Willow Creek Christmas

by Graison, Lily

  When he calmed and kissed her on the top of her head, his arms closing around her tighter, she sighed, enjoying the feel of him. She may not have meant to say the words out loud, but she'd meant them. And maybe now that he knew how much she enjoyed them, he'd give her more of his kisses with each passing day.

  Chapter Twenty Six

  They hadn't been sitting in the hotel restaurant for five minutes and Keri was ready to leave. Thankfully she'd taken the chair facing the majority of the other diners. Noah didn't have to see the stares directed at them but the look on his face said he already knew.

  A thin woman with unfriendly eyes stopped by her side and handed them menus, her gaze darting to Noah every few seconds. The rude woman nearly threw a menu at him which set Keri's pulse to racing so fast she was sure her head would explode, her blood was rushing through her veins so quick.

  When the woman left, giving them time to decide what they wanted, Keri reached across the table, grabbing Noah's hand to get his attention, then leaned forward and kept her voice pitched low. "We can leave," she said. "I don't want you to be—"

  "It's fine." He cut her off mid-sentence, squeezing her hand. "I'm used to them staring. They'll get tired of it eventually."

  Keri sighed. "Are you sure?"

  "Yes." He glanced at the kids who were looking over the menu neither of them could read. "I won't ruin their night by running away because some old biddies can't stop staring at me. Besides," he said, lowering his voice to a whisper, "they're probably just trying to get a good look at the woman brave enough to be my wife."

  The way he said, "be my wife," made Keri think he meant it, that it was real, that she had indeed married him. And that secret place in her heart wished it were true.

  She had no idea what he felt for her, if he could ever love her, but she knew he cared and that was enough. He protected them and provided everything they needed, and his small cabin felt more like home than her own home ever had, but she had no idea if he wanted them on a permanent basis and was too afraid to ask.

  When the woman came back to the table to take their order, Keri kept a hold of his hand, ordered what she wanted and never took her eyes off him. If the people of Willow Creek wanted something to talk about, then she'd give them something. She'd let them see how much Noah's new family loved him.

  The moment the thought popped into her head, Keri's heart raced as the truth of it surged through every fiber of her being. She stared at him, his gloved hand held between her own and she understood now what that fluttering feeling was in her chest when he looked at her. Why his kisses caused her entire body to burn, why she missed him when he was only gone a few minutes.

  She'd fallen in love with him. A man who at one time had scared the life out of her with his harsh tone of voice and wild, untamed appearance. A man who cared for their well being when no one else in the world had.

  His thumb brushed the back of her hand and she looked up to see him staring at her. He looked so different now. The scar was still on his face, and his barbered hair and beard were a noticeable difference, but it was more than that. Something in his eyes made him look less… harsh. As if the anger she'd seen there before had vanished. She'd like to think she was the reason why, but other than those wonderful kisses and intense bed play, Noah had given her no indication he wanted more. And it was the not knowing that kept her nerves on edge. If he ever asked her to leave, she'd be heartbroken.

  Their food arrived, Aaron and Sophie Ann's excited ramblings joining in with the chorus of other voices filling the air. The curious stares from the restaurant patrons were stopped when she boldly stared back at anyone looking their way and by the time they'd finished eating and were outside on the sidewalk, Keri had forgotten all about those nosey, rude people she'd had every intention of giving a piece of her mind to.

  The street was filled with wagons now, the sidewalks full of bustling families all making their way toward the school. Aaron and Sophie were bouncing, their nervous energy infectious. Keri grinned as she followed them, listening as they both repeated their verses over and over again.

  Noah grabbed her arm when they reached the school and stopped her. He stared at the building, a worried expression on his face. "You go on in," he said, not bothering to look at her. "I have something I need to do first."

  He gave no other explanation, just turned and walked back down the street. Keri watched him go, her shoulders falling as she sighed. He'd been so quiet through supper. The stares of those in the restaurant caused him to withdraw, the crowd trying to get inside that little school house chasing him away from her and the kids, as well.

  "Is Noah coming back?"

  Keri looked down at Sophie Ann and smiled. "He said he had something he needed to do." She fixed the ribbon in Sophie Ann's hair, tucking stray curls in around it. "I'm sure he won't chance missing either of you as you get up to recite your lines. He'll be back." She hoped he'd be back, but something told her he wouldn't.

  Sophie Ann and Aaron believed he would for they hurried up the sidewalk and in to the school. Keri followed them, stopping to glance back down the street in search of Noah. She couldn't see him. There were too many people on the sidewalks.

  The school building was filled with parents, the noise level high as everyone seemed to be talking at once, and the air was filled with the scent of pine and spices. Keri smiled while taking it all in. The room was decorated with greenery and red and gold ribbons. A large tree sat in the far corner, wrapped packages underneath it with colorful ribbons holding the plain brown paper on them. She could hear music but couldn’t see where it was coming from and craned her neck to look toward the front of the room.

  Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention and she turned her head to see Dr. Reid coming her way. He smiled, his warm brown eyes shining as he stared down at her.

  "Mrs. Lloyd," he said. "It's good to see you. I take it you're feeling better?"

  Keri smiled, a tingle of pleasure rippling up her spine at hearing Dr. Reid call her Mrs. Lloyd. He was the only one who did so and even though it wasn't real, it still felt nice to hear.

  They talked of nothing in particular until he was pulled away by a group of elderly ladies. Keri stood quietly by herself, wishing Noah had come in with her, melancholy beginning to take hold before Sarah and Emmaline Avery walked into her line of sight.

  The women stopped much to Keri's surprise, both of them offering her a friendly smile. Sarah held her young daughter by the hand while Emmaline's infant son was nestled close to her chest. "We saw Sophie Ann a few moments ago," Sarah said. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone as excited as she is."

  Keri grinned. "You probably haven't. I can't remember the last time Sophie Ann and Aaron had so much fun. They've been looking forward to the recital for weeks now."

  "I think every child in Willow Creek has been." Sarah stared at her, a spark of amusement shining in her eyes. "You look different, Keri."

  "Oh?" Keri's brow scrunched as she tried to think of what Sarah could see different. She raised a hand, smoothed down her unruly curls and shrugged. "How so?"

  Emmaline glanced at Sarah and grinned. "She's near to glowing, don't you think?"

  Sarah nodded. "Yes, that and something in her eyes."

  Both women smiled, their gazes locked on Keri so long, she started fidgeting. Someone touched her arm and she turned to see Abigail standing slightly behind her, grinning.

  "Leave her alone," Abigail said, shaking her head. "They're teasing you, Keri. We saw you when you got into town and were walking to the hotel restaurant. Laurel noted that you actually looked happy, that's what these two are talking about." She laughed and squeezed Keri's arm. "They like to stir the pot every once in a while."

  "We most certainly do not," Sarah said. She sounded offended but the glimmer in her eyes gave her away. "I was just making an observation. She does look happy."

  "Glowing," Emmaline said.

  Keri's face heated and she wished there were a mirror
nearby. She wanted to see what it was these women saw when looking at her but Laurel got everyone's attention and asked them to take a seat. Sarah and Emmaline said their goodbyes and headed toward the front of the room with Abigail following behind them. Keri found a bench halfway up the isle. She perched near the end so she could see Aaron and Sophie when it was their turn to take center stage.

  The wicks in the lamps were lowered until the majority of the room was bathed in warm shadows, but the front of the room was bright with light, the kids all standing near the wall seen very clearly. Sophie Ann's head was darting from one side to the other as she rose up on her toes. She finally spotted her and Keri smiled and wiggled her fingers in her direction.

  When the children were hushed, Laurel Avery, sitting at the front of the room, raised a hand, the children all opening their mouths to sing as one. The tune was loud, a few voices screeching above the others, but Keri had never heard anything so wonderful. Aaron and Sophie Ann looked so happy, their beaming smiles lighting their faces from across the room.

  One song turned into two, then each child on the stage began to step forward, retelling the story of a babe in a manger. Someone touched her shoulder and she looked up, surprised to see Noah standing there looking down at her. Her delight in seeing him was obscured by the dim lighting in the room. She slid over so he'd have room to sit, the smile on her face widening when Noah reached for her hand, weaving his fingers together with hers.

  He'd come back to them after all.

  * * * *

  He hadn't missed them. Noah sighed in relief, Keri's grip on his hand tightening as Sophie Ann walked to the front of the make-shift stage and started reciting her verse. She got tongue-tied and had to start over three times before getting it out.

  Every child there had a turn until the story was told. There were songs, even one sang by Betsy Atwater, her angelic voice catching the attention of everyone there as she stood alone in the front of the crowd.

  By the time the program was over, Noah's hesitation about coming in had vanished, especially when Sophie Ann, her face flushed, ran toward them and slid into the row to stand between him and Keri.

  "Did you see me?" she asked, her eyes wide and luminous. She looked back and forth between them. "I got messed up but I said it."

  Noah smiled. "I think you were the best one."

  Her eyes widened. "You think so?"

  "Absolutely."

  She grinned and held her arm out, Noah noticing the paper she was holding. "I made you this."

  Noah stared at her, then at the paper. It was a drawing. "You made it for me?"

  "Yep. And I did it all by myself."

  Reaching for the drawing, he turned it and stared down at what Sophie had drawn, his chest tightening the instant he realized what she'd done.

  The drawing was nothing more than four stick people with wide smiling faces and what he assumed was a dog. A small structure was off to one side, the cabin, if he had to guess, with a round sun in the top corner, the rays long and pointing down at everything below. It wasn't the clumsy lines that made Noah's eyes sting but the words someone had printed at the top. My Family, it said, with each of their names underneath one of those stick figures. Seeing his name there with Keri, Aaron and Sophie Ann's caused something in his chest to tighten and pinch and he had to swallow twice before he could say anything. "You drew this for me?" he asked.

  "Yep." She pointed to everyone, telling him who each person was even though their names were there, and smiled the whole time she did. "Everybody had to draw what they wanted for Christmas but I already got what I wanted." She grinned up at him. "Can I have cake now?"

  His throat was so tight he couldn't speak. He'd never been so glad when Keri said, "Is that cake all you've been thinking about?"

  "It's chocolate," Sophie said, as if that alone was reason enough.

  "Oh, well, let's go get in line then." Keri stood and stared down at him. The look on her face told him nothing of what she felt about the drawing but she tightened her hold on his hand briefly before she let go.

  He watched her walk away, trying not to think too much about Sophie's drawing and focused on the fact that Keri wasn't afraid to be seen in public with him, or too afraid to boldly hold his hand when anyone looking at them could see. She left him feeling out of sorts and he wasn't sure why.

  Keri had never acted unfriendly toward him. Not even when he was bellowing at her like a crazy person and scaring them half to death. She'd tip-toed around him, spoken softly in his presence and somehow broken through that hardened exterior he'd spent years erecting.

  And in the privacy of his cabin, she gave him everything else he never thought to have again. A sense of belonging, of being part of a family just as Sophie's drawing suggested.

  He stared at her, watched the sway of her hips as Sophie Ann pulled her toward the table of goodies at the front of the room. He still had trouble believing she'd so freely give herself to him, every day if he wanted, and most days he did. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her. His pulse leaped just thinking of the times she gave herself to him.

  Denying himself the company of a woman for twelve years got easier with time but now that he'd indulged, it was all he seemed to think about. The last few weeks had been so life changing, he’d had a hard time coming to terms with it at first. He still had a hard time believing Keri actually wanted him most days, but every kiss she gave him told him she did. Every time she bared herself for him, stretching across his bed and opening her arms to him so he could love her, left him in awe, his heart near to bursting as she gazed up at him as if he were the only man she'd ever wanted.

  He just wished they didn't have to pretend nothing had changed. He wanted to be affectionate toward her and not be afraid to show it. To hold her hand when the lights were bright and not hide his feelings for her.

  Telling her goodnight, and watching her slip behind those blankets he'd hung around the bed left him restless. He wanted to join her there, to hold her close when he closed his eyes. To hear her soft sighs as he drifted off to sleep.

  Those thoughts led to the realization that he wanted to be a proper husband to her, to build those extra rooms onto the cabin like he'd imagined doing and let every person in Willow Creek who ever looked down on him know that he wasn't the monster they all thought him to be. That Keri didn't see him as they did. That despite their ridicule, she wanted him.

  Movement to his left tore his attention from Keri. Morgan Avery stopped beside him and Noah stood, shaking Morgan's outstretched hand. "I'm really glad to see you here, Noah."

  The Avery men had been a burr in his hide for so long, he should have been used to them approaching him, but it still amazed him when they stopped to talk. And for the first time, Noah didn't much mind that they sought him out. "I couldn't miss Sophie Ann's acting debut," he said. "She would have never forgiven me."

  The marshal laughed and crossed his arms over his chest, looking across the room to the line of kids waiting on their share of the goodies that had been brought for them. "Those kids look a lot happier than they did when you brought them to me after the blizzard." He slanted a look back at Noah. "Everything's been good at home?" Noah nodded in reply and the inquisitive look on Morgan's face intensified. "That's good." He leaned in, his voice pitched low when he said, "The rumor we spread worked its way through town in a matter of days. You should consider making those fake rumors a reality."

  He'd thought about it, but Noah kept the knowledge to himself. He wasn't sure he'd ever get the courage to ask Keri to stay with him but if he did, she'd be the first to hear it, not Morgan Avery.

  They finally parted ways, Morgan headed to the front of the room where his wife and girls stood. Noah spotted Keri and Sophie Ann walking his way, his chest tightening at the very sight of them, and smiled when he saw the chocolate frosting smeared across Sophie Ann's face.

  She slid onto the bench beside him and sat down, devouring her cake as if she'd not eaten an hour before. She looked u
p at him and smiled. Morgan was right. She did look happy. They all did. And he couldn't help but wonder why. Was it because he'd given them a place to call home or was it more than that?

  A commotion at the door caught Noah's attention, raised voices, then a shout, people scurrying to look outside. Someone yelled for Dr. Reid and the noise grew until the entire room was in chaos.

  Noah looked for Aaron. He didn't see him. "Sophie Ann, where's your brother?"

  "He went outside with the big kids."

  Outside where the commotion was. Noah looked at Keri. "Stay here. I'll go find him and see what's going on."

  Getting out the door took a bit of shoving but he managed to make it to the steps. The crowd on the lawn was nearly as big as the one inside, the voices growing louder as he searched for Aaron in the sea of bodies.

  He spotted him near the gate, his heart nearly stopping when he saw blood running down his face.

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  Noah made his way across the yard, Aaron finally spotting him. Tears shined in his eyes as he drew closer, blood dripping from his nose faster than Dr. Reid could stop it. He was glad Keri had stayed inside.

  "What happened?" he asked, when he'd made it to Aaron's side.

  "I got caught up in a fight."

  "A fight?" Noah looked the kid over, placing a hand on his shoulder and turning him this way and that to see if he was hurt anywhere else. His clothes looked a bit scruffy but other than the bloody nose, he looked fine. "Who were you fighting?"

  Aaron's eyes widened. "I wasn't fightin' nobody," he said. "I just got in the way." He turned his head and pointed to his right. "They were the ones fighting."

  Noah looked in the direction Aaron pointed, to where the majority of people were standing and saw the culprits, his own eyes widening when he realized who it was. Holden Avery's tomboy daughter was red-faced and fighting mad, her blond hair in a tangle around her head. She was glaring at the same redhead kid Noah had seen when he'd brought Keri and the kids to town to leave them with the marshal. The boy had been trapped in the house with the rest of the school kids. Jesse, the marshal had called him, if he remembered correctly, was sporting a few scratches on his face and his right eye wasn't open all the way. Grace Kingston, the blonde woman Holden had introduced him to in the mercantile two months back stood by the boy’s side.