Page 4 of Grump Hard

Two

Holly Josephine “Jo” Hadley

* * *

A pet photographer and ambassador of good cheer

who loves snow, her hometown, and all things Christmas.

(Especially peppermint fudge and

the limited-edition

collectible reindeer socks

at Kathy’s Kountry Store…)

* * *

Wow. Luke Ratcliffe.

This is certainly a blast from the past…

I heard the Ratcliffe siblings were back in town for the holidays, but I didn’t expect to run into Luke. He hasn’t been back to Silver Bell Falls in years. Not since we were kids.

Who would have thought he’d get so tall?

Or broad-shouldered or…scowly?

His furrowed brow doesn’t smooth a bit as he mutters, “I’ve been better.” He flinches, then tosses the peg leg behind him. It hits the hardwood floor with a dull thud before rolling to a stop by the case containing Percy Wheeler’s antique safety pin collection—the largest in the state.

“Sorry,” he mutters. “I thought I felt something…move.”

I blink, nodding seriously as I reply, “You probably did. The captain’s leg is haunted, after all.”

He frowns harder. “Excuse me?”

“Haunted,” I deadpan. “By the ghost of the pirate he stole it from on his way up the coast from the West Indies. Everyone knows that.”

He grunts. “You’re joking.”

“Of course, I am,” I say with a wink.

But Luke doesn’t look amused.

He looks crankier than ever.

And a little glassy-eyed.

Is he drunk?

It’s then that I begin to wonder if there’s a less-than-innocent explanation for what he’s doing here after hours, fondling Captain Herbert’s wood…

“So, what were you planning to do with that?” I ask, nodding toward the peg leg.

I thought maybe he’d been chosen to place it atop the tree at the ceremony tomorrow night. His family owns half of the town—and the city council is eager to kiss up to the new stewards of the Ratcliffe holdings, now that sweet old Gerald Ratcliffe is gone—so I wouldn’t be surprised.

I also wouldn’t be sad if the town voted to put something a little less phallic at the top of the tree now and then, but I respect tradition.