Deck the Halls with Murder is a free Valentine short mystery. This story takes place after To Love, Honor & Kill: Valentine Mystery Book 5 and before Death Under the Mistletoe: A Valentine Christmas Novella.

A new chapter will be added to this page every day for 12 days (or until finished).

Because the Valentine mysteries include explicit love scenes, this page has been restricted to readers over the age of 18.

Deck the Halls with Murder

Chapter One

Tess watched as the wipers lost their battle against globules of snow coming down in sheets. “Is it too late to vote for a weekend in Aruba?”

Jack’s lips twitched upward. “Romantic mountain getaway was your idea.”

“I was thinking fireside cocoa, not imminent hypothermia.” Tess thought about her childhood going to Lake Tahoe during winter, which required going over Donner Pass, named after the doomed Donner Party.

“It’ll be worth it. No work. No drama. Just you and me and two days of peace. You promised me.”

At the time, a mountain getaway sounded perfect. The media had a greater interest in Senator Worthington announcing that Jack was his long-lost son, and Jack, in particular, needed a respite from the constant reminder of his parents’ and grandmother’s deception.

Now, she was worried Jack might become the Senator’s long-lost son again if they slid off the mountain.

“I was distracted when I made that promise,” Tess said.

“By what?”

“You were shirtless.”

He smiled, showing off his single sexy dimple. “Are you saying you agreed under duress?”

“Sexual duress.” She glanced out the side window, noting how quickly the snow was piling up. “You know, we might get snowed in.”

He glanced at her. “I can’t imagine anything better than being snowed in with my wife.”

“You can’t eat sex, Jack.”

He snorted. “What does that mean?”

“If we’re snowed in, we’ll have to eat the other guests. Or they’ll eat us.”

He barked out a laugh. “We’re not the Donner Party.” Taking her hand, he brought it to his lips. “I promise, no cannibalism. Just you and me and peace and quiet. Look, here’s our turn.”

He was right. Nearly buried in snow was the sign for Turtledove Lodge.

Jack turned the car into long drive. Up ahead the windows of the quaint log-and-stone building glowed a warm amber. Smoke puffed from the chimney.

“It is pretty.” Now that she wasn’t worried about sliding off into a ditch, Tess was able to appreciate the location.

Jack parked the car, then reached over, pulling her to him. “Time to start our cozy retreat.” His lips pressed to hers, and as always, her heart soared. Jack’s kisses were sweet but potent. She knew she’d never get enough of them.

He gave her a cheeky smile, like he knew his effect on her. “Let’s check in.”

Jack retrieved their bags from the trunk of the car, and then he escorted Tess into the main entrance of the lodge. Immediately she was wrapped in the warmth from a fire in an enormous stone fireplace in a sunken great room.

To the left, a middle-aged woman with a wide smile but tired eyes, greeted them. “Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Valentine. I’m Grace, and over there, hanging a strand of lights, is my husband, Tom. We’re the owners of Turtledove Lodge.”

Tom waved from the end of a long hall where he was hanging a strand of lights around a door.

“You’re in the Fireside Suite at the back of the lodge. It has its own stone fireplace.”

“Sounds perfect.” Jack winked at Tess.

“Here is your key. We’re still old-fashioned with regular locks and keys.” She handed Jack the gold key hanging from a disk of wood with the lodge logo on it. “We serve breakfast from 7 to 9 in the morning, and we offer wine and cheese at 4 in the afternoon…” She glanced at her watch. “Ten minutes. We don’t normally serve dinner, but the snow is bad tonight, so I’ve made a large pot of stew and biscuits if you’d like. I’ll serve that at 6.”

“Sounds wonderful. Better than Aruba, right?”

Tess pursed her lips at him, but she had to agree, the location screamed cozy romance.

“Tom, can you take Mr. and Mrs. Valentine up to their room? I’m going to get the wine and cheese ready.”

“Sure thing.” Tom approached with a jovial grin. “Those lights aren’t cooperating, anyway.” He took Tess’ bag from her. “Let me give you the quick tour. Here’s the lobby-slash-common area. We serve wine and cheese here at 4. The area is open to you 24/7 for hanging out. I’ve got some genuine Irish whiskey over on the bookshelf you can help yourself to. We’ve got games and books for you to enjoy as well.”

Tess looped her arm through Jack’s arm. “Shall we play games, Jack?”

He leaned over and kissed her temple, whispering. “Only in the privacy of our room.”

As Tom led them toward a set of stairs, he pointed across the common area. “Over there is the dining hall. Great views of the valley across to the Alleghenies…well, when it’s not snowing.” He nodded down a hallway. “Down this hall is our private area as well as a door out to the back deck. It’s fantastic during the summer but is buried under snow now.”

They ascended the stairs and down a long hall. “Here you are. The Fireside Suite.” Tom opened the door, and let Tess and Jack enter before following them in. He set her bag near the closet. “You’ve got wood and kindling if you’d like to make a fire. Grace left ingredients for s’mores, including roasting forks, if you’re so inclined. Bath is through there.” Tom pointed to a closed door next to the closet. “I guess Grace told you about supper? I wouldn’t recommend heading out in this weather to a restaurant.”

“She did. Thank you,” Jack said.

“Well, get yourself settled and then join us for wine and cheese.”

The minute the door shut behind Tom, Jack pulled Tess into his arms. “Still rather be in Aruba?”

Tess looped her arms around Jack’s neck. “I’d rather be anywhere you are.”

“Good answer, Mrs. Valentine.” He rewarded her with another kiss, and all the stress from the icy ride to the lodge melted away. She sank into him, savoring his taste, his scent, the feel of hands on her back, pulling her closer.

He groaned when she pressed her body against him. “We won’t make it to wine if you—”

“You started it.” Tess gently bit his lip, and he groaned again.

“I don’t plan on leaving this room again until tomorrow, if then, once I get you naked, so how about we go have wine and cheese and some stew, and then call it a night?”

“If you insist.” She started to step away, but he tugged her in again.

“You’ll need your sustenance for tonight,” he promised, sending a thrill through Tess.

“Promises, promises.”

He laughed. “Have I ever let you down?”

She gave him a quick kiss on the chin. “Never.”

 

Jack and Tess reached the common area, where several people were already enjoying wine and cheese.

An older woman dripping in diamonds more suitable for a Four Seasons hotel than a mountain lodge stood by the fireplace talking to a plain-looking man in corduroy slacks and wooly sweater.

On the couch sat a young woman Tess guessed was in her early twenties, scrolling through her phone.

“Oh hell,” Jack murmured.

Tess followed Jack’s gaze across the common area to a man exiting the lodge offices. He had a thick, bullish build of a former college athlete and wore a smug expression of a bully who’d just stolen someone’s lunch money.

“Do you know him?”

“Sort of. Eli Carver. CEO of TitanSec.”

Tess’ eyes narrowed. “The guy who tried to sabotage your contract with the F.B.I.?”

“Yep.”

Eli spotted Jack and grinned like a fox who found a new henhouse. “Valentine. Didn’t know you liked to rough it.”

“Eli.” Jack took the hand Eli extended, but Tess suspected Jack would rather poke his eye out with a fork than be friendly with him. “I could say the same for you.”

Eli’s gaze slid over Tess in a way that made her feel like she needed a shower. “What happened to that sexy-as-sin actress you were with?”

Jack’s jaw tightened. “This is my wife, Tess, Tess this is Eli Carver.”

Eli gave a fake “ut-oh” expression. “Did I just expose your cheatin’ ways?”

Jack tensed. He wasn’t a violent man, but Tess felt sure Jack wanted to punch this guy. Tess wanted to as well.

“I’d be careful about how you talk about Ava Dumont,” Tess quipped. “Her husband could be a murderer.”

“No kidding.” Eli didn’t at all seem phased by that. And of course, Reece Wilder, Ava’s husband, wasn’t a murderer, even though he’d briefly confessed to the murder of his first wife.

“Wine?” Grace approached with a tray. She gave Eli a heated stare but smiled when her attention turned to Jack and Tess.

“Thank you.” Tess took two glasses, handing one to Jack. “Cheers.”

He clinked his glass against hers.

“Have you met the other guests?” Grace asked. “Over at the fireplace is Veronica DeVere with another guest, Miles Penner. He’s a mystery author.”

The two raised their glasses of wine toward Jack and Tess.

“Hello.” Tess raised her glass to them.

Eli fixed his gaze on Veronica. “DeVere? I read about your husband’s passing. Fraud, wasn’t it?”

Veronica’s knuckles whitened around her glass. “Heart failure, actually.”

“Right.” Eli sniffed. “Though I imagine the FBI investigation didn’t help matters.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room for everyone except Eli, who seemed to thrive on it.

Wanting more, Eli nodded toward Miles. “Penner… the true crime guy? My assistant tried to get me to read one of your books on the flight down. Couldn’t make it past the first chapter.”

Miles’s jaw tightened. “Perhaps mystery novels aren’t your cup of tea.”

“Or perhaps mediocre writing isn’t,” Eli countered with a smirk.

His gaze landed on the young woman on the couch next, and his demeanor shifted entirely. Icky smarm was how Tess might describe it.

“Well, hello there. What’s a lovely thing like you doing in this backwater place?”

“Mrs. Reed is on her honeymoon.” Grace’s expression twisted into disgust.

“Honeymoon!” Eli laughed. “My condolences, sweetheart.” He looked around. “What sort of husband leaves his new wife on their honeymoon? Listen, honey, if you get cold, I’m in room—”

“That’s enough, Eli.” Jack’s voice was dark to the point of menacing. It wasn’t a tone that Tess normally heard from Jack.

Eli waved his hand. “Lighten up, people.”

“The stew is ready. Why don’t I serve dinner now?” Grace scurried off.

“Damn snow.” Eli scowled. “I can’t believe I’m stuck in this place. I could be having fresh fish on a beach in the Bahamas, but I’m stuck with stew.”

“Why are you even here?” Tess asked but immediately wished she hadn’t. She didn’t want to be in Eli’s proximity for a moment longer.

Eli shrugged. “I had some business. Thought the mountain air might be nice.” He pulled out his phone. “Speaking of business…” He walked off without finishing his thought.

“Good riddance,” Jack quipped. Tess agreed.

Dinner was uneventful. Jack and Tess sat at a table for two that probably had a lovely view of the valley, but all they could see was swirling snow. Mrs. Reed’s husband appeared and comforted his wife when he learned of Eli leering at her. He growled that he’d like to strangle Eli.

“Get in line,” Jack murmured.

Veronica and Miles sat together, and Tess got the feeling that Miles was interviewing her as if he were planning to create a character similar to her in his next book.

The food was warm and filling, perfect for a snowy night. Tess focused on Jack, wanting to give him the respite threatened by Eli’s earlier appearance. Thankfully, Eli didn’t show up for dinner. Clearly, stew was beneath him.

Slowly, the dining room emptied as guests finished their dinner.

“Nice of them to leave the common area for us,” Jack said, taking Tess’ hand and leading her to the fireplace.

“We have our own fireplace.”

“Yes, but this one has whiskey,” he said, finding the decanter sitting on a shelf. “Want an after-dinner drink?”

“Will it burn away the memory of Eli Carver?”

“One can hope.”

Jack poured a finger of whiskey for each of them and drew her to the couch to sit by the fire. “Except for Eli, this is nice.”

“It is.” Tess leaned her head on Jack’s shoulder.

A moment later, Veronica and Miles appeared.

“Oh…I think we had the same idea,” Veronica said, heading to the whisky.

“Is it good?” Miles asked.

Jack shrugged. “It’s not bad.”

Soon, a giggling Mrs. Reed walked in, followed by her husband buttoning his shirt.

“Wow, they’re fast,” Tess quipped.

Jack shook his head. “That’s just wrong. Lovemaking should take more than ten minutes, especially on a honeymoon.”

“I don’t know. Quickies are fun.” She looked up at him. “We should try it sometime.”

“Are you complaining about my lovemaking skills?”

Tess shook her head. “Never. I was just—”

The fire flickered and embers blew out as if a gust of wind had shot down the chimney, followed by a crack that sounded like a tree branch breaking. Then darkness as the lights blinked out.

“Well…that’s not good,” Veronica said. “I can’t see how much I’m pouring.”

A moment later, Tom’s voice came through the darkness. “Everyone stay calm. The generator will kick in momentarily.”

Jack took Tess’ hand as the room filled with nervous chatter and the glow of phone flashlights.

“I’ll get candles from the kitchen…just in case,” Grace added.

After a few moments, the generator kicked in, and the lights flickered to life.

Tess rose. “How about we call it a night?”

“No quickies tonight, Tess.” Jack stood looking down on her with the promise of a sensual night shining in his eyes.

“No quickies.”

They made their way toward the stairs.

As they reached the bottom step, Tess felt a gust of wind. “Do you feel that?”

“I wonder if the back door is open.” Jack looked back toward the common area. “I don’t see Tom or Grace.”

“We can shut it.” Tess started down the hall. The air grew colder, biting snow hitting her face as she reached the open door. She tugged on the handle, but something prevented it from shutting.

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked.

“Something is blocking it.” She looked closely, seeing a flicker of colored lights. Bending down, she planned to push away what she thought was a holiday-decorated tree branch or garland that had fallen in the snowstorm.

“Need a light?” Jack flipped a light switch on the wall next to the door.

Tess sucked in a breath as the light illuminated Eli Carver sprawled on the snow-covered deck, eyes wide and unseeing with a strand of blinking holiday lights wrapped around his throat.