A Stonecreek Christmas Reunion

by Michelle Major

  He placed the beer on the counter and moved closer, reaching out a hand to cup her cheek. “How can I help?”

  She stared up at him as if seeing him for the first time.

  Damn, he hoped that was true. He wanted her to see him for the man he could become. The kind of guy who deserved to be a part of her life.

  Chapter Nine

  Who was this man standing in front of her?

  Maggie leaned into Griffin’s touch, loving the warmth of his hand. Yes, he’d hurt her but he’d also been a consistent support in these past few months. Every time she needed him or asked him for anything, he made himself available.

  It was more than physical attraction, although wanting him remained a palpable force in her life. He was a friend, maybe the best friend she had.

  “I want to make this town look so good that LiveSoft will have no choice but to pick Stonecreek. I’m not sure exactly how to do that...how to add anything more than what we’ve already got.”

  “He’s interested in spending more time at the vineyard. To be honest, I’ve been blowing him off since the last meeting because I’m already so busy getting up to speed with everything before Marcus leaves and adding Joey into the mix.”

  “How are things with him?”

  Griffin’s handsome features didn’t change, but she could feel the tension in him as he thought about the boy. “It changes on a daily, and sometimes hourly, basis. I guess that’s normal for kids in general, and especially with what he’s been through.”

  “Yes,” she agreed.

  “Parenting is damn hard.”

  She smiled. “A universal truth.”

  “It doesn’t help that he has to face Christmas so soon after his mom died. He actually really enjoyed the pageant tonight, and not just because of Mary and the donkey. I’m trying to figure out how Cassie handled the holidays and honor the traditions he already knows. But my mom has her own way of doing things too. We tried to decorate the tree last night and Joey threw a fit because it’s artificial.”

  “A fit? Surely you’re exaggerating.”

  He shook his head. “Apparently Cassie had something against artificial trees. I don’t get it but he insisted it’s not Christmas without a real tree.”

  “What did your mom say?”

  “She told me to get a real tree and we’d wait to decorate until then.”

  “She’s the best.”

  “Absolutely,” Griffin agreed.

  “My problems aren’t your problem,” she reminded him. “You have plenty to deal with right now.”

  He touched one finger to her lips, gently silencing her. “I want to help. I’ll invite Christian back out to the vineyard and make it clear that everyone at Harvest is committed to helping his company transition into the community.”

  “That would be great,” she said, reaching out to spread her hand over his chest. She could feel his heart beating, strong and steady under his shirt.

  “I don’t want you stressed out by all this,” he murmured, running the pad of his thumb across her cheek.

  She laughed softly. “Too late.”

  “You are smart, dedicated and amazing with what you do for this town. No one doubts that.”

  “I want to win,” she told him honestly. “So much.”

  “Then we’ll make sure you do,” he promised.

  She pulled away and gripped his arm, making a show of looking over his shoulder.

  “What’s that about?”

  “Just checking to see if your hero cape is showing.”

  “Nah. Costumes aren’t really my thing.”

  “Too bad,” she said, tapping a finger on his chin. “I had a couple of superhero fantasies I was hoping to explore.”

  “Always killing me,” he muttered as his eyes went dark with desire.

  She wound her arms around his neck. Suddenly the past didn’t matter. The pain she’d felt disappeared. In its place, sensual sensation sparked along her skin.

  He kissed her, deep and hungry. Maggie loved his mouth, the way it was soft and smooth, a contrast to his stubbled jaw and the hard planes of his body.

  She’d missed kissing him, missed being close to him in a way that made this moment all the more precious.

  Desire and need flowed through her veins, coalescing at her aroused center. Griffin’s hands snaked up between their bodies, skimming under her shirt. She grabbed the hem and lifted it over her head.

  “No bra,” he murmured with a wicked smile. “I approve.”

  “No panties either,” she told him, her voice raspy with need.

  “You’ve moved past superhero status,” he said, tugging on her waistband. “You’re a goddess.”

  She laughed and stepped out of her yoga pants. She’d missed this too—how easy it was to laugh with him when they were together. Maggie wasn’t exactly known for her playfulness, but Griffin had a way of making everything more fun. “You’re overdressed.”

  “Easily remedied,” he said as he toed off his boots. She watched his rapid striptease with a wide smile, her breath catching at the sight of his taut muscles.

  But when he reached for her, she held up a hand. “We’re in my kitchen.”

  He made a show of glancing around. “So we are. Is that a problem?”

  “Um...not exactly...but...”

  “I think we can make it work,” he promised, pulling her into his arms.

  No sooner had she nodded her agreement than he gripped her waist and placed her on the table. His hands slid from her hips, down her thighs until he reached her knees, gently nudging them apart. He touched her exactly where and how she longed to be touched, and she moaned with need.

  At the same time, he claimed her mouth again, his tongue mimicking the movements of his fingers. Within minutes she’d lost herself in the sensations assaulting her, tiny pinpricks of pleasure cascading through her body. The pressure built until her pounding desire drowned out every doubt she’d had about Griffin.

  She tried to remind herself that this was only physical. It couldn’t mean what she wanted it to, but her body and heart refused to cooperate.

  Then he pulled away and she whimpered a protest, wondering if he’d somehow been able to sense her internal struggle.

  She was left gasping for breath, balanced on her elbows as he bent toward his discarded jeans.

  A moment later he straightened, holding a silver packet. “I need to be inside you,” he said, giving her a lopsided smile. “I can’t wait, Maggie.”

  Tugging her bottom lip between her teeth, she nodded. Her lady parts gave a cheer of delight while the doubts she knew would eventually resurface disappeared into the dark recesses of her heart.

  Griffin braced a hand on the table and she held on to his shoulders as he pressed forward and entered her.

  It was like finding a piece of herself that had been missing.

  He moved, shifting his grip on her to anchor her hips. She wound her legs around his waist and arched into him, relishing his strength and control with each powerful thrust.

  Tension tightened her belly, and Griffin grazed his lips over her sensitive earlobe. “Let go,” he commanded, and she did, spiraling over the edge of desire without any thought to landing on the other side.

  But Griffin was there, holding her tight, groaning his own release into the crook of her neck. She felt limp and boneless, and he continued to cradle her in his arms like she was something precious.

  “I’ll never look at a bowl of cereal the same way again,” she whispered when her breathing had almost returned to normal.

  He chuckled and pulled back, only to pick her up and carry her to her bedroom.

  “Can you stay?” she asked, too content to worry about the need that threaded through her voice.

  “For a while,” he whispered and kissed the tip of her nose.
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  She smiled and welcomed him into her bed, still forcing herself to remain focused on this moment and nothing more.

  * * *

  “What if we get lost?” Joey asked from the backseat of Griffin’s Land Cruiser the following morning.

  “I promise we won’t get lost,” Griffin said, glancing at the boy in the rearview mirror.

  “Don’t they sell Christmas trees here in parking lots like normal?”

  Maggie laughed and turned in her seat. “Joey, I promise we’re going to find the best tree ever this way. One for my house and one for yours. I appreciate both of you joining me for this little outing. I haven’t cut down a tree in the woods since I was a girl.”

  “I think Miss Jana was sad to put away her fake tree,” Joey observed, his brown eyes solemn. “But Mommy said fake trees were boring.”

  Maggie saw Griffin grimace. “Miss Jana wants you to have a great Christmas. If it makes you happy to have a real tree, she’ll be happy.”

  The boy nodded and continued tracing shapes in the condensation on the back window.

  As Griffin left late last night, Maggie’d impulsively suggested they take Joey on an outing for a Christmas tree today. Her thoughts had been in sync with Joey’s—a quick trip to the local garden center, where they shipped in trees from Washington State. But this morning Griffin had texted to ask if she’d be up for a hike in the woods and cutting down their own trees. He thought it would be something new and different for Joey without having to compare it to how Cassie had handled the tradition.

  New traditions. ’Twas the season for that it seemed.

  With last night’s heavy snow, the drive was slow out of town and into the nearby Strouds Run State Park. Griffin had borrowed one of the vineyard’s extended cab pickups so it would be easy to load the trees into the back.

  They parked at the trailhead and climbed out. The sky was clear, the air crisp and scented with pine. Maggie pulled three packets of hand warmers from her purse.

  “Let’s drop these into your mittens,” she told Joey, crouching down in front of the boy while Griffin collected a hand saw and ropes from the truck bed. “They’ll keep your fingers toasty warm.”

  “Cool,” he whispered, still sounding dubious about their impending adventure in the woods. He gave her the mittens and she slipped a warmer into each one of them then helped him put them on. The boy was adorable bundled up in a thick winter jacket, a wool hat with earflaps and a matching scarf.

  “It’s going to be fun,” she promised, glancing around the frozen forest that surrounded them as she tightened his scarf.

  He wrapped his arms around her, giving her a sweet if unexpected hug.

  She blinked away sudden tears, overwhelmed that this sweet boy seemed to be trying to comfort her in the same way she was for him.

  “Maggie has warmers for your hands,” Joey announced to Griffin when he joined them.

  “I’ll be fine,” he said gently. “I appreciate the thought though.”

  Maggie turned away for a moment to swipe at her eyes.

  “It’s those little moments that get you,” Griffin said under his breath as Joey ran forward to touch an icicle hanging from a tree branch.

  “I wasn’t expecting it,” she admitted. “It makes me think of all the hugs he’ll miss giving his mom. All the hugs Morgan and Ben missed.”

  “Yeah,” Griffin breathed. “But they had you. Thanks for being part of this day with us. It means a lot.”

  She drew in a breath then smiled as she shoved the hand warmers into her own mittens. “I’m not freezing my fingers.”

  “Don’t worry.” Griffin stepped closer. “I’ll warm you if you need it later.”

  Heat swirled through her at the intimacy in his tone. “I’ll remember that.”

  They started into the woods, with Joey leading the way. The overnight snowfall, practically a record in Stonecreek, had left about four inches on the ground, so they moved slowly, which was fine with Maggie. She was grateful to be away from town and all the doubts and worries about the competition swirling through her mind.

  The trees were thick in this part of the woods, which was why the parks department issued licenses for the trees. With snow weighing down the branches and sunlight making the crystals sparkle like diamonds, it was like walking through an actual winter wonderland.

  “Let me know when you find the perfect tree,” Griffin called to the boy.

  Joey nodded but continued trudging through the ankle-deep snow. Every few feet he’d reach out a hand to touch one of the low-hanging branches, as if he could feel which tree to choose.

  About two hundred yards in he stopped. “This one,” he said, pointing to a tree that was not much bigger than a shrub.

  “It’s kind of small,” Griffin said slowly, darting a help-me look toward Maggie.

  “As I remember it, Miss Jana has a lot of ornaments to hang on the tree. You might want to look for one that’s a tiny bit taller.”

  Joey wiped his nose with one mitten. “This tree needs us.” He raised his arms to indicate the huge pines that surrounded the scraggly pine he’d chosen. “All the other ones are so big that he can’t get enough sun. He’s not happy being the littlest guy with no friends around. We have to take him so he’s not alone for Christmas.”

  Maggie fluttered her mittens in front of her eyes as tears sprang to them once again. The small tree was indeed receiving only thin shafts of sunlight, even though it was a particularly bright day for Oregon in December.

  “I’m going to need to invest in waterproof mascara if I ever have kids,” she mumbled. “Who knew I was such a crier?”

  Griffin wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head. “You’ll be a great mom.” He grinned at the boy. “Your logic makes total sense. Miss Jana has been talking about simplifying her life for years. I think a great place to start is by downsizing her Christmas decorations.”

  “What’s downsizing?” Joey asked as he brushed snow off the tiny tree’s branches.

  “Getting rid of the stuff you don’t need anymore.”

  “Mommy got rid of all her stuff after she called you to come to Seattle. ’Cause she wouldn’t need it in heaven.”

  Maggie leaned her head on Griffin’s shoulder, unsure how her heart would make it through this outing.

  “Your mommy took care of things,” Griffin confirmed. “I bet it would make her very happy that you chose this tree.” With a squeeze to Maggie’s shoulder, he stepped forward with his saw. “Plus this little guy will be easy to get back to the truck. Well done, Joey. Well done.”

  The boy’s face lit with pride. “What can I do to help?”

  Griffin gave him instructions for helping then knelt in the snow and began sawing the base of the trunk. Because the tree was small, it came down in minutes.

  “Hey, Freddie,” Joey said, patting one of the branches as if greeting an old friend.

  “You’re naming it?”

  “All living things have a spirit. The tree’s spirit is named Freddie.”

  Maggie expected Griffin to scoff or tell the boy he was being ridiculous. Instead, he straightened, then lifted the tree and set it against the trunk of another larger pine. “Say goodbye to your neighbors, Freddie.” He spoke directly to the tree then inclined his head like he was listening to an answer. “That’s right. You’re the best tree in the forest so you’re coming home for Christmas.” He paused again then turned to Joey. “Freddie says thank you.”

  Joey giggled and shook his head. “Trees can’t talk.”

  “His spirit talked to me,” Griffin explained.

  Joey thought about that for a moment then nodded. “You’re welcome,” he told the tree.

  Griffin winked at Maggie and his smile was so filled with tenderness that her heart melted as fast as a snowball held over an open
flame. How had she ever thought she could keep this man out of her life forever?

  The pain that had seemed to consume her felt like a lifetime ago, and she couldn’t help but believe he’d truly changed since becoming the boy’s guardian. It had only been a matter of weeks but he was different than he’d been before, grounded in a way she could never have imagined.

  It was deeply appealing, and she could almost feel her ovaries doing a little happy dance of solidarity. Oh, yes. Every part of Maggie appreciated the new and improved Griffin Stone.

  Every cell in her body wanted him.

  And her whole, recently patched-up heart loved him.

  She was in trouble. Big time.

  “We need to find a tree for you.” Joey tugged on her sleeve. “Do you want a big one or small?”

  She swallowed back the emotions bubbling up inside her and tried to make her voice normal. “How about one that’s just the right size?”

  “You should get a girl,” the boy said, slipping his hand into hers. “Freddie kind of wants a girlfriend.”

  “Freddie’s a little young to be thinking about girls,” Maggie answered, squeezing his fingers gently.

  They continued through the forest, the boy telling her about the different friends he’d had at his daycare center in Seattle. He explained that Bennie liked race cars, Dante loved dinosaurs and Julian wasn’t good at sharing his toys.

  “But Emma was my best friend,” Joey shared. “Her mommy and daddy got divorced. It’s not the same as dying but they don’t live together anymore, and she doesn’t get to see her daddy very much. I gave her a hug when she was sad.”

  “She was lucky to have a friend like you.” Maggie glanced over her shoulder to find Griffin following them with an incredulous grin on his face.

  “I’m going to start preschool after Christmas.” Joey wiped his nose again. “Miss Jana said I can pick out a brand-new backpack, even though I already have one with trucks on it. I’m gonna get purple camo this time. Purple’s my favorite color.”

  “Mine too,” Maggie told him.

  “What’s your favorite color, Griffin?” the boy called.

  “Blue,” Griffin answered.