by Rachel Hauck
Dad tipped his head in understanding. “You’re at the crux of love, too, Taylor. True love and men like Will are hard to find. I know you’re determined to get this California job, but I’m warning you, as your father and friend, make sure. Look deep.”
Tears burned in her eyes. “I’m sure, Dad. I’m sure.”
He regarded her. “For some reason, I don’t think you are.”
“Taylor!” Claire ran into the room. “You have to come see this.”
“See what?” Taylor followed her back into the family room and looked out the open side door. There, standing in an old sleigh, was Will. “Would you like to go for a ride?”
She pressed her hand over her mouth, hiding a big grin. He looked amazingly cute with his dark bangs flopping over a skier’s headband.
The sleigh bells rang out as the horse shook his head. Harry answered with a sharp bark.
Will grinned. “I brought Harry along to chaperone.”
Say no. No, Taylor. No. “Well, the family is here. We’re decorating the tree—ouch,” she said, rubbing the spot where Claire’s sharp fingernail had jabbed her in the side.
“She’ll be right out, Will.”
Claire pulled her away from the door. “Get your coat. You may be moving to California, but you never pass up a romantic sleigh ride with a man as incredibly wonderful and good-looking as Will Adams.”
“Claire, please. You’re a young fool in love.” Taylor stomped up the steps, Claire’s hand pressing against her back.
“Say what you will, but if I were seven or eight years older, I’d be making goo-goo eyes at Will myself.”
“Whatever. And I never make goo-goo eyes.” Taylor yanked her coat from the hanger.
“Well, maybe you should.”
Taylor zipped up her coat and sighed. “How do I look?”
“Beautiful. Now get going.”
“Okay, okay. But, Claire, I’m not falling in love with Will. Been there, done that—not doing it again. In fact, this is the last time I’m hanging out with him.”
“Yeah, you’re like Dad. You say a lot of things.”
“It is beautiful,” Taylor said, settling next to him with a deep sigh.
“You sound content.” Will switched the reins from his right hand to his left, and despite the pump of adrenaline, he gingerly slipped his arm around her shoulders. She squared her shoulders, bumping his hand away, but he dropped it back into place, and after a few moments, she relaxed and leaned against him. Sort of.
“What a great way to start the Christmas season,” she said. “Decorating the tree with the family and a sleigh ride with a friend.”
“Sorry to interrupt your tree decorating.”
Taylor nestled closer to him. “Are you kidding? The family practically kicked me out the door when you showed up.”
He grinned. “So I noticed.”
Taylor rested her head against his shoulder, and he wondered if she could hear his heartbeat beneath his coat.
“They think I’m in love with you.”
“Are you?”
“No,” she said with a hmm in her voice. “But you smell nice.”
twenty
Polo held his head high as he followed a moonlit path down Main Street. Will held the reins loosely in his left hand, guiding Polo out of town, but wrapped his right arm tighter around Taylor.
“It’s cold,” she said, snuggling closer. For once, she didn’t stop to check the wall surrounding her heart, guarding against the charms of Will Adams. It felt good to be near him, locked in his embrace. Just for tonight.
“Do you want to go home?” He pulled her closer.
She shook her head. “No. I’m having fun.”
“Be careful; you might fall in love with me.”
She peered up into his face. “I’ll let you have your dream.”
He laughed. “My dream? Oh, no, Taylor. My destiny. You are my destiny.”
“That sounds like a line from a movie.”
“It’s from my heart.” He brushed her cheek with his gloved hand, the leather reins dangling. “You are so beautiful.”
Taylor’s heart beat like thundering horses. “Please, Will.” She closed her eyes and buried her face in his shoulder. Dreamy, romantic notions threatened her resolve. “I can’t—”
“Or you won’t?”
“Please,” she muttered.
“I won’t stop telling you how I feel.”
She sat up. “Neither will I.”
“Then I guess we’re at a stalemate.”
She looked down. “We want different things.”
“I used to think about you living up in New York. I wondered what you were doing and how you were doing,” he said.
“I wondered about you, too.”
“But I didn’t call.”
Taylor shook her head. “Neither did I.”
“We chose career over love, I guess,” he said. “So you have to understand why this job in California is so important.”
“So you have to understand why having you here is so important to me.”
She shoved him slightly. “Don’t make fun of me.”
He pulled her close. “Never. I’m using your words to get you to understand.”
Suddenly Polo stopped. Taylor glanced up. “Where are we?”
Will laughed as he wrapped both arms around her. “The covered bridge.”
They left Polo standing on the shoulder of the road and walked onto the bridge. “When do you think you’ll hear from Boswell Global?” Will asked. He had to leave the subject of them before Taylor’s stubborn streak made her refuse to even spend time with him.
Her breath billowed in the cold as she said, “This week, I think. It’s been two weeks already.”
He leaned against the railing. “You’ve been a big help to Lambert’s Furniture.”
“Markie is catching on very quickly. She’s going to be key to the new system’s success.”
The cold prevented them from staying too long on the bridge. As they walked back to the sleigh, they talked about their favorite Christmases. “I think this is my favorite Christmas,” Taylor admitted, as Will gathered the reins and chirruped to Polo. “I’m actually baking cookies with Mom tomorrow night.”
Will smiled. “I think this is my favorite, too.”
They rode in a comfortable silence with only the sound of Polo’s bells jingling and jangling, until Taylor asked out of the blue, “Do you think a Yankee like me can survive in California?”
His laugh rang out. “You can survive anywhere. The Californians won’t know what hit them.”
Taylor punched him lightly, giggling. “Stop.”
“I’m serious. When you’re around, Taylor, the atmosphere changes.”
She settled against him. “It must be Jesus in me, ‘cause I’m not that special.”
“You are very special, but you let Him shine. A lot of people don’t.”
“You do.”
He snuggled closer to her. “I try.”
“I wanted to tell you, you’re a very good boss.”
He smirked. “You’re excellent at what you do, too. We’d make a great team, Taylor.”
To Will’s delight and surprise, she leaned into him and purposefully, softly kissed him while Polo drew the sleigh over mounds of fresh snow toward the moonlit horizon.
Early Monday morning, Taylor sat under twinkling Christmas lights at Peri’s Perk, picking at a cinnamon muffin, clicking her fingernails against the sides of her latte cup and reliving her kiss with Will for the hundredth time.
Not his kiss. Her kiss. She caved, weakened by a romantic setting, and kissed him. She felt like a walking contradiction, and her actions weren’t fair to Will.
“Hello, Taylor.”
She shifted to see Julie Lambert walking toward her, smiling.
“Julie, good morning.” Taylor rose and gave the pretty blond a hug.
“Mind if I join you? I have a few minutes to sit before school starts.”
Taylor smiled. “Please do.”
She watched as Julie picked out a Danish and ordered coffee from Peri. Despite her feelings about her relationship with Will, Taylor loved the Lambert family.
She’d spent many summer nights eating Grandma Betty’s barbecue, roasting marshmallows over an open pit, watching movies with the cousins, and playing basketball, football, and baseball.
“So, what is up with Taylor Hanson these days? By the way, you look fabulous.” Julie settled on the high, round stool with her breakfast.
Taylor smiled. “Thank you, but I exercise too little and eat too much. Work too much.”
Julie smiled. “Exercise? I see you running around town all the time. I have a treadmill that moonlights as a clothes hanger.”
Taylor laughed. “It gets harder the older I get.”
“Tell me about it,” she said. “Between teaching at the elementary school, conducting private music lessons, and playing in a quartet, I never seem to find time to exercise.”
“I’m surprised you and Ethan don’t have a houseful of kids,” Taylor said. “I hear they keep you running.”
Julie’s expression darkened, and she broke off the edge of her Danish without taking a bite. “Ethan and I can’t have children.”
“Oh, Julie, I’m sorry.” Taylor’s cheeks flushed.
With a small smile, Julie said, “No, it’s okay. We are going to adopt next year.”
Taylor rested her hand over her heart. “Wow, that’s wonderful.”
Julie leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table. “It was hard at first … when we found out. But life comes with unexpected curves and dead ends. The Lord has blessed us in so many other ways.”
“Life does come with ups and downs, doesn’t it?”
Julie paused for a moment, then said, “Ethan tells me you have a job opportunity in California.”
Taylor sipped her coffee then bobbed her head yes.
“What about Will?” Julie asked, her expression pure and earnest.
“What about him?” Taylor retorted, gently setting her cup down.
“Honestly, Taylor. I mean, well, he’s in love with you.” Taylor crossed her legs then uncrossed them. “What makes you say that?”
Julie laughed. “It’s written all over his face. It was the talk of the kitchen cleanup crew Thanksgiving Day.”
“We’re keeping our relationship as friends.”
Julie cocked one eyebrow. “Really? You know it’s written all over your face, too.”
Indignant, Taylor scoffed, “What’s written on my face?”
“That you, my friend, are in love with Will Adams.”
Will headed to Ethan’s office with a cursory glance down the hall toward Taylor’s office. Her light was on, but he had yet to see her.
He’d been unable to sleep, so he’d taken an early run along the freshly salted White Birch streets, praying and asking for the Lord to intervene in his relationship with Taylor.
The memory of her kiss made his lips buzz, and he worried things would be uncomfortable when they saw each other.
When he knocked on Ethan’s door, his cousin motioned for Will to come in.
“What’s up?” Ethan reclined in his desk chair and locked his hands behind his head.
“Are those production reports right? We’re up ten percent?”
Ethan nodded then said, “I just got off the phone with Julie.”
Will crossed his arms and cocked his head to one side. “And she confirms our increased production?”
“She ran into Taylor at Peri’s.”
His heart thumped once. “That’s nice.”
“She asked Taylor about the two of you.” Ethan’s crooked, mischievous grin lit his face.
“Why would she do that?”
“Because the whole family can see that you two love each other.”
Will rubbed his forehead with his fingers. “Can we forget about Taylor for a minute? About our production—”
“Can you forget about Taylor?” Ethan refused to let the topic fade.
“Can we get some grown-up work done?”
Ethan shook his head. “I’m telling you, Taylor—”
“Yes?” Taylor popped her head into Ethan’s office. “Did you call me?” Her green eyes scanned the room. Ethan laughed, slapping his knee.
“No,” Will said, shooting a sharp glance at Ethan. “Sorry.”
Taylor hesitated, looked Will in the eye for a lingering moment, then at Ethan. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” Will said with a stifled smile when she looked back at him. Her gaze contained no emotion, as if her kiss never happened.
Taylor shrugged and continued down the hall.
Will leaned forward, placing his hands on Ethan’s desk. “If you weren’t my cousin, I’d fire you.”
Ethan laughed. “Right …”
Will took a deep breath. “Can we get back to the business of Lambert’s Furniture?”
twenty-one
A little before eight p.m., Taylor’s cell phone rang. Bleary-eyed from staring at the computer screen for almost thirteen hours, she batted her eyes to clear the fog from her contact lenses and answered with a raspy hello.
A low laugh sounded in her ear. “Did I wake you?”
Taylor straightened. “No.”
“Good. This is Alex Cranston.”
“Yes, I recognize your voice.” She got up to pace, resting her hand on the small of her back. “Welcome to Boswell Global.”
“Thank you.” She checked her cheer to maintain a professional tone. “That’s wonderful.”
“Corporate wants you right away, Taylor.”
“Before Christmas?” Taylor understood Boswell Global would own her once she signed on the dotted line.
“By December 11, actually. That’ll give you the rest of this week and next to make arrangements and drive out.”
“Of course.” She didn’t sound strong or confident. Not what Alex needed to hear.
Will’s handsome face suddenly appeared in the doorway. He made an eating motion and whispered, “You want something to eat?”
Taylor held up one finger. To Alex she said, “Sounds good.” For some reason, she didn’t want Will to know. Not yet.
“I’ll e-mail the formal offer. The salary is … “
Taylor gripped her middle when Alex said the amount—more than she’d asked for—and reminded her of their benefits package.
“Amazing,” she said, tapping her fingers on the old polished desk. “Hard to turn down.”
“They’ll make you earn it.”
“I can imagine.”
A sharp memory of the corporate life stabbed at her. Long hours. Stress. Missed lunches. Fast-food dinners. Nonexistent personal life. She wondered if she was ready for the heavy commitment.
Will leaned against the door frame. He wore a navy button-down that matched his eyes. “Dinner?” he mouthed.
Taylor shrugged, listening to Alex, then shook her head no.
Will waited for a second, then left. For a brief, intense moment, she longed for him.
“So do I have a formal yes?” Alex prodded.
Taylor hesitated a fraction of a second. “Yes. You do. I accept.”
“Excellent. Excellent. Listen, I’ve got a meeting, but why don’t you give me a call tomorrow at your convenience, and we can talk start date and other details.”
After saying good-bye to Alex, Taylor sat in front of the computer trying to remember what she was working on before his call.
But she couldn’t. Unable to concentrate, she gave up, powered off her computer, and headed home, her emotions swirling with a mixture of exhilaration and anxiety.
Hands on his hips, Will looked at each face sitting at the boardroom table.
“What do you guys think?”
Bobby propped his elbows on the arms of his chair, his lips pursed. “I can’t believe David Thomason called and offered us his business.”
Ethan stood and walked
around the long table. “This is amazing.” He shook his head but smiled.
Grandpa agreed. “I’ve known David a long time. Thomason’s produces quality furniture, but, Will, I’m sure his business practices are a mess.”
Will nodded. “We’ll perform a due diligence, of course. Ethan, I’d like you to do one on his environmental practices. Are they up to code, etcetera.”
Ethan reached for his palm computer. “Will do.”
Grandpa rapped on the table with his knuckles. “Wait, Will, are you boys saying you want to buy Thomason’s?”
Bobby pushed away from the table then picked up his papers and laptop. “I need to meet with a new distributor down in Boston.” He glanced around the room. “I’m for it. Let’s buy Thomason’s if the price is right and the due diligence report is good.”
“I agree,” Ethan said.
Will grinned. “I’ll call Dave and set up a meeting.”
Grandpa stood. “I think you boys are making the right decision.” He walked to the door. “I’m going to see how Grant’s doing down in production.”
“Thanks for coming in for this meeting, Grandpa.” Will waved at him as the elder Lambert exited. Grant Hanson had returned to work a few days ago, rested and healed. He’d taken over his supervisory duties without missing a beat.
“You know, Will,” Ethan started, returning to his chair, “we could really use Taylor to help us with the due diligence and merging these two companies.”
Will ran his hand over his hair. “We could.”
“I mean, we can manage, but she’d be invaluable.”
“Except for one thing. She’s moving to California.”
“Why don’t you just ask her to marry you and stop this silly dance?”
“She doesn’t want to marry me, Ethan. I’ve told you that.”
“Have you formally asked her to marry you?”
“No, but she’s made it clear she’s moving on.”
“Will, put it out there. Ask her to marry you. All she can do is say no.” Ethan reached for his palm computer and stood.