Winter in Snow Valley (Snow Valley Romance)

by Anderson, Cindy Roland

  Missy came out of the kitchen with Trey on her hip. His blonde curls bounced and his blue eyes lit up when he saw her, “Mommy!”

  Chanel opened her arms and her thirty-pound eighteen-month old threw himself into them. She cuddled him against her chest, savoring the smell of baby lotion and pure sweetness. “Mommy.” He took her face in his hands and started prattling about his day. She only understood about ten percent of what he said, but she loved hearing his voice.

  “He’s a cute little man,” McCoy’s voice came from behind her.

  Missy and Porter were hugging and whispering about something, so of course they were oblivious that other people existed in this world. She turned to face McCoy and sighed because she shouldn’t be getting so personal. She should think of him as Dr. Wilson. “This is my son, Trey.”

  McCoy’s face softened. The thin scar on his cheek became more pronounced. Trey shrunk against her shoulder and stuck his thumb in his mouth. Chanel bounced him, hoping he wouldn’t start crying. He was drawn to women, but had never seemed very comfortable with men.

  “Hi, Trey,” McCoy’s voice became the very imitation of Donald Duck.

  Chanel jumped she was so surprised. This hardened-looking man imitated Disney characters?

  McCoy smiled at her and refocused on the baby. “It’s very nice to meet you.” He continued the silly voice and stuck out his hand.

  Trey pulled his thumb out and reached for McCoy’s hand. McCoy moved closer to Chanel to shake hands and she could smell his subtle cologne and paint fumes. The cologne was nice. It reminded her of the freshness after a rainstorm. Trey’s dimpled cheeks curved in a grin.

  “I bet you’re a good boy for your, Momma.” McCoy stuck with the Donald Duck tone.

  “Momma!” Trey clapped his hands to her cheeks.

  McCoy chuckled and his voice dropped back to his normal husky tone. “He’s a cute kid.”

  “Thanks. You … do voices?”

  “You have no idea,” Porter spoke for him, coming closer with Missy wrapped into his side. “He can imitate any voice. Always cracked me up when he’d do school teachers or the principal.”

  “Remember Mr. Weiner?” McCoy elevated his voice to a nasally tone. “’If I have to ask the Wilson boys one more time to zip their lips it will be detention for you three.’”

  Everyone laughed, Porter loudest of all.

  “His name was really Mr. Weiner?” Chanel asked.

  “It was.” Missy nodded. “And he was horrible.”

  “Not to you,” Porter pointed out. “He thought Missy was the stuff. Told me once she had the prettiest legs in the school.”

  “Your teacher said that?”

  “He was gross.” Missy tossed her long, blonde hair and pinned her husband with a stare. “Was he wrong?”

  “No, ma’am.” Porter kissed her. “Prettiest legs in the world.”

  Chanel had to look away from their happiness. She met McCoy’s gaze and forced a smile. She should be used to awkward interactions after the past couple of years living in the neighborhood of Nob Hill where she’d grown up. The people probably meant well, but they either couldn’t meet her gaze or when they did their eyes filled with pity. Snow Valley might be cold, but at least no one but Missy and Porter knew her story.

  She helped Missy make a salad and transfer dinner to the table while Porter and McCoy entertained Trey. “Thanks for taking such good care of us,” Chanel said.

  Missy waved a hand. “It’s great to have you here and that little Trey. Ooh, I just want to kiss those cheeks all day long.”

  Chanel’s heart warmed, though she also felt a pang for Missy. She knew how badly her cousin wanted children, but her first husband had abused her pretty badly and the doctor wasn’t certain she’d be able to carry a baby to full term. She was so guileless though. Her sister-in-law, Annie, was expecting and Missy was genuinely thrilled for her. Chanel wondered if her cousin had a jealous bone in her body. Chanel sure did. She wanted what Missy and Porter, Luke and Annie had. She wanted love and security. A home and a father for her boy.

  “That’s pretty cute—my man and McCoy playing trucks with Trey.” Missy stepped closer and lowered her voice, “McCoy’s pretty cute too, eh?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Come on, sweetie. It’s been two years. I think you’re okay to notice if a man is good-looking or not.”

  As close as the cousins were, there were some things that not even Missy knew. The anger she’d had toward Chance and then the guilt when he died. Sometimes the anger won out over the guilt. How could he leave her in the situation he did? How could he leave Trey without a father? She shook her head to clear it, picked up the platter of barbecued chicken and carried it to the table.

  “Momma.” Trey clapped his hands when he saw her and pointed to his pile of toys. “Trucks!”

  McCoy swept him off the ground and said in a voice like Yogi Bear. “Heya booboo, how’s about we gets us some food? Looks like a mighty fine pic-a-nic.”

  Chanel laughed, caught off guard again. McCoy looked too tough to be a pediatric dentist and especially too tough to be an imitator of children’s animated characters. She couldn’t wait to hear who he imitated next.

  Trey giggled too and started telling McCoy a story. Chanel thought she heard him say, “Me likes you,” in the mix of indistinguishable words, but maybe she was hearing what she wanted to hear because for some reason she was kind of liking her new boss too.

  Dinner went well with Porter and McCoy entertaining her and Missy with stories. McCoy made sure to include Trey when the baby got bored of the food piled on his high chair and started throwing it. McCoy played peekaboo with him, and then got him out of the chair and bounced him on his leg as they talked.

  “I didn’t figure you for a fan of children,” Chanel said then wished she could bite her tongue.

  McCoy’s thick eyebrows arched up. “If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have gone on to pediatric dental school.”

  “Good point.” Chanel pushed the corn around on her plate. “Sorry. That sounded really judgmental.”

  Porter and Missy watched them with amused glances. McCoy met Porter’s gaze, shook his head, and focused back on Chanel, all the while giving her son a horsey ride on one leg and smiling as the boy laughed.

  “I used to look a lot more approachable before the car accident.”

  Chanel sucked in a breath. “I didn’t mean the, um, scars. I meant you’re really … well-built and that can be intimidating to children.” Oh, she was messing this all up. She looked to her cousin for help.

  Missy stood and took McCoy’s empty plate, patting him on the shoulder. “You’re still as handsome as ever. Girls like scars, makes a man look tough.”

  Chanel was pretty certain McCoy needed no help looking “tough”.

  “What do you know?” McCoy shot at Missy. “All you can see is Porter.”

  “When you’ve got perfection, there’s no reason to look around.” Porter winked at Chanel, grabbed Missy around the waist, and pulled her onto his lap. The dishes clattered onto the table, but luckily didn’t break.

  “Perfection, eh?” Missy said breathlessly.

  “That’s right, darlin’.” Porter cupped his wife’s cheek with his large palm, gave her a smoldering glance Chanel had only seen in movies, and kissed her right in front of them.

  Chanel forced herself to look away. She stood and took some empty serving containers to the kitchen. Missy and Porter finally disentangled themselves and everyone pitched in clearing the table as Trey followed behind them, prattling and covered in mashed potatoes.

  “I think the little man needs a bath,” Missy said with a laugh.

  “I hate to leave you with the dishes.” Chanel felt guilty a good portion of the time. Either she wasn’t spending enough time with Trey, or she was relying on someone else to feed them and house them. It was depressing.

  “We’ve got the dishes.” McCoy nodded to Porter.

 
“Thanks,” Chanel said.

  He gave her a nod and a warm smile. Chanel swooped her boy off the floor and carried him upstairs to the guest bathroom. The master suite was on the main level of the large cabin so at least Missy and Porter had some privacy. She felt awful coming to live with basically newlyweds. Luckily, they didn’t seem embarrassed to show affection in front of her.

  Stripping Trey’s little sweatshirt and jeans off while the warm water filled the tub, she grinned at his rolls of fat. Most babies seemed to thin out when they started walking but her little dude was solid. She and Chance were both tall and lean, so she knew he’d grow out of it eventually, but right now she thought it was adorable.

  She lifted him into the water and he immediately started splashing and laughing. Chanel relaxed and sang bath songs and splashed with him. When she finally got him clean and he seemed to be bored of the bath, she wrapped him in a towel then swooped to pick up his dirty clothes and diaper. The diaper felt really light. She looked a little closer and realized he hadn’t soiled it yet. Thank heavens she could reuse it. She was running low and couldn’t imagine the humiliation of asking Missy if she could borrow money for diapers, on top of living off of her and Porter. Trey’s clothes were filthy. She’d have to run a load of laundry tonight. Trey only had about seven outfits that currently fit so she had to do laundry quite often. They’d both be naked if her mother didn’t shop for them.

  She inhaled the freshness of baby shampoo as she carried her baby to their room. He prattled happily on, completely oblivious to his mother’s stress and worries. Thank heavens. Was she really going to make twenty-five dollars an hour working for McCoy? It seemed like a dream come true. If she could keep her attraction for the dentist under control.

  “Hey.” The very man of her thoughts crested the stairs and came toward them with his halting steps. “You all clean, my man?”

  Trey gave him an earful.

  “Is that right?” McCoy laughed. “He’s a great kid.”

  “Thanks.” Chanel pulled him closer. “Do you need something?”

  “No, just heading to my room. I thought I’d shower and try to lay down. I’m going to be sore from all that painting and we’ve got a lot more work tomorrow.”

  Chanel’s mouth dropped open. He was staying here too? How had she not noticed the bag slung over his shoulder? There were four bedrooms upstairs, but they would have to share a bathroom. Dare she request he take the bedroom farthest down the hall? She wasn’t sure how comfortable she was with this arrangement, but what choice did she have? How could she possibly say anything to Porter and Missy who had been so generous with her?

  “So, you’re,” her voice quivered, “Staying here?”

  McCoy nodded. His jaw tightened. “Until the practice gets going and I can pay off some school debt…” His voice trailed off and he studied the painting behind her on the wall. “Sorry. You don’t need to hear about my problems.”

  Chanel did want to hear his problems. Rich dentists struggled financially? She’d never given much thought to it, but she guessed dental school was spendy and they probably couldn’t work while they went to school.

  “It’s okay.” She held onto Trey with one arm, reached out her other hand and squeezed McCoy’s arm. His very firm, very thick arm. Oh, my, that was nice. “If there’s one thing I can relate to, it’s debt.”

  McCoy’s eyebrows rose. “I’m sorry to hear that. It’s not something I like having in common with someone.”

  She wasn’t quite sure how to take that. He smiled and she realized he was teasing her. Trey squirmed and she had to release her grip on McCoy’s arm and wrap both hands around Trey. Probably for the best. Definitely for the best.

  “I’d love to not have it in common either.” She paused, almost wanting to share with him why she was such a destitute mess, but she didn’t know him that well and she never liked telling anyone about what had happened to Chance and how he had destroyed all of her hopes and dreams even before he was killed. She didn’t want McCoy to think she blamed her deceased husband for all her problems, though inside she did. Besides the fact, she and McCoy were heavily blurring the lines of professional versus personal. He didn’t need to know that her situation was so desperate she reused diapers when she could.

  “Well, with your decorating and dental assisting abilities and my cartoon voices, we’ll rock the dental world together.”

  Chanel drew back slightly. Together. She liked the sound of that and that was scary. She couldn’t be together with someone, especially her boss. He must’ve realized how his offer came across. His dark skin tone deepened and he also backed away. “See you in the morning,” he muttered and walked to his bedroom, right next door to her and Trey.

  “Um, McCoy … I mean Dr. Wilson.”

  He turned and grinned. “McCoy, please, especially if we’re at home.”

  At home. Like they a family or something. Oh, my, goodness. Trey squirmed to get out of her arms. Chanel walked to their room door and said, “McCoy. I’m not sure you want to choose that room. Trey still wakes in the night occasionally and he can be loud. I’d hate to disturb your sleep.”

  McCoy grinned and ruffled Trey’s hair. “Heavy sleeper, little lady,” he said in a voice that sounded exactly like John Wayne. “Besides,” he went back to his own melodic tones. “Missy asked me to sleep in this room and you wouldn’t want me to disrespect my host now would you?”

  “No,” Chanel murmured.

  McCoy winked and turned into his room while Chanel carried her baby into hers. Her life seemed to have been completely upended by her new boss in less than a day.

  Chapter 3

  The week flew by as they finished painting and decorating, assembled dental equipment, computers, and office furniture. Because everything was second hand, McCoy hoped it would all functional properly. He worried, but had to just make the best of it for now. If they didn’t have clients none of their hard work and scuffed equipment would matter anyway.

  He was really enjoying his new dental assistant and her little boy. The evenings spent with Porter, Missy, Chanel, and Trey were some of the best he could remember in a long time. Probably since high school when he had stayed with Porter’s family and felt that sense of home. Luke and Annie came over for dinner a couple of times and McCoy thought Annie might be the nicest person he’d ever met. She was gradually stuttering less, but still dealt with that issue with grace and poise. Because she was such a great listener, she had this way of drawing people out and before he knew it he’d poured out his life story to her while everyone else cleaned up the dishes. Annie scheduled him for some massage appointments to help with his recovery, asking if they could trade dental instead of doing payments. He quickly agreed, he would’ve given his family free dental care anyway and since he had his family dentistry he could practice on anyone.

  Thankfully, Chanel had been busy with Trey and hadn’t heard all about his rebellious teenage years, the accident, and his mound of debt that was threatening to bury him. She sat down next to him on the couch Sunday night. Trey was toddling around on a fake four-wheeler Porter had bought for him yesterday. Chanel kept complaining about them spoiling her and Trey, but McCoy could tell Porter and Missy were having a great time doing it.

  “Are you nervous about tomorrow?” Chanel asked quietly, referring to their grand opening the next morning. They didn’t have any money to advertise and had only three appointments scheduled over the next few weeks, all referrals from Missy’s website. They’d been too busy setting up the office to worry about it, but he was worried now. People weren’t just going to come walking in the door.

  McCoy wiped his hands on his jeans. “Maybe.”

  Chanel turned to him with a smile. He liked the way her smile lit up her beautiful blue eyes. He knew her life must be stressful, a widow trying to provide for her son, but she always seemed so full of light and happiness to him. “I’m the assistant. You have to tell me the truth.”

  He answered with a Rocky Balboa
quote, “‘Nobody is gonna hit as hard as life, but it ain’t how hard you can hit. It’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. It’s how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning’s done.’” He was proud of his Sylvester Stallone imitation but this quote really was kind of the theme for his life.

  “You’re a winner that’s never gonna quit?” Chanel looked at him with such pride in her eyes, he wanted to be that winner for her.

  “Well, ma’am,” he drawled like John Wayne,” I might need a kiss from a pretty lady to keep me taking the hits.”

  Chanel giggled out loud, and McCoy dreamed about moving in for a kiss that he was sure would soothe his every pain. He shook his head. They worked together. He needed to slow his desires down.

  “You gotta share the joke now.” Missy actually broke from her intense study of Porter’s eyes. Those two were ridiculous sometimes.

  “McCoy’s just doing a voice that made me laugh,” she told them, then turned back. “Is that a John Wayne quote?”

  “I swear it is, but I can’t remember when he said it. I probably just made it up in my head.” He smiled at her. “I’m glad you’re going to be there with me tomorrow.”

  She glanced at him from beneath her dark eyelashes. “It’s going to go great.”

  He hoped with everything in him that was a prophetic statement.

  Chapter 4

  The opening of the dental office didn’t “go great” like Chanel had hoped. In fact, it had been an epic fail. Chanel blew out a breath and forced herself to stop watching out the front window for a client. Someone, anyone. Heck, she didn’t care if they were pediatric or geriatric. McCoy tried to act like everything was okay, but she knew the past two weeks were wearing on him. They’d had a few clients, who had promised to tell their friends, but so far a stampede on the new dental office hadn’t happened and she knew McCoy needed to be working. Not just for the money, but for validation that he was a fabulous dentist and he could run his own business. Be his own man. From what little she’d seen, he was an amazing dentist. He not only knew his stuff and administered with a steady and gentle hand, he had the unique ability to make children laugh and relax in a dental chair and to keep up a conversation with someone who had a mouth stuffed with gauze, dental tools, or his or Chanel’s fingers.