.

  City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style…in the air there’s a feeling of Christmas…

  “You have got to be kidding me! That is awesome!” The letters were big and red and there were mechanical bells swaying back and forth. Plus, it looked like it snowed recently so it made for a very grand holiday entrance to the town. “If this is just at the town limits, I cannot wait to see what’s coming next!”

  Gabe took that as his clue to pull back onto the road. He drove slowly and began pointing out landmarks to her–the diner, the dance studio, the grocery store, and the sheriff’s office were all on the main street. He turned left at the end of the block and drove one block before turning left again.

  “Over there is Silver Bell Park,” he explained. “This is the main spot for any of the activities that involve the kids. It’s a great spot for sleigh riding because of the massive hill and there’s almost always something going on there.”

  Just the thought of riding a sled down the hill had her wanting to get out of the car now. “I hope you have a sled for me to use so I can check that out.”

  “Trust me. We have an entire shed filled with sleds of every shape and size.”

  “As it should be.” It was clear this was the more populated part of town. There were small brick buildings and a few other shops and restaurants. “There’s way more here than you let me believe, Gabe! I can’t wait to get out and walk around and check it all out.”

  He chuckled. “We’ve got a whole month so there’s no need to rush out just yet.”

  She leaned forward and studied the buildings. “There are quite a few businesses here. I’m impressed. There literally seems to be a little something for everyone.” She paused. “Oh! Christmas tree lots! There are…what…three of them that I can see?! Wow! So cool! Which one belongs to your family?”

  “The large one up on the corner–Andrews & Sons Trees.”

  No wonder the topic bothered him. The son taking over the business was literally right there in the sign.

  Before she could comment, he was already pointing out more businesses. “There’s the town hall and chamber of commerce,” he began, “and then the local utility companies.” He paused and then slowed down so he could point some of the shops out. “There’s the appliance repair and a small boutique where my mom swears they have better clothes than she can find anywhere in Manhattan. Take that with a grain of salt.”

  Aspen let out a small snort of laughter as she nodded.

  “Then there’s the hair salon, a stationery store, and the ice cream parlor. They make all the ice cream on site and it’s quite possibly the best ice cream in the world.”

  Her eyes went wide. “We are definitely going there tonight.”

  “We can stop there now if you’d like. It would probably be easier than trying to leave after dinner. No doubt Mom’s been baking all week and has a pile of desserts waiting for us.”

  She silently weighed her options–ice cream or Mrs. Andrews’ cookies?

  “Can’t we just stop and have a small treat? I promise I won’t get anything big,” she begged. “Plus, I’m seriously dying to get out and just walk down this street. It’s so darn quaint and the town square with the gazebo is calling my name. Please? Please, can we walk around for a little bit? If your mom gets upset that we didn’t go right to the house, I’ll totally take the blame.”

  He sighed loudly but pulled into a spot in front of the ice cream parlor, and she was practically out of the car before he shut it off.

  The air was crisp and cold and she could totally see her breath and yet she didn’t feel the need to go rummage through her luggage for her hat, gloves, or scarf. Gabe had advised her to keep her winter coat out of the luggage so it was handy on her way out of the car.

  “This is amazing!”

>   “It’s cold,” he countered, pulling his coat close and zipping it up. “I grew up here and I swear it still hits me hard after living in Atlanta for so long.”

  “I think it feels good.” Skipping over to him, Aspen took him by the hand and led him into the ice cream shop. “I’m so glad they stay open year-round.”

  “Gabriel Andrews!” someone called out. “It’s good to see you!”

  Aspen looked at him curiously as an older woman walked out from behind the counter and gave him a big hug. Then she turned to Aspen and smiled. “And we are so excited that you’re here too, Aspen!”

  “Oh, um…”

  It seemed weird that this woman knew her name, but she figured Gabe’s mom must have mentioned it or something.

  “I’m Nikki,” the woman said with a big smile. “And it’s wonderful to finally meet you! You’re a chocolatier, right? Oh, my goodness, that is something I have always wanted to try but was never brave enough.” She barely paused to take a breath. “Could you imagine the kind of trouble I’d be in if I sold ice cream and gourmet chocolates? Girl, I probably wouldn’t even fit through the door! Still, I can dream, right?”

  “Um…”

  “Ooh…maybe you can show me a little of how it’s done sometime? Nothing too fancy, but maybe something basic?” And before Aspen could answer, Nikki went on. “Look at me, already trying to claim your time and you just got here! I’m a mess!” She laughed. “Anyway, it is so good to meet you, Aspen, and I hope you’ll come back and say hi while you’re here!”

  It was a much friendlier greeting than she’d ever gotten in her life, so Aspen simply smiled and thanked her.

  “You must have just gotten into town so let me know what I can get you. I’m sure you have so much to show Aspen.”

  Gabe just nodded so Aspen took over. “I can’t wait to see the whole town. And I’m already looking forward to sleigh riding down at the park.”

  “Oh, that is definitely a favorite! There’s some snow in the forecast this weekend and if you want my advice, wait until then. It’s much more fun on fresh snow.”

  “Good to know. Thanks, Nikki.”

  “So what can I get you?”