Holiday Garage

By Jaymie Wagner

Five years after the death of her husband, ballet teacher Emile Meunier just wants to drive home after a long week of work and have a quiet Christmas at home. But everything changes when her car breaks down and she finds herself in the little town of Holliday on Christmas Eve.

Then she gets an offer of food and a place to stay from the town mechanic Nyra. Is it just a moment of kindness from a stranger? Or a chance at something more?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Dec 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781646568628

Book preview

cover.jpg

Holiday Garage

By Jaymie Wagner

Published by JMS Books LLC

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2021 Jaymie Wagner

ISBN 9781646568628

Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

* * * *

To Dee, Katherine, and everyone who told me not to give up.

* * * *

Holiday Garage

By Jaymie Wagner

Emile let out a huff of frustration where she sat behind the wheel of her car, glad the person on the other end of her phone call couldn’t see the way she rolled her eyes.

"For the last time, Sofia, no."

Unfortunately, her friend didn’t seem capable of taking a hint. "I don’t even get why you took that job. Why would you want to spend two weeks in nowheresville?"

She thought of the bouquet she’d left on Rémy’s grave the day before she had left Chicago and her fingers tightened on the wheel until the knuckles turned bone white. "You know why."

I know why you don’t want to be in that big, empty, drafty house, Sofia countered. "But that’s exactly why you should be back in town with your friends! You need people."

"I need money, Emile snapped as she threw the Audi into a turn a bit harder than she really should have. Hence why I took the offer to work. I taught classes, I got paid, and I will go home for a few days and teach somewhere else after the holiday."

You sure? Sofia’s voice turned a bit sly. "Anna might be at the party…"

Emile stomped the accelerator to the floor, making the snow-covered trees on either side of the road whip past. An even better reason for me to avoid it.

Ooof. So you two didn’t… Sofia coughed. Y’know. Work it out?

When would we have time to do that? Emile didn’t bother hiding the bitterness in her voice. "Her work keeps her busy, and she made it clear it will always come first. It was…she was…a mistake."

She could almost hear the sad little frown on Sofia’s face. "Hey. Wanting to find someone else isn’t a mistake, Em. He would want you to be happy."

Emile took her frustrations out on a vicious downshift. "Then stop pushing me to go somewhere that I will not be happy."

Sofia let out a long sigh. "Okay, okay, entiendo, amiga. She paused for a second. Stop by Gabby’s diner at least? He said he’d love to see you when you get back into town."

Emile let out an amused snort as she took another twisting curve. Liar.

Sofia chuckled. Okay, yeah. But he could use the company, too.

Emile