Christmas on Overdrive: Book One in the Sugarplum Sparks Romantic Comedy Series by Christine S. Feldman

Author:Christine S. Feldman [Feldman, Christine S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-19T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Sunshine on the snowbanks that lay on either side of the road made for a somewhat blinding but gorgeous drive. The snow flurries of last night had blown themselves out, and now there were pristine blankets of white on every side. The road they eventually turned onto wound its way upward into higher elevations, and with birds twittering in snow-covered treetops and blue skies sparkling overhead, it was easy to believe that they might indeed be heading toward something magical. Then again, that might have been the caffeine, which was magical in its own way.

Signs pointed the way to a large parking area not far up into the mountains that would have been tricky to get to if it weren’t for the snowplows that must have been out in full force that morning. But if the recent snowfall had been problematic at all for the train that was apparently the only way to get up to the Christmas village, it must have been dealt with satisfactorily, because the train was running on schedule.

It was adorable. A strange word for a train, maybe, but in this case, apt. More signage explained that the vintage little train had been lovingly restored and now only ran during the holiday season, transporting tourists up the mountain to the seasonal village site that was erected each year and then back down again, every hour on the hour from nine in the morning until nine at night. The train itself was painted a shiny dark green and was decked out for the holidays in so many garlands and bows that it was a wonder there was any room left for passengers. A burly, white-haired ticket master at the tiny station looked like Santa Claus himself moonlighting for extra holiday cash, and the conductor on the train who punched Harper’s and Liam’s tickets was dressed to the nines in Victorian garb that Dickens himself might envy.

“This is so cute I can’t stand it,” Harper said, settling into one of the small bench seats.

“She said smiling,” countered Liam.

It was true. She was. Pops, she reminded herself. She was here for Pops, not for fun. But only Ebenezer Scrooge could have ridden on this train without enjoying it, or maybe the Grinch. How had she never come here before?

The seats filled up quickly, leaving Liam little choice but to squeeze in next to Harper. She didn’t mind as much as she would have a day or two ago, and although she was still very much thinking about whether or not she’d find Pops strolling around the mountaintop village, she still found herself inhaling the crisp mountain air deeply and enjoying the fresh smell of pine trees. It brought back unexpected memories. Pops was right; hiking in the hills to cut their own tree when she was a kid had been fun.

Liam’s voice jolted her from her thoughts. “I can’t believe it.”

“What?”

“We boarded this thing without you even once quoting railway accident statistics to me.”

“Oh, shut up,” she said mildly, but she had to avert her face so he wouldn’t see that she was fighting a smile.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.