Holiday Gifts

by Elena Aitken

  “Hey! It wasn’t me.”

  He either didn’t hear her or ignored her, but either way, Ryan showed no signs of not chasing after her. In fact, he charged toward her with a fresh snowball in his hand, so Julie did the only other thing she knew how to do. She squealed like a little girl, turned and ran.

  Despite her newfound skills on the snowshoes, she still didn’t have the talent to move very quickly, and she definitely couldn’t outrun him. Before she knew it, she tumbled forward into yet another snowbank. This time she managed to put her hands out to catch herself but she still got a mouth full of snow.

  “Julie, are you okay?” A moment later, Ryan stood over her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

  “We really need to stop meeting like this.” She laughed and accepted his hand for the second time that day. At the last moment, she let go and fell back into the snow so she could reach for a bough of cedar that brushed her head.

  “Julie, are you—”

  “Look at this.” She let the foliage pass through her fingers. “It’s perfect.”

  Ryan stared at her strangely. “For what exactly?”

  “For a wreath.” She wanted to add, of course. But it occurred to her that not everyone thought of everything as a potential crafting opportunity.

  “A wreath?”

  “Well…I mean…it could be. But I’m not really—”

  “No,” he interrupted her. “I could see that. It could probably work.”

  “Probably?” It took her a minute to realize that he hadn’t exactly disagreed with her. “Wait, what?”

  He nodded and took a step toward her and the tree. “I think you might be right.” He let the bough slide through his gloved hand. “Although I have no idea how you’d make them all…”

  “Wreath-like?” she finished for him.

  “Yes.” He laughed, extended his hand and this time she let him help her up. “Wreath-like.”

  “Well…” She bit her lip, hesitating for only a second before she continued. “If you have a way to cut a few of these, maybe you can help me find out.” It was way bolder than Julie would normally be, but when Ryan smiled, she knew she’d made the right choice. Besides, it wasn’t going to hurt anything if she flirted a little bit.

  * * *

  She was ridiculously cute, lying in the snow. She was even cuter the way her face lit up when she was talking about making wreaths out of the cedar boughs. And even though a few nights earlier he’d quite easily proved he had no crafting skills at all, Ryan had never before wanted to try a craft more than he wanted to help her with the wreaths. “Stay right here,” he told her. “I’ll get a knife and help you get some of these down.”

  The group had stopped for a hot chocolate break, so Ryan was able to easily catch up with Bo at the head of the trail. “Hey, I need to borrow you for a second.”

  “Me?” Bo turned around and handed Ryan a steaming cup.

  “Thanks, but I was really looking for more of a knife.”

  “A knife?” Bo shook his head and laughed. “I don’t think so.”

  “You don’t have a knife?” There was no way this super-prepared mountain guide would leave the Lodge without some sort of knife. Ryan definitely knew that much.

  “Oh, I have a knife.” Bo turned back to what he was doing. “But you’re not getting it. Does your lady want a hot chocolate?”

  “My lady? No. Yes. What?” He shook his head and tried to focus on what he was talking about.

  “Is it yes or no?”

  “I’m sure she does,” Ryan answered. “But what I really need is a knife. Can you lend it to me? Five minutes.”

  Bo turned and eyed him suspiciously for a moment, but didn’t answer. Ryan didn’t know the man well enough to know whether he was messing with him or serious, but something told him it was the latter.

  “It’s just a knife, Bo.”

  “It’s never just a knife. What if you hurt yourself?”

  “Are you kidding me right now?”

  Bo ignored him. “And what if you want to borrow a chainsaw next and you never return the knife?”

  “Seriously?”

  “All I’m saying is—”

  “Bo.” Ryan’s patience was quickly running out. “Give me the knife.” He swallowed hard and added, “Please.”

  The other man laughed and shook his head while he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a jackknife. “I was just messing with you, man. Here you go.” Ryan reached for it, but he pulled back at the last second. “But seriously, don’t hurt yourself, okay?”

  Ryan stuck the tool in his pocket before Bo could change his mind again. “Thanks. I’m sure I’ll be okay. I’m only going to use it to cut a few branches. Julie wants to make a wreath.”

  “A wreath?”

  “She’s crafty.” Ryan shrugged, trying to appear as uninterested as possible but it was really a pointless exercise considering his interest in Julie grew every minute he spent with her.

  “Well, maybe she can make some wreaths for the cabin? I love her, but Morgan is not great at decorating and we could use a bit more of a festive feel over there.” Bo was talking about the small caretaker’s cabin he shared with his young daughter and his girlfriend, Morgan, but as he spoke, Ryan got an idea.

  Maybe Julie could make a few wreaths to decorate some of the outbuildings. They’d done a great job making the main Lodge festive, but some of the smaller buildings were lacking in the holiday spirit, at least from the outside. “It’s actually a great idea,” Ryan said, distracted by his thoughts. “Let me run it by her.”

  But first he needed to actually help her make one of the wreaths, so he made his way back through the group to where Julie still stood, fingering the long cedar boughs.

  “I got a knife.” He chose to leave out the trouble he had to go through to get it. “And here you go.” He handed her the cup of hot chocolate. “I thought you might want a drink.”

  Her smile lit up her face and she took a sip. “Thank you.” She held his gaze and in that second, Ryan knew he could happily look at her all day. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and it wasn’t just her appearance. She absolutely radiated from the inside out. The energy Julie put out was contagious, and Ryan was happy enough to get caught up in it. He’d never before believed in love at first sight, and maybe he still didn’t, but there was definitely something there.

  “That’s really sweet.” She pulled the cup away from her lips. A trace of chocolate lingered there, and Ryan had to fight the urge to reach out and wipe it away. Or better yet, kiss it away. “I was going to suggest that Shay get some,” she said, totally unaware of the internal battle she’d created within him. “But it looks like she’s enjoying herself just fine.” Julie gestured to where Shay stood with a boy who looked to be about the same age as her. They were laughing and kicking at the snow.

  “Looks like she found a friend.”

  Julie laughed. “She usually does. No matter where we go, Shay makes friends easily. There’s something about her that just attracts people.”

  “Just like her mother.”

  The comment slipped out, but Ryan recovered quickly. “So, what branches would you like? And how many do you need for a wreath, because I was thinking that you could make a few for some of the smaller outbuildings. I think Bo would like one for his cottage and maybe even the sheds and—”

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself.” She laughed. “They take a little bit of work to make. I’m not sure I could handle that many.”

  “I’ll help.”

  “You’ll help me with the branches, or you’ll help me make the wreaths?”

  “Both.” He couldn’t believe what he was saying. Crafting was definitely not his strong suit. It didn’t matter, though. Not if Julie was involved.

  “Really?”

  “Really.” He turned his attention to the tree. “Now, how many do you need?”

  * * *

  It wasn’t until a few hours later that Ryan was
second-guessing his decision. Not to spend time with Julie, but to offer his services as a crafter. They’d gathered more boughs and bundled them up with some twine that Bo also had in his kit. It looked almost as if they’d pruned enough for an entire tree, but their work didn’t make any difference to the trees in the forest. In fact, he couldn’t even see where they’d pruned.

  Carrying the bundle back to the Lodge was easier than he’d thought it would be, too. They towed it behind them, and it slid easily on the snow. In fact, the whole process was a lot easier than he thought it would be. Until they got settled in the multi-purpose room they’d set up with Julie’s crafting supplies all around them. That was when everything started to look as though he’d bit off a little more than he could chew.

  “This is a lot of stuff.” Ryan looked around the room, taking in not only the piles of boughs, but the pine cones, ribbon Julie had pulled out of her supplies, roll of wire, and of course, the glue gun. He’d been eyeing the glue gun and planned to stay far away from it.

  “This is barely anything.” She smiled. “Honestly, these are really simple wreaths. Sometimes I think that simple is better, don’t you think?”

  He nodded his head. “Absolutely. But I really have no idea how you think this is simple. There’s enough stuff here to decorate an entire ballroom.”

  She laughed. The beautiful sound filled the space between them. “Hardly. I told you five wreaths. That’s it. Are you ready to get started?”

  “Absolutely. What’s first?”

  She reached through the pile and handed him a bag. “Plug in the gun and start feeding one of these sticks in there. They need time to heat up and get melty.”

  He took the bag, but didn’t move. There was no way he was going to deal with that glue gun again. “Melty?”

  “The glue gun…” She stared at him as if he spoke a different language. “You need to plug it in.”

  “I don’t think we need to—”

  “We can’t make anything without the gun.”

  “Sure we can.” Ryan stuffed the glue sticks under a pile on the table and picked up a bough. “We can just twist it around the—” The branch he was holding sprung backward from his hand and he only narrowly avoided getting smacked in the face.

  “You were saying?” Julie asked with barely suppressed laughter.

  There was no point arguing. Besides, he was a grown man. He could handle a little glue gun.

  “I got this.”

  “I’m sure you do.”

  She laughed again and dug through the pile, sorting the branches into sizes and smaller groups. Ryan watched for a few moments, in awe that she could look at everything in front of her and see the final result when all he could see was a big mess.

  “How’s that glue gun coming?”

  Mesmerized by her, he’d forgotten all about his job. Without saying a word, he quickly stuffed a stick into the back of the glue gun. He picked it up and held it aloft, like a real gun. His finger on the trigger. “Totally under control.” Without thinking, Ryan squeezed the trigger and a glob of hot glue oozed out the top. He watched as if in slow motion as the glue slid over the top of the nozzle and fell directly onto the skin of his hand.

  “Ow!” He dropped the gun onto the table and immediately waved his hand around in exactly the way he wasn’t supposed to do. “Holy crap, that hurts.”

  “Stop!” He heard her from somewhere beside him, or maybe she was in front of him. It didn’t matter. He couldn’t stop waving his hand and the burning was definitely not stopping. Then her hands were on him and all his senses came into focus. She pressed his left hand over the burning spot on his right one and instantly the pain was gone. He waited a beat and looked up, meeting her eyes. She watched him with concern and something else that he instantly recognized as amusement, but to her credit, she didn’t laugh. “Better now?”

  Ryan nodded. “Much. Thank you.” He started to laugh first, aware of how ridiculous he’d been. It was only glue. It’s not as if he’d stuck his hand into open flames. A moment later, Julie joined him in the laughter and soon the moment was forgotten. Except, she didn’t take her hands off his, and Ryan was more than aware of that fact. The laughter died abruptly on his lips and he stared at her, taken with how completely amazing the woman in front of him was. Without thinking about it, he reached out and slid his fingers behind her head. It wasn’t until he tugged her gently toward him and his lips pressed to her amazingly soft ones that she stopped laughing. And then there was no more laughter, only a kiss.

  5

  After a late night in the crafting room, Julie could have slept all day. Or at least for another hour or two. But with the sun shining through the drapes, she knew she’d already slept too long and if Shay was awake before her, she’d never hear the end of it. Christmas was only a few days away, and no doubt her daughter had some other festive plan already sorted out for them to participate in.

  She allowed herself a few more moments to stretch and luxuriate in the memory of the night before. It had been a lot of fun constructing the wreaths with Ryan. He was cute and smart, even though the man could definitely not handle a glue gun to save his life. But it wasn’t the crafting Julie was lying in bed remembering. It was the way he’d leaned in, put his hand behind her head and kissed her. Yes, it was definitely the kiss that had been replaying in her mind over and over again.

  It had kept her up, too. Maybe because there had only been one and the fact that Julie never did anything like that. She never kissed a man she’d just met. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d ever even kissed a man. But from what she could remember, it was nothing like the kiss she’d shared with Ryan and long after it was done, she was hoping for another.

  Long after they’d finished constructing the wreaths, her lips still tingled from the taste of him. If he hadn’t made a comment about how late it was and how he had to get up early to work, she might have made the move for a second kiss.

  It was probably better that she hadn’t. After all, what did it even mean? It was Christmas and maybe with the whole spirit of the season and the laughter they shared, they’d just gotten caught up in the whole thing. In fact, the more she thought about it, that’s exactly what it was.

  She stretched her arms over her head one more time and exhaled slowly. Whatever it was, Christmas spirit or not, it was still a great kiss and she wasn’t going to lose sight of that and the fact that she definitely needed to do more of that. Maybe her daughter was right and it was time for her to start dating again.

  After a quick shower, Julie went out to the living room of the suite—the specially upgraded suite that Shay had really wanted to have for Christmas—to find her daughter already there, sipping on a cup of coffee.

  “I still can’t get used to the sight of you drinking coffee.” Julie poured her own cup. “Of course, I realize it’s mostly cream and sugar.”

  Shay rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe how late you got in last night,” she said in response. “In fact, it was well after midnight.”

  “And how would you know that if you were sleeping the way you were supposed to be?” She raised an eyebrow, but Shay didn’t seem to notice.

  “I was out with Jeffrey and his sister, Claire. They had this movie thing in the theater room. They were playing Elf, but it was still kinda cool.”

  “Elf? Until almost midnight?”

  “It was a late showing.”

  Julie just shook her head and took a much-needed sip of the coffee. There was no point getting into it with Shay. She was a good kid and if there was something to be worried about, it definitely wasn’t her daughter getting into trouble. She’d always been very open and honest with Julie. If she said she was watching a movie, there was no reason not to believe her. “Well, I hope you had fun. Are they nice kids?”

  Shay shrugged, but her face turned a distinct shade of pink.

  “Or should I ask, is Jeffery nice?”

  “Mom.”

  “I’m just teas
ing.”

  “I know, I know. But don’t you think I should be asking you about Ryan? Like I said, I wasn’t the one who got in past midnight last night.”

  Julie took her time answering, mostly because she knew it would drive her daughter crazy. They had a close relationship, but Julie had always been able to maintain the line between friend and parent. But that didn’t mean that she still didn’t like to torture her a little from time to time.

  “Mom!”

  “There’s nothing to tell you.” She finally gave in, choosing to leave out the detail about the kiss. That was the line, she decided on the fly. “He helped me make a stack of wreaths, which was a really good thing as it turned out because it took a lot longer than I thought it would.”

  “Oh.” Shay jumped up from the bar stool she was perched on and grabbed a pad of paper from the coffee table. “I forgot to tell you. A woman named Eva called. She said she’s with the group that puts on the Holly Berry Ball every year, and…something about wreaths…I didn’t catch it all. Anyway, she said to give her a call or just go and find her in the ballroom in the main Lodge.”

  “Great message, kiddo. Detailed as always.” Julie shook her head. “But it doesn’t matter because we were going to hang out today, weren’t we? Maybe get a pedicure or something.”

  “Oh.” Shay looked down at her coffee, which Julie couldn’t help but notice looked more like a cup of milk than coffee. “About that. I was thinking that maybe we could meet up later instead.”

  Julie narrowed her eyes. There was definitely more than she was saying. “How much later?”

  “I don’t know…just later.”

  “Do you already have plans with your new friends?”

  Shay shrugged. “Just a little. But I totally want to hang out with you, too.”

  She couldn’t help but feel a little twinge of disappointment at Shay’s admission, but she understood too. She was a kid once herself. She couldn’t blame her daughter one bit. “Well, I guess that gives me a chance to go track down this Eva and see what she needs. Don’t worry about me. I’ll find something to do.”