Wrapped up in Christmas
CONTENTS
About The Book
1. Jayne
2. Sinclair
3. Jayne
4. Sinclair
5. Jayne
6. Sinclair
7. Jayne
8. Sinclair
9. Jayne
10. Sinclair
11. Jayne
12. Sinclair
13. Jayne
14. Sinclair
15. Jayne
16. Sinclair
17. Jayne
18. Sinclair
19. Jayne
20. Sinclair
21. Jayne
22. Sinclair
23. Jayne
24. Sinclair
25. Jayne
26. Sinclair
27. Jayne
28. Sinclair
29. Jayne
30. Sinclair
31. Jayne
32. Sinclair
33. Jayne
34. Sinclair
35. Jayne
36. Sinclair
37. Jayne
38. Sinclair
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Other Books By Kristen Painter
About The Author
Wrapped Up In Christmas
A Frost And Crowe Mystery
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Copyright © 2022 Kristen Painter
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from the author.
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This book is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and places portrayed in this book are products of the author’s imagination and are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real person, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
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Princess Jayne Frost and Prince Consort Sinclair Crowe have been called back to Nocturne Falls for Christmas so that Jayne can help out at the short-staffed Santa’s Workshop.
Being back means seeing some old friends, but also finding new trouble that Jayne just can’t stop thinking about. Are the random break-ins really someone trying to ruin Christmas? Because as Santa Claus’s niece, that feels personal to her.
But when the real reason for the break-ins gets unwrapped, Jayne decides to do everything in her power to put an end to the problem.
Too bad it might also mean the end of her.
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Published in the United States of America
Princess Jayne Frost and Prince Consort Sinclair Crowe have been called back to Nocturne Falls for Christmas so that Jayne can help out at the short-staffed Santa’s Workshop.
Being back means seeing some old friends, but also finding new trouble that Jayne just can’t stop thinking about. Are the random break-ins really someone trying to ruin Christmas? Because as Santa Claus’s niece, that feels personal to her.
But when the real reason for the break-ins gets unwrapped, Jayne decides to do everything in her power to put an end to the problem.
Too bad it might also mean the end of her.
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For all the readers who really, really, really needed more Jayne and Spider. Merry Christmas.
I stared out the window in disbelief. “Son of a nutcracker. We’re actually here.”
Sinclair grinned at me as he threw the RV into park. “We sure are. I’ll go get us a site, and we’ll get settled in.”
“Looking forward to it.” I was, too. We’d been on the road a while.
He opened the door and jumped out of the driver’s seat, leaving me with Spider and Sugar, both of whom were asleep somewhere in the back.
I watched him walk to the RV park office. It was a large building, but the back half looked like a residence. Maybe the owners of the RV park lived there. A car was parked alongside on a short driveway that ended in a metal carport.
Everything was covered in a dusting of new snow, which was making me a little homesick. I never thought we’d be back in Nocturne Falls, especially not for Christmas, but here we were, at the Pumpkin Patch RV Park and Campground.
It was a little after 3 p.m., but the facility’s lights were already on. Made sense, I guess. This time of year, the sun would set in about two hours.
Last time we’d been here, there hadn’t been an RV park. Of course, we hadn’t needed one then either. Now, thanks to all kinds of progress happening around town, there was one near the lake. The sign by the entrance said campers, RVs, and tents welcome.
The campground wasn’t anything big. I think there were about forty-five or fifty sites in three rows with another smaller section for those camping in tents. It was a beautiful little area with lots of trees and nice-size camping sites, quite a few of them filled, too, but most of the campers looked like they’d been winterized. I took that as a good sign. If people parked their campers here year-round, it had to be a nice place to stay.
I could see that. The RV park had a small picnic area on a concrete pad next to the office along with places to grill, a volleyball court, shuffleboards, a basketball hoop, and a laundry. There was also a pool, but it was closed for the season.
Didn’t bother me. Seeing the snow really did my heart good. We’d just come from Miami and a visit to the shop there, so I was ready for cooler weather. Nocturne Falls definitely delivered. It might not have been the North Pole, but it was certainly winter, and I was here for it. Literally and figuratively.
“Mama?”
I looked down to see Spider sitting next to the passenger’s chair. His fur was sort of flat on one side, and his eyes weren’t quite all the way open. I reached down and ruffled his fur a little more. “Hi, baby. Did you just wake up?”
He yawned, which was all the answer I needed. “Spider hungry.”
“I’m sure you are.”
Before I could unbuckle my seat belt and get up to get him food, he jumped into my lap and stuck his little face right next to the passenger window. His whiskers twitched. “Snow.”
I scratched his back, sending his tail into the air. “That’s right. We’re back in Nocturne Falls. You remember Nocturne Falls? Where we used to live?”
He gave me a look. “Spider ’members.” He turned around and stuck his face in my face. “Spider loves Chicken Party.”
We were down to one can, but I wasn’t about to tell him that. Fingers crossed Shop-n-Save had plenty on hand, which I was sure they would. “Come on. Chicken Party it is. Where’s Sugar? Is she still sleeping?”
He jumped down and trotted toward the back as I got out of my seat. “Sugar snores.”
“I hate to break it to you, but so do you. You two are a match made in heaven.” I got out the last can of Chicken Party and divided it into two dishes, then set them down in the cats’ eating area.
Sugar came running in. She wasn’t one to sleep through the sound of a can being opened. “Food!”
“Yes, food.” I laughed as the two of them chowed down. I was starting to feel a little hungry myself, and not only were we low on Chicken Party, we were low on pretty much everything else. I think we had a container of oatmeal, half a jar of peanut butter, and some condiments. I was a six-pack of Dr Pepper away from being out of that, too. The horror.
We definitely needed a trip to the Shop-n-Save.
Sin got back in, settling behind the wheel. “We’re in site number thirty-three, and they have full hookups, free cable and Wi-Fi, and 50-amp power.”
“Of course, they do,” I said as I returned to my seat. “It’s Nocturne Falls. They don’t do anything in half measures. First class all the way.” I looked around. “Lots of campers but they look empty. Doesn’t seem like there are many people here.”
“Off season,” he said as he started up the RV and headed down toward our site. “Which was also why the rate was so cheap too. Jerry, the campground manager, said there are only a handful of people who live here full time.”
I didn’t mind that. Quiet was good. Miami had not been quiet. “After we get parked and hooked up, we should probably get some groceries. I just opened the last can of someone’s favorite food.”
Sin’s brows shot up. “Oh boy. That could mean trouble. Maybe we could swing by Mummy’s and grab a bite before we hit the market. What do you think?”
“I’m in. Although you know we’re bound to run into someone we know.”
He smiled, slowing the RV as he pulled past our site so he could back us in. “They’re going to find out we’re here sooner or later. Do you want to run by the shop, too?”
My dad, Jack Frost, the Winter King and King of the North Pole, had specifically asked us to come to the Nocturne Falls store so I could help out. I’d even been issued two new employee codes for the keypad that unlocked the side entrance. That way I could get in through the stockroom if need be. One code was standard; one was in case of trouble. All the employees got them.
Anyway, I’d be filling in for Buttercup, the second shift manager. She was headed back to the North Pole because her grandmother was sick.
The store, Santa’s Workshop, was one of the many branches of the business my family ran, my family being the aforementioned Jack Frost, my mom, my aunt, and my uncle, Kris Kringle. Yes, Santa Claus. The toy stores were the perfect way for him to see what kids were interested in, test out new toys, and help fos
ter the magic of Christmas.
You’d be surprised how soon kids lost sight of that magic in this crazy world.
“Maybe we could do the store visit after we get groceries. I feel like that could take some time.”
“Whatever you want is fine with me.” His gaze was on the backup cameras, keeping a close watch on the spot he was fitting us into. “Although tonight might be an early night for me. That was a long drive.”
“You’ve earned an early bedtime if that’s what you want. We could just do Mummy’s and groceries and put off the store visit until tomorrow morning when we’re both fresh. Buttercup doesn’t leave until the day after tomorrow anyway. What do you think? We’ll just have a quiet night in. Maybe watch a movie and crash.”
“Sounds good to me.” He gave me a wink as he turned the engine off. “You want to call a Ryde? I should have us hooked up in ten minutes or so.”
“Sure thing.”
It only took him nine minutes. After a year and a half or so of traveling around the country to visit various Santa’s Workshop locations and staying at RV parks and campgrounds, Sin was an old pro at getting us set up. It took another twenty minutes for our Ryde to arrive and get us to Mummy’s.
By the time we were in a booth, I was ready to order the whole menu. I shook my head as I looked at the selections. “I want it all.”
Sin chuckled. “I’m pretty hungry myself. Plus it smells so good in here that I’m thinking about ordering three different things.”
I laughed. A man after my own heart. “Let’s split a cinnamon roll. I know it’s not really a lunch or dinner food—”
“Because it’s dessert,” Sin said.
“True, it is, sort of. But we could take the leftovers back and have them for breakfast tomorrow.”
Sin snorted. “Leftovers?”
I bit my bottom lip. He knew me so well. “I was thinking about ordering two, just to make sure.”
He snorted. “I love you. Order as many as you want. Like you weren’t going to anyway.”
I did, too. A double order of cinnamon rolls, although I did ask for the second one to be packed up to go. For my main meal, I got a Dr Pepper, a cheesesteak sub with hot peppers and fries, opting to try Mummy’s new sriracha mayo dipping sauce.
I’d developed a taste for hot stuff ever since our visit to Amarillo, which had been right before Miami. Hard to visit Texas and not eat chilis.
Sin had no aversions to spicy either. He proved that by getting another of Mummy’s new dishes, hot honey fried chicken. Basically crispy fried chicken drizzled with fiery honey. It came with biscuits, coleslaw, and french fries. I was second-guessing my order as soon as the server walked away because his really sounded good. We’d discovered hot honey chicken in Nashville, so seeing it here in Georgia wasn’t that unusual.
I sighed. “I really want cheesesteak, but yours sounds good too.”
He just looked at me and nodded. “You’re going to want a piece of my chicken, aren’t you?”
I pursed my lips and twirled a strand of blue hair around my finger. “Just a little one. I’ll give you some of my cheesesteak.”
He laughed. “Maybe I should have gotten two orders.”
“Let’s see if it’s any good first.”
“It will be. You already know that.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” This was Mummy’s, after all. People on death row probably wished they could come here for their last meal. I know I would. If I ever murdered anyone. Not that I had any immediate plans.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and set it on the table along with his keys. “I’m kind of surprised you didn’t get a milkshake.”
I shrugged. “I’m saving myself for a slice of that pumpkin cheesecake.”
He glanced toward the counter. “Now that’s something we might need to get a to-go order of.”
I pulled a little notebook and pen out of my purse to work on the grocery list. At least we wouldn’t be shopping hungry. That could be disastrous. One thing I’d learned pretty quickly about living in an RV was that storage was at a premium, even in a high-end rig like ours. Buy too much and we’d have bags of chips and rolls of toilet paper in our bedroom closet.
As I added things to the list, starting with Chicken Party, naturally, our drinks came. Sin unwrapped straws for both of us, sticking mine in my tall cup. I took a long sip of my Dr Pepper, instantly feeling better.
He’d gotten root beer. “I don’t think I’ll need anything else to eat today after this meal.”
“Me either. Probably. I mean besides dessert.”
“Naturally.”
“Jayne?”
We both turned to look at the familiar and enthusiastic voice. My favorite blue-haired werewolf was headed towards us. I grinned. “Birdie!”
I got out of the booth to greet her.
She hugged me instantly. “I had no idea you were coming to town. Is this a surprise visit, or are you here for a little bit?”
“We’re here for a little bit. At least through Christmas.”
She looked at Sin. “You’d better get over here and let me hug your neck, too.”
He got up and obliged, kissing her cheek as the hug ended. “It’s nice to see you again, Birdie.”
“You too, honey. How are your folks?”
More than a year ago, Birdie and her boyfriend, Jack Van Zant, had helped us figure out who had kidnapped Sin’s mom. Since then, Sin’s affection for her had only grown. “They’re doing great.”
“No more trouble?”
“No more trouble. How’s Jack?”
She smiled. “He’s just fine. Oh, it’s so good to see you two. And for Christmas, too.” She put her hand to her throat. “I could just cry.”
“Do you want to sit with us?” I asked. “You’re welcome to join us.”
“You’re too sweet. I wish I could. I’m just picking up some food for the station. Hank’s working a little late tonight. There have been a few weird break-ins lately.”
I gave her a curious look. “Weird how?”
She glanced around like she didn’t want anyone to overhear. “Nothing’s been stolen. Someone’s been breaking into houses, unwrapping all the Christmas presents, cleaning up the mess, and leaving.”
I blinked. “You’re right. That is weird. Maybe it’s kids playing a prank.”
“Maybe,” Birdie said. “But breaking into a house is still a crime.”
Sin made a little noise. “I’d say maybe it was kids except for the cleaning-up part. Sounds to me like someone’s trying to ruin Christmas.”
Birdie nodded. “Doesn’t it? Why would someone do that? Hank is stumped, bless his heart. We all are. Anyway, I better scoot or the food’s gonna get cold. Don’t be strangers. I mean it. I need to see that sweet little Spider baby too.”
“We’ll be here a while,” I promised. “You’ll get to see him.” Birdie had cat-sat for me once when I’d gone out of town. She and Spider had a special bond now.
She wiggled her fingers at us, went up to the counter to get her takeout bags, and left. We sat back down, and two seconds later, our food arrived.
My cheesesteak looked great, but Sin’s hot honey chicken was calling my name. He put a piece on my plate before I even said anything. Did I marry the right guy or what?
I picked up the thigh and bit into it. The coating was crisp, the honey was sweet and hot, and my mouth was happy. A few more bites in, and I took a moment to breathe. I gestured at him with the remains of the chicken thigh. “I can’t stop thinking about the break-ins Birdie told us about. It doesn’t make any sense.”