Red Velvet & Reindeer Read online

  “If you can spare a few more moments before the two of you head back to the real North Pole, would you mind posing for a few more pictures?” I dared.

  His stomach jiggled with a genuine laugh. “I think you might be underselling your services, but if that’s all you want, then break out your camera or phone.”

  I pulled my spell phone from my pocket, having completely forgotten about it during our journeys until that very moment. Sending out a quick text, I waited with impatience and pondered if anything else that happened in my life would ever equal such a special night as tonight.

  Matt appeared at the open door to the barn with my sister-in-law and a sleepy daughter rubbing her eyes and laying her head on her mama’s shoulder. “First off, how in the world did you get out here when I just saw you inside the house? Second off, where’d you get the fake Santa?”

  I hurried to my brother’s side to stop him from saying anything else. “Don’t worry about how I got here, but be careful about calling him fake. This is the real Santa Claus.”

  My brother snorted. “Yeah, right.”

  “Uh, Matt.” His wife tugged on his sleeve. “Look who’s in Sparkles’ stall with her.”

  Rudolph stopped playing with the unicorn and lit up his shiny red nose for all of us to see, his little fluffy tail wagging at the attention.

  Matt’s mouth dropped open until his skepticism took over. “No. Uh-uh. No way. This is all some sort of glamour or prank. A good one, mind you, but still.” He approached Santa and held out his hand. “Sir, I sure hope my sister paid you good money to be here. But if you don’t mind, could me and my family take pictures with you and your reindeer? I don’t know how you got its nose to light up, but kudos to the both of you.”

  Not willing to argue more with my stubborn brother, I took several pictures with his spell phone. We didn’t stop until Rudolph sneezed when Sparkles gifted him with more glitter.

  “Thanks for giving us the opportunity to take these cool pictures, but I don’t understand why you went to all that trouble to hire a fake Santa,” Matt repeated.

  Before I could admonish him, Santa held up a finger. “Hold on. I think I can take care of this right now.” He approached my brother and held up a hand to his ear, whispering until Matt’s face turned beet red.

  “Frosted fairy wings, he’s the real deal,” he squealed, then winced when his daughter emitted a cry of displeasure. Taking Rayline from TJ, he bounced his daughter on his hip. “I can’t believe I just took my daughter’s first Christmas pictures with the Santa Claus.”

  I waved my hands in the air in surrender. “I tried to tell you. Also, don’t forget you also got a glimpse of the Rudolph. That song is going to take on a whole new meaning from here on out.”

  My brother rushed to my side and kissed my cheek. “I know, I know. And now, someday I’ll get to tell our little Sunshine about this moment. This is the best Christmas present ever, Birdy. Or at least a close second to your pinecone ornament.”

  My cheeks warmed with his sincere praise. “Don’t call me that.”

  He ruffled my hair. “Always.” Matt waved at Santa and backed away with his sleepy daughter’s head carefully tucked under his chin. “Thanks again, and Merry Christmas.”

  I waited until they were gone before I released a long exhausted breath. “Whoo, it’s been a long night, yet somehow you managed to get us here at the tail end of my party before you showed up in the first place. Does this mean you’ll be able to get Rudolph home and get going on your deliveries in time?”

  Santa finished feeding the final reindeer the cookie, and Sparkles neighed and huffed as her friend disappeared. I reached out my hand to pet her in comfort.

  “I should be okay if I could ask one more favor,” he ventured.

  “Name it.”

  “Can we wait until everyone’s gone and then eat some of the leftovers? I feel the need to top of my energy again.” His eyes twinkled with too much merriment, and we both burst into laughter.

  After he finished off two plates of food and at least three slices of red velvet cake, he washed it all down with the last of the sweet tea. “There. I think I’ve consumed enough sugar to fuel me until next year. I best be getting on my way.”

  “Do you need to eat one of your cookies?” I teased, knowing his magic would be more than enough to get him back to the North Pole.

  “No, but could you leave out another slice of your Nana’s red velvet cake for when I drop by tonight?” He placed a steady hand on my shoulder. “Thank you for helping me, Charli. Someday, when it’s not so close to Christmas, I’ll have to have you up to my place. Me and the missus would love to host you and show you everything you helped preserve with your efforts tonight. Until then.”

  Santa laid a finger to the side of his nose, and with a final wink at me, he disappeared in a flurry of sparkling snowflakes that smelled like peppermint. Before dragging my tired behind upstairs and collapsing in bed, I cut another slice of the cake and placed the plate, fork, and glass of milk beside my special tree adorned with all the family ornaments.

  “Merry Christmas,” I uttered with complete happiness.

  Epilogue

  Mason came over to my house in the morning to go with me to Nana’s for breakfast. He kissed me three times under the mistletoe until I began to suspect his intentions weren’t completely innocent or romantic.

  I placed a finger over his lips to stop him from distracting me one more time. “What’s going on?”

  He sighed with disappointment. “Truth is, I went up North in search of a specific item I really wanted to give you for Christmas.”

  In all of the activity of the previous night, I’d forgotten about what Mason might want to give me this holiday. “It’s okay. Having you here is gift enough.” I gave him a quick peck. “And actually, this makes everything better. Other than a really cool story to tell you, I was going to have to confess to you that I hadn’t a clue what to get you for Christmas either.”

  We gazed at each other with temporary trepidation until we broke down into nervous giggles. “I thought you’d be upset if I didn’t give you something good. One of my former colleagues told me I’d better show up with a jewelry box in hand if I wanted to stay your boyfriend.”

  I stiffened at the mention of jewelry, remembering the engagement ring he once used to carry around in his wallet. “Did you listen to your friend?” My heart thudded in my throat.

  Mason’s eyes widened, and he took a giant step away from me. “Oh no, you didn’t think that I’d…I mean, it’s not that I haven’t thought…but don’t you think it’s too soon for…” He cleared his throat and tried to regain his composure. “I meant like a necklace or something. When we’re both in agreement that it might be time to look at another more significant piece of jewelry, we’ll talk to each other first long before.”

  My hands stopped shaking. “I don’t want you to think that I would have refused you, but…”

  “Now is not the right time,” the detective finished, kissing my forehead. “I’m sorry you spent any time worrying about whether or not I’d be returning with something as big as that. And now I feel even worse about not telling you why I was gone for so long and why I don’t have a gift to give you.”

  I placed my hand over his heart. “How about we stop worrying about trying to make the other happy with a gift and just enjoy the day?”

  Mason smiled and dipped his face closer to mine. “Deal.” He kissed me long and slow until he pulled away with a groan. “We need to head to your grandmother’s. I don’t want her waiting too long. But…you know you do have a couple of gifts waiting for you under that tree in there.”

  Perhaps Nana or Matt had slipped the boxes under the tree when I was distracted with Santa’s mission. Or maybe Beau had come home late and placed them there. I smiled when I spotted the red crumbs left on the plate, giddy with anticipation in telling Mason about the previous night’s escapades.

  The detective bent down and picked up the
smaller of the two boxes. “You stinker. You actually did get me a present.”

  “No, I didn’t,” I denied.

  Mason pulled out the tag with his name written in impeccable cursive. “Yes, you did. Or someone did if it wasn’t you. Here, maybe the other gift will give us a clue.” He handed me his mystery box and picked up the second one. “Phew, it’s actually got some heft to it.”

  We exchanged gifts, and I opened up the small card tied to the ribbon adorning the wrapped gift. In the same tidy script, I read, “I know you think taking pictures with me is enough payment, but I want you to know that your special talents are worth much, much more. Don’t ever underestimate them or yourself. I hope these two gifts make us square.”

  Mason waited with impatience. “Well, do you have a clue who’s the mysterious gift giver?”

  I couldn’t contain the mirth bursting inside of me. “It’s a long story and one you’re going to have a really hard time believing. Maybe if you open your box first, it’ll help.”

  With a shrug, the detective pulled off the ribbon and bow and tore off the paper more like a little boy than the grown man I’d come to adore. With careful fingers, he lifted the lid of the box and gasped in shock. “It can’t be.”

  “What is it?” I stood on my tiptoes, trying to get a look inside at the hidden contents.

  Mason reached in and pulled out a hook with an ornament dangling at the end of it. “How in the world did this get here? This is exactly what I was looking for up North. I did my best to find my last foster family where I remembered hanging it on the tree.” He held the precious ornament in the air. Some of the paint had worn off the sides, but the image of a nutcracker was still distinct. “It’s the only item I was told came from my birth mother. I managed to keep it with me all those years but lost track of it in the long run. It’s value to me is…” His voice trailed off as his memories quieted him.

  I wrapped my arm around his middle. “It’s very pretty,” I uttered, waiting for him to absorb the enormity of the moment.

  Mason dashed his finger under his eye to catch a stray tear. “No, you don’t understand. This is one of the most precious things I lost. And now that I found it, I can do exactly what I planned to do with it.”

  Instead of placing it on a branch of the tree, he returned it to the box. “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Giving it to you.” He held out the gift for me. “I want you to own my treasured possession because you already have the rest of me.”

  Careful not to break anything in my haste, I took both boxes, set them down nearby, and kissed my man like crazy. “You, sir, will never stop surprising me,” I declared after I pulled away to gaze up at him.

  “And I hope I never do.” He wiped the wetness under my eyes away with his thumb. “Now, you should open your other gift.”

  Before I unwrapped the other box, I took out the fragile nutcracker ornament and chose a branch right in the middle for the little Christmas soldier to go on display. I hung it with care and embraced Mason, resting my head on his chest and listening to the beat of his heart.

  Prompted by a text from Nana to both of our spell phones, we postponed enjoying the day with just the two of us. The detective insisted he wouldn’t be able to relax until I opened the other gift. Knowing who the sender was, I tore it open and found another card sitting on top of an intricate snow globe.

  “Charli,” it read. “As hot as the South can get this time of year, I thought I’d give you something to bring winter cheer to everyone in your hometown. Use it wisely and keep this safe. Many Christmas Cheers, S.C.”

  I picked up the snow globe and examined the contents inside. “Wait. Look at the details of the small town. Is that Honeysuckle inside?”

  “It might be.” Mason glanced over my shoulder. “Move your thumb. What does the plaque under your thumb say?”

  I read the engraved words out loud. “For a little winter fun, the magic inside will last ’til one week past Christmas is done.”

  “What do you suppose it means?” he asked, trying to get me to hand over the gift to him to inspect.

  I maneuvered away and ran to the front door. Flinging it open, I dashed out onto the porch, narrowly avoiding a sleeping Peaches sprawled out on the warm wood. “What do you do with a snow globe?”

  Mason shrugged. “Shake it until the flakes inside float around.”

  “Exactly.” Following my instincts, I gave the incredible gift a good jiggle and watched the white flecks inside the glass float around the miniature version of our town.

  The sound of tinkling glass surrounded us, and I detected the scents I’d smelled when experiencing Santa’s magic the previous night. A cold wind blew across my face, and a stray snowflake fluttered down from the sky and landed on the tip of my nose.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mason exclaimed, holding out his hand to catch another flake. “That’s snow. It’s actually starting to snow. How in the world is that possible?”

  Absolute joy filled me to the brim, and a bubble of mirth rose to the surface. Uncontrolled giggles burst out of me. “What does it matter? It’s Christmas Day and it’s snowing.” Visions of snowmen and snowball fights danced in my head. Of snow angels and frozen kisses. Of the need to wear our ugly sweaters. Of hot chocolate and hot toddies to warm us up.

  “This does not make sense, but if you think it’s safe, then I guess I should stop worrying and enjoy it. I haven’t had a true white Christmas in years.” Mason pulled me into him and placed his chin on my head. “Since you seem to know, you gotta tell me. Exactly who gave you this mighty gift?”

  I turned around and brushed the crystal flakes out of his hair, cupping his cheek in one hand and hugging the snow globe to my chest with the other. I’d get around to telling him the full story, but for now, I wanted to extend my moment of sheer bliss and immerse both of us in the wonder of the day.

  “Merry Christmas, Mason,” I whispered, kissing his mouth right where a snowflake landed. He tasted like ginger and cinnamon.

  He finished our intimate canoodle and licked his lips with a deep chuckle. “Merry Christmas, Charli.”

  Dear Reader -

  Thanks so much for reading Red Velvet & Reindeer, the second Southern Charms Cozy Mystery short! If you enjoyed the story (as much as I did writing it), I hope you’ll consider leaving a review!

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  Series Order

  Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Series

  Magic and mystery are only part of the Southern Charms of Honeysuckle Hollow…

  Suggested reading order:

  Chess Pie & Choices: Prequel

  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)

  Series Order

  Southern Relics Cozy Mysteries

  A little sweet tea and a whole lot of spells won’t always put out the fire…

  Flea Market Magic

  Rags To Witches

  Pickups and Pirates (Coming Soon)

  About the Author

  Bella Falls grew up on the magic of sweet tea, barbecue, and hot and humid Southern days. She met her husband at college over an argument of how to properly pronounce the word pecan (fo
r the record, it should be pea-cawn, and they taste amazing in a pie). Although she’s had the privilege of living all over the States and the world, her heart still beats to the rhythm of the cicadas on a hot summer’s evening.

  Now, she’s taken her love of the South and woven it into a world where magic and mystery aren’t the only Charms.

  bellafallsbooks.com

  [email protected]

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  Southern Charms Cozy Companions