Leanne wanted to know what was going on. “Is there any other reason you’re going to so much trouble?”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Ever since the mountain rescue, you’ve been acting different. Not that you weren’t nice before, but you’ve been going out of your way for the toy drive and OMSAR.”
And me.
He shifted his weight. “You and OMSAR did something nice for me. I’m returning the favor.”
Irritation revved. “I told you that isn’t necessary.”
“It is to me.”
Leanne ignored the unexpected twinge of disappointment. Pathetic.
She was one of the guys in his eyes. That was the way Leanne wanted it to be, but…
Being one of the guys all the time was getting really old. For the first time, she wished she knew how she could change that. Especially with…Welton.
That afternoon, Christian parked behind Thomas’s car in the Willinghams’ driveway. White icicle lights hung from the roof of the log cabin. A snowman wearing a rainbow-striped scarf stood in the front yard. A lone electric candle sat on a windowpane, flickering as if it were a real flame. Light glowed from the other windows. With the tall fir trees surrounding the cabin, the scene looked like something from a Christmas card.
Quaint. Homey. Inviting. He liked it.
Christian exited the truck. His boots sunk into the snow as he made his way toward the porch.
Babysitting gave him the perfect excuse not to see Alexa or Rachel tonight. He really needed to tell them it was over. At least until after Christmas. But he would probably find someone else to go out with after that.
Too bad it couldn’t be Thomas, but she wanted nothing to do with him that way. She’d laughed off his asking her out when they were skiing. She’d thought he was joking, but he’d been serious. Not that he blamed her. The fire station romance taboo complicated things.
Still he preferred working with her on the Christmas celebration than going out with either of the other women. Thomas acted so serious, yet she was quick with a smile or a laugh. Genuine ones. Not fake ones to appear more interested in him. She was more comfortable to be around, didn’t probe into his feelings or make him feel as if she wanted…more. She wanted nothing from him. That was so different than most everyone else in his life.
Christian climbed the porch steps.
A green wreath with a red velvet bow hung from a brass holder on the front door. The same wreath Thomas had on her door. Someone’s kid must sell them.
He stood on the landing.
The sharp scent of pine filled the air. He inhaled. The smell of Christmas. Well, Christmas in Hood Hamlet.
At the winery, some holidays were less traditional than others. The year before last everything had smelled like eucalyptus around the house, even the tree. The Norman Rockwell and Thomas Kincaid versions of Christmas complete with evergreens, holly and snow appealed to Christian more than whatever current decorating trend happened to be hot. At least the family decorated, even if everything had been handpicked ahead of time by an interior designer.
He knocked on the door.
A stampede of feet sounded from inside the house. Someone yelled. Another giggled.
The door swung open. Two kids greeted him with wide grins. One was a girl around eleven or twelve. The other a boy, maybe nine or ten.
“We’ve been waiting for you. Leanne saw your truck out the window and told us we could open the door.” The girl opened the door wider. “Come in.”
“Thanks.” Christian entered and closed the door behind him. Heat from the fireplace blanketed him. So did the smell of chocolate baking. He extended his arm toward her. “I’m Christian.”
The girl shook his hand. “I’m Kendall.”
“I’m Austin.” The boy also shook Christian’s hand. “You had to be rescued off the mountain.”
Out of the cold and into the fire. The kid had no idea how that statement made Christian feel. No matter where he went in town someone brought it up. Maybe if the event were successful, everyone would forget what happened up on the mountain. He shrugged off his jacket and hung it on a rack by the door. “Yes. OMSAR rescued me and my cousin.”
Kendall beamed. “OMSAR rocks.”
“They do,” Christian agreed.
Austin studied him. “It’s good what happened.”
The kid was the first one who had said what happened was good. “You think so, dude?”
He nodded. “Better to be rescued than be dead.”
That was one way to look at it. “I’m very happy to be alive.”
“Our daddy was a member of OMSAR, but he died climbing the Reid Headwall,” Kendall said. “It was an accident.”
Nick Bishop. Christian should have put two and two together before this. “Accidents happen sometimes.”
Both kids nodded. They stared at him as if they expected him to do a magic trick or something.
“Where’s Leanne?” he asked.
Austin scrunched his face. “She’s upstairs changing Tyler’s poopy diaper.”
“So you’re a firefighter like Bill and Leanne,” Kendall said.
“Yes, I am.”
Kendall studied Christian as if he were a science experiment. “Bill’s not married. Are you?”
“Nope.”
“Do you date as many girls as him?” Austin asked.
“Not quite as many.” But pretty darn close.
“Good.” The boy sounded relieved. “Sammy Ross says if you kiss too many girls you’ll wind up with some horrible disease.”
Christian stifled a laugh. His gaze bounced between the two kids who waited expectedly for a response. What could he say? He wasn’t versed in having a conversation about the birds and the bees with preteens. “I, uh—”
“Sammy Ross has three older sisters,” Austin added sagely.
“That explains it,” Christian said. “I have an older sister, too.”
“Do you want to get married?” Kendall asked.
Christian had been imagining playing a couple of games of Twister with a certain female paramedic and OMSAR member tonight, not being examined at an inquisition by two precocious kids.
“Maybe someday?” He glanced toward the stairs. How long did a diaper change take? “If I met the right person.”
Two lines formed above Kendall’s nose. “Leanne’s nice. She’s not married.”
A twelve-year-old playing matchmaker. He shifted his weight between his feet. “Yeah, but we work together.”
Both kids looked at him as if he’d grown a third eye and horns.
“Leanne and I are just friends,” he clarified.
Austin sighed. “That’s what Uncle Jake and Aunt Carly used to say, but the next thing you know, they’re kissing.”
Kendall nodded. “Then I got to be a flower girl at their wedding. And now we have a new cousin. Nicole is so cute.”
That was okay if you wanted to be on the family plan; Christian preferred being single. Women always wanted something in return for loving you. They also wanted you to be someone you weren’t.
Christian’s gaze strayed to the front door. Okay, Thomas had warned him. But he hadn’t expected all these personal questions. He needed to find a way to distract the kids. And fast.
The Christmas tree with twinkling multicolored lights, popcorn-and-cranberry strung garland, silver bells, gold balls and all sorts of one-of-a-kind ornaments caught his attention. “Nice tree.”
“We cut it down ourselves,” Austin announced.
“With help from our dad and Uncle Jake,” Kendall added.
The house where Christian lived had no decorations. No tree. No wreath. No lights. But he and his roommates would put something up eventually.
Last year, Riley had found a Charlie Brown worthy tree two days before Christmas. They’d decorated it with chili pepper shaped lights, poker chips and playing cards. The angel on top had wings, but wasn’t quite angelic looking with her ample hourglass figure.
The kids rushed for the tree nearly knocking each other over in the rush to pick out an ornament.
He followed, a smile warming his heart.
Austin pointed to a teddy bear on a rocking horse. “This one is from when I was a baby. It was my first Christmas. But I don’t remember it.”
“What was all that noise?” a familiar feminine voice asked. “Did a herd of elephants stop by looking for some peanuts?”
Christian turned and sucked in a sharp breath.
Leanne stood on the bottom stair with a toddler in her arms. The boy sucked his right thumb and twirled the hair at the end of her braid with his left hand. A smudge of flour was on her cheek. More covered the front of her red-and-green apron, including two distinct kid-size handprints.
The little boy glanced up at her with total adoration. A wide smile broke across Thomas’s face.
Christian’s heart lurched. She looked like a…mom.
“I see you’ve met Kendall and Austin.” Her tender gaze went to each one of the kids. “This is Tyler. He’ll be two on December 23.”
Tyler rested his head against Thomas’s shoulder. He looked perfectly content cradled in her arms.
Lucky kid. Christian’s stomach felt funny. Might have been the grande burrito from lunch.
Austin wrinkled his nose. “Does he still stink?”
“Nope,” Thomas said. “He’s all clean with a new diaper.”
Austin exhaled loudly. “Thank goodness. Was it green?”
“Not this time,” she said.
Thomas joined them in the living room. She wore no shoes, only socks. Colorful ones with stripes and polka dots. “So what’s going on?”
“We’re telling Christian about some of the ornaments.” Kendall pointed to a pink-and-purple snowboard hanging from one of the branches. “This one is from Sean. He gave me the ornament and a matching board last Christmas.”
“Me, too.” Austin pointed out his blue-and-red snowboard ornament. “But Uncle Jake says we still have to keep skiing.”
“Your uncle Jake is a smart man,” Thomas said.
That sounded more like her. Good. Christian wasn’t sure what to make of the motherly version when she always seemed so hard-nosed and detached at the station. This new side of her made him a little light-headed.
“It’s easier to learn how to skin with skis,” she continued. “You can always switch to a split board when you’re older and know how to snowboard really well.”
“The kids go into the back country?” Christian asked.
“They’ve gone a couple of times when the conditions were right,” she said.
Kendall sighed. “I can’t wait until I’m old enough to climb the mountain.”
“A few more years, sweetie, then we will.” Affection filled Thomas’s voice. “I can’t wait to see you standing on that summit. Just like your dad used to.”
Dad equaled Nick. The guy must have been something special based on how everyone in OMSAR talked about him. But Thomas’s sincerity and love for these kids left Christian feeling a little off balance. He sat on a nearby rocking chair.
Kendall beamed.
Tyler wiggled in her arms. “Dow-dow.”
Thomas laughed. “Okay, big man, I’ll put you down.”
Amazing. Christian stared captivated. He’d watched her be sweet and gentle with Owen, but Christian never thought he would hear Thomas sound so nurturing. He didn’t need mothering, but he wouldn’t mind her caring for him like that.
As the kids pointed out special ornaments, he tried to reconcile the woman in front of him with the strong, athletic, badass he knew from the station, mountain rescue and back country skiing. Tried and failed.
He liked paramedic, mountain rescuer Thomas, but something about this Mother Earth Thomas appealed to him at a gut level. He didn’t want a wife, but a fling sounded good.
She placed the boy on his feet, but didn’t let go of him until she knew he was stable. “There you go, Tyler.”
The kid toddled toward the tree. “Bah.”
Christian watched Leanne follow after the kid. Not quite hovering, but close enough to catch if he fell. His sister, Brianna, did the same thing with his niece. Brianna was pregnant again, due on January 2. Her husband, Jeff, kept joking he wanted the baby to be born by the 31st for the tax write-off.
“Bah means box,” Kendall translated. “Tyler likes boxes.”
Austin nodded. “All of his B words sound the same.”
“Just wait,” Leanne said. “This time next year, Tyler will have a much bigger vocabulary.”
A buzzer sounded from another room. It reminded him of an oven timer.
The kids cheered. Even little Tyler joined in.
Christian’s gaze locked with Thomas’s brown eyes. Something jolted inside him. Must be his lunch. “What’s cooking?”
“A Yule Log,” Kendall answered.
“What’s that?” Christian asked.
Austin jumped up and down. “A special Christmas cake.”
“It’s also known as Bûche de Noël,” Leanne explained.
Austin placed his palms together then spread them apart. “Imagine a giant Ho-Ho. Only better.”
Christian laughed. “Better than a Ho-Ho, huh? That has to be a really special cake.”
Enthusiastic nods answered him.
“Come on. We don’t want the cake to overcook.” Thomas motioned to Tyler. “Can you grab him for me, Welton?”
The toddler climbed over an upholstered ottoman as if it were a boulder project. A devilish grin lit up the kid’s face.
“No problem,” Christian said. “I’ve got the size advantage.”
With that, she hurried to the kitchen. Austin and Kendall followed as if Leanne were the Pied Piper.
“Come on, bud.” Christian swooped the kid into his arms. “Let’s go.”
Tyler twisted, kicked his legs and tried to get away.
“Sorry, little dude.” Two sad hazel-green eyes met Christian’s. The kid looked ready to cry or scream. “Failure is not an option. Don’t even think about making me look bad in front of Thomas. Leanne. Got it?”
Tyler stared at Christian as if he were crazy.
Yeah, rationalizing with a two-year-old wasn’t the smartest thing he’d ever done, but the kid wasn’t struggling or crying.
“Let’s go see the cake,” he said.
“Cake.”
Christian laughed. “Hey, you said that word perfectly.”
“Cake,” Tyler repeated.
“Everything okay out there?” Thomas yelled.
“Fine.” Christian lowered his voice. He looked at Tyler. “Come on. We’d better get in there before she sends out a search party.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
LAUGHTER drowned out the Christmas music playing on the kitchen’s iPod docking stereo. Leanne whipped more cream. She loved babysitting these three kids. The older two reminded her so much of her friend Nick. Kendall had inherited his have-no-fear personality. Austin looked like a mini version of his dad and had the same sense of humor.
Christian sat at the kitchen table and held Tyler on his lap. The two seemed so natural together, as if they did this every day. Unexpected, but so appealing.
Leanne could imagine Christian as a father, something she’d never thought of him as before. It took every ounce of strength not to pull out her cell phone to take a picture.
He met her gaze. “Now I see why you like babysitting.”
Leanne’s heart squeezed tight. “Fun times.”
Austin showed off his latest hip-hop moves holding a spatula in his hand that he used as a microphone to sing “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree.” Kendall sat at the table and concentrated on spreading the filling over the chocolate cake. Tyler licked a spoon covered with whipped cream.
A warm and fuzzy feeling enveloped Leanne, as comforting as a cup of hot choco
late after a day on the hill. She’d expected chaos with Welton here, but instead it almost felt as if they were a…
Family.
“You’re doing great, Kendall.” Christian acted like a big kid at the station, sometimes giving Paulson a run at the most immature title, but he knew how to interact with kids. Even little Tyler, who was a handful under the best of circumstances, seemed enchanted by the playful firefighter. “Remember what Leanne said. Spread the filling to a half inch of the edge.”
Falling under Welton’s spell would be so easy to do. Easy, Leanne reminded herself, but stupid. They worked the same shift at the only fire station in town. He dated more than one woman at once. Commitment was so clearly not his thing. But she couldn’t deny her attraction.
Any woman with a pulse wouldn’t be able to do that. Especially after seeing him interact with the kids. Her heart sighed.
Kendall added more whipped-cream filling to her spatula and layered it on the cake. “Like this, Christian?”
“Exactly,” he said with a tender smile that could melt the thickest glacier.
Leanne swallowed and looked away.
Austin licked the homemade whipped cream off a spoon like Tyler.
Christian laughed. “Austin, dude, make sure you leave some for the cake.”
“Is the chocolate frosting ready?” Kendall asked with an expectant look on her face.
“We’ll make that after we roll the cake and are waiting for it to chill in the refrigerator,” Leanne explained. “Don’t forget we still have to eat dinner.”
Tyler used his spoon to feed whipped cream to Christian. “Din-din.”
None made it into Christian’s mouth, but was smeared over his face instead.
Leanne chuckled.
He grinned, his straight white teeth surrounded by the whipped cream on his lips and mouth. “Thanks, little dude.”
“Mo,” Tyler said.
Christian laughed. “No more.”
Austin scrunched his nose. “You look like a snowman.”
“Or Santa Claus,” Kendall offered. “The whipped cream looks like a white beard.”
Leanne appreciated Christian being such a good sport about it. She grabbed a handful of napkins and handed them to him.
“Can we tell you what we want for Christmas, Santa?” Austin teased.
Firefighter Under the Mistletoe Page 10