Home For The Holidays

by Elena Aitken

  Despite himself, Jeremy felt a flash of jealousy in his gut. Bella had noticed Damon’s eyes? But it had been him she’d spent all her time with. It had been him who she’d—

  “I always knew they were into each other. The way they looked at each other.” Bella laughed. “I don’t think they even knew what was going on, but…you can’t miss a connection like that, even when you’re too young to know what it really means.”

  “Do you really think that?”

  He caught her gaze and held it for a moment before turning back to the road. He’d happily look at her all day if he wasn’t trying to navigate a snowy logging road in four-wheel drive.

  Did they have that connection?

  He was no expert, but dammed if he didn’t think they did.

  He knew they did.

  “So you’re enjoying your time back in town?” He was digging, but he couldn’t help it. Maybe if she liked it here, she’d stay and then…

  “I am.” She grinned. “There’s something absolutely magical about being in the mountains in the winter. I had no idea. It’s like living in a snow globe.” She laughed again, and the sound filled him.

  “It’s like that all the time.” Jeremy slowed the truck and pulled it into a snowy clearing. “A pretty awesome place to call home, actually.” Before she could respond, he put the truck into park and killed the engine. “Ready to go find the perfect tree for your snow globe Christmas?”

  Snow slid down between her leggings and the boots Bella wore, soaking her socks and chilling her toes as she followed Jeremy through the deep snow, but she didn’t care. They’d warm up, but she’d never get this moment back.

  Your snow globe Christmas, he’d called it. She couldn’t have described it better if she’d tried. That’s exactly what it was like, being in Glacier Falls for the season. Absolutely magical.

  And spending time with Jeremy was just an added bonus. Something about being with him was just—easy. It had always been that way.

  Bella stopped walking for a moment and tipped her head back. The fat, wet snowflakes falling from the sky blanketed her face. Feeling like a little kid, she held her arms out and spun around as a giggle rose from deep in her throat.

  She couldn’t help it; she spun faster and faster until finally she fell into the pillowy snow, her arms and legs outstretched. In the perfect position, she started to wave her limbs and make a snow angel.

  “Having fun?”

  She opened her eyes to see Jeremy standing over her, a gorgeous smile lighting up his face.

  “So much fun.”

  He didn’t wait for an invitation, a fact she secretly loved, but instead flopped down next to her and started to make his own snow angel.

  “See? So fun.”

  “It is fun.”

  Bella turned her head to see Jeremy propped up on his elbow watching her.

  “You’re going to wreck your angel,” she protested. “You have to get up slowly so you don’t—” Her words died on her lips. “What?”

  “You have snowflakes on your eyelashes.” He reached out and for a second she thought he might try touching her lash. But instead, he held out his hand and in a swift move, hopped to his feet.

  Bella accepted his hand and a moment later, Jeremy pulled her easily up from the snow and her angel and into his arms.

  His mouth was only inches from hers. His arms wrapped around her and he held her close. “You look gorgeous covered in snow.”

  And then his lips were on hers. He tasted of peppermint and cinnamon, and his kiss melted her. Literally. The snowflakes on her lashes turned to water dripping down her cheek.

  Bella laughed and pulled away to wipe at her face, but when she was finished and her eyes once more locked with Jeremy’s, she found something besides laughter there, and it made her stomach twist into knots.

  She should turn away. She should pick out her perfect Christmas tree and get it home to Papa.

  But then again…what was the rush?

  Before she could overthink it, Bella reached out and put her mittened hands on either side of his face before pressing her lips to his in a deeper kiss than before.

  Vaguely, she registered a low moan. Was it her?

  It didn’t matter.

  She had no idea how long the kiss lasted, but as far as she was concerned, it wasn’t long enough before a gust of wind slapped their cheeks with fresh, arctic air.

  “Oh, that’s cold.” A chill ran through her and she shivered.

  Jeremy looked up, but didn’t take his hands off her arms, a small fact Bella appreciated. She liked his touch. Maybe more than she should. That kiss, and then the one after that, had sparked something inside her that had been dead for years.

  Thirteen, to be exact.

  “Could be a storm blowing in.” Jeremy rubbed her arms a little. “You think you’ll be warm enough for a few more minutes?”

  There were a million flirty ways she could have answered that question, but they all eluded her at that moment. In fact, all words escaped her. She nodded in response.

  “Okay.” If Jeremy noticed her sudden case of muteness, he didn’t say anything. “Let’s go get that tree. There are some good ones over there.” He started to walk in the direction he’d pointed to.

  It took Bella a moment, but she soon followed after. She needed to remember why she was there. To get a tree. To have a memorable Christmas with Papa. To help him move into a new place.

  And then she needed to get back to the city and pick up the pieces of whatever was left of her career.

  She was not there for a relationship.

  Who said anything about a relationship?

  Bella watched Jeremy’s back, a few steps ahead of her, and a smile crossed her face.

  Who was saying anything about a relationship?

  No one.

  “How about this one?” Jeremy called out.

  She brushed off the idea before it could completely take root and hurried over to where Jeremy stood next to a tree.

  Chapter 5

  “It’s perfect!” Bella hung a glass ball on the branches of the tree she’d personally chosen and cut down with only a little bit of assistance from Jeremy, and stood back to admire her work.

  “It is perfect,” Jeremy agreed. “As were the other dozen we found before you settled on this one.”

  He smiled and shook his head, because he’d had no idea she was such a perfectionist. Especially when it came to Christmas trees. They must have looked at twenty of them. Their toes and fingers were numb before she’d finally chosen one.

  “You picked a beautiful one, Bella.” Roy wrapped an arm around her and squeezed. “Thank you both for getting it. I can’t remember the last time I had a tree of my own.”

  Bella turned and stared open-mouthed at her grandfather. “What? But you love Christmas.”

  “It doesn’t mean I always got my own,” he answered matter-of-factly as he picked an ornament off the table, where Bella had laid them out. “It didn’t make a lot of sense to have a tree just for me.”

  Jeremy didn’t miss the shadow that crossed Bella’s face at her grandfather’s admission.

  “Well, I’m glad you have one now,” she said. “These ornaments are far too beautiful to be tucked away any longer.” She picked up a ceramic angel and admired it before placing it on the tree. “Are you going to help?” she asked Jeremy as she caught him leaning against the wall watching them.

  He shook his head. “I was actually going to excuse myself.” Decorating a tree was a family affair. He’d had a lot of fun getting the tree, but he had no place in Roy’s living room with him and his granddaughter.

  “What?”

  “Nonsense.”

  Roy and Bella both spoke at the same time and he laughed. “No, really. I should get going. You two enjoy yourselves.”

  For a moment, it looked as if Bella would protest, but he really wished she wouldn’t. As much as he enjoyed spending time with her—and he did—he had his limits, and he was
about to reach them.

  Being around her without pulling her up tight against him so he could feel every inch of her through that thick sweater she was wearing was getting harder and harder. He needed to take his leave before he did anything X-rated in front of Roy.

  “I’ll walk you out.”

  He said his good-byes to Roy, promised to come back soon to admire the finished tree, and walked out the door to the porch. Bella pulled the door shut behind her and, without missing a beat, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her hard.

  “I’ve wanted to do that ever since we—” He shook his head. “Ever since we finished the last kiss.”

  She bit her bottom lip, sucking it into her mouth a little, and he groaned.

  He was definitely doing the right thing by leaving now while he still had a little self-control.

  “Damn, Bella. I—”

  She silenced him by pressing a finger to his lips. “Will I see you soon?”

  He nodded.

  Damn straight she would.

  “Good.” She winked and, without another word, disappeared back into the warmth of the house.

  Despite the wind that had definitely picked up and heralded a coming storm, Jeremy stood there for another few moments, not really feeling the cold before slowly exhaling.

  When it came to Bella, he was in so much trouble.

  He knew it. And he didn’t care a bit.

  As much as she hadn’t wanted Jeremy to leave, Bella had to admit, it had been a good decision. Spending the time with her grandfather as they hung each ornament was special. She’d never before spent a holiday with him at his house, so she’d never seen any of the ornaments they carefully hung on the tree. Even more special was the way Papa told her about each one, where it came from and the meaning behind it.

  And they all had a story.

  Bella loved it.

  “What about this one?” She held up a delicate glass snowflake. “It’s beautiful.”

  Papa’s face transformed, a sad smile taking over. “That was the first ornament I bought your grandmother,” he said. “The first Christmas we were married. We didn’t have much money, but I wanted to give her something beautiful. Worthy of her and my love for her.”

  “It’s gorgeous.” Bella swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I bet she loved it.”

  He nodded slowly. “She sure did. She always hung it in the middle of the tree, so you could always see it.” He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “Will you hang it, Bella?”

  “Of course.” She carefully stepped over the boxes and paper strewn on the floor, and carefully threaded the ribbon of the ornament onto a branch, making sure it was nestled securely into the branches before stepping back to admire it.

  “It’s perfect. Your grandmother would approve.”

  Bella turned to look at Papa. “I wish I could remember her.” The emotion she’d been trying to swallow down threatened to bubble up. She wasn’t usually a crier, but then again, it wasn’t every day she shared such a special moment with her grandfather.

  Papa reached out for her hand, and she gave it. Bella let him guide her to the couch, where they sat, her hand still in his. “You are so much like her,” he said. “You look like her.”

  Bella nodded. Her grandmother had died when she was a baby but she’d seen pictures, and she did look just like her. From her wavy, dark hair to her green eyes, she was almost a carbon copy of her except for the fact that Bella had a few inches on her grandmother’s five-foot frame.

  “And your voice.” Her grandfather shook his head. “You sing just like her. Like an angel sent from heaven. She would be so proud of you, Bella.”

  She doubted that. There wasn’t much to be proud of. She’d spent most of her adult life living in cheap apartments, taking whatever gig she could get and hoping for her big break. And she’d thought she’d had it, too, if it hadn’t been for Kyle. Or maybe it was her temper that had gotten the best of her? Maybe she shouldn’t have cared that he was sleeping with other people. After all, they weren’t exclusive. Still…

  Bella shook her head. “I don’t know, Papa. I haven’t done anything much to be very proud of.”

  He shook her hands and forced her to look at him. “Are you kidding me, Bella? You are living your dream every day and working hard to see it realized. These things don’t happen overnight, baby girl. They take time and the only way to achieve your goal is to try. That’s what you’re doing. Every day. Your grandmother would be very proud of you. Just like I am.”

  A tear slipped from her eye and she let it fall to her lap. His belief in her was so strong. Maybe it was enough for both of them.

  “Do you know why I moved to Glacier Falls all those years ago?”

  She shook her head. Her mom said something about how he’d wanted to run away after her grandmother died, but Bella always thought there was more to it than that.

  “It was always your grandmother’s dream to live in the mountains. Did you know that?”

  Bella shook her head.

  “We talked about it and planned how we’d do it one day. But something always came up to stop us. There was always a reason not to do it. So we’d put it off for later. But then she died and there was no later.” He took a breath. “So I did it. Just the way we should have when she was alive. I took the leap, quit my job in the city and got on at the hardware store here in Glacier Falls. Your mother never could understand why I’d trade that life for this one, but your mother never had a dream like mine.” He squeezed her hands together again. “Like yours.”

  They sat in silence for a few minutes while Bella absorbed everything he’d said.

  “Thank you, Papa,” she said after a while. “I needed that. I think maybe I’ve lost faith in myself for a bit.”

  He laughed and released her hands. “Nonsense. You’ve always had it. You’ve just forgotten for a moment.” He pushed up from the couch and selected another ornament to hang.

  “And one more thing...” He handed her a felted snowman. “Keep your eyes open.”

  “What?”

  He chuckled. “There’s always more than one path to get where you’re going, and if you aren’t paying attention, you could miss the path that will change everything.”

  She wanted to ask him what exactly he meant by that, but he didn’t seem interested in talking anymore and she didn’t want to push him.

  “You know what would be good? Some hot chocolate. There’s nothing like hot chocolate when you’re decorating the tree.”

  Bella laughed and kissed him on the cheek on her way into the kitchen.

  Unwilling to go home to a quiet apartment, Jeremy instead headed to the Knot, the local pub. It was Thursday, guys night. Or what had been guys night. To be fair, he hadn’t been to the Knot on a Thursday in months, so he couldn’t be certain it was still a thing. For a while, he’d avoided going because Damon was back in town and married to Katie. It had gotten a little awkward after Jeremy had punched him that one time, but then he’d just gotten busier and busier with work. And truthfully, when he did have a quiet night, he was more inclined to spend it relaxing in front of the TV before he fell asleep.

  Probably not the best thing for his social life, but he was pretty sure the guys wouldn’t hold it against him.

  Sure enough, there were a few familiar faces around the usual table at the back of the room. Logan, Brody, and Damon greeted him with smiles and fist bumps when he grabbed a stool and pulled it up to the table.

  “Good to see you,” Damon said. “Really. It’s been a long time.”

  Jeremy nodded. They’d been close once. Hopefully they could put all the Katie stuff behind them, and get back to that. Especially because, for Jeremy, it really was already behind him.

  The men slipped into easy conversation, catching one another up on what was going on in their lives and with their wives. Jeremy still thought it was crazy that they were all married. It was a strange thing to see your childhood friends grow up and turn into responsible ad
ults. Strange in a good way. Although, at times, Jeremy caught himself wondering whether he’d ever meet a woman he’d want to marry.

  At least, he had wondered that.

  A smile crossed his face as an image of Bella filled his mind. He shook his head and lifted his beer to his mouth, but not before Brody noticed.

  “What’s that smile all about, Davis?”

  “It’s nothing.” He tried to redirect the conversation to the subject at hand—Nick Newton and the baby who had shown up in a strange woman’s arms the night of Logan and Faith’s wedding. Jeremy didn’t know Nick very well. He was a new friend of Damon’s from the city. A billionaire due to the microchip that they’d developed and sold, making them wealthy beyond their wildest imaginations. Nick had come to Glacier Falls for Damon’s wedding and never left. Jeremy himself hadn’t had much of a chance to get to know him, although he seemed like a nice enough guy. And then the baby had shown up and Nick left. “I was just thinking that while I feel for Nick being blindsided that way, I’m glad it wasn’t me.”

  All the men nodded in agreement, but Logan narrowed his eyes in question. “For sure,” he said with a nod. “But I don’t—”

  “Has anyone heard from him?” Jeremy cut his friend off before he had a chance to dig any deeper. “Stephanie said she hadn’t, but they were close, weren’t they?”

  Logan shook his head. “I don’t know about close, but they were getting to know each other, I guess. And from what I understand, she hasn’t heard from him. Damon?”

  Damon shrugged and lifted his glass. “Only a few short texts to say he’s figuring things out. Knowing Nick, we’ll get answers when he’s ready. Until then…”

  “Until then, maybe Jeremy can tell us about Bella.”

  Jeremy almost spat out his beer. He wiped his mouth and turned to Logan, who sat back with his arms crossed over his chest and a smug look on his face.

  He looked around the table for help.

  Brody, who was pretty new to town himself, shook his head and chuckled. “Who’s Bella, Jer?”