A Christmas Escape: Small Town Christmas, #7

By D. Allen

To face unafraid…

 

Steph Chester has had enough at work. Partnered with a deadbeat and having to carry the workload of a project they're working on, she's called into her boss's office and is suddenly being accused of not doing any of the work. Frustrated, Steph spontaneously books a trip to a nearby small town to spend the holidays and escape the pressures of her life.

 

The plans that we've made…

 

Carson Andrews has just been fired. Again. Working as a realtor, he is tired of dealing with picky clients who blame him for their inability to decide on a house. To make matters worse, this will be the first Christmas he is spending alone since his grandfather passed away in the spring. In an effort to escape his life, Carson books a trip to a charming town near where his grandfather used to take him to get their Christmas tree every year.

 

Little do either of them know, but Steph and Carson have inadvertently booked the same house for the holidays. Not wanting to return to their hectic lives, they agree to try to share the rental. But living with a total stranger is harder than either of them realizes. Especially when feelings start developing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: DN Publishing
• Release date: Nov 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9781945336300

Book preview

A Christmas Escape

A CHRISTMAS ESCAPE

SMALL TOWN CHRISTMAS, BOOK 7

D. ALLEN

David Neth Books

CONTENTS

Also by D. Allen

Steph

Steph

Steph

Steph

Carson

Carson

Steph

Carson

Steph

Carson

Carson

Steph

Carson

Carson

Steph

Carson

Steph

Steph

Carson

Snow After Christmas

More by the author

About the Author

ALSO BY D. ALLEN

To find the rest of the books in the Small Town Christmas series as well as more books by the author, visit

DavidNethBooks.com/Books

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Small Town Christmas series

A Christmas Reunion

A Christmas Charade

A Christmas Spark

A Christmas Song

A Christmas Departure

A Christmas Wedding

A Christmas Escape

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Montana Beach series

Summer Stay

Summer Job

Summer Nights

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Snow After Christmas

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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A Christmas Escape

Small Town Christmas, Book 7

Copyright © 2022 by D. Allen

Batavia, NY

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www.DavidNethBooks.com

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All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for reasonable quotations for the purpose of reviews, without the author’s written permission.

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ISBN: 978-1-945336-30-0

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First edition

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DavidNethBooks.com/Newsletter

STEPH

DECEMBER 16TH

"W hat are you doing for the holidays?" I ask my friend Lisa in the staff room at work.

Around the small room, there are other DesignUP Developers employees, but it’s only me and Lisa at our table. We’re also the only two currently in the staff room from the Planning and Development department.

Going back home, Lisa says with a smile. She pulls out a baggie of carrots and a small Tupperware container with peanut butter. But Jim and I are not staying with my parents. Lisa grew up in Canandaigua, only about a thirty minute drive from Rochester.

You don’t want to stay with your husband in your old childhood bedroom? I tease.

Lisa scoffs. God no. We’re getting an Airbnb to stay in. It’s a loft apartment in one of the old commercial buildings on Main Street. The pictures look really cute.

Spreading out my lunch on the plastic red table cloth someone had put on each table, I say, I’m sure your parents are thrilled about that. I pull out my PB&J sandwich. I might be thirty-two, but the grade school go-to is still a favorite.

Lisa shakes her head as she chomps down on her carrot. The house will be insane. My brother and his wife are coming in and staying with them. And my sister is coming with her two kids. So unless Jim and I wanted to sleep on the dank pull-out in the basement, we kind of have no other choice. She dipped her next carrot in her peanut butter and waved it at me. Don’t get me wrong. I love the crazy. But I also need my own room to escape to.

I nod. Understandable. So you just hang out at your parents’ for Christmas then?

Well, on Christmas Day, yeah. But we’re going up a few days before to really soak in the season.

I scrunch my brow. What does that mean?

You know: shopping up and down Main Street, visiting Sonnenberg Gardens with my niece and nephew just like we used to do when we were younger, catching up with old friends. She shrugs. Reconnecting with my small town roots. It’s beautifully simple there. Everything seems to click back into place for me, you know?

Shaking my head, I say, I guess I’ve never really had that feeling.

There’s an awkward silence as the two of us continue with our lunch. I admire the Christmas tree in the corner. The company’s efforts to bring holiday cheer and boost morale as we close out the year and everyone starts to wind down for the season. Can’t say it really fuels me to keep working, but I still enjoy the warmth it brings.

The boisterous conversations coming from the other tables only seems to point out just how quiet Lisa and I have become.

So are you going back to Maine for the holidays? Lisa suddenly asks.

No. It’s my brother’s turn to have my parents for Christmas, so they’re flying to Seattle to see his family.

And you’re not joining them?

Tossing my trash in my lunch bag, I shake my head. That’s a little over my budget this year.

Do you have any friends you’re going to hang out with then?

Not really, I say. Most of the people I know in Rochester have plans already and I don’t want to intrude.

Oh, well I’d invite you along to stay with us, but I think Jim is extra-excited to have a place to ourselves. If I’m being perfectly honest, one of my gifts to him is that I’m finally off the pill.

My eyes widen at the revelation of something so personal. Oh.

"Yeah, we’ve been married five years, getting into our mid-thirties. I think it’s time to finally start that family we’ve been talking about. Knowing my husband, he’ll want to get started right away, which means we need some alone time."

Right, I say with a nod. This conversation took an awkward turn. Quickly, I downplay the sympathy I know is coming. I’ll be okay. Really. It’ll be nice to have a low-key holiday. I’ll Zoom with my family, watch some movies, play some music. Certainly, I’ll be gorging myself in Christmas cookies regardless of who is or isn’t there.

Lisa politely laughs along with me. Well, that’s good that you have a plan.

Yeah. I’ll be okay on my own. I fold up my brown paper lunch bag that contains my trash as tightly as possible. Honestly, I have enough time to take off now through the end of the year, but I’m holding off. Why indulge in my holiday plans early and then be bored on Christmas?

You should take the time if you have it! Lisa encourages. Relax and be well-rested before the New Year.

I turn away and start to get up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We’ll see. I have some projects to finish up here before I take any time off.

You’ll never take time if you wait for the right time. That’s the same way I feel about starting a family. We need to just do it and make it work.

As we exit the break room, Lisa continues to talk about the possibility of her having a baby by next Christmas. Meanwhile, I can’t help but notice just how different our lives are.

STEPH

DECEMBER 16TH

Later that day, I find myself in Monica’s office. She’s the manager of our department. The one who sits in on the meetings with the big-whigs and doles out the orders to our department straight from the big guys.

Our company isn’t huge, but it’s large