“Can we bring our new puppy that Santa is bringing us?”
“I think having puppy playdates would be a great idea,” Bess agreed.
Lindsay grinned. “I know another great idea.”
Without warning, there were secret smiles, all around. Indicating something was up. “Do you notice anything different tonight, Daddy?” Nicole asked innocently.
It was Jack’s turn to appear as if he were headed into a minefield. “Like what?” he said.
“Like something Christmassy!” Chloe said.
In tandem, all three girls pointed to the light fixture in the adjacent foyer. “Our mistletoe!”
“Our...what?” Jack did a double take, as did Bess.
Lindsay slid off Jack’s lap. “Grandma helped us hang it when they brought us home and you were outside with Grandpa, getting our stuff out of the car.”
Nicole said seriously, “You’re supposed to stand beneath it and kiss somebody, Daddy. Like Bess. And, Bess, you’re supposed to kiss someone, too. Like Daddy.”
Bess did not need to see herself in a mirror to know she had just turned beet red.
Jack followed the girls’ line of sight. “Did Grandma tell you that?” he asked, a maddeningly unreadable expression on his handsome face.
Lindsay snorted. “No, silly Daddy! We figured it out all by ourselves. Because people kiss under the mistletoe at Grandma and Grandpa’s house all the time.”
All three girls moved back from the sofa, as if waiting for Bess and Jack to do just that.
It was all Bess could do not to moan aloud.
Jack seemed simply thoughtful and perplexed.
She moved away from him, smiled and, because some response seemed required, said to his three daughters, “Well! That’s good to know.”
“Going to have a talk with my mother,” he muttered so just she could hear.
“Okay.” Though knowing Rachel McCabe, Bess wasn’t sure it would help. The doting mother of six wanted all her children happily married, and from this blatant matchmaking attempt, it was clear she would do whatever she could to speed things along.
The girls studied the two of them. Finally, Lindsay said to Bess, “Maybe your new puppy will help you find a baby to adopt at the fire station, the way Riot led Aunt Bridgett to baby Robby, and then you can fall in love with a daddy like Aunt Bridgett fell in love with Uncle Cullen, and get married. And then you can get pregnant and have a baby in the hospital, too!”
That was quite the hope, Bess thought.
“Aunt Bridgett has two babies in her tummy,” Nicole corrected, a lot less romantically. “Not one.”
“She sure does. That’s exciting, don’t you think?” Bess carried the plate of cookies into the kitchen and set it on the counter. She clapped her hands together. “You know what else is exciting? Taking a walk through the neighborhood to look at the Christmas lights and displays in all the yards!”
“Can we go, Daddy? Can we?”
Jack smiled, relaxing for the first time in several minutes. “Sure.”
They all got their coats, hats and gloves and set out, immersing themselves for the next hour in colorful holiday displays.
It worked to distract the girls, but as soon as they returned, they were right back where they had left off. “Daddy!” Lindsay pointed impatiently at the mistletoe in the foyer.
“Kiss her,” Chloe hissed.
Jack looked at Bess uncertainly, as aware as she was of giving too much away. “I...”
“Otherwise it’s not a merry Christmas,” Nicole insisted, jumping up and down. “And we have to have a merry Christmas, don’t we, Daddy?”
Seeing no way out of it, Bess lifted her hands in surrender and met Jack’s eyes. “When in Rome...”
“But we’re not in Rome,” Lindsay said, confused.
Jack leaned over and bussed Bess’s cheek. “It means taking the path of least resistance,” he explained.
They still didn’t understand. But they knew one thing, for sure.
“That’s not really a kiss, Daddy,” Lindsay pointed out.
“Actually,” Bess corrected, “it is the perfect kiss.” To have in front of watchful little ones, anyway. “Now, who else besides me wants hot chocolate?” She rubbed her hands together and pretended to shiver. “Because I think it’s the perfect treat to warm us all up!”
“Sorry about the mistletoe,” Jack said an hour and a half later when his girls were finally in bed, sound asleep.
Bess helped him wash up the mugs and the saucepan she’d used to make the hot cocoa. Telling herself she was not the least bit disappointed about the missed opportunity to really lock lips, she waved off his chagrin. “No need. They were just trying to help us get in the spirit of the season.”
His shoulder touched hers as he reached over to dry a mug. He winked down at her and said sexily, “I thought we already were.”
Still tingling from their accidental contact, she thought back to the two nights they’d shared, and murmured, “Definitely getting there, Doc.”
She gazed out the window above the sink, at the starry winter night, and could not help but contrast the cold outside with the warmth she felt in here. She turned to hand him another freshly washed mug. Their fingers brushed briefly, sending another wave of awareness shimmering through her.
“So you really didn’t mind all the cheerleading from the girls?”
“Oddly enough, no.” She admitted on a wistful sigh, “Their enthusiasm helped remind me that love comes at all times and in all ways.”
He transferred the towel to his other hand and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Well, my girls sure love you,” he confessed.
“And I love them, too,” she said softly, leaning into his touch.
I love all of you.
Of course she loved her friends and family, and now with Jack... Well, there was no denying that was starting to become something more, she thought as he dropped his hand and stepped back. A lot more.
He continued to look down at her, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. Determined to keep her attention away from the tantalizing way they had made love, she focused back on the sink. Pulled out the stopper. Watched as the sudsy water began to drain, and tried not to think just how much she wanted to kiss and make love to him again.
“By the way...” She turned her back to him and moved down the kitchen counter, tidying as she went. “...I don’t know if you’ve had time to check your personal email since we got back from Dallas last night.” She put the sugar and cocoa containers away. “Betty Winfield sent out a list of things we’re all going to need for our puppies before we take them home.”
The oblivious way he looked at her said he had not.
Happy she’d thought to bring it up, she lounged against the opposite counter and continued, “She also reminded everyone to go ahead and make vet appointments for their next set of shots, which should happen a few days after they go home.”
To her frustration, Jack’s posture was as inscrutable as the expression on his face.
“So...” Suddenly feeling the need to hang on to something, she clasped the Carrara marble edge on either side of her. “I was wondering if you wanted me to save you some time and pick up the puppy stuff for you and store it at my place, or—?”
His eyes crinkled at the corners. “How big is the list?”
She pulled it up on her phone to show him.
He leaned in close to peruse it, inundating her with the familiar scents of soap, bergamot and suede. And heat. So much body heat... “Can we get this stuff in town?”
Bess did her best to control the desire zinging through her. She shrugged and wet her suddenly parched lips. “I’m pretty sure they have everything at the new pet store.” She studied her screen with unnecessary intensity, even though she had already long memorized the list.
/> Noting he had stopped reading and was now studying her, she stepped back. Cleared her throat. “The problem is, if you run into anyone else buying puppy supplies while we are there, it’s going to raise questions.”
“The kind that I don’t want to answer right now.”
She nodded, wishing he didn’t look so big and strong and handsome. “And the girls could get wind of your plans inadvertently. But on the other hand—” she angled her thumb at the center of her chest “—everyone already knows I’m going to get a new puppy, so if I were to go alone and pick up what we both need, it wouldn’t be quite as attention-getting or worthy of gossip.”
As would be the news of the two of them hooking up.
His gaze drifted down to her hand and back up again. “Except for the fact you’d be buying two of everything,” he pointed out.
“I’d just say I was getting extra stuff for when we visit my family’s Triple Canyon Ranch.”
Aware he was gauging her actions as carefully as she was checking out his, she inhaled and breathed out slowly. Lifted her chin. “So, as I said, if you want me to do it, I’d be happy to go solo. We can settle up later.”
* * *
Jack knew what Bess was suggesting was practical. The trouble was, if she did it alone, he would miss out on a prime opportunity to spend more time with her. And with Christmas now two weeks away, and their deal set to end soon after, he did not want to waste any chances to be close to her. “Actually, I’d like to be part of that. So how about we go together?”
She looked up at him. She wasn’t easy to read, now that she had her guard up again.
“Are you sure?” Her bright smile looked forced. “It’s no trouble, really.”
“I figure if I’m going to be a dog owner, I need to learn a lot more about this stuff,” he fibbed, inhaling her sweet womanly fragrance. “So how about we go to San Angelo?” Half an hour away, there was much less chance of running into prying eyes. Which meant he could let down his guard and flirt with her. In public.
She paused to look at her phone again, scrolling through information about pet stores in San Angelo. “Looks like there are two shops, and both of them have holiday hours. And will stay open until 10:00 p.m.”
“Well, that’s great news.” He followed her through the hall to the foyer. She slid her phone into her bag and he helped her on with her coat, pulling her hair from the collar.
She turned to face him, blushing slightly.
Reluctant to stop touching her, he let his hand linger at the nape of her neck. “Are you free tomorrow evening?” He adjusted his posture to ease the pressure at the front of his jeans. “Say around seven o’clock?”
“I will be.” She paused. “The vet checkup may be a little harder to arrange for your puppy. Since you can’t be seen going out of the vet clinic with an adorable golden in tow.”
Jack chuckled, knowing this to be true. “This is where having your brother engaged to a veterinarian comes in handy. I’ll find out if Sara Anderson can either do an after-hours house call for both of our puppies simultaneously, or allow us to take the pups out to her ranch for their first checkup.”
“That would be great.”
He thought so, too. She moved as if to collect her bag. Not about to let her go without a proper goodbye, he intercepted her midreach, clasped her shoulders and steered her gently under the mistletoe.
She drew a quick breath. “What are you doing?”
Like she didn’t know. Jack cupped her face between his hands and tilted his head to just the right angle. “Making up for earlier,” he murmured, touching his lips to first one corner of her mouth, then the other. “With a proper kiss.”
Her mouth opened in a round O of surprise, and he settled in the middle of her sweet, succulent lips, holding her still while he took full possession. Knowing that no matter how long or slow or thoroughly he kissed her that he would never get enough. Bess was everything he had ever wanted in a woman. Engendering the kind of happiness he’d figured he’d never have again. It was more than friendship, more than sex. Something stronger and far more life-altering. He was reveling in it, and he could tell she was, too.
Which was why it was imperative one of them come to their senses. She drew back. “The girls...” Her voice trembled as much as the rest of her.
“I know. This is going to have to hold us,” he whispered playfully, wishing he could follow her back to her house and make love to her. But with Mrs. D. not set to return until early the following morning to care for his girls, their lovemaking would have to wait.
But not for long. Not if he had anything to do with it. Because if there was anything the past few weeks had taught him, it was that he didn’t want Bess exiting his life to find love and build a family elsewhere.
Maybe it was selfish, considering all he still could not give her, but he wanted her for himself.
Chapter Eleven
Monday evening, Jack picked Bess up as previously planned. A cold front had come in during the afternoon, and the temperature hovered just above freezing. As she got into his SUV, she turned to him and said, “I hope you don’t mind, but I sort of...um...started without you.”
He chuckled as he slid behind the wheel and started the engine. Noticing she was shivering, he turned up the heater and slanted her a playful glance. “Hmm.” He drew out the sound until it carried a wealth of meaning. “Sounds...interesting.”
His clowning around earned him an eye roll and a laugh. “Maybe not as much as you think,” she quipped, flirting a little bit, too.
She was wearing an ivory turtleneck sweater beneath a fitted black fleece jacket. Snug-fitting green cords and fancy black Western boots with multicolored scrolling completed her ensemble. And she’d put on some earrings and had done something with her hair that made her look sexy as hell.
All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and kiss her until they lost all track of time and place, and then go inside her house and make love to her again. But the time crunch they were facing had him obediently backing out of her driveway.
He cleared his throat and willed his overheated body to cool down. “So, what’ve you been up to?”
She settled in her seat. “I did a little online Christmas shopping after I left your place last night. And I found these glow-in-the-dark canvas collars, harnesses and leashes that could also be embroidered with the dog’s name and emergency contact number.”
Although they both planned to have their dogs microchipped, that could not be done until they were a little older. “Sounds like a great thing to have.”
Her smile was filled with the Christmas spirit that had been lacking a few weeks before. “I know, right?”
“Always better to be safe than sorry,” he said, reaching over and briefly squeezing her hand.
Bess looked down at their entwined palms, before gazing back up at him. “Anyway, I went ahead and ordered them for both puppies,” she confessed, her silky skin warming beneath his. “Pink for Princess Abigayle, because I know that is one of the girls’ favorite colors, and rose for Lady Grace.”
She paused, her brow furrowing. “I hope that’s not too presumptuous.” As she straightened in her seat, she withdrew her hand. “I mean, I could have called you, but it was after midnight, and if I didn’t get them ordered pronto, they weren’t going to be guaranteed to arrive before Christmas.” She released an anxious sigh. “At least not with the embroidered information. So I went ahead and did it.”
“Sounds great. Thank you.” He promised to settle up with her later, then asked, “Are they being shipped to your place or mine or both?”
Bess wrinkled her nose in that cute way he loved. “Actually, it’s an item that’s going to have to be signed for. So I’m having them sent to Monroe’s Western Wear. The store can sign for them, and my brother Nick will hold them for me. I’ll get them to you from there.”
Impressed, he said, “The girls will be so excited.”
“I think so, too.”
The Christmas music on the radio played softly in the background. She turned to him as he stopped at a red light at the edge of San Angelo. “You really don’t mind?” she asked tentatively.
He shook his head. “I appreciate everything you do for us. Don’t you know that by now?” He clasped her hand and lifted it to his lips. Then, unable to help himself, he kissed the inside of her wrist. “But for the record, you can always call me.” His eyes lasered into hers. “No matter what time of day or night it is.”
Bess blushed. “I wasn’t going to wake you for something that inconsequential.”
The traffic light turned green. Jack dropped his hold on her and drove on. “First of all,” he said, paying attention to the street signs, “if it’s important to you—or the girls—it’s never inconsequential. Second...” He saw the shopping center they were looking for and turned onto Sunset Drive. “...I just want to make the point that I’m here for you. Whenever, however, you need me.”
Bess flashed him a grateful look. “Thank you. And as long as we’re making points, Doc,” she added, “I’m there for you, too.”
“As you have proven many, many times.”
In fact, he didn’t know what he and the girls would have done without her the past few years. He swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat. “Now, which store are we hitting first?”
Abruptly looking a little emotional, too, Bess directed him to the larger of the two.
Which turned out to be a good choice. It was well stocked with everything they could need. In short order, they picked out food and water dishes, the kibble the puppies were currently eating at the breeders’, and the extra collars and leashes they would need in the days leading up to Christmas. Then there were the piddle pads and pet stain remover for carpet and hardwood floors, puppy shampoo, chew toys and bones. Soon their cart was overflowing.
Jack moved over to let someone else pass through the aisle. “What do we have left?” he asked as his body briefly pressed against hers.
A Tale of Two Christmas Letters Page 10