Stupid jerk. Emotions were high, everyone was stressed, and by next week they were supposed to be at their top performing level with smiles on their faces. The first time those doors opened to the public, they knew there better be perfection staring back at them or this dream of Chelsea’s would fade and all of their work would be in vain.
“Keep the wreaths,” Zach stated, still holding Sophie. “I’ll go get more. We’ll put them over every window outside and I’ll keep Braxton off the ladder this time. I swear we can put up any decoration you want, but please stop crying.”
Braxton exchanged a look with Liam. Only Sophie could pull out such emotions and compassion from Zach. She’d always been the one for him, it just took him a tragic accident and a decade to get his head on straight and wake up to what was in front of him.
Sophie sniffed as she eased back and curled her hands into Zach’s T-shirt. “Sorry. I just want it all to be perfect. I want Chelsea to be proud and I want this place to be packed just like she envisioned.”
“It will be,” Zach assured her. “With all of us taking charge, there’s no way this place will fail.”
Sophie swiped at her eyes and straightened her shoulders. “I’m going to go call Macy. She ordered some extra wire and hangers for me and I need to see if they came in.”
When Sophie left the room, Zach blew out a breath and stared up at the ceiling.
“I’ll be sticking around longer than we first thought,” Liam stated. “I was fired.”
Zach turned toward his brother and stared.
Braxton snorted. “Why don’t you kick him while he’s down? You delivered that about as softly as a two-by-four to the head.”
Liam shrugged. “No way to sugarcoat the truth.”
Zach laughed, not a this-is-hilarious type of laugh, more like an if-I-don’t-laugh-I’ll-explode-and-hit-things type of laugh. “Well, sorry you lost your job, but we could use you here and actually, that’s one less thing we have to worry about.”
Braxton didn’t know why he thought Zach might show a bit of compassion, but clearly he had used it all up on Sophie.
“What the hell is all of that?” Zach asked, pointing to the red circles and the clump of leftover fondant.
“Balls for the holly wreath decorations for the cupcakes.”
“You have to make this up that far in advance?”
“When you’re wanting a few hundred cupcakes all festive and shit, yeah. It’ll be fine in the freezer.”
Zach braced his hands on the edge of the counter and dropped his head between his shoulders. He was worn out and the fatigue was finally taking its toll. They were all stressed and worried and flat-out irritable at times, but the end of this road was in sight and they were about to start a journey that would prove just how strong their bond and loyalty truly was.
“I’m sorry you lost your job because of this,” Sophie said with a sniff as she swiped at her damp cheeks. “But for purely selfish reasons, I’m glad you’re going to be here.”
Liam turned to the fridge and pulled out another tub of fondant, this one green. “It’s not permanent, but I’ll kick things off until we can find a permanent replacement.”
Sophie took a step, but winced, and Zach quickly wrapped his arm around her waist. “I’m fine,” she assured him. “Just turned wrong.”
“Reschedule that showing,” he told her.
Shaking her head, Sophie replied, “This is the third time they’ve looked at this house. I’m hoping they’re ready to make an offer. I don’t need to walk through like I have before, so I’ll be just fine.”
Zach looked like he wanted to argue, but Sophie put her hand over his mouth. “You’re not going to win this argument, so don’t start it. I need to head out so I can freshen up my makeup. I should be home by six.”
She didn’t even give him a chance to say anything else as she kissed him and headed toward the front of the house.
“Is it just your default to argue with people?” Liam asked, focusing now on rolling out the green icing.
Braxton sighed. “Yes, he argues by default just like you poke the bear and get him angrier. You two need to cool it and concentrate on the open house and the business. We each have our roles and we need to stick with it. If we start agitating each other it will only hurt us.”
Zach narrowed his eyes. “Why the hell are you in charge?”
“I’m not in charge, I’m just the only one thinking straight right now.”
“I’m thinking just fine,” Liam replied. “I’m thinking how I want you two to get the hell out of my kitchen so I can work in peace and quiet.”
Zach reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. “You don’t have to ask me twice. I’m heading over to Macy’s to see how the work came along today.”
“When will her house be done?” Braxton asked, noticing how Liam was trying his hardest to look like he was working, but his hand had all but stilled.
“We’re hoping within the next two weeks.”
“She deserves a new house,” Braxton replied. “She’s worked her ass off since school and gave up everything to stay here for her dad.”
Zach nodded in agreement. “I’m trying to get her in before Christmas, but she may be moving that day.”
“Need my help with anything?” Braxton asked.
Shaking his head, Zach headed toward the back door. “Nah. You’d fall off the ladder and then sue me.”
Braxton rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t fall off the damn ladder.”
“If you two are done, some of us are actually working,” Liam growled.
Zach reached for the door. “You gonna stab me with your little knife?”
“Don’t tempt me.” Liam glanced to Braxton. “You leaving?”
With a laugh, Braxton nodded. “Yeah. I’m going. You seem happiest when you’re baking and I don’t want to be the reason these cupcakes don’t turn out. Sophie would kill all of us.”
Braxton followed Zach out the back door. Before Braxton could reach his SUV, Zach turned and held up a hand to stop him.
“I need to get this off my chest.”
Braxton blew out a breath and crossed his arms. “Cora.”
Nodding, Zach shifted his stance wider. “How serious are you?”
So serious he could still feel her when she wasn’t with him. “Pretty serious.”
Zach adjusted his hat and stared out toward the pond for a minute before looking back. “You were serious about Anna.”
The words could’ve been a jab, but the tone in Zach’s voice was too soft, too caring . . . a rare thing for Zach to be concerned, so Braxton didn’t reply with sarcasm.
“Anna was nothing compared to this.”
Zach’s eyes widened as he took a step back. “Okay, then. I didn’t expect you to be that deep with her.”
“Yeah. I didn’t expect it either.” Braxton rubbed the back of his neck. “She’s different and I have no clue what’s going to happen, but I won’t let it cause a problem with the resort.”
“I know you won’t,” Zach replied. “Just make sure you don’t get your heart handed back to you like last time. I don’t want to see you go through that again.”
Braxton smiled. “It’s like you really care.”
“Hell,” Zach muttered, throwing his hands up in the air. “I knew you couldn’t go two minutes without being snarky. Yes, I care, just because I’m not all hugs and smiles all the damn time. Now get out of here.”
Braxton gave his brother the one-arm man hug and slapped his back. “Love you, too.”
He was still smiling when he slid behind the wheel of his car, but the smile died when his phone rang and Anna’s number lit up the screen.
Placing the phone in the console, he ignored the ring, same as the other times. Anna was in his past and whatever she wanted now was no concern of his. He had a future he was looking forward to and a woman who filled him with such happiness and a sense of perfection, he never wanted to look back. So he wouldn’t.
He didn’t even think twice as he drove to the tree farm. It was time to see that smile of Cora’s once again.
* * *
Cora jumped when she heard heavy boots on the porch. Heidi let out a sharp bark, swishing her tail against Cora’s leg. She wasn’t expecting Braxton, but she didn’t know anyone else who’d show up on her doorstep.
When he knocked, Cora pushed away from the computer and padded barefoot to the door.
“It’s me,” he called. “I have a surprise.”
Laughing, she flicked the lock and pulled open the door, his last “surprise” banging against the window panel. The wreath was actually so sweet and she still smiled when she thought of him picking it out for her.
“Another surprise?” she asked.
“Can you hold the door open? And have Heidi stand back, I don’t want to step on her. I can’t see very well in front of me.”
Confused, Cora pulled the door open wider. “What on earth are you doing?”
She snapped her fingers for Heidi to come to her side. Instantly, Cora heard rustling, Braxton’s light grunt, and then the scent of fresh pine assaulted her.
“You got me a tree?” When his shoulder brushed across her chest, Cora tried to inch back more to make room for the man and the tree. “How big is it?”
“The fattest one I could find,” he stated, sounding a bit winded. “Damn, that thing was heavy. I’m going to prop it in the corner and grab everything.”
As he brushed by her again, he stopped, grabbed her face, and kissed her hard before releasing her. “Keep that door open. I have a few more trips to make.”
Cora wasn’t quite sure what had gotten into Braxton, but he was in a mood. A surprise tree, a kiss like he’d just come home from work and they were sharing a house. She couldn’t help but smile. No matter the fact they’d known each other a short time; something about Braxton’s take-charge attitude with a side of sweet compassion had her wondering if this was going to be so much more than she bargained for. She wanted to reach for this relationship with both hands, she wanted to hold it inside her heart where the outside world couldn’t damage it.
By the time Braxton finished, he’d made three trips and she had no idea what on earth he’d brought in.
“I’m sorry, I just completely overtook your house. Let me help you to a safe spot because I’ve got stuff all over.”
She reached out her hand but squealed when he picked her up and carried her. “I can—”
“Walk. I know. But I want to hold you and I’ve missed you.”
Okay, when he said things like that how could she be stubborn?
“So what all did you bring besides the tree?” she asked as he eased her down onto the couch. “Did you smuggle in little elves to help, too?”
That rich laugh of his slid over her. “No, but I may have gone overboard with decorations.”
“You bought decorations?”
“A few. I never put up a tree since I live alone, so I had no idea what it would take to cover this thing. I tried to do the math for the size and do a ratio with the lights and bulbs, but . . .”
Now Cora laughed as the mental picture of Braxton in the Christmas aisle filled her head. No doubt he’d stood there looking all sexy and confused and a bit nerdy in that drop-dead gorgeous kind of way. Her heart filled with so much for him, but she wasn’t ready to label her emotions. It was too soon . . . or so she kept telling herself.
She’d known Eric nearly her entire life, as their parents had run in the same circles, and logically to them, Eric and Cora should automatically mesh together.
But she’d known Braxton for such a short time, and the bond they had was already so strong and unlike anything she’d experienced before. Which just went to prove that time meant nothing and character meant everything.
“Let me get the tree set up in the bucket with some water and once all that is done you and I will decorate it.”
Cora reached her hands out. “Come here.” Instantly he took hold, gripping her hands in his rough ones. “You keep doing all these things for me and I have no idea how to thank you or even return the favor.”
He released her hands and the warmth from his body settled over hers as he leaned into her. The cushion on either side of her head dipped as he caged her in.
“I have several ideas on how you can return the favor,” he muttered against her lips.
Cora reached up to touch his face but landed on the side of his neck. “I’m serious.”
“I was too.”
He slid his lips over hers, so slowly and so . . . promising, she sincerely hoped he planned to deliver on that veiled promise later.
When he eased back, Cora was more than ready to forget the tree.
“I’m not doing any of this to get something in return,” he told her. “All I want is to see you happy.”
He’d put her happiness in the forefront of this relationship and never expected anything for it. He was so selfless, so giving. Guilt washed over her. She needed to tell him who she was, she needed to be up front and honest. She wanted more with Braxton, wanted to see where this led, and they couldn’t do any of that if she was keeping a secret from him.
But she didn’t want to ruin this surprise he’d worked so hard for. One more day. She only wanted one more day of being Cora, not Corinne.
* * *
“Right . . . there.”
Braxton’s back muscles strained as he held Cora up so she could place the angel on the top of the tree. She’d only needed a bit of guidance as she’d felt along the branches in front of her.
His back and shoulder were so much better, but lifting her so high was starting to remind him he still wasn’t in perfect condition. Still, he didn’t care and he wasn’t about to say a word. He loved this moment with her, loved these memories they were making.
“How does it look?” she asked as he eased her back down to the wood floor.
“You did great.”
“Oh, please. You bought everything.”
Braxton may have put a hurting on his credit card, but he’d do it again without question to see the happiness in her eyes. He hadn’t seen that bright light before. When he’d first met her she was guarded, hesitant, but the more they grew together, the more he was seeing a relaxed side, a side abandoned by cares and worries. Whatever had plagued her since she arrived in Haven seemed to be fading into the background. Or she was just adjusting so well, she wasn’t concerned with her old life.
Regardless of the reasons, Braxton was thrilled to know that he had a hand in helping her with the new life she’d wanted to find.
“I feel like we should have hot cocoa or something now,” she told him.
“My mother used to make me cocoa.” The words were out of his mouth before he even thought about holding them in. “She was amazing.”
“I didn’t mean to bring up memories,” she told him.
Now that the past was creeping up, he found he wanted her to know. He wanted to take that risk and bare himself to her. If he was going to put everything on the line, he needed to expose himself in a way he never had before.
“I told you my mother was killed.” Braxton fisted his hands and tried to hold it together and keep those images from his mind. “My father was abusive—”
“Oh, Braxton.”
“No,” he said, shaking his head, though she couldn’t see him. “I need to get this out. I want you to know, I need you to understand what I came from.”
Reaching out, he took her hands and led her toward the sofa. The worry lines between her brows increased as she tightened her hold on his hands.
“You don’t have to explain anything to me, Braxton. I don’t want you to revisit a time that hurts you.”
“Everything happening between us matters too much to me to keep secrets.” He licked his lips and pulled in a deep breath. “Because you mean something to me, I care about you and I want you to be part of my life. And, I need to give you the opportunity to see what you’re getting
involved with.”
“If you’re implying you’re like your father, I won’t believe it. You’d never hurt anyone.”
Braxton let out a soft laugh. “Maybe not, but I could’ve easily gone that route. My life before the Monroes was up and down at best. The highs were high and the lows were . . . a nightmare.”
Cora’s hand slid from his and traveled up his arm, over his shoulder, and cupped his cheek. “You overcame your past. That’s what makes you so special.”
The warmth of her touch combined with her comforting words filled him with the courage he needed to continue.
“My dad was a strict military man. He wanted things done a certain way at a certain time and there was no room for error. He was toughest on my mother. I know now that he suffered from PTSD. That damn disease destroyed my family and turned my father into a monster.”
Braxton wasn’t going to go into how he was abused, how even the slightest things would set off his father. Going there was irrelevant and there was no need to make Cora feel sorry for him. That was definitely not the angle he was after.
“My mother would explain how he wasn’t like that before he’d been deployed, but when he’d come home he was a changed man.” His beautiful mother, always seeing the good in people, always wanting to make things right. “She stayed with him, in hopes she could fix him, that loving him through the illness would show him that she wasn’t abandoning him.”
“Your mother sounds like a strong woman.”
Braxton swallowed the lump in his throat. “She was perfect.”
Memories of her taking him to the park, teaching him how to swim, taking him to the movies all washed over him. She’d done everything in her power to give him a wonderful childhood, but he’d seen how hard she worked trying to compensate for being both loving mother and doting father.
“You can stop right there,” Cora told him, stroking his jaw with her delicate fingers. “I can imagine how the story ends.”
He reached up, took her hand in his, and settled them in his lap. “One night my father couldn’t find his lighter. I had used it to light the candles on my mother’s birthday cake. I was only nine, but Mom helped me because she knew I wanted to be big. I didn’t put the lighter back, so when he went to find it later, he got enraged.”
Caught Up In You Page 21
