One Sweet Christmas (novella) (2 page)

Confronting them after all these years would be stressful, even though Jackson longed to be greeted with open arms. Isn’t that how families were supposed to work? Forgive and forget? Well, so what if they didn’t? He’d done just fine on his own the past seven years. If they didn’t welcome him home, Jackson would turn around and leave town as quickly as the first time.

The real joke was how this whole journey back to Redford Falls had nothing to do with family drama. No, family wasn’t the reason for his return.
She
was.

He gripped the wheel, his knuckles white. The muscles in his neck pinched and pulled tight. Every sensible part of his brain told him to turn the car around, to get on that flight to paradise. He could always come back in the spring when the weather wasn’t so bitterly cold and miserable. He briefly closed his eyes, considering the option. A second later his focus returned, but it was a second too late as a rabbit darted onto the snow-packed road in front of him. Jackson jerked the wheel to the right, to the left, and back to the right, before the front end of the car slammed into a snowbank.
Damn!
He jammed the gear-shift into park as Thumper stopped to glance at the car and then hopped into the woods. If Jackson didn’t know better, he would have sworn that rabbit just smirked at him.
What the heck?

He pounded his fist on the dash. Nine months he’d spent putting this business deal together. A deal that stood to make him more money than he ever imagined. Now everything hinged on one woman and a piece of paper.

He slipped his hand inside his breast pocket, pulled out the document, and unfolded it along the dash. The words seemed straightforward, and his lawyer had confirmed the authenticity.

The windshield wipers swished, smearing streaks of moisture and clearing white flakes off the window. He lifted his head and searched the snow-masked landscape. If he didn’t move soon he’d be stuck. Jackson shifted the car into reverse and willed the tires to grip, smiling when they did. He backed away from the snowbank and pulled onto the road, double-checking to make sure Thumper was no longer on the road. That darn rabbit was a nuisance, but not as much as this return trip home. He tucked the document back into his pocket. Driving would require his complete focus. The stress and anxiety wearing his muscles, and thoughts, would be gone soon enough.

Twenty minutes later, Jackson slid the sedan into an angled parking spot in front of the chocolate shop. A walnut sign in the shape of a chocolate bar hung above the door. He flipped up the collar of his coat and stepped onto the pavement. The snow had stopped, but a north wind stung his bare face. He tucked his chin deeper into his coat collar and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Just as Jackson entered, a woman with shoulder-length blonde hair flipped the sign in the window. ‘We’re closing, but feel free to browse, and if you see anything you like, let me know.’

Jackson definitely saw something he liked. A steamy visual crossed his mind of her, scantily clad on the beach. However, the gold wedding band on her finger derailed his wandering thoughts. So she was married. That didn’t mean he couldn’t flirt.

‘Thank you.’ He raked his gaze down the length of her. ‘I’m actually looking for Candice Cane. If memory serves, she used to practically live here.’

The cute woman blushed. ‘She’s in the bakery. I’ll get her.’

Jackson smiled at her backside, swaying as she walked to a room about halfway down the aisle. He brushed the snow from his shoulders and flipped his collar down.

The blonde returned, leading a tall slender woman through the door. She wiped a brown substance off her hands onto a red and green striped apron. Her smile evaporated the minute her eyes landed on him.

Jackson stepped back. This wasn’t the girl he remembered. That young girl had short, jet-black hair and wore large glasses that slipped down her nose. Ordinary would have best described her. This girl…this
woman
who stood before him was far from a plain Jane. He soaked in her chocolate brown hair, the cobalt blue eyes, sleek nose, and her pink full lips. The dirty apron pulled tight around her slender waist highlighted the cleavage between her firm, creamy breasts and a set of long legs that went on for miles.

The sight of her took his breath away.

The knot in his stomach twisted. Jackson sputtered and choked. ‘Candice Cane.’

‘Well, if it isn’t Jackson Frost.’ She eyed the length of him, one hand resting on her hip. ‘What on earth brings
you
back home?’

Jackson’s eyebrow rose. ‘You know perfectly well why I’m here.’

A breath escaped her lips. Of course she knew why he was here. She’d anticipated this moment for years, even rehearsed a speech for just this event. But where was that damn speech now? Her mind blanked and the words were lost from her lips.

Jackson Frost was back!

She expected surprise, but not this turbulent flood of emotions. Embarrassment heated her cheeks from the memory of their last encounter. Anger boiled in the pit of her stomach when she remembered his betrayal. Satisfaction caused the corner of her lips to lift to a smug grin over her act of revenge.

Candi’s vengeance was the reason Jackson stood on the welcome mat in her shop…all six foot five of him. He looked great, but then she’d always found Jackson irresistible. That’s where the problem started. Her obsession with Jackson went beyond a silly crush on her brother’s best friend. Candi had fallen in love with Jackson the moment he arrived on their doorstep, waiting for Colin to fetch his football cleats.

He furrowed his brows, as if irritated by her silence. Her plan had been to come off cool and collected. So much for that strategy. Did he
still
have to be so damn attractive, standing there with his thick, dark hair speckled with snowflakes? And those mesmerizing brown eyes, his reserved grin, and dimpled cheeks…
Stop it!
She was older now. Not the same young, naive girl Jackson once knew. Candi loosened the tight grip she had on her apron and straightened her shoulders.

Jackson crossed his arms and released a heavy sigh. Was he annoyed with the snow or her?

‘Little Candice Cane has gone and grown up,’ he said, a hint of exasperation in his tone.

Was that statement meant to irritate her? Well, she wasn’t about to bite. ‘You’ve been gone a long time, Jackson. A
lot
of things have changed.’

‘I see that. Your father expanded the store. Business must be good.’

‘My father doesn’t own the store anymore, I do. I acquired the business a few years ago.’

His eyebrows shot up. ‘Really?’

Was it so hard to believe she could run the business on her own? What an arrogant ass.

Candi opened her mouth to interject, but Jackson continued. ‘So, what are your parents up to these days?’

‘They’re retired, enjoying the winter down south.’ She should have stopped, but the opportunity to throw a jab at him was just too tantalizing. ‘Not everyone thinks this town is poison. Many of us actually like living here.’

‘To each their own.’ Jackson reached inside his lapel and retrieved an envelope. ‘Now, to the reason I’m here.’

Virginia returned from the back room with a tray of peanut brittle.

‘Virginia, you remember Jackson Frost?’ Candi tipped her head toward their visitor.

Virginia squinted.

‘The all-star quarterback?’ Candi prompted.

‘Right, I thought you looked familiar. You’re the guy Candi had the biggest crush on when we were kids.’

Candi rolled her eyes. Of all the things to say, Virginia had to go with
that
?

‘The one and only.’ Jackson grinned, winking at Candi.

He had some nerve, assuming he was the only guy she’d ever been interested in.

Jackson returned his attention to Virginia. ‘I apologize for being so rude, but I can’t recall ever meeting such a beautiful lady.’

Virginia blushed from ear to ear. Candi stifled the urge to vomit.

‘We didn’t really cross paths. I was one of Candi’s brainy friends, always had my head in a textbook.’ She smiled. ‘Are you home for the holidays?’

‘Not exactly.’ Jackson held up the envelope. ‘I have some personal business to discuss with Candi.’

Candi snatched the envelope from his fingers and stuffed it into her apron pocket. ‘Virginia, why don’t you head home? I’ll take care of the peanut brittle.’ She lifted the tray from Virginia’s hands.

‘But I haven’t completed the end-of-day report, and the back corner needs to be tidied.’

Candi preferred to keep her history with Jackson private. The quandary she shared with him was her secret, alone, to bear. Thankfully, Steve left early to pick up a few more Christmas books before the library closed. Candi just needed to get Virginia to leave before Jackson let the cat out of the bag. ‘I have a few things in the oven, so I’ll be around for a while,’ she said. ‘I’ll take care of everything.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes. Now go home to your family.’

Virginia fetched her coat from the closet and slipped her feet into her knee-high winter boots.

Jackson lifted Virginia’s coat from her hand and held it open. She turned and he slid it up her arms and over her shoulders. ‘It was a pleasure meeting you,’ he said.

Virginia spun around, her cheeks flushed. ‘I hope you’ll consider staying for a couple of days. The town’s Christmas Festival starts tonight, and each night until Christmas Eve there’s an event. Tonight and tomorrow we have carolling, Wednesday a pot-luck at the lounge, Thursday the parade, and Friday ends with a party at the Town Hall.’

‘As fun as that sounds, I’m afraid I’ll have to pass. I’m headed back to the airport the minute I get what I came for.’

‘Oh, that’s too bad.’ Virginia glanced at Candi, unloading the peanut brittle into a glass container. ‘Well, you two have fun talking business, or whatever it is you have planned.’ She flashed a sinister smirk at Candi and left the shop.

Candi locked the door behind Virginia, releasing a heavy breath. She walked past Jackson as he shrugged out of his coat and placed it on the counter. He looked delicious in his tailored, grey business suit.

‘Does that mean you’re
not
planning to visit your family?’ She glanced over her shoulder at him.

‘Why ruin their Christmas?’ His answer was quick and sharp.

She shook her head and continued into the bakery. Jackson followed behind.

‘What makes you so sure they wouldn’t be happy to see you?’ Candi checked the timer on the oven.

‘Other than the few telephone calls I’ve had with my mother, I’ve heard nothing from them since I left seven years ago.’

‘How many times have you called them? Reached out to your brother?’ Candi turned to catch Jackson frowning.

‘It always smelled so good in here,’ he said. ‘Even if I had just finished dinner, I’d walk in here and be hungry all over again.’

‘There’s some treats on the cooling rack.’ She pointed to a in the corner. ‘Help yourself.’

Jackson picked up a cherry flavoured candy cane and brought it to his nose. ‘No way! You still make these?’

Candi nodded.

‘I haven’t had one of these since…’ He narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw, staring at the striped stick. ‘I can’t remember.’

Well,
she
remembered. Candi squared her shoulders and returned her attention to the oven, pulling out a steaming pan of acorn candy cookies.

‘Another thing I can’t for the life of me remember is getting married.’

‘Ouch!’ As the oven door seared the side of her arm, she dropped the pan and it clanged to the floor, cookies scattered everywhere. Candi picked up a sizzling cookie and flung it across the room when the melted chocolate burned her fingertips. ‘Damn!’

Jackson rushed to her side, scooped up the ruined cookies, and placed them on the counter. Candi opened a drawer to retrieve a small tube, squirting a drop of antiseptic cream on her stinging arm. She kept her focus on her burn. She couldn’t count the times she’d removed something from the oven, and never once had she burned herself. Jackson Frost re-enters her life and in mere minutes she’s hurt a second time.

Jackson hoped to get a rise from Candi, but not at the expense of hurting her. Seeing her like this, after all these years, shouldn’t have affected him. Or so he thought. He also couldn’t fathom why his chest pulled tight and his heart ached. His memory was clouded, and he needed answers regardless of the consequences.

Candi glanced up, slowly reaching into her apron for the envelope. She opened it and pulled out the certificate. Jackson stared into her eyes. They held no surprise over what the document contained.

‘Imagine my shock when I found that envelope in a box with my football trophies and some old photographs,’ he said.

‘Sure took you long enough.’

Was that a hint of sarcasm in her tone?
‘I’m sorry. Had I known this document was hidden inside, I may have gone through the box sooner.’ Jackson laughed. ‘So, am I to assume you didn’t purposely conceal our marriage certificate?’

Candi’s lips trembled. ‘You were there. That’s your signature on the dotted line. I didn’t hold a gun to your head.’

‘I don’t remember!’ When she winced, Jackson breathed deep, forcing calmness back into his voice. ‘The document is dated the last day I was here…the day I fought with my father. I remember meeting some old football buddies at a lounge in the city. You showed up and we left together. That’s where things go blank.’ He rubbed the back of his neck. ‘I know I had a lot to drink that night, so I don’t blame you for taking advantage of the situation.’

Candi’s eyebrows shot up into her hairline. She held the pan in the air, eyeing the proximity of his head as if she was planning to hit him with it. She slumped and tossed the spoiled cookies into the trash bin. ‘You are a piece of work, Jackson Frost. You actually believe I reaped the benefits of your drunken state? Geeky, unpopular Candice Cane couldn’t find a husband any other way?’

‘I didn’t say that. You’re putting words in my mouth. I would appreciate it if you could shed some light on how and why we married.’