The Cabin at Candy Cane Lane: A Christmas Romance Novella (Blizzard Bluff Book 1) Read online

  THE CABIN AT CANDY CANE LANE

  A HOLIDAY ROMANCE NOVELLA

  THE BLIZZARD BLUFF SERIES

  BOOK 1

  LARAMIE BRISCOE

  For my aunt Shari, who asked me if this book would be too dirty for her. I assured her it wouldn’t be, and I hope she enjoys it!

  XOXO

  Laramie

  CONTENTS

  New Release Alerts

  Summary

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Epilogue

  Also By Laramie Briscoe

  Declan - Chapter One

  Shadows - Chapter One

  About the Author

  Report Errors/Reviews

  Connect With Laramie

  Copyright © 2022 Laramie Briscoe

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or any events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and storylines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.

  Cover: TE Black Designs

  Formatting: Laramie Briscoe

  Created with Vellum

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  SUMMARY

  A new series from the USA Today and Wallstreet Journal bestselling author of the Moonshine Task Force Series.

  If you love Christmas novels with plenty of steam, Blizzard Bluff is the series for you.

  Trust Laramie Briscoe to provide engaging characters in a well-built world I want to revisit again and again. Carly Phillips, NY Times bestselling author.

  Holly, jolly, and all that's naughty...

  Holly Wreath

  Christmas is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. But not this year, at least not for me.

  Laid off from my job, left at the altar, and wanting to bury my head until the new year, I head to my family's cabin.

  Blizzard Bluff was in my rearview as soon as I graduated high school, but now I'm heading back to lick my wounds.

  The last person I expect to see is the boy who made my heart pound as a teenager. Only he's a man now, and he's going to be the one to turn my holiday around.

  CHAPTER ONE

  HOLLY

  “Do you, Holly, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

  Our eyes meet, my future in his. At this moment, I can see our future. The house, the kids, the dog, the winters in Blizzard Bluff, and summers on the lake. It’s all there.

  My next fifty years.

  And I can’t wait.

  “I do,” I answer, smiling up at him.

  From the moment I met Camden Newcomb, I knew he was my beginning and my end. His green eyes welcomed me in with the warmest greeting the first day we met. It was a whirlwind, the way he swept me off my feet, making promises of forever.

  “Camden, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

  I wait, my heart thumping in my chest, my stomach whirling around in excitement. My smile is so wide my cheeks hurt. But then the pause goes on for much longer than necessary. Those eyes that have always been so warm as they stared back at me?

  They suddenly aren’t.

  At this moment, they're cold and unsure. His hands, which were holding mine before with such purpose, have gone clammy.

  “Holly,” he whispers, his voice hoarse and anxious. “I don’t think I’m ready,” he shakes his head.

  “What do you mean?” I whisper back, emotion clogging my throat. “You’re not ready?”

  “This all moved a little fast for me.”

  “A little fast?” I parrot back at him. “You asked me to marry you. Not the other way around. I thought we were working together for a future.”

  “I thought it was what we were supposed to do.”

  The preacher steps between us. “This is a conversation the two of you should have in private,” he raises his eyebrows.

  It’s then that I realize we’re standing in front of an audience. Our nearest and dearest are watching as the rest of my life implodes right in front of me.

  Grabbing him by the hand, I drag him to the side, ducking into a door. It takes everything I have to keep my voice down. “Camden, what the actual fuck is happening here?”

  “You shouldn’t use that word in church.”

  A piece of me knows I shouldn’t, but the other part of me - the devastated one - doesn’t care anymore. “Really? You shouldn’t have pulled this on me in church. Better yet, you shouldn’t have waited until we were in front of all our guests at our wedding. How long have you been thinking about this? How long have you been unsure about us? We’ve been planning this wedding for a year, Camden. At any point, you could’ve been man enough to let me know what was going on.”

  “I wish I would have.” He runs his fingers through his hair.

  It’s at this moment I realize what’s happening. The man I thought I’d be spending the rest of my life with is breaking my heart.

  The worst part?

  I never saw it coming.

  “Why didn’t you?” I ask, my voice breaking. “I wouldn’t have done this to you.” Finally, tears work their way into my eyes. My throat closes. My breath is coming quickly, and so is the panic attack.

  “I didn’t want to hurt you,” he shakes his head, turning away from me. “I thought I’d be able to settle.”

  The tears start now. “To settle? Jesus, this is worse than I thought. Did you ever really love me?”

  He swallows so hard I hear it in the room's quietness we’re in. “I love you, but I’m not in love with you, Holly.”

  “Well, now’s a great time to tell me, isn’t it? When you could’ve told me before we stood in front of this congregation. Do you know how embarrassed I am? I flew my family here from Blizzard Bluff.”

  He growls. “That’s part of the problem, Holly. They’re from a town called Blizzard Bluff. What the fuck does that even mean? My parents are from New York; we live in Boston. It’s like country came to town and has been here since your family showed up.”

  That hurts more than I expect it to.

  Since I moved to Boston after high school graduation, I’ve been trying to outrun where I came from. Trying to get rid of the stigma of small-town USA, the accent that plagued me in the first few years, and how I viewed everything in the big new world. Although I’d been excited to be in a big city and live what I saw as my brand new life, I’d been scared at the same time. Afr
aid I’d made the wrong decision.

  I’d left everything I’d known, including my high school boyfriend.

  Ironic because he’d had the same plans for me as I did for Camden. I guess the saying about what goes around comes back around is true.

  Sniffing, I straighten my back up, forcing myself to look him in the eye. “Since most of those people out there are my family members and friends, I’ll go explain the wedding won’t be taking place today or any other day.”

  “Holly, I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, me too,” I glance over at him. “But what I’m more sorry about is the fact you didn’t care about me enough to be honest with me. If you didn’t love me romantically, I wish you would’ve loved me enough as a friend to save me the embarrassment of what I’m about to do.”

  “Holl,” he tries.

  “No, I never wanna speak to you again.”

  Letting out a slow breath, I walk out with my head held as high as I can. Stepping up to the pulpit, I wipe under my eyes. “I’m sorry to say there won’t be a wedding here today or any other time for the two of us. Please enjoy the food out in the dining hall.”

  Before anyone can stop me, I’m gone. Dress hiked up to my knees, holding the white lace of my skirt in my hands. I run, run for my life and whatever future I may have. I don’t know what that looks like right now, but I have to get away.

  Away from everything.

  The man who broke me, the unsettled future, and the city that never quite felt like home.

  I run to the edge of the sidewalk, hailing a taxi. Quickly, I give the driver my address. “Please take me there as soon as you can.”

  “Are you okay?” He asks as he looks back at me.

  “No,” I sob. “Not at all, but I will be.”

  He’s quiet as he drives toward my apartment. Which is in boxes because I was supposed to move next week when we returned from our honeymoon.

  “Don’t worry about the fare,” the taxi driver says as we pull up to my building.

  “Thank you,” I cry. The truth is I don’t have any money. When I ran out, I didn’t grab my purse. Brought nothing but myself and my bruised pride.

  “He’s crazy,” the guy says. “Whoever he was, he’s crazy.”

  I nod, no longer trusting my voice. Not wanting to run into anyone, I bypass the elevator and go straight to the stairs, taking them as quickly as possible. My chest pumps harder the closer I get to my apartment. Tears are streaming down my cheeks, and I’m in the middle of a panic attack when I realize I don’t have keys.

  When I left with no money, I left without my keys, too.

  Leaning back against the door, I let my head hit it with a loud smack. Sighing, I close my eyes and wonder how much worse this day can get.

  A piece of paper shoved under my door catches my eye, and I grab hold of it, tugging it toward me.

  It’s a letter from my job.

  Running my finger along the seal, I open it and take the paper out.

  Notice of employment separation.

  Those fuckers fired me on what was to be my wedding day/honeymoon. Sliding down the door, I fall into a heap. I’m unsure how what was supposed to be the happiest day of my life has turned into this.

  Whatever this even is.

  It’s like the beginning of a nightmare, and I don’t know how I will make it out alive.

  Running my hands over my face, I heave in a breath and make one of the most impulsive decisions of my life.

  Instead of trying to make it like I have been the last few years, I’m going home.

  To where I know the streets, where I can have the support of my parents, and where I can start this life over.

  It’s dealt me a hard blow, and it’s going to take me a while to come back, but there’s nothing I do better than rise from the ashes.

  CHAPTER TWO

  HOLLY

  “You’re gonna be okay, right?”

  Sighing, I turn to my co-worker of the last five years. We started here together, meeting on our first day of orientation. Throughout our time with the company, we’ve moved along with one another as we’ve climbed higher in the organization.

  Until now.

  While I'm losing my job, he's going to be taking on double the work. The fact that he's worried about me when his duties are about to be harder warms me. I've been cold since Camden left me at the altar. Finally, someone seems to be worried about me.

  Instead of reacting to it the way I want to, I shrug. "I have to be." He'd been at the wedding that wasn't and had seen me run out with my tail between my legs.

  "Christmas is in soon, and I'm worried about you."

  I’m worried about me, too. Instead, I give him a fake smile. “I’ll be fine. I’m going back home. Ya know, where all the streets are familiar, old classmates will see me at the store, and my parents. It’s passed time.”

  “It’s still shitty the way all this went down.”

  I couldn’t agree more, but there’s nothing I can do about it. With a disgruntled sigh, I throw the last of my personal belongings into the one box I was given to clean out my desk. Five years and all I have here is enough to fit in one box. While my apartment had a few more boxes, it was still sad to see how little I’ve accumulated in my time away from Blizzard Bluff. It's hitting me as I'm looking at my meager belongings and wondering what I've done. Doubting myself in what my plan had been when I left. What have I accomplished?

  Right now it feels like nothing.

  Never in my life have I felt so small, so invisible. But I guess that’s what happens when not only is your heart broken, but you’re completely disappointed in the people who should’ve been there for you.

  “Good luck to you,” I manage to get through my tight throat. “Hopefully I’m the last of the employees they’re looking to get rid of. Otherwise, you’re next up on the chopping block.”

  I don’t allow him time to say anything back to me before grabbing my box and turning to leave the office. This place where I thought my dreams were coming true, where I had hoped to build a future. It’s all coming crashing down on me. One last look around the four white walls, and then I leave.

  It takes everything I have to hold my head high while walking out the door. But as soon as I make it into the cold air, my knees buckle, and it's only with luck that I don't hit the concrete. Tears start as soon as I know I'm far enough away none of them can hear or see me. Sobs wrack my body, my chest heaving.

  The last few weeks have been the worst of my life.

  Left at the altar.

  Honeymoon was given to my best friend and her husband.

  Now I’ve lost my job.

  At the end of my rope would be an appropriate way to describe my life right now. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned. No one can fix what’s broken other than me. Getting to my car is no easy feat. Neither is getting in, buckling my seatbelt, and having the courage to leave what I once thought was a perfect life.

  When people show you who they are, believe them.

  I saw that on Facebook. Someone else going through a breakup posts memes every day. They're always about how she's strong and better off without the man who ruined her life.

  I refuse to be the person who puts their shit out there in public, but I do see them. I commit them to memory, and in my moments of weakness, I repeat them back. I remind myself I'm not the first person this has happened to, and I look forward to the day when this doesn't hurt so much.

  Although, when that day will be is anyone’s guess.

  Cause right now? It hurts like a bitch.

  "Sing it, Adele." I hold my hand up to my pretend audience, laying out all my troubles. Hoping like hell the words of the song are true. That I'll find someone one day because right now, love isn't lasting, it fucking hurts.

  My rearview is blocked by boxes.

  Those of which I was able to pack before leaving the apartment I'd shared with my ex-fiancee. He's moving in with his new fiancee next week. I learned that mere minutes befor
e I left Boston. Talk about kicking me while I'm down.

  Tears bubble up at the corners of my eyes again.

  How do I have any left?

  How do I still have feelings for this man who cared so little about me?

  We had plans. Ones that we were working on making a reality. Yet, here I am. Heading back to the town where I grew up. Fixing to sleep in my childhood bedroom and preparing to face everything I left behind.

  Blizzard Bluff 15 miles ahead.

  According to the sign, much quicker than I wanted to.

  The sun is starting to set as I cross over the pass, to begin my ascent up into the mountains. Rising over the crest, it’s breathtaking. Colors of purple, orange, and yellow splash across the horizon with a little pink thrown in here and there. Every night of my life until I was eighteen, I saw this sunset, and I didn’t appreciate it.

  Tonight, I decide I’ll count my blessings that not only am I able to see it again, but I’m old enough to realize how to much of a treasure this is.

  Entering Blizzard Bluff is like opening a time capsule, only they aren’t things from the past. They’re still here.

  The Pharmacy - which features the best burgers and milkshakes I’ve ever had, First National Bank - it’s been the only one in town since I can remember, and Blizzard Bluff Baptist Church - where I attended Sunday school from the moment I was old enough to know what it was, until the day I left this town.