All I Want for Christmas

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS

LYNN EMERY

All names, characters, stories, and incidents
featured in this novel are imaginary. They are not inspired by any
individual person, incidents or events known or unknown to the
author. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is
coincidental..

Copyright 2012 Margaret Emery Hubbard

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Chapter 1

Controlled chaos surrounded
Nedra in the convention hall turned mega dining room. Under most
circumstances she would be horrified as she loved order and hated
surprises, but instead she felt satisfaction. Dozens of volunteers
sat around six of the large, round tables. Nedra was pleased with
their attitude. There was not a trouble maker in the bunch, if she
didn’t count Mr. Earl, who grumbled about everything. There were
still two hours to go until the doors opened to the hundreds of
people expected for the community Thanksgiving dinner. Most of the
volunteers preparing the food had taken a short break to hear one
last organizational speech.

As Nedra scanned the crowd,
an unfamiliar face made her pause. Actually, it was his body that
she noticed. Tall and muscular, the newcomer wore black pants and a
white shirt, just like the others, but he was also wearing a black
vest over the top, which made him look like a waiter from a very
upscale restaurant. Nedra, who made it her business to become
familiar with all of the volunteers, was certain she would have
remembered that face
–
and body. The booming voice of her boss tugged her attention
away from the man.

“Hello there. Good to see
you. Hi, Paul and Clare. Good to see you.” Constable Rodney ‘Rod’
Davidson beamed as he shook hands and slapped shoulders in good
humor.

As the executive director
of Holiday Hospitality, the constable worked the crowd and greeted
a group of prominent people who helped out every year. He would be
giving a motivational speech to everyone and Nedra was quite happy
to let him take the spotlight. As second in command, standing on
the sidelines smiling and nodding suited her just fine. That way
she could blend in and slip out to the kitchen area where the other
volunteers were keeping things moving.

Constable Davidson, or ‘Big
Chief’ as he was affectionately called, cleared his throat
dramatically and drew up to his full five foot ten inches. “Good
morning and happy Thanksgiving. I’m truly grateful that so many of
you willingly sacrificed time with your loved ones this holiday.
What better way to show love and thanks for all we have by giving
to those who have not. Twenty years ago, when our annual Baton
Rouge Holiday Hospitality Dinner started, just a couple dozen folks
showed up. Our event has grown tremendously because of wonderful
people like you. Now we feed hundreds, physically and spiritually.
Working together, we’ve shared a lot of love.

“This year is going to be
better than ever. I speak for the entire planning board when I say
a truly heartfelt thanks to all. Now I know you’re eager to get to
work and my second in command, Ms. Nedra Wallace, is probably
looking at the clock, willing me to wrap up this speech.” Constable
Davidson paused with a smile and waited for the laughter to die
away. “So we’ll end with a brief prayer from Father Braddock of St.
James Cathedral.”

Nedra paused for a second
when she heard her name and blushed as several city dignitaries
smiled at her. Still, she continued down the hall that led to the
kitchen area. A tall, thin man moved through the crowd and fell in
step beside her. Dwayne Grover was one of the mayor’s top two
assistants and had his finger on the pulse of the entire parish;
something he repeatedly told Nedra or any other woman he thought
might be impressed. Dwayne wore a snappy, charcoal-gray suit and
spit-shined, matching leather shoes. Nedra was not surprised that
he had managed to wriggle out of breaking a sweat as a
volunteer.

“He does love an audience,
huh?” Dwayne said.

“Hmm.” Nedra knew something
was coming, and he wouldn’t need much encouragement to
dish.

She was right on target.
Dwayne glanced around to make sure they were alone before speaking.
“I heard Rod is seriously considering a run for the Louisiana
Senate next year.”

“Oh, did you?” Nedra kept
her voice and expression neutral.

“You’re doing a good job
acting like you don’t know. C’mon, you’re probably printing up
campaign posters as we speak.” Dwayne chuckled.

“City employees aren’t
allowed to take part in political campaigns as I’m sure you know,”
she replied mildly.

Dwayne snorted. “Yeah, like top staff don’t
know how to get around that nuisance rule.”

Nedra ignored his obvious
attempt to spark a reaction. She veered off to her right and into a
large room filled with huge aluminum pots of food. Men and women
wearing aprons and hair nets bustled around, making sure the meal
was warming.

“Before you ask, we’ve got
it all under control. The turkeys and dressing are across the way,”
said Alice Faye, without breaking her rhythm of stirring what was
cooking and adjusting pot lids. In charge of the kitchen detail,
she usually worked in the food service division at Louisiana State
University, where she managed two large student
cafeterias.

“Thanks, Alice. You’re an
angel in an apron,” said Nedra. She grinned at her and winked. “I’d
hug you, but I want you to keep working.”

“We rockin’ and rollin’ up in here,” a man
chimed in.

“Yeah, Nedra, Alice Faye
cracks the whip as hard as you do,” another man
wisecracked.

“You guys make it easy,” Nedra replied.

Dwayne gave them the thumbs
up. “Yeah, you folks are doing great. Keep it up.”

Nedra resisted the urge to
roll her eyes or make a sarcastic remark. Dwayne had his uses, much
as she hated to admit it. His political and social connections had
helped the committee to attract high-profile national sponsors this
year. His ability to network was part of the reason he had landed
so close to the mayor president of East Baton Rouge Parish. So,
Nedra didn’t object when Dwayne followed her down the hall to her
next stop.

The smell of roasted,
smoked meat floated past as they moved. One half of the next room
was taken up by a long counter space, perfect for large chafing
dishes. Nedra nodded as Dwayne kept talking. He only paused when
she approached a couple of volunteers to gain updates. Then Nedra
went back down another hall where two level, wheeled carts were
lined up.

“Everything seems to be set
up just fine,” she said. “We’ll have fifteen people in a line,
loading plates and placing them on the cart. The volunteer servers
will then take the carts and place the food on tables. Another set
of people will pour ice tea and water for our guests.” Nedra took a
deep breath and fanned her face. “So far, so good.”

“You’re doing a phenomenal
job,” Dwayne said, moving a bit too close.

“Thanks,” Nedra replied,
placing some distance between them. She pretended to double-check
the carts in the hallway for sturdiness.

Dwayne adjusted his tie as
he spotted some reporters and videographers from two local
television stations
.
“Everybody knows you’re the real brains,” he said to Nedra.
“Rod is just a figurehead sucking up all the glory. He wangled his
way into the honorary title of executive director and official host
to get free media face time. The mayor shouldn’t have let him get
away with that one. Elections are won on feel-good crap like
this.”

“We’d like to think this
‘feel-good crap’ is truly meaningful,” Nedra shot back in
irritation.

“You know what I mean,”
Dwayne replied, turning back to her as the journalists headed off
in a different direction. “Listen, why don’t we get together after
you’re through here?”

“Hey, sorry to interrupt,
but…” said Alice Faye, suddenly appearing and placing a hand on
Nedra’s arm.

She spun to face the older
woman in gratitude for the interruption. “No, no. What do you need?
We’ve got a whole bunch of priorities here.”

Alice Faye shot a quick
glance at Dwayne and a light flipped on in her wise, brown eyes.
She gave a sharp nod and looked back at Nedra. “For sure. Less than
two hours ‘til show time.”

“Right, right, I’ll catch
you later, Nedra,” said Dwayne, scurrying off. He had spotted the
mayor, surrounded by reporters, heading towards another section of
the large, L-shaped kitchen.

“Thank you, I...” Her voice
trailed off as the tall, handsome stranger from earlier popped into
view a few feet away.

“No problem. Oh, he’s the
reason I stopped you,” explained Alice, waving the man over. “Hey,
come over here, son. Yeah, you!”

Mister tall, dark and
delicious strolled over. Nedra thought his wide grin turned up the
heat better than any of the commercial stoves. He had a long-legged
stride that made him move like a dancer and his slender, neat
mustache changed her mind about disliking facial hair on a man. His
long dreadlocks were pulled back into a hair net, which was
required when working in the food prep area.

Nedra’s first impression
had been correct: the man had a lithe, strong body that filled out
his shirt, vest and pants quite nicely; just enough to inspire a
quick fantasy in any female hungry for a man. Like Nedra! She shook
her head to regain control of herself and was pleased to find him
looking at her shoulder-length hair in appreciation.

“Carlos, this is the
HBIC
–
head babe
in charge,” announced Alice Faye, chuckling at her own joke. “Nedra
is chief of operations for our holiday dinner. Nedra, Carlos Jacobs
stepped up to volunteer at the last minute. Just in time because
Mrs. Stevens had to bow out. Her arthritis kicked up.”

“Nice to meet you,” Nedra
blurted out, taking a step closer to accept the man’s extended
hand. She blinked at the warmth as his fingers wrapped around
hers.

“Good meeting you as well.
You run quite an event here. Well done.” Carlos dipped his head, as
though bestowing approval reserved for only a lucky few.

Nedra smiled back at him.
Her surroundings faded as though someone had hit the mute button
and she was lost for a minute.

Alice Faye cleared her
throat loudly, and Nedra snapped back to the real world. She
blinked a few times and then blushed with chagrin. “Thanks, but
we’re a team,” she said. “With fabulous people like Alice Faye, my
job is super easy.” Nedra tried not to feel as big a fool as she
probably looked.

Alice Faye glanced from
Nedra to Carlos and then backed away. “I just realized I have to
find Bill and make sure all of the containers of dressing arrived.
Oh, and the guys were late bringing those big cans of green peas,
so I’m going to make sure they’re in the pots and heating
up.”

Nedra panicked, not wanting
to make an even bigger fool of herself. After all, she had a bad
track record. She always fell hard for tall, dark strangers with
sexy lips and eyes smoky with promised passion. Carlos Jacobs
fitted that description perfectly. Her last three romantic
disasters flashed before her eyes. “Wait for me! I could help,” she
suggested.

Alice Faye turned to her.
“No, give Carlos the quick and dirty version of the orientation.
You’ve got time. He’s already been a huge help. Carlos made a chart
of the food assembly line.” She then gave Nedra a wink that seemed
to say, “Go get him, girl.”