A Very Merry Christmas Gift (Winter Kisses Book 1)

by Kathryn Kelly

  Taking the gun out of the night stand, she carefully placed it beneath the extra pillow on her bed. Then she went into the bathroom to begin gathering her things up.

  She decided she’d take a nap, then get up, shower, and get out before Aunt Allie woke in the morning. She’d just have to slip past Adam.

  She didn’t want to think about leaving him. He was one tie that she didn’t want to break. He was someone she could be happy with.

  Someone she could trust.

  Someone she could love.

  Sitting on the edge of her bed, she sighed, and hugged her pillow to her. She had to be strong. She had to leave because she cared about him.

  And care about him she did. Even his family had accepted her and not judged her, though she was certain Adam had likely told them about her situation. She hated having a situation. She wanted her life to be normal and uneventful.

  As though sensing her turmoil. Lucy appeared in the door, meowed, then padded over and jumped onto the bed. With another loud meow, she rolled over on her back against Tabitha. And purred.

  “Lucy,” Tabitha said, burying her face in Lucy’s fur. “What do I do?”

  Lucy put her paw on Tabitha’s face and purred louder.

  “I’m just too tired and cold to think right now,” she said, and crawled under the covers, pulling the comforter up to her chin. “Maybe I’ll have more energy to figure it out in the morning.

  Lucy nudged her way beneath the blankets and curled up next to Tabitha’s face.

  As she lay there facing the open door, with Lucy curled up next to her, she became acutely aware of Adam sleeping just downstairs. Was he thinking about her? Was he wondering if she was thinking about him?

  She could just walk downstairs and snuggle up next to him. Or even better, he could snuggle up next to her on the bed and they could fall asleep together. She imagined how that might feel, to snuggle up next to him just as Lucy had snuggled up next to her, and Tabitha fell asleep with those thoughts on her mind.

  Early the next morning, she was jarred awake by the sound of the garbage truck making its morning downtown run. Though the sun wasn’t up yet, the predawn light shone through the curtains. Lucy had deserted her.

  Tabitha had stretched contentedly beneath the warm blankets before she remembered that she was supposed to be leaving. The temperature must have dropped because her nose was a little cold.

  She lay there until the garbage truck made its way down the street, trying to convince herself that she needed to get up, shower, and get going before Aunt Allie got up.

  She could wait, she supposed, and explain what she planned to do. But Aunt Allie would only try to talk her out of it. That thought was enough to spur her into action.

  She got up, stepped into the shower, and stood under the hot water.

  She would regret not saying goodbye to Aunt Allie.

  But her biggest regret would be not saying goodbye to Adam.

  She stepped out of the shower, dried off, and got dressed. She put on a pair of jeans and sweatshirt over a t-shirt. After drying her hair, she finished packing her things and began making her bed.

  Plumping the pillows, her hand brushed against the gun beneath the pillow.

  A lot of good it would have done her. She’d completely forgotten about even having it, much less having it under her pillow.

  She tucked it into the night stand and finished making the bed.

  She slipped her computer and charger in her book bag and secured it over her shoulder.

  With one last look around the little room she had come to think of as her own, she turned off the light, and tiptoed down the hall.

  The sound of Aunt Allie snoring was bittersweet. She’d miss the older woman who had become a friend to her.

  Lucy was in the kitchen watching birds out the back window. She was even going to miss Lucy.

  Holding her duffle bag in both hands, her book bag over her shoulder, she made her way down the stairs, pleased with her progress.

  At the bottom of the stairs, she turned the corner toward the back door and gasped.

  Adam was standing there, calmly leaning against the doorjamb.

  “You scared me half to death,” she said.

  “Where are you headed?” he asked, not moving.

  She hadn’t planned on having to explain herself. “Nowhere,” she shoved her suitcase behind her.

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “I’m going jogging.”

  He nodded. “Just taking your suitcase out for a morning jog. After you took a shower and dried your hair.”

  She rolled her eyes. Why hadn’t she considered that he might not sleep though the noise?

  “Where are you going, Tabitha?”

  “It’s none of your business,” she whispered, her eyes lowered.

  He took the step that separated them. And waited.

  Until she lifted her gaze to his.

  “I think it is,” he said.

  She started to lower her chin, but he put a finger beneath it and lifted her face back to his.

  “You’ve got no reason to leave,” his words were barely a whisper.

  “I can’t stay.”

  “You have to stay,” he slipped the duffle bag from her hands and let it drop to the floor at their feet.

  “I can’t” she breathed, but her voice was barely audible, even to herself.

  He took the book bag and lifted it off her shoulders. Though it didn’t weigh much, she breathed easier without its weight.

  His gaze mesmerized her, freezing her in place. In the back of her mind, she heard the clock upstairs chime the quarter hour.

  She could feel his breath on her forehead as he moved closer.

  Before she knew what was happening, he had lowered his mouth to hers and she leaned forward, closing her eyes.

  He paused and she felt the heat of his lips just a breath away from hers. Her lips parted, aching for the feel of his.

  Then he closed the small gap between them, pulling her tightly against him as his lips touched hers ever so slightly.

  Her body was swamped with sensations. The feel of his hard chest pressed against her. The feather light touch of his lips against hers.

  She leaned into him and the pressure of his lips increased, moving ever so slightly against hers.

  Then they were kissing each other, lips tasting, tongues darting in exploration. She couldn’t get close enough; couldn’t get enough of his mouth.

  She’d never been kissed this way before - tender and tough all at once. She couldn’t stop.

  She heard the clock upstairs chiming the half hour.

  They slid to the floor and she was sitting in his lap, their lips never parting.

  She never wanted to stop kissing him.

  The clocked chimed again. She thought she heard Aunt Allie upstairs talking to Lucy as she fed the cat. She ignored them.

  Adam didn’t. He took his lips far enough from hers to speak. “You’ll stay?” he asked.

  She couldn’t leave. Not now. He was a magnet. And she had attached. She nodded.

  He kissed her again. “Lock the door behind me,” he said, between kisses.

  She didn’t know if she answered or not. Her fingers dug into his upper arms.

  “I’ll be back,” he said, against her lips. “You’ll be here?” he asked again.

  “Yes,” she answered.

  “You better be,” he said as his eyes bored into hers.

  She smiled a little. She couldn’t help it. She was practically giddy with the surge of emotion racing through her veins.

  He smiled back. A little wickedly.

  As he went out the back door and she locked it behind him, she had only one thought.

  Her life had just changed.

  Kicking her duffle bag aside, Tabitha sat down hard on the bottom step leading upstairs.

  And closed her eyes.

  She put her fingers to her swollen lips and allowed the sensations of Adam’s kisses to envelop her.r />
  Well. This certainly did change her plans.

  The hair on the back of her neck tingled. Her eyes flew open and she shivered. Looking around, she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

  Still, she felt ill at ease.

  She needed to go up and unpack. She heard Aunt Allie moving around upstairs. The last thing she wanted to do was to explain why she had a packed bag with her and even worse, why she’d decided to stay.

  It was at that moment that her cell phone chimed. Digging the phone out of her purse, she checked the caller id. But it was a text message.

  Does your new boyfriend know you’re married? Or does he like screwing around with a married woman?

  She gasped and closed the phone, holding it out from her. She looked around frantically, only then noticing the open back door window shade. He could have seen them kissing through that window.

  She knew it was him. It never occurred to her that it might be anyone else. She checked the message again. It was from an unknown caller.

  Her thoughts raced. He was out there. Watching. And from the tone of his text message, his anger was escalating.

  She had to tell someone. After yesterday, she’d promised if anything else happened she wouldn’t keep it a secret.

  She should have learned that from the counselor she saw twice. He had told Tabitha that having secrets was what gave him his power as an abuser. If people knew about it, it was more likely to stop.

  She considered her options. She couldn’t tell Aunt Allie. Not just yet. If she did, she’d have to explain the whole boyfriend reference.

  That only left her with one option. She had to tell the boyfriend.

  She smiled at that – just a little. She couldn’t help it. Thinking of Adam as a boyfriend gave her that giddy, young girl in love feeling.

  Yes, she had to show the message to Adam. Together they could figure out what to do.

  Using her foot to slide her duffle bag behind a chair, she went into the shop to get it ready for the day. Later, when Aunt Allie was downstairs, she’d take her bag upstairs and unpack.

  As she was walking to the front of the shop, another text message came through on her phone: All’s well that ends well. You’ll never belong to anyone but me. Say goodbye, my love.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Adam told himself he’d been standing in the shower too long, but he was relishing the hot, pulsing water on his skin. And it gave him more time to replay those delightful kisses with Tabitha.

  He wasn’t a man to rush into things, but he also wasn’t a man who would let an opportunity pass him by.

  Although Tabitha had a little time yet before her divorce, he didn’t plan to let her remain single very long. As soon as she was single, he would be asking her to marry him.

  Putting conditioner on his hair for an excuse to stay in the shower longer, he contemplated the idea of going ahead and proposing to her now. Why wait? No one said a girl had to be divorced before she got engaged again. At least, he didn’t think there was any law against it. It wasn’t like they’d be posting their engagement anywhere. At least not until after her divorce. Then he just might shout it to the world.

  Reluctantly turning off the water, and grabbing a towel, he reminded himself that his plans hinged on her having him. She may not want to jump right back in to a marriage right away.

  But if her response to his kisses was any indication, he didn’t think she’d require very much convincing.

  He smiled at the thought. It had been a long time since he’d had a girlfriend.

  Stepping out of the shower, and drying himself off, Rover nudged the bathroom door open and came to stand in front of him. Then he started to bark.

  Adam stepped over and closed the bathroom door. Rover wasn’t a barker. And since he’d just taken him out for a walk, he didn’t think that was the problem.

  “What’s wrong, boy?” Adam asked his pet.

  Rover’s bark became more incessant as Adam pulled on his jeans and slipped a sweatshirt on over his head. Maybe one of the girls had come in early to catch up on some work in the shop.

  He hadn’t exactly checked his phone messages lately.

  “Rover, boy, what’s wrong?” Adam asked, a little irritated now at his dog’s barking. Nonetheless, he couldn’t prevent the little tendril of alarm that washed through him. Rover rarely paid any attention to the comings and goings downstairs and he just wasn’t a big talker, in general.

  Alert now, Adam slowly opened the bathroom door. Rover stopped barking and watched him.

  Adam wasn’t sure whether he should feel relieved or terrified. He stepped out into the hall and Rover started to howl.

  That was it. Adam dashed toward the bedroom to get his gun. Rover hung back, watching him from the bathroom door. Adam rolled his eyes at his dog, but kept going. “A lot of good you are,” he grumbled.

  Going straight to his closet, he pulled out the case where he kept his gun. After flipping the lid open, he froze.

  Had he left it out? In his car?

  Was this the one he had given Tabitha?

  He pulled the other case down and opened it. It, too, was empty.

  He glanced around his closet and behind him into the bedroom. This wasn’t right. He owned three guns. One was in the car, Tabitha had one, and he kept the other here in his bedroom – in its case.

  He knew he’d left his gun safely in its case in the closet. Someone had taken it.

  But who? Did one of his college girls take it? Though he knew that anything was possible, he also knew that it wasn’t likely and he would have been shocked if that was the answer. There must another explanation.

  Not his family. No one in his family ever took anything without telling him - or even came over here for that matter without calling first.

  It occurred to him that he needed to make sure Tabitha still had the gun he’d loaned her in his possession. Warning bells echoed in his mind.

  Running his hands through his damp hair, he stuffed his feet into his shoes and quickly tied them before hitting the stairs, two at a time.

  He got to the back door and knocked frantically. No one answered. His heart raced and he felt a little nauseated. He grasped the doorknob, but it was locked.

  He ran his hand through his hair, and glanced around the patio. It was then that he remembered he now had a key. This seemed like the time to use it.

  Opening the door and stepping inside, he made the decision not to call out as he normally would have. The place was dark and quiet. Nothing like it should have been by, he glanced at his watch, eight twenty-five.

  Instinctively, he went toward the front of the shop. At first he didn’t see her. Then as he was turning to leave, he must have heard her. Tabitha was there curled up on the sofa in front of the fireplace.

  She was staring straight ahead - her face a mask of pain.

  “Tabitha,” he rushed toward her. She didn’t acknowledge him. He sat next to her, stroked her hair. “What happened?”

  She turned toward him then, blinked, and closed her eyes.

  “Tabitha?” he asked.

  Opening her eyes, she held her cell phone out to him.

  “What?” he asked, taking the phone from her and shaking his head.

  She took it back, pressed her thumb against the home key to unlock it and, after scrolling for a moment, handed it back to him to look at.

  Taking it from her, he read the message. Does your new boyfriend know you’re married? Or does he like screwing around with a married woman?

  “This is from your ex-husband?” he asked, though he needn’t have asked. He knew it was.

  She reached over, scrolled, and nodded toward the screen.

  He read the message that was now displayed: All’s well that ends well. You’ll never belong to anyone but me. Say goodbye, my love.

  He leaned against the back of the sofa, staring at the screen. The message was obtuse. Adam doubted it was the obvious - the man was going away. The only question was - was h
e about to do harm to Tabitha or to Adam? Or both?

  That much was unclear. “Is that all of them?” he asked her and saw her nod out of the corner of his eye.

  “Aunt Allie?” he asked.

  She shook her head.

  “I’m calling the cops,” he said as he reached for his own cell phone.

  “No,” she said, firmly, placing her hand over his.

  “But, Tabitha, this is clearly a threat.”

  “We can’t prove it was him.”

  He took a deep breath and blew it out. “Then you’ll stay with me, at least.”

  She shook her head.

  “You have to.”

  “And for how long? He’s been a threat to me for two years. You don’t expect it to stop just because I stay at your place for few days,” she shook her head. “He has nothing better to do. I may not hear from him again for three weeks. Then there he’ll be. He’s patient like a snake.”

  “Then what? What do you intend to do?”

  “I intend to go about my life. To ignore him.”

  “For how long?” he threw her words back to her. “How long will you give him before he hurts you again? Only worse this time?”

  “I’m ready for him now.”

  Adam nodded. Then shook his head. “I think he’s escalating.”

  “He’s bluffing.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I know him.”

  “Do you?”

  “I lived with the man for two years.”

  Adam had been trying to ignore that fact. He didn’t want to think of her with another man - much less that monster.

  He didn’t respond. He merely stared into her troubled green eyes. Her gaze was unfocused – staring at nothing – perhaps only seeing what horrors she saw in her mind.

  He’d seen that expression once before on his Uncle Johnny’s face. Uncle Johnny had done three tours in Vietnam. He placed a hand over hers, lightly stroked his thumb over hers.

  The front door bell tinkled. Claire turned on the lights, then the music. White Christmas blasted over the speakers.