“Hey,” Beckett said softly from the doorway. “Can I come in?”
“Your house,” she replied, eyes never leaving the screen.
“I was looking all over for you. I figured you’d be downstairs in the game room working on world domination.”
“Uh-huh.” Didn’t he see she was busy? Wait…how could the heroine not hear that many people moving around behind her on what was supposed to be a deserted street?
“Are you all right?”
She nodded and then gasped as she read that it wasn’t an abductor following the heroine, but her long-lost father! Where did he come from?
“Hope?”
With a sigh of frustration, she put her Kindle down and looked up. “What?” Her impatience was obvious.
Beckett walked over and sat down on the corner of the bed. “I just wanted to make sure, you know, that you were all right.”
Hope looked over at the clock beside the bed and saw that it was after nine. It took him over two hours to do that? “I’m fine,” she lied.
“Are you sure? Because I know things got a little…I mean, I know it bothered you earlier, hearing me on the phone.”
She held up her hand to stop him. “Yeah, it bothered me but I’m over it. Like I said, it’s your business and none of mine. You need to do what you need to do. Obviously you know what you’re doing because your company is a success. I mean, what do I know? I work for myself and I have all of twelve customers. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who’s smarter.”
Beckett just sat there and studied her for a moment. “I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk with me. I wanted to go outside and get some air. I thought it would be nice for us to go together.”
He sounded so sweet and sincere. Hopeful. Unfortunately, she wasn’t in the mood for any of it. If she wasn’t willing to put on pants to go down two flights of stairs to play video games, she sure as heck wasn’t about to put on layers of clothes to go and walk in the snow when it was below freezing outside.
“Thanks, but I’m not really in the mood to go outside. I’m in the middle of a good book.” God she sounded lame. And bitchy. She prided herself on not being that kind of girl and yet she pretty much had a shining red “B” emblazoned on her chest.
“Oh. Okay. Sorry,” he said and stood up. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.” Walking over to the door, he placed a hand on the handle and turned back toward her. “Good night, Hope.”
She couldn’t even bring herself to look at him. “Good night.” The door closed quietly and it wasn’t until she heard the click that she was able to move. But once she did, she turned off the Kindle and slouched down on the bed.
What was she going to do? Beckett was who he was. She didn’t understand the way he did business but who’s to say that he’s wrong? He was completely within his rights to fire a contractor who couldn’t make a deadline. The fact that it was happening over Christmas should be irrelevant. Was she being unfair? Too judgmental?
Maybe.
Was there a possibility that she could learn to accept his way of doing business without wanting to correct him or tell him that he was behaving badly?
Maybe.
Did she really want to be sitting in bed reading a book when she could be spending time with Beckett walking in the winter wonderland that he had on the property before she had to return to her regular, sucky life?
No.
Jumping up from the bed, she quickly dressed – except for the bra – and took her hair out of the ponytail and shook it out. A light outside her window caught her eye and she ran over and saw that Beckett had turned on all of the twinkly lights. Craning her neck, she looked around a bit and found him standing out on the back deck.
Deciding that it didn’t matter that she had on no makeup or that her hair wasn’t fully under control, she traipsed down the stairs and ran toward the common area. She found her boots, coat and hat by the back door and quickly donned them. Bending down, she scooped up her gloves and walked out the door.
Beckett stood with his back to her, leaning on the rail and looking out onto the massive expanse of property. She came up beside him and took in the view. With the moon out and actual stars in the sky, it was very bright and incredibly beautiful, but very cold. She shivered and without a word, Beckett moved and came to stand behind her as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
“I was hoping you’d change your mind,” he said quietly.
“Sorry about that. I was having a bad night.”
“And I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Hope shrugged. “It wasn’t just you. I finally got my brother on the phone.” Beckett stiffened behind her. “I think I may seriously have to kill him when he gets here tomorrow.”
“He’s coming here? Tomorrow? When?”
“I don’t know a specific time. I told him to be here in the morning. He claimed that he didn’t come back today like he promised because the doctors released Merry from the hospital and he wanted to be the one to take her home and he thought that the roads were still messed up.”
“And you don’t believe him?”
She shook her head. “I think he’s too scared to come back here.”
“Of me or you?” Beckett asked with a chuckle.
“It’s a coin toss,” she said and sighed. “He actually thought that I would stay here and do his job so that you’d reconsider firing him. Can you believe that?”
“Nothing surprises me anymore, Hope. I’m immune to it.”
She desperately wanted Beckett to elaborate, but not right now. Right now the night was peaceful and beautiful and magical looking. Why ruin it? “I don’t even want to talk about it anymore. I was pissed off and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
He placed a gentle kiss on her temple before taking a step back and taking one of her hands in his. “Come on. Let’s go and walk around. We have actual stars and moonlight tonight.”
“I know,” she said excitedly. “I love it.” They were just about to walk down the steps when Beckett stopped and reached over to the wall and flipped a switch. “What was that for?”
He shrugged and led her back toward the steps. “Careful. I salted the steps after I cleared them earlier, but they can still be slick.”
“When did you come out and clear them?”
“This morning when you were still sleeping.”
The memory of waking up in Beckett’s bed made her smile. “That’s quite the invigorating way to start the day. I imagine it was pretty darn cold out.”
“About as cold as it is now,” he said casually as they walked along a path that led into the woods.
Hope noticed that although it wasn’t completely cleared, there was a path in the snow that was leading to…wait. She turned and looked up at Beckett. “Am I seeing things?”
“That depends? What do you think you’re seeing?”
“A gazebo.”
“You’re not seeing things.”
“What’s a gazebo doing in the woods?”
They approached it and Hope saw that it was completely cleared off and the roof was covered in the same white lights that coated the trees. They walked up the steps and Beckett took the opportunity to turn Hope in his arms and pull her close. She was just about to ask him again about the gazebo when she suddenly heard the music start, Bing Crosby’s “Winter Wonderland” to be exact.
“Oh,” she sighed and smiled. “Oh that’s nice.”
Together they swayed to the music. “I thought you’d prefer this to my humming. I know I do.”
“I didn’t think you’d have any Christmas music.”
“Why? Because you think I’m a Scrooge?”
Hope chuckled. “I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to. It was thoroughly implied.” His tone was light and teasing as he held her close and began to hum along with the music.
“You certainly have your Scrooge moments but they’re getting fewer and fewer.”
; “And that’s a good thing?” he asked.
She nodded. “It’s a great thing.”
And then they danced together under the moonlight.
***
Later, as they lay in Beckett’s massive bed huddled under the blankets, Hope shivered. “You’re still cold?” Beckett asked and pulled her close.
“I know. Crazy, right?”
“I thought between the fire, the blankets…and me,” he teased, “that you’d certainly be warm by now, if not hot.”
“Well, what we just did was pretty hot,” she said and kissed his chest, “but I just still feel a little cold.”
He ran his hands up and down her back and smiled as she purred and pressed closer to him. It felt so good to hold her, to touch her and knowing that she was leaving in the morning was torturing him more than he thought possible. Beckett had gotten used to being alone. He didn’t particularly like it, but he’d certainly gotten used to it and found that there was less of a chance of getting hurt that way. But now, after meeting Hope and spending time with her, he found that he had missed having someone with him, someone to talk to, someone to laugh with.
Suddenly, his hands stopped moving. “Don’t go,” he said quietly.
Hope lifted her head slightly and looked up at him. “I wasn’t planning on going back to my room tonight.”
He shook his head. “No. I mean tomorrow. Don’t go. Stay and spend Christmas here with me.”
Her eyes went a little wide. “I…I thought you didn’t do Christmas?”
“I don’t. Or rather, I haven’t in a really long time. But I’d like to this year…with you.”
The smile that crossed her face was almost as bright as all the twinkly lights out on the property. “Really?” she asked with awe and wonder. “You really want to spend Christmas with me?”
Beckett nodded. “I know it’s short notice and you have your brother to think about…”
She waved off the comment. “After what he did to me, it wasn’t a high priority to spend Christmas with him. Besides, the way things turned out, I’m sure he’d rather spend the day with Merry and her family. And if her mother cooks anything like Merry, I won’t mind missing that Christmas dinner.” They both laughed.
“I can promise you that Norma will make a fabulous, five-star worthy meal for you.”
“For us,” Hope said, her expression suddenly serious.
“What?” he whispered. “What’s the matter?”
It took a minute for Hope to collect her thoughts. “I still can’t believe that I’m here with you. I never thought that I’d ever be here with G.B…”
Placing a finger over her lips to silence her, Beckett smiled weakly. “You have no idea how much I hate that name and the look that it puts on your face when you say it. I can’t change the things I’ve done that made you feel the way you do about me, Hope. I can only try to show you that it’s not who I really am.”
“But…earlier…on the phone…”
“I’m not going to lie to you, sometimes I have to be that guy when I’m doing business; otherwise people slack off and don’t take you seriously. Maybe I’ve gotten too hard and too rigid over the years, I don’t know. What I do know is that when we’re together, I don’t want to be that guy. You’ve made me remember how to relax and actually do something other than work.”
She smiled at him. “You’re a really nice guy when you’re not working.”
He slapped a hand over his heart and pretended to faint. “That almost sounded like a compliment.”
“Oh!” she smacked his hand away playfully. “Are you fishing for compliments, G.B.?” she teased.
In the blink of an eye, he reversed their positions until she was pinned under him. “Maybe I am.”
Hope stared up at him and a knowing smile crossed her lips. “I love spending time with you, Beckett. You make me feel very special.”
“You are special,” he said thickly. “You’ve turned my world upside down and I love every minute of it.” He was trying not to analyze the fact that they had each used the word love. It wasn’t a coincidence; it couldn’t be. The reality was that he was falling in love with Hope and if he was reading her correctly, the feeling was mutual.
Reaching up, Hope cupped her hand at his nape and gently nudged him closer. “So you want me to stay?” she whispered.
Beckett nodded, emotion clogging his throat. “Always,” he said before claiming her lips with his.
***
In the wee hours of the morning, Hope texted Ted and told him not to come and get her and that she’d explain later. Beckett had looked extremely pleased when she finished and shut the phone off.
They made plans to decorate the house and he promised they’d go into town the next day and do some shopping. She was looking forward to it. Actually, for the first time in months, Hope was actually looking forward to Christmas. And it was all thanks to the one man who had originally ruined it for her.
What an odd turn of events, she thought as she lay in his arms. It was as if she had gotten her very own Christmas wish and it was better than she ever imagined it could be. She wasn’t foolish enough to believe this state of bliss was going to last forever. After all, they were safely cocooned away from the realities of life. Beckett may still be working, but it was nothing compared to what he did on a normal basis.
And then there was her brother.
Hope had no idea how they were going to deal with that whole situation. Right now, all thoughts of killing him were nixed because had he not left her stranded with Beckett, they wouldn’t be here like this right now. Unfortunately, his stranding her here was the reason he was now out of a job. But no matter how bad she felt about it, she wasn’t going to intercede on his behalf to get his job back. She told Beckett earlier that his business was none of hers and she meant it.
She just prayed that it wasn’t something that was going to come between them.
Chapter Eight
For the next three days, Hope felt like she was living in either a fairytale or a Hallmark Christmas movie; she couldn’t decide. She and Beckett spent days decorating the lodge from top to bottom with all new Christmas decorations. That hadn’t originally been the plan, but when they took the old ones out of storage they were definitely showing signs of age and rather than try to piece things together, he had declared that this was a fresh start that deserved fresh decorations.
And the nights were beyond her wildest fantasies. For a man who had once seemed so selfish and self-centered, he more than changed that persona once they were alone. Hope was normally a woman who enjoyed a good night’s sleep but when she was with Beckett, it didn’t seem to matter. He made her feel sexy, wanted, cherished. And if that was the price to pay for feeling a little sleepy during the day, then she’d gladly deal with it.
Plus it was a great excuse for an afternoon nap.
They had gone into town and practically bought out the entire holiday department of the local Target. While Beckett had loaded packages in the car, Hope ran to Starbucks to get them hot chocolates. They drank them while they drove through town deciding that they’d cut their own tree down from the property around the lodge. Hope had been giddy at the idea. Her parents always had an artificial tree and because she lived alone, she had a small one herself. The thought of not only having a live tree, but cutting it down themselves, was almost too perfect.
While they handled those things, Norma had begun to bake and cook to prepare the Christmas feast. Hope thought it was a little soon to begin making a meal that was only going to be for the three of them, but decided to not say anything. Everyone was so happy that it would have been a sin to break the spell.
Which was why she chose to not answer any of her brother’s calls. She did text him that she was fine and had a change of plans and she’d talk to him on Christmas Eve. Clearly he must have been relieved because he didn’t push her for a further explanation, not that she knew how to explain the change in circumstances; she still couldn’t believe them
herself.
Something had definitely changed after their night dancing in the gazebo. Beckett was more affectionate with her and even though he still took several hours a day to work, he seemed way more at ease and relaxed. There was a spring in his step and he was always quick with a smile. Hope liked to think that she was responsible for it, but she had a feeling that she was only part of it. Maybe Beckett was finally finding peace within himself. The thought made her smile.
“You’ve worked miracles here,” Norma said Christmas Eve morning. Beckett had gone out to cut more wood for the fireplaces and it was just the two of them sitting at the kitchen table.
Hope shook her head. “It was a group effort.”
“I’m not talking about the decorations. I’m talking about Beckett. I never thought I’d see the day when he willingly wanted to celebrate the holidays again. It’s been so long.” She paused and Hope saw tears well up in her eyes. “This house used to be filled to the rafters with people at Christmas. I’ve missed that – the laughter, the joy, the chaos. I pray that someday he’ll come to peace with his brother and sister and then we can have Christmas like we used to.”
“Do you think…,” Hope began and then paused. “Do you think he’d be open to having them here this year? Maybe you could call them?”
Norma’s eyes went wide. “Oh, I don’t think I could do that.”
“Why not?”
She shook her head and took a sip of her tea. “It’s not my place, Hope. Beckett’s a very private person and he has his reasons for the way things are with his siblings. And as much as I’d like to point the finger at any one of them, it was all of their faults what happened.”
“What did happen? Why doesn’t he speak to them?”
A soft sigh came out as Norma placed her teacup on the table. Her expression was sad as she relayed the story of what had happened between Beckett and his siblings.
“So it wasn’t jealousy that caused the rift.” It wasn’t a question, Hope just was trying to put the pieces together.
Stranded: A Winter Romance Duet Page 14