“Daddy. What about my SuperScooter?”
Matt sensed his jaw muscles tense. “Billy—”
A loud honk cut him off. Matt watched in virtual disbelief as the truck rounded the far curve and drove their way. “Come on, Billy,” and he ran over to meet the tow truck.
While Matt, Jenny, and Billy watched, Purvis hooked the SUV up with chains and winched the rear wheels off the road.
“Where will you tow it?” Matt asked imagining the monster tow bill. Glacier Falls had to be at least twenty miles. He would put his AAA to work.
“Not far, less than half a mile to town.”
Jenny commented. “We heard the bells.”
“Yes ma’am. The town bells chime whenever someone is lost.” Seeing Jenny’s worried expression, he quickly added with grin. “Not to worry. Just an old custom before Christmas. This is some pretty desolate country and long ago, the bells would chime so folks could find a place to celebrate together. Once everyone was accounted for the bells would stop and the folks would gather in the square and sing. We get some real whiteouts some winters.”
Billy gazed up at the old driver. “So no one is really lost, Mister?”
“Not that I’m aware of, sonny.” Yet when Purvis said this Matt couldn’t help noticing Purvis’s eyes settle on him. Strange little dude.
Matt asked, “What town is this?” He’d pulled the road map out and was scanning the tiny print.
“St. Claws,” the driver replied. “C-L-A-W-S,” he spelled it.
Matt started to argue. “St. Claws? It’s not on the map.”
Purvis adjusted the collar on his coat. “Well, sir, I know where I live. If you’d prefer to wait for someone else—”
Jenny cut in. “No, Purvis. We just want the car fixed.”
Matt exhaled and glanced at the wounded vehicle, shaking his head. St. Claws. Wonderful. Of all the places to be stranded, it had to be some podunk town hidden in the mountains—heck, the town probably didn’t even have a decent mechanic. But what could he do? He was proverbially screwed.
He looked up at Purvis and tacitly nodded.
* * *
“Mommy, look at the lights!” Billy squealed.
“Pretty, aren’t they,” Jenny commented.
She and Billy sat in the back seat of Purvis’s truck while Matt rode up front. He was satisfied to sit in silence and let Jenny and Billy ooh and ah about the towns holiday decorations. All he could think about was how much the damn axle was going to cost to repair. At least the Christmas decorations had taken him out of Jenny’s sights during the brief ride into St. Claws. And Billy seemed happy. He glanced back at the SUV. Still secure—good. Purvis pointed out some of the town’s landmarks—Dancers Bar and Grill, Prancers Inn, and finally the town square, where a living towering Ponderosa pine was decorated with ornaments and tinsel and lights. There was only the one main street leading to the square and as far as Matt could tell no other exit out of town other than the way they came in. The entire town limits couldn’t have been over a single square mile. Several narrow side streets lined with small wood and stone homes spread up into the hillsides, and though they appeared old, still looked well-kempt and all were festively decorated. The townsfolk Matt saw, dressed in winter coats and boots and wool mittens and colorful neck scarves, all appeared busy going about their business, yet he noticed how they would wave at Purvis as the truck went by.
“That building there serves as the town’s courthouse and church,” Purvis explained taking a circular route around the tree.
The grey stone edifice was the only three-story structure in town and on top was constructed a steeple that held the bells.
“They aren’t that loud this close,” Jenny remarked, though to Matt they sure weren’t helping his headache. Ding-dong, ding-dong.
“Nope,” Purvis replied. “Most folks don’t even notice them.”
Yeah, right, Matt thought.
“Gosh, Mister, how tall is that Christmas tree?” Billy asked, sticking his head partway out the window and staring up.
“Over a hundred feet. Grows a couple feet each year.”
“Daddy, I can see lights and ornaments way at the top. How did they get up so high?”
“Elves,” Matt muttered, and Billy and Purvis laughed, though Matt hadn’t tried to be funny. He caught Jenny’s cool stare and realized she hadn’t missed his thinly veiled cynicism.
Purvis slowed and pointed to a quaint little shop with decorated windows just down from the inn. “That’s Vixens. In case you need to do some last minute shopping. Have some nice knick-knacks most folks find interesting.”
Matt just shook his head. “You got to be kidding. You have Dancers and Prancers and Vixens. Can you just get us to the mechanic? We’re somewhat time constrained.”
“Where were you folks going?” Purvis asked.
“To visit my parents in Mammoth Lakes,” Jenny replied from the backseat.
“Ah, real nice there. And only ’bout ninety minutes from St. Claws. When I was—”
“The mechanic,” Matt interrupted.
Purvis looked over at him. “But we’re here.”
“Where?” Matt asked, chagrined. The tow truck had parked in front of a small red brick building with an open two car garage, minus any cars. Like every other structure in St. Claws, the windows were frosted in bright colors and a string of blinking lights hung along the eaves. But no hydraulic lift or hoists or any other repair equipment one would expect in a mechanic’s shop. “Where’s the mechanic?” Matt asked perturbed.