A Unity Falls Holiday Story
It’s the insider tradition nobody talks about. But every resident of Unity Falls knows it’s coming.
The lights go down. The lines are drawn.
For one night, everyone has to choose a side.
Welcome to the coziest sabotage of the year!
Previously in Decoration Games:
The mission is back on track thanks to some light blackmail in the cold, dark night.
Chapter 9
When they came into sight of the Whitcomb house, Kei made sure that the group stuck to the shadows of the trees, which wasn’t hard since there were trees all over the place in Unity Falls. Trees and bushes. In the winter, snow piled up high and turned the bushes into a huge white field. Dani pulled out a large blue plastic tarp from her backpack and laid it on the far side of the snowbank, hiding them from the house. He was glad for the layer of protection between him and the snow, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t cold. She and Kei sat down on the tarp. He joined them but looked up at the sky, watching small flakes fall. Now that they weren’t moving, the cold was starting to settle into his bones.
Kei reached into her knapsack, pulled out a thermos and poured everyone a hot drink.
Of course Kei was prepared. Riley said it was what made her such a great teacher. “What, no donuts?” he quipped.
Kei just rolled her eyes and thrust the cup in his direction. He grabbed it eagerly. It was hot milky coffee, and he drank it all up before it turned into a frappuccino.
When he turned to look at Dani, she had already pulled out a pair of binoculars and was studying the Whitcomb house.
“What do we do next?” He hoped this was going to end quickly. He imagined Riley warm in his bed, snuggled in blankets. That’s where he wanted to be.
“Wait for the signal,” she said without taking her eyes away from the binoculars.
“The signal…” he repeated blankly. He felt like he was doing that a lot. Repeating things because he had no clue. He was used to being a problem solver. This secret squirrel business didn’t sit well with him. Not when he felt like a pawn, at least. “How will I know when it’s a signal?”
“Oh, you’ll know,” Dani said.
That sounded ominous. Coming from Dani, it sounded borderline apocalyptic. He looked at Kei for confirmation. She drank her own coffee like there was nothing amiss. When she noticed him staring at her, she raised her eyebrows as if surprised he had questions. Ben discovered he had none. Her students must be so well-behaved.
Ben flopped back against the snowbank, looking up at the sky. How did he get here? Just a couple hours ago he was in his warm and cozy cafe with Riley. Now he was freezing his nuts off on a snowbank. If he were honest, the sneaking around part was kind of fun. He’d rather be doing the sneaking around with Riley, but her friends were good people. And if this is what made Riley happy, this is what he was going to do.
He struggled not to check his watch. It felt rude. But he was pretty sure at least half an hour had gone by. He didn’t know how much longer he could stand the cold. Even the extra winter gear Riley had brought for him wasn’t helping.
He turned over and peered at the house, looking for what captured Dani’s attention. He gave up and just asked Dani because he was getting bored, “What are you looking for?”
“I’ll know it when I see it,” Dani said. Kei snorted.
Ben graciously, he thought, refrained from rolling his eyes. He rolled over again so his back was to the house. It gave him a good view of the trees across the road.
He thought he saw movement in the shadows across the way. “Hey, is that…”
“Shh…” Kei hissed. “Voices carry at night and if you think you see someone…” She tilted her head indicating for him to consider the implications.
Ben understood and stopped talking. He wouldn’t give them away. But would he hear if anyone approached? He couldn’t remember how loudly his boots crunched on the snow. But the light snowfall might muffle that if it covered the hard-packed snow.
Somebody could sneak up on them, theoretically.
All the worries about noise and sneaking ended.
The night was suddenly ablaze with light, and loud music cut the silence of the snowy streets.
Had they been discovered? Had Marley and Katie betrayed them after all?
Want to see how Riley and Ben got together?
Their story begins in Riley and the Love Jinx → link
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About the author:
Cleo Croft writes sweet contemporary romance set in the fictional town of Unity Falls. → About Cleo