Seducing Santa (Holiday Series Book One)

Chapter Seventeen ~ Cold December Night

“Wow! This ride is so cool! You’re like a present going through Santa’s toy factory!” A little girl announced excitedly while tugging on her mother’s sleeve.

Holly was relieved and at the same time overwhelmed by the attention her booth was getting. From the oohs and awes of the children to the glimmer of hope in some of the parent's eyes as they looked over the brochure she made going over the benefits offered by the company. She was glad she had made so many, the pile she had laid out was already running low. She had a box of them tucked away under the table. As she reached down to open it up, a conversation inadvertently caught her attention.

“Where is that brother Grayson of yours anyway? I was at the town hall earlier to help with the first aid station and only Jeffery was there, looking completely frantic.”

“Really? Strange, he usually never lets Jeffery handle things on his own. He is such a perfectionist he usually likes to double and sometimes even triple check things.”

“Well, then it is odd. Oh my! Look at this! A holiday theme park? It seems they want to build it on the old lumber mill land. Does your brother know about this?”

“He is the mayor, I am sure he is already aware. Although I am a bit shocked he would even allow it. You know how he is about this town remaining the way it is and had been looking for someone to take over the mill.”

Holly took that moment to stand up with brochures in hand and felt a little bad when one of the women who had been talking jumped back in surprise. She was just about to apologize when the woman’s bright green eyes appeared to light up with recognition.

“It's you! The girl that bought my brother the night of the auction!” the woman exclaimed, a bit too loudly.

Suddenly, the green eyes made sense as she put together that this must be Grayson’s sister. Holly glanced over at the dark-haired woman beside her, who was trying her best not to laugh. It did not take long for her to realize that this was the sexy Mrs. Claus from the very same auction.

“The name is Holly McCormick, and you are?” She asked, putting on a polite smile and extending her hand toward Grayson’s sister.

Grayson’s sister’s cheeks grew pink as she realized how rude her loudly spoken statement must have been. She covered her mouth and her friend finally gave in to her laughter, which in turn made Holly laugh. Eventually, the woman lowered her hands and started laughing as well.

“I’m so sorry. It just sort of came out without me thinking! It was so rude of me. My name is Rosie, Rosie Holiday, and this is my friend Isabelle. She owns the spa and beauty shop here in town. You might have seen it.” She answered, taking Holly’s hand into hers.

“Seriously, Rosie, I doubt she cares about that, just telling her my name was enough,” Isabelle said, taking Holly’s hand after Rosie let it go.

“No, no! It’s always nice to meet the local business owners and get their thoughts,” Holly assured.

“Oh well, in that case, I think this theme park is a great idea! Also, looking over this brochure it seems like it's just what Holiday needs.” Isabelle replied, holding up one of the brochures Holly had just laid out.

“Thank you, after hearing about the town’s troubles, I thought showing the benefits that McCormick Attractions offers might be a good idea.” She added, Rosie, going over the pickup one as well, Isabelle’s attention shifting to the concept drawings hanging around the booth.

“I simply love your idea for the Halloween section. Making it all pumpkin themed and less on the scary side. This scarecrow-themed dark ride is adorable,” Isabelle commented.

“Oh yes! The park will be split into four sections based on the seasons and within each section are small holiday lands. As you can see, thanksgiving is right next to Halloween, and they kind of blend together. This tea-cup ride is turkey dinner themed. With a huge turkey in a middle and the people spinning in gravy bowls and side dishes,” Holly pointed out.

“Oh my god, how adorable!” Rosie added, coming to join them.

Isabelle smiled over at Rosie before motioning Holly closer and leaning in as if about to tell her a secret.

“Don’t tell anyone, but I am more of a Fall girl myself. Christmas is rather big here, but it's all about Halloween for me.”

Holly giggled and was about to tell her that her secret was safe with her when a loud voice came over the intercom speakers spread throughout the park.

“Ladies and gentlemen! The Miss Snowflake ceremony will begin in a few moments! Please join us at the gazebo as we name the winner this year and lead her to the front of the annual Winter Wonderland parade.”The voice announced.

“Oh! We had better head that way so we can get a good spot to stand to see the gazebo and the street!” Rosie announced, tugging slightly at Isabelle’s coat sleeve.

“Well, we can’t leave Holly to fend for herself! Come with us! This is your first festival, but if you plan on staying here you had better know the tricks on how to best enjoy the show! Rosie here knows everything. I never seem to be stressed when she is around and leading the way,” Isabelle confided.

“Oh yes! Please come! We must hurry though…” Rosie added, already glancing anxiously over her shoulder at the gazebo.

Holly was relieved to have found such nice women to take her under their wings. She had to admit that she was feeling a bit like an outsider looking in but now, standing beside Rosie and Isabelle, she felt accepted. They walked towards the gazebo and Rosie found them the perfect spot where they could stand a bit higher from the crowd and have a perfect view of the road where it had already been roped off for the parade.

The band that was already set up on the gazebo began to play “The Christmas Waltz '' and a woman in a beautiful shimmery blue dress started walking up the steps. It took Holly a few moments before she realized it was Mary Brownstone, the organizer of the festival she had met with to get her booth.

“Hello everyone and welcome to this year's Miss Snowflake crowning ceremony and the official start of the Winter Wonderland Parade. If the four finalists can please join me up here.” She announced, motioning towards the four young ladies dressed in similar gowns to her own who walked up the steps and lined up against the railing of the gazebo.

“As you know, to be accepted as a contestant for Miss Snowflake, the girls must be more than just talented and pretty, but must also be at the top of their class! Let me introduce the four finalists before we name the winner and the runner-up…”

Holly listened while she talked about each girl and their long list of accomplishments, talents, and future goals. It seemed that along with the title came a sponsorship from local businesses for the girls to pursue their goals, be that learning a trade, or attending business classes at the community college a few towns over. It made Holly think about the picture of her mother wearing the Miss Snowflake sash. It seemed this was a long-time tradition, so did this mean her mother had been one of these girls with great potential? If so, then how did her mother end up running away to marry Holly’s father instead?

“The runner-up this year is…Jessica Meyers!” Mary announced, the crowd breaking out into a cheer.

Holly watched as a dark-haired girl smiled and graciously took the bouquet of white poinsettias from Mary, along with an envelope.

“Love the bouquet, Rosie! Festive and is that sparkles you added?”Isabelle whispered.

“Yes, I knew what the dresses looked like beforehand and wanted the bouquet to match,” Rosie informed her.

“You made the bouquets?” Holly asked.

“Yes! Rosie owns the florist shop here in town, right over there. Oh! Look, there is Grayson!” Isabelle exclaimed, having pointed behind them to a building right across the street.

Holly turned to look and saw Grayson crossing the roped-off area and waving to the volunteers who were making sure people that were already lined up for the parade were staying behind the line. She tried not to pay attention to the way her heart sped up in her chest at the sight of him. He was dressed in a suit and a long wool trench coat, a festive red scarf around his neck. He looked much different than he had a few hours ago when he had been setting up her booth. Wearing jeans, a thick flannel with a tool belt around his waist. Yet, both looks were equally sexy.

“And this year's winner of the title Miss Snowflake is…Heather Fisher!” Mary announced, turning all their attention back to the gazebo.

Grayson had made his way through the crowd and walked up to where Marry and the winner were standing, giving the new Miss Snowflake a handshake before Mary handed her the bouquet and placed a shiny tiara on her head. The other two girls who had not won went up and congratulated the other girls before they all walked off, being led away by a volunteer to set up for the parade. Grayson looked like he was about to follow them when Mary suddenly stopped him.

“Oh, Mayor Holiday, while you are here I would like to ask you a question on behalf of the people of Holiday while the Parade is being set up and everyone is here.” She said, still speaking into the microphone so everyone could hear.

The crowd that had been starting to head toward the surrounding streets stopped and turned back toward the gazebo. Isabelle, Rosie, and Holly had not moved from their spot but turned to look back as well, wondering what Mary had to say.

“As you know, this is an election year and we are once again running against each other. I don’t wish to ruin the mood with political talk, but I have had something brought to my attention that I wanted to ask you about while most of the town is here so they could hear your side of things.” Mary explained.

“What on earth is she trying to pull?” Rosie mumbled under her breath.

Grayson did not respond but Holly could see the tension in his shoulders from here as if he were preparing for a blow. A volunteer ran up to give Grayson a microphone of his own while Mary continued.

“As you know, this is a small town with simple values. We have had some hard times these past four years with the closing of the lumber mill, but I have heard and seen at this very festival that you may have found a new business to take over the land. A theme park?” Mary inquired.

Holly could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end, a bad feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. She saw Grayson’s hands clench at his sides as he cleared his throat before answering.

“That is true. Holly McCormick came to me with an offer and I agreed to let her show the people of Holiday her ideas and, depending on their reaction, we would consider a deal. Having seen the amazing buzz her presence has caused this evening, I have already decided to allow McCormick Attractions to make an offer on the land.”

Holly was in shock, that was the last thing she had expected him to say. Both Rosie and Isabelle turned to give her reassuring smiles.

“I see, and even after you ran a strict campaign last year about keeping Holiday a, as you said, hidden treasure and promising never to let a major company build here?” Mary questioned.

Grayson’s mouth curved into that brilliant political smile of his, adjusting the microphone in his hand.

“That was four years ago, Mary. A lot of things have changed since then and Holly has reassured me that this will be a family theme park and that Holidays small town charm is what attracted them to pick this place, so they have no intention of changing that.” Grayson countered.

“Yes, much has changed, but how can we be so sure you have the town's best interest in mind, Mayor Holiday, when you obviously have a more than a business-like relationship with Holly McCormick?”

Grayson’s eyes narrowed and Holly could see he was gripping the microphone so tight that his knuckles were turning white. The pit in her stomach grew to an overwhelming ache as a hundred phone notification sounds went off around her. Isabelle and Rosie pulled out their phones and both opened a text message sent from an unknown number, a video having been sent to everyone. Rosie pressed play first and Holly felt the world spinning around her as she saw her and Grayson kissing under the mistletoe and then Grayson lifting her up in his arms and carrying her off to his room. It appearing to be security footage from the Inn the night of the auction.

Holly’s stomach churned and she felt like she was going to be sick. She stumbled back and turned to run, not knowing where she was going but needing to get as far away as possible. She heard Rosie yell out her name before the whole crowd broke out into yells and gasps of shock. Holly’s eyes burned with tears as she pushed her way through the crowd and past the parade barrier, heading off into the surrounding darkened streets.