Kiss Me At Christmas. Susan Mallery

the small box and opened it. She pulled out the cardinal salt and pepper shakers and placed them on the counter. “They’re beautiful. Thank you for bringing them to me. I’ll use them, I promise. As for you making a mistake, you didn’t. You’re going to have a good time.”

      “But you’ll be by yourself.” Her mother’s brows drew together. “We worry about you.”

      Because for the first time they wouldn’t be spending Christmas together. Robbie and Jasmine would be with Robbie’s in-laws and her parents had booked a holiday cruise with two other couples.

      When they’d first told Madeline, she’d felt a little twinge. But then she’d reminded herself that they’d worked hard all their lives and they deserved to enjoy their retirement.

      “I’ll be fine,” she told them. “I have lots of friends. You know that. The big question is which invitation to accept for dinner.” Her parents didn’t look that reassured.

      She searched for something else to say—something that would reassure them. She brightened. “Besides, I’m going to be so swamped. I’m planning a wedding.”

      “Who’s getting married? Why didn’t I know one of your friends had gotten engaged?”

      Madeline chuckled. “Mom, you have to brace yourself. I’m not helping a friend. Do you know who Jonny Blaze is?”

      “The actor?” her mother asked.

      “I enjoy his movies,” her father added. “Amish Revenge is one of my favorites. We have the DVD.”

      “He’s getting married?” Her mother shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

      “It’s not him, it’s his sister.”

      Madeline explained about Mayor Marsha and the request, along with the subsequent conversations. “You can’t tell anyone,” she added. “It’s a private thing.”

      “Of course,” her mother said. “You’re very sweet to help him out.” Her mouth curved into a teasing smile. “Is he just as handsome in person?”

      “You know it.”

      Her father cleared his throat. “Loretta, do I have to worry about you?”

      His wife laughed. “Hardly. Jonny Blaze is young enough to be my son.”

      “That doesn’t matter. You’re a beautiful woman and he’d be lucky to have you. What I want to know is how hard I have to fight to keep you.”

      Their teasing warmed Madeline from the inside out. Her parents were loving, in love and just plain good people.

      She worried about them because of their ages. She wasn’t ready to lose either of them. But they were both healthy and Robbie assured her they should live well into their nineties. While she would like them around forever, she would take what she could get.

      A car pulled into the driveway. Her mother clapped and her father headed to the front door.

      “Right on time,” Madeline said, just as excited to see the rest of her family.

      The next few minutes passed in a blur of greetings and hugs as Robbie and Jasmine were welcomed into the house. Flights were discussed and the cardinal salt and pepper shakers were cooed over.

      By the time all that was done, Madeline found herself in the kitchen with her niece. Jasmine pulled up a bar stool and scooped batter onto waiting cookie sheets.

      “I don’t know, Maddie,” the twenty-one-year-old admitted. “Dad doesn’t say anything, but I can feel the pressure.”

      “Your dad wants you to be happy.”

      “He wants me to be a pediatrician.”

      “Probably, but he’ll settle for you being happy.”

      Because while Jasmine had said she was interested in medicine, her decision to focus on radiology was different than her initial plan to follow in her father’s footsteps. Jasmine’s mother had died of breast cancer.

      Her death had changed them all. Jasmine especially. She’d decided to focus her sadness in a productive way. Something Robbie would have already guessed.

      “He loves you,” Madeline pointed out. “He’ll be fine.”

      Jasmine, a blue-eyed blonde like the rest of the Krug women, wrinkled her nose. “Maybe you could talk to him.”

      “Maybe you could talk to him yourself.”

      “Why do I have to act like an adult?”

      “It builds character and you might want to have the skill later, so it’s good to practice.”

      Jasmine laughed. “If you insist.”

      “I do.”

      Robbie walked into the kitchen. He was nearly six feet, with light brown hair that was going gray at the temples. He smiled when he spotted them talking.

      “How are my two favorite girls?”

      “Good,” Madeline said. “I think it’s going to snow.”

      “I hope so. It’s so fun here when it snows.”

      Madeline grinned at her brother. “I would think you’d get enough snow at home.”

      Robbie snagged one of the cooling cookies and took a bite. “It’s different here.”

      “Magical,” his daughter said.

      “I don’t think I’d go that far, but close.” He turned to Madeline. “You okay with the holiday plans? You can come with Jasmine and me if you want.”

      Madeline appreciated the concern for what would be her first Christmas without her family. “I’ll be fine. I’ve already talked to Mom. I have friends and plenty to keep me busy. Don’t worry.”

      “Grandma Pat said it was okay,” Jasmine added. “Just so you know.”

      Grandma Pat was Robbie’s mother-in-law and Jasmine’s maternal grandmother. “Tell her thank you, but I’m staying in Fool’s Gold.” She had work and a wedding to plan. There was also the slight chance she might be caught under some mistletoe with a very handsome Jonny Blaze.

      * * *

      AROUND NOON ON Thanksgiving, Jonny drove into town for the parade. He was curious to see the festivities, not to mention cheer on his car. He wasn’t sure Mayor Marsha was a 1956 El Dorado kind of gal, but who was he to judge?

      He was surprised by the number of people already lining the streets. It took him a while to find parking and then he had to walk nearly a mile back to the parade route. He passed lots of families. Parents with kids in strollers and even parents with teenagers. He would have expected the older kids to head off to be with their friends, but from what he could see, they were pretty willing to stay with the old folks. A few people smiled and called out a greeting. He had a feeling that was about the day and not him, which he liked.

      The temperature was brisk—probably the midthirties. Cold but not unbearable. The sky was clear, but he would swear he could smell the promise of snow. On the corner, Brew-haha had set up a kiosk with mugs of cocoa and coffee. Next to that was a food cart that sold all kinds of Thanksgiving-shaped cookies. Turkeys and pumpkins and Pilgrim hats. He got a coffee and a couple of cookies, then strolled around in the crowd.

      There was plenty of conversation. He heard snippets of different discussions on everything from the favorite part of the parade to what side dishes a certain mother-in-law expected her new daughter-in-law to make. When the faint notes of music drifted toward them, the crowd went quiet, then began to cheer.

      He turned with everyone else, eager to catch his first glimpse of this small-town parade.

      “Oh. My. God. You’re Jonny Blaze. I can’t believe it. What are you doing here? Do you live here? Is it really you? Can I have an autograph