Christmas In Paradise (Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries Book 4) (3 page)

Tj slowed as a group of shoppers crossed the street.
With all the fresh snow, everyone was bundled up in heavy coats, knit hats, and scarves, making it almost impossible to definitively identify the passersby, but Tj was fairly certain the pedestrians were students who had skipped school today due to the sudden onset of a flu that had, interestingly enough, only affected their little crowd.

“Of course. We go every year,
” Tj said after making a mental note to speak to the students in question. There wasn’t a single teen among them who could afford to miss class if they hoped to graduate at the end of the school year.

“Since it snowed
, can we take the sleigh to the tree lighting?” Ashley asked.

“If Papa agrees,” Tj answered.

“Can Kristi and Kari come with us?” Ashley added.

“I’m not sure we
’ll have enough room,” Tj said. “We’re having a visitor at the resort this year.” She’d decided to take this opportunity to broach the subject she’d been steadfastly avoiding.

“A kid?” Gracie wondered.

“No, an adult. He’s in the Navy and his name is Captain Tanner. He’s going to be staying in one of the cabins until after Christmas, so I thought it would be nice to invite him to come along with us to the tree lighting. If he does want to come, we won’t have room for Kristi and Kari unless we bring a second sleigh.”

“Does Captain Tanner have kids?” Gracie asked.

“No,” Tj choked. “It will be just him staying at the resort.”

“He doesn’t like kids?”

“I’m sure he likes kids
, Gracie, it’s just that as an officer in the Navy, he’s away at sea a large portion of the time,” Tj explained.

“Why
can’t he take his kids with him?” she asked.

“Don’t be stupid,” Ashley spat. “People in the Navy live on boats.
It’s their job to be far out in the ocean. They can’t bring their kids.”

“I’m not stupid,” Gracie argued.

“Let’s not fight, and Ashley, don’t call your sister stupid,” Tj reprimanded. She really didn’t want to talk any more about Jordan Tanner, so she decided to change the subject. “As long as we’re on the subject of Christmas, what are you both planning to ask Santa for?”

Tj slowed as they drove by the park
, which was decorated with lights in the evergreen trees, as well as others outlining the gazebo. Once they lit the hundred-foot town Christmas tree on Friday, it was going to be spectacular.

“There is no
—”

“Ashley
. . .” Tj warned.

Ashley stopped
speaking. Tj had told her numerous times not to ruin her sister’s fun by pointing out that the man in the jolly red suit was a mythological being and not a real, flesh-and-blood man.

“No what?” Gracie asked.

“No reason why we can’t ask for more than one gift.” Ashley cleverly used Tj’s diversion to her advantage. “I’ve been really good this year and I really want a cell phone
and
a new computer.”

“We talked about the phone thing,” Tj reminded her. “Not until middle school.”

“All my friends have phones,” Ashley said.

“No,” Tj corrected, “
they don’t.”

“I want a doll,” Gracie joined in.

“You got a doll last year,” Tj reminded her.

“I’m thinking about expanding my family.”

Tj smiled. “Expanding your family?”

“That’s what Kari told me Jenna and Dennis want to do
, but the stork is having problems. I told them that they should look on the Internet for a baby. My teacher says you can get anything on Amazon.”

Tj tried not to laugh at Gracie’s serious tone of voice. She was really thinking through this expanding
-her-family idea.

“
I don’t think you can get a baby on Amazon, but your teacher isn’t all that far off otherwise. What kind of a doll would you like to ask Santa for?”

Gracie
considered for a moment. “I’m not sure. Maybe one with curly brown hair like mine. The doll I got last year had long blond hair, and even though she’s pretty, she doesn’t look like she would be my baby. She looks like she would be Kari’s baby, or maybe Kristi’s, since Kristi and Kari both have long blond hair like Aunt Jenna.”

“So about the computer
. . .” Ashley brought the conversation back around to her true desire.

“Computers are expensive,” Tj pointed out.

“Which is why I’m asking Santa and not you.” Ashley grinned. “Santa makes things in his workshop, so he doesn’t have to worry about how much stuff costs.”

“
That’s true,” Gracie backed up her sister.

Tj sighed. It wasn’t pretty when you were outsmarted by an eight
-year-old.

“I’m not sure Santa bring
s computers,” Tj tried.

“Three kids in my class got
computers from Santa last year,” Ashley insisted.

Tj didn’t want to have this conversation in front of Gracie. Ashley could be sweet
, but she could also be manipulative. If push came to shove, she might ruin Gracie’s belief in Santa if she thought it would help her get what she wanted. In many ways she was a lot like their mother. Tj just hoped she’d come into Ashley’s life early enough to turn things around.

“Okay,
” Tj gave in. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to
ask
Santa for a computer, but you should have a backup as well, in case Santa is out of computers by the time he gets to Paradise Lake.”

“I won’
t need a backup,” Ashley assured her. “Everyone knows Santa is branching off into electronics. I hear he has a whole crew of elves devoted to nothing but building and developing cool equipment. Not only does he bring things like cell phones and computers but he brings iPods and televisions too. Next year I’m going to ask for a flat screen, but for now a computer is fine.”

Tj groaned
quietly as she calculated the cost of a new computer. Although, the more she thought about it, getting Ashley her own computer might not be such a bad idea. Her sister was smart. Really smart. She had a ton of potential and knew more about technology than Tj ever would. And she did have the coin collection her friend Zachary had left her when he died. Tj had been trying to avoid cashing in any of the coins until it was time to pay for the girls’ college education, but a computer was an educational gift. So maybe . . .

“
And I’ll need a graphics card and extra memory too,” Ashley added. “And a decent processor; not one of those ancient ones that takes forever to load. Oh, and a camera, so I can Skype. I’ll write it all down for you.”

Tj cleared her throat.

“For you to give to Santa,” Ashley added.

“Do you think Santa has a doll with a red dress and brown eyes?” Gracie added.

Lord
, I hope so.

“It’s really disturbing what a believable Gladys Ashley makes,” Tj whispered to Jenna as the kids rehearsed their lines. The character of Gladys Herdman was a feisty, imaginative preteen who stuck up for herself and liked to fight. Talk about typecasting.

Jenna laughed as she watched the
rehearsal from the back of the room. Kyle had asked her to sit in the rear for a scene so they could get an idea of how well the kids could be heard from all parts of the makeshift theater.

“I have to admit I was glad
when Annabeth got the part of Imogene Herdman and Kristi got Alice Wendleken,” Jenna replied. “Kristi really wanted to be Imogene, but Kristi has a very vivid imagination, and I was afraid she’d channel the personality of the part she was going to portray. Alice is an annoying character, but she’s still better than having a little rebel under my roof for eight weeks.”

“How did you get Eric Clayton to play
Ralph Herdman?” Tj asked. Eric
was
for all intents and purposes Ralph,
a streetwise adolescent who took care of himself much of the time while his mom had been working two jobs to support her family after her husband left her.

“Kyle worked out a deal with him. I didn’t want to know the details so I didn’t ask
, but I’m pretty sure he promised to help him out with Christmas gifts for his younger siblings.”

“I’
m sure the Clayton kids are on Dan’s list anyway,” Tj said.

“True
, but I got the feeling Eric wanted something specific. Something expensive.”

Tj rolled her eyes.
“What is it with kids and expensive gifts? Ashley has all but blackmailed me into getting her a computer for Christmas.”

“Blackmailed?”

“She’s going to ask
Santa
for it. I have a feeling if I want her to keep the Santa secret for Gracie’s sake, Santa will need to come through.”

Jenna grinned. “The girl is crafty. What does Gracie want?”

“A doll that looks like her. One with a red dress.” Tj sighed. “I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose her.”

“You won’t lose her.”

“We don’t know that,” Tj argued. “Jordan Tanner is her biological father. I’m sure that if he sued for custody he’d get it. I’m only her sister. Her half sister.”

“
First of all, you don’t know for certain that Mr. Tanner is Gracie’s father, and even if he is, the man is in the Navy. What would he do with a child?”

“Once he gets a look at that angelic little face
, he’s going to want her. I mean, really, who could resist?”

Jenna turned and looked directly at Tj. “Gracie
is
adorable, but you have to try to stay positive through this process. If you feel fear, the girls will sense it and be fearful as well. Are you going to tell them what’s really going on?”

Tj tucked her feet up under her body. One advantage to being petite was that she could curl up in small places. She nervou
sly nibbled on one of her thumbnails as she responded. “I haven’t discussed it with Captain Tanner, but I’m hoping he’ll see the wisdom in leaving well enough alone. If he wants to have some sort of relationship with Gracie, I hope he’ll tell the girls he’s some sort of honorary uncle or something. My stomach gets all knotted up every time I consider the possible outcomes of this visit.”

Jenna put her arm around Tj’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I know
you’re scared and I really do understand. I don’t know what I’d do if I was in your situation. I just want to remind you that I’m here for you, as are Kyle, Nikki, and Hunter.”

“Thanks
; I appreciate that.”

“
I need to get back for this next scene. Will you be okay?” Jenna asked.

“I’ll be fine. Can I help?”

Jenna hesitated. “Actually, if you don’t mind, Eric really needs to work on his lines. Maybe you could run through the next scene with him a few times while Kyle and I get the baby angels ready to go on.”

“
Yeah, okay, I can do that. Gracie and Kari really are adorable as baby angels,” Tj commented as she and Jenna made their way to the stage of the community center.

“I wish we could do a play with all baby angels
.” Jenna sighed. “They’re all so sweet and excited just to be included in the event. The older kids tend to be a bit harder to handle. I can’t believe how many diva attitudes we’ve had to deal with, and our oldest actor is only fifteen.”

“Maybe
the older kids are more demanding, but they don’t have to be watched quite as closely as the younger ones. Since I’ve been sitting here, I’ve seen two baby angels take off running up the aisle.”

“You have a point,” Jenna admitted. “I wanted to require that all the kids be at least
in first grade, but then Bren asked me to make an exception for Hannah. I almost said no, but she insisted that Hannah really wanted to do it and would be fine following directions. She really has been an angel. She’s much better behaved than most kids her age.”

“I guess if your dad is a preacher you have to be on your
best behavior most of the time, and Bren has been really good with her.”

Jenna lowered her voice and leaned in close. “I don’t know this for a fact
, so please don’t say anything, but I think there might be something going on between Bren and Pastor Dan.”

“Really?
Something romantic?”

“His wife has been gone for several years now
, and Bren has started spending a lot of time over at his house. At first she was just helping out with Hannah, but lately . . .”

Tj thought about it. She supposed that pastors shared a desire for romance, intimacy, and family,
just like the rest of the population. Bren was quite a bit younger than Dan, but she was sweet and very mature, in spite of the fact that she was a drummer in an all-girl metal band.

“You know,” Tj whispered
, “I think you might be right. I noticed that she dyed her purple strip brown to match the rest of her hair, and she’s removed both her tongue and her eyebrow rings. It seems like she’s cleaned up the way she dresses as well. Having said that, I have to say I’ve never pictured her as a preacher’s wife. She was always such a rebel.”