The Winter of Candy Canes (A Sweet Seasons Novel) Read Free Page B

quick hug.
    “Don't you look like Miss Christmas yourself,” Martha said with a smile, her gravelly voice seeming even a little deeper than it had a few weeks before. “I see you opted to go the elf route.”
    “Josh talked me into it,” Candace admitted.
    “That one's got a bit of mischief in him,” Martha said with a smile. “I notice he didn't sign up to be an elf.”
    Candace shrugged. “I'll just have to find some way to pay him back.”
    “That's the spirit.”
    “So, what's up?”
    “I'm trying to catch all the elves to give them their schedules,” Martha said, handing Candace a piece of paper. “This is when you'll be working. All the excitement will start bright and early at seven a.m. the day after Thanksgiving.”
    “I didn't think the park opened that early,” Candace said. She had never had to report to the park before eight a.m.
    “Park opens at eight, but elves need to be in place and briefed before then.”
    “Ah.”
    “I know. Who needs to sleep in?” Martha said, shaking her head.
    “It's cool. Last year I was at the mall with my mom at four a.m.,” Candace said with a shudder.
    “You'll probably wish you were there again,” Martha said grimly.
    Candace smiled at her. Martha smiled back. “But you'll do fine,” Martha hastened to assure her.
    Wow, it really does work
, Candace thought.
I might just have to spend the entire season smiling.
    Monday at lunch, Candace and Tamara were sitting together at a table with a bunch of other girls. Everyone had been driven inside by a steady drizzle of rain all morning. Inside the cafeteria, the only topic of conversation was Winter Formal.
    “Who are you going with, Candace?” one of the girls asked.
    “I'm taking my boyfriend, Kurt,” Candace said, pride in her voice. “He's in college.”
    “And he's gorgeous,” Tamara added, as though on cue.
    “Ohhh,” several of the girls chorused. It was nice for a change to be one of the girls with a guaranteed date. It definitely put her in the minority at the table.
    “So, Tam, who are you taking?” Candace asked.
    “Still haven't decided,” Tamara admitted.
    “Didn't Bryce ask you?” one of the girls said.
    “Didn't half the football team?” another quipped.
    “Yeah, but it's the other half I'm interested in,” Tamara joked.
    “Seriously, Tamara, you could have any guy here you wanted,” another said enviously.
    “I guess that's the problem. I don't want any of them here,” Tamara said.
    “I'm telling you, you should ask Josh,” Candace said.
    “Will you lay off the Josh thing?” Tamara said with a roll of her eyes. “I've told you. He's a great guy, but it's just not … right.”
    “I totally get that,” Stefanie, the queen of the airheads gushed. “When it's not right it's … like … it's … I don't know, wrong.”
    Candace bit her lip to keep from laughing.
    “What she said,” Tamara sighed.
    “I guess that's okay. There's always Mark.”
    For a moment she thought Tamara was going to throw her soda in Candace's face.
    “That is soooo not funny.”
    “Mark who?” Stefanie asked.
    “Mark so-not-going-with-me, that's who.”
    “Oh.”
    “Change the subject,” Tamara warned.
    Candace smiled. “Kurt's coming to my house for Thanksgiving.”
    That got the attention of the whole table.
    “No way! Bringing the boyfriend to a family function?”
    “You are so brave.”
    “My boyfriend swears he'll never be in the same room as my parents.”
    “What's the big deal?” Candace asked. “It's just dinner, and there'll be lots of people there.”
    “Are you serious?” Tamara asked. “Having the boyfriend officially meet your parents, spend some time with them, share the
family
meal. That's totally major.”
    “It's like you're saying he's the one,” Stefanie said solemnly.
    “Is he the one?” several of the others asked in unison.
    “The one what?”
    “That you're going to marry,” Tanya said with a shake of her head.
    “No! What? I don't know. I