A teenager with hair hanging over his eyes smiled at her. “Are you Valerie?” he asked.
“Yep. Come on in.” She moved out of the way as he maneuvered the dolly inside.
“I’m Cody Cohen from The Christmas Shop. Where do you want these?” He looked around like he was trying not to take in the whole house and trying even harder not to be impressed. He was easily six feet tall and had a way about him that said he was confident in school and with adults.
She hid her smile. The view out the back windows was spectacular, and he’d lose his careful facade when he saw it. “This way.” She motioned for him to follow. “I think this room will work.” She put her hands on her hips and surveyed the stone fireplace, built-in bookshelves that were practically empty, and the view out the windows. Plus, if you went up two steps, you were in the kitchen, so making hot chocolate wouldn’t be a problem. The couch was soft and the television large–Hallmark movie marathons, here she comes.
There was no balcony or ledge, the house hung over the mountain, and this sunken room seemed suspended in the sky. Cody blinked as he stepped closer to the window, pausing far enough back that a fear of heights had kicked in. It happened to her the first time she was here too.
“The glass is two inches thick,” she offered.
He chuckled nervously. “Yeah. I bet.” Setting the dolly down, he scooted it out from under the boxes. “Okay. I got, like, five or ten more loads.” He headed back out.
Valerie couldn’t wait to dig in. Her small apartment was the perfect size for one, but she couldn’t fit a tree in it and had done without Christmas since her parents passed on. That was going to change right now.
She ripped into the first box and found a beautiful, pre-lit swag that was meant for the mantle. She plugged it in, wanting to see what it looked like. It lit up in her hands, and she squealed with delight. The more Christmas lights, the better. She dug through the other boxes while Cody filled the room with possibilities. Every strand of lights she pulled out, she plugged in.
“It’s a good idea to make sure they all work before you go through the effort of hanging them up,” Cody told her.
She beamed at herself for seeming so clever. “This one has musical notes on the box,” she told him as she held it up. “What does that mean?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Maybe it sings? My dad would like that one. He writes songs for some country music label.”
Valerie paused as her brain clicked two puzzle pieces together. Cody, the kid standing in front of her, was the first piece, and Cohen, his last name, was the second. Cohen was a name she knew well. Xavier Cohen was a well-known and successful songwriter in the country music world. One of his songs had been a single, a top-of-the-charts hit for her dad about fifteen years ago. Xavier and his wife liked the quiet life and stayed out of the party circle. It was no wonder his son didn’t know how famous he really was—looked like she wasn’t the only one hiding out in Moose Hollow. Well, she wasn’t about to give away Xavier’s secrets.
Cody lifted a hand in surrender, drawing her attention away from the puzzle she’d completed. “I don’t do much in the store; I just deliver. So I don’t know what this all is. Sorry.”
“No worries. There’s an easy way to figure this out.” She plugged it into the back of five other lights hanging out of the socket. It lit up, and then,poof! everything went dark.
“What in the world?” she asked. Night had come on while she was unpacking, and she hadn’t noticed. She could make out the shape of things in the dimness, but all details were lost.
Outside the wall of windows, the valley was painted in shades of blue, with lights dotting the landscape. She’d forgotten how early the sun went down in this mountain town–especially in the winter.
“Try unplugging it,” offered Cody.
She did. Then she went to the computer pad on the wall and touched the screen. Nothing happened. “Uh-oh.” She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the draft from the open front door. “I think I blew out the electrical system.”
“Oh! You should call Ethan!” Cody was so excited to have a solution for her that he practically shouted it.
“I-I,” she stumbled over inviting that incredibly handsome man into her home. How would she think a coherent thought with him here? “I don’t have his number.”
“I can get it for you.” He was on his phone faster than she could think of, a reason not to call him that didn’t make it sound like she was fangirling the local electrician.
“Here.” he shoved his phone at her.
Her eyes widened as she heard it ring. “Youcalledhim?”
“How else were you going to talk to him? I gotta finish unloading.” He rolled out of there.
“Shut the door behind you,” she yelled in that direction.
“I did,” said a deep voice on the other end of the line.
She froze in place, her legs like lead. “Um… not you.”
He chuckled. “I figured as much. This isn’t Cody, is it?”
Her legs turned to jelly, and she sank into the couch. “It’s, um, Valerie Remmington. We met at the Christmas Shop today. I was under the Christmas tree with Collin.” She put her free hand over her face and slouched to the side, laying across the cushions in mortification. Could she have added any more memory triggers to that sentence? I had on a brown coat. My hair looked like I’d been lying on the floor. I could hardly make eye contact with you because you are a mystical creature calling to my soul.
