Christmas on 4th Street (Fool's Gold #12.5)

“I said I’d help.”


“I know that, but I need you to help from a place of joy.”

He turned back to face the front window, folded his arms across the steering wheel, then rested his head on them. He murmured something that sounded a lot like “Kill me now,” but she wasn’t exactly sure that was it.

“Gabriel?”

“A place of joy?” His voice was incredulous.

“Yes. It’s Christmas, or nearly. We’re going out into the woods to find the perfect tree, where I know it will be waiting for us. It’s snowing and beautiful and we need to have a spirit of joy.”

He turned to look at her, his expression more bemused than annoyed. “You never would have made it as a lawyer.”

“I have a feeling you’re right about that.” Or she would have gotten very good at being a lawyer and lost the wonder she felt as she looked at the soft, white snow settling all around them.

How would her life have been different if she hadn’t gotten sick? It wasn’t a question she allowed herself to think about very much. Would she have married Jeremy? At the time she would have said yes. That he was the one. But he hadn’t stood by her and he hadn’t been willing to see her as more than damaged goods. He’d walked away so easily, she’d started to wonder if he’d ever loved her at all.

Gabriel straightened. “I can’t do the spirit of joy but I can manage an attitude of acceptance. Good enough?”

“Sure. We’ll find your joy along the way.”

“I didn’t think it was missing.”

He put the truck back in Drive and pulled out onto the road. Noelle got out the directions the mayor had given her and told him to turn at the private road three miles up Mother Bear Road.

“As long as we don’t run in to the namesake,” he muttered.

“She’s hibernating. Bears hibernate.”

“You’d better be right about that.”

They turned at the corner and then continued up the mountain. Gabriel kept track of the distance. The road had been recently plowed and they traveled easily, but when she pointed to the private road, everything changed.

Here the snow was thick and the truck moved sluggishly through the growing drifts.

“You sure about this?” he asked. “If it snows much more, we’re going to get stuck.”

She looked at the paper with the instructions. “It’s less than a quarter mile to the cabin. From there, we walk.”

“There’s a cabin?”

“Yes, for emergencies. The city owns it. Or maybe the county. The mayor says it’s kept stocked for when people get lost. She said we go directly east from the cabin for a few hundred yards and then we’ll find the trees.” She stared up at the sky. “The snow is letting up. It’s a sign.”

“Lucky us.”

She ignored him and watched for the cabin. When she saw it and pointed, Gabriel nodded. He turned the truck so they were facing out, then they bundled into their coats, scarves and gloves and stepped out of the cab.

The first thing she noticed was the stillness. There was only the sound of their footsteps crunching in the snow. All around them was pristine wilderness. Bare trees, naked bushes and smooth, fresh snow. There weren’t even animal tracks. The cabin was dark and silent, with snow on the roof and drifts piled up nearly to the windows.

“It’s like we’re the only two living creatures in the world,” she said with a sigh. “It’s so beautiful.”

“Yes, it is.”

She turned to smile at him, only to find he was looking at her with anything but amusement. There was an intensity in his blue eyes, a flash of hunger that had her wanting to step toward him. But then he blinked and it was gone.

Tree first, she told herself, trying to sound mentally stern. Man-seduction later.

“Okay,” she said, pulling out her directions. “We go east.”

Gabriel pointed. “That way.”

She was going to ask how he knew, but figured she’d been enough of a pain, dragging him out here in the first place. Besides, it’s not as if she had some innate sense of direction.

“Lead on,” she told him when he’d collected the ax and some rope from the back of the truck.

They made slow progress through the deep snow. Noelle quickly realized there was no way she could have done this herself. Just getting out here would have been a challenge and it wasn’t as if she knew how to chop down a tree. Maybe she should have gone with one of the ones in town, she thought, then pressed her lips together. She must remember not to mention that to Gabriel.

“So, you and Mayor Marsha,” she said as she struggled to keep up with him. “That must have been interesting.”

“She wanted to talk to me about the new hospital in town.”

“New hospital? Oh, right. The one they’re building. I have a friend, Montana. She’s married to Simon Bradley. He’s a—”

“Famous plastic surgeon who specializes in people who have been burned. I was told. The mayor did her best on selling me the job.”

“Were you interested?”