A Cold Creek Christmas Story

“You do?” Olivia lit up.

“Well, it’s not actually your birthday yet, so I completely understand if you want to wait. I can just give them to your dad to hold until the big day.”

As he might have predicted, Olivia didn’t look all that thrilled at the suggestion. “I should open them now while you’re here.”

“I guess I should have asked your dad first.”

He shrugged, figuring it was too late to stop the cart now. “Go ahead.”

With a rueful, apologetic smile, she handed the bag to Olivia. “It’s not wrapped, since I didn’t know it was your birthday when I came over. I’m sorry.”

His daughter apparently didn’t care. She reached into the bag and pulled out a book with colorful illustrations on the cover.

“Ohhh,” she breathed. “It’s another Sparkle and the Magic Snowball book!”

“This one is signed by both me and my sister, who did the illustrations. I figured since it’s your favorite book, you ought to have a signed copy.”

“I love it. Thank you!”

“There’s something else,” Celeste said when his daughter looked as if she were going to settle in right on the spot to reread the story for the hundredth time.

Olivia reached into the bag and pulled out a second book. While it was obvious the artist had been the same, this had different, more muted colors than the original Sparkle book and hearts instead of Christmas ornaments.

“I haven’t seen this one! Sparkle and the Valentine Surprise.”

“That’s because it’s brand-new. It’s not even in stores yet. It’s coming out in a few weeks.”

“Dad, look!”

She hurried over to him, barely limping, and held out the book.

“Very nice. We can read it tonight at bedtime.”

“I can’t wait that long! Can I read it now?”

“Sure. First, do you have something to say to Ms. Nichols?”

Olivia gazed at the woman with absolute adoration. “Thank you so much! I just love these books and the stuffed Sparkle.” Again, she surprised him by hugging Celeste tightly, then hurried to the window seat that she had claimed as her own when they’d first arrived at Charlotte’s house.

He gazed after her for a moment, then turned back to Celeste.

“How did you just do that?” he asked, his voice low so that Olivia couldn’t hear.

She blinked, confusion on her features. “Do what?”

“That’s the first time I’ve seen her hug anyone but me in months.”

“Oh.” Her voice was small, sad, telling him without words that she knew what had happened to Elise and Olivia and about Brandon Lowell.

“I guess you probably know my daughter was shot three months ago and her mother was killed.”

Her lovely features tightened and her eyes filled with sorrow. “I do. I followed the case, not because I wanted to read about something so terribly tragic, but because I...knew you, once upon a time.”

Color rose on her cheeks again, but he had no idea why.

“She’s been very withdrawn because of the post-traumatic stress. I haven’t seen her warm up to anyone this quickly since it happened.”

“Oh.” She gazed at Olivia with a soft look in her eyes. “It’s not me,” she assured him. “Sparkle is a magic little reindeer. He has a comforting way about him.”

He was quite certain Celeste was the one with the comforting way, especially as she had created the fictional version of the reindeer, but he didn’t say so.

“Whatever the reason, I appreciate it. I had hoped bringing her here to Idaho where we can be away from the spotlight for a few weeks might help her finally begin to heal. It’s good to know I might have been right.”

* * *

The concern and love in his voice came through loud and clear. Flynn obviously was a devoted father trying his best to help his daughter heal.

Celeste’s throat felt tight and achy. This poor little girl had watched her mother’s life slip away. “She’s been through a horrible ordeal. It might be years before the nightmares fade.”

“You sound as if you know a little something about nightmares.” He studied her closely.

She didn’t want to tell him she still had nightmares from those terrible weeks in captivity and then their miraculous rescue with its tragic consequences. She had cried herself to sleep just about every night for weeks. In a second rapid-fire blow, just as the overwhelming pain of losing their father had begun to ease a little, their mother had lost her short but intense battle with cancer and they had come here to stay with Uncle Claude and Aunt Mary.

She couldn’t tell him that. She barely knew the man, and he had demons of his own to fight. He didn’t need to share hers.

“Everybody has nightmares,” she answered. “To paraphrase John Irving, you don’t get to pick them. They pick you.”

“True enough.”

Her dog made a little whiny sound and started looking anxious, which meant he probably needed to go out.

“I need to take Linus home. Sorry again to drop in on you like this out of the blue.”

He smiled a little. “Are you kidding? This has been the best thing to happen to us in a long time. She’s completely thrilled. And thanks for helping with the Christmas tree. It looks great.”

“You’re welcome. If you need anything while you’re here, my family is just a short walk away. Oh. I nearly forgot. This is for you.”

She reached into the bag and pulled out the pie Aunt Mary had boxed up for easier transport.

“What is it?”

“My aunt makes amazing berry pies. She had an extra and wanted you to have it.”

He looked stunned at the gesture. “That’s very kind. Please give her my thanks.”

“I’ll do that.” She reached for her coat but he beat her to it, tugging it from the rack so he could help her into it.

She was aware of him behind her again, the heat and strength of him, and her insides jumped and twirled like Linus when he was especially happy.

She was being ridiculous, she told herself. She wasn’t a thirteen-year-old girl with a crush anymore.

She quickly shoved her arms through the sleeves and stepped away to tie her scarf.

“Are you sure you’re okay walking home?” he asked. “Looks as if it’s snowing harder. Let me grab my keys and we’ll drive you home.”

She shook her head, even as she felt a warm little glow at his concern. “Not necessary. It’s not far. I like to walk, even in the snow, and Linus still has a little energy to burn off. Thank you, though.”

He still looked uncertain, but she didn’t give him a chance to press the matter. She returned to the living room doorway and waved at his daughter.

“Goodbye, Olivia. I hope you enjoy the book.”

She looked up with that distracted, lost-in-the-story sort of look Celeste knew she wore frequently herself. “I’m already almost done. It’s super good.”

It was one thing in the abstract to know people enjoyed her work. It was something else entirely to watch someone reading it—surreal and gratifying and a bit uncomfortable at the same time.

“I’m glad you think so.”

Olivia finally seemed to register that she had on her coat. “Do you really have to go?”

“I’m afraid so. I have to take Linus home or Lucy will be lonely.”

To her surprise, Olivia set aside the book, climbed down from the window seat and approached to give her one last hug.

“Thank you again for the books and for the stuffed animal,” she said. “It was the best birthday ever—and I haven’t even had it yet!”

“I’m so glad.”

“Goodbye, Linus,” Olivia said. She knelt down to scratch the Yorkie again and Linus obliged by licking her face, which made her giggle.

When Celeste turned to go, she found Flynn shaking his head with astonishment clear on his handsome features. She remembered what he had said about Olivia not warming to many people since her mother’s death, and she was deeply grateful she had made the small effort to come visit the girl.

“I hope we see you again,” he said.

Oh, how she wished he meant for his sake and not for his daughter’s. “I’m sure you will. Pine Gulch is a small place. Good night.”

She walked out into the snowy December night. Only when she was halfway back to the Star N did she realize she didn’t feel the cold at all.

Chapter Four

Over the weekend she tried not to think about Flynn and his sweet, fragile daughter. It wasn’t easy, despite how busy she was working an extra shift at the library and helping out in the gift shop of The Christmas Ranch.

Even the multiple calls she and Hope took from Joan about the movie development deal couldn’t completely distract her random thoughts of the two of them that intruded at the oddest times.

She knew the basics of what had happened to Elise Chandler and her daughter at the hands of the actress’s boyfriend, but she was compelled to do a few internet searches to read more about the case. The details left her in tears for everyone involved, even the perpetrator and his family.

Brandon Lowell obviously had been mentally ill. He had been under treatment for bipolar disease and, according to evidence after the shooting, had stopped taking his medication a month before, claiming it interfered with his acting abilities and the regular television role he was playing.

He never should have had access to a firearm given his mental health but had stolen one from Elise’s bodyguard a few days before the shooting.

She found it a tragic irony that the woman used a bodyguard when she went out in public but had been killed by someone close to her using the very tool intended to protect her.

The whole thing made her so very sad, though she was touched again to read numerous reports about Olivia’s dedicated father, how Flynn had put his thriving contracting business in the hands of trusted employees so he could dedicate his time to staying with his daughter every moment through her recovery.

None of that information helped distract her from thinking about him. By Monday afternoon, she had almost worked the obsession out of her system—or at least forced herself to focus on work as much as possible, until Frankie came in after a morning of online seminars.

“I figured out who he is!” her friend exclaimed before she even said hello.

“Who?”

“You know! The hot dad who came to story time last week. I spent all weekend trying to figure out why he looked so familiar and then this morning it came to me. I was washing my hair and remembered that shower scene in Forbidden when the hero washes the heroine’s hair and it came to me. Elise Chandler! Sexy dad is her ex-husband. It has to be! That cute little girl must be the one who was all over the news.”

Flynn must hate having his daughter be a household name, even though her mother certainly had been.

“Yes. Flynn Delaney. Charlotte Delaney, his grandmother, lived close to The Christmas Ranch and he used to come spend summers with her.”

“You knew all this time and you didn’t say anything?”

It wasn’t her place to spread gossip about the man. Even now, just talking to her dear friend, she felt extremely protective of him and Olivia.

“I’m sure they would appreciate a little privacy and discretion,” she said. “Olivia has been through a terrible ordeal and is still trying to heal from her injuries. I don’t think they need everybody in town making a fuss over them.”

“Oh, of course. That makes sense. That poor kid.”

“I know.”

“How is she doing?”

She thought of Olivia’s excitement the other day when she had taken the books to her and that spontaneous, sweet embrace. “She’s still got a long road but she’s improving.”

“I’m so glad.”

“Olivia is apparently a big Sparkle fan, and that was the reason they came to the story time.”

She had been touched several times to remember the girl telling her how much her book had helped during her recovery. Who would have guessed when she had been writing little stories for her niece and nephew that an emotionally and physically damaged girl would one day find such comfort in them?

To her relief, Frankie dropped the subject. Celeste tried once more to return to her work, vowing to put this ridiculous obsession out of her head. An hour later her hopes were dashed when Frankie bustled back to the children’s section, her eyes as wide as if she’d just caught somebody trying to deface a book.

“He’s here again!”

She looked up from the books she was shelving. “Who’s here?”

“Hottie Dad and his cute little girl! Elise Chandler’s poor daughter. They just walked in.”

“Are you sure?”

“He’s a hard man to miss,” Frankie said.

Celeste’s heartbeat kicked up several notches and her stomach seemed tangled with nerves. She told herself that was ridiculous. He wasn’t there to see her anyway. Maybe he wouldn’t even come back to the children’s section.

“I wonder what they’re doing here,” Frankie said, her dark eyes huge.

It wasn’t to see her, Celeste reminded herself sternly. She was a dowdy, shy librarian, and he couldn’t possibly have any interest in her beyond her status as his daughter’s favorite author.

“Here’s a wild guess,” she said, her tone dry. “Maybe they’re looking for books.”

Frankie made a face. “He doesn’t have a library card, does he?”

“Probably not,” she acknowledged. “They’re only here for a few weeks, then they’ll be returning to California.”

The thought was more depressing than it should have been.

“Well, ask him if he wants a temporary one while he’s here.”

Why did she have to ask him anything? She wanted to hide here in the children’s section and not even have to face him. But a moment later Olivia limped in, Sparkle the stuffed reindeer in her hand along with the new book.

“Hi, Ms. Nichols! Hi!”

Celeste smiled at both of them. “Hello. It’s lovely to see you today. Happy birthday!” She suddenly remembered.

“Thank you,” Olivia said. “I begged and begged my dad to bring me to the library today.”

“Did you?”

She held up Sparkle. “I had to tell you how much I liked the new book, just as much as the first one. Sparkle is so funny. I’ve read it about ten times already.”

“Wow. That’s terrific. Thanks for letting me know.”

“And my dad read it to me twice and he laughed both times. He hardly ever laughs.”

“Not true,” he protested. “Okay, it’s true that I laughed at the book. It’s hilarious. But it’s not true that I hardly ever laugh. I don’t know where you came up with that. I laugh all the time. I’m a freaking hyena.”

Celeste laughed out loud, which earned her a surprised look from Frankie.

“You’re so lucky that you had the chance to read the new book,” Frankie informed her. “Half the children in town would willingly forgo all their presents under the tree if they could lay their hands on the next Sparkle book.”

Even though she was grossly exaggerating, the library director had the perfect tone with Olivia—friendly and polite, but not overly solicitous. She had a feeling Flynn would hate the latter.

“It’s really, really good,” Olivia said solemnly. “I still like the first one best, but the second one is almost my favorite.”

Frankie smiled, but before she could answer, one of the other library volunteers came over with a question about checking out DVDs, and she reluctantly excused herself to deal with the crisis.

“Is there something I can help you with?” Celeste asked after her friend walked away. “Would you like a temporary card so you can check out materials? I’m sure that wouldn’t be a problem, considering I know where to find you.”

“No. Actually, we have another reason for being here.”

If she wasn’t mistaken, Flynn looked a little uncomfortable, which made her even more curious.

“Oh? What is it?”

He didn’t answer and Olivia didn’t say anything, either. Finally Flynn nudged her. “Go ahead.”

“It’s my birthday,” the girl began.

“I know. I think it’s great that you decided the library is the perfect place to celebrate a birthday. I completely agree!”

Olivia giggled a little. “No, we’re not celebrating my birthday here. I told my dad the only thing I want for my birthday is to have pizza.”

“Ooh, pizza. My favorite,” she said, though she was still mystified about why they might be at the library and why Flynn still looked uncomfortable. “Are you looking for a book on how to make pizza?”

The girl shook her head. “We’re going to the pizza restaurant down the street.”

“I can highly recommend it. It’s one of my favorite places.”

Olivia gave her a shy look. “That’s good. Because I want to have pizza with you on my birthday.”

She blinked, taken by surprise. “With...me?”

“Yes. That would be the best birthday ever. My favorite thing to eat and my new friend and the lady who writes such good Sparkle books.” She beamed as if the matter was settled.

“Don’t feel obligated,” Flynn said quickly. “If you already have plans, we completely understand. Isn’t that right, Olivia?”

“Yes,” the girl said.

Dinner. With Olivia and Flynn. She thought of a hundred reasons why she should say no. How could she possibly eat with these nervous butterflies racing around in her stomach? And she probably wouldn’t be able to think of anything to say and would look even more stupid than she felt.

All those reasons paled into insignificance. Olivia wanted to have pizza with her for her birthday, and Celeste couldn’t let her own social awkwardness stand in the way of making that particular wish come true.

“I would be honored to come help you celebrate your birthday. Thank you for inviting me.”

Olivia’s smile was sweetly thrilled. “She said yes, Dad!”

The sight of this tough-looking man gazing down at his daughter with such love just about broke Celeste’s heart. “So I heard. That’s great.” He turned to her. “What time are you finished with work?”

“Five-thirty.”

“Would seven work for pizza? We can pick you up.”

“I can meet you at the restaurant.”

“We don’t mind. Do you still live at the Star N?”

She knew he probably didn’t mean for that to sound pitiful, but she still had to wince. That wasn’t exactly true. She had gone off to Boise for her undergraduate work, then Seattle for her master’s degree. She wasn’t completely a homebody, even if she had jumped at the chance to return to her hometown library to work.

If she was living on her family’s ranch, it wasn’t because of any failure to launch, only because of the tragic circumstances of Travis’s death.

“I live on the ranch but not in the main house,” she told him. “I’m at the foreman’s place, the small log house closest to the entrance.”

“Perfect. Plan on us at seven.”

She was going out to dinner with Flynn Delaney and his daughter. This certainly wasn’t the way to get the man out of her head, but she didn’t see how she could refuse.

The truth was she didn’t want to anyway. She was both touched and flattered that sweet Olivia wanted to spend time with her for her birthday.

“Sounds good. Meanwhile, are you sure you don’t want to check out some books on a temporary library card? We still have a great selection of holiday books available. It’s the section there against the wall.”

“Can we?” Olivia asked her father.

“Just a few,” he said with a reluctant nod. “It might be tough to keep track of more than that while we’re clearing out Grandma Charlotte’s house.”

Olivia headed immediately toward the Christmas storybooks, leaving Flynn alone with Celeste—or at least as alone as they could be in a public library.

A few moms she knew were browsing through the children’s section with their toddlers, and she was pretty sure she caught more than one appreciative glance in his direction. As Frankie said, he was a hard man to overlook.

“Thanks for agreeing to come with us,” Flynn said. “It probably wasn’t fair to spring that on you out of the blue. I would have called first, but I didn’t have a phone number. I guess I could have found the number for the library, but I didn’t think about it until we pulled up.”

“It’s fine.”

“Seriously, you made her day. She has been asking me all afternoon if you could come to her birthday celebration. I didn’t want to disappoint her. It’s still pretty tough for me to deny her anything these days.”

She couldn’t imagine almost losing a child. The fear must have been overwhelming.

“I’m touched, if you want the truth. I don’t believe I’ve ever been anyone’s birthday wish before.”

A strange glint appeared in his gaze, an expression she couldn’t quite identify. After a moment he smiled. “Face it. You sealed your fate the other day when you showed up in person with a new book and a cute stuffed toy. You’re now officially the coolest person in town.”

She had to laugh at that ridiculous statement. “If that’s the case, you both need to get out and meet more people in Pine Gulch.”

Amusement crinkled the corners of his eyes. “We won’t be here long enough to move in social circles around here. Anyway, I think Olivia and I are both quite happy with those we have already met in Pine Gulch.”

Her heartbeat seemed to accelerate all over again at the teasing note in his voice. Her gaze met his and he was smiling at her with a warm look in his eyes that sucked away any ability she might have had to offer a semi-intelligent response.

To her relief, one of the moms came over to ask her a question about the puppet-book packages they lent out—probably more to get a closer look at Flynn, she suspected, than out of any genuine quest for information.

He moved away to join his daughter while she picked a few other books and the moment was gone.

* * *

He had to finish taking care of things at his grandmother’s house and get out of Pine Gulch.

As Flynn drove the short distance from Charlotte’s house to the Star N Ranch, he was aware of a low, insistent unease. This town was growing on him, sucking him in.

He had always enjoyed coming here as a kid to spend time with his grandmother. The setting was beautiful, nestled against the Tetons, with pine forests and crystal clear streams.

The pace here seemed so very different from his childhood home in Southern California, quieter, gentler somehow. Almost like a foreign country, without convertibles and palm trees and self-absorbed celebrities.

He always felt a sense of peace settle over him the moment he passed through the city limits into town.

He thought he loved it here because of Charlotte, because she was such a steady source of love and support despite the chaos of the rest of his world. When he came to Pine Gulch, there were no raging fights that could go on for days, no slamming doors, no screaming voices. Only his calm, funny, laughing grandmother, with her colorful aprons and her bright smile and her small, tidy house beside the Cold Creek.

She was gone now, but he was aware of that same peace seeping through him, so very welcome after the terrible past few months.

It didn’t make sense, he knew. He was only here to finish taking care of Charlotte’s house, not to find some kind of peace.

That was part of the reason he was so drawn to Celeste Nichols, he acknowledged as he neared her family’s ranch. She had a calming way about her that drew him to her.

He couldn’t imagine any two people more different than Celeste and Elise—the sweet children’s librarian and author and the passionate, flamboyant, ambitious actress.

His marriage had been a mistake from the beginning. After growing up with a mother in the entertainment business—and a father who had hated it—and seeing the neuroses and the superficiality of that way of life, he had wanted no part of it.

After high school and college, he had set his business degree aside and obtained a contractor’s license instead. After only a few years his construction company had established a reputation for quality and dependability. Then at one of his mother’s frequent parties, he had met a stunning—and hungry—young actress.

She had pursued him aggressively, and he—like probably most guys in their early twenties—had been too flattered to use his brain. In his lust-addled state, it had taken him several weeks to realize she was more interested in his connection to his mother and her powerful Hollywood circle than in him.

But by then Elise had become pregnant, despite the precautions they had taken. He had done what he thought was right and married her, but it had been the ultimate exercise in futility. Both of them had known from the beginning it would never last. The two years before she had filed for divorce had been among the toughest of his life, sweetened only by his complete adoration for his baby girl.

Everything he did, then and now, was for Olivia. That was the only reason he was driving to pick up Celeste Nichols right now, not because of this powerful attraction he hadn’t been able to shake since that first day in the library.

What was it about her? Yes, she was pretty in a calm, buttoned-down kind of way with those lovely dark-fringed green eyes and dark curls. She had an understated loveliness she seemed to be doing her best to hide from the world.

His entire life he had been surrounded by beautiful women who were empty shells once a guy broke through the surface to the person inside. Despite their short acquaintance, he was certain Celeste wasn’t like that.

Her kindness to Olivia touched him. He tried to tell himself that was the reason for this strange reaction to her. It was gratitude; that was all.

Somehow he wasn’t buying it as he passed the entrance to The Christmas Ranch on his way to the Star N.

“What is that place?” Olivia asked, gazing out the window at the colorful holiday display they could see from the road.

“It’s a place where people pay money to help find the Christmas spirit,” he explained. “They have different activities here like sledding, sleigh rides, that kind of thing.”

“Look, Dad! That sign says Home of the Real Sparkle,” she read. “That must be where he lives! Can we pay the money and see him and maybe do some of the other stuff? The sledding and stuff?”

Her request took him by surprise, especially considering how apathetic she had been about decorating their house for Christmas. She hadn’t summoned much energy at all for celebrating this year. He couldn’t blame her after what she had endured, but it was one more thing that broke his heart, especially considering how excited she had been about the holiday season in years past.

Maybe Celeste Nichols and her reindeer book were rubbing off on Olivia.

“We’ll have to see. I thought you weren’t very interested in Christmas this year.”

“I guess we could do a few Christmas things,” she said slowly. “Whether we do them or not, Christmas is coming anyway.”

“True enough.” For a girl who had just turned seven, she could be remarkably wise sometimes. She was tough and courageous, he told himself. Even if she was struggling now, she would make it through this eventually.

“Is this where Celeste lives?” Olivia asked when he pulled up in front of the little house not far from the bigger Star N ranch house.

“That’s what she said. The foreman’s house.”

“Look. She has a Christmas tree, too.”

Since her family ran The Christmas Ranch, he would have been more shocked if she didn’t have one.

“I wonder if I can see her cute little dog, Linus.”

“I wouldn’t be a bit surprised,” he told her.

Olivia opened the passenger door almost before he had the SUV in Park, and she raced up the driveway without him, only limping a little. While he was still unbuckling his seat belt, she was already at the doorbell, and by the time he reached the door, Celeste had opened it and was greeting his daughter.

“Of course,” she was saying. “You can absolutely come in and meet Lucy the cat. She loves new friends.”

Apparently his daughter had invited herself inside. He rolled his eyes but followed her when Celeste held open the door for both of them.

The house wasn’t large, perhaps only eight or nine hundred square feet. The living room was decorated in a casual, comfortable style, heavy on bright colors, with lots of plump pillows and books. The Christmas tree was about the only holiday decoration, he was surprised to see.

“Nice place,” he said.

“Thanks. I just moved over a few months ago from the main house, but so far I’ve been enjoying it. I’m close enough to help out with my niece and nephew when my sister Faith needs me. At the same time, I’m far enough away from the chaos that I can write. I’ve even got my own writing space in the second bedroom.”

“It’s comfortable.”

She smiled. “I like it.”

Her furry-faced little dog scampered in from the kitchen, followed by an elegant-looking black cat, who watched them carefully from the doorway as if trying to determine whether they were friends or foes.

“Hi, Linus.” Olivia sank to the floor to pet the dog. After a moment, the cat sidled over.

“That’s Lucy,” Celeste said. “She can be a little snooty at first, but once she warms up, she’ll be your best friend. Just give her a moment.”

Sure enough, while Olivia mostly paid attention to the small dog, the cat moved closer and closer until she rubbed her head against Olivia’s leg.

“I think she likes me,” she whispered.

“I’m sure of it,” Celeste said with a smile.

“Looks as if you need to pick up a pet or two,” she said to Flynn in an undertone.

“Don’t give her any ideas,” he said in the same low voice. Their gaze met and he felt a strange jolt in his gut at the impact of those green eyes behind the glasses.

“You don’t want a little dog?”

He shrugged. When he was a kid, the only pets had been his mother’s annoying, yippy little purse pooches. He had never really thought seriously about it before, too busy with work and his shared custody of Olivia.

When things settled down for her a little, maybe he would think about it. She did seem to be enjoying Celeste’s pets.

Both he and Celeste seemed content to watch her petting the two pets, and he was aware of that elusive sense of peace seeping in again.