Finding Christmas Read online

  Dedication

  To Dad

  For always helping me find Christmas with your scavenger hunts . . .

  To Mom and Kathy

  For making sure Christmas is always filled with family, love, and laughter

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Acknowledgments

  P.S. Insights, Interviews & More . . .*

  About the Author

  About the Book

  Also by Karen Schaler

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  Chapter One

  Emmie Sanders’s one true love was . . . Christmas. Christmas was something she could always count on. It never let her down; it gave her joy and always filled her heart with happiness and hope. At Christmas, Emmie felt like she was the best version of herself. She knew she could thank her parents for that. They had taught her that Christmas wasn’t about things, that it was about spending time with the people you loved most, making memories, and helping others. Looking back, Emmie could hardly remember the presents she got underneath the tree, because her favorite presents were always all the holiday activities they had done together as a family. Christmas had always been her mom and dad’s favorite time of year. So now, for Emmie, celebrating all things Christmas was her way to stay connected to her parents, honoring their memory the best way she knew how.

  The fact that her friends had nicknamed her “Miss Christmas” was something she was proud of. Even when they teased her about sometimes going a little over the top with all her decorations and nonstop Christmas activities, she would just cheerfully counter with the fact that you could never have too much Christmas. And when it came to Christmas decorations, there was one in particular that always stole her heart.

  White twinkling Christmas lights.

  She loved them the most. She was prisoner to their magic and charm. The way they glittered and shimmered, drawing her in, casting a dreamlike spell over her, commanding a complete Christmas surrender. It was the kind of surrender that often triggered holiday decorating, shopping, movie watching, and baking binges. It was a good thing that Christmas was the one and only thing she didn’t mind surrendering to.

  One of her favorite holiday activities she was doing right now, walking along the Seattle waterfront on a gorgeous clear, crisp winter day, admiring all the boats decked out, from bow to stern, with Christmas decorations. She loved how the sailboats had glittering lights all the way to the top of their masts. Every year she looked for one of her favorites, a sixty-foot sailboat with its mast decorated with green lights to look like a Christmas tree with a big silver star on top.

  In addition to all the boats, the charming boutique waterfront shops were also beautifully decorated for Christmas, often embracing a nautical theme. They all had Christmas trees out front that were covered with things like stars, shells, starfish, sand dollars, and little boat ornaments.

  As Emmie made her way to one of the shops, her smile grew. It was a perfect example of how the white twinkle lights were winning. Seascape Floral was in an exquisite Victorian home painted blue with white gingerbread trim and covered with sparkling white Christmas lights, giving it a fairy-tale feel. How could she resist? As she picked up her pace, she wrapped her emerald-green scarf a little tighter around her neck to combat the wind that had just kicked up, while cheerfully humming one of her many favorite Christmas songs, “Deck the Halls.”

  She didn’t feel one bit guilty that this was the third time she’d visited the shop in the last week. She rationalized there was a little over a week left before Christmas, and she knew this was when the store always had some great last-minute sales. She also knew they were getting in fresh wreaths daily, and their stock was always changing, so she didn’t want to miss out on anything.

  Seascape Floral was always her go-to place to get flowers throughout the year, with the owners Jeff and Jamie always designing creative arrangements highlighting local Pacific Northwest flowers like the area’s famous daffodils and tulips.

  But it was Christmastime that Emmie enjoyed the most, when the shop transformed itself into a winter wonderland, overflowing with fresh-cut Christmas trees and evergreens from the Cascade Mountain Range that were lovingly turned into garlands, centerpieces, and Christmas wreaths. Another nod to natural and local was all the different kinds of holly the shop sold that were from the region.

  The one thing the shop did import for the holidays that Emmie always looked forward to was the impressive three-foot blazing red poinsettias from Mexico. Her mom had taught her the trick to keeping them alive long after Christmas by always making sure to put them in bright but indirect light, keeping them moist, and never letting them sit in standing water.

  Emmie had learned the hard way that having good drainage was essential; too much water was a surefire way to cause the poinsettias to drop their leaves and the plant to die. Her mom had also shown her how to keep a spray bottle close by so she could mist the poinsettias often. The plants liked humidity, and during the winter, inside with heaters and fireplaces, they could dry out quickly.

  As she got closer to the shop she noticed a new display of Christmas wreaths being put up outside. A cute sign outlined in red and green Christmas lights said the wreaths were Christmas Spirit Wreaths, with the proceeds from their sale going to a children’s charity. The wreaths were a generous size, thirty-six inches, and made with freshly cut noble fir and cedar branches, juniper berries, and local pinecones. On the top of each wreath was a giant gorgeous red velvet bow. Emmie reverently touched one of the beautiful bows, gently running her fingers over the plush softness and smiling.

  “You look like you want to come home with me,” she said to the wreath. After carefully taking it down, she spotted another Christmas Spirit Wreath nearby; it was decorated a little differently, but was equally impressive, adorned with colorful sprigs of holly. She hurried over and studied that one as well. “You want to come, too?” she asked the wreath, and waited a moment, as if waiting for an answer.

  She was still smiling as she put the first wreath down so she could get the second one off the display. She struggled a little taking it down. “You guys are heavier than I thought.”

  As she headed into the shop, she spotted one more Christmas Spirit Wreath she knew she had to have. This one had a lot of tiny red velvet ribbons with pinecones tied all around the wreath. After getting her third wreath down, she realized it was going
to be tough to get them all into the shop, so she carefully leaned them against the display, got out her phone, and texted her best friend, Denise: 911 Emergency. Seascape Floral.

  When she looked up, she saw Tommy, the owners’ son, opening up a new box of Christmas Spirit Wreaths. Her eyes lit up. She waved as she hurried over to him. “Merry Christmas, Tommy!”

  Tommy smiled back at her as he started unpacking the wreaths. “Merry Christmas!”

  “I didn’t know you were back from college,” Emmie said.

  “Just got back last night,” Tommy answered.

  Emmie laughed. “And your parents are already putting you to work.”

  “Of course,” Tommy said. “But I don’t mind. After living in Florida, where it’s sunny and seventy every day, I’ve been kinda looking forward to coming home and helping out here. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas with a bunch of palm trees everywhere.”

  “I get it,” Emmie said. “I love when it gets cold like this, so you can have hot chocolate and cider; make a fire; go skating, sledding, and skiing; make snow angels . . .”

  Tommy’s laugh interrupted her. “Wow, sounds like you have it all planned out.”

  Emmie grinned back at him. “Always.”

  “I heard they’re getting a lot of snow in the mountains,” Tommy said. “I’m hoping to do some snowboarding while I’m home before I have to head back to the beach.”

  “It’s supposed to be a record year for snow,” Emmie said. “I think you’re going to get your wish.”

  “Are you still running the community center?” Tommy asked.

  “I am,” Emmie said proudly.

  “How’s it going?” Tommy said.

  “Great. Busy,” Emmie answered. “It seems like every year there are more families who need our help, especially over the holidays. We’re putting on a big Christmas dinner, so that’s keeping us really busy right now, making sure we get enough donations and volunteers to help on the big day. I always appreciate you and your parents coming and helping and bringing some of the beautiful things you have here at the shop to help decorate.”

  Tommy smiled back at her. “We always like helping.” When Tommy opened another new box of wreaths, Emmie quickly peered inside.

  “Looking for a wreath?” Tommy asked as he pulled out a beauty and held it up for her to see. “I know how much you love Christmas. My parents always say you keep them in business this time of year.”

  Emmie laughed. “I love your parents . . . and Christmas.” She eyed the wreath Tommy was holding. It was smaller than the wreaths she’d been looking at. “I’ve actually found a few wreaths I’m already getting. They’re bigger than this one.”

  Tommy laughed. “Go big or go home, huh?”

  Emmie flashed him a huge smile. “Always! What do you have here? What are Christmas Spirit Wreaths?”

  “My mom created the idea and partnered with a local children’s charity,” Tommy said. “She’s putting us all to work, making the wreaths. They’re selling fast. Careful, if she sees you here, she’ll try to recruit you, too.”

  “I’d love to help. Whatever I can do. I’ll give her a call,” Emmie said. “I’ll also spread the word at the community center. Maybe I can find you some more volunteers.”

  Tommy smiled at her. “That would be great, thanks. Are you still shopping or are you ready to check out?”

  Emmie gave Tommy a look. “Come on, Tommy. You know me better. I’m never done Christmas shopping, but this time, I think I’ve gotten more than I can carry so I’m waiting for reinforcements.” She picked up a garland and held it up to her nose and inhaled blissfully. “I think I might need this, too.”

  Tommy laughed. “Of course you do.”

  Emmie was eyeing a pretty evergreen centerpiece with three white candles when she saw Denise rushing toward her.

  “You came!” Emmie said excitedly.

  But Denise didn’t smile back. She looked worried. She held up her phone. “You texted me 911. You said it was an emergency? Are you okay? What’s going on?”

  Emmie took Denise’s arm and led her over to where she’d left her three wreaths. She picked up one and handed it to Denise.

  “What is this?” Denise asked. She looked confused.

  “I needed help carrying these back to work,” Emmie said as she held up another wreath.

  “What?!” Denise asked. “Please tell me this is not your emergency I rushed over here for.”

  Emmie ignored the question and took Denise’s free hand. “Here, hold your arm out in front of you like this.” Emmie demonstrated, holding her arm straight out in front of her. When Denise did as she asked, Emmie slipped one of the wreaths onto her arm.

  “Emmie, seriously? You already bought a bunch of wreaths last week, along with all the other Christmas decorations.”

  Emmie laughed and loaded Denise down with the last wreaths, then pointed at the sign. “But these are Christmas Spirit Wreaths, and you can never have too much Christmas spirit.” Emmie pointed at the door. “If you could just help me get them into the shop so I can pay for them, we can get back to work.” When Emmie started to walk away, Denise called out after her.

  “Where are you going?” Denise asked, confused.

  Emmie grinned back at her and pointed over to Tommy, who was opening another box of Christmas Spirit Wreaths. “I just need one more.”

  “Emmie! Seriously, no you don’t!” Denise called out to her.

  But it was too late. Emmie had already seen the new wreath Tommy was pulling out of the box. It had extra pinecones and a magnificent red-and-green-plaid bow, and it was covered with Emmie’s favorite white lights.

  “I love it!” she said as she reached for the wreath. “It’s perfect.”

  But just as she grabbed the wreath, so did someone else, and there was a brief tug-of-war.

  “Sorry, this one’s mine,” Emmie said, still focused on the wreath as she possessively pulled it toward her. But when the other person didn’t let go, surprised, she tightened her grip, almost crushing a pinecone, and looked up into the most piercing blue eyes she’d ever seen. For a moment, the man’s ruggedly handsome good looks almost made her forget all about the wreath, until his sexy laugh snapped her back to reality. She held on tight to her wreath, refusing to be swayed by his charm. When she smiled back sweetly at him, what she was really doing was preparing to do battle.

  She cleared her throat and said loud and clear: “This is my wreath.” But when she locked eyes with him and tugged the wreath toward her, he still refused to let go. She would have sworn his eyes were twinkling with mischief. He looked amused. Her eyes narrowed. She didn’t like being made fun of. She was done playing around.

  She turned toward Tommy. “Tommy, can you help me out here?”

  Tommy looked about as uncomfortable as a snowman in a heat wave. He glanced from Emmie to the man and then back at Emmie.

  “Actually,” Tommy started but didn’t have time to finish before the man carefully let go of the wreath. Still smiling, the man looked at Emmie.

  “Hi, I’m Sam, and the wreath you’re strangling is actually mine. See the plaid bow and the lights?”

  Emmie nodded. “Yes, that’s why I picked it.” She cheerfully fluffed up the bow. “The plaid bow is perfect, and I love the lights.”

  As Emmie struggled to find the LED light switch, Sam took a step closer.

  Emmie gave him a suspicious look.

  Sam held up his hands in mock defense. “I was just going to show you how to turn on the lights. The switch should be right about here . . . ,” Sam said. He quickly reached into the wreath and found the switch to turn it on. When the wreath lit up, Emmie’s eyes lit up with it.

  It never got old, Emmie thought. The magic of the lights. She remembered the first time she had ever seen a string of white twinkle lights. She had been a little girl watching her parents put the lights on their Douglas fir Christmas tree. She had been mesmerized by the way they had glowed and sparkled as she watched her p
arents proudly layer as many lights as they could get onto the tree. Emmie smiled thinking about how her mom used to always say the more Christmas lights you had the more Christmas wishes you got to make. She remembered how one of her favorite parts about the lights was how they warmed up the fresh tree branches, making them even more fragrant.

  When her parents were finished putting up all the lights, they would always celebrate with a sweet kiss, silhouetted by the tree’s golden glow. Her dad would then swoop her up into his arms and hug her tight as both parents would kiss her on the cheek and tell her how much they loved her.

  As soon as Emmie was old enough, her dad would pick her up so she could help put the lights on the tree. When she got too big to be picked up, she would stand on a chair to put up the lights, until she didn’t need the chair anymore.

  Hanging the Christmas tree lights on the tree together was one of Emmie’s most cherished family traditions, and those lights would always symbolize two of the most precious things to her, family and love.

  She remembered how her dad used to say that the white twinkling lights were like the stars in the sky that you could always make a Christmas wish on. When they were all done decorating the tree, they would stand together as a family, holding hands with their eyes shut, and make a Christmas wish.

  For a moment, Emmie shut her eyes and felt the love of her parents, as if they were still by her side. When she opened her eyes and saw Sam watching her, she quickly snapped back to reality and looked down at the wreath, and knew it was meant to be hers. She wasn’t about to let it slip through her fingers, literally. She was done messing around.

  “Are you okay?” Sam asked.

  Emmie stood up straighter. “I’m great,” she said as she met his stare. “Since we agree this is my wreath.”

  Sam laughed. “I don’t believe I agreed to that at all. I just let go of MY wreath so it wouldn’t get mangled.”

  “Seriously?” Emmie asked.

  Sam’s sexy smile was back. “Seriously.”

  Chapter Two

  Two can play at this game, Emmie thought. She returned Sam’s charming grin with one of her own best winning smiles before turning her attention to Tommy. “Tommy, tell him how I’m here all the time, and how I’ve been looking for the perfect wreath, and this one is exactly what I’ve been looking for.”