PERFECT

by Autumn Jordon

  “Shhh. They’re in bed.”

  “Bed?” Baker snagged the sleeve of his wool coat and peeked at his Rolex. “It’s only seven-thirty. No. Wait. Nine-thirty your time. Still, that’s early.”

  “They had a very busy day.” Dylan shoved the door closed behind Mrs. Baker and caught a glimpse of Darcy as she crossed the living room toward the Christmas tree. She was probably trying to stay out of sight until he handled the newcomers.

  “Oh, I’m so anxious to see them,” Cybil said, sitting her bag on the oak foyer bench. She peeled off her gloves, removed the thin scarf from her head and patted her hair into place. “I haven’t seen them since…” She tapped a perfectly polished finger against her narrow chin. “When was it we saw them last, Eric, in person, not just on Skype? Do you mind if we wake them?”

  Dylan scurried around the couple and took up a defensive position in front of the stair case. “Actually, I do. They have their Christmas Sunday school play tomorrow morning and need to be up by seven.”

  Cybil pulled up short. Her lips thinned into a frown. “Oh. Well, I guess we’ll have to wait until morning. I’ll just peek at the little angels before I head to bed. It’s been a long day. We dropped all ours plans at the last minute and rushed to get here.”

  A bad feeling settled in Dylan’s gut. “Where are you staying?”

  The woman’s brow furrowed under her dusting of silver bangs. “Why here, of course. In the guest room where we always stay.”

  Bob always said these two just assumed the world did as they wanted. “I’m sleeping in the guest room.”

  “Oh, right. Of course, you’re living here.” She slipped out of her coat.

  He’d basically changed his whole life to watch over his nieces. “For now.” He inhaled through his nose. He could say more, but they knew that Elizabeth and Bob and he had decided it would be a less traumatic situation for the girls if he’d stay here with them rather than if they’d come to live with him at his house. That was all that matter.

  “No problem.” She waved him off. “We’ll just sleep in Elizabeth’s room. I’m sure she won’t mind.”

  Dylan’s fingers curled around the banister. “My parents are staying in Bob and Elizabeth’s room,” he said calmly.

  Cybil spun around to face Eric as if saying, “Would you handle this situation please?”

  “Gray and Lilac are here? I thought they were off somewhere fighting political injustice,” Mr. Baker said, taking his wife’s coat.

  Dylan felt the vein in his neck and now understood Bob’s blood-pressure problem whenever his in-laws came to visit. “They had some issues to handle here, plus they also wanted the girls to have family around them during Christmas week.”

  “Huh. Great minds and all that, I guess you could say.” Baker turned to hang his wife’s coat on the rack next to the door and peered into the living room. “And who do we have here?”

  Darcy moved away from the tree and waved. He had no choice but to introduce her now.

  “Mrs. and Mr. Baker, this Darcy Witherspoon,” Dylan said, leading them into the living room. “A friend of mine.”

  “Hi, ya’all.” Darcy extended her hand to Mr. Baker first. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you too.”

  “It doesn’t sound like you’re from around here,” Cybil Baker said, accepting Darcy’s hand.

  “No, Mrs. Baker, I am not. Charleston is my home.”

  Dylan’s molars ground. How he wished Black Moose was her home.

  “Are you here on vacation?”

  Mr. Baker’s smile told Dylan the old dog very much appreciated Darcy’s company. He held back his chuckle at the man’s attempt to be charming.

  “Sort of. I’m visiting a friend.”

  “A mutual friend,” Dylan interjected. “Tom Angleman. You might’ve met him. He owns The Lone Grist Mill restaurant. Anyway, Tom was busy today working so Darcy helped me and the girls cut down and decorate this tree.”

  “It’s beautiful,” Cybil said, admiring the evergreen. Then she turned to face him, cutting Darcy’s thank you short. The older woman’s pointed stare put him on the defense. “Since you’re the man of the house now, while our Elizabeth and Bob are away, where would you like us to sleep?”

  His first few suggestions stayed behind his clamped lips. They were his nieces’ grandparents after all. Relatives. “How long are you staying?” He asked calmly.

  “We’re meeting our friend at the airport on December 26th at four in the afternoon.” Baker stood by the fire he’d built for him and Darcy to enjoy, and rubbed his hands together. “So we’ll leave here after breakfast.”

  That was only three days. Three nights, including tonight.

  The back door opening turned his head. A second later, his mother called not too loudly, “We’re home early. Nate developed a bad cold, delivering the food baskets today, so we cut the evening short. Darcy? Dylan?”

  This was going to be fun.

  Lilac and Gray rounded the archway and froze. Dylan wished he could take a picture of their surprised, aghast expressions to send to Bob. His older brother would definitely get a chuckle, especially since he was far away and his little bro had to handle them. “Mom, Dad, look who decided to join us for Christmas.”

  His mother recovered first. “Well, hi. We didn’t know you were coming. Welcome.”

  Cybil immediately crossed to Lilac and kissed her cheeks and then did the same to Gray. “It’s so nice to see both of you again. You look so… country healthy.”

  “Well, we are country folks.” Lilac smile was genuinely forced.

  “It’s nice to see you again too.” Gray took Baker’s hand.

  The firmness of their grips told Dylan the title for best grandpa was on.

  Poor Jillian and Katy.

  An hour later, over coffee, tea, and Darcy’s delicious cookies, it was settled that Gray and Lilac would stay at Dylan’s house since they were familiar with the place and had most of their belongings still stored in the van. Dylan however, had most of his personal items upstairs.

  As much as he claimed he could rough it out at the house for three days, his parents insisted he stayed there with the girls. Whispered words like “protect the girls” and “there would be less chance of carnage” were used by both his parents. So to save the girls, he relinquished his home and gave up any chance of spending any alone time with Darcy, showing her his art, and learning what it could be like to hold her in his arms all night.

  That night, while she lay alone in bed at Tom’s house, Darcy admitted to herself she was disappointed by Gray and Lilac’s decision to stay at Dylan’s place. She really had looked forward to spending hours alone with him, wrapping and other things.

  The next day, every time Santa rubbed his nose with hers for the benefit of the Sunday school children, showing them how much he loved Mrs. Claus, her heart thumped against the extra padding of her costume. She wanted to lay Santa so freakin’ bad. It wasn’t her hormones just doing the talk. It was her head and heart, too.

  Watching Dylan with his nieces was one thing, but seeing him bringing joy and laughter to both the young and old of Black Moose was an entirely different experience that cemented him in her heart. He truly was a good man.

  “So, Mrs. Claus.” Dylan draped an arm around her pillow-packed waist. “What are you thinking about?”

  She stared up into dark eyes. They weren’t blue like Santa was portrayed to have, but no one cared. The twinkle was the same. “How much fun this is,” she lied.

  “It is, isn’t it?” he said, surveying the noisy church hall. “I think next year, Bob and I will need to flip a coin and see who gets the job. I’m glad you’re having a great time.”

  Her heart fell.

  He caught her eye. “What’s wrong?”

  Who would play his Mrs. Santa if she wasn’t here? “Oh, nothing. I was just wondering if any churches in my area do this type of thing. I’m sure there are. I’d like to do it again.”
r />   He said softly, “Be my Mrs. Claus.”

  She jerked back, staring up at him. “What?”

  He grabbed her hand and kept her from moving further away from his side. “I know it’s fast, but my dad said he and Mom decided to get married within a week and they’ve been married for over thirty-five years. Look at them—” He pointed toward Gray and Lilac who stood near the dessert table, laughing it up with a few of the locals and the Bakers. “They’re still going strong.”

  Shock widened her eyes. “You discussed marrying me with your father?”

  “No. He discussed it with me. He said he saw the way I looked at you. It was the same way he looked at my mom. He was in love. And so am I.”

  The noise, the walls and the air seemed to close in on her. And the towns’ people all appeared to glance their way with growing interest.

  “Wait.” Her heart beat wildly in her chest like an egg timer gone wacky. She pressed a finger to her temple, knocking her wire-framed glasses off angle. “This is happening too fast. I can’t breathe.”

  He hustled her outside the hall and across the parking lot to a snow covered gazebo that probably was the setting for many marriages.

  “Take slow, deep breaths.” He rubbed her back. No one had ever sounded that concerned over her.

  The cold air assaulted her lungs and after a several quick breaths, she breathed somewhat normally, but then she began to shiver.

  Dylan pulled her into his arms and wrapped his warmth around her. His fake beard tickled her nose. She brushed it aside and was treated to a whiff of his musky cologne.

  “Are you okay?”

  She nodded against his shoulder.

  “Good.” He continued to hold her until she completely relaxed.

  She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of his heart against her palm and his warm breath on her skin as he murmured his loving thoughts to her. She sighed. She could stay right here, like this forever.

  Darcy blinked. Could falling in love be that easy? Could everything that had mattered to her just a week ago no longer hold the importance it once had? Could she really be holding her life, her future, right here?

  She pushed against Dylan’s chest and tilted her face up to his. “Yes.”

  It was Dylan’s turn to look shocked. “What?”

  “I’ll marry you. Right now. Right here, if you want.”

  A huge smile bloomed on Santa’s lips. “Amos Knittle is the town clerk. He’s inside. There is no waiting period in Vermont. Or did you want to wait and have your family here, too?”

  “No. It would take weeks to get them here.” She clung to him, not wanting to break their connection. “Tom. I want Tom and Allison to be with us. And I want to shed some pillows. Go get Knittle before he leaves.”

  Dylan’s mouth eagerly covered hers.

  “Hey, look. Santa is kissing Mrs. Claus,” a boy shouted as his parents led him from the hall.

  “Santa is going to do more than kiss Mrs. Claus tonight,” Dylan mumbled against her lips.

  “Wait until Santa sees what Mrs. Claus has in store for him.” Joy swelled in Darcy’s heart and she kissed her love again.

  Epilogue

  Chaos filled with abundant delicious food and drink, spicy scents and tons of belly laughs and general good cheer—that was the only way Dylan could describe Christmas day at the Kincaids’.

  Gray and Lilac moved back into Bob’s house, giving Darcy and him privacy at his own home. When they weren’t wrapping Christmas presents and doing other holiday preparations like gathering the food for the huge feast Darcy had planned to cook with his Mom, he was unwrapping her.

  During the day, however, all of the Kincaids, and their relatives by marriage, were together, enjoying and practicing their patience of each other.

  In retrospect, Dylan had always followed his father’s advice. He hadn’t gone the route most young people did nowadays. He’d decided to stay on Black Moose Mountain and continue the business his father started many years ago, because he loved working outdoors, loved the farm, and he worked at his art which his new bride also seemed to love. Now, with Darcy in his life, he was a completely happy man. Well, almost. He still harbored fears for his brother’s safety.

  “Dylan and Darcy, it’s time,” his mother called over the chatter coming from the dining room.

  Apparently noting his distress on the scheduled Skype call, Darcy took the dish towel from his hands and cupped his face. “Bob is okay. I just know it.”

  “I wish I did, but my gut is twisted into a sailor’s knot the size of a grapefruit.” He bit his lip. “What if—”

  Darcy stopped him by pinching his cheeks together. “Don’t go looking for worry. It finds you on its own. Whatever life throws at us, we’ll handle together. All of us. Understand?”

  Her stern look made him smile. “Yes, Mrs. Kincaid.”

  “Good.” She pecked his lips and moved back before he had a chance to gather her into his arms and show her how much he appreciated her and loved her.

  She slipped her hand in his. “Let’s go.”

  Buzzy hopped down the hallway in front of them and then at the sound of a cheer from the crowd in the dining room, scurried into the living room and under the tree.

  Dylan’s heart leapt at the sound of Elizabeth and Bob both shouting, “Merry Christmas.”

  He smiled down at Darcy and urged her into the room where all the Kincaids and relatives by marriage were crying and laughing and hugging.

  “Dylan, look. Bob’s okay.”

  His mother’s tears brought moisture to his own eyes. It struck him at that moment how much his parents had to have been worried about their oldest son over the past month and how they had forged forward with the duties of life, hiding their worries for the sake of the girls and him. “I see.”

  He moved into camera shot and smiled at the screen. “Merry Christmas, big brother.”

  “Hey, squirt. You didn’t forget to spike Mom’s eggnog, did you?”

  “No. I took care of everything.”

  Jillian pushed up on her chair and hogged the camera. “Uncle Dylan married Aunt Darcy.”

  “What’s this?” Bob and Elizabeth both shouted.

  “Yup. He found him a good one and took my advice and didn’t let her off the mountain.” Gray leaned into camera view. “Dylan, introduce Darcy to your brother and Elizabeth.”

  Dylan looked around and found his bride standing behind him. He took her by the shoulders and shuffled her in front of him. “Darcy, meet Bob and Elizabeth.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Elizabeth said.

  “Congratulations you two,” Bob added. “When we get home next month, we’ll want to hear all about how you two met.”

  “You’re coming home,” everyone shouted in their own way. The girls jumped up and down on their chairs. Dylan grabbed Jillian and Darcy snagged Katy to keep them from falling.

  “Yes. We got our orders last night.” Bob pecked Elizabeth’s cheek.

  “I can’t wait to hold my babies,” Elizabeth said, smiling for her girls.

  “And I can’t wait to hold mine,” said Cybil, who dabbed a hanky at her eye.

  “We’ll have to take Darcy shopping, Mom, Lilac and girls. We’ll make it a Kincaid girls’ day out.”

  “Listen, before we get into planning the whole day, we only have ten more minutes. Others are waiting to talk to their families too,” Bob interrupted. “First, we want to hear what Santa brought the girls. Then we’ll take a minute for the parents. Dylan, don’t go far. I want to talk to you.”

  Dylan nodded and stepped to the side with Darcy, letting Jillian and Katy have their time with their parents. The girls were so bubbly, he was sure his brother and Elizabeth felt their enthusiasm across the long distance.

  Each set of parents took their turn, sharing their happiness for the couple’s safety and stating how very proud they were of them.

  Then Bob asked to speak to Dylan alone.

  Dylan slid onto the hardback chair
while Gray urged everyone except for Darcy from the room. Darcy stayed near the archway, in case he needed her.

  Why his brother wanted a private word with him had him dumbfounded. He prayed it wasn’t bad news that Bob would only entrust to him. His big brother looked thinner. He slid his moist palms along his jean-clad thighs. “What’s up, Bob?”

  “Elizabeth got an email from mom yesterday. Somehow it got through to us. I guess the forces worked hard to push holiday messages through. Mom wrote telling us everything you’ve done to make the holiday wonderful not only for Jillian and Katy but the whole town.” Bob wrapped his arm around Elizabeth. “We can see how happy the girls are. We made the right choice leaving them with you,” Bob’s voice cracked and a ball emotion welled up inside Dylan. He looked to Darcy, who appeared to be on the verge of tears too.

  “We don’t know how we’re ever going to repay you.”

  “You don’t have to. I love the girls like they’re my own. And because I wanted to make Christmas special for them, I got some help.” He put his hand out to Darcy who crossed the room and slipped onto his lap. “And learned what made makes the holidays perfect.”

  The End

  About the Author

  Award-winning author Autumn Jordon is a quiet nut who has earned the title of 'trouble' by her family and friends. Even her pets look at her with a cautious eye. Life is never dull in her valley surrounded by the beautiful Blue Mountains of northeast PA.

  No matter what she is doing, Autumn is always busy dreaming up ways to make the very believable characters of her romance novels get into trouble and to also fall in love.

  Visit her at www.autumnjordon.com