Mistletoe & Cocoa Kisses

by Stacy Eaton

  Her smile was sweet when she spun toward me. “And I’d like that, too. I just don’t want to make more out of this than it is.”

  “I get that.”

  Actually, I didn’t, but I wasn’t going to push her. Hell, I shouldn’t have even suggested it in the first place. I needed to get my head out of my ass, walk away, give her space, and wait out the storm.“After I get the dishes done, Matt and I will get your things and bring them in here.”

  “Thank you, Chris, and promise me that if I start to get in the way, that you’ll tell me.”

  “I promise.” I was immediately torn between wanting to rush her out of the house and wanting to lock her in. I didn’t need this kind of trouble at this point in my life, I really didn’t, but as I glanced over my shoulder at her when I exited, I considered another kind of trouble I’d like to try out.

  Robin

  I was so glad that everyone had enjoyed breakfast, and I had to admit that I was totally loving the company. New York seemed like a different lifetime, until Chris brought it up in conversation. I guess it was only normal to want to know where the strange woman who was found on the side of the road was coming from and going to, but that didn’t mean I wanted to air my dirty laundry, especially in front of his kids.

  I was happily amazed at how well the children minded their father and did exactly what he asked without back talking or rolling their eyes. I had friends in the city who’d had kids and that was all I ever saw when I visited them.

  So many children of today lacked the respect that we had been taught while growing up, but I guessed that was what happened in this fast-paced technology-filled world where both parents worked, and the children relied on the internet and games to connect with society. Obviously, it didn’t have to be that way.

  Chris led me back to the guest room, and I was both thrilled and a little concerned that it was next to his. I could imagine slipping out of my door and through his in the middle of the night. Of course, that was just a girl’s fantasy, not what would really happen.

  I stood at the bedroom window and looked out over the vast backyard. There were larger mountains not too far in the distance, and the small ridge and valley behind his home reminded me of a romantic winterscape painting I’d seen in a New York gallery.

  When he’d come to stand beside me, I’d finally gotten a good look at his eyes. The brightness from the outside had illuminated just how dark his green irises were, but mixed amongst the green were flecks of golden yellow. I glanced to the window. I could imagine that in the spring, when the grass was growing and the wildflowers were blooming, his eyes would match that view.

  I felt the connection that he asked about stronger than I ever had, but I didn’t want to fool myself and think that it was more. It was something new, and new things were always exciting, like tasting a new dish could be. I’d worked hard trying to put foods together that would draw out the tastes from one another and enhance the quality of the food. It could smell absolutely wonderful and the first taste on the tongue would explode the palate, but as the flavors would begin to meld, they could change and become absolutely horrid.

  The last thing I wanted was for either of us to find that we were sucked in by the amazing aromas of the spices, but that with just a few bites, we found it was not right for our palates.

  I just couldn’t jump into something, not now, and not with a man who had two beautiful children.

  We left the room that he had given me to use, and as I followed him down the hallway, I had the chance to take in his incredibly-wide shoulders and trim waist. The long-sleeved black shirt he wore clung to his body and my hands itched to reach out and touch him.

  Man, I was a hypocrite on so many levels, I thought to myself as I stared at his backside and bit my bottom lip.

  “Hey, Dad,” Matt called out from the family room. “You have a phone call.”

  “Thanks, Matt,” he took the cellphone from his son’s hands and looked at the screen. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to take this.”

  He disappeared down a staircase near the front door, and I went with Matt back to the kitchen. “Wow, you cleaned the kitchen.”

  Matt laughed, “Yeah, I figured I was here, might as well do it.”

  “You are a pretty amazing kid, Matt. I don’t know any other teens who’d jump right in and clean the dishes unless they were forced to.”

  He gave me a shy smile. “We all work together around here. Dad says that helping each other out is important, and I agree.”

  “Where’s your mom?” I asked the question that I’d wondered a few times since I’d woken up that morning.

  He snorted, “My mom had me when she was seventeen. She went away for college and never came back.”

  How could you leave your own child? “How old was your father?”

  “Um,” he closed the dishwasher door and punched a few buttons to start the wash cycle, “I think he was eighteen when I was born.”

  “So if your mother disappeared, Geri is only your half-sister? Where is her mother?” I leaned back against the counter and crossed my arms as he wiped down the counter.

  “Geri’s mom kinda did the same thing. She hung around until Geri was about a year old and then took off. Said she didn’t want to live in the country. I think she moved to Philadelphia.”

  Good Lord, the man had two kids from different women, and they’d both left him. Either there was something wrong with him, or he had just as bad taste in women as I had in men. It was more of a reason to not start something with him since I planned to leave as soon as I could. With our luck, any relationship between us was probably doomed from the start.

  “Well, I’m sorry to hear that.”

  He shrugged, “I didn’t really like Terry much anyway. She was kind of a bitch, but don’t tell my dad I said that.”

  I smile conspiratorially, “Your secret is safe with me. Do you ever get to see your mom?”

  “I saw her a couple of years ago, but she has a new family and didn’t seem too interested in me.”

  “Ouch, I bet that hurt.”

  He shrugged again, “No big deal. I’m happy with my life. Dad and Geri are all I need,” he glanced up and looked me right in the eye, “but Dad could use someone.”

  I chuckled nervously and looked away, “Don’t get any ideas, Matt. I’m thankful for what you and your father did, but I’m not looking for a relationship.”

  He grinned. “I didn’t mean you.”

  “Uh-huh. I saw the matchmaker in your eyes just then.”

  “Hey, you can’t blame a guy for trying.”

  “No, you can’t.” I joined in on his laughter as Geri raced into the kitchen.

  “Do you want to see my bedroom?” she blurted as she grabbed my hand.

  “I’d love to see your bedroom,” I replied just as excitedly as she had asked.

  She pulled me out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the second floor. At the landing, there was a balcony that looked down over the family room and I sighed. I absolutely loved this place.

  Geri’s room was colorful, like any young girl’s room should be. Her bed had a bright pink canopy with frilly lace around the edges. In the corner was a bookshelf filled with books and games and an intricately-carved toy box that was overflowing with dolls.

  “Wow, I love this room! Can I stay in your room instead?”

  She giggled, “No, but you can visit, and you can play with me.”

  “I’d love to. What do you want to play?”

  “Can we play Candyland?”

  “Sure we can.”

  Geri skipped over to her shelves and pulled the game down. “Do you want to play here or take it downstairs?” she asked as she held the box in front of her.

  “I love your room so much that I want to stay in here and play. Is that alright?”

  “Yes,” she beamed up at me and plopped down on the floor to set up the game. I wasn’t able to plop down like she had, but I did gingerly get myself down to her level and watc
hed as she put everything into place.

  Geri and I were just finishing our game when Chris popped his head into the room. “Who’s winning?”

  “Robin is. I fell down the ladder too many times,” Geri said with a frown.

  “Not supposed to do that,” Chris replied to his daughter and winked at me as he lay across the end of Geri’s bed and watched us play the last few moves.

  Geri was packing the game up when the sound of snowmobiles could be heard. “Who’s here?” she asked and jumped up to look out the window.

  “I think it’s Wade and Mike. They came over to work out with Matt.”

  “You have a weight room here?” I turned to Chris as I tried to get off the floor. My lower back was screaming at me for sitting on the floor for so long. Chris grabbed hold of my hand and helped me to my feet.

  “Yeah!” Geri screamed and ran out of the room.

  It was only after she left that I realized that Chris was still holding my hand. I looked up into his face, inspecting the handsome features that reflected my curiosity. Why did this man make my heart beat so oddly?

  Chris cleared his throat and glanced away. “Let me give you a tour of the house. Obviously, this is Geri’s room.”

  “Did your friend decorate this one, too?” I asked as I glanced at the pictures of princesses on the walls.

  “No, actually Geri picked this all out last year.”

  “Nice taste,” I said in approval, and Chris shifted his hand in mine to lace our fingers as he pulled me through the door. So this is where Geri got her need to lead, I thought as I looked at our intertwined fingers.

  “This is Matt’s room; he needs to clean it,” he said as he pushed open a door.

  I scanned the large blue bedroom. There was a queen-sized bed, a large desk filled with books, two dressers, and a shelf filled with trophies. “You call this dirty?” I asked as all I saw were a couple of items next to the laundry basket and a drawer or two that weren’t closed all the way.

  “Okay, maybe not as bad as some kids, but they know I expect them to pick up after themselves.”

  “You have taught them well, Mr. Landry. I don’t think I have ever met such respectful and independent children in my life.”

  He turned to study me, maybe to gauge my sincerity or to say something, I didn’t know, but he remained quiet for a few moments before he finally said, “Thank you.”

  He pulled the door closed and opened a door across the hall. “Okay, this one I’m not kidding about, it needs to be cleaned.”

  I laughed as I saw three soda cans and two empty plates stacked on a small table and a pair of socks balled up in the middle of the floor. There were four television sets attached to the walls and four video gaming chairs in the center of the room.

  “Why four TVs?”

  “They are hooked up to different gaming systems.” He shrugged, “This way when friends come over, they can all play different games at once.”

  “Wow.” As I looked further into the room, I saw a closet filled with rows and rows of games stacked on the shelves. There was probably thousands of dollars’ worth of stuff in that room alone.

  For the first time, I paused to wonder what this man did for a living to have such an extravagant home and all these expensive furnishings—not that it mattered. I’d been in love with wealthy men and poor men—not that I was in love with this particular man, I quickly told myself. I glanced at his profile and my heart skipped a beat. I could totally see myself falling for him.

  I so needed to get my car fixed and out of here before I really developed feelings for him or his kids. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt anyone, including myself.

  Chris

  Robin’s hand slackened in mine, and I squeezed it gently. “I like when he brings his friends here. That way I know what he’s doing.” That was the number one hardest thing about being a parent, keeping track of the kids.

  Robin shared, “When I was growing up, I used to spend all my time down the street at Marie’s house. Everyone hung out there during the summer because she was the only one with a pool. I remember hearing her mom say that same thing to my grandmother.”

  I led her out of the room. “Did you live with your grandmother?”

  “I did. My mom and I lived with her after my parents got divorced.”

  I let go of her hand even though I was enjoying it and placed my palm on her lower back as we went down the stairs.

  “How old were you when they got divorced?”

  “I think I was eight, or maybe only seven. I don’t really remember, but my dad moved out west and I only saw him a couple of times. We lost contact years ago, and I never really felt the need to find out more about him.”

  “Why not?” I asked when we reached the main floor.

  “He walked away, never reached out to me. He’s the parent. If he couldn’t be bothered, then why should I be?”

  I thought about that. “But what if he reached out to you now, would you get to know him?”

  She shrugged a shoulder, “I wouldn’t avoid him or ignore him. I’m just not going to waste my time with someone who didn’t want anything to do with me.”

  Good point. The front door burst open, and Mike and Wade clambered inside. “Hey guys, the side door, you know better.”

  “Oh, hey, sorry Mr. Landry,” Wade said to me while he and Mike both checked Robin out from head to toe. They pulled the door back open and kept eyeing Robin as they stepped out. “He wasn’t kidding; she is smoking hot,” Mike could be heard saying as the door closed.

  Obviously Robin heard it too because she dropped her head and I thought I heard her laugh.

  I cleared my throat, “Sorry about that.” I stepped away from her and yelled toward the kitchen, “Matt, your friends are here. Before you all head down to work out, go shovel the path to the garage and the shed and then bring Robin’s things inside to the guest room.”

  “Can’t we do that later?” he whined from a distance.

  “No, do it now, then you can work out and screw around.”

  “Okay, fine, Dad,” Matt answered.

  “Where do they work out?” Robin asked.

  I directed her to the next set of steps that went down. “Right this way.” As we reached the bottom, Robin paused with her mouth hanging open.

  “Wow!”

  She stepped into the room and I tried to see it from her point of view. There was a sitting area off to the side with a sixty-inch television mounted to the far wall. A large couch and two love seats were positioned on either side, and on the other side of the room were a pool table and a small bar area, although there was no strong alcohol stored there. I knew better than to leave that kind of thing out with teenaged boys around. The small fridge behind the handcrafted bar had a few beers in it and drinks for Matt and his friends.

  There was a door off to the side and I pushed it open. “This is the laundry room and storage room.”

  “Good Lord! You have enough food to last a few months down here,” she laughed, and the sound warmed my insides.

  “Yeah, and sometimes with the weather, like right now, you have to depend on what you have stocked up. There is a freezer on the other side, too.”

  “I can’t even imagine the electric bill,” she commented, shaking her head.

  “Actually, it’s pretty low. We run on solar power. The entire roof is covered with panels, and I have a backup generator in case something goes wrong with the solar equipment, and we have electricity from the grid, but it only fills in when necessary.”

  “So your house is pretty much self-sustainable?”

  “Yep, except when we go through long periods of storms, then the electric kicks in more because we don’t get as much power from the sun, but it’s pretty efficient.” I led her out of the storage area and walked into the room next door. “This is my office.”

  “What do you do?” she asked as she scanned the room.

  “IT mostly. I have designed quite a few special programs for som
e companies.”

  She grinned, “So you’re a computer geek, huh?”

  I laughed, “Yeah, I’m a computer geek. Do you know anything about them?” I sat down on the corner of my desk, watching her as she wandered about the room.

  “Enough to get into trouble,” she joked as she stepped around me and stood at the backside of my desk. “Why so many monitors?”

  “I have four so I can work on two different programs at a time, and sometimes I’ll have my laptop going, too.”

  “Wow, I get confused just looking at one screen.” She walked close enough past me that her leg brushed my knee, and I clenched my hands to keep from pulling her back. There was something about this woman that called out to my deepest male instincts, but as I glanced toward my desk, I instantly remembered Molly. Crap. I forced myself not to think about her and turned my attention back to Robin.

  I was seriously enjoying the view of her walking through my home. She just seemed to fit, better than anyone else had.

  “Come on, I’ll show you the good stuff now.”

  “This wasn’t the good stuff?”

  I snagged her hand and pulled her out the door, grinning over my shoulder and flipping the light off as I went. “Nope, the good stuff is back here.” I led her to another door, opened it, and stepped through. It was warmer, and the smell of chlorine from the pool was strong.

  “You have a pool?” She stared wide-eyed through the glass enclosure that surrounded the endless pool, totally ignoring the exercise equipment that filled the main part of the room.

  “Yep, but have you ever heard of an endless pool?”

  She took off for the door and pushed it open. A wave of humid air passed over her, and I inhaled. I loved the smell of this room.

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “Well, this is an endless pool. That machine down there pushes a current through the water and you swim against it. You can make it harder or easier depending on how hard you want to swim.”

  “And you just keep going, staying in one place?” She stepped up beside the pool. “What’s that black patch down there?”