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Chapter One
The holly berries on the door wreath shone under the lamplight at Steven's Steakhouse. I looked down the street to see if Daniel's car was parked nearby. When I spotted it, I went ahead inside. The soft sound of bells rang me in. I looked around and caught sight of Daniel's dark hair. He stood and waved at me as I made my way to the table.
"This is quite a place, Daniel. I've never been here before."
"The food is excellent," he said. He beamed like he owned the place. The restaurant was buzzing with diners and everyone seemed to be in a holiday mood. We settled back with menus in hand and talked about our upcoming travels.
"I think getting back home is always a good thing, Laila," said Daniel. "I can't wait to see my home town again either. When are you heading down south?"
"In about ten days I'll be leaving for Tennessee."
"Does it snow there?" Daniel liked to tease me about the south as if it was a foreign country. His home state of Pennsylvania experienced plenty of snow. I couldn't resist a little teasing back on my part.
"It's not the Bahamas," I said. I let up on him a little and added, "I'd be happy to have a white Christmas. It could happen regardless of what you think." His swift smile created a warm rush through me. "It's good to connect with family, especially during holidays. I'm ready to see my parents again," I said.
We grew silent as we looked at the menu. I thought of my parents who had relocated from Atlanta a few years ago to the Smokey Mountains. My mother went all out at Christmas.
"You don't look like you are reading the menu," said Daniel. "What are you thinking about?"
Daniel's dark eyes seemed to always hold laughter. He was easy to be around but sometimes I had the feeling he read my mind.
"Just thinking about how my mother gets bent out of shape over gift-giving. She is a little extreme to say the least. She bragged in October that she was finished with her Christmas shopping. And yet, I can bet she will take me around all the little shops in Pigeon Forge for more."
Daniel lightly slapped his forehead. "Oh no, Christmas shopping. That's something I'd better get busy with. I haven’t bought any gifts at all, yet."
He glanced past me and smiled. "That's Steven over there. I want to introduce you." He waved the owner of the Steakhouse over.
It was hard to take my eyes off the tall six foot man who came close to our table. I looked at his haircut. He kept the sides tight and a thick layer of brown hair on top of his head. Deep amber eyes definitely flirted with me. His handsome looks would draw any woman. I had the distinct feeling he was aware of that.
"Steven Landers meet Laila Rook," said Daniel. "Laila is the Barista at Roasted Love's coffee house." We acknowledged each other. Daniel looked intently at the owner. "You look a little stressed, Steven. Are the holidays getting to you?"
"Someone broke the electronic lock on the walk-in freezer. When I came in this afternoon, the place looked like someone had been rummaging around, but we didn't see anything missing. It was probably someone looking for liquor. They probably broke the freezer lock trying to get into it." He gave a shrug. "We had to call a service tech to fix it. In the mean time, we're running slow and I had to call on other merchants in the area to buy food to get us through."
"Do you mean you had a break-in to the restaurant itself?" I asked.
"For some reason the back door wasn't locked last night. Whoever it was, just walked in. One of my dishwashers was supposed to lock up. I have a repairman back there now on the freezer. I called the company immediately. It took a while, but someone finally got here."
Steven's face crinkled with a grin. "I didn't mean to ruin your evening. It's my problem and not my diners'." He transformed into the host of his Steakhouse. A couple of customers passed the table and greeted him. When he turned back to us, I mentioned the appeal of his décor.
"Someone around here has a knack for knowing how to decorate."
He accepted my compliment and held his eyes on me longer than necessary. "I hope the food satisfies you, too. Enjoy your meal. I have to get back to work. I'll see you around sometime."
"Did he just wink at me?" I asked Daniel when Steven walked away.
"Probably, but don't take offense. He flirts with beautiful women all the time."
Just as I began to comment, the server, whose tag read Cassie, set two hot dinners in front of us. The eye appeal alone was enough to make me want to dig into the grilled rib eye in front of me. Steamed green beans crisscrossed on the side. Steam from the baked potato wafted upward. Daniel cut into his T-bone with a vengeance. I had noticed when we ate out together he went for the main entrée first. The vegetables followed.
"Hungry, are you?" I asked. He had already forked a bite of the steak.
He looked sheepish. "Actually, I haven't eaten all day. Sorry I'm such a pig."
He slowed down when I laughed at him. The company, the food and the festive atmosphere put both of us in a good mood. A large Christmas tree stood regal in the far corner. Christmas music played softly from an antique player-piano. The musical instrument drew a group of diners who were mesmerized with its mechanism. We chatted about family traditions and finished the main course.
Daniel opened his mouth to say something just as a blood-curling scream reached us from the kitchen area, shattering the mood. For a split second, we stared at each other. Shocked diners grew silent and only "Deck the Halls" could be heard coming from the player piano. Daniel jumped to his feet and headed to the back of the restaurant. I was on his heels. If a Paramedic's services were called for, Steven's Steakhouse was lucky to have Daniel Jenkins there that night. We edged into the main part of the kitchen area.
The repairman wiped his brow and stood back. Shaking hands failed to keep a grip on the tool he used. It bounced a couple of times when it hit the hard tiled floor. Cassie Johnson, pale and trembling, gaped at the opened freezer door. She was as frozen in space as the heap on the floor. Black Santa boots were fitted under red pant legs. The
wide white fur cuffs were splattered with dots of something dark. My eyes traveled from the cuffs up to a contorted face of an older man. He didn't need extra padding to fill in the Santa suit. His hair was grey and somewhat bushy. A matching fake beard finished the look, except this Santa was very dead.
"I checked, Daniel. Nothing can be done for him," said Steven. The owner was in the process of dialing 911.
Daniel put his arm across the front of me. "Stand back, Laila, no need to see this."
