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.
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.
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.
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.