“Yeah, so. Make sure you’re checking the ingredients on things and avoid drinking anything they offer you. Also, try not to order the In The Name of Love Latte from Tout de Sweets if you can help it. That’s the most common way to ingest the love elixir. It’s said to possess magical powers that make the couples who drink it fall undeniably in love.”
“This town needs to have its own guide for newcomers,” I muttered, shaking my head. I’d never before lived in such a quirky town full of such lore, but I couldn’t deny it: I loved it. The whole idea was unfathomable, but bewitching.
“They have one, actually!” Sage said, guiding me toward the book shop.
Beyond the Pages was located beside the Tout de Sweets café. It had beautiful, exposed brick walls lined with thick mahogany shelves and a black iron spiral staircase leading to the upper level, which, according to Sage, was where the local author signings and other bookstore events were held.
Several table displays were arranged in the middle of the store, with popular books and new releases. Sage brought me over to the local section and picked up a book called The Complete History of Hartwood Creek.
“It has maps, family trees, and a section dedicated to the history of the love elixir Morgana Hartley created. It’s said that In The Name of Love Latte is derived from the original elixir.”
“That’s wild,” I shook my head, looking at the cover of the book. It appeared to be a painting of the original town from the eighteen hundreds.
“Consider it a welcome to Hartwood Creek gift,” Sage said.
Chapter Five
Noah
* * *
After work on Saturday, Easton and I went into town to meet the rest of the family at the park. It was an annual tradition we started the night before Christmas Eve, when Damien’s twin girls, Aria and Ronan, were a few years old. After their mother abandoned them, we wanted to make their first Christmas without her as magical as possible.
Now, Damien had his fiancé, Charlotte, and the girls had a wonderful stepmother, but the family all got together anyway to ride the horsedrawn carriages and have hot chocolate from Tout de Sweets while taking in the Christmas lights. Much like Halloween, Hartwood Creek went all out for Christmas. Every store front and streetlamp was decorated with lights and garland, and so was the gazebo in the park.
Hartwood Creek often looked like the set of a Hallmark movie this time of year, and normally, I loved it. Christmas was one of my favourite times of the year.
But I wasn’t feeling it this year. I was beyond stressed with the Jeannine situation. She’d officially given her two weeks’ notice this morning, coinciding with her impromptu two weeks off for the supposed family emergency. Suffice to say, she wouldn’t be back, and she’d left us in a lurch.
Things were crazy busy at the resort, and the whole family had to rally together to get through it. Aria and Ronan were on Christmas break, and Mom and Dad had to watch them so Charlotte could help with the Kids Club events we hosted every winter break. I was stuck in the office taking reservations, answering phone calls, and dealing with guest issues, while the maintenance jobs fell on Damien’s and Easton’s shoulders.
“Uncle Noah! Uncle Easton!” my nieces shouted when they caught sight of me and Easton lumbering over. They ran out of the gazebo in the centre of the park, flying toward us. Mom, Dad, Damien, and Charlotte watched as the girls launched themselves into our arms. I spun Ronan around while Easton pretended to toss Aria in the snowbank.
“Why so late?” Damien grumbled, always the grouch.
“One of the faucets in the bathroom at the Sunrise cottage burst, so we had to do a quick plumbing job,” I answered, setting Ronan down.
“Did you fix it, or do we need to call a plumber?” Damien’s scowl increased. I knew he was taking on that stress.
“We’ll probably want to call a plumber, just to make sure,” I replied.
“Better to deal with it now than have a bigger, messier, more expensive situation on our hands later,” Dad said, clamping a hand on Damien’s shoulder.
“Can we go for the carriage ride now?” Aria demanded, interrupting the terse conversation.
“Sure thing, sweetpea,” Damien said, his voice softening in a way it only ever did for his girls and Charlotte. Everyone else got the grumpy version of Damien. I didn’t mind, it was his nature, and besides, those girls deserved the softest version of him.
Our group started walking toward the edge of the park, where the carriages were.
There was a bit of a lineup, but that was common. People swarmed to Hartwood Creek the entire month of December to look at the beautiful light displays, shop the historic downtown core, and experience horsedrawn carriage rides from Stonewood Farm.
Stonewood Farm had been operating for two generations. My great-great aunt started it with her husband, Oliver Stone, in the nineteen thirties. They were a well-established equestrian facility with an indoor arena, sand ring, grass ring, obstacle course, and trails.
The farm was located northwest of Whimsical Woods Resort, and they provided and ran the horsedrawn carriage rides at the resort over the winter holidays and March Break. They also offered discounted packages for resort guests for trail rides and beginner horseback riding lessons.
“Hey, Tabs. Fancy seeing you here,” I joked, spotting our cousin Tabitha ahead of us in the line with her kids. The baby boy she was holding whirled around to look at me when he heard my voice, giving me a big toothy grin. “Where’s Parker?”
“He’s getting hot chocolate for the girls,” Tabitha answered, tilting her head in the direction of her twins. Tabitha’s girls were standing in front of her with another little girl, Nix’s girlfriend’s daughter. When the three of them caught sight of Aria and Ronan, they went to go play in the snow together.
