ChapterFive
The Keybler elves who worked the stables had readied four reindeer—Dasher, Gale, Ivy, and Clove—for the trip. Ivy and Clove had seemed eager to take their first turn pulling Ms. Claus and the famous golden sleigh. Dasher and Gale, two of the most seasoned reindeer, had been more stoic. Holly could tell that they took their role of supervising the two young reindeer’s maiden voyages seriously.
When they landed perfectly in a large forest in the United States Pacific Northwest, Holly gave them each a salted apple, and Ivy and Clove scampered around in excitement. Dasher and Gale eyed them with reproach but happily accepted their treats.
The flyer about the fall festival had occupied Holly’s mind since she’d left Lia’s café. Something about it called to her, and she thought it might be her subconscious working on a new theory. Perhaps it was time to test the hypothesis that small towns could be just as fruitful sources of Cheer as massive events. Maybe that was what she had been missing, jumping around from concerts to festivals to sporting events with thousands of people.
The flyer also reminded Holly of her latest conversation with Lia, and she kept trying to push the memory away. After visiting Lia, Holly had spent several weeks in Spain, Germany, and Brazil. The trips had been highly productive, but Lia’s words had been bugging her.Why is Lia so concerned that I’m lonely?How could I be lonely when I have a village full of elves who adore me, and I get to travel the world for most of every cycle?
Sure, occasionally, Holly wondered if it would be nice to have someone to sit with on the back porch and watch the sunrise or the northern lights, as her parents had done together for so many years. But she always shook the thought away quickly. She had work to do, and the Cheer always came first.
The reindeer landed in a large clearing in the woods near the edge of town. Holly walked around for a bit to get the lay of the land and came to a bus stop just inside the small town’s limits. A wooden sign nearly the size of her sleigh read Welcome to Emerald Hollow. Holly couldn’t help but smile at the name. Her mom had always told her that her eyes were the color of emeralds.
Holly glanced at her Cheer meter, which was still very low so early in the cycle. If things didn’t start well in Emerald Hollow, she would hit up an old staple like the nearby California beaches and amusement parks or maybe head east toward a national park.
She followed the signs through town as if she were a tourist. There was a local chamber of commerce, a bustling restaurant, and signs advertising hay rides to the fall festival that weekend. Her Cheer meter started to buzz mildly as she approached a large dark-wood building that appeared to be a central point of the town. She could smell food cooking inside.
After passing the sign reading The Emerald House, Holly stepped inside and looked around. She quickly realized it was more than just a restaurant. Straight ahead was a front desk for guests to check in for a hotel stay, to the right was a coffee shop brimming with books, and delightful scents came from the restaurant to the left.
The whole place was tastefully decorated for the fall and was crammed full of individuals in colorful sweaters, scarves, and caps. Holly paused at a sharp buzzing from her Cheer meter. She couldn’t get a reading on any specific emotions, but her meter was registering a lot of Cheer in the area.
Holly took a left and passed into the restaurant, where she asked for a booth and was told to take any open spot. Holly slid her small, sleek black travel backpack—appropriate for a businesswoman taking a little side trip—into the booth nearest the front of the restaurant. From there, she had a view of the lobby and the coffee shop. Her watch was still buzzing much more rapidly than normal. Holly glanced around, trying to pinpoint the source of all the Cheer.
Most of the booths in the restaurant were full, and a few people were sitting at the large wooden counter that faced the kitchen. Holly experienced an odd sensation as she looked around. Something about the place reminded her of the North Pole, and that was quite unusual.
In spite of her growing confusion, Holly put on a charming smile when a female server approached her to take her drink order.
“Do you have any hot chocolate?” Holly asked.
The woman nodded and jotted it down. “You’re in for a treat.” Then she turned back toward the kitchen.
Of course, Holly knew that no hot chocolate compared to that of the North Pole, but it didn’t stop her from trying it whenever she went somewhere that served it. She still held out a tiny bit of hope that one day, she wouldn’t be disappointed.
Soon, the server returned with the large glass mug of steaming cocoa topped with cream and peppermint shavings. Holly took a sip, and she nearly gasped in surprise.
“Good, right?” The server, whose name tag read Sofia, grinned and put a hand on her hip. “We’re kind of famous for it. Would you like to order food? We’re known for our omelets too.”
Holly barely processed the woman’s question. She was still stunned by the hot cocoa. It tasted exactly like it did at the North Pole.
Holly nodded, trying to gather her thoughts. “Sure, yes. I’ll take an omelet. Whichever is your favorite.”
Sofia smiled and turned away again.
Holly stared at her hot cocoa, eyeing it with both awe and suspicion. The whipped cream must be homemade, and the peppermint crumbles perfectly complemented the rich cocoa. She took another sip then another, only pausing to look up when a shadow passed over her drink. A white man with lightly tanned skin and warm brown hair was leaning casually on the other side of her booth. A dishrag was slung over his shoulder, and an apron was tied around his waist.
“Enjoying our famous cocoa?” the man asked as Holly met his eyes. They were a deep rich brown, reminding Holly of the bark on the trees at the North Pole. As he smiled at her, Holly’s watch continued to buzz insistently, like it did whenever she’d struck a Cheer gold mine, which wasn’t often.This is so odd.She forced herself not to glance down and instead focused on meeting the man’s searching gaze.
“What? Oh, yes, the hot cocoa is delicious.” Holly gathered her composure as she continued to study the man. He didn’t have the feverish joy of a sports fan right after their team had won or the wide-eyed wonder of a child who had just met their favorite action hero at a theme park. He looked like any other man going about his day, although he seemed more self-assured than most. But according to the activity in her meter, something about the people in the area was registering more Cheer than any single event she’d ever witnessed. She crossed her legs nervously underneath the table. She needed to know more.
“Are you here for the fall festival?” the man asked.
She searched for a name tag like the one she’d seen on Sofia, but he wasn’t wearing one. “Yes, I heard Emerald Hollow hosts a big one. I wanted to see what all the excitement was about.” Holly removed her hands from around the mug of cocoa and placed them on her lap under the table. The vibrations of her watch refused to cease, and Holly didn’t want to risk glancing at the meter in the middle of the conversation.
“Well, you’ve come to the right place. Are you staying here at the house? I’m Ash, by the way.”
As they locked eyes, she couldn’t help but notice how handsome he was, with his easy smile. There was something else too. He knew where he belonged, and that was rare.
“This is my place.” Ash said it casually but with a subtle pride in his voice. He quickly looked around the restaurant, and one or two patrons waved at him. He returned the greeting then focused on Holly again.
