Eggnog and Candy Canes: A Blueberry Springs Christmas Novella

by Oram, Jean

  Liz looked contrite. “You did.”

  Okay. This was weird. Not only had he changed, but he’d somehow dazzled Liz into liking him—a lot. And the professional shield he used to wear had been replaced by…warmth. Caring. He’d always cared, of course, but this…this was…Katie liked this.

  But something was up. He wasn’t a man who forgot and wore cologne to work.

  “Katie, could you pass me fresh gauze? The two-inch.” Nash had unwound Liz’s bandage and was waiting for Katie’s help. She flew into action, grabbing a stack of four-inch squares as well as antiseptic. She fumbled as she handed them to him.

  “You okay?” he asked, setting down those supplies to reach for the ones he wanted.

  “Right. Yes, of course.” She felt like a nurse on her first day, and could tell he was enjoying throwing her off guard. But instead of wanting to punch him or declare it “game on,” Katie eased her stool closer to him, curious to find out whatever else was different about him.

  Was he still a big jerk?

  Was he still single? What if he was married and had kids?

  And why was disappointment igniting within her at the thought of him being happy with someone else?

  They slowly fell into a quiet work rhythm where words weren’t required, while Liz nattered away, asking all the questions Katie wanted answers to.

  Kids? No.

  Married? No.

  Seeing someone? No.

  Still heartbroken over Beth? No.

  Were they still actually friends? Yes.

  Was he looking to start a new relationship? Yes.

  Did he want Liz to hook him up with her niece, Nicola, who’d just moved to town? No.

  Did he make management level in the city? Yes. (Come on, Liz. Everyone knew that.)

  Liking the city? Missing Blueberry Springs.

  Katie laughed, breaking their wordless working spell. “You miss Blueberry Springs? Yeah, right.”

  Those icy blue eyes were on her again. “I did.”

  “Why?” She didn’t mean to sound as if she was scoffing. But really, why would Mr. Fancy Management Pants want to come back here? What was there to miss for a person such as Nash, who was always looking for the next rung up the promotion ladder?

  Those eyes. They kept staring at her. Poking. Delving. Finally, he said quietly, “I missed the people.”

  Right. That wasn’t it. He was definitely up to something. She broke eye contact and began tidying up. “Keep your hand dry for at least forty-eight hours, Liz.”

  Nash interrupted, taking over the dos and don’ts of suture care, leaving Katie biting her bottom lip to keep from telling him off.

  “You two sure work nicely as a team,” Liz said when he finished his spiel. “Did you hear Katie and Will broke up? She’s single, you know.”

  Nash gave Katie a glance out of the corner of his eye. “I heard, yes.”

  “Katie has very good style. I think the two of you would make a fine couple.” Liz eyed her speculatively. “You’re looking trim, Katie. Volleyball? Or are you dieting? You know who is dieting? Jen Kulak.” She turned to Nash. “She’s the new nature guide who almost burned down the town.” Liz addressed Katie again. “I’m sure of it. She lost a lot of weight when she moved here a couple of years ago. But that’s good. When she gets pregnant it will be much easier to tell.” She laughed.

  “Liz, did you need anything for the pain?” Katie began ushering her out of the room, her winter apparel bundled in her arms. “I heard there’s a storm coming, so you should likely head home while you can.”

  “Not coming until tomorrow.” Liz pushed against Katie, angling herself to call out to Nash, who was escaping. “Let me know if you change your mind about my niece. You are a fine catch and it would be a shame for you not to pass on those genes, if you know what I’m saying?”

  True that, sister.

  Wow. Okay, Katie needed to go stick her head in a snowdrift. She’d officially…well, she wasn’t sure what, but it couldn’t be good.

  “Thank you, Liz. I’ll keep that in mind,” he said.

  Katie forced herself to keep from whipping around to see if Nash was serious. Why would he be considering Liz’s niece when, right in front of him, Katie herself had so much to offer—including a lovely, volleyball-toned body?

  Puhlease.

  Oh, what was her problem? She was relieved to be single. The last thing she needed right now was a man complicating her life.

  She sighed. A man would be nice, though. Except for the part where they dump you, unexpectedly, in a humiliating heap. And then there was tidying up after them. Reminding them to fold their laundry. Clean their apartment. Buy new clothes. Get off the couch and live a little.

  And anyway, she was on the brink of change. At least that’s what she kept telling herself. Any day, she was going to become an interior decorator. Any moment her life was going to change…

  Right. And how was that going to happen if she never pulled up her lacy thong and got her butt cheeks in action in order to make it happen? That was why she was still working here as a nurse, feeling more worn-out than ever.

  “How’s your dad?” Nash asked, startling Katie out of her thoughts. Liz had paused to chat with someone down the hall, and cast them a curious glance.

  “Oh, um, fine.” Katie smiled and adjusted her scrubs. “Thanks.”

  “His heart has been good?”

  “Yes. Thanks.” That was the other thing holding her back: her father. Harvey Reiter had had a heart attack, literally, when Oz had told him he was quitting the Reiter and Son accounting business. Katie had scoffed at her brother for making a big deal about changing course and following his dreams. But now she kind of got it. It wasn’t easy.

  She smoothed her tresses, touching her candy cane hair band, which helped keep in place the wisps that had fallen out of her ponytail.

  “Your mom is well?” Nash asked, walking with her to the nurses’ station.

  Katie crossed her arms. “Are you taking a course on how to be human? Why all the small talk?”

  To her surprise, he laughed. “I’m glad you noticed.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Maybe AA? You have to make amends to all those you’ve wronged in the past?”

  The space between them seemed to have disappeared. She could reach out, grab the stethoscope slung around his neck and pull him close. Really close. And then keep him there.

  “Did I wrong you?” he asked quietly.

  “No. Um, yes?” She was getting lost in his eyes. “Don’t you have pencils to line up in a row on someone’s desk or something?”

  It was definitely too warm in here. The thermostat must be stuck. Either that or one of the continuing care patients had pilfered her keys to crank up the temperature in their nursing home as well as the rest of the ward again.

  Liz sidled up to them and Katie, still unable to break eye contact with Nash, said, “Second thoughts on that Tylenol, Liz?”

  “What are you two staring at?” the reporter asked.

  Katie blinked, the spell broken. She leaped away from Nash, shooting him a dirty look.

  “And here I thought you took all these holiday shifts to get away from your mother and her overexuberance with the festivities, Katie.” Liz laughed. “Mary Alice will be delighted to hear she was right.”

  “About what?” Katie moved behind her station for protection.

  Liz faced Nash. “Where are you staying?”

  “What is Mary Alice right about?” Katie pressed. The woman, Liz’s sister, held the title of the town’s biggest gossip, which was not an easy feat, seeing as Liz worked for the newspaper. But if she thought she was onto something in regards to her, Katie wanted to hear it first.

  “Oh, I’m just making conversation.” Liz gave her a sweet smile that made her instantly suspicious. “Now where are you staying, Nash, dear?”

  “The B and B.”

  “How do you like the their decorating style?” Katie asked. The place had kitsch and dri
ed flowers, and 1990s floral patterns on everything.

  “It is one of a kind,” he replied with a small smile.

  “My ride is here,” Liz said. “Nash, good luck. If you have time, stop by for a rum and eggnog or a meal. Hear me?”

  “Thanks, Liz.”

  “You bet, sugar plum.” With a wink, she was off.

  “Are you alone for the holidays?” Katie asked.

  Nash’s chin tipped up slightly as he studied her. “I already have an offer from Mary Alice, thank you.”

  “Wait. You think I’m inviting you to spend it with me?”

  “You mean to say that you would send me to Mary Alice’s, where you know I would be submitting myself to the gossip firing squad?”

  “Um, yeah.”

  “Katie, why do you hurt me so? I thought we agreed to be friends.”

  There was a teasing twinkle in his eyes and Katie couldn’t quite seem to glance away. He had eased closer to lean against the wall beside her, causing her heart rate to increase as his soft cologne wafted her way. He smelled good. He was perfect in so many ways that Will wasn’t. And yeah, Nash wouldn’t ever write her sappy love notes like Will had, but…

  No, this was bad. She couldn’t think about Nash. He was her best friend’s ex. He was in the no-no, don’t-touch zone.

  He had likely smelled like this when he’d been here thirty-two months ago and it hadn’t affected her then. Not one iota. There was absolutely no reason it should impact her now. Besides, it wasn’t as though he was what she was looking for. He’d been divorced before he’d met Beth. In other words, two major relationships had failed. Men were commitmentphobes and Nash was angling to become their spokesperson, by the looks of things.

  Although…you couldn’t help who you fell in love with, and Beth hadn’t really been his fault. Her heart had still belonged to Oz when they’d met.

  Wait. Back up a second. Thirty-two months? How did Katie know that? And why was she trying to defend his ability to maintain a serious relationship? The man liked projects, and women on the rebound. That’s why he’d fallen for Beth, and now he was here to…well, this was probably a good time to stop thinking.

  Nash was watching her again. “I noticed your family has a few new holiday decorations on the lawn.”

  Katie sighed and sagged against the wall next to him. “You can’t even see the lawn for all the kitsch. Scott—you remember him? Our only police officer? Well, he came by to ask Mom to not plug everything in at once or the town would lose power. It’s out of control and has been since Dad’s heart attack. I’m literally hiding out so she doesn’t make my head explode.”

  Her mother, Angelica Reiter, put on a bigger and bigger shindig each Christmas, thinking this holiday season would be her husband’s last—even though he had been doing fine since his health crisis. While Katie had been freaked out when her dad had his heart attack, her mom’s frenzied celebrations got to her in a place she wished she could compartmentalize far, far away.

  Nash tapped her hand. “You okay?”

  Katie pushed herself off the wall and scoffed. “Yeah, sure. Of course. I mean, yeah.” She straightened a few stacks of papers at the station and cleared her throat. “I know you have Mary Alice’s offer, but if that doesn’t work out, my mom would be happy to have you.”

  “What about you?”

  “It’s her house.”

  “We don’t have to be friends. If it makes you uncomfortable.”

  “No, I mean...” Katie sighed. It was so hard being strong sometimes. All she wanted was for someone to listen, fold his arms around her and allow her steal some of his strength for a few moments. Was that too much to ask? “Nash, just come. Okay? I’ll be the miserable woman in the corner and you getting picked on by Oz will make my night.”

  “Beth will be there?”

  “Of course. They live a few doors down and Oz is still family, even though I tried to convince my parents to put him up for adoption.”

  “Is she doing okay?”

  “Yeah, of course. Happy. Um, beautiful.”

  “Always was.” He seemed wistful.

  “I mean she’s pregnant. Again.”

  He nodded.

  “You probably heard that from Mary Alice already?”

  “I heard it from Beth first.”

  “Well, if you are up for it, Mom is serving dinner at seven-thirty. No need to RSVP.”

  Katie found herself holding her breath until he replied.

  “That would be nice. Thanks.”

  There was something different about Nash. He was softer. Still buff, but softer around the edges personality-wise. More gentle and not so uptight. The lines around his eyes suggested a kindness he hadn’t shown Katie before. Beth, yes. Patients, of course. But never her. Somewhere along the line, he’d become a good guy who was on her side, and she kind of wanted to roll around in that feeling as though it were her own personal catnip.

  Well, except for the fact that he was probably coming over tonight to moon over Beth rather than to help Katie suffer through her overzealous mother’s version of Christmas Eve.

  “The buffer against my crazy mother will be the best gift anyone can give me at this point.”

  “You know how to make a man feel special.”

  “Got another stitch-up in ER room one,” Amy said, passing them as she gave Nash’s elbow a warm squeeze. “Seems to be a day for that. You two got it?”

  “Yes,” Katie said, making the turn to head back to the ER, Nash hot on her heels.

  “Didn’t Amy quit to go work at Brew Babies?” Nash asked.

  “She did. She dated one of the bartenders, Moe, then decided when they broke up to become a nurse anesthetist. So she’s back. She still takes regular nursing shifts, too, of course.”

  Katie entered the ER room to see the eldest sibling of the rash and reckless Mattson pack. “Devon Mattson, why am I not surprised?”

  “Run-in with a Christmas tree.” He didn’t seem the least bit chagrined as he sat in his hospital gown, a handful of bloody gauze held against one of his marathon-strong thighs. The man was sexy in a lean sort of way, but he was too much of a daredevil. He was in need of a good woman to tame him. Or at least help him prevent stitch-ups every few months.

  “You need to channel your inner calm and collected, Devon. As sweet as you are, who on earth would give you life insurance?”

  He sent her a wicked grin. “You know you want to date me, Katie. That unexpected, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants side wants out to play.”

  Did someone growl? She wasn’t sure if it was she or Nash. The doctor, however, seemed to be distractedly digging through supplies. Which was her job.

  “I’m looking for a man who doesn’t regularly require stitches. Thanks just the same.” Katie began prepping a fresh suture kit for Nash, after elbowing him out of the way. “How did a tree do this, anyway?”

  “Frankie and I were trying to surprise your mom with an aluminum one. We made it in his shop while I was trying to convince him to give my sister a ring for Christmas. Lights up and everything. I told Frankie I had it. I didn’t have it.”

  Katie raised her eyebrows and handed Nash swabs as he began inspecting Devon’s torn skin.

  “Ow!” Their patient pulled his leg away. “Not so hard, buddy.”

  Nash muttered an apology. “Bit risky, placing a tree on top of a house in this weather, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah, sure.” Devon was watching him warily. Suddenly, understanding lit up his blue eyes and he glanced at Katie. “You’re looking for someone steady and not into crazy risks. Right, Katie?”

  “Of course. Why would I want a man who comes to the ER for stitches and not to drop off flowers for me?”

  Devon laughed. “I sometimes can’t believe you and my sister are friends. Maybe you can rub off on her.” He laughed again. “Mandy’s been consistently whooping my ass out on the race track lately and I need something to take her out of the game. Running her own restaurant hasn’t helped so
marriage and kids seems like the next logical plan. And she’s already got Frankie. Just add a wedding.”

  Devon leaned back on the stretcher, propping himself up with his arms as he addressed Nash. “Katie needs someone reliable. Someone with a good job. Nicely dressed.” He winked at her as if to say I’ve got this one. “Her last boyfriend wasn’t much of a risk taker. But he was probably a bit too calm and collected—you know what I’m saying, Dr. Leham? Ow! Stop with the freezing already. It hurts worse than the stitches.”

  Another muttered apology came from Nash.

  Katie exchanged the empty freezing needle for a prepped suture one.

  “Anyway, her ex was too content to sit around and play video games. She needs a man who isn’t going to throw curve balls of death, danger, and destruction, but at least gets out of the house. You like to get out of the house, right, doc? You know what I’m saying?”

  Behind Nash, Katie narrowed her eyes and shook her head in warning. Devon carried on. “You travel. Try new things. Help others. Didn’t you do Doctors Without Borders? That’s really cool, by the way. Adventure in a not-too-risky way. Can you take nurses with you for that?”

  “Devon, do I need to call in Amy to put you under for this procedure?” Katie asked.

  Nash let out an amused chortle, his hands shaking with held-in mirth.

  “Don’t you go stitching until you’re done laughing, okay, doc?” Devon gave Katie an exasperated look.

  Yes, someone like Nash would be perfect for her, but Katie would prefer the version that came without the jerk sauce she so despised.

  “Wow, that was pretty fast,” Devon said as Nash finished patching up his leg.

  “We’re a good team,” he said. Katie met his eyes, which were full of admiration as well as satisfaction. She gave him a small smile and nod.

  “How many stitches?”

  “Twenty-five,” Nash replied.

  “Too bad Mandy says you hate each other, huh?” Devon said, testing his leg. “Otherwise you’d be a perfect match.”

  Chapter 2

  Katie ditched her scrubs and went downstairs to join Nash, who had come over with her after work. As she clacked down the steps in her heels, Nash reached out to help her with the last few.