Sleigh Belles

by Beth Albright

  “Ms. Peaches was right then. She really is something else.”

  “What do you mean?” Cal asked.

  “She’s the lady with the missing nativity statue. She told me a bunch of fraternity boys took her plastic Baby Jesus last year, too, and ran it all over campus. Some kind of pledge thing, I think. I bet those boys are just trying to get on TV,” Dallas explained.

  “Maybe, but I have a little more digging to do. I know that frat house pretty well,” he added and glanced at her. “It used to be my frat house.”

  “Oh, wow. Was this a prank back when you were there, too?” she asked.

  “No, not this exactly, but we did have Christmas pranks as a freshman we were told to pull. So I’m gonna check it out on Monday. See if I can get this wrapped up for you.”

  Dallas smiled at him and laid her head on his shoulder.

  Cal drove through town and over the Warrior River, heading toward Lake Tuscaloosa and the Townes of North River. Dallas was excited as they approached his house. She knew this was where so many coaches and higher-ups from the University of Alabama lived. “Upscale” barely did it justice. Cal had definitely come from money, she realized. Not that it mattered by this time, since she had completely fallen for him, but, man, this was the cherry on top.

  Dallas felt as if she was a princess being stolen away to the castle as Cal turned into the circle drive of his home. She sat still looking at his place, which was perfectly decorated for Christmas. The front yard displayed decorated Christmas trees on either side of the entrance. The front steps beckoned you to a porch that was covered in tiny twinkling white lights and festive red velvet ribbon wrapped around all six columns, top to bottom. The home was new, but built to look like the gorgeous antebellum homes of Tuscaloosa. Cal walked around the car and opened her door.

  “Here we are,” Cal said, helping her out of the car. “Home, sweet home.”

  “Oh, Cal, it’s beautiful.”

  “I just bought it last spring when I moved back to Tuscaloosa to take over the computer science division. I’ve always loved living at the lake anyway—grew up out here.”

  “Oh, really? Where?

  “North River Yacht Club.”

  Dallas’s eyebrows went up. “Okay, tell me really, what exactly did your daddy do before he retired?” She knew North River Yacht Club wasn’t where the average person in Tuscaloosa lived. Business owners and doctors, maybe. The reporter in her was ever curious.

  “Who said he retired?”

  “Come on, Cal,” she begged.

  “Ever heard of C&H chips?”

  “The potato chip company?

  “Uh-huh.”

  “That’s your family? Wait—that’s Callahan Enterprises! Oh, my gosh, are you Callahan?”

  “Not the original—that’s my dad. After playing football, he started making the food people love to eat at games. He did pretty well.” Cal was always so understated. She had gone to school with him for years and never knew about this. But she had never allowed herself to really get to know him, and she certainly had never run in his circle.

  “No wonder you wanted to get to the bottom of those emails so bad. Why didn’t you say something?”

  “Well, we weren’t back together till about an hour ago, so I really didn’t need to.” He smiled at her.

  Cal was more reserved than the men Dallas was used to dating, and this hint of the mysterious attracted her like never before. He wasn’t a braggart. He never felt the need to announce his pedigree.

  Cal opened the front doors to a grand foyer and beautiful, wide staircase set to the right side, draped with green garland and tiny lights. At the top of the stairs was a landing with a huge window overlooking a pool, gazebo, and leading out to a private dock and Cal’s speedboat. The landing had an overlook with a spindled railing, where a magnificent Christmas wreath hung, greeting guests just below in the entryway.

  While Vivi’s house was the perfect picture of old money in Tuscaloosa, Cal’s home was opulent—the picture of the new wealth growing there.

  “Have a seat in there and I’ll get us a drink. What’s your pleasure?”

  “Anything with a splash of Jack,” she answered.

  Dallas walked into the large family room off the kitchen, and sat in front of the oversize fireplace. Cal had the whole room decorated for Christmas, the mantel with greenery and a display of nutcrackers, and a fifteen-foot tree in the corner next to the massive wall of windows looking out on the lake. Pictures hung all around of his family, his mom and dad, two older brothers and their kids. Family was obviously very important to him. Cal had a picture of his dad taken during his dad’s football days at Bama. Cal was the spittin’ image of his daddy, long and lean and gorgeous.

  His home was masculine, but Dallas could tell someone had decorated this place for him.

  “Where in the world did all the decorations come from?”

  “I had some from when I was teaching in Georgia, but my two older brothers and their wives and kids came over for a blowout decorating party a couple of weeks ago. They said it would be a shame if this place wasn’t in the holiday spirit,” he said, returning with the amber drinks in highball glasses.

  “It sure is gorgeous,” she commented, looking up and down the room.

  “It was great having them all over here. I’m so glad to be back home where everybody is. I was a fish outta water in Georgia.” He handed her the glass.

  “Well, get over here and let me resuscitate you,” she teased.

  Cal set his drink on the mantel and fixed a fire for them in the grand fireplace. She loved watching him work with the wood. It took him only a minute or two to get the fire going, then he grabbed his drink, and he settled in next to her on the couch. The firelight illuminated the room, the only light besides the glistening lights of the Christmas tree.

  They each took a sip of their Jack and Coke as she snuggled into him. Putting his drink down on the coffee table, he turned to her and kissed her lips softly. Then gently taking the drink from her hand, he set it down next to his.

  “Dallas, I missed you. I thought after that night in the theater we were done.”

  “No, baby. I could never get you and the things you said out of my head.”

  He dragged his mouth down her neck and rolled his tongue under her jaw. Then, kissing her collarbone, he made his way into the neck of her sweater. Dallas sat up from the back of the couch and slipped off the soft creamy V-neck and tossed it to the floor, revealing her vanilla-colored lace bra. Cal slipped his fingertips around her ribs, grazing her skin, giving her instantaneous goose bumps. He slid his hand under the small of her back and, straddling her, pulled her down on the sofa, underneath him.

  Cal relaxed on top of her as she slid her hand up under his sweater, untucking his T-shirt at the same time and pulling them both over his head in one slow movement, his bare skin now on hers. He reached under her and unhooked her bra, then tossed it to the floor. Both of them naked from the waist up, flesh to flesh, he cupped her breast with one hand, resting his lips on her nipple. She arched upward, giving him all the permission he needed.

  Dallas dragged her nails gently up his back and back down, slipping them inside the waistband of his pants and cupping his ass, giving it a gentle squeeze. He continued to lick her breast, her nipple now wet, stiff and sensitive to his tongue. She kissed him passionately, her open mouth so hungry for him. She had been with plenty of men in her life, but she could never remember being taken like this, aroused like this. Maybe it was because she was finally really in love with the man on top of her. And the emotional connection was something entirely new for her.

  She slid her hand down his belly, pushing gently underneath his jeans and cupping his erection in her hand while softly biting his bottom lip. At the sound of his groan, she unzipped his jeans, his dark boxer
briefs easy to pry open as she gripped him more firmly.

  Cal crept his large hand down to the button of her jeans, loosening them—she felt them slide down her hips and legs until they fell off her ankles to the floor with everything else. He tasted every inch of her—from her lips past her breasts, licking her abdomen, then circling her navel with his wet tongue. He slipped his fingers underneath her lacy red panties, exploring her most tender space with gentle, teasing strokes.

  Without warning, he stopped and scooped her up in his arms and carried her up the wide staircase and to his bed.

  Dallas had never even been carried over a threshold, let alone carried up a grand staircase to a king-size bed. Cal’s bedroom was lit softly. Moon shadows danced across the sheets as he gently laid her down, then crawled on top of her. She hooked her fingers under his briefs and pushed them down his toned and muscular thighs. His body was like one she had never seen before. He had been an athlete years before, but he still looked every inch a football star.

  Cal pulled at the waist of her panties and slipped them down around her ankles. She gave a kick, flinging the red lace toward the window seat as she wrapped her bare legs around him, pulling him closer, his excitement nudging against her. She reached down and felt him become more rigid in her hands. His tongue followed the curve of her breast as he slipped his fingers inside her.

  She breathed heavily into the crook of his neck, and pulling him into her, she raised her knees as an invitation to what they both had been so hungry for. He softly parted her silky thighs and plunged inside her, his head falling into a cloud of her perfumed hair on the pillow.

  With each thrust, she fell into ecstasy with him. His breath was rough as he laid his cheek on her breasts, burying himself in the warm, wet grip of her body, and she arched her back, opening herself to him like she never had before.

  Together they fell into a desperate but perfect rhythm, and in the midst of a passionate kiss, they seized together in a rush of sensation neither of them had ever felt with another person.

  Afterward, they lay entwined in each other’s arms.

  “You are so beautiful, Dallas. I see you now, inside and out.”

  “You certainly do,” she said, holding him tightly to her.

  “No, I mean it. There’s so much more to you than anyone has seen, and I love that.” He hesitated then, and she could tell he was trying to decide whether or not to continue.

  “Dallas, I have to tell you something.” He drew in a deep breath. “I love you.”

  “Oh, Cal.” She wrapped herself as much as she could around his naked body, still on top of her, and buried her face into the crook of his neck, kissing him softly over and over. “I love you, too,” she whispered against his skin. “I knew I did deep down inside since the night you left.”

  “That’s when I knew it, too,” he replied. “I’ve never felt such a connection with anyone ever, Dallas.” He stopped and kissed her again, then smiled as he looked down at her lying beneath him.

  It was the biggest moment in her adult life—to allow someone to have all of her, not just the physical but complete access to the emotional side, as well. She allowed Cal to see her at her most vulnerable, and, most important, she allowed herself to trust him. She was ready to let him in. He wasn’t just anyone. She felt he was hers, and she belonged to him. Completely.

  40

  Dallas woke up around three-thirty in the morning. It took her a second to remember where she was. But one turn of her head and she saw that the sweetest man lay asleep next to her, his dark golden hair mussed, his naked body like a perfect muscled god stretched out across the stark white cotton sheets. She snuck quietly out of bed and tiptoed into the bathroom and shut the door.

  The marbled vanity stretched over the side wall with sconce lighting on a dimmer switch. She slid the switch up, barely lighting the room in a dim ivory wash. The travertine floor, heated, felt delicious in the cold, wee hours. Dallas saw the massive walk-in closets that doubled as dressing rooms, the deep oval tub, and she was in heaven. She really felt like a princess sneaking through the prince’s castle. She washed her face and headed back to the opulent but comfortable bedroom.

  The most stunning feature in the oversize bedroom was the huge arched window seat overlooking the lake. It was as if it were calling to her. She grabbed a shirt of Cal’s that was lying on an overstuffed chair and slipped it over her naked body as she sat down in the window. The moonlight washed the room in dusky blue shadows.

  “Hey, whatcha doin’, baby?” Cal sat up in bed.

  “Just sittin’ here, lookin’ out the window. Lookin’ at you.” She could see him in bed from her spot, and she smiled at him. “I can’t believe I’m here. I’m really happy, Cal.”

  “Oh, baby.” He patted the bed and scooted over. She looked out the window once more, then slid into bed next to him. Pulling her into the crook of his body, he buried his face in her hair, snaking his arms around her tiny waist.

  Dallas woke up exactly in the same spot, with Cal snuggled behind her. This was real. It was her life. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so relaxed. She could feel Cal up against her back, and it felt so good. Somewhere along the way the ground had suddenly shifted. She knew everything was different now. From this day on, everyone would look different— everything would feel different and taste different. She was different.

  “You awake?” Cal whispered.

  Dallas turned over to see his precious, boyish face looking back at her. The man underneath that sweet face had totally changed her life, and he didn’t even have any idea he had quite literally performed a miracle.

  “I am,” she said grinning at him, “wide awake—for the first time.”

  “Sleep okay?”

  “Only the best night of my entire life, so I guess that’s pretty good, huh?”

  He nuzzled her and kissed her cheek. “Hungry?”

  “Starved. Some old athlete gave me quite the workout last night,” she teased. “I’m glad I left extra food out for Wilhelmina. I had no idea I would be invited to a sleepover.”

  “Well, how ’bout some quick pancakes, then we get over to your house and check on the kitty?”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “By the way, I love this new sexy nightgown on you.” He rubbed his hands up underneath his old button-down polo, caressing her sleep-warmed skin.

  “Want it back?

  “Only if that involves you taking it off.”

  “That’s an even better plan....”

  They played in bed, reliving bits and pieces of the night, before she hopped up and snatched the sheets off his naked, rock-hard body, dropped them on the floor and ran downstairs. He grabbed his pajama pants off the closet floor and ran after her.

  She was giggling as she ran down into his kitchen—and smack into Cal’s brother. Then in ran Cal at top speed right behind her, laughing loudly until he caught sight of his brother.

  “Oh, Cam. Hey. We, uh...I...didn’t know you were gonna be here...” Cal said awkardly.

  “No, man, I’m the one that didn’t know. I am really sorry for interrupting. Hey...aren’t you that TV reporter?”

  Dallas blushed as she pulled Cal’s shirt a bit lower on her exposed thighs.

  “Cam, meet Dallas Dubois, my girlfriend. Dallas, this is my oldest brother, Cam. He’s Justin’s dad. You met Justin that night at Dixie Dickens,” Cal reminded her.

  “Oh, right. He looks like you. It’s nice to meet you. I need to just...uh, run up and grab my...clothes.” She smiled demurely, trying to slip out by walking backward.

  “No, no, please don’t bother. I’m leaving right this second. Cal, man, I had no idea or I’d never have let myself in. Just, um, call me later. Wanted to see if you wanted to come over and watch the game tonight, but, hey, looks like you might have other plans.”
Cam winked and started walking toward the front hall.

  “Lemme walk you out,” Cal said moving toward the front door in his red-checked pajama pants.

  “Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Cam said to Dallas. “I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.”

  Dallas was halfway up the stairs when Cal returned from seeing out his brother.

  “Is it safe?” Dallas asked from the landing.

  “Coast is clear.”

  “Oh, Cal, I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t give it another thought,” he said, leaning over and kissing her. “He has a key, and ever since I moved back, they’ve been worried I’d get lonely here in this big place all by myself.”

  “Aww...poor baby. I don’t think you look too lonely.”

  They enjoyed a relaxed morning together, making pancakes, drinking coffee and then cleaning up the kitchen. Then Dallas went upstairs to get dressed. She picked up her cell phone and checked for messages. She unlocked the screen and let out a big sigh: her mother.

  Dallas, please. Christmas is less than a week away. I want to see you.

  “What’s wrong, baby?” Cal asked, coming into the room.

  “Nothing. Just...” Should she bring it up and spoil this perfect morning? “Just my mom.” There it was. Out there to ruin the day. She drew in a deep breath. “She wants to see me,” she said. It was as if her balloon had popped.

  Cal seemed reluctant to speak after what had happened the last time.

  “Honey, it’s okay. I know I have to address this. I’m just scared,” Dallas admitted.

  He walked over to her, both of them standing in front of the arched window seat in bare feet. He pushed her long hair behind her ear.

  “I love you. I’ll be with you for whatever you decide to do. You don’t need to be scared anymore, baby.” He smiled at her and kissed her softly.

  Dallas’s life felt almost complete. The final piece of the puzzle was within her reach. She could feel it just in front of her. Now it was just a matter of grabbing it.