Oberon christmas sprites.., p.1
Oberon: Christmas Sprites Book Two, page 1
OBERON
CHRISTMAS SPRITES
BOOK 2
MACY BLAKE
Oberon
Copyright © 2022 Macy Blake
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of author imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted on the cover is a model.
Cover by A.J. Corza, alexandriacorza.com
Edited by Stacy Sirkel
Formatted by Stacy Sirkel
CONTENTS
Synopsis
1. Miles
2. Oberon
3. Oberon
4. Miles
5. Miles
6. Oberon
7. Miles
8. Oberon
9. Miles
10. Miles
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About the Author
Also by Macy Blake
SYNOPSIS
Santa Paws is coming to town.
When Dr. Miles Lane purchases Paws and Claus, a veterinary clinic in the quirky town of Mistletoe Falls, he doesn’t quite know what he’s in for.
The small town offers a fresh start for Miles, his seven-year-old daughter, Holly, and their rambunctious Saint Bernard. What Miles doesn’t count on is his immediate attraction to the local handyman, Oberon, whom he hires to do some work on their new home and clinic.
Oberon finds himself falling hard for the town’s new vet and his adorable family. There’s only one problem: Oberon is a sprite, a magical being tasked with bringing holiday spirit to the human realm. Every time he’s around Miles and Holly, his chemis-tree goes a bit haywire.
But when a pet-tastrophe strikes Mistletoe Falls, Miles and Oberon must team up to make sure the town and all of its furry residents have the ulti-mutt holiday.
If you love fated mates, pets who like to play matchmaker, and magical elves, er, sprites, who make the season bright, you'll have a pawsitively wonderful Christmas time with this holiday romance.
1
MILES
“Daddy,” Holly said solemnly as they stood in front of the house that, as of this morning, was their new home. “It’s pretty.”
Her unspoken but it isn’t our old house might as well have been yelled.
“Don’t forget that there’s a big yard for Ivy,” Miles said, holding on to the leash of their Saint Bernard. Ivy glanced up at him, as judgmental of his decision to pack them up and move to Mistletoe Falls as his daughter.
“She’ll like that,” Holly said. “And I have my very own craft room, right? The pretty room with the seat in the window?”
“Yep,” Miles confirmed. “The man who is helping us build your shelves and everything will be here later today.”
Holly squeezed his hand a little tighter. “And I can paint my rooms whatever color I want.”
“Our deal was almost whatever color, if you recall. Chartreuse is out of the question, I don’t care how cute you are.”
Holly giggled. “I suppose we could go look at it.”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
Ivy barked, and Holly looked up at him with a smile. “Ivy says she’s ready.”
Adopting Ivy had been the best decision Miles had ever made for his daughter. Holly tended to be on the shy side but taking care of Ivy had helped bring her out of her shell. The two were thick as thieves. Even though their move and all the changes it brought weren’t easy, with Ivy at their side, Miles had no doubt they’d all settle in quickly enough.
Besides, no one could resist Ivy’s charms, which meant Holly tended to make friends with everyone they met on their daily walks with Ivy. Miles hoped Mistletoe Falls would prove to be as welcoming as their old neighborhood.
Miles led them up the brick path to the front door. He’d been lucky to get the restored Victorian as part of his purchase of the clinic. The previous veterinarian in Mistletoe Falls had decided to retire a few months before, putting both his house and business up for sale.
When Miles had stumbled across the opportunity, something in him had lit up. He wasn’t what anyone would call impulsive, by any means, but he’d known in that moment it was where he and Holly were supposed to be.
Convincing his daughter to leave behind the only home she’d ever known…well, that had been a different story altogether. Pictures of the storybook Victorian house had helped, along with the promises of her own space the large home would provide.
“The blue is prettier than in the pictures,” Holly said suddenly. “It’s almost purple. I think I like it.”
Miles did too. At first, he wasn’t sure about the blue with the white trim and red accents, but it worked. “We’ll have to see if the previous owners left us any information about the colors,” Miles said, knowing his artistically inclined daughter would love the information. “They might be drawn from a historically accurate palette.”
Holly’s eyes widened as she looked at the house with new eyes. He hoped her knew art teacher would be prepared for his daughter. He had an appointment to meet all of her teachers at the end of the week after they’d had a few days to get to know each other. Hopefully, she’d be as successful at her new school as she’d been at the last.
He walked up the rest of the path and to the wooden door inset with stained glass.
“It’s all so different,” Holly said.
“Just wait until you see inside,” Miles said, unlocking the door with the keys he’d picked up from the real estate agent on his way into town.
Miles pushed open the door and looked down at his daughter. Since the moment he’d made the decision to use a surrogate to have a child, she’d become his life. This move meant they’d have even more time together as his hours wouldn’t be nearly as busy as the clinic where he’d worked at in the city. She was growing up so fast and Miles didn’t want to miss out on a moment of it.
Holly clenched his hand, and they entered the house together. “Oh, Daddy. It’s like out of a movie.”
Miles let out a sigh of relief at the high praise from his seven-year-old. What could be better than a movie, after all? “This house is almost as old as the town. Can you believe that?”
Holly’s eyes widened. “That’s old.”
“I know,” Miles said. “Mistletoe Falls has a lot of fun stuff for us to explore. I can’t wait.”
“It was smart of you to ask Ms. Kaine for the brochure about the town,” Holly informed him. “I liked reading about it on the way here.”
His kid was too smart for Miles’s own good. Before he could give Holly a tour, Ivy sat down and gave him a very soulful stare from her big brown eyes. “I think our first order of business is to introduce Ivy to her new backyard.”
Holly glanced at Ivy and nodded. “Oh, yeah. She’s totally gotta go.”
They both knew the signals well. Miles led the way through the living room, then the dining room, and finally to the veranda. Like most old houses, their new home was broken up into a bunch of smaller spaces.
Miles liked it, though. The whole open floor plan thing had its perks, especially when you were a single dad with a toddler. But now he liked the idea of them having different rooms to spend time in. It was cozier and he could imagine the fun he and Holly would have figuring out how they wanted to decorate each of the spaces.
Holly opened the backdoor for Ivy and followed her out onto the snow-dusted grass in the back yard. After taking Ivy off her leash, Miles let her roam in the fenced in area.
“Daddy,” Holly gasped. “It’s so big!”
After Ivy picked her spot, Miles let the two of them explore the backyard for a few minutes. Every tree and bush got a sniff from Ivy while Holly observed. Ivy suddenly perked up before leading the way to the side of the house where the tall wooden fence had a gate. A tiny whimper came from the other side.
Miles groaned. Not again.
He opened the gate to find a small Labrador puppy, probably no more than four months old, shivering on the other side. Although most likely white, the little guy looked like he’d rolled in a dirty puddle, making him look even more pitiful. Ivy immediately sniffed the dirty puppy, then looked at him with an expectant gaze not unlike the one his daughter was shooting him.
With a sigh, Miles scooped up the puppy. “This town was supposed to be different,” Miles grumbled. “It’s not supposed to be the kind of place where people just dump their dogs at the vet’s clinic or house.”
“You should use the thing to check if he has a chip,” Holly advised.
Since the little guy wasn’t wearing a collar, that would be an option. There was a good chance a pup this young wouldn’t be chipped yet, though.
“We’ll do that,” Miles said as he quickly ran his hands over the little guy’s fur, checking for any signs of injury.
“Kringle!” A woman’s shout drew their attention. “Kringle!”
Miles walked out front and found an older woman frantically searching the area. When she spotted them, she let out a cry of relief and ran their way.
“Oh my goodness. This
“This little guy belongs to you?”
She nodded and held up a leash with its very empty collar attached. “He slipped right out of his collar, the sneaky thing. We’re working on our leash training. Clearly, it’s not going as well as I thought.” She smiled and held out her hand. “Joy Claus.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Joy. I’m Miles Lane, and this is my daughter Holly. And this is Ivy.”
Miles passed over the puppy to her and it curled up against her chest with a happy sigh. Joy kissed the little escape artist on the head and cuddled him close.
“Thanks for your help. And I know who you are,” Joy said with a wink. “You’re living in my old house.”
It took a second for Miles to put the pieces together. “Joy Claus, as in Paws and Claus.”
She beamed a smile at him. “That’s me. My husband Chris was the veterinarian. I worked for the town council before we both retired and moved into a smaller house that’s much easier for us to manage. Besides, you have the secret path through the backyard to the clinic. It didn’t seem fair for us to keep it.”
“Secret path?” Holly asked.
“Yep, there’s a gate in the back left corner of the fence that leads you right to the back of the clinic.”
“It’s really nice to meet you,” Miles said. “I have a feeling you and your husband will have lots of good information to share with us. It’s so good to know you both stayed in town. I needed someone to let me know all the mischief makers I need to look out for.”
Joy laughed. “Well, there are more than a few, I can promise you that. And the first lot are headed this way now.” She gestured toward the corner where an older woman and two young men walked their way. “We really appreciate you keeping on our staff from the clinic. It was honestly Chris’s biggest fear in retiring. We’re all pretty much family at this point. I had a feeling they’d be coming over to meet you today,” Joy said.
As they approached, the rumbling of a large truck sounded behind him, and Miles turned to see the moving truck they’d hired pulling up to a stop in front of the house.
“Joy!” The woman walking down the block stopped in front of her and gave her a quick hug. “I wasn’t expecting to find you here.”
“Well, Kringle decided he wanted to meet the new vet. The little devil pulled out of his collar and took off.” Joy gave the puppy a cuddle before reattaching the collar.
The woman turned to Miles and held out her hand. “I’m Gloria, your new office manager. And these two chatterboxes are Donner and Rudy.”
Since neither of the young men said a word, Miles assumed she was kidding about the chatty thing. Miles took her outstretched hand and shook it. “I’m Miles Lane. This is my daughter Holly, and our dog, Ivy.”
“Aww. Holly and Ivy. That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. You’ll fit right into Mistletoe Falls with names like those,” Gloria gushed.
“Thank you,” Holly said.
“Excuse me, Dr. Lane,” one of the movers said, walking their way with a clipboard in his hand. “We’d like to get the floor coverings down, and then we’ll start unloading.”
“Go on in,” Miles said. “I need to get the rooms labeled for you.”
“Oh, we can help with that, can’t we boys?” Gloria said, beaming a smile his way. “You’ll surely need some help unpacking, what with you planning on being at the clinic tomorrow, and with your sweet girl starting school. That’s a lot to accomplish in one day.”
Miles shot her a look, wondering how exactly she knew he planned on sending Holly to school so quickly. It wasn’t like he’d advertised the information. “You’re one of those managers who knows everything, aren’t you?”
Gloria grinned and bumped their shoulders together. “How’d you guess?”
Miles laughed. “We’re going to get along just fine, Gloria. Well, it’s been nice meeting everyone, but we need to get the car unloaded and get busy. It really is going to be a long day.”
Joy snickered, drawing Miles’s attention. “She wasn’t kidding about helping. She’s been bored to tears for weeks since Chris and I officially retired.”
One of the guys stepped forward. “We don’t mind, Dr. Lane. I’m Donner, by the way. And yeah, I get the irony of my name living here.”
“Try being named Rudy,” the other guy said. “And Donner’s right, Dr. Lane. We really don’t mind giving you a hand. Besides, if we go back to the clinic, Gloria’s going to find something really brain-numbingly boring for us to do. Everything’s been cleaned multiple times already. Trust us. You’d be doing us a favor.”
Miles had a feeling he was experiencing small town life for the first time. It seemed weird to invite strangers into his home to help them unpack, but they weren’t exactly strangers. “If you’re sure…”
“We’re sure,” Gloria, Donner, and Rudy all chorused.
“Then we can start with the car.” Miles took out his keys and opened the trunk with the fob.
“Got it.” The two guys walked to the back, where their suitcases were piled. They each grabbed one, then took other bags in their hands before lugging them into the house.
“Now, you said something about labeling the rooms?” Gloria asked.
“All the boxes are color-coded,” Miles said. “So we’ll need to put the colors on the doors so the movers know where to put things.”
“Oh, I’m going to like you. That’s my kind of organization right there. Label makers are my friend. What do you say, young lady? Would you care to help me get some rooms labeled?”
Holly nodded. “I made the signs for the rooms. They’re in my backpack.”
“Aren’t you clever!” Gloria held out her hand to Holly, who took it and led Gloria to the backseat of the car where Holly’s backpack awaited.
“I’ll go drop this little monster off with Chris and come back to help,” Joy said. “The more the merrier!”
Miles wasn’t entirely sure what was happening, but he smiled at her anyway. “Sounds good.”
“Daddy, come on. You have to show us the rooms.”
Gloria and Holly waited for him by the front door. Miles glanced down at Ivy, who’d remained at his side. “I hope you’re ready for this.”
Ivy woofed at him before heading to Holly. Miles followed behind and helped her tape the painted signs she’d made on the door frames of each room.
By the time the movers had finished laying down the floor protection, Miles, Holly, and Gloria had finished their tour of the house. With each room clearly labeled, Gloria and Holly settled in her future craft room, sitting in the window seat as Holly explained in detail all of the crafts she liked to make.
With his daughter safely distracted for a little while, Miles headed back downstairs to direct the movers. He found Donner and Rudy standing near the door with the suitcases and boxes from the car. He directed them where to take everything, then took the bag of moving day supplies he’d put together and began putting everything away.
Within what felt like minutes, the entire house turned into a jumble of chaos. The movers brought in load after load of boxes, and the stacks in each room grew more quickly than Miles expected. It took the movers a lot less time to unload the truck than it had for them to load it.
Before long, Miles had a mountain of boxes in every room of the house. He’d not figured out where to place the furniture they’d brought, so it ended up pushed into the corners of the rooms, surrounded by the boxes and basically inaccessible.
“Okay, Dr. Lane. We’re all done. If you could sign here.” One of the movers held out his clipboard, and Miles signed it. “Enjoy your new home.”
And with that, they were gone, leaving Miles with a gigantic mess and a house full of strangers trying to help. He stood at the front door and ran his hand over his head, wondering exactly why he’d only given them one day to get settled in. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, especially as it meant Holly would miss very few days of school as they were coming off of the Thanksgiving break. And speaking of his daughter….
