Then I asked the most important question of all. “Do you think they’re a good person?”
Stephanie nodded fervently. “Absolutely.Any woman here on Red Oak Mountain would beluckyto get attention from him.”
Him. So it was definitely a man.
Cory gave her a frown, and she quickly continued, “Notme, of course. I’ve foundmyCookie Monster.” She kissed Cory on the cheek, then added, “But anysinglelady. When you find out who he is make sure to treat him nice. He’s had a tough year.”
That made me feel for the man. I’d had a tough year, too. I’d been laid off from my job and taken a transfer to a different division in Von Renpel Enterprises just to keep a paycheck coming in. That’s how I’d ended up here on Red Oak Mountain, thousands of miles from home, without knowing a single soul.
Well, whoever my Secret Santa was, I hoped he’d have a happy Christmas this year, despite his tough year.
“Can you tell me anything more about him?”
Cory opened his mouth, but Stephanie poked him in the side and told me, “Nope. He’s a Secret Santa for a reason.”
If I could only get Cory alone, I had a feeling he’d tell me who it was. But Stephanie was guarding him like a weak link in the secrecy chain.
As I sat down and nibbled on the turtle dove I pulled out the letter my Secret Santa had given me. There might be more clues to his identity inside. Plus, it was the first time he’d actually left me a message.
In a sturdy block print, he’d written:
Violet,
When I started this whole twelve days of Christmas thing, I didn’t think too far ahead. It’s getting tricky to come up with the right gift ideas. I don’t know what I’m going to do for the leaping lords or the piping pipers. I might need to veer off from tradition and go my own way.
Let me know if this is all too much and I’ll stop. I get the feeling that you don’t have a lot of people in your life right now. At least not here on Red Oak Mountain. I thought it might be fun to get you out and talking to folks. So you can gather up clues from all the places the gifts are from. But you’re a smart cookie, so I bet you’ve already figured that out.
I hope you’re having fun with this, because I am.
Merry Christmas,
From your Secret Santa
The mystery deepened.
But what was at the end of it?
I chewed my lip while I thought about it. All I wanted for Christmas was Easton. And whoever was doing all this was awfully sweet, but I already had my eye firmly attached on another man.
I was afraid of hurting my Secret Santa’s feelings at the end of all this. Hopefully, they didn’t have a crush on me and it was all in good fun.
Chapter 10
Easton
Taking another sip of my beer, I fended off the college girls that were trying to hit on me. This was the trouble with coming to the Bear Den. No chance of privacy.
They went on their way when they realized nothing they said would get me out on the dance floor with them.
Amos laughed as he leaned on the bar counter. “Dude, theybothwanted you. How is that fair?” Then he signaled to the bartender, Max. “Can I get a Bud Light over here?”
Max came by and slid a can over.
Amos still had his eye on the pretty college co-eds. “Why didn’t you take them up on it, Easton? I got the feeling they’d be happy to share.”
Max chortled. “And you think Easton would be into that? The man hasn’t dated anyone since Leann d—”
A sudden silence descended between us. But it was okay. I knew Max wasn’t trying to make light of Leann’s passing.
