Love at Christmas Inn Collection 2

by Tanya Stowe et al

  They had trays full of sliced Christmas breads. Customers could mix and match their favorites to fill three different sized containers. Lauren ordered the largest and chose slices of almond cranberry, maple pecan, old-fashioned gingerbread, holiday rum eggnog and Christmas stollen. The resulting package was so large, she could barely balance it with the bags in her hand.

  Fortunately, Shane was waiting right outside the door. Small white, wrought iron tables and chairs were clustered around the bakery front. He’d chosen one and set their hot chocolate down.

  He took the bread from her hands. “It’s a good thing I remembered how you like to wander while we shop. I’m not sure you would have made it outside.”

  Laughing, she slid onto the chair and wrapped her hands around the cup of hot chocolate. “Good thing I remembered how much you love sweet breads, right?”

  He’d just taken his first bite of stollen. With his mouth full, he winked and nodded. Pure, sweet pleasure washed through her.

  “Wow, this is great. I’ll have to bring the kids back. This little bakery is a gem.”

  She nodded. “Much better than the cookies I made this morning.”

  Shane chuckled. “I take it your cooking skills haven’t improved.”

  Having a mouthful of maple pecan bread saved her from answering. She simple nodded and chewed.

  Now. Now was the time to tell him. To talk about what Livy had said and decide how they would tell her they were not a couple.

  She hesitated. The teasing still lingered in his gaze as he watched her and sipped his cocoa. She loved how he knew her so well, how he could say one word and bring back the smiles. She loved his talent and his goals…his devotion to his children. She loved him.

  Lauren loved Shane McAllister.

  She always had. Every other man had gone by the wayside because they could never match up to this man…her best friend forever. How could she leave him a second time?

  She couldn’t remember why she left him the first time. All her reasons seemed like childish excuses, rolled up in a grief she couldn’t bear and the confusion caused by her mother’s last words. Live life to the fullest. Well, life to the fullest meant life with Shane and she wouldn’t walk away again.

  She dabbed at her lips with a paper napkin. “Maybe we could bring the kids back in the morning.” She wondered if he’d noticed the slight emphasis on “we.”

  He shook his head then downed the last of his hot cocoa. “No can do. They have rehearsal for the living Nativity. I’ll go grab a small tray tonight. It won’t be hot but they’ll enjoy it anyway.”

  He stood up. She called out to him as he dashed back into the bakery. “Grab another slice of that maple pecan. My dad would love it.”

  “Will do.”

  Just like that they moved like one. Like they’d never been apart. If she had her way, they’d never be apart again.

  She threw away their trash and cleaned up the table. With her new resolve firmly in place, she grabbed their packages as he hurried out. He grinned. “Let’s hope that slice of maple pecan makes it home to your dad. It smells too good.”

  “You won’t have time to eat it running to the car,” Lauren assured him. “Let’s go. I’m freezing!”

  He had to jog to catch up as she dashed for his SUV. As soon as he turned over the engine, a CD of Christmas music started playing. The words “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” rang out through the car and they burst out laughing. She turned up the volume and both of them sang along, stopping to laugh every other word or so.

  When the song ended, Shane ejected the CD and handed her the case. Livy’s name boldly covered it. “Did Livy put this CD together?”

  “Yep. She’s very precise about things like that. We only listen to her favorites and absolutely no Christmas songs before Thanksgiving or after Christmas day.”

  Lauren frowned but couldn’t help the giggles that trickled out. “Sounds like someone else I know.”

  Shane nodded. “I know. I’ve always said Livy’s a lot like you…even down to being a fashion diva.”

  “I was never a diva…at least not in high school.”

  “Give me a break! Remember our junior prom where you put together our matching outfits, complete with a plaid tie and handkerchief for me.”

  “Hey, I was ahead of my time. Look how popular plaid is now.”

  He glared at her askance. “You even made me buy white carnations so you could spray paint them black and white plaid.”

  She started laughing and couldn’t stop. “The flowers wilted and paint ran all over our hands. We danced all night with stained black hands.” She sobered quickly. “I forgot about that. Did you have to pay an extra cleaning fee for your tux?”

  “Nah. My mom cleaned it up before we turned it in.”

  “Why did she put up with me?”

  He shook his head. “She said you were so creative, we just had to give you room to explore. Mom was always such a good sport. Still is. She has so much more patience for Livy than I do.”

  He was silent for a moment. The headlights of oncoming cars flashed over his strong features and his smile faded. “She’s growing up so fast.”

  Lauren nodded. “She is. My mom said the same thing about us though, remember?”

  He glanced her way. “Yeah, I remember. My mom said go, be free, learn and grow and your mom was always trying to get us to slow down.”

  “Opposites. Those two were opposites but I’d say they were both right. We turned out okay.”

  He met her glance. A smile drifted over his lips. “Your very subtle way of telling me to let up on Livy and let her grow up?”

  She shrugged. “She’ll do it with or without your permission. Might as well be like your mom. Jump on board and enjoy the ride. It’s a lot better than how my mom handled it.”

  She was surprised those words slipped out. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d criticized her mother. After her sudden death, Lauren missed her so much, her mother had taken on the attributes of a saint in her mind.

  “Like you said, we both turned out okay.”

  Shane’s quiet words washed over her, bathing her in understanding. Reaching across the space, he held out his hand. She took it and he gripped her fingers tightly.

  “She loved you more than anything. All a child really needs is love. It makes up for the rest of the mistakes.”

  Tears filled her eyes and she nodded. She licked suddenly dry lips. “Remember that, Dad, next time Livy asks to cut her hair.”

  He took a sudden deep breath. “Oww. That one hurts. Do you have any idea how many hours I spent taking care of those gorgeous, long locks?”

  She agreed. “A lot longer than it will take to chop them off.”

  He made the motion of a knife going straight through his heart. “Way to get at me. Not fair. You know all my weak areas.”

  Yes, she did. And he knew hers. He was her biggest weakness and her best strength. She would never forget that again.

  “Take it easy, Dad. I’m not so sure a short cut would suit Livy. Her long hair gives her kind of an exotic look and I might just be convinced to say so next time we talk about it.”

  His gaze was hopeful, teasing and somewhat serious.

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  He kissed the back of her hand. “Bless you.” He released her hand to pull into the Inn’s parking lot but the feel of his lips on her hand lingered in her mind long after they’d parked.

  The Christmas Caroling extravaganza was still in full swing. Lauren took the packages from Shane’s hands. “You go on and say hi to the kids. I’m going to sneak these up to my room.”

  Shane nodded and Lauren hurried up the stairs as a rousing chorus of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” rang through the halls. Once inside her room, she stacked the packages behind the suite’s sofa and pulled off her parka. The singing stopped and she heard her phone buzzing. It hadn’t rung in days and the sound caught her off guard. Not giving herself a
chance to think about the fact that her phone hadn’t been in constant use, she dug it out of her purse. The call was from Mandy, her assistant.

  “Hello.”

  “Finally.” The sigh of relief on the other end was loud and sincere. “I’ve been trying to reach you all night. You won’t believe what’s happened. Archer, the department store exec who put us off until after the holidays?”

  A band tightened across Lauren’s stomach. “Yes. He’s spending the holidays in Aspen skiing with his family.”

  “Was skiing. He fell on the slopes and broke his ankle. Now he’s stuck in his chalet going out of his mind. He remembered how anxious you were to close the deal so he called and invited you to visit him tomorrow. Now I checked the flights to Denver…”

  “Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, Mandy.”

  Her assistant paused. “Yes. So?”

  Mandy was right to be puzzled. A week ago, even four days ago, Lauren would have jumped at the chance. Now she was hesitating. She would miss the live Nativity and maybe even Christmas morning and the children opening the gifts she’d just purchased.

  But this was the deal of a lifetime. One she’d been waiting to close. Maybe if she could finagle the flight times…

  Mandy read them off. No matter how she looked at it she would miss the Nativity scene, Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. When she didn’t answer, Mandy prompted her.

  “Which flight do you want me to book?”

  When she didn’t respond, Mandy spoke up again. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

  “I—I don’t know. I can’t leave…”

  The dead silence on the other end made her twitch and stumble over her thoughts.

  “I can’t leave my dad in the lurch. I’ll book the flight myself after I talk to him. Thanks Mandy.”

  She hung up before her friend could ask more questions she couldn’t answer.

  Shane was glad the kids slept in the next morning. He had a tray of delicious breads for breakfast and ordered in some fruit and hot chocolate. They spent the morning watching cartoons on his big, king-sized bed. Just what he needed. A slow, enjoy-the-moment break. He hadn’t had many of those this trip.

  Lauren and Dale Bradford showing up at Christmas Inn was a mixed blessings. On the one hand it made the trip unique and wonderful. But…life with Lauren was always like this, fast-paced, active, moving forward. Sometimes he had to just stop, rest and recover from all of her high energy. Judging from his children’s willingness to stay in bed this morning, they felt the same way.

  They enjoyed it so much in fact, they were almost late for the ten thirty rehearsal of the living Nativity. The small stable scene had been set-up outside the white chapel on the hill. As they climbed, Shane looked to the left where a small bench sat in a small garden. The roses were all dead and cut back, like the first time he’d kissed Lauren. They were just sixteen and madly in love. The bells had clanged and clanged, making them jump apart. He remembered it like it was yesterday.

  Too bad when those bells rang for someone it didn’t mean the couple would live happily ever after.

  Not sure where that sour thought came from. Shane shook his head and ushered his children toward the small, makeshift stable near the front doors.

  The program director was an enthusiastic young woman with lots of patience…fortunately. Getting Todd to stand still was going to be a monumental feat. Shane was almost ready to suggest she find another child to play the part of the little shepherd boy when the little guy finally seemed to get the point and took his part seriously. He looked up and gave someone behind Shane a slight finger wave. Then settled down.

  Shane glanced back. Lauren was walking toward him. So…Todd wanted to impress Lauren. That was the reason for his sudden attention to the task at hand. Shane wanted to smile but little warning signals flared to life inside him. He was happy Todd had bonded so quickly with Lauren. But maybe it was a little too quickly. When they departed for home and she left for New York, how would his little preschooler handle the separation? Another negative idea had popped into his head at an unexpected moment. What was up with him this morning?

  His concern deepened when Lauren settled in the seat beside him. Those great big eyes of hers were always her best feature but they were also her biggest tells. Anyone and everyone knew exactly what was going on with her emotions when they looked into those beautiful brown eyes…and something was definitely troubling her this morning. She looked lovely, of course. The same white parka with the fur around the hood framed her face, making those eyes seem even prettier. But something serious lurked behind that slightly frowning gaze.

  “Good morning.”

  Her troubled features brightened when she looked at him. Her smile brightened his day too.

  “I think you are the only thing saving Todd’s performance. He was having trouble settling into his character until you arrived.”

  “That’s because he’s nothing like his shy dad. He’s a little flirt.”

  Shane laughed. “Shy? I seem to recall I was the one who made the first effort to meet you.”

  “Or you just thought you were first. I’d been watching you for a long time, plotting how our first meeting would go.”

  “Plotting? Okay. Maybe that does sound right.”

  “What!” She swatted playfully at his arm. He ducked from the punch and she fell forward, tumbling into his arms. Her cheeks were dark coral from the cold. Her eyes flashed with pleasure and those lips were inches…just inches away. How long had it been since he’d kissed her? Would her lips be as soft? Would the sparks fly again the minute they touched? Would it be so bad to find out? Just once?

  He couldn’t stop himself. He leaned toward her. Her gaze settled on his mouth and she leaned in too.

  Suddenly the chapel bells rang across the clear-cut sky. Startled, Shane pulled back and lifted Lauren back into her chair. They both looked around.

  They hadn’t even touched. How could the fabled bells be ringing?

  Then Shane’s gaze landed on the deck of the inn’s back entrance. Dale Bradford had his arms wrapped around Miss Opal and they were kissing. The bells chimed and chimed and neither of them even noticed that everyone gathered on the grounds had stopped to stare.

  Lauren had her back to the inn. Seeing Shane’s gaze, she turned and a small sound escaped her lips. “Oh.”

  Shane grasped her elbow. “You okay?”

  She nodded and turned to him, misty-eyed. “Yes. I am. I really am. I’m just not used to seeing him kissing anyone except my mom. But he deserves it. So does she. I hope it makes them both happy.”

  They were both silent for a long while but Shane knew their thoughts were on the same thing…the kiss that had almost happened.

  Now was the time. He’d been dreading it, putting it off but the inevitable time had come. Time to put this exceptional, amazing week in perspective. He’d been fooling himself, pretending his feelings for Lauren were in the past, but he couldn’t go on pretending, not for his sake or for that of his children. Their affections for Lauren were already too great.

  He cleared his throat. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Yes. Of course I am.” She turned her dark, piecing gaze on him.

  “Even if your dad moves to Hope Creek to be closer to Miss Opal?”

  She took a deep breath, as if sensing where the conversation was going. “Yes.” Her tone was quieter. “New York isn’t that far away.”

  And just like that they weren’t talking about Opal and Dale.

  He shook his head. “It is when it means uprooting children who need stability, leaving behind everything they’ve ever known. School…friends…family.”

  A half smile flitted over her lips. “They can make new friends. Maybe even start a career. I’d like Livy to model for my company. We’re creating a new line of shoes for girls and I thinks she’d be perfect.”

  Anger flared to life in Shane. “You want my ten-year-old to become a model?”

  Lauren’s smil
e faded. “Well…I thought it was a good idea.”

  Somehow her suggestion for Livy tipped the cart and emotions he didn’t know he was still carrying spilled out. “That’s the problem, Lauren. You have great ideas and you jump into them with both feet…until the next great idea comes along. Then you follow it to the next pot of gold and all the while the kids and I will just be trying to hang on, dangling by our fingertips until there won’t be anything left to hang on to. We’ll be left behind.”

  “You’re talking about how I…we parted before. I’m so sorry, Shane. It was awful. I was wrong.”

  He shook his head. “It wasn’t right or wrong, Lauren. It was just…you!”

  His words hurt. He could see it in her shocked, startled expression.

  “You…you think I’m really that shallow…that cruel all the time?”

  He was explaining it all wrong. He took a deep breath and shook his head. “No, of course not. You were a frightened, grieving girl. Your mother’s last words turned your world around and I think they were meant to.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He closed his eyes and took another breath. He needed to say the next words kindly, needed to make her understand. “Your mother knew you better than anyone, Lauren. She knew your dreams were big and that your determination and drive were strong enough to make them come true. She knew you’d never be content with—” He looked around for the right words and spied them immediately.

  “For this…waiting backstage for the kids to finish rehearsal. For…for watching cartoons on a sleepy morning. For nightly homework and dinner at six. You weren’t made for that, Lauren. You always wanted more. You were made for the next…” he gestured wildly. “For the next great deal that will send your company nationwide.”

  Her features flattened as if he’d suddenly struck her.

  “What? What did I say?” But realization hit in the next instant. “That’s exactly what happened, isn’t it? That’s why you came down this morning looking like you lost your best friend. Your big meeting got moved up, didn’t it?”

  She nodded and looked to the side. “The exec wants me to fly to Aspen to meet with him today. I’ve been struggling to find a way to do it and get back in time for the celebrations.”