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The Lodge on Holly Road
Sheila Roberts
How Santa Gets His Christmas Spirit Back…James Claussen has played Santa for years, but now that he's a widower, he's lost interest – in everything. So his daughter, Brooke, kidnaps him from the mall (in his Santa suit!) and takes him to Icicle Falls. She's arranged a special Christmas at the lodge owned by long-widowed Olivia Wallace and her son, Eric. And yet…Brooke wants Dad to be happy, but she's not ready to see someone else's mommy kissing Santa Claus. Single mum Missy Monroe brings her kids to the lodge, too. Lalla wants a grandma for Christmas, and her brother, Carlos, wants a dog. Missy can't provide either one. What she'd like is an attractive, dependable man. A man like John Truman… But John's girlfriend will be joining him in Icicle Falls, and he's going to propose.Of course, not everything goes as planned. But sometimes the best gifts are the ones you don't expect!Welcome to Icicle Falls, the town that will warm your heart.Praise for Sheila Roberts'Sheila Roberts makes me laugh. I read her books & come away hopeful and happy.' - bestselling romance author Debbie Macomber'perfectly captures the charm and cheer of the holiday season’ - Booklist
How Santa Gets His Christmas Spirit Back…
James Claussen has played Santa for years, but now that he’s a widower, he’s lost interest—in everything. So his daughter, Brooke, kidnaps him from the mall (in his Santa suit!) and takes him to Icicle Falls. She’s arranged a special Christmas at the lodge owned by long-widowed Olivia Wallace and her son, Eric. And yet…Brooke wants Dad to be happy, but she’s not ready to see someone else’s mommy kissing Santa Claus.
Single mom Missy Monroe brings her kids to the lodge, too. Lalla wants a grandma for Christmas, and her brother, Carlos, wants a dog. Missy can’t provide either one. What she’d like is an attractive, dependable man. A man like John Truman… But John’s girlfriend will be joining him in Icicle Falls, and he’s going to propose.
Of course not everything goes as planned. But sometimes the best gifts are the ones you don’t expect!
Praise for Sheila Roberts and her Christmas novels (#ulink_87eaaeae-c9bb-5647-8792-d9b1173cfc44)
“This amusing holiday tale about love lost and found again is heartwarming. Quirky characters, snappy dialogue and sexy chemistry all combine to keep you laughing, as well as shedding a few tears.…”
—RT Book Reviews on Merry Ex-mas
“Merry Ex-mas is the absolute perfect holiday book! It has everything great women’s contemporary fiction should have—a great storyline filled with romance, humor and a bit of mystery tucked in here and there, fabulous personable characters filled with charm…”
—Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews
“An engaging humorous tale of three sets of ex-couples coming together over the holidays. The ensemble cast makes for a fun frothy frolic as the ghosts of Christmas past reunite…”
—Harriet Klausner on Merry Ex-mas
“Roberts’ witty and effervescently funny holiday novel will warm hearts. Realistic characters populate the pages of this captivating story.”
—RT Book Reviews (Top Pick) on On Strike for Christmas
“Roberts’ charming holiday-themed contemporary story set in the Seattle area offers hope, comfort, and a second chance for those who believe, and a nudge to change the minds of those who don’t.”
—Booklist on The Snow Globe
“Within minutes of cracking open the book, my mood was lifted.… The warm, glowing feeling it gave me lasted for days.”
—First for Women on The Snow Globe
“This lighthearted and charming read will appeal to fans of Kristin Hannah’s magical, light romances and readers who enjoyed Roberts’s previous holiday offerings.”
—Library Journal on The Snow Globe (starred review)
“Witty characterizations, slapstick mishaps, and plenty of holiday cheer.”
—Publishers Weekly on The Nine Lives of Christmas
The Lodge on Holly Road
Sheila Roberts
www.mirabooks.co.uk (http://www.mirabooks.co.uk)
For Sandy Hamilton, aka Santa Colorado
Dear Reader (#ulink_28687ea5-dca5-5a5f-bac2-269b4b40d877),
Can you remember the thrill of coming downstairs as a child on Christmas morning and rushing to see what Santa left for you under the tree? I can! Good old Santa Claus, a kid’s best friend. And you see him everywhere: at shopping malls, in parades, at family holiday gatherings. There he is, ho-ho-ho-ing, handing out treats and generally making everyone feel good.
Except everyone doesn’t always feel good during the holidays. Strained relationships, hard times, grief and loss can steal our holiday joy. With that reality in mind, I got to wondering what would happen if Santa were to lose his Christmas spirit. What if a man who once loved to play Santa Claus was coping with grief and didn’t want to be jolly anymore? And what about the people he’d find himself interacting with? What if they were having problems, too? If several people who were facing holiday challenges all found themselves gathered together in one spot for Christmas, how would they cope?
Well, just to see, I gathered a bunch of people together at the Icicle Creek Lodge in Icicle Falls and asked them to help each other figure out how to have a merry Christmas. I hope I succeeded and I hope you’ll enjoy this holiday tale of love and laughter.
You can always find me on Facebook. And please visit my website, www.sheilasplace.com (http://www.sheilasplace.com/), to find out more about Icicle Falls, the Hallmark Channel original movie based on my Christmas novel, The Nine Lives of Christmas, my contests and more. And let me know what you do to make Christmas special.
Merry Christmas to you, your family and friends!
Sheila
Contents
Cover (#ua14fb8db-4545-56cd-b283-c02588de5592)
Back Cover Text (#ubbd8a34f-2561-5a03-928b-814d3c8fcb63)
Praise (#ulink_76ef800d-420f-5a16-abd2-2b8fb3cce4fe)
Title Page (#u8798a2b7-3fd4-5953-8062-37b92748614f)
Dedication (#ue2966999-1adc-503e-94ee-a5a535b4bcf8)
Dear Reader (#ulink_ea9d82cc-a551-50ed-a0d1-a750b6a9066b)
Chapter One (#ulink_08bfb874-7751-5d9e-8773-9b89112ef8b6)
Chapter Two (#ulink_3532adb7-58e5-5809-8c67-07af4e02517a)
Chapter Three (#ulink_7f2ab94d-8fcb-57d6-98a2-07844f84fdde)
Chapter Four (#ulink_d77705d8-d113-5d73-bb6c-6ab636a63afc)
Chapter Five (#ulink_a08c6258-c67b-533e-b3c4-7d5e646d1a6a)
Chapter Six (#ulink_16ab94a7-9f63-5a8f-9ffe-2c3f29376de4)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Acknowledgments (#litres_trial_promo)
Recipes from Olivia (#litres_trial_promo)
Gumdrop Cookies (#litres_trial_promo)
Old-Fashioned Cookies (#litres_trial_promo)
Breakfast Casserole (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#ulink_50c594ce-5a00-5fc7-a9a0-a1e86c5e3142)
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
The toddler wasn’t simply crying. Oh, no. These were the kind of earsplitting screams that would make the strongest department-store Santa want to run for his sleigh. Her face was a perfect match for James Claussen’s red Santa suit, and both her eyes and her nose had the spigot turned on full blast.
What was he doing here, sitting on this uncomfortable throne, ruling over a kingdom of fake snow, candy canes and mechanical reindeer? What had possessed him to come back to work? He didn’t want to be jolly, even imitation jolly.
“Come on, Joy,” coaxed the little girl’s mother from her spot on the sidelines of Santa Land. “Smile for Mommy.”
“Waaah,” Joy responded.
I understand how you feel, James thought. “Joy, that’s a pretty name for a pretty girl. Can you give your mommy a big smile?” he coaxed.
“Waaah,” Joy shrieked, and began kicking her feet. The black patent leather shoes turned those little feet into lethal weapons. Come tomorrow he’d have a bruise on the inside of his left thigh.
“Ho, ho, ho,” James tried, but the shrieks only got louder.
Okay, this was as good as the picture with Santa was going to get. He stood and handed off the child, who was still kicking and crying, barely dodging an assault to the family jewels in the process. The jewels weren’t so perfect now that he was sixty-six but they were still valuable to him and he wanted to keep them.
Shauna Sullivan, his loyal elf, sent him a sympathetic look and ushered up the next child, a baby girl carried by her mother. Rosy-cheeked and alert, probably just awake from a nap, the baby was dolled up in a red velvet dress with white booties on her feet and a headband decorated with a red flower. She was old enough to smile and coo but not quite old enough to walk or, thank God, kick Santa where it hurt.
This baby girl reminded him of his daughter, Brooke, when she was a baby, all smiles and dimples. Big brown eyes that looked at him in delighted wonder. Oh, those were the days, when his kids were small and Faith was still...
Don’t go there.
“And what would this little dumpling like for Christmas?” he asked, settling the baby on his lap.
For a few seconds it looked as if she was actually concentrating on an answer. But then a sound anyone who’d had children could easily recognize, followed by a foul odor, told him she’d been concentrating on something else. Oh, man.
“Smile, Santa,” Krystal, the photographer, teased, and the smelly baby on his lap gurgled happily.
James had never been good with poopy diapers but he gave it his best effort and hoped he looked like a proper Santa.
Finally, they were down to the last kid in line. Thank God. After this, Santa was going home to enjoy a cold beer.
That was about the only thing he’d enjoy. Oh, he’d turn on the TV to some cop show, but he wouldn’t really watch it. Then he’d go to bed and wish the days wouldn’t keep coming, forcing him to move on.
He especially dreaded the next day, December 24. How he wished he could skip right to New Year’s Day. Or better yet, go backward to New Year’s Day two years ago, when he and Faith were planning their European cruise.
Stay in the moment, he told himself. Stay in character. He put on his jolliest Santa face and held out a welcoming arm to the next child.
This one was going to be a terror; he could tell by the scowl on the kid’s freckled face as he approached. He was a big, hefty burger of a boy, wearing jeans and an oversize T-shirt, and could have been anywhere between the ages of ten and thirteen. Logic ruled out the older end of the spectrum. Usually by about eight or nine, kids stopped believing.
“And who have we got here?” James asked in his jolly I-love-kids voice.
Normally he did love kids and he loved playing Santa, had been doing it since his children were little. He’d always had the husky build for it, although when he was younger Faith had padded him out with a pillow. No pillow necessary now. And no need for a fake beard, either. Mother Nature had turned his beard white over the past few years.
These days he wasn’t into the role, wasn’t into Christmas, period. Santa had lost his holiday spirit and he was starting to lose his patience, too. Very un-Santa-like. He should never have agreed to fill in today, should have told Holiday Memories to find another Santa.
His new customer didn’t answer him.
“What’s your name, son?” he asked, trying again.
“Richie,” said the boy, and landed on James’s leg like a ton of coal.
“And how old are you, Richie?”
“Too old for this. This is stupid.” The kid crossed his arms and glared at his mother.
“So you’re twelve?” James guessed.
