A Very Married Christmas: A Silver Bell Falls Holiday Novella(25)

“It wasn’t easy,” Melanie said and the entire room seemed to quiet down. She looked out at all the smiling faces and felt tears stinging her eyes. “We couldn’t have done it without all of you. I still can’t believe how much you all have done.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Dawn from the post office said.

“Here, here!” Gwen, Tina, Lindsay, and Joni cheered. They all worked at the gym in town and Melanie had gone to many spin classes with them.

When she remembered to go.

There was conversation in the kitchen from the ladies who were setting up the food and Melanie turned to Abby and said, “I hate that they’re in there working. Can’t we ask them to stop and relax for a bit?”

Bev overheard and laughed softly. “Are you kidding? They are setting up as quick as possible because Dan sent over some of his best food. And it’s fresh!”

Everyone laughed.

“Please tell Molly, Marybeth, and Denise not to make themselves crazy,” Melanie said. “I’m sure everything’s going to be wonderful.”

“Oh, it will be,” her good friend Heather said from beside her. “Besides the food Dan sent, Kay, Priya, and Amy brought their homemade cookies. Janeen made some of her famous hot apple cider and Isha, Alima, and Cindy brought the wine!”

“Oh my goodness,” Melanie said, laughing. “It sounds like we have everything covered!”

“We thought about getting you a male stripper,” Anita from the bank called out, “but Debbie said you wouldn’t need that since you’re marrying the sexy sheriff!”

Even as she laughed, Melanie could feel her cheeks heat. Yes, she was indeed marrying the sexy sheriff and when he got home later, she was going to show just how sexy she thought he was and how much she appreciated all that he did for her today.

****

Being back at the station felt great.

Sitting behind his desk felt great.

Talking to his deputies and getting things done felt great.

And yet all he could think about was Melanie. No doubt by now she was surrounded by most of the female population of Silver Bell Falls and having a great time, but he kind of felt guilty for ambushing her like that. He’d like to say he had done it for completely selfless reasons, but he’d be lying. It just so happened that he was able to make it all come together so he could return to work—after a much-heated debate with Dr. Bailey—without feeling any guilt.

Boy had that backfired.

He was riddled with it right now.

As the day wore on, he kept busy. But when Drew came in to relieve him, Josiah found he was more than anxious to leave.

“See you at the wedding!” Drew called out and Josiah thanked him on his way out the door.

He drove home and wondered if Melanie was going to be happy to see him or if she was going to give him hell for going to work in such a sneaky manner.

He knew his answer as soon as he walked through the door.

“Hey…” she said, drawing out the word. “There’s my sexy sheriff!”

With a soft chuckle, Josiah closed the door behind him and leaned against it. The house was tidied up, but you could tell there had been a party here.

She walked slowly toward him and at first he thought she was trying to be sexy, then he realized she may be a little bit tipsy. When she reached him, Melanie placed her hands on his chest and gave him a bit of a sloppy grin. “Did you catch any bad guys today? Use your handcuffs?” Then she giggled. “You should use them on me!”

Doing his best to keep a straight face, he asked, “Any particular reason I should cuff you?”

Her eyes went wide as she attempted to be serious. “I’ve been a bad girl today. A very…bad…girl.”

So many things raced through his mind—sexy things, naughty things—but he wanted to see where she was going with this.

“Oh really?” Slowly, he reached for his handcuffs. “Do tell.”

Taking an unsteady step back, Melanie looked up at him. “There was a party,” she said in a loud whisper. “And there was a lot of food. And I ate all of it.” Then she shook her head. “My gown isn’t going to fit.” Then she laughed and walked back into the living room. “And I had wine! Only a glass and then I switched to the cider but someone spiked it!”

Great. Tipsy women were driving all over Silver Bell Falls thanks to him.

Now he was going to worry if everyone got home safely.

Melanie kicked off one shoe and then the other—both flying high in different directions. “I got a lot of lingerie as presents,” she said. “Want me to model some of them for you?” Then she tripped over several boxes and immediately righted herself and held up a red lacy bra.

He had a feeling she’d hurt herself at this point if he said yes.

“Tell you what,” he began and slowly made his way across the room toward her. “How about we have some coffee and sit and relax and you can tell me all about the party. How does that sound?”

“Boring,” she pouted. “There’s a lot of lace here and you really need to see it.”

Josiah guided her to the couch to sit down. “I promise to let you model it all week in Key West, okay? For now, let’s focus on getting some coffee in you.”

She sat down, but she didn’t look happy about it. Leaving her there, he went into the kitchen and marveled at the amount of food there was on every surface—cakes, cookies, pies, and covered dishes. At least he wouldn’t have to cook tonight.