by Jean Oram
“So we keep it low-key,” Zach said.
“Low-key,” she confirmed.
She dared cut a glance toward Zach and voice what she believed he was thinking. “You want a big one.”
“Nah.”
“You do.”
“I want low-key.” He paused for a split second. “What is low-key?”
“Presents within your price range.”
“Smart.”
“One or two outings over the holidays.”
“You don’t want to wear yourself out,” he agreed, nodding thoughtfully.
“You bake a few cookies for yourself and the neighbors. Little treats that are special and fun to make.”
“I like cookies.”
“Just clean that oven before you start,” Logan interrupted with a laugh.
“Not too many parties, or presents. And you don’t give gifts to every person you know,” Catherine continued, not deterred from the vision filling her imagination.
“No need to go overboard and be a show-off.”
The month of December for her father had always meant a lot of envelopes, some thicker than others, as he made the rounds, glad-handing his associates, doling out bonuses to his most loyal lackeys. He came home with enough of those filled envelopes for himself, bribes and payments for granting his protection to businesses around the neighborhood, that he could have bought her the stolen bike, plus a few more for luck. Pushing aside her bitterness, Catherine focused on her Christmas Day dream for her and Xavier. It was simple, but exactly what she felt the holiday should be.
“Christmas morning is when the kids wake you up, thrilled that Santa has arrived. You’re in your housecoat, sipping a cup of coffee, as you watch them open their stockings. Then have a delicious British breakfast of bangers and mash sometime before or after they open the gifts.” She could feel it. The sense of calm contentment. “On Christmas morning you have all the time in the world to cozy up on the couch with the person you love, while your children unwrap their presents, their eyes lit up with joy. There’s nothing you have to do that day. Just sit and enjoy your family in the peace and calm of the season, mindful of what you have in your life. There are always so many blessings to count.”
“I like it,” Zach said softly. “Let’s do that. It can become our tradition.” He leaned close, giving her a soft kiss on the lips.
Zach leaned back in his chair, satisfied and happy. The meal had been amazing, even though the pie’s crust had tasted a bit like smoked turkey, thanks to the grease and smoke that had enveloped it while it had been baking alongside the meat. He looked around the table at his friends, his wife and Xavier. The full stomach, good meal, laughter and fun-loving company all felt right.
This was real life. This was living.
And he liked it.
He was also pretty tickled with how Catherine kept sneaking shy glances his way, her cheeks pinking. If he didn’t know any better he would say his wife had a crush on him.
That idea made him smile.
And that sweet kiss after she’d shared a perfect Christmas dream with him… Life couldn’t be much better. Especially since her dream had included snuggling on the couch with the person she loved—could that one day be him?—and watching her kids open gifts. Yes, plural. As in more than one child. Somewhere along the line she planned on adding to her family, and he hoped he was the one who fathered them.
Logan lifted one eyebrow slightly, obviously catching the fact that Zach was pretty much sliding down that slippery slope, straight into love. Zach smiled and shrugged, knowing it would be okay. Catherine wasn’t going anywhere and neither was he. A few days ago she’d been edgy and antsy, but had since let it go, settling in and allowing herself to become even closer to him. Patience was all he’d needed. Just patience. And he felt now that nothing could come between them, get in the way, or cause this fairy tale to not become a reality.
In his contentment, he found himself saying, despite knowing Catherine was still trying to get out of it, “We should have that reception.”
The idea truly had merit.
“Why not?” he asked, when she gave him a dark look for switching sides.
Ginger and Amy didn’t dare speak, but their eyes glimmered hopefully as they watched Catherine contemplate Zach.
“It’s a ridiculous expense,” she said quietly. “And it’s not fair for Mary Alice and Liz to pay for it even if they’ve pushed it on us.”
“You could hold it at the pub,” Amy said. “Free venue.”
Moe shot her a quick look to which she mouthed, “What?”
“Aren’t the ladies taking care of things though?” Zach asked.
“There’s still time to tweak it so you can be certain the event remains low-key.” Amy gave a smile that could have belonged on a sly fox. “Why not a wine and cheese on a weekday night? That way it won’t get out of hand.”
“They hired Lily to make sandwiches,” Ginger said. “And trying to convince Mary Alice and Liz to change their plans…good luck with that.”
“Great. So we’re doing finger sandwiches, wine and cheese in the pub,” Amy replied.
“If you say so,” Ginger said out the side of her mouth.
“Trust me. I know what to say to Richard to ensure he’s got the community center accidentally double-booked.”
“There’s no way he’ll mess with Mary Alice and her plans.”
“He will for Nicola. He owes her one for a booking mishap during one of her Valentine’s events.”
Ginger shrugged. “Worth trying.”
Zach tipped his head, watching Catherine. He could see she was a little bit tempted, by the way she was chewing on her bottom lip.
“I know our marriage isn’t a traditional one,” he said carefully, aware that what he was about to say could blow up in his face. “But why not celebrate it anyway? We’ve decided we can handle being around each other. Maybe we could get a little photo to put on the mantel to show Xavier he’s part of a family.”
Zach focused on refilling his guests’ wineglasses, knowing it wasn’t fair to play the family-for-her-son card. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was her kisses that he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about, maybe it was his full stomach, the warm house and sense of contentment. But the fact was he finally felt as though he was part of something—real life—and he wanted to celebrate it. He wanted to stand on the steps in front of the church and yell out to the town how wonderful Catherine was. Just like he’d heard Oz Reiter had years ago, when he’d been struggling with sobriety and had lost the love of his life.
Although maybe wanting to stand on the steps and potentially humiliate himself said more about the amount of wine he’d been drinking and less about how full of life he felt.
He shook off the thought that he might be jumping into things.
“Would the ladies organizing be satisfied with something like that?” Catherine asked. “I wouldn’t want to step on their toes or upset them.” She was keeping her attention directed toward Xavier, lightly toying with his toes.
“Some will grumble that it isn’t a full feast.” Ginger laughed. “But it’s for you. You should have a say.”
“I think it’ll be fine,” Amy said, reassuring Catherine.
“Excellent,” Zach said. “Consider it decided. When should we do this? Same date as the ladies had booked?”
Catherine shot him a panicked look, and he said smoothly, “It’s all good. I’ll talk to them.”
“Is a weekend okay or does it need to be a weeknight?” he asked Amy.
“No problem. I’ve got it handled,” she replied. “Will you two sing?” She turned to Ginger. “These two can sing a duet like you would not believe. They could win a reality show, hands down.”
Ginger narrowed her eyes at Zach. “You are so full of secrets.”
“Secret talents, you mean?”
“Catherine suggested we seed our next karaoke night with professionals,” Amy said.
“Not professionals,”
Catherine pointed out, “just people who make patrons feel inspired to get up there and belt it out.”
“You know a lot about pub events,” Moe said. “With the baby coming in the next few months, we could use some help organizing things. Nicola Samuels-Haber from the town office used to run a few events using the pub as a venue. Since having the twins and shifting to part-time, she hasn’t been as involved and we’re noticing the difference. I know you’re not interested in helping with the accounting, but maybe you could come in for a few hours each month to help organize some fun?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Catherine said.
“We could really use help brainstorming, if nothing else,” Amy said, rubbing circles over her stretched stomach.
“I can guarantee there’s nothing illegal happening under the table at Brew Babies,” Zach said quietly, figuring that could be part of why she was feeling gun-shy.
“Well, there might be kissing, but that’s entirely legal,” Logan said with a laugh. “What if you had a local talent night? You could charge admission.”
“Who would pay admission to hear their neighbors sing?” Zach asked.
“Just trying to come up with ideas,” Logan grumbled, leaning back. His phone buzzed and he pulled it out to read a message.
“I’d pay to hear these two,” Amy said, pointing to Zach and Catherine.
“Maybe a jug and jam?” Catherine suggested. She described the event where local musicians came in to play and people joined in or bought them jugs of beer as a thanks for the entertainment.
Before long Amy, Moe and Catherine were deep into new ideas on how they could bring in more patrons with little effort and little overhead.
Logan tipped closer to Zach, saying under his breath, so Catherine wouldn’t hear, “Scott’s hoping we can look over some evidence from one of the recent break-ins.”
“There’ve been more?”
Logan nodded.
“Yeah, let’s end that spree.”
Logan texted the officer back. It wasn’t uncommon for Scott to reach out to them as contractors to provide an extra set of eyes on tougher cases. While Scott had finally received a backup officer in town after arresting Spencer Phipps for messing with things over at Brew Babies, thanks to help from Zach and Logan last summer, the new recruit was fresh out of the academy and didn’t have the experience the two of them had. He’d get there, but it would take time.
Catherine was laughing, and Amy, her eyes lit up, was saying, “You don’t think a town like Blueberry Springs could handle some male strippers?”
“No way,” Moe said, arms crossed, jaw set. “Not in my pub.”
“Just one night,” Catherine said, shooting Amy a look that sent the pregnant woman into giggles. It seemed as if Catherine had not only found herself another part-time job, but a new friend, too.
“The pub is only half yours,” Amy told her husband as she placed a hand on her belly. “Oh! The baby just kicked. I think that’s a vote for the strippers.”
“I think it’s kicking the idea to the curb,” Moe said, leaning forward to kiss his wife.
Zach glanced at Catherine, who was watching them with a wistful expression. Despite what she might sometimes say, he knew that she was looking for the kind of thing Amy and Moe had. And so was he.
11
As Catherine wrapped a cheery red-and-white woolly scarf knitted by Gran around her neck, she mulled over how she felt like she was already a part of the town despite having been in Blueberry Springs for slightly less than a month. Everyone—including the rampant gossips—had been kind and generous, and nobody seemed to have expectations that she repay them. Of course, Catherine had tried to express her gratitude by being helpful and generous, as well, but most of her offers had been gently rebuffed.
However, last night at their Thanksgiving dinner, she hadn’t meant to offer her help to Amy and Moe. But she’d found herself getting swept up in the thrill of new publicity ideas, and before long their genuine love of her customer-centric approach had led to a second part-time job.
She’d been both tired and wired last night, wound tight over Zach and his kisses, and unsure what the night would bring. But right after supper, Zach had gone out with Logan to take care of some work, coming home hours after she’d expected him to. She knew he could take care of himself, but there had been a series of break-ins lately and it worried her that he was out on a job. And not just for his sake, but hers, too, in case his home was targeted by the thieves despite the state-of-the-art security system.
But today was time for fun, not worries. Zach, who said he needed to be out of the house so he wasn’t tempted to spend his way into the red with today’s Black Friday online shopping deals, had persuaded her to join him and some friends in heading up into the mountains to select a real tree to bring home and decorate for Christmas. Even though it was only the end of November, the whole town seemed to be in full preparation mode already, stringing up decorations and preparing for the holidays. Catherine had said yes to the tree idea, excited to start new traditions with both Xavier and Zach.
She had just finished zipping Xavier into his snowsuit when Zach came in the front door, where he’d been out shoveling yet more snow. “I have a sled with a little seat for Xavier and a flat one for the tree.”
He came near, watching her to make sure it was okay before placing a soft kiss on her forehead. She appreciated that he was careful, but even more, she liked that he kissed her.
And she’d like it even more if he kissed her a little longer and on the lips.
She grabbed the front of Zach’s coat before he could step away, pulling him in for a kiss.
She released him with a happy sound and he smiled, dropping another kiss on her lips. If she wasn’t careful they’d never get out of the house. Since cooking the turkey—which had indeed supplied them with ample leftovers—they’d been acting a little more like a real married couple than simple flatmates. Kisses here and there, a little hand holding while watching the morning news. It was nice. Really nice. And she appreciated that Zach was taking it slow, letting their feelings catch up with their desire before pressing forward. Even though she wanted to go faster.
“How far will we be hiking?” she asked, following him into the garage with Xavier.
“Depends how far we have to go to find the prefect tree.”
Catherine thought about the large mountains that surrounded the town, so tall and imposing. But more than that, she’d mistakenly stepped off the packed, snowy path while taking a shortcut along the river the day before yesterday and had landed in thigh-deep snow, causing her to panic. She couldn’t imagine there would be a wide and well-packed trail leading to their “perfect” tree, which meant she’d be struggling through deep snow today and trying not to imagine being buried alive in the fluffy stuff.
“Not too far, I hope,” she said, as she set the house’s alarm before closing the door to the garage. “Maybe we can find something near the road?”
Zach amused her with a “maybe.” Once they were in the SUV, he said, “Jill Armstrong’s bringing a small breakfast picnic for everyone, so we probably won’t starve. She works for Emma’s cosmetic company in that new log building out past the downtown. I don’t think you’ve met her.”
“Is anyone bringing a rescue dog?”
“Jill will probably bring Taylor, who’s a Great Pyrenees, but I wouldn’t count on that dog rescuing you. Taylor’s pretty chill.”
A few minutes later they were in the meadow parking lot just across the river, where a few people were milling about in the sunshine as though the cold didn’t bother them. Which possibly it didn’t.
“Hey, you guys!” Amy called, waving them over, her large coat barely closing over her stomach. “What kind of tracks are these?” She pointed to the snow.
Catherine came a bit closer, tugging the sled with the little baby seat, which had Xavier propped up in it.
Zach apparently needed just a glance before declaring it a wolf track.
“Are you certain it’s not just a dog?” Catherine asked, gesturing toward a massive white dog off-leash and romping across the meadow.
“I’m always sure,” he replied.
“Men. So overconfident,” Amy said. She rolled her eyes and carefully made her way across the parking lot to talk to Logan and Ginger about which trail to take up the mountainside. It turned out a lot of people snowshoed and hiked the nearby trails, giving them a choice of mostly firm paths to stay on until they found their tree. Catherine hoped it would be safe enough for the mom-to-be.
“We’re not overconfident,” Zach said. “We’re just awesome. Why can’t women see that?”
Catherine gave him a playful shove, laughing as he pretended she’d pushed him harder than she had, and tumbled into the drift at the edge of the parking lot, just about disappearing into the fluffy snow.
“You sink like a rock,” she said, offering him a hand.
“It’s all this muscle.” He gave a swift yank, tugging her on top of him. As she fell, she dropped the sled’s rope so as not to pull Xavier along with her. She landed on Zach, squealing as flakes of snow puffed up, dusting her face and feeling similar to a cold London drizzle as they melted against her skin.
“You sink like a rock, too, Mrs. Forrester,” Zach murmured, his warm lips welcome against her cheek as he blazed a hot trail across it. Her entire being warmed at being called that, for being someone who belonged with this wonderful, kind and funny man.
“Careful there, buster,” she said, trying not to show just how much she loved being “Mrs. Forrester.”
“Or what?” His arms tightened around her waist. “You don’t like being called Mrs.?”