The Reindeer Falls Collection: Volume One by Aston Jana

Author:Aston, Jana
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Rutherford Press
Published: 2019-12-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

"That was delightful," Keller quips as we exit the salon. "Where are we headed to next? Dentist appointment? Oil change? Perhaps a nail salon where you'll try to scare me off by requesting I get a pedicure with you?"

I laugh, because he's being a really good sport. And because he's cute. And because I'm having fun spending an ordinary day with him. "Well, a pedicure sounds lovely, but it's December so it hardly seems practical."

"Nothing about December is practical, Gingersnap. December is when magic takes over. Embrace it."

Magic. It's a bit like a variety pack of sprinkles, isn't it? Something you think you've left behind in childhood, but then December comes and you believe all over again.

We walk down Main Street, our steps slow as we pass cheery window displays and take in the holiday décor. Reindeer Falls is magic in December, that's a fact. Boughs of evergreen are stretched from one side of the street to the other, lights interwoven into the greens that will glow as soon as the sun sets. Wreaths tied with bright red ribbons hang from every old-fashioned lamp post. Jumbo candy canes are fixed to just about anything that's bolted down. Post office boxes, traffic lights, park benches.

It looks like a movie set.

And it feels like magic.

Somehow, without meaning to, I've walked us down to my favorite part of Main Street. The spot where the Cass River curves. A bridge connects Main Street in a perfect straight line from one side of the river to the other. To the left is a covered bridge that is every bit as romantic as it sounds. Exactly the kind of thing you'd expect to see in a small fairy-tale town like Reindeer Falls. It connects a Bavarian-themed lodge to Main Street, the tourists walking across to take in the charms of our downtown.

To the right, a short half-block over, in a little elbow of land where Mill Street becomes Gunzenhausen, is an old service station. Right behind it, the river drops in elevation, just enough for the water to flow down a ramp of rocks, making the tiniest of river falls. It's my favorite spot.

There's a path along the river and in the summer, lots of green space and lush trees and flowers. But it's not summer now, so everything is covered in a light blanket of snow, including the sidewalk leading to the old service station. The one no longer being used as a service station. The one with a big Knight Realty sign propped up in the window. I should keep walking, or turn us around and head back to the car, but I don't.

"What is this place?" Keller asks, clearly understanding there's a reason we left the shoveled sidewalks in favor of crunching over snow to approach a closed building.

"It used to be an auto shop, but the owner needed more space so he moved to the other end of Main, down by the Kroger," I tell him, walking us over to one of the two garage bays.

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