by Kelly Moore
As she has her back turned to me, putting the turkey in the oven, I place the little, wrapped box on the kitchen table where I’m sitting. “My mom baked cookies.” I show her the bag as she turns around.
“I knew I smelled peanut butter. I was beginning to think you had on some weird aftershave,” she says. Taking the bag from me, she sees the wrapped gift.
“What’s that?” She smiles.
“It’s for you. I was finishing up buying Emmalyn’s stocking stuffers when I saw something that reminded me of you.”
She’s beaming. “Can I open it?”
I take one finger and slide it toward her. I laugh out loud at her excitement as she rips into it.
“I love this.” She holds the necklace up in front of her, then slides it over her head. She walks around the table and sits in my lap. “Thank you. Turquoise is my favorite.
“You’re more than welcome.” I kiss her deeply.
“I do have a surprise for you later.” She bats her eyes at me.
“I don’t get mine now?” I pout.
“No because if you get it now, our food will burn.”
“I’m liking the sound of that.” She gets up, and I playfully swat her ass. She yelps and laughs.
We enjoyed our meal together, flirting with each other the entire time. Our shoulders would touch, or every now and then I’d feel her foot graze my leg. I found myself touching her every chance that I got, and her bright smile said she enjoyed it too.
She told me funny stories about her clients and their bad behavior. I shared with her the last Christmas I spent with Wolfe. He came home with me for the holidays and dressed up as Santa. He thought Emmalyn still believed in Santa Claus and was disappointed when she called him by his name.
After the kitchen is cleaned up, she slips out of the room when I fix myself a drink. “Shay! Where did you sneak off to?”
“Up here!” I hear from the bedroom.
I place the screen in front of the fireplace, turn off the lights, and head up the stairs. Flickering candles light up the bedroom. Shay is lying in the middle of the bed in a red Santa jacket and hat with no bottoms on. She kneels in the center of the bed as I approach her.
“What do we have here?” I play with a strand of her dark hair lying on her chest.
“I was a bad Santa and didn’t buy you any gifts, and you’ve been such a good boy.” She loops one of her fingers with mine. “I think I should be punished.” She bats her long lashes at me.
“Oh, really?” I try to be serious. “What do you think I should do to you?”
She takes my hand in hers and faces it palm side up. “I don’t know…I think maybe some sort of punishment with these big, broad hands of yours.”
I struggle to keep a straight face. “You think I should spank you?”
Her eyes grow darker, and she draws her bottom lip into her mouth. “Maybe.”
I sit on the side of the bed. “I don’t think you not getting me a present justifies a spanking.” I toy with her. Then she surprises the hell out of me.
She leans over my lap with her naked ass in the air and says, “Please.”
I inhale sharply and rub my hand on her bare bottom. “Remember you begged me.” She nods. I cup my hand and smack her. She squeals but it quickly changes into a moan. I massage where I hit her and smack her again, a little harder this time. The sound she makes is almost like a purr. I repeat the process several times. My dick is hard as a rock underneath her. After the last swat, I put my fingers between her legs and feel how wet she is.
“I think you liked getting spanked.” She stands and unbuckles my pants. I pull them off and sit back down. She straddles me, sliding my cock deep inside her. She proceeds to ride me until we come undone together.
Chapter 17
Shay
I can’t stop thinking about last night with Keegan. I wanted to give him something from me, but the only thing I could think of was to let him spank me. He had said several times he had enjoyed it with Timber. I wasn’t sure how I would feel afterward, but it was erotic. I enjoyed it as much as he did, maybe more.
We spent the rest of our evening lying in each other's arms. Lying next to him with my hands on his chest felt more intimate than I’ve ever been with another person. He’s so sweet and funny. As he told me stories of Emmalyn, I could picture him with her. Even though they weren’t always together, he had a hand in raising her. Every Sunday they would video chat no matter where he was. He said it was hard at first, watching his daughter take her first steps from a million miles away or hearing her call him daddy. He said her face would light up as soon as she would see him, and she would try to kiss the screen.
Spoiling her rotten became his goal whenever he was home on leave, but not with things, with his time. He taught her how to ride a bike, snowboard, ski, fish, and every outdoor activity in between. She sounds like she was well-loved. The only thing she missed out on was having her mother. Possibly…me.
I’m dying to meet her, but I want her to know who she is meeting without any confusion. Even if I really am Timber, I’m not sure I can ever be her or that I want to be. I don’t want to lose the person I am now.
A knock on the door has me grinning from ear to ear. I wasn’t expecting to see Keegan anymore until after Christmas.
I fling open the door ready to fly into his arms. “Paul.”
“Don’t look so disappointed,” he says, drawing me in for a hug.
“I thought it was Keegan. What are you doing here?” I say, kissing his cheek.
“I didn’t want you to be alone for Christmas.”
“But what about your parents?” I usher him in the door.
“There are so many people running around that house, they will never miss me. Cute little cottage,” he says, looking around. “This entire house would fit in your garage.” He chuckles.
“I don’t know, I kind of like the coziness of it.” I take his jacket and hang it on the coat rack.
“You look good, really good.” A crease forms at his brow.
“Then why are you scowling at me?” I laugh and lead him to the couch.
“You’re radiating happiness.”
I plop down beside him. “Was I that unhappy before?”
“You weren’t unhappy, but you weren’t like this.” He pushes my hair behind my ear. “Is it this place or Keegan?”
“I think it’s both. I feel like I belong here.”
His smile fades. “I thought you liked California.”
“I’ve never liked living in the city. This feels more natural to me.”
“And Keegan?”
“I really like him. I think I’ve even fallen for him.” I lean my head back on the couch.
“I’m glad you’ve finally opened up that big heart of yours to someone.” He leans back with me, holding my hand. “I’m sorry it’s not me.”
“I’m sorry, too.”
He inhales deeply. “Are you sure you’re not in love with the idea of maybe being found? Is that what you feel for him?”
I take a moment to think about what he’s really asking me. “No, it’s much deeper than that. I can’t deny the connection I’ve felt to him since the beginning, but I’m not convinced that I am his dead wife. The more I’m with him, the more I feel for him. I don’t share any memories with him at all, but I can’t help but feel like I belong to him. The resemblance is uncanny.”
“But you deserve a man that’s in love with you, not his dead wife.” His concern is etched on his face.
“You’re right. In the beginning that’s all I was to him, but I think that he sees me now. Shay, not Timber.”
He pats my hand. “Enough of this serious shit, let’s get out of here and go have some fun.” He hops up off the couch.
“I’d love to show you the cute little town, but we have to be careful that I’m not seen.” I follow him to the door.
“I haven’t been snowboarding since I was a kid. I saw a place a few miles back.” We put on our ja
ckets and gloves.
“That sounds like a perfect way to spend Christmas Eve. Thank you for coming.” I stand on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek.
We are both completely exhausted by the time we make it back. “That was so much freaking fun.” I pour two glasses of wine while Paul gets the fire going. I place the wine on the coffee table and throw two of the pillows on the floor in front of the fire. I sit, and he joins me.
“I’m sorry I laughed every time you fell down,” he snickers.
“You aren’t sorry at all.” I give him an unladylike snort.
“You’re right, I’m not. It was too damn funny seeing you sprawled out in the snow.”
“I’m going to have bruises all over my body.” I point to one on my arm that’s already purple.
“It was good to see you having fun. How are the headaches?” He sips his wine.
“You know, come to think of it, I haven’t had one since I’ve been here.”
He opens his mouth to say something, but there is a knock on the door. I glance at the clock on the wall. It’s ten p.m. The only person it could be is Keegan. My stomach does a little dance with butterflies thinking about him being here.
I scurry off the floor and race over to the door.
“Hey, beautiful,” he says, holding mistletoe over his head.
“Hey yourself.” Wrapping my arms around his neck, I kiss him. Not just a sweet little peck. A kiss that says I missed you.
I hear a throat clearing behind me. Keegan’s brows furrow as he pulls away.
“Keegan, this is Paul. He arrived here early this morning to keep me company for Christmas.” I step to the side and Paul extends his hand. I can tell that Keegan isn’t thrilled, but he reciprocates with a handshake.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Paul says. Neither one of them seems too warm and friendly at first.
“I thought you were spending the evening with your family?” I take his jacket, hanging it up. I hold his hand as we sit on the couch and Paul sits back on the floor.
“We had dinner and opened our stockings. Emmalyn didn’t get any sleep from being out ice fishing all night with her grandfather, so she went to bed early. I thought I’d surprise you.”
“Surprise!” Paul laughs. I nudge him with my foot.
“How about you go upstairs and get a shower, so I can spend a few minutes alone time with Keegan.” I give him a stare that says it’s not an option.
“I can take a hint,” he says, getting up. He gulps down his wine before he disappears upstairs.
“What the hell is he doing here?”
“Don’t be angry. It was sweet of him to come all the way out here.”
He sees the bruise on my arm and turns it toward him. “What happened?”
“We spent the day snowboarding. Actually, Paul snowboarded. I kept falling on my ass.” I try for funny to lighten his mood.
His strokes his chin. “I don’t like it.”
I take his face in my hands. “He and I are only friends. I’m glad he’s here so you can meet and get to know him. You two are very different, but I do think you would like him. Please give him a chance, for me.” Some of the anger leaves his eyes.
“Okay. I’ll try really hard not to be jealous of the man you’ve spent the past several years with and who lives in your house and works with you.” The sarcasm spills out.
“I’m not sure I like this side of you.” I brush his hair off his forehead and plant a kiss right in the middle. I lean into his ear and whisper. “If you act like a bad boy, I may have to take you over my knee,” I tease him.
His smile finally lights up his eyes, and he bursts out laughing. “That will never happen.”
I pout my bottom lip at him. “It might be fun to try.”
“Come here.” He folds me into his arms. “I missed you today. I couldn’t wait to get over here to see you. Of course, I had other plans for the two of us.” He bites my shoulder, and I squirm.
“For that, I’m sorry, but not that Paul is here.” I giggle.
“I’ll be a good boy and play nice. Did you eat dinner?”
“Yeah, we ran through a drive-thru and scarfed down some hamburgers and a milkshake on the way back.”
“I’ll teach you to snowboard in no time.”
“I think I’ll stick to something a little more safe. How about you take me snowshoeing?”
“That’s boring in comparison, but I’d love to get you out in the woods.” His eyebrows waggle.
“I’ve never camped. You could make love to me all night in a tent.”
“You will want to wait for summer, trust me.”
“I bet you could create some heat between the two of us.” I slide my hand over his jeans and rub his crotch.
He stills my hand. “Don’t start something you can’t finish.” His eyes darken.
I glance back toward the stairs. “I guess you’re right. I can’t make him sleep out in the cold. I’ll settle for making out until he comes back.”
“That I can do.” He leans me back on the couch and kisses my lips, then my neck.
“What are you two kids doing down here?” Paul’s laughter fills the room.
“We’d be doing more if you weren’t here,” Keegan says, sitting us up.
I smack him in the chest. “Don’t be mean.” I giggle.
He responds with a fake grin at Paul. “Sorry, man.”
After their pissing contest finally ends, we all end up playing board games and laughing until Keegan needs to get back home. Paul takes the cue and disappears.
“I’ll walk you out.”
“Only to the door. I don’t want you getting cold.” He takes my hand and only lets go to pull on his coat. “He really is a nice guy,” he says, with all sincerity.
“I knew you would like him.”
Chapter 18
Shay
Christmas day, Paul and I spend the day lounging on the couch watching old movies. Keegan texted me anytime he got the chance. He snapped a picture of him and Emmalyn stuffing large marshmallows in their mouths. I laughed out loud at their antics.
It was midnight before I made it to bed. In the morning, I wake up to Paul talking to someone. I pull on some warm clothes and head downstairs. He’s not down there, but I still hear his voice. I look out the kitchen window, and he’s on the phone. The minute he sees me, he ends his phone conversation.
“Back to work already?” I ask as he walks in the door. I pour a cup of coffee and lean on the kitchen counter.
“No. That was a friend of mine who was looking into Wolfe’s family.” He stands, joining me at the counter. “He found him. Well not him, but someone that has information.”
“Really?” I’m filled with excitement.
“He lives on an Indian reservation in Utah. His name is Moki Hunt.”
“Moki.” I repeat it several times. “Hunt was Timber’s maiden name. What are the chances of that.”
“Moki means deer. I knew you would want to know, so I looked it up while I was on the phone. Hunt is a common Indian name. Could be they were from the same tribe. Reception sucks here, by the way.” He tucks the phone into his back pocket.
“Does he know the exact location?”
“He will have all the information you need by tomorrow. The tribe is located in the mountains. He looked up the area and said it could be difficult to get to.”
“I’m not going to let that stop me. This is the first real lead I’ve had that might help put all the pieces together for Keegan.”
“So what happens to you when you find Wolfe’s sister for him? And, what about him believing you are his long-lost wife?”
“The DNA will prove that right or wrong. This is something I can do for him. I want to know more. Who knows, maybe I will find Timber’s uncle while I’m out there.
“Do you want me to go with you?”
“No. I want to do this on my own.”
“How are you going to convince Keegan to let you out of his sight. From what I’v
e seen, he’s not going to let you go anywhere without him.”
“Then I won’t tell him.”
“That won’t piss him off.” He laughs.
“He will have to get over it. This is something I need to do on my own.”
He glances at his watch. “I need to get on the road. My flight leaves in three hours. Call me when you can.” He kisses my forehead before he grabs his suitcase.
After I’ve seen him off, I get my phone and head to the backyard where I know I can get reception. I purchase the first flight out. I don’t want Keegan to have time to try to change my mind. I know he was headed to the office this morning and then over here before dinner. I’ll leave him a note explaining everything.
I rush back inside to pack up all my things. I know I have this place for another week, but I’m not sure I’ll be back in time to spend any more time here, so I take everything with me.
As soon as I back out of the driveway my phone rings.
“Hello.”
“Is this Shay Fox?”
“Yes, it is.”
“This is Mary from the clinic. You wanted us to call you when your tests came back.”
It’s back a lot quicker than I anticipated. “Okay, I’ll run by and pick it up.”
“We’re open until four p.m.”
“Thank you, I’m headed there now.”
I’m in a cold sweat thinking about the results. I promised Keegan we would open it together. Now I’m not sure what I want to do.
I drive through town, careful of my surroundings. The clinic is a few blocks from the outdoor store. I see his Wrangler parked out front when I slowly drive by.
The parking lot to the clinic is full. One spot opens up as I pull in. The tiny bell jingles as I walk through the door. There are two other people waiting in line at the receptionist’s window. I nervously chew on my nails while I wait.
My hand shakes as the tiny woman behind the desk hands me a manila envelope. I stuff it in my purse and head back to the truck.
