The Holiday Gift

by RaeAnne Thayne

  The bells on the horses jingled a festive song as she guided the team toward the shortcut to the Saint Nicholas Lodge. Before she could go twenty feet, she spotted a big, gorgeous man in a black Stetson blocking their way.

  “I thought I was the hired driver for the night,” Chase called out.

  She pulled the horses to a stop and fought down the butterflies suddenly swarming through her on fragile wings.

  “I figured I could get them down there for you. Anyway, we just bought new sleigh bells for the backup sleigh and I wanted to try them out.”

  “They sound good to me.”

  “I think they’ll do. Where’s Addie?”

  “Down at the lodge, helping Olivia and Lou set things up for the party. We stopped there first and Celeste sent me up here to see if you needed help with the team.”

  Faith fought a frown. She had a feeling her sister sent him out here as yet another matchmaking ploy. Her family was going to drive her crazy. “I’ve got things under control,” she lied. She was only recently coming to see it wasn’t true, in any aspect of her life.

  “That’s good,” he said as he greeted the horses, who were old friends of his. “How’s Hope?”

  “I checked on her a few hours ago and she is feeling fine. She had a good night and has had no further symptoms today. Looks like the crisis has passed.”

  In the fading light, she saw stark relief on his chiseled features. “I’m so glad. I’ve been worried all day. And how is your other little mama?”

  It took her a moment to realize he meant Rosie. “All the pups are great. They opened their eyes yesterday. The kids have had so much fun watching them. You’ll have to bring Addie over.”

  “I’ll try to do that before she leaves on Wednesday but our schedule’s pretty packed between now and then. I don’t think we’ll even have time for Sunday dinner tomorrow.”

  “Oh. That’s too bad,” she said, as he moved away from the horses toward the driver’s seat of the sleigh. “The family will miss you.”

  “What about you?” he asked, his voice low and his expression intense.

  She swallowed, not knowing what to say. “Yes,” she finally said. “Good thing we’re not having steak or we wouldn’t know how to light the grill.”

  “Good thing.” He tipped his hat back. “Is there room for me up there or are you going to make me walk back to the lodge?”

  She slid over and he jumped up and took the reins she handed him.

  Though there was plenty of space on the bench, she immediately felt crowded, fiercely aware of the heat of him beside her.

  Maybe she ought to walk back to the lodge.

  The thought hardly had time to register before he whistled to the horses and they obediently took off down the drive toward the lodge, bells jingling.

  After a moment, she forced herself to relax and enjoy the evening. She could think of worse ways to spend an evening than driving across her beautiful land in the company of her best friend, who just happened to be a gorgeous cowboy.

  “Wow, what a beautiful night,” he said after a few moments. “Hard to believe that less than a week ago we were gearing up for that nasty storm.”

  “We’re not supposed to have any more snow until Christmas Eve.”

  “With what we already have on the ground, I don’t think there’s any question that we’ll have a white Christmas.”

  “Who knows? It’s Idaho. We could have a heat wave between now and then.”

  “Don’t break out your swimming suit yet,” he advised. “Unless you want to take a dip in Carson and Jenna McRaven’s pool at their annual party this week.”

  “Not me. I’m content watching the kids have fun in the pool.”

  The McRavens’ holiday party, which would be the night after the show for the senior citizens, had become legendary around these parts, yet another tradition she cherished.

  “I don’t think I’ll be able to make it to that one this year,” he said. “It’s my last day with Addie.”

  “You’re still doing Christmas Eve the night of the show?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  It made her heart ache to think of him getting everything ready for his daughter on his own, hanging out stockings and scattering her presents under the tree.

  “You’re a wonderful father, Chase,” she said softly.

  He frowned as the sleigh’s movement jostled her against him. “Not really. If I were, I might have tried harder to stay married to her mother. Instead, I’ve given my daughter a childhood where she feels constantly torn between the both of us.”

  “You did your best to make things work.”

  “Did I?”

  “It looked that way from the outside.”

  “I should never have married her. If she hadn’t been pregnant with Addie, I wouldn’t have.”

  He was so rarely open about his marriage and divorce that she was momentarily shocked. The cheery jingle bells seemed discordant and wrong, given his serious tone.

  “It was a mistake,” he went on. “We both knew it. I just hate that Addie is the one who has suffered the most.”

  “She has a mother and stepfather who love her and a father who adores her. She’s a sweet, kind, good-hearted girl. You’re doing okay. Better than okay. You’re a wonderful father and I won’t let you beat yourself up.”

  He looked touched and amused at the same time as he pulled the sleigh to a stop in front of the lodge. “I’ve been warned, I guess.”

  “You have,” she said firmly. “Addie is lucky to have you for a father. Any child would be.”

  His expression warmed and he gazed down at her long enough that she started wondering if he might kiss her again. Instead, he climbed down from the sleigh, then held a hand up to help her out.

  She hesitated, thinking she would probably be wise to make her way down by herself on the complete opposite side of the sleigh from him. But for the last ten minutes, they had been interacting with none of the recent awkwardness and she didn’t want to destroy this fragile peace.

  She took his hand and stepped gingerly over the side of the sleigh.

  “Careful. It’s icy right there,” he said.

  The words were no sooner out of his mouth when her boot slipped out from under her. She reached for the closest handhold, which just happened to be the shearling coat covering the muscled chest of a six-foot-two-inch male. At the same moment, he reacted instinctively, grabbing her close to keep her on her feet.

  She froze, aware of his mouth just inches from hers. It would be easy, so easy, to step on tiptoe for more of those delicious kisses.

  His gaze locked with hers and she saw a raw hunger there that stirred answering heat inside her.

  The moment stretched between them, thick and rich like Aunt Mary’s hot cocoa and just as sweet.

  Why was she fighting this, again? In this moment, as desire fluttered through her, she couldn’t have given a single reason.

  She was in love with him and according to two of her relatives, he might feel the same. It seemed stupid to deny both of them what they ached to find together.

  “Chase,” she murmured.

  He inched closer, his breath warm on her skin. Just before she gathered her muscles to stand on tiptoe and meet him, one of the horses stamped in the cold, sending a cascade of jingles through the air.

  Oh. What was she doing? This wasn’t the time or the place to indulge herself, when a lodge full of young readers would descend on them at any moment.

  With great effort, she stepped away. “Hang out here and I’ll go check with Celeste to see when she’ll be ready for the kids to go on the sleigh.”

  He tipped his hat back but not before she saw frustration on his features that completely matched her own.

  Chapter Tw
elve

  “Wow,” Chase said as his daughter rushed down the stairs so they could leave for the Saint Nicholas Lodge. “Who is this strange young lady in my house who suddenly looks all grown-up?”

  Addie grinned and swirled around in the fancy red-and-gold velvet dress she was wearing to perform her musical selection with Olivia and Louisa. “Thanks, Dad,” she said. “I love this dress so much! I wish I could keep it but I have to give it back after the show tonight so maybe someone else can wear it for next year’s Christmas show.”

  “Those are the breaks in show business, I guess,” he said. “You’ve got clothes to change into, right?”

  She held up a bag.

  “Good. Are you’re sure you don’t need me to braid your hair or something?”

  He was awful with hair but had forced himself to learn how to braid, since it was the easiest way to tame Addie’s curls.

  “No. Faith said she would help me fix it like Louisa and Olivia have theirs. That’s why I have to hurry.”

  “Yes, my lady. Your carriage awaits.” He gave an exaggerated bow and held out her coat, which earned him some of Addie’s giggles.

  “You’re so weird,” she said, with nothing but affection in her voice.

  “That’s what I hear. Merry Christmas, by the way.”

  She beamed. “I’m so glad we’re having our pretend Christmas Eve on the same night as the show. It’s perfect.”

  He buttoned up her coat, humbled by the way she always tried to find a silver lining. “Even though we can’t spend the whole evening playing games and opening presents, like we usually do?”

  “You only let me open one present on Christmas Eve,” she reminded him. “We can still do that after the show, and then tomorrow we’ll open the rest of them on our fake Christmas morning.”

  “True enough.”

  “Presents are fun and everything. I love them. Who doesn’t?”

  “I can’t think of anyone,” he replied, amused by her serious expression.

  “But that’s not what Christmas is really about. Christmas is about making other people happy—and our show will make a lot of lonely older people very happy. That’s what Faith said, anyway.”

  His heart gave a sharp little jolt at her name, as it always did. “Faith is right,” he answered.

  About the show, anyway. She wasn’t right about him, about them, about the fear that was holding her back from giving him a chance. He couldn’t share that with his child so he merely smiled and held open the door for her.

  “Let’s go make some people happy,” he said.

  Her smile made her look wiser than her eleven years, then she hurried out into the December evening.

  * * *

  Three hours later, he stood and clapped with the delighted audience as the children walked out onto the small stage at the Saint Nicholas Lodge to take their final bow.

  “That was amazing, wasn’t it?” Next to him, Flynn beamed at his own daughter, Olivia, whose red-and-gold dress was a perfect match to those worn by Louisa and Addie.

  “Even better than last year, which I didn’t think was possible,” Chase said.

  “Those kids have truly outdone themselves this year,” Flynn said, gazing out at the smiles on all the wrinkled and weathered faces in the audience as they applauded energetically. “Like it or not, I have a feeling this show for the senior citizens of Pine Gulch has now officially entered into the realm of annual traditions.”

  Chase had to agree. He had suspected as much after seeing the show the previous year. Though far from an elaborate production—the cast only started rehearsing the week before, after all—the performance was sweet and heartfelt, the music and dancing and dramatic performances a perfect mix of traditional and new favorites.

  Of course the community would love it. How could they do otherwise?

  “I’m a little biased, but our girls were the best,” Flynn said.

  Again, Chase couldn’t disagree. Olivia had a pure, beautiful voice that never failed to give him chills, while Lou and Addie had done a more than adequate job of backing her up on a stirring rendition of “Angels We Have Heard on High” that had brought the audience to its feet.

  “I overheard more than one person saying that was the highlight of the show,” Chase said.

  He knew Flynn had become more used to his daughter onstage over the last year as she came out of her shell a little more after witnessing the tragedy of her mother’s death. While Flynn would probably never love it, he appeared to be resigned to the fact that Olivia, like her mother and grandmother before her, loved performing and making people happy.

  Almost without conscious intention, his gaze strayed to Faith, who was hugging the children as they came offstage. She wore a silky red blouse that caught the light and she had her hair up again in a soft, romantic style that made him want to pull out every single pin.

  She must have felt his attention. She looked up from laughing at something cute little Jolie Wheeler said and her gaze connected with his. Heat instantly sparked between them and he watched her smile slip away and her color rise.

  They gazed at each other for a long moment. Neither of them seemed in a hurry to look away.

  He missed her.

  He hadn’t really spoken with her since that sleigh ride the other night. She had seemed to avoid him for the rest of that evening, and he and Addie hadn’t made it to Sunday dinner that week.

  When he dropped Addie off earlier in the evening, he had greeted Faith, of course, but she had seemed frazzled and distracted as she hurried around helping the children with hair and makeup.

  He hadn’t had time to linger then anyway, as Rafe had sent him out to pick up some of the senior citizen guests who didn’t feel comfortable driving at night amid icy conditions.

  Now Jolie asked her a question and Faith was forced to look down to answer the girl, severing the connection between them and leaving him with the hollow ache that had become entirely too familiar over the last few weeks.

  More than anything, he wished he knew what was in her head.

  Addie came offstage and waved at him with an energy and enthusiasm that made Flynn laugh.

  “I think someone is trying to get your attention,” his friend said to Chase in a broad understatement.

  “You think?” With a smile, Chase headed toward his daughter.

  “Did you see me, Dad?” she exclaimed.

  “It was my very favorite part of the show,” he told her honestly.

  “Lots of other people have told us that, too. We were good, but everyone else was, too. I’m so glad I got to do it, even though I missed the first rehearsals.”

  “So am I.”

  She hugged him and he felt a rush of love for his sweet-natured daughter.

  “What now?” he asked.

  “I need to change out of the dress and give it back, I guess,” she said, her voice forlorn.

  “You sound so sad about that,” Faith said from behind him.

  He hadn’t seen her approach and the sound of her voice so near rippled down his spine as if she had kissed the back of his neck.

  Addie sighed. “I just love this dress. I wish I could keep it. But I understand. They need to keep it nice for someone else to wear next year.”

  Faith hugged her. “Sorry, honey. I took a thousand pictures of you three girls, though. You did such a great job.”

  Addie grinned. “Thanks, Faith. I love my hair. Thank you for doing it. I wish it could be like this every day.”

  “You are so welcome, my dear,” she said with a smile that sent a lump rising in his throat. These were the two females he loved most in the world, with Louisa, Mary and Faith’s sisters filling in the other slots, and he loved seeing them interact.

  “I guess I should be wishing you a Merry Ch
ristmas Eve,” Faith said.

  “It’s the best Christmas Eve on December 20 I ever had,” Addie said with a grin, which made Faith laugh.

  The sound tightened the vise around his chest. She hadn’t laughed nearly enough over the last three years.

  What would everyone in the Saint Nicholas Lodge do if he suddenly tugged her to him and kissed her firmly on the mouth for all to see?

  “What’s for Christmas Eve dinner?” Faith asked him before he could think about acting on the impulse.

  He managed to wrench his mind away from impossible fantasies. “You know what a genius I am in the kitchen. I bought a couple of takeout dinners from the café in town. We are having a big breakfast tomorrow, though. I can handle waffles and bacon.”

  “Why don’t you eat your Christmas Eve dinner here? We have so much food left over. I think Jenna always overestimates the crowd. Once the crowd clears, we’re going to pull some of it out. Everyone is starving, since we were all too busy for dinner before the show to take time for food. You’re more than welcome to stay—though I completely understand if you have plans at home for your Christmas Eve celebration.”

  “Can we, Dad?” Addie begged. “I won’t see my friends for three weeks after this.”

  She wouldn’t see him for that amount of time either—a miserable thought.

  He shrugged, already missing her. “We don’t have any plans that are set in stone. I think the only other thing we talked about, besides the show, was playing a couple of games.”

  “And reading the Christmas story,” she pointed out.

  “Right. We can’t forget that,” he answered. “I don’t mind if we stay, as long as you promise to go straight to bed when we’re done. Santa can’t come if you’re not asleep.”

  She rolled her eyes but grinned at the same time. At eleven, she was too old for Santa but that didn’t stop either of them from carrying on the pretense a little longer.