“Ah huh. Please,” they sang in unisonant.
Darcy glanced at Dylan out of the corner of her eye and saw his jaw tighten. He was feeling the parent syndrome. Parents had so much on their plates, while grandparents had the free time to play.
“Okay then. Go get changed and meet me by the back porch,” Gray ordered, chuckling like Santa himself. “I’ll take you for a short ride before it gets dark.”
“YAY!” They jumped up and down before dashing toward the front steps.
“Girls, whoa,” Dylan put out his hand. The girls slid to a stop in front of them. “I want you to meet a friend of mind and your Uncle Tom’s.”
The girls referred to Tom as uncle? Tom, Dylan and Dylan’s brother, Bob, must be really close friends.
“Her name is Darcy.”
Two examining pairs of eyes turned up to her.
“Hi.” She waved, not knowing what more to say. Her experience dealing with children was limited. “What are your names?”
“You talk funny,” the littlest one said, pushing back her knit cap and releasing a mop of curls.
Darcy fought the laughter bubbling up inside, by pressing her lips together.
“That’s because she is not from around here, Katy,” Dylan replied. “Darcy lives far away. Down south.”
The oldest one perked up. Her eyes sparkled with gold speckles, like her uncles. “Do you live near Mickey Mouse?”
Darcy chuckled. “Sorry. Not that far south.”
Disappointment erased the twinkle in their eyes.
“But I do live near a beach.”
“You do?” They said in unison, stepping closer to here. The sparkle was back.
“Yes.” She nodded. “You can swim pretty much year ‘round, if you have a heated pool. Do you like to swim?”
“Yeah but we don’t have a pool. In the summer, we go down to the lake with Mom and Dad.”
“That sounds nice.”
Lilac walked up behind the pair. “Girls, why don’t you go get changed and go for your snowmobile ride. Darcy will be joining us for dinner and we’ll get to know her better then.”
“Okay. Bye, Darcy.” They scrambled off, kicking snow up in their wake.
“I don’t want to impose,” Darcy said, turning to Lilac.
“Impose? After all the work you’ve done today making the house look beautiful, we at least you owe dinner. I’m not sure what it’ll be since I haven’t had a chance to see what Dylan has stocked in the house. I’m sure there is lots of mac and cheese.”
“I can help.”
Lilac waved her off. “Next time, I’ll put you to work, but tonight you’re our guest.”
“Okay.”
After Lilac climbed the steps and closed the door behind her, Dylan said, “Jillian and Katy like you.”
Smiling, she looked up at him. “How can you tell?”
“You scored points with them on the swimming. How did you know they liked to swim?”
“They seemed like athletic types, and what little girl doesn’t like to swim?”
“Quick. I like quick women.” He rolled his eyes. “I mean I like...”
“It’s okay, Dylan. I know what you meant,” her words grew louder as the whirling of an engine drowned her out.
Dylan leaned down and said into her ear, “We’re good then.”
“Yes,” she shouted, nodding as Gray bounced over snow banks and grew closer and closer. She jumped behind Dylan and grabbed hold of his cover-all sleeves as the snowmobile slid to a halt beside them.
When the engine purred slower she peeked around him.
Dylan laughed.
“Want a ride?” Gray swiped snow from the goggles he wore.
“No.” She shook her head, studying the snow vehicle. She’d seen them in magazines and on television but never in real life.
“Have you ever ridden one?” Dylan asked.
“No. I’m from the South, remember? We get snow when we’ve done something to upset God, which we don’t do very often.”
“You have to take a ride. It’s fun.” He turned to his father. “Leave it out and I’ll take her for a ride after dinner.”
“You got it, son.” Gray pumped up the engine and it roared to a deafening octave.
Darcy swept the diesel fumes that assaulted her nostrils. She blinked at the shard of afternoon sun that peeked through the clouds, hit the contraption’s windshield, and bounced back at her.
“You’ll love it,” Dylan said turning to her. “I promise.”
Gray raced down the lane and cut through the open field at a high speed. When he hit a ditch and went airborne, her stomach yanked into a knot. It didn’t look like fun to her and Gray’s whoop of joy didn’t convince her otherwise.
They all sat around the table in the kitchen after Lilac had served them thick pork chops and buttery mashed potatoes. Darcy didn’t know the last time she had such wonderful potatoes. Fresh dug in October and still dirty was the answer she’d received from Lilac when she’d complimented Dylan’s mother on them.
“Mrs. Farber called,” Lilac said over her shoulder, while rinsing off a plate. “She has the cider ready and wants to know if you’re going to pick it up tonight. She needs to go up to Burlington in the morning and won’t be back before Friday evening. Since the carolers will be gathering at the church around the same time, she wanted to make sure it was there so they could have a warm drink before heading out to the town square.”
Dylan slapped his head. “I forgot I told her I would pick it up today.”
“Did you want me to drive over and get it?” Gray looked up from the picture Katy was coloring while he held her on his lap.
“No. I’ll do it.”
“I can.”
“I got it, Dad.” Dylan’s lips thinned. He got up and carried his plate to the sink.
Darcy sat forward on her seat. Why wouldn’t he let his dad help? He did have a lot on his hands right now. His job at the ski lodge. She was sure he still had to do things around his own home and farm. The girls. All the little things, he was doing for everyone like getting greens for Tom. “We could go pick it up now,” she said and then looked between Gray and Lilac. “You’re going to be here with the girls, right?”
“We’re in for the night.” Lilac took Dylan’s plate. “Go. Gray will help them with their homework.”
“Homework?” Gray’s eyes widened.
“Yes. You do the homework and I’ll make sure they get their baths,” Lilac said with authority. She swooshed Dylan away from picking at the cherry pie she’d also baked. “You and Darcy go. Get the cider or whatever else you want to do. You can have a piece of that pie later.”
“Darcy wants to go snowmobiling.” Jillian held out Mr. Buzzy for her to pet.
She stroked the rabbit’s soft fur and smiled at the girl. Jillian had taken a liking to her. The girl had made sure she sat next to her at the meal. “That’s okay. Getting the cider is more important.”
“You’re not getting out of it that easy.” Dylan stood. “My truck is loaded with the greens for Tom, and Mrs. Farber only lives a mile from here, through the back field. I can pull the sled behind us and put the cider in it. That way you’re sure of a nice slow ride the first time out.”
“We could deliver the greens first and then go get the cider.”
He looped his hands under her arm pits and boosted her from the chair. “Come on, chicken.”
The girls made clucking noises.
“All right.” Staring at their daring-you expressions, she straightened her sweater. If the two little girls had no fear of that machine, neither would she. But children had no fear. Fear had to be learned. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat. “I’ll go.”
Lilac found Elizabeth’s snowmobile suit stored in the laundry room closet. Lilac’s daughter-in-law was apparently larger than Darcy by maybe two sizes. She had more than enough room in the coveralls and felt like a walking cranberry-colored marshmallow.
Feeling four pai
rs of eyes watching her from the kitchen windows, she made her way down the back steps. The nylon material swished with each step.
“Here’s a helmet,” Dylan said. He wore one himself along with goggles and heavier gloves than she had seen him wear before. “Put these gloves on too.” He reached back and plucked them off the contraption’s leather seat. “It gets mighty cold when you’re whizzing over frozen ground.”
Her gaze jumped to meet his. “Whizzing? No one said anything about whizzing. You said a nice leisurely ride.”
He took her hand, now encased to the point she couldn’t feel his grasp. “I never said the word leisurely. Get on.”
“I don’t know about this.” She followed his lead and threw her leg over the seat and settled in behind him. The engine roared to life. “What do I hold onto?” She called into his ear.
“Me. Hang on.”
“Owww.” She wrapped her arms around him and the vehicle jumped forward, throwing her backward and then against him. The cold air slapped against her face like tiny icicles. It was both frightening and exhilarating.
Catching her breath, she squeezed her eyes closed and pressed her frozen cheek against his back. Not touching him was no longer optional. It was a matter of survival.
She felt his strong back muscles contract under her cheek.
He leaned back, turning his head toward her and shouted, “Are you okay?”
She simply nodded against his back, not loosening the strangle hold she had on him.
“Fun, huh?”
They hit a bump and she slid forward and he nestled between her legs. Not yet, she thought, but she had to admit the activity had its perks. She peeked out of her right eye. The landscape moved by like a motion picture. Dark shadows on white canvas. Above, stars dotted the sky like diamonds spilled onto black velvet. It really was lovely.
She relaxed, letting her body feel the machine glide across the frozen tundra and the male strength her arms held onto.
They made their way across the field in a few minutes and then Dylan drove more slowly as he navigated his way through a track of woodland and down a grade to another open field. Off in the distance a farmhouse stood, lit up like a beacon.
Mrs. Farber greeted them and chatted with Darcy like they were old friends while Dylan loaded the twenty gallons of fresh-pressed cider into the sled they’d pulled. Once Dylan had secured the load, he said, “You be careful driving to Burlington and back. We want to see you at the social Friday night. Thank your son for getting the cider pressed in time.”
As Darcy turned to leave, the old woman grabbed her into a bear hug and whispered in her ear, “I’m so glad Dylan found someone like you. He deserves the best.”
She smiled down at Mrs. Farber, not knowing what to say. Did everyone in town see something she didn’t?
***
The light spilling out of Tom’s kitchen caught Darcy’s attention as she came in the front door. She removed her coat and boots and padded down the hallway in her stocking feet.
“So where have you been?” With a dish rag in hand, Tom looked up and stopped wiping down his kitchen counter.
“You know very well where.” Darcy dashed a glanced at the digital clock on the oven. It was eleven thirty-two. She hooked her wild strands and twisted them back over her shoulders. She hadn’t looked in the mirror lately, but by the feel of her hair, she could tell she must look like a wild woman. The helmet she’d worn had only done minimal containment. Next time Dylan took her for a snowmobile ride she had to remember to braid her hair first.
“You’ve been gone for almost sixteen hours.” He smirked. “How much decorating did you two do? I was just making some tea. Do you want some?”
She wiggled onto the bar stool and hooked her feet over the chair’s stretcher. “Yes, please. Dylan and I got a lot done before his parents showed up.”
Tom stopped in mid reach of retrieving two mugs. “Gray and Lilac? I thought they were going to be away over the holiday.”
“They thought Dylan needed help with the girls, so they decided to come home. Plus there is some town meeting.” She waved in the air.
Tom chuckled. “I bet that was interesting. They didn’t find you and Dylan in a compromising position, did they?”
“No!” She raised her chin. Well sort of, but she wasn’t going to tell her friend she was encased in Dylan’s arms when his parents walked in on them. It was an innocent embrace meant to comfort her, but Tom would read more into it than there was and host his shit-ass I-was-right grin when he wasn’t right. However, innocent wouldn’t be the word she’d use to describe the rush of heat that had shot to her core. She dropped her gaze as she reached down and pretended to pull her heavy sock higher on her calf. “We were just finishing lunch before heading outside to work on the outdoor lights when they arrived.”
“Oh. So how did you like the Kincaids?”
“They’re nice. A little quirky.”
Tom laughed. “Yup. That’s how I would describe them. Good hearts.”
“I also meet his nieces. They’re adorable.”
The tea kettle whistled. “That they are. Tom has his hands full with them.”
“Well, he’s doing a great job.” She accepted the cup he slid across the island.
Tom’s right brow rose slightly. “Sounds like you like the guy.”
“Sure. He’s nice, but before you start planning our double wedding you should know it’s never going to happen. Dylan and I discussed our little attraction to each other and we decided to keep it friendly, for your sake.”
Tom splayed his hands on his chest. “My sake?”
“Yes.” She swallowed her sip of tea and nodded. “Neither of us is interested in a temporary relationship or a long-distance one for that matter, and since we’re going to see each other on occasions, like at your and Allison’s wedding—”
“Who you are meeting tomorrow morning,” Tom interrupted her. “We’re having breakfast together at Armell’s Country Kitchen before Allison starts work.” He pointed a finger between them.
“Awesome. I can’t wait.” Her friend’s eyes sparkled just thinking about his new love. She was very happy for him, and she had to admit a bit jealous. She sat straighter on the barstool. “Anyway, Dylan and I decided we didn’t want any tension between us.”
“You talked this all out?” Tom questioned over the rim of his mug.
“Yes. We did.”
“And you both agreed?”
She nodded and then she narrowed her eyes. “Why are you laughing?”
“Because it’s the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard.”
“It is not.” She knew her retort sounded childish, but that was all she had at the moment.
“Do you mean to sit there and tell me there wasn’t one time today that you wanted to lock lips with Dylan again, like you did yesterday?”
She hesitated a moment too long before declaring, “No.” The dozen times she had leaned toward Dylan, longing to feel his strong arms around her and his soft lips pressed against hers, had tripped up her tongue. “No,” she said again with more conviction.
Tom held up two fingers and intertwined them. “Two no’s mean yes.”
She sat her mug down with a thud. “Thinking Dylan and I are going to get together is pointless.”
“Why?”
“For one thing, he lives here and I live a thousand miles away.” She slid off the stool, feeling the urge to run from the room, but she kept her feet planted and her slowly heating gaze latched on to Tom’s.
“One of you would have to move,” he said, cocking and eyebrow.
“What would I do with Sweet Grass?” She cleared her throat, knowing her pitch had risen. “I mean really.”
“Sell it. I’ve been thinking about taking on a partner.”
She blinked. “What?”
Tom sat his mug in the sink. “Look, I pretty much spend twenty-four seven at the restaurant. I don’t know how Allison and I managed to get together in the first
place. We’re both in our thirties. We don’t want to wait. We want to start a family right away. I don’t want to spend my life missing out on milestone events because of the place. A few I understand. It happens when you run a business. But all? No.”
“But you love the Lone Grist Mill. It’s your dream.”
“It was my dream. Now my dream is Allison and a family with her. People change. Dreams change, Darcy.” He came around the bar and took her by the arms. “All I’m saying is if you really, really like Dylan, give the relationship a chance. If nothing comes of it, so be it.” He shrugged. “At least you’ll never wonder what if. And if you fall in love, there will always be a way to work things out.” He kissed her forehead. “I’m going to bed early for a change. See you in the morning.”
As the stairs creaked under Tom’s weight, Darcy walked to the bay window overlooking the back acres of Tom’s property. The pane edges were frosted with tiny crystals. She really had enjoyed being dressed like a hard-headed cranberry marshmallow and riding across the open fields behind a guy who made her heart sing. Dreams change. Could she really let go of Sweet Grass?
Chapter Eight
Dylan dropped his gear onto the back porch and shrugged out of his ski patrol jacket. The scent of pot roast filled his nostrils and immediately his stomach grumbled. It was nice to come home from work and know he didn’t have to cook dinner.
“Smells great, Mom.” He entered the kitchen and stopped.
Jillian and Katy sat at the table with their school books spread out in front of them. Christmas carols played softly from the radio on the kitchen counter. Darcy stood at the stove.
She turned around with a gravy-covered spoon poised a mere inch from her full mouth and smiled. “Hi.”
His heart did a somersault.
“What are you doing here?”
“I stopped by with a rhubarb custard pie.” She pointed to the counter where a deep-dish pie sat. “Your dad mentioned last night it was his favorite and Tom actually had some rhubarb frozen. I had nothing to do today and was kind of bored, so I baked. When I arrived, your mother asked if I could stay with the girls for an hour and watch over the dinner she started while she and your dad ran down the mountain for something.”
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