A Date for Christmas Read online

  By: Erika Phillips

  Copyright © 2020 Erika Phillips

  All rights reserved

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Cover Art by: GermanCreative

  Chapter 1

  “You’re such a sweet boy, aren’t you?” Maggie grabbed the curly, soft hair that surrounded Oscar’s black and white face. Oscar’s tongue hung out of his mouth. As she inched her face closer to him, the long tongue reached out and licked her cheek. Maggie patted Oscar on his head and chuckled.

  “I think that Oscar will be just fine. A slight sprain, but nothing is broken. Try to get him to rest as much as possible. No jumping on or off furniture and limit his walks for the next few days. I’ll also prescribe a pain medicine to take as needed. Any other questions?” Maggie asked Oscar’s owner.

  “No, thank you, Dr. Vaughn. I’ll take good care of this frisky fella. Thanks for everything,” the owner smiled back as she patted her dog on the head and picked him up from the exam table, placing him gently on the floor.

  Maggie smiled at the dog, “You be a good boy, Oscar. Take care.” Maggie waved as they exited the exam room; Oscar still had a slight limp in his stride as he pulled on the leash to get going.

  Maggie picked up Oscar’s chart and made a few quick notes before walking out of the room. Oscar was her last patient for the day, but she still had a few things to wrap up before she could leave work. It was Friday (finally!) and she had plans for the evening with her three closest friends and as much as she just wanted to go home and put on a pair of comfy sweats and stay in, she knew they would give her hell if she bailed.

  It was almost 5:30 p.m. when Maggie walked past her receptionist, Tina, who was grabbing her purse to head home. “‘Night, Dr. Vaughn,” she smiled cheerily, waving goodbye. Tina had only started working for Maggie two months ago. Tina was a cute redhead that had recently graduated from high school. She had never worked as a receptionist before, but she loved animals and had a bubbly personality. Maggie had decided to give her a chance and it had worked out so far. Tina was great with the clients and their owners.

  Maggie waved back and headed to her office to collect a few charts she wanted to look over. Another half hour later, she finally gathered her things and left the office.

  Maggie loved being a vet, she got to come to work every day and work with the best clientele in town. She had known since she was five that she wanted to work with animals one day. Because Carl, her father, could never say no to her whenever she came home with a lost dog or cat, she had grown up in a house full of pets.

  It had been just the two of them since she could remember. Her mother had passed away when she was three and she had no memories of her beyond the photographs her father had placed around the house. After her mother’s death, he had never remarried, though Maggie had always hoped that one day he would meet someone special. In third grade, she had even tried to set him up with her teacher. Which did not go so well. Her teacher was married and the Valentine’s Day card that Maggie placed in her coat pocket was discovered by her husband. The next day at school, Maggie had a lot of explaining to do. Yet, it didn’t deter her from trying to set him up with other women in town. But every time he would come up with one reason or another why it was not a match. When online dating started, Maggie secretly set-up an account for him. No real matches ever came of it, but she did meet some highly interesting people.

  Maggie gathered her belongings and locked up her office. Just as she stepped outside, her phone rang. She fumbled around her purse looking for her cell. It took a second to find it and saw it was Janet. Maggie assumed she was calling to make sure she wasn’t bailing on her tonight. Maggie answered the phone. “Hello,” she answered cheerfully.

  “Hey, Mags, just checking to see that you left work and that you’re still meeting us for dinner tonight?” Janet asked with a cynical tone.

  “Yes, Janet. I promise. I just need to go check on Dad, then I’ll meet you at Murray’s,” Maggie replied, rolling her eyes.

  “I can’t wait to see you!” Janet resounded happily as she hung up.

  Maggie placed the phone back in her purse and grabbed her keys out as she walked to her Subaru. The weather was warm. Even though it was November, she felt comfortable in her long sleeve shirt and skirt. The weather in Chesterville, Georgia was absolutely perfect this time of year and that was just one of the many reasons why she loved living there so much.

  The drive to her dad’s was short, her clinic was only a few miles from his home. Maggie made it there in under ten minutes, parked the car, and raced up the front porch steps. She hated that he lived alone in this great big house. No matter how many times she tried to encourage him to sell, he wouldn’t even consider it.

  This was the home he’d bought with her mother. At the time they had little to no money and the house needed a lot of repairs, but they wanted a project and that is exactly what they got. Carl just never figured he would be doing it all on his own. Now, thirty-seven years later, the home was magnificent. It had lots of Victorian charm and character.

  Carl had painstakingly spent many days and nights, making sure every last detail of the home was close to its original glory. It had been the first house built on the block back in the late 19th century. The home boasted three stories with a brick-red roof and Tuscan-sun yellow exterior. The core of the home boasted a hexagonal-shaped room, with more rooms attached to the north and south sides.

  Large windows surrounded the exterior walls, which let in ample sunlight in every space. The main door entrance led straight into the grand entrance with a large wooden banister staircase. Dark, mahogany wood floors lay throughout the whole house. Off to the south side had been the gentlemen’s parlor, now her dad’s office, and on the north side of the main floor was the grand parlor.

  The upstairs had five bedrooms, and three bathrooms which had been installed years later. The third floor held a great attic, where Maggie spent many of her days as a little girl. The home had seen many extravagant parties back in its day. Every time Maggie walked into the home she felt like a queen at the ball and used to imagine herself back in 1895, hosting her own lavish gatherings.

  Maggie briefly knocked and walked right into the house and bellowed, “Dad, it’s me!”

  Her father sauntered out of his study a few moments later. “Hello, dear. Nice to see you. What brings you by tonight? I thought you had plans with your friends?” Carl walked up to Maggie and pulled her into a warm embrace.

  Maggie kissed her father’s scruffy cheek. “I do, I just wanted to check in on you and make sure you had something to eat tonight for dinner,” Maggie replied as he released her from his arms.

  “No need to worry about me. Remember I’m the parent, not you,” Carl chuckled as he watched Maggie make her way back to the kitchen. Carl followed after her to make sure she wasn’t rummaging through the fridge. When he found her in the kitchen, that was exactly what she was doing. Carl just stood shaking his head, watching Maggie shuffle food items around.

  “Dad, seriously--is there anything healthy in here at all?” Maggie asked, frustrated by what she saw. In front of her were two pizza boxes, one with a half-eaten pepperoni and the other only a few slices of all meat. Next to that was a store-bought chocolate cake, what looked to be some leftover pasta and a loaf of bread and some condiments. Maggie grabbed the cake from the fridge and started to walk over to
the garbage to dispose of it.

  Carl quickly stepped in between her and the garbage container to keep her from throwing away the tasty dish. “Wow--now hold on there one second. I just bought the cake yesterday!” Carl exclaimed as he reached out to take the cake from her hands. Maggie was much quicker and side stepped him, dumping his treat into the garbage.

  “Dad, you remember what Dr. Himble said, no more sugar and unhealthy fats. Your cholesterol is through the roof and you’re one apple dumpling away from a heart attack. You need to start eating better,” Maggie reprimanded him. “Where is the baked chicken and broccoli I made for you yesterday? Did you eat it already?”

  Carl looked around with a guilty expression. “I told you, I don’t do vegetables. But Rex loved them,” he replied letting Maggie know that Rex had a nice supper last night. At the mention of his name, Rex came barreling into the kitchen from the dining room. Rex was Carl’s ninety-pound Golden Retriever. He moseyed up to Maggie as she bent down to tousle his furry mane. Rex was so excited to see Maggie that he gave her face a long lick with his scratchy tongue.

  Maggie laughed as she wiped the slobber from her cheek. “Dad, this is serious. You and Rex both need to shed a few pounds. Are you getting him out for a walk every day? You know you both would benefit from it and I’m sure Rex would love the fresh air,” Maggie informed him. “You know, he really could stand to lose at least ten pounds. Too much people food is not good for him,” Maggie gave Carl a stern look.

  As much as she wanted her Dad to follow her advice, she knew it was like talking to a brick wall. Still, she worried about him; she only had one parent and she needed him to be around for a long while yet. Maggie sighed, resigned to give up her nagging for now and changed the subject to Carl’s next least favorite discussion: dating. “So, meet anyone new on the new dating site? What was it called again?” Maggie took a second to try and remember the name of the latest site she had put his profile on.

  “You mean, Love Connection?” Carl gave her a rather irritated look.

  “Yeah, that’s the one,” Maggie smiled blissfully.

  “About that, you need to STOP! I had over fifty emails this morning. I’ve never read such inappropriate things! Telling me what they wanted to do to me and calling me a silver fox and such. What the hell is a silver fox?! I can tell you, if that’s what I am, then I don’t want to be one!” Carl responded clearly annoyed.

  Maggie about choked on her own spit when her father started to repeat the things he had read. She started to laugh so hard she thought she was going to pee her pants. “So, what I’m hearing is there will be no future Ms. Vaughn then?”

  Carl gave her a look that could kill. “No, smarty pants, there will be no future wedding plans,” he stated pointedly. His voice softened as he continued, “Maggie I told you, I’m just not interested in dating. I’m happy that I got the time I did with your mom and she gave me the greatest gift I could ever have in this world, you. I don’t need anything else...well, maybe grandkids would be nice,” Carl gave Maggie the look, now turning the tables on her. “You know, I’ve done the marriage thing, you haven’t. It’s your turn. When are you going to stop working so much and start focusing on your own love life, Dr. Ruth?”

  Maggie was not going to have this conversation. She started to walk away, when her dad touched her shoulder. “Oh no, you don’t get to attack me and not take it yourself,” he smiled.

  “Funny Dad! I get it, I’ll stop!” Maggie exclaimed, throwing her hands up in surrender.

  “Now that we got all of the interrogations done for the day, you better get going if you plan to meet your friends,” Carl reminded her of her engagement for the evening.

  Maggie knew he was right. She looked at her watch and saw she only had thirty minutes to get ready. Good thing she thought to bring a change of clothes with her this morning, just in case. Maggie ran back out to her car and grabbed her bag. She took her belongings up to her old room and began to get ready for the night.

  Carl had left her room just how it was when she was in high school. Her four-poster white bed was pushed up against the wall. A dresser and vanity took up one side of the room, while the other had a stand with a T.V. for watching late night shows. There were still pictures plastered all over the walls, collages of her hanging out with friends. It was hard to believe that even seventeen years after high school she still got together with Janet, Jim, and Lori. Maggie was the closest to Jim, even though he was so the opposite of her in every way, which may be why they clicked the moment he moved to town.

  He had moved from L.A. to Chesterville when his dad got a job at their school. The moment she met Jim she knew they would be best friends. He was so edgy and different, and he was the only gay guy in the school, or at least the only one who was openly gay. He was boy crazy and always wanted to be the center of attention. She remembered the last day of school when he walked through the main entrance with bright hot pink hair. Everyone stared and whispered, but Jim didn’t care. He loved it and that was all that mattered.

  When he left to go to college at UCLA, Maggie thought she would never see him again. But they stayed in touch and when he graduated, he moved back to town. Maggie was flabbergasted when Jim stated he was coming back home. It was not like there was much in terms of potential dates in their small town. When Jim arrived, he had no need to find anyone as he was already engaged. He and his fiancé had decided to open their own business, and with Jim’s mom being sick he wanted to be around.

  Maggie, on the other hand, was shy and cared only about her animals. She was never one for talking to or flirting with the boys in school. Mostly because she never thought of herself as that attractive anyway. She had honey blonde hair and emerald green eyes. The same shade of green as her mother’s. Her hair was curly and tended to have a mind of its own. Trying to tame it was like trying to tame a mountain lion. Usually she just gave up and put it in a high pony.

  She was rather tall for a girl, 5’10”, and not blessed with a supermodel body. She was curvy and her breasts were on the smaller side. Never one for liking to workout, she did not have the six-pack abs, but that didn’t matter to her. At thirty-five she embraced her curves. Some days she wished her stomach was smaller, but overall, she had little to complain about.

  After high school, Maggie had gone off to the University of Georgia for her undergraduate degree and her doctorate in veterinary medicine. After graduation from veterinary school, she came back home to co-own a small practice. And now, after almost eight years, she had a successful clinic, and she was happy. Even though she was still single, which everyone but her seemed to have a problem with.

  Maggie was planning to meet up with Janet, Lori, and Jim tonight. Janet and Lori were both back in town for Thanksgiving week. They made sure to always get together whenever anyone came back, which wasn’t that often throughout the year. Maggie rummaged through her backpack and pulled out her blazer and ripped jeans. Nothing too crazy tonight. She quickly slipped into her jeans and top. She took her ponytail out and combed through her curly locks with her fingers to give it a messy, yet sexy look.

  She glanced at herself in the mirror, thinking not bad, as she swiped a layer of lip gloss over her plump lips. Her makeup still looked decent from this morning. Giving herself one last look over, she smiled, grabbed her blazer, and headed out of her old room. She had left a pair of red stilettos in the backseat of her car to put on. Maggie ran out of the house yelling goodbye to her dad as she raced to her car, now cutting it close to being late.

  Thankfully living in a small town meant little traffic, so she was able to make good time. When Maggie arrived at the restaurant, she noticed that Jim’s car wasn’t even there yet. Maggie was looking forward to seeing the old gang again; it had been way too long since they had all been together.

  Chapter 2

  Maggie walked into Murray’s and looked around to see if anyone was there yet. She was about to ask the hostess for a table when she saw Janet waving her hands wildly in the
air at her. A big grin formed across her face as she headed over in the direction of Lori and Janet. The moment she got to the table, they both stood up, squealed, and came over and hugged Maggie.

  “It’s so good to see you, love,” Janet gushed as she embraced Maggie. Maggie squeezed her back. Then she turned to Lori and gave her the same big hug.

  “I’ve missed you,” Lori stated.

  “I’ve missed you both too! How’s life in the big city?” Maggie asked as she took a seat next to Lori.

  “Very exciting,” Janet replied, rolling her eyes. After college, Janet had gone off to Tallahassee. A recruiter for a big architectural firm had found her online and offered her a dream job. Not long after, she met her now-husband, Larry, at the same firm and they were married within two years.

  Lori, on the other hand, decided to spend a few years traveling before settling down in Orlando. She had gone to college, but never finished. It just wasn’t for her. Now she worked as a beautician in Orlando. Maggie was so happy to have them both home. It had been way too long since their last visit.

  “So, ladies, anything new?” Maggie asked ready for the latest gossip.

  “Well, I wanted to wait until Jim got here but…” Janet started, just as they heard a loud booming voice shout out across the restaurant.

  “I hope you ladies haven’t been waiting long!” Jim announced as he swept in in his usual fashion. His face gleaming with happiness at seeing them all sitting there.

  They all yelled out in unison, “Jim!”

  Jim walked around the table giving them all a hug and kiss on the cheek. “Sorry, I’m late, ladies. But work was crazy today. I had a few last-minute customers walk in and wouldn’t you know it, they didn’t even buy anything. The nerve of some people.” Jim smiled facetiously. “So, what have I missed?”

  “Nothing yet, Janet was just about to share some big news,” Maggie informed him as she redirected her attention back to Janet.