Carousel Horse Christmas Read online

  Laying the phone on the table Audrey bowed her head in defeat.

  “What do you need honey?” Aunt Lou’s voice vibrated across the table.

  “Yes what’s wrong?” Lydia and Linda chirruped.

  “I need food,” Audrey finally said, “lots and lots of food.”

  “Menu?” Aunt Lou’s voice called over the other voices bringing a maddening sort of silence.

  “The party has a White Christmas theme,” Audrey finally admitted, “and it’s for Brad Bowlings.”

  One, two, three seconds ticked by before the noise on the other side of the phone exploded. Who knew that four woman in their sixties could sound like teens at a rock concert.

  “Hello, hello. Audrey are you still there?” Aunt Lou’s voice came through loud and clear. “Send me the menu or do you need us to watch the movie and figure it out. No, just send the message.”

  “Thanks Aunt Lou,” Audrey said, her voice a strained whisper as she hung up the phone.

  Chapter 15

  “I don’t have enough decorations,” James’ panicked voice echoed in Audrey’s ear the next morning as she packed a bag to head to Mr. Bowlings’ home.

  “What do you need?” she asked calmly tossing her best dress into her suitcase.

  “Everything!” James wailed. “I swear I’m going to go gray over this event. I don’t care if it is blinking Brad Bowlings.”

  Audrey bit her lip to keep from laughing. “James, I’ve got the food covered. I’ll bring decorations with me, and I’ll check with Brad to see what he has as well. He knew we were taking this on at short notice, so he’d better be happy with whatever we pull off.”

  “Alright, alright,” James huffed. “Just get here this place is huge.”

  The phone clicked and Audrey hurried to toss the rest of her items into the bag, yelling for Lisa as she went.

  “Take it down, take ever stitch of Christmas off my walls and windows and get it into the car,” she hollered. “Then pack a bag because you’re in this up to your ears with me.”

  A loud squeal and heavy thump told her that Lisa was more than thrilled to be involved in the party mix.

  Shoving her suitcase closed Audrey dialed Mr. Bowlings’ number, leaving a quick message about decorations before headed for the door.

  ***

  “Lisa the tree is poking me in the neck again,” Audrey groaned twenty minutes later as they tooled down the open road.

  “Sorry,” Lisa said twisting in her seat and shoving the tip of the five foot tall tree further into the back seat.

  “You could have taken it apart,” Audrey chided. She was stressing over this event and she knew it, but she couldn’t seem to shake the feeling.

  “That would have wasted time,” Lisa defended. “Besides when we get there, we’ll just haul it out and set it up.”

  “You’re right,” Audrey agreed taking a deep breath. “I’m being difficult. I’m really glad you could be here to help me. I think I’m going to need it more than you can imagine.”

  “It’s a good thing I took my vacation early,” Lisa tittered. “If not I’d have missed all of the fun.”

  Audrey groaned shaking her head at her optimistic friend. “I just hope we can pull this off.”

  An hour later they rolled up to a massive stone wall with a large cast iron gate blocking their way.

  Audrey leaned out of the driver’s window and pushed the button on the security key pad announcing herself to the tiny voice on the other end of the intercom.

  Moments later the big gates swung wide, and she drove up the winding picturesque lane to the stone and wood house surrounded by pristine white snow.

  “Pretty,” Lisa sighed gawking at everything.

  “Audrey!” A manic James came charging out of the heavy front door grabbing her and hugging her tight as soon as she stepped out of the car. “I see you brought reinforcements,” he continued smiling at Lisa.

  “Hi James,” Lisa said with a wave still looking at the stunning home.

  “We have decorations,” Audrey said looking at the house and surrounding landscape. “What have you gotten done so far?”

  The next several hours were a whirlwind of activity as James, Lisa, and Audrey unloaded the car with the help of the serving staff of the home and soon several rooms sparkled with twinkling lights, pine boughs, and ribbon.

  Every decoration that could be garnered from the home itself was concentrated in the areas of the house that would host the majority of the event.

  As supper time came and went Audrey’s phone rang and she clicked it on with a brisk, “Hello.”

  “Ms. Alberton this is Brad, I hope everything is going well.”

  “As well as can be expected, you’re staff has been wonderful but we’re still a little short on decorations.”

  “That’s why I’m calling. There should be a truck arriving in the morning with a few more items if you can handle it.”

  “We’ll be ready. I’m sorry I had to ask for this, but with such short notice…” she left the sentence hang hoping he would understand.

  “I understand. If I hadn’t been filming in Fiji, I would have taken care of this earlier. Just so you know I’ve ordered a Santa and Sleigh for my daughter as well, and they’ll be there the night of the party.”

  “That sounds lovely,” Audrey said adding the information to her mental list. “The catering is all taken care of, and hopefully, the ladies providing it won’t swoon when they see you.”

  Brad Bowlings chuckled, “I’ll give them each a signed print when I meet them,” he finished. “See you tomorrow night.”

  Audrey tucked her phone back in her pocket as her stomach rumbled. She wasn’t even sure when the last time she had eaten.

  “Ms. Alberton,” Mr. Sneed entered the room looking at the decorations with a critical eye. “This room looks lovely,” the butler spoke approvingly. “If you can drag yourself away dinner is served.”

  Audrey blinked at the man for a moment. “Excuse me?”

  “Dinner,” the stiff older gentleman said.

  “Oh, I didn’t expect…”

  Mr. Sneed smiled, “We’re pleased to have you here to transform the home.”

  “Lisa, James.” Audrey called softly, “Food.”

  Together James and Lisa left what they had been doing and together they all followed Sneed into the kitchen.

  ***

  “Is this what you do all the time?” Lisa asked as she collapsed into a big bed in the guest house that night.

  “No, usually I have a whole crew of people who get this stuff done, but they’re all busy with parties that were booked in advance.”

  “Well remind me to never help again.”

  Chapter 16

  The next morning the L’s descended on the high end Colorado home like a whirlwind: Buzzing themselves through the gate at the crack of dawn with a van full of every imaginable edible treat at their disposal.

  “The place looks good,” Aunt Lydia said hustling through the front doors and shoving two enormous bags of groceries into Mr. Smeed’s hands. “Now let’s get to work.”

  Audrey grabbed Lisa as Lou, Lois, and Linda followed the butler down the long hallway to the kitchen.

  “You need to keep an eye on them,” Audrey hissed. “You’re on kitchen watch. Got it?”

  Lisa nodded seriously hurrying down the hall and dashing into the ultra modern kitchen.

  Turning in a wide circle Audrey spied James hiding behind a Douglas fir.

  “Coward,” she said trotting around the tree and dragging him out.

  “You know how they are when they see me,” James whispered. “It’ll be all ‘who am I dating, and why haven’t I found the right girl’.”

  “You think you get the third degree what do you think my entire Christmas will be like?”

  James laughed, “Yeah but you’re their niece. It’s to be expected.”

  Audrey rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help thinking of Holden. “Come on,” she
said grabbing James’ arm, “we have work to do.”

  By lunch the noise and laughter bubbling from the kitchen along with the smell of holiday foods had spilled over into two more rooms and Audrey made her appearance.

  “Whose Holden?” all four aunts called at the same moment as she slipped into the kitchen lured by the promise of food.

  “Lisa,” Audrey said watching her friend hustle the stove and start stirring a pot madly.

  “Audrey?” Aunt Lou pinned her with dark eyes.

  “He’s a business acquaintance that’s all,” Audrey insisted. Behind her she could hear James chuckling as he took a plate from Lydia’s hands.

  “Is that all you ever do?” Linda chimed in.

  “Well I am rather busy,” Audrey hedged.

  “What kind of life is that?” Lois spoke up.

  “It’s my life,” Audrey tried.

  “Well the way your life is going, you’ll never find Mr. Right,” Louisa added her two cents worth.

  “Why don’t you and James make one of those pacts?” Linda said fixing a plate for her niece. “You know where you agree to get married if you’re both not married by thirty.”

  James choked on a stuffed mushroom and Lou hurried to pat him on the back.

  Audrey closed her eyes ignoring the images of Holden Bays that danced in her head.

  “Can we please save this conversation for another time?” she pleaded. “You can berate me about my lack of a dating life at Christmas. Right now we need to get things ready for tonight.”

  All three aunts turned to stare at her there expressions so alike you wouldn’t know they were each two years apart, but would have expected them to be quadruplets.

  “We’ll hold you to that,” Lois said a sweet smile spreading across her face.

  Audrey and crew had no sooner snarfed down lunch than a large truck pulled up to the back entrance and a group of men poured out.

  “We got the set stuff Bowlings requested,” a short man in a jumpsuit said. “Where you’s want ‘em?”

  Audrey nearly fell over when items used in the original move White Christmas were carried into the house and she jumped scrabbling to direct the crew of stage hands to just the right spots.

  James, Lisa, and even Aunt Lydia were kept busy setting up the delightful pieces and props until the house seemed like a holiday dream.

  At nearly four Audrey’s phone buzzed and a distraught Brad Bowlings voice came over the phone.

  “Audrey, I’ve hit a big snag,” he said, pausing long enough for her heart to hit overdrive. “You know that sleigh I ordered well they can’t make it. I don’t understand the whole thing, but something is broken or damaged, so they cancelled.”

  “Daddy,” a small voice sniffed in the background, “I wanna ride in a sleigh.”

  “I’m sorry,” Brad spoke. “That’s my daughter Sandra, and she has her heart set on a sleigh ride.” He paused dramatically, “Do you think you can do anything?”

  Audrey closed her eyes. She only knew one person who had a sleigh, but could she call on him at such short notice. Even he had admitted his horse had never been a sleigh horse before.

  “I’m not sure I can,” Audrey admitted. “I’m sorry but I just can’t promise anything.”

  Over the phone she could hear the little girl begin to cry and her heart squeezed. “I’ll try.”

  Chapter 17

  Holden Bays picked up the phone and smiled as the voice of the young lady he’d been thinking of all day came over the line.

  “I know it’s terribly short notice,” Audrey’s voice trilled, “but I was wondering if you could get Dasher and the sleigh to a big party tonight?”

  Holden scratched his head. It was back to business and his heart sank a little at the realization.

  “Where and when?” he asked.

  “The party starts at seven, but if you’re a little later than that, I’m sure it would still be fine. I’m hosting that big party for Brad Bowlings, and he wants a sleigh.”

  Holden squeezed the bridge of his nose. He could hear the hope in Audrey’s voice, but it had nothing to do with him. Still could he stand to let her down?

  “Send me the address, and I’ll be there,” he said.

  “Thanks.” There was something in Audrey’s voice when she said it, and a flicker of hope filled Holden’s heart as the phone went dead.

  “What do you mean you’re taking Dasher and the sleigh to a party?” Handley asked two hours later as Holden began packing up the harness.

  “Audrey, I mean Ms. Alberton needs a sleigh for an event tonight, so I said I’d do it,” Holden hedged.

  Handley smiled, “How much?” he asked his eyes bright.

  Holden froze. “I don’t know,” he admitted.

  “You don’t know? You mean you’re driving three hours in this weather to a party where you’ll probably wear Dash out giving a heap of Hollywood ninnies sleigh rides, and you don’t even know how much you’ll get paid?”

  Holden shrugged trying to hide his expression.

  Handley stepped back and crossed his arms, “You’re smitten as Mom would say, aren’t you?”

  Again Holden shrugged, but this time he could feel the heat infusing his face and he tugged his hat down to hide his blush.

  Laughing Handley slapped him on the back. “Well I’ll be. I guess that’s good enough for me.”

  In twenty minutes the brothers had horse and sleigh loaded and ready to roll. Armed with a thermos of hot chocolate and a boxed supper Holden rolled out of the ranch and headed north.

  ***

  “This place looks amazing,” Brad Bowlings gushed as he walked around his transformed house. “It’s like walking into a holiday movie,” he added with a wink.

  “Daddy, look at all the lights,” his little girl said gazing at the garland and soft white glow.

  Audrey couldn’t remember which marriage the child was from, but her bright smile and sweet expression softened her heart.

  “You must be Sandra,” Audrey said bending to the little girl’s level to greet her, “and how old are you?”

  “I’m six,” Sandra said. “You can call me Sandy by the way.”

  “Alright Sandy. So do you think we did a good job?”

  “It’s beautiful,” the child enthused. “I just wish there was a sleigh like in the movie.”

  Audrey smiled but didn’t say anything. She was not going to count her chickens before they hatched.

  Still something told her that Holden would come through. She didn’t know why she was so certain, but she was.

  “I believe you said something about the caterers earlier,” Brad spoke offering her one of those fantastic smiles. “I’ve come armed with signed prints for each of them if you’ll introduce me before the guests begin to arrive.”

  Audrey shook her head; “Hold on to your hair,” she laughed. “You have no idea what you’re getting into.”

  The screams of the four elderly ladies as he entered the kitchen made even Brad Bowlings cringe, but he plastered on a smile and allowed himself to be mobbed by the women cooking what smelled like the best food he’d ever encountered.

  “I can’t believe our little Audrey is in charge of your Christmas party!” One older woman enthused, her cheeks infused with color as she touched at her short white hair.

  “And she’s doing a bang up job,” he replied in his best drawl. “Now who should I address this photo to?” he added with a grin.

  “You had your aunts cater for me?” A slightly mussed movie star accused a half an hour later as he made his way out of the kitchen, stopping at a hall mirror to remove traces of lipstick from his face.

  “I told you it was short notice.” Audrey said.

  “You’ve done remarkably well considering,” he agreed with a smile. “Maybe I’ll have you back again next year,” he offered his voice warm and dripping with charm.

  “I’ll pencil you in,” Audrey laughed. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get ready,” she finished
slipping away.

  “You look great,” Lisa said examining Audrey’s beautiful green party dress. It was just shy of being a maxi dress, its long forest green velvet skirt breaking away from a high waisted bodice with a scooped draped collar.

  “You don’t look too bad yourself,” Audrey smiled. “You always look great in red with your blonde hair and green eyes.”

  “I thought red was appropriate for a Christmas party,” Lisa giggled. “We’ll be busy though won’t we?”

  “Yes,” Audrey said, “we want to stay in the back ground and watch for anything that needs done.”

  “Okay,” Lisa agreed nodding as she slipped into her low heeled red slippers just as the first guests began to arrive.

  Chapter 18

  Audrey made the rounds trying not to gawk at guests she’d only ever seen on the big screen before.

  Still she was pleased at the comments and compliments that Mr. Bowlings received from his friends and relatives as they mingled, nibbled and noshed their way through the party.

  Lisa, despite her pretty dress, was kept primarily in the kitchen directing servers as Audrey and James checked tables, adjusted setting, and touched up drooping decorations as unobtrusively as possible.

  Audrey had just slipped behind a tall tree to pick up an ornament when the sound of sleigh bells caught her ear, and she looked out the window to see Holden trot his horse over the yard.

  Smiling at the unfamiliar warmth filling her chest, she hurried to Mr. Bowlings and whispered in his ear.

  Moments later, a well bundled Sandra in her prettiest party dress hurried to the Sleigh holding on to Audrey’s hand.

  “You made it,” Audrey said smiling at Holden.

  “I couldn’t leave you without a ride,” Holden returned, tipping his hat. “You ready for a ride little lady?” he added looking down at Sandy.

  “Yes please!” the girl squealed.

  “You did it,” Brad Bowlings said, stepping up and helping his daughter into the sleight where Holden tossed a blanket over her legs.