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COMING DOWN HER CHIMNEY
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She had the best intentions.
Avery Sinclair lives to spread Christmas cheer. Growing up in an orphanage, Christmas was the only time that she got presents, but her love of the holiday is more than that. It’s the only time when people treated her with kindness.
That’s why she’s on her neighbor’s roof, trying to untangle the string of Christmas lights that she’s putting up for him.
All is going according to plan until she slips on that patch of ice.
He had his perfect routine.
Paxton Humphrey has made his millions. Now he just wants to be left alone.
He likes his quiet life in his quiet house on his quiet street. Then Avery comes falling down his chimney and turns his quiet life into something more.
Will this Christmas elf be able to turn her Grinch’s heart three sizes bigger this holiday season?
ONE
Avery
I hum “Dashing Through the Snow”under my breath as I grab the last of the boxes of Christmas decorations from my storage closet. I’m going to spend the day helping my neighbors put up some lights and I can’t wait. Christmas is my favorite holiday, and I decorated my house the day after Thanksgiving.
I love seeing the lights twinkling and all of the pretty wreaths, but it’s more than that. There’s just this feeling in the air this time of year. It’s one of the only times that I feel like the world cares about me.
Pathetic? Maybe. But I made a choice a long time ago to see the good in every situation. Wallowing in bitterness and painfulwhat-ifsdidn’t free me from the group home I grew up in. Smiling and looking for the silver lining, however, definitely improved my quality of life.
Sometimes the only way to move on is to accept that life didn’t turn out the way you thought it would. And then wipe your tears, pull up your big girl panties, and make the best life you can.
I shake those thoughts from my head and grab the ladder, heading outside. I just moved into this neighborhood a few weeks ago. I couldn’t afford much in California but this tiny little rental house is luckily in my budget. It’s cramped, even for just me, but it has a bigger yard, one that will be perfect for a dog. I’ve wanted one my whole life, but the group home didn’t allow them. Then again, after seeing the way some of those people treated us kids, I don’t think I’d trust them with a dog.
That ends this year. I have my eye on the most special doggo in the whole wide world. Saint. He’s at the animal shelter I volunteer at several times a week. Once I have enough money saved up to make sure he can have all of his shots and a good setup here, I’m adopting him.
Every time I take the little guy out for a walk and then put him back in his cage, it breaks off another piece of my heart. I know what it’s like to be trapped, wishing someone would adopt you, find you valuable and worthy of love.
I sniffle, but quickly wipe away the lone tear threatening to spill over my cheek. This is Christmas. No time for tears.
My curly red hair tickles my cheeks as the wind blows it around my shoulders. There are a few snowflakes but it’s not really sticking to the ground or anything. I wave at Mr. Miller as I trudge past his house and head over to Mrs. Tilton’s place.
“Good afternoon, Avery,” she greets me at the door, and I grin. She’s a sweet older woman who loves gossiping with her cats (and wayward neighbors) over tea and cookies.
“Afternoon,” I greet her with a big smile. “Is now a good time for me to put up your lights?” I ask her and she nods. I grab the package of toys I picked up for her three fur babies. There’s a good mix of catnip, crinkle toys, and sparkle pom-pom balls. The cats at the shelter go crazy over the pom-poms, so I made sure to load up on them.
“Oh, bless you, honey!” Mrs. Tilton says as she takes the toys from me.
I grab the box of lights by the door and tell her I’ll stop back in when I’m done. There’s only a handful of houses on our street and I look around at the decorations on the other ones as I climb up the ladder and get started on Mrs. Tilton’s house.
Everyone else has lights strung up or one of those projectors in their front lawn. Some people have wire reindeers and trees, and a few have large inflatable figures that are now deflated and laying across the dead grass. I’m more of a classic girl when it comes to Christmas decor, but I can get behind anything so long as they have the holiday spirit.
Then I see the house next to mine.
It’s the biggest house on the block and the only neighbor I haven’t met yet. I’ve never even caught a glimpse of him, which is strange because I’m almost always at home.
I work for an online company as a customer relations specialist. I’m basically customer support and I spend my hours answering emails. It’s pretty slow so I have a lot of downtime. Which is the only reason that I’ve stayed on working for them, because my boss is a real dick. The customers aren’t so great themselves sometimes, but I always try to give them the benefit of the doubt.
It can be soul sucking working there, but it pays the bills and allows me enough time to volunteer at the local animal shelter a few times a week. That’s how I met the cutest, goodest boy, Saint. He’s had a rough go of it, but he just needs a safe place to land. We’re a lot alike in that respect.
