After dinner that night, Adam and I walked down the sidewalk along Main Street. I didn’t know what made me the happiest—the sights and sounds of the Christmas Carnival and Parade, or Adam’s face lighting up with a thousand watt smile as we exchanged a look.
Not everyone in Christmas Mountain knew who he was as we’d kept the sale of Silver Bells low key. No point in upsetting the locals until we could give them some concrete information. But the fact that most people didn’t know Adam meant that every woman walking past tried to catch the eye of this handsome stranger.
But his smile was just for me. In fact, we paused on the sidewalk and I let him pull me into a hug and then he planted a kiss on my lips. Morgan’s salon would be a hive of gossip in the morning, but this kiss was so worth it.
“I’ve got some news,” Adam said, and laughed as I kissed him again.
“Good news?” I asked, hopefully.
He nodded. “I received a call from Miles. He’s decided he wants to buy Silver Bells and is on his way up to close the deal.”
I pulled away and stepped back, searching his eyes. “How is that good news?”
He pulled me back to him. “Because, silly, it helped me make my final decision. I’m going to sell to the Johnsons, so Silver Bells will keep running for years to come.”
I squealed, jumped into his arms, and showered his face with kisses. “This is the best Christmas news ever.”
“Now that all is right in the world, let’s go,” I said, disentangling myself from his arms and then pulling him by the hand. “The doggie parade is about to start. Come see what a small town Christmas doggie parade looks like.”
I felt like my heart was going to burst. Silver Bells was safe, and, for the moment at least, I had a man I adored and who, according to his elf-clad confession, felt the same way about me. I squeezed his hand as the music started up, with the first few notes of Deck the Halls floating through the cold, crisp breeze.
A faint mist hung in the air, creating tiny multi-colored halos around every light that lit up the evening, a fitting tribute to the children’s choir who began singing in angelic voices, some of them as young as two years old. Adam bought roasted chestnuts, and as I bit into one, the sweet flavor filled my mouth. I sighed, the moment feeling so perfect.
Floats with dogs glided past us, each one bigger and better than the last. There was a living, breathing snow-dog with his owner throwing snowballs at the crowd as he rode by, followed by a pumpkin carriage pulled by huskies, Cinderella sitting on a throne of glittering gold.
Then came the heroes parade, with Christmas Mountain’s fire department walking their dogs, Dalmatians and rescue dogs alike decked out with tinsel, followed by police officers walking their dogs, a German Shepherd, a black lab, and even a poodle sprayed with glitter (Ruby’s doggie day spa would be cleaning those bodies in the morning), paramedics dressed as elves with their dogs, and military veterans walking side by side with theirs.
There was a pause in the parade, and I turned to Adam. “So, how does this compare to Christmas in the Big Apple?” I asked, half serious and half teasing. I had seen Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade on TV, as well as the Rockefeller Center tree lighting gala, and I knew that Christmas Mountain didn’t have extravagant props, but we more than made up for that in originality, enthusiasm, love, and community spirit.
He pulled me slightly in front of him, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind, and whispered in my ear, “I’m right where I need to be.”
“Me, too.” I shivered before leaning back against him, not wanting any space between us.
The parade continued, and the next float brought gasps of delight from the crowd. But the biggest round of applause came from the last float, which was Silver Bells’ very own sleigh, pulled by reindeer with Rudy (or Houdini as we now dubbed him), and the employees holding their dogs in their laps.
The beautifully crafted sleigh had been polished to within an inch of its life, its glossy surface picking up the reflection of the tiny white lights which had been carefully strung along its edges, and piles of beautifully wrapped gifts stacked high in the back. In any other parade, those boxes would be empty, used for decoration only, but I knew that they were filled with toys and gifts donated by local businesses and kind hearted residents to give those families less fortunate a decent Christmas.
Sitting in front of the gifts, and holding on to the reins, sat Santa himself, and I felt a moment of sadness as Mr. Kline had played Santa last year. I looked up at Adam who seemed lost in happy thought, his eyes shining, a small smile playing on his lips.
“This brings back many happy memories for me. I used to come down to watch the Christmas parade, not this one obviously, with my parents every year, sitting on Dad’s shoulders so I could see everything. We would eat chestnuts and hot dogs, and Dad always bought me caramel popcorn to take home. Mom would always tell him off because she didn’t want me eating too much sugar.” He laughed. “The parade was the real start of Christmas for me.”
I turned around and hugged him, loving how he was sharing stories of his family now and smiling so much more. “Thank you for choosing the Johnsons, Adam.”
He tilted my face upwards, his finger under my chin. “Thanks for being you,” he said, and then his soft lips pressed lightly down on mine.
I closed my eyes, wishing I could bottle this moment.
“Mr. Kline? Could we speak to you for a moment?” Mr. Johnson’s voice interrupted our kiss, and my face heated. “I’m sorry for interrupting, but this is important . . .”
“Certainly. Faith, would you excuse us for a moment?” He squeezed my hand and headed to where Mrs. Johnson stood. With one eye on the brass band, which was bringing up the rear of the parade, I tried to see what was happening with Adam and the Johnsons, but with the crowd moving along the sidewalk I could only catch glimpses. My heart sank as I saw Mrs. Johnson wiping her eyes before turning away.
Adam returned to my side and took my hand. “Bad news.”
“What?”
Adam looked down at me and took a deep breath. “The Johnsons haven’t been able to raise enough money to buy Silver Bells, but . . .” His voice was drowned out as the countdown began and a huge round of applause gave way to the opening notes of the song “Silver Bells” and neighbors and friends hugged and sang “It’s Christmas time in the city . . .”
“Hang on, we need something . . . ”Adam looked at a flower stand and disappeared into the line to get a bouquet, but flowers couldn’t cheer me up after that bad news.
A pair of arms grabbed my arms from behind, making me jump. I spun around to see Morgan and her brother, Connor. Morgan hugged me, and offered a bite of her hotdog. I shook my head, feeling a little sick and wanting to hear the rest of what Adam had to say about the Johnsons.
Connor nudged me in the ribs playfully. “So, did it work?”
My eyebrows came together. “Did what work?”
“This ring any bells?” Connor asked, and then started staggering around in front of me. “Me, playing the store loiterer? I hope it turned the buyers off the way you wanted it to. That was hilarious. If you ever need me to act crazy again, I’m your guy.”
“Hard to believe you had to act, bro . . .” Morgan’s voice trailed off as she looked past my shoulder.
I turned to see Adam standing with a bouquet of red and white carnations, arranged with the tips of noble fir, sparkly pinecones and holly, looking from Connor to me. “You know this guy outside of the store? You tried to sabotage the buyers behind my back? Faith?”
My arms prickled with panic. “I can explain, Adam.”
He looked at me, hurt visible in his eyes. “You really know this guy?”
I nodded, and reached for Adam’s hand. “Yes, he’s Morgan’s brother. But, please let me explain . . .”
Adam shook my hand off and then turned and walked away, dumping the bouquet of flowers in the green trashcan he passed. All of the wind knocked out of me as I realized I’d blown it and my deceit had cost me everything.