In the picturesque town of Winter Grove, the tenacious Alicia Whittaker faces off against her best friend's snobbish brother, Zeke Brighton, when his disapproval of his sister's boyfriend threatens to upend their Christmas.
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Tenacious college stud...
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Zeke
At the starting line, everyone was ready with their supplies in hand. Each team had been given a red Santa sack and a sealed envelope that contained the list of what they'd need to collect. They couldn't open the envelope until the hunt started.
Alicia hadn't said much to Zeke since they'd separated from Celeste and Sterling and taken their place at the starting line. She had avoided his eye whenever he looked at her, but as soon as he turned away, he could feel her stare at him. There was something on her mind, he could tell. He had a good idea what it was and that it was the last topic he wanted to discuss...
"So," Alicia began, finally breaking her silence. "Nancy is here, huh?"
Zeke flinched. Yep, it was just as he had thought. "That's not important right now. You want to get that prize, don't you? We have to focus."
"If you say so," Alicia muttered, crossing her arms again.
Fortunately, the Mayor appeared then, sauntering down the starting line, eyeing each team. Zeke hoped the scavenger hunt would start soon so they could avoid the topic entirely.
Truth was, even if he did want to talk about it... he had no idea what he would say. He was still reeling from the night before.
The Mayor had backed up from the line and readied something that looked like a one-sided Christmas cracker.
"Alright folks, are you ready?"
The crowd cheered.
"Remember, the winner will be whoever gets the most items on the list within the time allotted! Now!"
The Mayor raised the cracker and gave one end a hard tug. The thing gave a roaring CRACK, and confetti exploded out of it.
"GO!"
The other teams scattered into the night, but Zeke stayed right where he was.
Alicia frowned at him as she tugged on his arm. "Come on! Let's go!"
"Go where, exactly?" he said, tearing into the envelope. "We don't even know what's on the list yet."
Alicia's frown deepened, but she stopped tugging. She came up beside him and looked over his shoulder as he unfolded the list. The list was made up of riddles, with the answers being the things they needed to find.
Alicia began to read the first clue aloud. "Many of me make a man... Hm."
"A snowflake?" Zeke answered.
"Oh, I think you're right!" Alicia cheered. "Okay, that's one."
Zeke moved on to the next riddle. "Come get your just desserts as this goes flinging by! What could that be?"
"A fruitcake, I think?" Alicia suggested. "From the Fruitcake Fling, remember?"
Zeke rolled his eyes and laughed. "How could I forget?"
