Wicked Wonderland (2 page)

“Me, too, when it’s coming down like this. Whiteouts are the worst,” he confessed, but then angled his head while giving her business suit an odd once-over. Claire had boarded the train after an early-morning workshop and didn’t have time to change into more casual clothes. “Wait!” he said slowly. “Were you on the train?”

“Yes.” Claire jammed her thumb over her shoulder. “I’m heading back to Atlanta.”

The clerk’s eyes widened. “Lady, the train left the station, like, ten minutes ago.”

Claire felt the color drain from her face, and she clutched the Santa in a death grip. “Wh-what?” She swallowed hard and then slowly turned around, hoping to see the sleek silver train sitting on the tracks. “Oh. My.
God!
” She whipped her head back around so fast that her long auburn hair fanned out like helicopter blades and then settled back down.“They left without me?”

“When they blow the whistle, that means you have to board. I was in the back room doing inventory with my iPod cranked up or I would have said something to you,” he admitted with a wince.

“W-well, it’s not fair, because I didn’t hear it,” she protested, but then frowned in thought. Okay, maybe she
did
hear it, but she became distracted by the Santa display.“Well, they’ve got to come back! Call them or something! Surely they haven’t gone far, right? They could just back up. Or maybe I could catch up to the train.” Claire pictured herself running and then jumping on board like a scene from a Harrison Ford flick. “I could totally do it. I work out three times a week,” she continued in a fast-paced, high-pitched, panicked tone that made her sound a lot like Miss Piggy. She knew she was babbling ridiculous nonsense but could not even begin to stop herself.

“It doesn’t work that way,” the clerk answered slowly, as if addressing a two-year-old. “You’ll have to wait for another train to come through Whisper.”

In an effort to calm down, Claire inhaled a deep breath. It didn’t help. She looked at the clerk’s name tag and tried to stop channeling Miss Piggy. “Okay, Danny, when might that be?” Her smile trembled. “In a few hours, perhaps?”

Danny shook his head slowly from side to side instead of the hoped-for up and down.

“Tomorrow?” she asked in a tiny, tearful tone.

“Next Saturday,” Danny answered in a hesitant voice, as if realizing he had a nearly hysterical female on his hands.

“Next
Saturday
?” Miss Piggy came back full force. “But . . . but . . . Christmas is Thursday!”

He responded with a wide-eyed, silent shrug.

“Could I rent a car?” It would be a long drive, but she could make it home in time for Christmas Eve. Well, if she didn’t get lost, which she was prone to do.

After another anxious glance at the swiftly falling snow he said, “Sorry, but there’s no car rental in Whisper.”

“Oh . . . maybe I could hitch a ride with someone,” she murmured, but then remembered she was in the middle of nowhere and pictured herself in a big rig, sitting in the bed of a truck with bales of hay and animals, or in an RV with strangers. . . .“A hotel?” she asked brightly, even though her heart was beating like a jackhammer.

“There are a couple of bed-and-breakfasts over on Main Street, but both had No Vacancy signs out this morning. The closest hotel is a good twenty miles away, and with the snow coming down like this, you’d be hard-pressed to get there.”

“Especially without a car,” Claire responded glumly, and then looked down at her red dress shoes and wished they were boots.

“Look, I really have to close up. Is there someone you can call?”

Claire raised her head slowly. “Danny, I’m hundreds of miles from my home with no place to stay. All I have is the clothes on my back and my purse.”

“And a snowstorm is swiftly approaching,” he reminded her with a sympathetic but pointed look.

“What am I going to do?” she asked more to herself than to him, and then thought with sudden dark Christmas humor:
I’m scrooged.

While Claire stood there silently trying to wrap her brain around her predicament, a jingle of bells was followed by a sudden blast of cold air that blew her hair from her shoulders. She shivered, dearly wishing she had her parka, which was on the train. At the time, shrugging into her big coat had seemed pointless, since it was only a short walk to the gift shop. Oh, how wrong she had been....

She and Danny both turned to see who had entered, but the soft tinkle was in sharp contrast to the large man who stepped into the shop.

While looking down, he stamped on the welcome mat, shaking snow off his boots before brushing a layer of white off his impossibly wide shoulders. A navy sock hat trimmed in yellow covered his head, but dark wavy hair curled from beneath the edge and rubbed against the collar of his blue coat. A heavy growth of dark stubble obscured the bottom half of his face, but as a cosmetologist Claire had studied bone structure enough to know that beneath the beard was a handsome man.

“Hello, Jesse,” Danny said, clearly happy to see an adult who might be able to take control of the situation.

“Hey, Danny,” Jesse answered in a deep, tired tone as he straightened.Then his gaze landed on Claire and remained.

“Are you here to pick up the rest of your inventory?”

While Jesse nodded absently, Claire felt the full impact of his attention. She had to look up, which was unusual since in heels she exceeded six feet tall. Having grown up all knees and elbows with a mop of unruly red hair, freckles, and crooked teeth, Claire still couldn’t get used to male approval even though she was pushing thirty. Her shyness was most often mistaken for aloofness and in fact had become her armor when she felt ill at ease. So when Jesse assessed her with his intense blue eyes, Claire lifted her chin a challenging notch and added the arch of one eyebrow for good measure. She might have pulled it off, but she shivered in her suit and her lips might have trembled just a tiny bit.

“The train left her,” Danny announced bluntly, and looked at Jesse, hopeful for a solution.

“What?” Jesse gave Claire a stormy stare that suggested she was a complete and utter fool. “When they blow the whistle, they mean business.”

“Apparently,” Claire answered with a small smile, even though she wanted to march over and kick him in the shin. She refrained because it might scuff her heels, plus Jesse the lumberjack could quite possibly be her only hope for rescue, so she widened her smile and wished she were better at flirting. She did a little hair flip and realized she was channeling Miss Piggy again.
God . . .

Danny cleared his throat, drawing Claire’s attention. “Are you going to buy that?” he asked, and pointed to the Santa she still clutched in her hand.

“Oh . . . yes, I might as well, even though I don’t know how I’m getting it home for Christmas,” she said as she handed Danny the figurine. “Would you wrap it in tissue paper? My mother is going to love it. She collects Santas from all over the world, and this one is just exquisite, don’t you think?”

Danny nodded and shot Jesse a glance.

Claire knew she was rambling on again, but the gravity of her situation was sinking in and it was either babble, cry, or quite possibly crumble into a crazy combination of both, which would certainly not help her cause. With that in mind, she ground her teeth and refused to give in. “So, is there a taxi service here in Whisper?” Claire asked in a deceptively calm voice while she paid for her purchase.

Danny gave her the expected side-to-side shake of his head. “Sorry.”

Snow was coming down ever harder. Danny handed her a cute bag. “Thanks. Although this little Santa was the reason I missed the train. I must have been so caught up in browsing that I didn’t hear the whistle.” She shrugged. “When I shop, I can get into a zone, you know?”

Danny gave her a look that clearly stated that he
didn’t
know, and then looked past her. “Jesse, you need a box? There are only a few left.The angels went fast.”

“Oh, there were angels?” Claire asked in a forlorn voice. “That’s what I collect,” she added, but neither Jesse nor Danny seemed to care.

“Yeah, a box would be great,” Jesse responded in his deep rumble of a voice. When he walked up to the register, Claire noticed that he smelled like a manly combination of pinewood and spicy aftershave. “Thanks,” he said, and took the box. “I’ll just be a minute.”

“Good, I need to get going. My mom’s called, like, five times telling me the roads are getting slick.”

Claire stood there uncertainly, wondering what to do. Danny was leaving. Jesse the lumberjack was packing up the Santa carvings.
Wait. . . .
Her eyes widened and a lightbulb went off in her head.“You’re Jesse Marshall?” It was hard to believe that a man of his stature could create such delicate pieces of art.

“Yes,” he answered while packing up the few remaining carvings.

“Well, I am honored.” Claire felt hope blossom in her chest. “Truly,” she added a bit louder when he didn’t seem to be paying attention. The brochure had tossed around phrases like “award winning” and “world renowned.” The fact that he was well-known and respected made him seem safe....

He was her only hope.

Claire squared her shoulders and was about to ask for Jesse’s help when Danny opened the front door, letting in another blast of cold air. Claire’s teeth chattered and she tried but couldn’t suppress a violent shudder.

“We’re coming, Danny,” Jesse said a bit tersely. “Just hold on a minute.”

Danny obediently closed the door.

“We?” Claire asked hopefully.

He gave her another stormy look as he started unbuttoning his coat.After he shrugged out of it, he handed the vested parka to her.“Put this on,” he said, then bent to pick up his box.After he straightened, he added, “Stay here.”

“Okay.” Clutching the coat, Claire nodded, but then took a step forward and tugged on Jesse’s flannel sleeve. “Wait, does this mean you’re taking me with you?”

“Do you seriously think I was going to leave you stranded in the bitter cold?” Jesse asked, but before Claire could answer, he pivoted and walked out the door.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” she called out to him. After carefully putting her purse and package down, Claire pushed her arms into the big coat. It felt warm from Jesse’s body heat and smelled woodsy and masculine. Claire sighed with feminine appreciation, drawing a look from Danny that brought heat to her cheeks. “He’s not exactly Mr. Congeniality, is he?”

Danny shrugged. “Jesse works all year-round to stock up on his carvings, but this time of year he’s at it day and night. He hates to disappoint someone who wants one of his Santas, and this year his angels have been just as popular. But I’m sure he’s bummed because the airport is shut down. Jesse always leaves for someplace tropical right about now.”

“Wait.” Claire raised her eyebrows in wonder. “He brings Christmas joy to so many people but then leaves for the actual holiday?” For some reason that struck her as sad. “I wonder why.”

Danny shrugged again but looked away as if he knew more than he was willing to say. One of the aspects Claire enjoyed about being a hairstylist was hearing everyone’s story and so her curiosity was piqued. But before Claire could pry, Jesse returned.

Danny held the door open for them to exit.“See you, Jesse. Hope you have a nice holiday,” he said, and then turned to Claire. “And I hope you make it home to Atlanta,” he added, much more friendly now that she was no longer his problem.

“Thanks, Danny,” Claire said. “I’m sure I will.”

Danny nodded again, but the look he gave Jesse clearly said that it wasn’t likely to happen.

“No you don’t,” Jesse said when Claire stepped forward.

“What do you mean?” She shot him a confused frown.

“Not in those ridiculous shoes.”

“These red shoes aren’t ridiculous! They add a pop of color to my navy suit.”

“Do I seriously look like the fashion police?” Jesse gave her a slight grin. “I mean you won’t make it down the slick steps.”

“Oh.” She glanced at Jesse’s sturdy boots and felt heat in her cheeks. “Well, what choice do I have?” Claire asked, but wrinkled her nose at the snow-covered ground.

“As of now, none,” Jesse replied, and then without warning scooped her up into his arms.

Claire gasped in surprise. She was tall and built
solidly
, according to her mother, who was petite and reed thin. Next to her mom and sister, Claire had always felt big and clunky. “What are you doing?”

“I think that’s obvious,” he replied drily, giving Claire hope that beneath that dark beard lurked a hidden sense of humor. Claire had never been carried by a guy before and never thought she would be—well, at least not without a grunt or a stagger, but to her relief Jesse carried her with apparent ease.

Gusty wind whipped across the parking lot and Claire felt guilty about wearing Jesse’s coat, but he gave no indication of being cold even though he had to be. Snowflakes swirled and twirled, landing lightly on Claire’s upturned face, making her giggle in spite of the crazy situation she had somehow managed to get herself into. Or perhaps it was hysteria bubbling to the surface.

“What could you possibly be laughing about?”

“The snowflakes tickle.”

“
T
ickle?” When Jesse looked down at the gorgeous red-head’s upturned face, he marveled that despite her predicament she managed to take delight in something as simple as snow. At first glance her statuesque beauty had screamed high-maintenance ice queen, but the soft vulnerability in her expressive green eyes suggested otherwise.

“Yes, light and feathery little tickles.” A fat flake landed on a cute nose sprinkled with nutmeg-colored freckles that she probably hated but he found surprisingly adorable, which was amazing given the fact that he was exhausted and in a horrible mood. Right about now he should be chilling on the beach with a cold beer in his hand, but last-minute orders coupled with the impending storm made his vacation plans go to hell in a handbasket.The very last thing he needed was to be saddled with a stranded stranger for God knew how long. And he sure as hell didn’t need to complicate matters by offering her anything more than shelter, which he realized was going to be damned difficult, since he already had the sudden insane urge to lean in and kiss that full mouth of hers.