Christmas In Silver Bell Falls (3 page)

The bathroom door swung open and Melanie’s eyes flew open as she screamed.  The man standing in the doorway seemed to have stepped almost completely from her imagination.  If she wasn’t so freaking scared at the moment, she would appreciate it.

“I wouldn’t count on sex on a stick or anyplace else if I were you.  You’re trespassing and you’re under arrest.”

Chapter Two

For a moment, Josiah could only stare.

There was a naked woman in Carol Harper’s tub. 

Holy.  Crap.

When he’d driven up to his place a few minutes ago and saw the strange car parked out in front of the cabin, he immediately became suspicious.  Hazards of the job, considering he was the sheriff of Silver Bell Falls.  The front door had been locked and the blinds drawn just as they always were, but the car was definitely a red flag.  So he let himself in.

And found the naked woman he was currently staring at.

“Who the hell are you?” she demanded, strategically covering herself so he couldn’t see what he already saw.

Like he was going to forget
that
any time soon.

“You need to step out of the tub, Miss…?”

“Oh, right,” she snapped.  “You break into my house and I’m supposed to listen to what you have to say?  I’ll call the cops!  You have no right breaking in here and…”

“Wait, wait, wait,” he interrupted.  “Your house?  I don’t think so.”

She rolled her eyes.  “Look, can you…can you just turn around or something so I can get out of this tub and put some clothes on?”

His immediate thought was to say no, but there was no way she was going to get by him—certainly not while she was naked and wet.  Wordlessly, he turned his back to her and almost instantly heard the water begin to drain and then the gentle splashing as she rose.

“Um…without turning around, could you hand me a towel?  I can’t reach it.”

It was almost as if the universe was mocking him.  He hadn’t been with a woman in over a year and now he had one soaking wet and naked two feet away and he had to arrest her.  Yeah, sometimes life really sucked.

Behind him, she cleared her throat and Josiah turned around.  He swallowed hard at the sight of her.  Her dark brown hair was twisted up into some sort of messy knot and she had the lightest blue eyes he had ever seen.

And right now they were shooting daggers at him.

“You’re going to need to put something on other than a towel,” he said.  “I’m not bringing you down to the station in just a towel.”

Crossing her arms, she cocked a hip and smirked.  “I hate to break it to you Ace, but you’re not bringing me anywhere.  This is
my
house and
you
are the one who is trespassing.  Now I’ll ask you nicely to leave, but if you refuse, I
will
call the cops and I
will
have you arrested.”

He couldn’t help the bark of laughter that came out.  “Sweetheart, I can’t arrest myself.  And I know the owner of this house personally and believe me, that isn’t you.”

“Then you knew my grandmother.  She willed the house to me,” Melanie said smugly, arching a dark brow at him defiantly.

“She…willed?” Josiah asked. “That would mean…I…”

“She passed away almost a month ago,” she supplied softly.  “This cabin was willed to me.  I just got in late this afternoon.”

“No one told me…,” he stammered, his whole posture going lax.  Leaning against the vanity, he looked at her.  “I’m sorry for your loss.  Carol was a real nice woman.”

He didn’t expect her own roar of laughter. 

“I’m sorry…did I miss something?” he asked.

“My grandmother was many things.  Nice wasn’t one of them.”  Without another word, she stepped around him and walked out of the bathroom. 

Josiah stared after her until he heard a door slam.  Swiping a hand over his weary face, he muttered a curse and stepped out of the room and went to wait out in the living room.  Hopefully she was going to come back out and talk to him.

Ten minutes later, she did.

“You’re still here?” she asked, walking into the kitchen and pulling open the refrigerator. 

He walked over and stood on the opposite side of the breakfast bar.  “Were you expecting me to leave?”

“Hoping is the word I’d use.”  Her words were firm, but there was a slight tilt to her lips as she said it.

“Sorry to disappoint but being that we’re neighbors, I figured I’d better introduce myself.”

She looked at him quizzically.  “Neighbors?  I didn’t see another house around here.”

“Right next door,” he said, walking over to the front window.  “You can see my house from here.”

Walking over, she looked out the window and frowned.  “You live in the shed?”

He chuckled.  “It’s not a shed, it’s a…it’s a tiny house.”  He hated the phrase but it was all the rage right now and unless he said it, most people didn’t know what he was talking about.

She looked at him and didn’t bother to hide the smirk.  “A tiny house?  Seriously?”

“I didn’t name it,” he said with a hint of irritation. “That’s what they’re called.”

“Okay.  Whatever,” she said and walked back to the kitchen. 

“Look, we obviously got off on the wrong foot.  No one told me about your grandmother and I was only doing my job.”

“Your job?”

“I’m the sheriff of Silver Bell Falls.  Josiah Stone.”  He held out a hand to her and couldn’t help but smile when she looked at it with a hint of disdain.

“Melanie Harper,” she finally said and shook his hand.  “The sheriff, huh?”

He nodded.  “At your service.”

She chuckled and turned back to the refrigerator.  “I’m not trying to be rude, but all I’ve had to eat today is a bowl of cereal for breakfast and a banana for dinner.  I’m sorry I freaked you out by being here, but as you can tell by the looks of the place, I’m settling in.”

He pulled up a stool at the breakfast bar and studied her.  “The look of the place doesn’t tell me anything.  I didn’t know Carol had planned on leaving the place to you.”

“Oh?   You talked about it with her?”

He nodded again.  “As a matter of fact, I did.”

Melanie straightened and looked at him.  “Really?  Why?”

“Because I wanted to buy the property from her.  I’ve been trying to buy the property from her for years but she always refused to sell and she never told me why.”  He shook his head with a grin.  “Now I know.”

“Is that why you have your…what is it…teeny house out there on the property?”

“It’s a
tiny
house,” he corrected, “and even though she wouldn’t sell, she did allow me to use the land.  I just always thought she’d eventually cave and sell it to me.”

“Yeah, well…that was my grandmother, the puppet master.”

“I don’t think I’d say that…”

“Trust me.  I would,” Melanie said, and leaned against the countertop and looked at him.  “I’ll tell you what, I have to honor her nutty last wishes and stay here for three months.  After that, I’m out of here.  I’ll sell it to you then.”

He eyed her suspiciously.  “Just like that?  You don’t even know me.”

She shrugged.  “Don’t care.  I don’t want to be here but I have to.  If you want the place so bad, consider it yours.”

“And all I have to do is wait three months?”

“I won’t even argue the price with you.  All I ask is that you be fair.”

“How do I know you won’t change your mind?” he asked, still feeling suspicious.

Stepping away from the counter, Melanie walked closer to him.  “For starters, I didn’t want to come here.  I live in North Carolina and I love it there.  Next, I don’t like the cold.  This whole living near Canada thing?  I already hate it.  Then there’s the whole Christmas thing.”

“What Christmas thing?”

“There is no way I want to live in a town called Silver Bell anything.  I hear you guys make it feel like Christmas all year long.”

Josiah smiled.  “That we do.  It’s wonderful.  We have festivals and fairs and…”

“Save it,” she interrupted.  “I don’t do Christmas so there’s no way I’d stay here.  Festivals and fairs are of no interest to me.”

He looked at her like she was crazy.  “What do you mean you don’t
do
Christmas?  What the hell does that even mean?”

“Look…Josiah?” she asked and he nodded.  “It’s late, I’m starving and it’s been a really long day.  I really don’t have it in me to go into all of this right now.  So if you wouldn’t mind…”

“I’ve got a pizza,” he said.

“Wait…what?”

“Pizza.  Out in the car.”

She shook her head and laughed.  “It’s probably frozen by now.”

“That’s what an oven’s for.  Come on.  I’ll share it with you and we can be neighborly and get to know one another.”

Melanie looked at him and frowned.  “I appreciate the offer but…”

Josiah moved quickly and was standing right in front of her in the blink of an eye.  “You have to say yes.  You owe me.”

Her eyes went wide.  “Excuse me?” she asked incredulously.  “How is it exactly that I owe you anything?”

“Well if it wasn’t for you, I would be enjoying a hot pizza right now,” he said casually.  “Now, thanks to you, I had to get back into sheriff mode and nearly ruined my dinner.  So, like I said, you owe me.”

He knew the instant he had her because her lips began to twitch with a smile. 

“You’re crazy,” she said, shaking her head as her smile grew.

“Yeah, but we’re neighbors now and soon you’ll be selling me the property.  Wouldn’t you like to know it’s going to someone decent?”

“You really don’t want an answer to that one,” she replied and took a step back.  “I…um…I haven’t finished unpacking or anything and I don’t know if there are dishes here or if they’re even usable.”

“Not to worry.  Why don’t I bring the pizza in and you can heat it up and I’ll go next door and grab plates and napkins and all that good stuff?  What do you say?”

She was still chuckling.  “I still say you’re crazy but I’m starving so how can I say no?”

He smiled at her, deciding instantly that he liked her and couldn’t wait to get to know a little more about her.  “I’ll be right back.”

He stepped out the front door, closing it behind him, and let out a deep breath.  Carol Harper was dead and a wave of sadness hit him.  No matter what her granddaughter thought, Carol was a good woman, a generous woman.

He just wished he knew why she reneged on the deal she promised to make him for the property.  She turned him down time and time again whenever he brought up the subject, but she promised she’d let him be the first to put an offer in when the time came.  Unfortunately, she never mentioned she was leaving it to her granddaughter.

Hell, she never even mentioned that she had a granddaughter!

With a shake of his head, he walked over to his car and grabbed the pizza.  He chuckled when he looked at the box and had a feeling Melanie Harper was going to give him a little hell for it.

He couldn’t wait.

****

Melanie looked at the box in Josiah’s hands and then back at him.  “It’s a frozen pizza.”

He nodded.

“But I…you…”  She sighed with frustration.  “You led me to believe you had an actual pizza out there in the car!”

“Technically, you just assumed I had a hot pizza in the car,” he corrected.

“No, you said I ruined your dinner.  That implied you had purchased the pizza hot and now it was cold.”

He shrugged.  “I just meant that because of you I missed eating dinner while watching one of my favorite shows.”  He placed the pizza down on the counter and turned to leave.  “That one cooks at 400 degrees for about twenty minutes.  I’m gonna go home and grab a quick shower and the plates and all and I’ll be back before it’s ready.”

“So now I’m making you dinner?” she demanded, annoyance coursing through her.  When he didn’t answer and continued to the door, she decided she’d had enough.  “You know what, I think I’ll pass on the neighborly thing.  You can take your pizza and make it at home.  I’ll find something here.”

Josiah stopped at the door and sighed before turning around to face her.  “Are you always this difficult or is it just me?”

Crossing her arms over her chest, Melanie looked at him defiantly.  “Just you.”

He walked back across the room toward her.  “Why?  I’m just trying to be a nice guy and offer to share my dinner with you.  I’m not seeing a problem here.”

“You broke into my house, disturbed my bath and threatened to arrest me!  You don’t see a problem with any of that?”

He chuckled and shrugged again.  “I thought we’d moved on from that.”

“It just happened!” she cried.

“Like fifteen minutes ago.  Sheesh.  Do you always hold grudges?” he asked innocently.

Melanie couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing.  This guy was clearly a little off his rocker but she was starving and nothing she had with her was going to be as good as the pizza—even though it was a frozen one.  Dropping her arms and deciding to stop being defensive, she looked at him and smiled.  “I can see there’s no winning with you so I’ll tell you what…go do what you have to do, I’ll make the pizza and we’ll start over when you get back.  Deal?”