Once Upon a Texas Christmas

by Katherine Garbera

  He chuckled. “Avery Burton, you are one of a kind.”

  She smiled a bit at that. She had never wanted to be one of the crowd and had striven to make sure she was different. He rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip, tracing her smile and a tingle went through her. Shaking her down to her toes. Instinctively she licked her lips and her tongue brushed his finger and he raised an eyebrow at her again.

  It was an affectation that she could easily see becoming something that would annoy her if she were angry with him but right now it sort of suited him and the mood.

  He rubbed his thumb over her lip again and another jolt went through her. She felt a nudge behind her and the scent of lavender as her breasts brushed his chest. He put his hand on her side and she went up on her tiptoes. The feel of his breath brushed over her nose and then her mouth. She started to close her eyes as his lips moved over hers.

  His lips were soft but firm, the kiss slow, as if he were giving her plenty of time to pull back and stop this. But she wasn’t about to do that. She was trapped in a small room, talking about Christmas and her parents and she needed a distraction. One that he was generously providing for her and she took it. She took the kiss he offered, opening her mouth under his and his tongue rubbed against hers.

  She sighed, tipping her head to the side, wrapping her arms around his chest until her hands joined together and she was holding him tightly to her. He lifted his mouth from hers. Their eyes met. His fingers pushed into her hair, holding her head to him, and she closed her eyes and went down from her tiptoes. She leaned her head against his chest and heard the solid beating of his heart under her ear.

  She rarely had been in an embrace like this. He smelled of his cologne and the scent of lavender was gone now. But it was the way his arms around her made her forget everything. The small room. Her crazy childhood. All the worries that had been circling around in her mind… She could become addicted to this.

  And that wasn’t good.

  She’d learned a long time ago that being independent was what worked. She tried to pull back from him but he held her.

  “Just one more second,” he said, whispering it against her forehead before dropping a light kiss on her temple.

  She stood still and let herself enjoy being held by him for another moment until his arms dropped to his sides and he took a step back from her. He was watching her with that serious steel gaze of his and she knew that she had to do something. Her mind was swirling with too many words and she was very afraid she’d start rambling or say something ridiculous so she was afraid to speak. But she had to.

  “I won’t tell the tabloids about this,” she said.

  His eyes widened and then he laughed. “Good. I prefer not to kiss and tell.”

  “Me too.”

  “Do you do a lot of it?”

  “Kissing or telling?” she asked because it was fun sparring with him. She’d promised herself no more flirting but he was hard to resist. She liked him. She’d kissed him and she wanted more from him. But he was her boss so she knew she had to keep this light and harmless.

  “Either,” he said.

  “I don’t like to tell,” she said with a wink and the door opened behind her just a smidge but she heard the creak of the hinges as it did so.

  She glanced over her shoulder but no one was there. “That was odd.”

  “Very,” he agreed. “But then again coming home to Whiskey River is never what I expect it to be.”

  “In a good way?”

  He shook his head, cupping his hand around her elbow and leading her down the hall to the foyer of the barn. “Not really.”

  He walked out of the building and she felt like she’d said something she shouldn’t have. It was funny that he hadn’t minded digging into her past but when it came to his, it was strictly off limits.

  Chapter Four

  Baron’s Steakhouse didn’t require a reservation when you were Logan Calloway, Avery noticed. But to be fair he didn’t exactly get to eat his meal and since everyone in town knew that she worked for him they had no problem coming over and asking for an autograph or a selfie, but that wasn’t what surprised her. It was how Logan acted. He wasn’t upset at all that his food got cold and more than once he left the table with someone who’d known him in high school or had known his Aunt Jane and they walked away from the dining area where Avery observed him listening and more often than not taking his wallet out and giving the person some cash or a card.

  He came back the fourth time as the waiter was clearing her dinner plate. “You’re a soft touch.”

  He shrugged, then motioned for the waiter to take his plate. “These people wouldn’t ask if they didn’t have a real need. And many of them helped Aunt Jane raise my brothers. I owe them.”

  She didn’t think he owed anyone anything. She knew how much money he funneled back into the town and it was impressive. “If they have a real need you should send them to me. We should keep all of your charitable deductions together.”

  “This is petty cash,” he said. “Don’t worry about my finances. I’m sorry this evening hasn’t given us a chance to talk more. I wanted to get to know you.”

  “It’s okay. I like that you have time for everyone,” she said. It was another facet of him. The more he spoke to the townspeople the more she realized that he kept everyone at arm’s length. She did that too, but not the way he did. He gave the illusion of being a buddy and Avery knew she’d just come off awkward. Part of it, she could point directly to her parents. Both of them were research scientists more at home in a lab than a social setting. They’d moved her around a bit as a child and it had always seemed like as soon as she made a good friend, she’d be leaving. Eventually she just stopped trying. She thought he was an open book earlier at the WOWR meeting but she realized that he had an easy smile and charming way but it was only skin deep.

  “It’s the least I can do.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  “I’m famous because of how I look, Avery. That’s not a reason anyone should have a fortune,” he said.

  “That’s not why you’re famous. And I’m pretty sure the academy voters aren’t talking about you because of your looks. You have talent too,” she said.

  “Yeah,” he said. “Want to get out of here and take a drive? I know I just said dinner so if you want to go home, I’ll take you.”

  She stood up, dropping her napkin on the table. The Calloway Foundation had an account at the restaurant so she knew they’d send the bill to the office. “Let’s go.”

  He held out his hand and she slipped her hand into his as he led her out of the restaurant and to his car. It was clear and cool, but not cold. He held the door for her as she got into the passenger side of the car and then walked around to the driver’s side, getting in and starting the engine quickly.

  “I need to get out of here,” he said.

  He put the car in reverse and then sped out of the parking lot as if demons were chasing him and maybe they were.

  “Why do you feel a debt to Whiskey River?” she asked when they’d left the city limits behind and were driving on highway. There wasn’t much traffic on the road and a harvest moon lit up the sky and surrounding fields.

  “Who said I did?”

  “Listen, you can pretend if you want to but no man who’s not a vegetarian gets up that many times from a steak dinner without feeling something. My guess would be either guilt or a debt.”

  “Well you’d be wrong,” he said.

  “Then what is it?” she asked.

  “None of your business,” he snapped, downshifting into the curve in the road and then gunning it when he came out, shifting into fifth and sending them rocketing into the night.

  A smart woman would leave this alone, but she wasn’t known for her smarts. Her parents had always said she’d done the best she could with her intelligence. Which she’d taken as a sort of compliment because they were always objective and she had never been the smartest kid in her classes, but it
would have been nice if they’d seen she was good at figuring people out. She knew she wasn’t a genius but she had always understood people.

  Logan was hurting and she didn’t understand why.

  “Fair enough. Take me home then,” she said. “But you asked me out and then you kissed me so I think you want something more from me.”

  He cursed under his breath and slowed the car to a sane speed and then just drove, pulling off the road when they were near a curve of the Pedernales. He turned the car off and turned to face her. “It’s complicated. I know everyone says that about their past.”

  “You don’t have to try to make excuses for the way you feel,” she said. “My parents gave me everything a child could want and on paper it would look to anyone that I had a good upbringing. They rotated taking care of me but I always wanted more. And there are times when they make me resentful and angry. There is no one who can change that. They are my feelings and I’m entitled to them.”

  He stretched his arm along the back of her seat. “When I’m here I’m always very aware of being Danny Calloway’s son and I want to prove to the good folks of Whiskey River that I’m not like him. That I’m better.”

  “From what I’ve heard you are definitely a better person.”

  “Am I?” he asked. “If I was then maybe I wouldn’t still be running from his ghost and trying so damned hard to make sure people are seeing me and not him.”

  She reached up and put her hand on his wrist. “They do.”

  “I don’t,” he said, pulling his hand away and then getting out of the car and walking toward the river. Avery stayed where she was.

  This was more than flirting. If she got out of the car she had to realize this was going to take their relationship from boss/assistant into the gray area of maybe friends. But he looked so stark and alone standing down by the river. She knew he might not need her but she hated to see him like that so she opened the door and made her choice.

  *

  Logan knew he’d overreacted to her questions. He needed to get away. Why had he thought enough time had passed and coming home would be no big deal? Maybe because Harlan was back and taking over Whiskey River Construction. And then Eli had suggested that maybe they could combine their resources to help out the youth of the Barrels—well, all of Whiskey River—and he’d been unable to say no. He hadn’t been kidding earlier when he’d said that he didn’t feel like he deserved his money or his fame. It wasn’t that odd a thing. A lot of people in his position felt that way.

  “Could you imagine what old Booze Kelly was thinking when he saw all his barrels washing down the river?” Avery asked coming to stand next to him.

  She smelled sweet, like the best bits of Christmas, and stood a respectable distance from him. She was a nice girl. Hell, she’d probably remind him she was a woman and not a girl, but she was nice. She was the kind of girl who would have had nothing to do with him back in his days at Whiskey River High, and he didn’t blame her.

  The thing was most of the time he could pretend like that boy was gone but the moment he came back here he knew that for the lie it was. He knew that he had learned how to hide the real man beneath the sheen of professional makeup artists and studio PR people. They always put the spin on his past about how he got out of a bad situation. They loved his foundation because it showed that he hadn’t forgotten where he came from.

  Who the hell could forget a past like that?

  “Yeah, he probably freaked out,” Logan said. “I know Eli would be ticked off if he lost any barrels of his preserve vintage wine.”

  “Who is Eli?”

  “Elijah Lane,” Logan said, realizing that Avery didn’t know his gang. She’d seen their names because the winery that Eli had suggested they build was going to be run in conjunction with a youth interaction center. A way to get kids from the inner city to the fields. Get them off the streets and give them skills to build a future on.

  “Oh, him. Is he still coming in on Friday?” she asked.

  “Yes. I’m sorry I threw your week off by showing up early,” he said.

  “It’s okay. It is your foundation and your house so I think it’s okay that you come whenever you want,” she said. “Listen, if you want to talk I’m here. If you don’t, that’s fine too. I tend to talk a lot, in case you hadn’t noticed and mainly that’s because growing up I was alone a lot so whenever I’m around people I try to cram in as much conversation as I can.”

  He smiled at how she said it. “You talk the right amount.”

  “I do?” she asked. “You’re not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?”

  “Maybe.”

  “I bet you are. You’re a good guy,” she said. Then she turned and put her hand on his arm. “No one who sees you is thinking about your dad.”

  He wished he could believe her but he knew the truth. Every time he looked in the mirror he saw his old man. “So what’s next for our week of getting ready for the gala?”

  She smiled. “Tomorrow I was going to a ballroom dance lesson because I can’t do anything but line dancing, and Regina suggested that we kick off the dancing with a slow dance to The Christmas Song.”

  “Maybe I should go with you. I haven’t danced in a long time,” he said.

  “That’s tomorrow morning at ten,” she said. “Then the lighting company I hired to decorate your estate is coming in the afternoon and we probably should get you a Christmas tree…unless you don’t want one?”

  “I need one because I’m holding that party for the Youth of Whiskey River on the 23rd. Do you have a tree?”

  “No I was waiting until after the gala to go and get one,” she said.

  “So we can do that together,” he said. “Maybe next week sometime?”

  “Are you sure you can stand that much of me?” she asked. “What if I start rambling on like I did in the closet.”

  “I’ll have to calm you down again,” he said.

  “How will you do that?” she asked.

  *

  She wanted to pretend she was flirting but she knew it was more than that. She wanted him to kiss her. She wanted him to make her forget that they weren’t really out here on a date but just two people who had some sort of attraction that they were both using for a different reason to distract themselves.

  “Like this,” he said, reaching for her hand and tugging her to him. He pulled her off balance and into his arms. His mouth came down on hers with determination and passion. He kissed her long and deep and she forgot about how she was trying to manage this attraction as a wave of heat swept through her.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck, felt his hands slide down her back to her waist as he lifted her off her feet. She settled against his long lean frame. His tongue tangled with hers and for the first time she realized that she could really want one man. Not just someone who could scratch a sensual itch but a man she wanted for her own. She’d been very careful to never want someone but she wanted Logan.

  She shoved that thought way down as he lifted his head and stared down at her. She knew that she wasn’t going to let him go home alone tonight.

  *

  Logan held Avery in his arms. The faint sounds of the current of the Pedernales flowing a short distance away was the only sound out here. “When I was growing up, I hated to be out here. We used to take field trips in elementary school. It was just too quiet.”

  “I don’t like silence either,” she said, looking up at him. “I think it’s why I talk so much. My parents liked quiet contemplation or reading when we were together. And to be fair I love books and reading but sometimes I’d want to discuss what I’d read and would have to save it until meal times. They were big on sitting down at the table and eating and discussing.”

  “Were they?” he asked, taking her hand in his and leading her down the worn footpath that led back toward the car.

  “Yes. But I wanted to talk about things like what was a jalopy and could I have one.”

  He laughed. “A
jalopy?”

  “Yes,” she said. “Trixie Belden’s brother had one and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out if it was a model of car or what. Dad was totally not impressed. He said it was a junker—just an old, crappy car and I should aspire to something better.”

  “Your VW is pretty nice,” he said, remembering seeing it parked in front of her house.

  “You’d think but they thought I should have gotten a Volvo,” she said dryly.

  “You’re such a rebel,” he said.

  She shook her head. A strand of her hair caught the breeze and blew out behind her and he realized that in a small way Avery looked like those Christmas angels that he’d seen on the top of the Christmas trees when he was growing up.

  “Yeah, that’s me: VW-driving badass,” she said. “Did you have a favorite book series growing up?”

  “Nah. I didn’t really read much until I was in high school,” he said. “Then I started reading Heinlein and Philip K. Dick.”

  “Sci fi, right?” she asked.

  “Yes. I like the idea that we could invent something that seems perfect but turns out not to be,” he said.

  “I don’t mind it but the truth is a lot of the science mumbo jumbo is over my head,” she said. “Plus my dad would have loved it if I’d read Heinlein. He loves him.”

  “So you didn’t.”

  “Exactly. That stubbornness and need to be different has led me down several paths I wish I’d skipped.”

  They were back at his car and he didn’t want to get back into it so he leaned against the side of it, crossing his feet at the ankles. Avery stood there watching him with an expression he couldn’t read.

  “Like what?” he asked.

  “Um…well, I joined the Model UN because I thought that would impress them, but it didn’t so I quit. Then I went on Spring Break down to Galveston with some friends my senior year and got a tattoo because I thought it would annoy them and they didn’t even notice.”

  “Where’s your tattoo?” he asked.

  “Uh, you have to earn the right to find that out,” she said.