A Touch of Christmas Magic Read online

  A Touch of Christmas Magic

  A Lesfic Second Chance Romance

  Cailee Francis

  A Touch of Christmas Magic © Cailee Francis 2019.

  Amazon Kindle Edition.

  Cover design by Cailee Francis.

  All rights reserved. No part of this story may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the copyright holder, except in the case of brief quotations embodied within critical reviews and articles.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  The author has asserted his/her rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book.

  This book contains sexually explicit content which is suitable only for mature readers.

  First LoveLight Press electronic publication: November 2019.

  http://lovelightpress.com

  A Touch of Christmas Magic is set in the USA and uses Australian English throughout.

  Contents

  1. Emily

  2. Danica

  3. Emily

  4. Danica

  5. Emily

  6. Danica

  7. Emily

  8. Danica

  9. Emily

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  More from Cailee Francis

  Emily

  It was early December and snowflakes drifted past the window of Emily’s classroom. It didn’t normally snow until around Christmastime back home in Myrton, and Emily counted herself lucky the classroom was a comfortable temperature because it was cold outside.

  She loved almost everything about Christmas and had for as long as she could remember. As an art student, she knew she might’ve been drawn to the glittering lights and decorations more than most, but so too did she love the cards and good wishes, the spirituality, and the music every year.

  Even though so much about Christmas seemed manufactured these days by the media or companies wanting to attract customers, she still loved that it brought families and friends closer together. It was the time of year when more people tried their best to do right by one another, and gave themselves more permission to celebrate and enjoy themselves. In her experience, that didn’t happen enough most of the year.

  As she sat there in the classroom, Emily washed out her paintbrush and pressed it against the rim of the cup to squeeze out the water. Her landscape was coming along well. It was inspired by a photo she’d torn from a travel magazine—somewhere warm and tropical. She’d folded back the text above the image, which named the location as the Maldives.

  There were over a dozen students around her, all working on their own paintings, while her teacher typed on a laptop at the front of the room.

  A middle-aged man with untamed hair, Mr Hutchins often went by his first name, Jonas, among students. He was quite an accomplished artist, but she didn’t see any of his work in the classroom. He usually kept to himself and did his job.

  Emily wondered if he was allowed to talk about his own art, and what he might be planning for Christmas. Perhaps he had a family to spend it with? It reminded her of her parents and sister. She missed them, because she hadn’t seen them in over a year, but that would change soon. There were only around two weeks until Christmas and in less time than that she’d be home again.

  As she dipped her brush in the light blue paint on her palette, she wondered what her mother Lydia would be doing right now.

  Emily remembered her mother’s short golden-brown hair and frequent smiles. The image stayed with her as she added to the perfect blue sky on her painting. She missed her father, Peter, and her twin sister, Cathy. How had they changed, if they had at all? Then there was Danica, her ex-girlfriend; she missed her too, but in an entirely different way.

  When she’d first left for college almost two years before, she’d felt ready to let go, but she hadn’t moved on despite how hard she’d tried, and her attempts at finding romance had ended in a string of disastrous dates. Perhaps calling them disastrous was overly dramatic, but not by much.

  There was Elizabeth, whose father had turned up in the middle of dinner and ordered Emily to leave her apartment. As he loudly declared, he didn’t want his daughter dating a woman. Did he even expect that to work? There was Christina, who already had a boyfriend and wasn’t looking for a committed relationship. She wanted a threesome. And then there was Kate.

  Emily sighed. That had gone badly. When she had invited Kate back to her dorm room, she’d openly admitted she didn’t like Emily much and didn’t particularly want to see her again, unless she was paying for dinner.

  When had dating become such a minefield? Was it truly so hard to find love?

  Her relationship with Danica had been her first and only, and she’d only realised later how special and rare their connection was. Why was it that she couldn’t have realised how much Danica meant to her before it was too late?

  Instead, Emily had left for Waverley-East College to pursue her dreams. Now her heart only looked back home. Emily still thought about Danica all the time, but she accepted that she was now just a friend and likely always would be.

  Emily was drawn out of her reverie by Mr Hutchins’ voice.

  “We have ten minutes left. Start cleaning up and you can leave your paintings where they are this time. Remember, Wednesday’s class will be our last before Christmas break. Don’t leave your materials or books here over Christmas. They probably won’t be here when you get back.”

  She could almost hear his addition in her head. ‘Emily Williams, that means you’. Of course, Mr Hutchins would never say that.

  Her painting was almost done, though Emily could have happily spent another hour or two getting it just right. She rinsed her brushes, but the water in the cup was muddied with paint. Like many of the other students, she queued by the sink to wash them and the cup out properly under running water. She took some time admiring the artwork of the other students while they chatted among themselves. She felt like their work was better than her own, but her thoughts hadn’t been wholly present when she was painting.

  “That looks like such a beautiful place,” another of the students, Ciara, commented on her painting.

  Ciara wore her long red hair almost always in a braid, and like Emily, a sweater and jeans was her usual college-wear.

  Emily smiled. “It sure does.”

  “Ah to be sitting on a beach right now, painting a scene like that,” Ciara mused.

  “It sounds marvelous, and even better if friends and family were there,” Emily replied.

  Emily so often felt alone at college by herself. She realised that Ciara might understand; after all, she’d come from England, so knew what it was like to be away from the people she cared about.

  Before Emily could ask her plans, it was her turn at the sink and she didn’t want to keep the other students waiting.

  By the time she was done, several of the students had already left and Ciara was already packing up her belongings.

  Emily smiled over at her. “I’ll see you next week?”

  Ciara shook her head. “You won’t. I’m going back home a bit earlier than planned, until next year.”

  “Well, you have a good trip and a wonderful Christmas.”

  Emily sounded cheerier than she felt. She knew she’d feel less lonely when she saw her family again. The days couldn’t pass quickly enough.

  Emily left a short time later, glad to be
done for the day. It wasn’t that she was exhausted or in that much of a hurry, but it would be good to get home. The dorms were just outside the campus and she had a room of her own. The building wasn’t much to look at from the outside, but so many students had made it their own. The foyer was decorated with tinsel and a slightly wonky plastic Christmas tree. The bulletin board usually had flyers pinned all over it, but many of them had been taken down and replaced with Christmas cards and messages between the students.

  She enjoyed reading them, even though they weren’t addressed to her personally, and had pinned up a Christmas card of her own.

  Emily checked her mailbox on the way up, and found several bills, a Christmas card from her nephew, and she soon realised with interest, a letter from Danica. She hadn’t talked to her in too long, though they sometimes chatted by email. Danica probably remembered from when they were together that she always liked to get ‘snail mail’. She found there was something about a hand-written letter that was more personal and enjoyable to receive than an email.

  Her dorm room was on the third floor along a blue-carpeted corridor. It wasn’t too bad, except for when you had to carry up groceries or bags. Emily unlocked the door, shivering slightly because the room was cold. Had she left a window open? Apparently not.

  The heat was down low, so she turned it up and stood beside the heater until she thawed out a little.

  The room was small with its own ensuite bathroom, so it didn’t take much time to heat. It held a single bed and a desk, and a small kitchen that had a microwave, a table large enough for two, and two chairs. Emily didn’t have a TV; she used her laptop for the shows and movies she watched, and other things like music. She preferred not to build up too many large possessions there, because she knew she wouldn’t be staying forever.

  She missed being surrounded by comfortable clutter, but with so few things there and a cleaner who came in once a week to tidy up the dorms, it was relatively easy to keep things in order. She didn’t throw enough parties to make it a challenge, but she knew some people who did.

  Emily hung up her coat, and took off her boots. It was cold enough that she decided to keep her jumper and socks on.

  She put on the water for a hot coffee, then climbed onto the bed to read Danica’s letter. She set the other mail aside for now and opened the yellow parchment envelope. There was a Christmas card in a separate envelope tucked in there, and a letter. Emily decided to open the card first, which showed a bright and colourful Christmas scene. It was embossed in gold and decorated with glitter, which shimmered in the light.

  “To Emily.

  I hope you have a Christmas as wonderful as you are.

  I’ll be seeing you soon. Until then,

  Danica, Jason and Lilly”

  Jason and Lilly were Danica’s parents. Emily still had pleasant memories of going around to their home for dinner, and helping out when Jason was sent away on a work trip for the best part of three months. They were always kind and accepting toward her; none of this ‘get out of my home’ business.

  Emily shook her head. How could she not have realised how perfect everything was before she left? She felt now that she took everything for granted. It probably wasn’t perfect at the time—life had a way of glossing over the small worries to put its own spin on the bigger picture, but there could be no doubt things were good.

  She remembered the letter as she stretched out to read it, positioning it on the pillow in front of her. Danica’s handwriting was gently slanted in blue ink, and Emily could tell she’d used a fountain pen. Why had Danica written to her, rather than waiting a couple of weeks until she was back in town?

  “Dear Emily,

  I want you to know I’ve been thinking about you and there are things I need to tell you before you return. A lot in my life has changed since you were last here and I wasn’t ready to tell you yet, because I didn’t want to worry you or distract you during your exams there. I know those are poor reasons, but I hope you’ll understand why I did what I did.”

  Emily’s brow furrowed when she read Danica’s words. She had no idea what could be wrong, unless she had met someone else? Somehow, Emily didn’t think it was that. She would seem happier, or so Emily hoped.

  “I got in an accident about six weeks ago. I haven’t written because I was in the hospital. I made your sister promise not to say anything, so please don’t be angry with her. A drunk driver hit my car and totalled it. Thankfully I was alone in the car at the time—I’d just dropped mum off, and the driver who hit me survived. I got hurt badly in the crash.

  I don’t have any spinal damage other than bruising, but both my legs and several of my ribs were broken. I’m in a wheelchair right now, but it isn’t permanent. It’s going to take some time for me to heal and walk again as I did before, but the doctors say I should be able to do it. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I’m lucky. I survived a horror crash that could’ve been so much worse.”

  Emily couldn’t believe what she was reading. Danica was lively, vivacious and friendly—she wouldn’t hurt a fly, and someone had done this to her? She wanted it not to be true. She wanted to hold Danica to make sure she was safe and to ensure nothing like that ever happened to her again. It terrified her that something like this could happen without her even knowing about it. Emily felt her exams weren’t any kind of excuse to hide the truth from her, but then that was Danica—thoughtful even when Emily didn’t want her to be. It made her want to get on a plane that very minute and take a cab straight there.

  Tempted as she was to pick up the phone and call her, she kept reading as her eyes grew damp with tears.

  “I can’t say my recovery has been easy, but I’m getting better. They let me go home a week and a half ago, and my parents are looking after me. I’m pretty much stuck upstairs in the house, because I can’t easily get down to the kitchen, so as you can imagine I’m incredibly bored and still dosed up on painkillers.

  I just wanted a chance to explain how I was and I didn’t feel ready to talk about it on the phone yet. It sounds silly, but any time I go to talk about it, I just stop. I don’t know why. It’s not that I’m frightened of it—it all feels so surreal, but I just don’t want to go there, I guess. Somehow writing about it feels different. It’s easier.”

  Emily’s heart sank when she read what Danica was dealing with. She still felt emotional, but the hint of anger she’d felt at not being told had diminished. In its place was sadness and fear, even though the worst was over with. Danica was alive, but things could’ve been different. She could’ve been attending Danica’s funeral, and she didn’t want to think about that. It was heartbreaking to even consider what could’ve happened to the woman she’d once loved and, if she was honest with herself, still did.

  “I chose to leave my job at the coffee shop because I don’t know how long my recovery’s going to take. I’m not going to be quick on my feet again for a while and I was only on a contract. My medical costs are being covered by the woman who hit me—she tried to wriggle out of it, but the judge was having none of it.

  So I have time without the pressure to go back. I’ll probably need to look for another line of work in the future, but I’m not there yet. I’m just taking the healing day by day right now. I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you. You’re one of the first people I turn to about most things. I don’t know why I found this so hard. I guess I was afraid of hurting you. You’re such an optimistic person and I don’t want to spoil that.”

  With a sigh, Emily held the letter carefully in her hands, almost like she was holding Danica. She wondered if there was more to why Danica found it hard to talk to her. Maybe they had unresolved issues that she’d forgotten about, or it could’ve been the trauma from the accident. She wanted to tell Danica then and there that it was okay, but she couldn’t do that without talking about the accident, could she? She kept reading.

  “We’re just planning to have a quiet Christmas here. My father had a work party and he won a tablet com
puter, so you can guess what I’m using all the time. I’ve discovered it’s easier for typing at weird angles. Apart from that there isn’t much going on here. There’s no sign of snow yet but it’s getting colder. I can see some of the Christmas lights outside from my window and my father’s promised to put up an enormous Christmas tree in the garden. I want to see you when you come back to visit, and I’m not sure how easily I’ll go anywhere but you’re more than welcome to visit me. Maybe bring over some movies and we can have a Christmas movie night like we used to?”

  Emily loved the sound of that. Despite her turbulent emotions, the thought of watching movies with Danica made her feel less lonely and far happier. It was good to have something else to look forward to. She knew it wasn’t a date, but the truth was she wanted it to be.

  “I hope you have a safe journey back.

  With best wishes,

  your friend, Danica Swanson.”

  Setting the letter down on the bed, Emily stretched out and rested beside it. Danica had certainly given her a lot to think about. She knew she should ring her, and she would, but she wanted to bring her emotions under control first. Emily felt Danica had enough to deal with without dealing with her upset and anger too. She didn’t know what to do because she couldn’t change anything. What had happened had happened, and that was all there was to it.

  Emily closed her eyes as they burned with tears. A few turned into more, and she cried into her pillow as she tried to come to terms with the accident. She didn’t know whether to be angry or grateful, but the truth was she was both.

  “Thank you for saving her life,” she whispered in the otherwise empty room, and pulled her phone out of her handbag.

  It was an older model that looked clunky alongside some of the other students’ sleeker phones, but she’d put a strong case on it so it wouldn’t break if she dropped it. Emily made no secret of her clumsiness, especially with electronics. It had internet on it, so it wasn’t from the Stone Age, and more importantly, she had Danica’s number saved on it.