He nodded and, without breaking eye contact, reached down and began forming another snowball.
“Seriously? You’re going to do it again?”
Another nod.
Bailey smiled to herself because this was really beginning to feel like she was living in another world—like some parallel universe—because everything was different. As she held his gaze, she also bent down to begin making her own ammunition. “I have a lot of experience with this sort of thing,” she stated, quickly forming several snowballs. “And I have really good aim from all the years of practice.”
“Seems to me I did okay considering I haven’t done this as much as you,” he countered, and Bailey found his playfulness even more attractive.
“Care to make this interesting?”
Quirking a dark brow at her, Gavin waited for her proposal.
“We each get five minutes to build up our arsenal and then...game on.”
The dogs were wandering around—Lola on a leash and Cooper casually sniffing the snow—and Gavin considered them both. “I think I have to put Lola back inside first. Cooper will stay close by even if things get wild out here, but Lola’s a bit of a flight risk.”
Bailey stopped making snowballs and looked at the Lab. “I would think she’d be anxious to get back to the puppies.”
“She is, but she’s not used to being on a leash and she’s away from her master. It’s been an eventful couple of days for her and I don’t think she’d go far, but...I still think she’d go off exploring if given the chance.”
“Good idea.”
Gavin started walking to the door and then stopped. “No making snowballs while I’m inside. That’s an unfair advantage.”
Rolling her eyes, Bailey dropped the snow from her hands and walked over to him. “Fine. You bring Lola upstairs and I’ll wait down here for you.”
He eyed her suspiciously but agreed.
Five minutes later, the snow was flying. Bailey was laughing hysterically even as almost every snowball Gavin threw managed to hit her. Her own aim wasn’t so bad and by the time they were out of ammunition, they were both soaked to the skin. She had layered her scrubs with a pair of Gavin’s sweatpants but it didn’t help much. Shivering, she walked over to him and held out her hand. “You’re a worthy opponent, Dr. Maguire,” she said with a sassy grin and then gasped when he pulled her in close and kissed her.
Yeah, she was really getting used to this.
Wrapping her arms around him, she kissed him back. However, the chill in the air had them breaking apart quickly so they could go and get warm inside. “C’mon,” he said, taking her by the hand. “I’ll make us some hot chocolate while you go grab a hot shower this time.”
They were halfway up the stairs to his apartment when she broached an awkward subject. “Um...I’m kind of out of things to wear,” she said sheepishly. “Mind if I borrow more pajamas or maybe a robe from you while my clothes dry off?”
The heated look he gave her as they walked toward his bedroom area nearly made her knees buckle. But Gavin released her hand as he walked over to his closet, pulled out flannel robe and handed it to her.
“Thank you.”
He didn’t say a word but Bailey could practically read his mind and she knew if she didn’t head into the shower now, it would be a long time before she got one. Leaning in, she kissed him on the cheek and made her way into the bathroom. She was all for warming up with him in bed, but she was feeling a little icky from not having showered earlier. Between a night of sex, a morning of sex, and then a snowball fight, she was more than ready for a shower.
As she suspected, the hot water felt heavenly and while she wished she had her own soap and shampoo, she’d make do with Gavin’s.
Wearing his clothes, smelling like his soap and shampoo...even if they hadn’t added sex to the mix, things were already intimate and she was really enjoying it. Although...
She let out a sigh as she rinsed her hair. Things were good—they were having fun and she was enjoying this relaxed side of Gavin, but there was still...something. His home was so bare, with hardly any personal touches and on top of that, you would never know that Christmas was a week away from the look of things up here. And while it didn’t take a genius to figure out he was fairly against the holiday, she still had harbored some hope that there would be something up here to commemorate the season!
Mentioning it to Gavin would undoubtedly lead to an argument, but...Bailey knew it would come up eventually. They couldn’t avoid having personal conversations indefinitely, could they? As it was, they had managed to stick to safe topics—the weather, the dogs, television shows, food, and sex.
Gavin was a master at distracting her with sex.
And up until now, she hadn’t minded one bit.
But now she wanted real conversation—to know more about him and his life. Why did he live like this? Where was his family? Where was he from? Why did he choose to become a veterinarian? And most importantly, why did he hate Christmas?
Turning off the water, she reached for a towel and began to dry off, her mind reeling with how she could possibly broach any of those topics with him. The snow was still coming down and a brief check of the weather earlier showed another band of it coming through tonight—that meant she was going to be here for at least another twenty-four hours. Did she want to spend all that time with tension between them? They had managed to come to an understanding and she was enjoying it, but...she wanted more.
Wrapping her hair in a towel, she slid on Gavin’s robe and then poked her head out of the bathroom. “Do you happen to have an extra toothbrush?”
Gavin was sitting on the sofa with his laptop and looked up at her. “Under the sink there should be a new one you can use.”
“Thank you!” It was a relief to be able to brush her teeth. By the time she emerged from the bathroom, she felt much more like her usual self. There were two steaming mugs on the kitchen table and now Gavin was in the kitchen scanning the contents of the refrigerator.
“Ooh...what’s for lunch?” she asked, stepping in close beside him.
“I feel bad that we didn’t really have breakfast.” He straightened and looked at her. “We could do breakfast for lunch if you’d like.”
The idea had merit. The thought of some pancakes or waffles was definitely appealing and when she suggested that to him, he was more than on board. They worked together as they cooked—opting for pancakes and bacon—but again, the conversation stayed neutral. Bailey was okay with it for now, but eventually they were going to have the awkward conversation.
“I wish there were a way for you to get in touch with Lola’s owner,” she said as she flipped pancakes. Gavin was manning the bacon and the room smelled fantastic. Her stomach growled loudly but luckily he didn’t hear it.
“I called Matt while you were in the shower and let him know what’s going on. Hopefully he’ll see him at the shelter.” He plated the bacon and set the table. “I know the place is usually packed when the weather gets bad, but Matt said he’d seek the guy out if need be.”
“I know I’d be upset if it were my dog and I wasn’t with her. Eventually I’d like a dog or two of my own, but for now I get my fix by fostering the animals who need it.” She looked across the room at Lola and smiled sadly. “The puppies will need to stay with her for eight weeks. Are you going to keep them here at the clinic or...”
He paused and looked at her. “Are you thinking of fostering all of them?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. They have to stay together so it’s kind of a package deal, right?”
“That’s a lot to take on, Bailey. I just figured we’d let them stay here. There’s no way I would let them go back to the shelter and risk their health. You’d get to see them every day while at work,” he went on. “I’d leave them up here so they don’t interact with any of the animals that come into the clinic. Cooper’s used to it and pretty much stays in my office, but I think it would be too chaotic to have Lola and t
he pups down there too.”
She nodded and plated up their pancakes and placed them on the table. What he was saying made sense, but...there was a chance she wasn’t coming back to work at the clinic.
That was just another topic of conversation they were avoiding.
Damn, those are really starting to pile up.
They sat down and began to eat and Bailey did her best not to let her need for answers ruin their lunch. Clearly they were both hungry because they were halfway through the meal before either of them spoke.
“I’m sure you’ve already thought of this, but...is there anyone you need to call to let them know where you are?” he asked. “I don’t think you called anyone and I guess I was just wondering if anyone was going to be concerned about your whereabouts.”
How sweet was that? She thought.
Taking a sip of her cocoa, she placed the mug back down and let out a long breath. “I probably should call my folks and check on them and let them know I’m okay.” She paused. “We’re all used to these storms so it’s not a big deal, but still...I usually do check on them and make sure they’re okay.”
He nodded but didn’t say anything.
“And no one’s waiting for me at home and I’m not fostering any animals right now so I’m good there,” she went on. “My siblings are all scattered around the upstate area and I could probably do a group text to see how they’re all doing.”
Another nod.
“What about you?” she blurted out. “Any family to check up on?”
Chapter Nine
GAVIN STOPPED AND TRIED to swallow the food in his mouth. Why hadn’t he realized that eventually the subject of his personal life would come up? Placing his fork down, he finished chewing his food and then took a long sip of his hot chocolate before he felt like he could even look at Bailey.
“I’ve checked in with everyone,” he replied, knowing it was a vague answer at best.
And clearly Bailey knew it too. “Really? I guess you must have called them while I was in the shower.”
He didn’t appreciate the tone or the implication, but did he really want to fight with her right now? They were having a good day after a great night and more than anything, he wanted to keep going with that. Nodding, he said, “I did.”
She made a non-committal sound and took another bite of her breakfast. Gavin thought they were good and were ready to move on, but he was wrong.
“My parents are still here in Silver Bell,” she began. “Every once in a while, they talk about moving down south—like to Florida or something—but I think they hate the thought of being away from all of us. We still get together at least once a month for dinner and we’re always together for the holidays.” She paused and smiled. “Christmas is a big to-do at our house. We all chip in with the cooking and the baking now because there are so many of us. Three of my siblings have kids—we’re up to five grandkids and another is on the way—and it’s too much for mom to do everything on her own.”
He studied her for a long moment and knew he had to contribute something to the conversation. Or at least, he should contribute something. If there was one thing he knew about Bailey, it was that she could carry on a conversation on her own, but with it just being the two of them here, he figured it would be best for him to participate.
“What do you like to contribute to the...Christmas meal?”
His question seemed to please her because her smile grew. “Primarily, I’m the baker, although I happen to make some fantastic stuffed mushrooms. Don’t get me wrong,” she went on, “I love to cook. But everyone sort of has their thing, and that’s mine.”
Nodding, he picked up his mug and finished his hot chocolate. “What’s your favorite thing to bake?”
“Cookies. Totally cookies. If I were home this weekend, that’s what I would be working on. With Christmas only a week away, I need to bake whenever I have free time so I have enough for everyone.”
That made his eyes go a little wide. “A week in advance? How many cookies do you bake?”
“There are at least twelve of us in the immediate family and we always invite friends and neighbors to join us so...let’s see...one year we had twenty-five for dinner on Christmas Eve and I want to make sure there’s a big enough variety for everyone and then I like to send some home with them too.”
“Okay, so that means you make maybe...”
“Then I tend to give them as gifts to my friends who I don’t see for Christmas,” she added.
“And that would add...how many...?”
She was calculating in her head. “Then I always bring extra here to give to the pet parents...and I used to send at least two dozen home with Dr. Benji, another two dozen for Hannah and Amber...”
She was never going to answer his question. That was all he could think about at this point. He pinched the bridge of his nose and swore to himself that he wouldn’t let her know how annoyed he was.
But it wasn’t easy.
“Then I sometimes bake some and bring them to Pastor Larry and his wife on Christmas Even when we go to midnight mass...”
Don’t demand an answer...don’t demand an answer...
“I guess if I had to ballpark it,” she said somewhat distractedly, “I’d have to say I bake anywhere from fifteen to twenty dozen cookies.”
Gavin looked up at her in mild shock. “Really? So like...two hundred cookies?”
“Uh-huh.” Taking the final bite of her breakfast, Bailey let out a satisfied moan. “That was fantastic.” She leaned back in her chair and placed a hand over her stomach. She didn’t have on a stitch of makeup, her hair was still up in a towel, and she was wearing his robe. She shouldn’t be the least bit attractive to him—and he was mildly annoyed with her rambling conversation—and yet...all he wanted to do was pull her into his lap and kiss her again.
“And I have to make a variety,” she explained before he could ask. “So I have about six different cookies that I bake and I try to cover everyone’s favorites.”
He remembered some of the cookies she brought into the clinic.
They were amazing.
And now he wished he had some baking supplies.
“I usually just buy the ready-made refrigerated cookie dough,” he admitted. “It’s as close to homemade as I can do.”
Was he fishing for her to offer to bake him some cookies? Maybe.
“Do you have any of that in the refrigerator?”
He nodded.
“Tell you what,” she said as she stood. “Let me go get this towel off my head and dry my hair. Then maybe we’ll bake some and eat them while we binge watch more Netflix. What do you say?”
He immediately jumped to his feet with a grin. It wasn’t homemade, but it still sounded good. “You go do what you need to do and I’ll clean up the lunch dishes.” Turning, he started to reach for the plates, but Bailey stepped in close and placed a hand on his cheek. He looked at her quizzically.
Without a word, she kissed him. It was slow and sweet and then deep and wet and he was just about to pick her up and put her on the table when she stepped back and gave him a sexy grin.
“Fifteen minutes and then we bake,” she said right before she turned and walked away.
HOURS LATER, THEY WERE curled up in bed and finishing their fifth episode of Game of Thrones when Bailey decided she needed a break. They’d paused the show once to take the dogs out and now that it was dark again, she suggested they take them out again before starting dinner. Gavin readily agreed and he took care of the dogs while she went to the kitchen to put something together for dinner.
What she really wanted was pizza, but there was no way they were getting one delivered in this weather. Glancing toward the window she could see the snow had started to pick up again and it made her sigh. Yes she was enjoying her time here with Gavin, and yes she loved the snow, but right now she would also love some modern conveniences like clean underwear and pizza delivery. That wasn’t too much to ask for, was it?
Clearly it was because the snow wasn’t supposed to stop until sometime after midnight and she still had to figure out what they were going to have for dinner while wearing nothing more than Gavin’s robe.
Earlier in the day, he had taken some chicken out of the freezer. It was another one of those nights where she wanted some kind of comfort food and after poking around in the pantry, she found the makings for chicken pot pie. By the time Gavin was back upstairs with the dogs, she had the chicken sautéing in the pan and the rest of the ingredients out on the counter. He came up beside her and asked, “What are you making?”
She told him and explained everything she was doing as she did it. Bailey found that she enjoyed the thought of making a meal for him rather than with him. Encouraging him to sit down while she worked, Bailey turned the conversation back to a more personal nature in hopes of drawing him out.
“I enjoy cooking,” she began. “My mother made sure all of us knew how to cook. Even my brothers. Granted, they don’t like to do anything too fancy, but I know all of their wives appreciate the fact that they can fend for themselves or handle making dinner for their families once in a while.” She stirred the chicken, the cream of mushroom soup, and the frozen vegetables together. “My oldest brother, Michael, this is one of his favorites to make. It’s really just a casserole with a pie crust on top.”
Gavin nodded and looked very much at ease in his seat.
“On the flip side, my father made sure all of us knew about car repairs. My brothers all loved that, but personally, I didn’t. I mean, it’s great that I can change a tire and do oil changes and even replace a spark plug, but it’s not something I want to do. Dad doesn’t realize it, but I take my car to the mechanic at the first sign of trouble.” She giggled and looked over her shoulder at Gavin. “Luckily I went to school with Dave who owns the local garage and he knows not to mention that to my father if he ever runs in to him in town.”
Laughing, Gavin nodded toward the oven. “You sure there’s nothing I can do to help?”
A Christmas Rescue: A Silver Bell Falls Holiday Novella Page 7