Free On Christmas Hill by Nichole Chase

Chapter One

     
     
    The car sputtered as I sat at the
entrance and tried to see through the trees. Old wooden gates
framed the driveway, and I could just make out the dark roof in the
distance. A plume of smoke floated above the tree tops and I prayed
that meant there was a fire going. I wasn’t used to all of the
snow. It was beautiful, but foreign to this Florida girl. And cold.
A wet cold that soaked through my cotton mittens, making my fingers
sting.
    I took my foot off the brake and slid
the car through the gates, grateful I hadn’t needed to get out and
open them. An old wooden sign had the words “Christmas Hill”
painted in beautiful letters. The lawyer hadn’t known the story
behind the name. Honestly, she hadn’t seemed to know much at all
about my great aunt when she called to tell me about the property.
Just that there was a groundskeeper, a small amount of money
stashed aside, and the location. Oh, and the key. It was a hefty,
antique key with a red ribbon tied to it.
    The snow glittered in large piles on
either side of the narrow driveway and I was glad my car was so
small. Otherwise, I might have had a hard time fitting. Remy made a
whining noise from the passenger seat and I wondered how he would
handle the snow. I was pretty sure if he hopped out of the car and
into one of those snow drifts I’d never see him again. His big
brown eyes were excited, though, and I loved seeing his tail wag.
It dispelled some of the apprehension I was feeling at becoming a
home owner, not to mention the whole spending Christmas alone. At
twenty-three, I hadn’t been looking to put down roots. I could sell
the place, but the will had said I had to spend one Christmas there
before I could even start the process of selling.
    From all accounts, it looked like Great
Aunt Gertie had been Christmas obsessed. As my car navigated the
winding driveway, I saw large animals playing in the snow. Several
of them were jumping and butting heads, moving around the clearing
with a smooth gait, as if the snow wasn’t even there. At first I
thought they were horses, until I got a little closer and noticed
the antlers. Moose? No, that wasn’t right. A sharp chuckle jerked
out of my mouth as my mind processed what I was seeing. Reindeer. A
herd of reindeer.
    “ Looks like you’re going to
have some company, Remy!” I shook my head in wonder. What was I
going to do with reindeer? I hoped the groundskeeper took care of
them. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.
    As I rounded the final bend, I was
rewarded with a visual feast. A large, wooden cabin looked out on
the field I had caught glimpses of, a red—dare I say Christmas
red—barn sat not far away. Off in the distance was another small
house with cheery green shutters and a large pile of wood on the
porch. But I hardly noticed them with my eyes trained on the
gorgeous house in front of me. I pulled right up to the house and
put my car in park. The front door was made from side-by-side
panels, with wrought iron handles. Thick, green, wreaths hung
perfectly centered on each and soft lights glittered in the topiary
that flanked the doorway. Understated, but lovely. I sighed in
relief. Hopefully the theme would hold and the inside wouldn’t look
like Santa’s workshop.
    I don’t have anything against
Christmas, or Santa, but I also didn’t want to live in somewhere
that a holiday had thrown-up. Wouldn’t that kill the excitement,
the nostalgia? Remy put his paws on the dash and gave a short,
happy yap. Poor guy probably needed to use the potty. It had been
almost four hours since I had stopped last. Once we hit the hilly
area, I just hadn’t wanted to pull over. The scenery had been
breathtaking, and if I was being honest with myself, I’d been a bit
excited. While I hadn’t known Aunt Gertie very well, I had always
looked forward to her Christmas packages full of cookies and little
toys. Before my father had died, he’d always treated the package
like it was something