Red Velvet & Reindeer Read online

  Red Velvet & Reindeer

  A Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Short

  Bella Falls

  Copyright © 2019 by Bella Falls

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or, if real, used fictitiously. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the author, except where permitted by law or for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  All Rights Reserved.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Also by Bella Falls

  Preface

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Epilogue

  Series Order

  Series Order

  About the Author

  Also by Bella Falls

  A Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Series

  Moonshine & Magic: Book 1

  Lemonade & Love Potions: A Cozy Short 1

  Fried Chicken & Fangs: Book 2

  Sweet Tea & Spells: Book 3

  Barbecue & Brooms: Book 4

  Collards & Cauldrons: Book 5

  Red Velvet & Reindeer: A Cozy Short 2

  Cornbread & Crossroads: Book 6 (Coming Soon)

  Southern Relics Cozy Mysteries

  Flea Market Magic

  Rags To Witches

  Pickup and Pirates (Coming Soon)

  *All audiobooks available are narrated by the wonderful and talented Johanna Parker

  For a FREE exclusive copy of the prequel to the Southern Charms series, Chess Pie & Choices, sign up for my newsletter!

  Share recipes, talk about Southern Charms and all things cozy mysteries, and connect with me by joining my reader group Southern Charms Cozy Companions!

  Preface

  It’s been a blast taking Charli on a worldwide journey with Jolly Old Saint Nick. Some of the places they visit are real and some of the details have been fictionalized. I’ll leave it up to you to research more if anything from the story piques your interest!

  Introduction

  Sometimes in the South near Christmas time,

  The weather gets confused and begins to climb

  Instead of snow, a winter’s norm,

  The bright sun makes everything a bit too warm

  We still celebrate the holiday with joyous glee

  But instead of hot cocoa, we drink sweet tea

  So grab your libation and take a seat

  And enjoy this little holiday treat!

  Chapter 1

  A little bead of sweat trickled down my temple, and I wiped it away with the back of my hand. Shielding my eyes from the beaming sun, I gazed up at the front of my house.

  “A little more to the left,” I called out to Beau, my vampire roommate.

  He flapped his bat wings harder and hovered closer to the eaves, clinging to a strand of evergreen garland in his tiny talons.

  “Perfect.” I offered him a thumbs up when he got to the right spot. Satisfied with the last of the outdoor holiday decorations in place, I climbed the stairs to my front porch and poured sweet tea into two glasses filled with ice.

  The plump bat wobbled in the air and poofed back into his regular form, heaving exhausted breaths and pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket. “Next time, hire a professional,” he teased, gladly accepting the offered drink.

  “If it weren’t so stinkin’ hot right now, I don’t think we’d mind all the holiday preparations. It’s just so hard to get into the right mood when even the thought of snow melts in our brains.” The ice clinked in my glass as I took a long sip.

  Honeysuckle Hollow proved its true Southern location with its winter weather more like being on a tropical island. Instead of sweet iced tea, we should be sipping fruity cocktails from coconuts with tiny pink umbrellas in them under a palm tree.

  “If you want, I can go dig up my ukulele and sing ‘Mele Kalikimaka’ for you.” Beau drained the last of the tea and grinned at me with his fangs poking out.

  I pouted with dramatic flair. “I’d rather be singing ‘White Christmas,’ but there’s not a snowball’s chance in Hades we’ll be seeing anything that needs the cold for this year’s Christmas.”

  “It would take a miracle. Or someone with some very powerful magic,” Beau agreed, handing me the glass.

  “Speaking of magic, would you mind changing your form one more time and putting up the red bows, too?” Hoping I wouldn’t be pushing my luck, I nudged the box of velvet ribbon with my foot in his direction.

  He sighed. “It’s a good thing it’s that time of year where we’re supposed to be generous. But after this, I gotta get ready for my own celebrations tonight.” Beau wiggled his eyebrows, but I refused to think about whatever dating escapades he had planned.

  Placing the glasses on the tray with the pitcher, I made my way inside. A frigid blast of air hit me when I opened the front door. It might have been useless to waste magical energy to attempt to control the temperature outside, but it sure didn’t hurt to be related to the strongest spellcaster in the South, especially when I was hosting a Christmas Eve party tonight.

  “If you know what’s good for ya, you’ll shut that dang door,” my grandmother scolded from the doorway of the kitchen, stirring the contents of her next baking project in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. “You’re gonna let out all the cool air my spell has already managed. Its effects won’t last forever.”

  Obeying, I shut the door and joined her, butterflies fluttering in my stomach for tonight’s party. “Everybody’s gonna think I’m insane for requiring them to wear an ugly Christmas sweater. But by then, it should be good and frosty in here, right?”

  Nana reassured me for the thousandth time and added the all-important drops of red food coloring into the dark liquid mix of devil’s food cake, mixing the ingredients with a wooden spoon. “Do you want it like a dark cherry red or should we go for the color of Santa’s suit?”

  It took great restraint on my part not to dip my finger into the center of the mix and taste it. “Since this is my first time hosting a Christmas Eve party, I say let’s make the jolly old man proud.” After she got the color just right, I pulled the prepared cake tins closer and helped my grandmother pour the batter into them. “When you get to the cream cheese frosting, promise I’ll get to lick the spoon at the end.”

  “Your house, you get first licks,” she promised with a nod. Nana opened the oven and slid in the two cake pans.

  Thank goodness her Icy Interior spell was already in full effect, making my house cool enough so that the hot oven didn’t melt us like snowmen in the middle of Main Street in our special small Southern town. I waited for Nana to close the oven before wrapping her up in a tight embrace.

  “Thank you for helping me with the cooking and making my house perfect,” I murmured into her shoulder.

  She chuckled and patted my back. “You know I would do anything for you, Birdy.”

  The back door flew open and Beau appeared, wiping the sweat from his forehead and breathing hard from his efforts. “Phew. It feels like I’ve been given entry into a wintery heaven, Ms. Vivi. Let it not be said that your magic isn’t the finest this side of the Mississippi.”

  “Close the door,” Nana and I both yelled at the same time.

  My vampire roommate did as he was told with a fanged smile. “Well, I have fulfilled the last of my duties. I got all the red bows tacked up like you wanted, Charli. Now the outside of our h
umble abode matches the festive inside, even if the weather doesn’t.”

  “Good job, Beauregard. There are definite benefits to you being able to transform into a bat,” my grandmother gushed. “Have a gingerbread cookie for your efforts.”

  I reached out my hand to take one as well, but Nana slapped it away. “Hey,” I complained.

  “You have more to do since this is your party, including decorating the gingerbread cookies, not eating them.” She nodded her head at the table full of cooling racks covered in brown, unadorned treats. “Get to pipin’ some icin’, Birdy.”

  Beau accepted his reward, took a dramatic bite, and smiled at me through crumbs on the points of his fangs. “Actually, oh generous roommate of mine, I do have a question for you.”

  It took great effort not to snatch the rest of the cookie out of his pudgy fingers, but I restrained myself, sitting down at the table instead. “What?”

  “Where do you want me to hang this?” With a twinkle in his eyes, Beau pulled out a couple of sprigs of mistletoe tied together with a red bow from out of nowhere.

  Pixie poop! With everything going on, I’d forgotten that one small yet important decoration. “Where’d you get it?”

  The sides of his mouth curled up into a sly grin. “More benefits from being able to poof into my aerial form. I found a red maple in the woods out yonder with a few bunches of mistletoe stuck to it. Thought it might help whenever your yummy detective gets back into town.” Beau took a deliberate bite of his cookie with smug satisfaction. “Rumor has it your boyfriend left Honeysuckle on a very important mission.”

  My stomach clenched at the mention of whatever task kept Mason away for longer than expected. “Did he tell you what he was doing?”

  “No-o-o,” Beau drew out. “But there’s been speculation that perhaps he needed to go to a bigger metropolis in order to obtain a very special item.”

  I’d spent many sleepless minutes making guesses of my own where the detective had gone. Although I trusted him when he told me he’d be safe, I knew he’d put himself in harm’s way in the past, like when he obtained the phoenix feather for me. Our relationship was still so new that doubt found a way to creep into my heart.

  “What kind of item?” I queried.

  The vampire giggled with way too much glee, picking up two gingerbread men from the table. “The sparkly kind that fits on your finger.”

  Nana stopped stirring the contents in the cast iron pan. “Frosted fairy wings, Mr. Pepperpot. All your long years as a vampire, and you’d think you’d know when you’re getting into trouble.” She clicked her tongue and shook her head.

  “If you ask me,” began Beau, waving the two cookies around.

  I snorted and interrupted, “Which I didn’t.”

  “I think you picked the right man in the long run. I think it’s nice that you even had a choice in who you could date,” my roommate finished. “Time was that those like us had to stick to our own kind. Witches with witches only. Even today, some shifter communities tend to have issues if they mate outside their animal species.” He bit the head off of one of the cookies.

  Nana blew on the end of the wooden spoon and tasted the contents. “That’s not how we do things here in Honeysuckle.”

  “I know,” admitted Beau. “It’s only something I wanted to point out.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him while he finished the rest of the gingerbread man. “Are you saying you have a problem that Mason and I are together?” My roommate’s mention of shifters dredged up thoughts of Dash, whose short and friendly well wishes rested on top of a table in the foyer with the other Christmas cards from friends.

  Beau realized his misstep, his eyes widening. “Not at all. No, like I said, I like your Mason. And if he is indeed away buying something truly special to give you.”

  The way my roommate emphasized the word special raised a whole lotta flags. “Like what?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. But you better have a plan in case the detective comes back and pops a certain kind of question. Don’t you think you should know what your answer might be?” With too much glee, the vampire finished the first cookie.

  My nerves jangled at the mere thought of what Beau suggested. Sure, Mason and I enjoyed being together, even appreciated the opportunity to date ever since he’d recovered from the horrible incident of losing his memories. But no way were we at a point in our burgeoning relationship to even consider…

  “I think you’re wrong,” I spit out, coughing to cover up the panicked tone in my voice. “He’ll be home soon from whatever he’s doing, which is definitely not purchasing that kind of present.”

  Pulling out my spell phone, I checked the last text from him, promising to try his best to get back in time for the party. Now that Beau had planted the seed of a possible proposal in my head, an internal battle commenced over whether or not I wanted him to return right now.

  “See?” Beau held up the second gingerbread man that he’d broken the legs off and repositioned to make it look like it was kneeling. “This could be him on one knee.”

  “You done done it now,” Nana warned.

  I held up my hand and let a little power dance between my fingers. “Beauregard, you’ve got three seconds to hustle your hiney out of here before I zap it into the next century. One.”

  “I just thought that since I’m the one with the most dating experience in this room, I’d help give you a little boost.” My roommate picked up the sprigs of mistletoe. “So I can hang it up in the foyer?” he dared to ask.

  “Two.” I quirked up my left eyebrow while magic sparks danced faster over my hand.

  Nana chuffed an annoyed sigh. “Boy, if I were you, I’d skedaddle as fast as you can, hang the blasted mistletoe, and hide for the next few hours.”

  My irritation fueled me. “Three.” The stinging hex shot from the ends of my fingers straight at his non-beating heart.

  Beau poofed into his bat form with an alarmed squeak, still clutching the mistletoe in his talons. He dodged the hex and disappeared into the other room.

  Picking up the bag of frosting, I did my best to ignore the storm of emotions rolling in my stomach and get back to the current task. Despite concentrating to keep the line of icing on the gingerbread snowflake straight, my shaking hand holding the bag of frosting squeezed out a massive blob of white. Definitely not the delicate look I was going for.

  I grunted and tossed the frosting bag aside. “Pixie. Poop. I don’t know why I thought I could throw a party like…”

  Nana let my spoken thought trail off into silence, turned off the burner, and joined me at the table. “Your mother used to throw great parties. And I think it’s both wonderful and brave of you, sweet Bird, to want to try and revive the tradition.”

  Figuring that I’d already ruined the snowflake cookie, I took a bite and gathered my thoughts. “There’s no way I could rival Mom’s party. She made it look so easy.”

  My grandmother shook her head once. “Your memories of it are far different than mine. Rayline would be a basket case from all the things that weren’t going the way she planned right up until the first guest came. After that, she enjoyed anything and everything that happened. All you need to know is that it didn’t matter to her if everything was perfect in the long run. She loved that everyone who came had a good time, which is what I know you’ll be able to do.”

  I let out a long breath and my shoulders released some of their tension. “I think I can do that.”

  Nana cupped my chin in her hand and wiped a stray drop from my cheek. “I love your big heart, Birdy. Never you mind about mistletoe and whatnot. Tonight, honor the past but make the present your own.” She leaned in closer and rubbed her nose against mine until I giggled.

  “I think I can do that,” I stated through my smile. With newfound boldness, I reached behind her for another cookie to give me strength to continue.

  Too wise and all-knowing, Nana let my face go and smacked my hand. “Drop it. Those are for your guests. I
f you have to touch them, then get to decoratin’.” She gestured at all the bowls filled with candy and sprinkles and the big bag of frosting.

  “Thanks again for helping me tonight, Nana.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed it three times before letting it go.

  My grandmother’s bright smile spread across her face and she kissed the top of my head. “Of course, my Charli Bird. You know I’d do anything for you.” She caressed my cheek and winked at me before touching my nose and turning back to the oven. “You’ve got some flour on you now.”

  “Which you just put there,” I accused with a warm heart, wiping the baking ingredient off with the back of my hand. A slight blast of cold air blew through the room, and I shivered. “Ooh, this place is gonna feel perfect tonight. I think I might go change out of my shorts and put on my flannel pajama pants before I finish decorating these cookies.” Making sure Nana’s back was to me, I snatched a small gingerbread reindeer off a plate and ran out the door.

  “Thief,” my grandmother yelled after me, chuckling.

  I ran out of the kitchen and bounded up the stairs. Nana always knew how to heal my heart and lift my spirits. With my excitement for tonight renewed, I donned the bottom half of the Christmas pajamas I’d been hoarding for over a month and hummed a carol under my breath as I headed back downstairs.

  Chapter 2

  It didn’t take long before the chilly atmosphere in my house encouraged everyone to don the sweaters they’d all grumbled about bringing. Thanks to the help of my vampire roommate, family, and a few friends over the last week, the insides of my house would fit right in at the North Pole.