Christmas In Silver Bell Falls (2 page)

“That’s a bunch of bull.  What if I don’t want to live there at all?  Why can’t I just sell it now?  Or give it away?”

“If you don’t want it, it will be given away.”

“Well then…good riddance.”

“You’re being spiteful just for the sake of it, Mel.  What have you got to lose?  You work from home so you don’t have that hanging over your head and your condo is paid for.  Think of it as a writing retreat.  Your editor will love the idea and it will show how you’re seriously trying to get the book done.  It’s a win-win if you think about it.”

“Ugh,” she sighed.  “I’m not a big fan of being cold.”

“The cabin has heat.”

“It will mean I’ll be gone for Christmas.”

He chuckled.  “Nice try.  We don’t celebrate it anymore, remember?”

She let out a small growl of frustration.  “I’m still going to have writer’s block.  That’s not going to change.”

“Trust me.  It will.”

Tilting her head, she gave him a curious look.  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Okay, there really isn’t any way
not
to tell you this…”

“Tell me what?”

“The town is pretty much all about Christmas.”

“Forget it.  I’m not going.”  She sat back down and crossed her arms.

“You’re too old to pout so knock it off,” he said. 

She glared at her father.  “So I’m supposed to go to this…this…Christmas town and then, thanks to the wonder of it all, suddenly I’m going to be able to write this fabulous holiday story and have it become a bestseller?”

“There’s that imagination again!  I knew it was still in there!”

“Ha-ha.  Very funny.”  Slouching down she let out another growl.  “I really don’t want to do this.”

“Mel, it’s not often that I put my foot down.  You’re normally more level-headed and you’re old enough that I don’t need to, but this time, I’m going to have to put my foot down.”

“Who gets the cabin if I turn it down?”

John sighed dejectedly.  “I have no idea.  The lawyer didn’t say.”

“Maybe she left it to someone who really needs it,” Melanie said, trying to sound hopeful.

“She did,” John replied.  “You.”

****

A week later, Melanie was in her car and driving halfway across the country to see if she could get her writing mojo back.  It was a fifteen-hour drive so she split it up over two days and since she was alone in the car, she had nothing to do but think.

“She couldn’t have left me a condo in Hawaii or maybe someplace tropical like the Bahamas?  No.  I have to go to the tip of freaking New York for this.”  It was a running dialogue in her head throughout the drive and it seemed like the closer she got, the angrier she became.

On the second day of the trip, when her GPS told her she was less than an hour away from her destination, she called her father and put him on speakerphone. 

“Hey, sweetheart!  How’s the drive?”

“She hated me,” Melanie replied.  “She seriously hated me.”

“I’m not even going to pretend I don’t know who you’re referring to,” he said.  “Are you there already?  Is the cabin in bad shape?”

“I’m not there yet but I’m driving on this little two-lane road and there is nothing out here.  I mean nothing!  The GPS says I should be there soon but I haven’t seen a city or a town in quite a while.  Where am I supposed to shop and get food?  Or am I supposed to hunt for it?  Because if I am, that’s a deal-breaker and you should have told me.”

John laughed.  “You seriously need to put all of this in your book.  It’s hysterical!”

“I’m not trying to be funny here, Dad!  I’m serious!  There isn’t anything around!”

“You haven’t gotten there yet.  If I remember correctly, there are plenty of places to shop and eat.  You won’t starve and you certainly won’t have to go out and kill your dinner so don’t worry.”

“But you don’t know that for sure…”

“Mel, stop looking for trouble.  We talked about this.  It’s going to be good for you.  Your editor is thrilled and promised to give you a little extra time so you’re off to a promising start.”

“Yeah…I’m lucky,” Melanie deadpanned.

“You need a positive attitude, young lady,” he admonished.  “I’m serious.  I want you to make the most of this time you have up there.”

She mentally sighed.  “I’ll try, Dad.  But I’m not making any promises.”

“That’s all I ask.”

“Okay, well…let me go because the road seems to be getting pretty winding and hilly and I need to pay attention to it.  I’ll call you when I get there.”

“Be safe, sweetheart!”

Hanging up, Melanie frowned at the road.  It was getting narrower and the sky was getting a little bit darker.  A chill went down her spine and attributing it to the cooling temperatures, she cranked up the heat. 

The GPS began calling out directions to her and Melanie feared she was leaving civilization further and further behind.  “I better hit the
New York Times
for this,” she murmured.  A few minutes later she hit the brakes and stared at the giant sign on the side of the road.

“Silver Bell Falls Welcomes You!”

Melanie frowned and then looked around because she was certain she was hearing things.  Turning down her car stereo, she groaned when she heard the song “Silver Bells” coming from the massive sign.

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style…in the air there’s a feeling of Christmas…

“You have got to be kidding me.”  Cranking the radio up to block out the Christmas carol, Melanie slammed her foot on the gas and continued her drive.  It was maybe only a mile down the road when she spotted a small grocery store, a gas station and a diner. 

And that was it.

“I guess I just drove through town,” she sighed.  It was tempting to stop and look around but she was anxious to get to the house and check it out first.  Being practical, Melanie had already shopped for enough food and essentials to get her by for the first night.  And besides, she had no idea what kind of shape the house was going to be in.

“Turn left,” the GPS directed and Melanie did just that.  “Your destination is at the end of the road.”

Squinting, Melanie looked straight ahead but saw…nothing.  There were trees, lots and lots of trees.  Slowing down, she approached the end of the pavement and saw a dirt road that led through the trees and a small mailbox hidden in the brush.

“Charming.”  With no other choice, she carefully drove off the pavement and made her way over the bumpy road through the trees.  It was like a dense forest and for a minute, she didn’t think she was going to get through it.

But then she did.

The field opened up and off to the right was a house—not a cabin.  In her mind, Melanie pictured some sort of log cabin, but the structure she was looking at was more stone than log.  It was a one-story home with a wraparound porch and a red roof.  The yard was completely manicured and the place even looked like it had a fresh coat of paint.

Since neither she nor her father had any contact with her grandmother, there was no way for them to know about the upkeep on the place.  She had tried to question the lawyer, but other than giving her the deed to the house and the keys, he had very little information for her. 

A little beyond the house was a shed.  It looked like it was perched on a trailer and it certainly looked a lot newer than the house.  Maybe it had been a new addition.  Maybe her grandmother hadn’t known she was going to die and was doing some renovations on the property.

Pulling up to the front of the house, Melanie sighed.  She was anxious to go and explore the space and silently prayed she wasn’t going to open the door to some sort of nightmare.  Climbing from the car, the first thing she did was stretch.  Looking around the property from where she stood, the only thing that was obvious to her was that she had no neighbors—she couldn’t even see another house!

Pulling the key from her pocket, she closed the car door and carefully walked up the two steps to the front porch.  Stopping at the front door, she bounced on her feet and noticed that the floor was in pretty good shape—no creaking and a lot of the wood looked fairly new.

Not a bad start
, she thought and opened the front door.

Stopping dead in her tracks, she could only stare.  It was dark and dusty and there was a smell that made her want to gag.  Not that she was surprised, but it did cause her to spring into action.  With a hand over her mouth, she quickly made her way around the house opening windows.  Next, she went out to her car and grabbed the box of cleaning supplies out of the trunk.  Melanie knew a certain amount of cleaning would be involved, but she hadn’t expected quite so much.

For the next three hours she scrubbed and dusted and vacuumed and mopped.  It didn’t matter that it was thirty degrees outside, and currently pushing that temperature inside thanks to the open windows; she was sweating.  Once she was satisfied with the way things looked, she walked outside, grabbed the box of linens and went about making the bed.  Next came the groceries and finally her own personal belongings.

It was dark outside and every inch of Melanie’s body hurt.  Slowly she made her way back around the house to close the windows and jacked up the heat.  Luckily the fireplace was gas, clearly a recent update. She flipped the switch and sighed with relief when it roared to life and the blower immediately began pushing out heat as well. 

Guzzling down a bottle of water, she looked around with a sense of satisfaction.  The house was small, maybe only a thousand square feet, but it had potential.  Grabbing a banana from her cooler, she peeled and ate it while contemplating her next move.

“Shower,” she finally said.  “A nice hot shower or maybe a bath.”  The latter sounded far more appealing.  Locking the front door, Melanie walked to the newly-cleaned bathroom and started the bath water.  It was a fairly decent-sized tub and for that she was grateful.  “Bath salts,” she murmured and padded to the master bedroom to search through her toiletry bag. 

Within minutes, the bathroom was steamy and fragrant and Melanie could feel the tension starting to leave her body.  Her cell phone rang and she cursed when she realized she had forgotten to call her father when she’d arrived.

“Hey, Dad!” she said quickly.  “Sorry!”

He chuckled.  “Are you all right?”

“I am.  The house was a mess and once I got inside and looked around, I couldn’t help but start cleaning.  I guess I lost track of the time.”

“Have you eaten dinner yet?” he asked expectantly.

“A banana.”

“Mel…” he whined.  “You have to start taking better care of yourself.”

“I will.  I know.  Actually, I’m just getting ready to take a nice hot bath to relax.  I promise I’ll eat as soon as I’m done.”

He sighed wearily.  “Okay.  Be sure that you do.  Call me tomorrow.”

“I will, Dad.  Thanks.”

She hung up and turned the water off.  Looking around, Melanie grabbed some fresh towels from one of her boxes and set them on the vanity before stripping down and gingerly climbing into the steamy water.  A groan of pure appreciation escaped her lips as soon as she was fully submerged.

“This almost makes up for all the grime,” she sighed and rested her head back, closing her eyes.  “Heavenly.”

For a few minutes, Melanie let her mind be blank and simply relaxed.  The hot water and the salts were doing wonders for her tired body and it was glorious.  Then, unable to help herself, her mind went back into work mode.  A running list of supplies she was going to need was first and she cursed not having a pad and pen handy to start writing things down.  Next came the necessities of going into town and maybe meeting her neighbors.

And then there was the book.

The groan that came out this time had nothing to do with relaxation and everything to do with dread.  “Damn Christmas story.  Why can’t I write what I want to write?”  It was something she’d been asking her editor for months and the only response she got was how all of the other in-house authors were contributing to building their holiday line, and she would be no exception.  “Stupid rule.”

And then something came to her. 

Melanie sat up straight in the tub and only mildly minded the water that sloshed over the side of the tub.  “All I need to do is write a story that takes place around Christmas.  It doesn’t have to necessarily be about Christmas!”  Her heart began to beat frantically.  “I’ve been focusing on the wrong thing!”  Relief swamped her and she forced herself to relax again.  Sinking back into the water, she closed her eyes and let her mind wander to all of the possibilities that had suddenly opened up.

“A romance at Christmas time,” she said quietly.  “Major emphasis on romance, minor on Christmas.  Technically, I’m meeting my obligations.”  She smiled.  “Hmm…a heroine alone—maybe stranded—in a winter storm and a sexy hero who storms in and rescues her.”

Melanie purred.  “Yeah.  That could definitely work.”  Sinking further down into the water, an image of the hero came to mind.  Tall. That was a given.  Muscular, but not overly so.  Maybe lean would be a better way to describe him.  And dark hair.  She was a sucker for the dark hair.  “Sex on a stick,” she said quietly, enjoying the image that was playing in her mind.