“You have the whole town helping you. Put your elves to work, Mrs. Claus.” Grabbing her, he planted a quick kiss on her cheek. “I'll go find Boze, Dolly, and Finn.”
He headed for the staircase.
“Dolly and Finn left.”
All the blood drained into his feet. “They couldn't've. Their plane doesn't leave until eight.”
“They left, maybe an hour ago.”
“What about Boze?”
“He left, too.”
He had a hunch where they might be, but first, he had to ask some favors of old Henri and Peter LeBarron, Boze's mentor. As he mounted the stairs to the second floor living quarters, he called down to Gloria, “Glo, thank you for helping me.”
* * * *
Fifteen minutes later, Kincaid found Dolly, little Finn, and Boze at the farm. Inside the barn, they were saying good-bye to the animals, including Rudolph. The sight of them all together reminded Kincaid of the first time he'd spotted them as the Holy Family in the town's square. He looked down at his shiny black boots, the red-and-white outfit, and felt his beard. Taking a deep breath, he waddled down the barn aisle.
“Ho, ho, ho!”
Little Finn went wide-eyed. “Mama, look! It's Santa Claus.”
Kincaid said, “I see that you're here to help me hook up Rudolph to the sleigh.”
Finn jumped up and down, his red curls bouncing. Dolly regarded Kincaid with weary, red-rimmed eyes. Boze glowered at him.
Kincaid's stomach turned hard as a block of ice. This was far harder than riding any old bull. “Santa has a big party going on at the North Pole for little girls and boys, and for big girls and boys, too.”
Boze grabbed his sleeves and marched with him toward the door. “You asshole, what are you doing?”
Kincaid brushed off the velvet. “I'm trying to convince you and Dolly that I was stupid and that you should stay together. When was the last time you saw me this desperate?”
To Kincaid's surprise, Boze teared up. “In Afghanistan. When you thought I was dying from the loss of blood when I lost my leg. You saved my life.”
“I think I can save you again. If you'll just come back to the mansion with me. I have a business proposal for you that could solve everything. And a party for Finn.”
Back in Moonstone, news crews had arrived with their trucks covered with satellite dishes.
With a huge pack on his back, Kincaid entered the restaurant with a hearty, “Ho, ho, ho!”
The crowded place erupted in squeals, laughter, and cheery calls of “Merry Christmas, Santa!”
The smells of macaroni and cheese, cocoa laced with peppermint sticks, sugar cookies, fresh-baked brownies and gingerbread swirled in the air. Across the room and over in the corner at the gingerbread layout of Moonstone, Gloria was helping Shandra Leigh and other children put the finishing touches on the North Pole mansion. The little girl wore two blinking Rudolph barrettes in her hair, which matched Gloria's blinking head.
When she glanced Kade's way, her eyes sparkled with the reflections of the gaiety in the room. His heartbeat let loose with a thrashing, pounding excitement. Kincaid wanted Gloria at this very moment in the most embarrassing way. Thank goodness the baggy, bulky red velvet pants hid the truth of things.
After patting Shandra Leigh on the arm, Gloria wriggled through the crowd to get to Kincaid. “Santa, did you know some farmer brought a cow into the foyer? And geese? And four noisy parrots?”
“Sorry about those. I couldn't find ‘calling birds', whatever those are. All the pet shop had were parrots.”
“And there's a fig tree in the four-season glass room plus a toy swimming pool with seven ducks paddling around.”
“'Seven Swans A-swimming'. Couldn't find swans, either. White ducks had to do.”
Photographers and news reporters wove through the crowd, taking pictures and video of it all, including Shandra and the children at the table. Peter had the train running again.
“It's time to pass out gifts to all the children.” He lifted the big bag up off the floor. “Where should we do this deed, Mrs. Claus? I have a few elf helpers, too.”
Nico Farina and Harris Healy magically appeared at his elbow with big boxes filled with gifts. They wore red and green, looking elf-like to the best of their abilities.
Gloria said, “How about in the library? The kids finished decorating that tree just minutes ago.”
“Ho, ho, show us the way!”
In the library, Kincaid began pulling toys from his bag for the children. He hoped this part of his plan would work. When he'd asked people in town to come over with baked goods and other items for decorating, he'd also asked them to find unused toys in their attics and basements, wrap them, and bring them along. He also asked for used but good coats, hats, mittens, gloves, and boots. Everything had been wrapped, with hints at sizes and “girl” or “boy” penciled on the Christmas wrapping.
He made sure every child got at least two gifts, plus a clothing item. Many of the toys were homemade because they were old, forgotten treasures from attics all over Moonstone. He gave away wooden trucks and tractors, small doll houses with hand-hewn furniture, homemade sleds and wagons, and even homemade games including checkers and chess, and wood jigsaw puzzles.
Shandra loved her doll with its blue eyes and pink dress. When she opened the tea set box, Shandra squealed, hopping up and down. “Look, Papa, what I got from Santa! Look, I got two presents! And now I have to bake things and have a party!”
Philippe gave Kincaid a thumbs up, then said to Shandra, “You must've been a very good girl this year.”
The little girl's face scrunched instantly in tearful guilt. Seeing disaster in the making, Kincaid knelt down to talk with her. “Tell your daddy all about the gingerbread houses later, okay? He loves you very much. It'll be okay. If you don't do it again, your goodness erases all the sneaky stuff. Watch this.” He took Philippe's paper with the sayings on it, and knowing Shandra couldn't read his handwriting, he took a pencil and scratched out the saying about rosy cheeks. “See? All gone. You get to start over.”
She threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Santa.” She pressed her hot, little soft cheek against his.
Kincaid had to clear his throat.
While the photographers took cute pictures for their newscasts or magazine layouts, Gloria said to Kincaid, “That was sweet of you, Santa.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Claus.”
With the clock ticking time away, Santa asked Boze, Dolly, Gloria, and Peter and Crystal up to the library to listen to his proposal.
He stripped off his Santa hat and coat while everybody settled around the fire. After pouring wine, whiskey or brandy, he stood among them. “I've done some things wrong, but I was trying to protect you, Boze. And Dolly, I'm sorry. I wanted Boze to be sure about you. Because of what we'd been through a few years back. But what really bothered me was that my friend here was going to be bled dry by your ex-husband.”
Kincaid told them what he and Jason had found out about the grand jury probe.
Dolly stirred from her seat on the hearth. “But I've taken care of this. He can't lay his hands on the ranch if we're not married. The wedding's off.”
Gloria put an arm around Dolly.
Kincaid said, “But you could still get married now if somehow we got rid of all this jeopardy from Brendan's real estate deals.”
Boze looked up from his leather chair. “What're you getting at?”
“I met a wise woman the first time I set forth in Moonstone. That was Gloria Gibson.”
Gloria frowned, obviously confused with this track.
He continued. “I found out that the chef for the Jingle Bell Inn, Kirsten VanBrocklin, is the mayor. And I've been told that the town board is made up of women, including the chicken woman, whatever her name is.”
Gloria said, “Tootsie Winters.” She grimaced at the rest of them. “He's not good with women's names.”
“Women run this town, and wisely so. Moonston
e is a great little town. Just listen to what's going on downstairs.”
They listened for a moment to the party going on, to the squeals of children and the boisterous laughter of adults enjoying cocoa and camaraderie on the first floor.
Rubbing his knee where the artificial leg connected, Boze leaned forward in his chair. “Waiting for you to get to the point is as bad as waiting for your chopper to find me in Kabul.”
Everybody chuckled.
“Here's my plan.” Kincaid took a deep breath. “Sell your ranch to Moonstone.”
“Huh?” Boze asked.
“Let Moonstone buy your ranch for a dollar.”
“You've landed on your head too many times.”
“Hear me out. The women of Moonstone can buy your ranch with the promise of selling it back anytime you wish. The thing is this: Brendan Kane nor the government nor lawyers can get their hands on property belonging to a city or village. The land will have nothing to do with them. Moonstone buys the ranch, and it's safe.”
Everybody took bracing swigs of their drinks.
Finally, Peter stood. “John, what your friend proposes is genius stuff.”
Boze gave a nod. “Okay, we save the ranch. Any chance of us being accused of defrauding the government or grand jury?”
Kincaid sweated. He hadn't thought of that.
Gloria bounced up from her seat on the hearth. “It wouldn't happen if the ranch were being used for a good cause.” She wiggled her eyebrows at Kincaid as if he had some grand idea he should say next.
He had nothing. Then he heard laughter again from downstairs. He blurted out, “It becomes a dude ranch for kids and families living in homeless shelters. You teach them skills for running ranches and farms. There's a shortage of people going into those professions today. How can the government accuse you of fraud for giving people real skills for real jobs and saving the backbone of this country?”
Did he sound as ridiculous as he thought he did? Was anybody about to wave the flag?
Boze struggled up. He held out his hand to Dolly. Then he planted the other hand on Kincaid's shoulder. “You son of a bitch, I love the idea.”
As they shook hands, Kincaid caught Gloria's wink. That was the best reward ever.
~—~—~—~ ~
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* * *
Chapter 9
The remainder of the holiday week flew by with work for everybody. Everybody went to church on Wednesday night, Christmas Eve. Kincaid hadn't been to church in years. He surprised himself by finding his voice again to sing hymns. Gloria's voice, he noticed with a cringe, was off-key. He'd found one thing she couldn't do, which astounded him but endeared her to him even more.
On Christmas Day they went sledding with a pack of kids, including Renzo and Romeo, Shandra Leigh, and Finn. The St. Bernard, Herman, chased up and down the hill, licking their faces.
On Saturday, Kade found himself in a tux with an emerald green cummerbund. Each bridesmaid wore a green satin dress with a moonstone pin at the waist. Gloria wore a tailored green jacket and skirt that flared in a way that kept Kade's gaze wandering to her shapely legs. This was his first peek at them.
The Jingle Bell Inn brimmed with Gloria's decorations made from the area woodlands and by Moonstone's citizens. Hand-blown glass flowers sprouted from pots filled with pine cones. Homemade pottery bowls over-flowed with the luck of origami cranes made by Crystal LeBarron's first-graders. Hand-carved, painted birds of every sort rested next to every plate as gifts.
Gloria and Chef Kirsten focused on local favorites for the early dinner, including meatloaf, which Gloria had Chef Kirsten form into small bell shapes for individual servings on top of garlic mashed potatoes. Side dishes included baked apple slices with blueberries sprinkled on top, and a wild rice and mushroom casserole. Kincaid lapped up everything on his plate.
Later, when Boze and Dolly danced their first dance as a married couple, floating on the power of their love, Kincaid swallowed the last remnant of shame for what he'd almost destroyed. Thank goodness, Gloria had intervened in his life.
But a glance toward Gloria, who stood by the tiered strawberry wedding cake she was about to cut, gave him another pang. It was the pain of loneliness. He was leaving Gloria and Moonstone the next day. Gloria, watching the couple dancing, was biting her lip in that wistful way of hers. Kincaid wanted to march over to her and take her in his arms ... and yet it didn't feel right. She was too perfect for him.
A while later, he and Gloria helped the newlyweds get into the sleigh for their ride around town with Rudolph. Kade smiled at the memory of being dumped into the snow with Gloria.
Later that afternoon, while Gloria auctioned off the gingerbread houses and various decorations she'd created, Kincaid packed his bag. Gloria was so busy that he could've slipped away unnoticed. Me, unnoticed? I'm feeling sorry for myself. Maybe I should contact Honey-Honesty-Honda-what's-her-name. But that didn't feel right anymore. Nothing felt right. He felt oddly empty.
Instead of driving to the airport, he pointed the car toward the farm.
Kincaid hiked through the snow up to the hill to the point where he and Gloria had flown through the air with Rudolph and the sleigh. He heard again her laughter ring in his ears when they were dumped into the snow.
After hiking back down to the farmstead, he gazed at the huge house being built with its verandah which Gloria said was made for a rocking chair. He shook his head with an inward smile. He could almost see her sitting there, with a tea set and cookies next to her.
In the barn, he fed apple treats to the goats and alpaca in their stalls. He petted them. The feel of their thick, winter coats made him miss his horse back in Montana. He hadn't ridden Moses since last summer. The rodeo circuit kept him busy. Too busy? Maybe so, but he was good at what he did. What other talents did he have?
Kincaid went upstairs to the loft to check on the silkies. They clucked and rubbed against his pants’ legs as he gave them feed and checked on their water. He tickled their fuzzy heads. “Hey, gals. Put together a routine for Vegas, why don't ya?”
A knock on the outside door to the next-door loft apartment startled him. He thought it'd be Boze bringing Rudolph home, but it was Gloria. She stood in the snow in her red coat. She wore a stricken look on her flushed face.
“Gloria? Something wrong? How'd the auction of the gingerbread houses go?”
“Fabulous.” Her eyes darted about outside, as if she worried she'd been followed.
Kincaid peeked outside. “You're sure you're okay?”
“I'm fine.”
Something was horribly wrong. “Come in. It's cold out.” He closed the door after her, then went to the kitchenette to put a cup of water in the microwave. “I'll make you some tea,” he said, searching the cupboards for tea bags.
“That's okay,” Gloria said. “Let's have tea afterward.”
“After what?” he said, turning around. He almost fainted at what he saw. He bit his lip.
Gloria stood in the middle of the room wearing nothing but her apron. The pinafore top barely contained her breasts. Her hips flared out in a heart shape beyond the white apron skirt that covered the juncture between her legs.
He gulped. “Gloria? What's going on?”
“I never gave you a Christmas gift. I thought about what to give you, but then I just kept thinking about what I wanted. And that's you.”
“Me? The selfish, jealous lout?”
“The lout with a heart. Make love to me, you lout.”
When she turned to walk to the sofa, he saw that all she wore in the back was a bow. When she bent to unfold the sofa-bed, he nearly lost himself. His pants had gone tight. He stayed behind the counter island that separated the kitchen from the rest of the room.
“Gloria, why now? When I'm leaving?”
“I'm leaving, too, remember? I have a cruise soon, and you have a rodeo. Now, let's get down to business.”
“Just like that?” he squeaked.
&
nbsp; She found blankets and pillows in a nearby chest, tossed them on the bed, then came to him. She unbuckled his belt. His mouth went dry as he stared into her brown eyes. When she sashayed back to the bed, he closed his eyes and said to himself, What the hell...
He untied the bow to his Christmas gift, unleashing the most pleasant interlude in his life. Gloria Gibson kissed him in ways he'd never imagined could feel so good. He kissed her back. Her cinnamon and gingerbread and wedding cake frosting smells made him all the hungrier for her.
When they were done making love, they lay on the bed for a long time. Just listening. It reminded him of the day they'd spent downstairs in the barn when she'd loved listening to nothing but the hush of the snowfall.
He asked, “What do you hear?”
“Chickens scratching.”
He chuckled. “Me, too.” Rolling over to tickle her earlobe with his tongue, he said, “Come with me.”
“To Vegas?” She got up on her elbows with a scowl.
Damn. He'd ruined everything. “Yeah.”
“Just like that you want me to give up the cruise with my brother and sister? Why don't you join us?”
“I can't. I have the rodeo. People are counting on me.”
They got dressed in silence. Gloria drove back to the mansion. Kincaid passed it with a final wave to Boze as he traveled on to Superior to catch his plane connection for Minneapolis and then Vegas.
Sitting in the airport, letting himself get mad, he made a mental list in his head about how Gloria was wrong for him. The list boiled down to her being too “quaint.” He was too darn young to settle down with a woman like her. He didn't need her cooking for him, decorating a house for him, worrying about him.
He was in line at his gate to board his plane when he heard a child cry. He turned to see a little girl hugging an older woman. The woman was saying, “You can come back to Grandma's for Easter, honey. Don't cry.”
But the little girl's crying jags wouldn't stop, despite her parents consoling her. The family members hugged each other good-bye. The father picked up the little girl. She dropped her doll, which nobody seemed to notice. Kincaid stepped out of line to go over and pick it up. He held it out to the girl.
Men Of Moonstone Series Page 12
