She offered a small smile. “Terrified.”
His protective gene activated. “Don’t be. It’s just me, your friendly neighborhood handyman, and you, the most amazing woman I’ve met in a long time. We can handle anything together.”
And I think I’m in love with you.
He didn’t say that, of course, but the words coursed through his veins, like a steady beat of his heart.
“Oh, Davis.” Lana turned completely away from the window to lay her head on his shoulder.
Now they were getting somewhere. He didn’t know what dragons she battled, but he wanted to slay them all.
He found her cheek and caressed the soft, smooth skin. “Give us a chance. Okay?”
She sighed, a warm, breathy, marshmallow sigh against his jaw. After a painfully long moment, she nodded. “I’d like that.”
Her admission slammed into him with g-force. Finally.
Davis figured he might as well test the waters. See if she meant it. He touched her cheek, her eyelids, her mouth. And then he kissed her again.
* * *
Mr. Kendle loved the Christmas Express article. So much so that he gave Lana a byline and a small raise in pay.
Feeling happier than she could remember, Lana walked with a purposeful stride down Easy Street, the chilly breeze in her hair and the smell of the river in her nose. Her boot heels tapped music on the sidewalk. Her red scarf lifted on the breeze, bouncing against her faux-leather coat, as if to keep the beat.
Yesterday had been wonderful. The ending had been even better. For a few minutes guilt had tried to ruin the day, but Davis had pushed his way past her shame and given her hope.
Maybe she could be different. Maybe she could let go of the past. Maybe she could love and be loved by a good man.
Did she dare believe?
Her years in music had made her a night owl and last night, long after Sydney was asleep, she’d stayed up so buoyed by hope and happiness that she’d written another new song from start to finish. A love song.
This morning the music poured through her mind and soul. She hummed as she did errands and gathered ideas for future articles, enjoying the blast of holiday music coming from a bullhorn speaker above Classy Girls Boutique.
A short time later she drove to Haley Carter’s home for the promised lunch date. The Carters lived on the edge of town on a small acreage surrounded by trees and an enormous garden. Various garden plots lay all around the house, though they were mostly sleeping under mulch for the winter months.
Everything about the white frame cottage screamed, “artsy.” Haley’s folk art was visible on the porch, in the yard and gardens and inside the house.
“Come on in,” Haley called before Lana could knock. “I have my hands in dough.”
Having visited before, Lana knew the way and passed through the living room to the kitchen. Baby Rose sat on the floor banging a spoon against a plastic bowl. Haley stood at the counter mixing a fragrant dough. Flour powdered the front of her green blouse.
“Bread?” Lana asked. “Smells great.”
Haley scratched her chin against her shoulder, hands deep in the dough. “The fabulous tree ornaments we’re making for the bazaar.”
“You really think you can teach me well enough that people will buy them?”
Haley hitched her chin toward Lana’s coat. “Take off your coat, roll up your sleeves and we’ll find out. Lesson one in progress while lunch bakes.”
Lana did as she was told and soon had her hands in the soft, elastic dough.
“I hear you had a date with Davis last night.”
“How did you hear—” Lana shook her head. “Never mind. This is Whisper Falls.” She told Haley a little about the Christmas Express. “You and Creed should go.”
“It sounds fun. We will. But that’s not the part I wanted to know. Tell me about you and Davis. Did you have fun together?”
“We did.” Lana smiled down in the dough. “We really did.”
Haley had her back turned but she spun around, eyes wide with sudden comprehension. “I think you’re falling in love with him.”
Lana tweaked a shoulder. “Maybe.”
“Oh, you are. I know the symptoms. Just look at the way you sparkle and the energy pouring out of you. I bet you wrote another song.”
Lana’s mouth dropped open. “How did you know that?”
“Because falling in love made me more creative. It’s what artists do. If we’re sad, we create. If we’re happy, we create. But love is the best motivator of all.”
“Davis invited Sydney and me to go with them to the Blackwell’s Ranch. He and his kids cut their own Christmas tree from the woods. Apparently, it’s a tradition he started after his wife died. And he asked us to go along.”
“You’re going, of course.”
“Well, yeah. Sydney and I need a Christmas tree, too.”
They both laughed and Haley bumped Lana’s side with hers.
Lana needed more than a Christmas tree. She needed to have her head examined. Sooner or later, she and Davis must have a long, open conversation about some very painful subjects. If their budding relationship was to have a chance, he’d have to know everything, even the worst. He deserved to know.
But today she was too happy, too hopeful to worry about the ugly darkness in her past.
* * *
“We’re going on horseback?”
The surprise on Lana’s face was exactly what Davis had expected.
The five of them had arrived at the Blackwell Ranch on a cold Saturday, eager to cut fresh Christmas trees, and now, they were walking toward a large, dirt corral. A light dusting of snow covered the ground like powdered sugar on cake.
Davis allowed a small, teasing grin. “Did I forget to mention the horses?”
Lana squinted her eyes at him in pretend anger. “Yes, you did.”
“Is that a problem? You’re not scared of horses or anything, are you?”
“No. Well, maybe a little. They are awfully big. But it sounds...adventurous. I am dressed for it.” She glanced down at her jeans and cowboy boots, the latter older and lower-heeled than he’d seen her wear before. “But Sydney’s wearing tennies.”
“So is Paige. We aren’t going far and Austin’s horses are used to kids. They don’t care what’s on your feet.”
“And how would you know that?” she asked. “Do the horses speak to you? Do they tell you all their secrets?”
He liked when she joked around. Today she was light and easy and sparkling. “Nothing as mysterious as that. Nathan went through a horse obsession last year. Austin gave him lessons for a while on old Tinker. All three of us got to do some riding.”
“All my animals are gentle as overgrown dogs.” Austin came out of the barn, leading a pair of horses, a large bay and a buckskin. Austin was a tall man, taller than Davis by several inches though the boots added a couple more. Broad and well-muscled in a rough-hewn leather coat and white cowboy hat, Austin was a quiet man with a big presence. Davis was proud to call him friend. “Ever ridden before?”
“I actually have.” Lana eased toward the bay, gloved hand extended. “A friend of mine owned a ranch outside Nashville. But I haven’t in a long time.”
It was one of the few times she’d mentioned her life in Tennessee. Davis was curious to know more, to know everything about the woman who was rapidly invading his heart and life.
The ride on the Christmas Express had done him in. Since that night, he thought about her all the time, smelled her gardenia perfume in his sleep and spent every free moment at her house. Most of the time the two of them worked on the house while the three kids romped like cubs or did homework. Sometimes they just hung out. They watched TV together, played checkers—always a formidable match—or listened to music. Often Lana would sing for him—spurts and starts of whatever composition she was working on, slightly self-conscious because the song wasn’t finished, but wistful and dreamy. He wondered if she’d eventually return to Nashville.
If she even wanted that. He didn’t know much about music, but he knew what he liked to hear. If Lana wanted another shot at the stars, he wanted it for her.
Davis caught her elbow. “Are you sure you’re okay with the horses? If you’re not, we can walk. It’s no big deal.”
Her smile convinced him. But then that smile of hers could turn his brain to vanilla pudding. “The kids will love going by horseback, Davis. A memory to treasure forever.”
“That’s what I thought.” The five of them looked like a family making memories together.
“Come over here, Sydney.” Lana reached back to where the kids hopped and danced and ran in circles like animations. Smoky vapor exited their noses, three fire-breathing dragons. Sydney stopped immediately to obey. “Put your hand out. Let the horse smell you.”
“Like dogs do?”
“Exactly.”
The little girl, her curly brown hair poking from beneath a hooded coat, eagerly offered her palm. Both horses leaned in, naturally curious, for a sniff. Sydney giggled, a sound that touched Davis for some reason. She was a shy, sweet little girl with a great giggle. He wondered if she’d ever wanted a dad the way Nathan wanted a mom.
Not to be left out, Nathan and Paige let the horses sniff, and then rubbed their gloved hands down the noble necks.
“If you’ll hold on to these,” Austin said, “I’ll see if Annalisa has the other two saddled.”
“Is she going with us?”
“She wouldn’t miss it, but Cassie will. She’s working.” Cassie was his single sister. She lived on the ranch, too. “Saturday is a big day at the shop.”
“I thought Annalisa was expecting a baby?” Lana said.
This was news to Davis, but Austin’s chest expanded at the mention. A grin spread across Davis’s face. He remembered that feeling, the pride and joy.
“Doc says the exercise is good for her. For both of them.” Still grinning like a new daddy, Austin pivoted toward the barn.
Davis followed, willing to help with the animals.
“We still on to get that bathroom retiled?” the cowboy asked.
“Next week maybe.” Davis narrowed his eyes to think through his schedule. He knew Austin wanted the work done before Christmas, as a gift to his wife. “Is that soon enough?”
“Yup.”
The large barn smelled of hay and leather and horse flesh. Annalisa, a saddle blanket in her hands, smiled at her husband. The big rancher visibly melted, a teddy bear where his wife was concerned. It was a beautiful thing, Davis thought, the love between a man and a woman. A very beautiful thing.
Soon the horses were saddled, and the party mounted. Austin’s big bay, a horse he called Cisco, was loaded with gear. He and Annalisa led the way. Davis and Lana brought up the rear. With the children sandwiched between the adults, they headed up a well-traveled trail into the mountainous forest spreading around and beyond the Blackwell Ranch.
Lana rode at Davis’s flank. He thought she handled a horse pretty well, if a little stiffly. Sydney bounced up and down on Tinker, the old gelding with the gentle spirit.
To reassure both Lana and the little girl, Davis said, “He’ll take care of her. Don’t worry.”
The horses trudged with practiced ease, heads down and bobbing up the incline through hickory and oak. As the trail steepened, conical evergreens began to dot the landscape. They’d journeyed only a short distance, less than a mile, when Austin raised a leather-clad hand to stop.
Lana sucked in a breath as a doe and fawn bolted from the brush, crossed the trail in front of them and then leaped into the trees on the opposite side. Not one of the horses reacted other than an ear flicker.
“Beautiful,” Lana breathed.
Davis stared at the side of her face. “Sure is.”
“Dad, Dad, did you see that?” In wide-eyed wonder, Paige drew his attention. “A mama and a baby deer.”
He understood the thrill. Even as an adult, he found the grace and beauty of white-tailed deer a sight to behold. His kids would talk about it for days.
Austin dropped his hand and the journey continued, ending in a thick stand of evergreen.
“Here we are,” Austin announced as he dismounted and walked back to lift his wife tenderly from the horse. When Annalisa’s feet touched the ground, the big cowboy lowered his head and kissed her.
Davis couldn’t help looking at Lana. What would she think if he did the same? But before he could act on the impulse, she was off the buckskin, helping the children dismount.
Once the horses were secured, Annalisa swept her arms in a wide arc around the glade. “Pick your Christmas tree. There are plenty.”
“Too many,” Austin said with a frown. “Can’t graze cattle on juniper.”
Annalisa laughed, her blond beauty enhanced by her early pregnancy. Not that Davis could even tell she was expecting other than the happy glow.
Nathan, Paige and Sydney made a beeline through the trees, exclaiming over first one evergreen and then another. The adults trudged along, grinning at the childish excitement.
“I want a giant one. Tall as the ceiling,” Nathan exclaimed, stretching his arms as high as possible. “Big as the sky.”
“How about you, Lana?” Davis asked. “Want one big as the sky?”
“Bigger.” Her blue eyes sparkled in the winter sunlight. She slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow.
Blood humming with pleasure, Davis put a hand over her fingers and squeezed gently. His heart was doing funny things, happy things, inside his chest. “Whatever the lady wants.”
She turned her head to look at him and he leaned in to kiss the corner of her mouth. Her smile widened and she returned the favor, her lips warm against his cold cheek.
This was good. Really good.
He could imagine himself with Lana, searching for the perfect tree, year after year. Could she imagine it, too?
“How about this one?” Nathan shouted, drawing their focus, though Davis’s heart continued to dance to music no one could hear but him.
Up ahead, Paige and Sydney were slowly circling a tall, stately cedar while Nathan, nose red, ran back to Austin for the ax.
“This is it. This is it!” he called.
“Remember, we need two.”
“Make that three,” Annalisa said. “I think you’ve picked a good one, though.” She circled the tree with the children, hands on hips. “No gaps. Nice and cone shaped. Very green.”
“It’s beautiful.” Sydney had removed a glove and was testing the branches as she talked to Paige. “And it smells really good. I think it’s kind of perfect. You and Nathan can have this one.”
Her generosity touched a tender spot in Davis. Truth was Sydney got to him as much as her mother did. He’d seen her let Nathan have the first turn or the last cookie. Generous, caring. Like Lana.
Why had he ever wondered about Lana’s mothering skills? She’d done an amazing job with Sydney.
“It is kind of perfect,” he said, taking the ax from Nathan as Austin and Annalisa moved deeper into the woods in search of their own perfect Christmas tree. “Who gets the first whack?”
“You chop it, Daddy.” Paige grabbed Sydney’s coat sleeve and dragged her backward from the tree.
“I want to help.” Nathan stuck close to his dad. “I’ll hold the tree so it won’t fall down. Huh, Dad?”
Before Davis could give the warning, Nathan stuck his bare hand into the prickly limbs of the cedar. He let out a yowling cry and jerked back.
Davis dropped the ax and reached for his son. To his surprise, Nathan threw himself into Lana’s waiting arms, tears falling.
“Shh. Let me see. Let me see, sugar.” Lana knelt on the cold ground to look at Nathan’s hand. “There now. It’s only a sticker.”
Nathan stopped crying and blinked dark, wet lashes. His lip quivered but he was trying to be brave. “Can you get it out? It hurts me.”
“I think I can,” Lana said, “Will you hold real still while I try? I promise t
o be careful.”
Trusting, Nathan nodded. He sniffed one long sniff and said, “Okay.”
By now, Davis was on his knees next to the pair and Sydney and Paige hovered as though Nathan had lost a limb.
Using her fingernails, Lana carefully extracted a half-inch splinter from Nathan’s palm. Then, while Davis watched with his heart in his throat, she placed a kiss on the dirty spot.
“How’s that feel? Better?”
Nathan, his face inches from hers, nodded. With a long sniffing shudder, he said, “I love you, Lana.”
Lana’s eyelids dropped shut. She pulled his baby into her arms and murmured, “I love you, too, sugar.”
Davis put his arms around the pair of them, heart bursting, the scent of cedar in his nose and wild hope in his chest.
Chapter Thirteen
Who knew decorating a Christmas tree could be both romantic and hilarious?
Lana smiled up at Davis as she dug through a plastic shopping bag of brand-new decorations. There had been a box of old ones in the attic but she was starting fresh. No need to drag out bad memories. Especially of the Christmas Mama had slapped Tess for sneaking a present and her parents had fought far into the night. That was the year Daddy went to work one day and never came home again.
She shook her head, abolishing dark thoughts from the perfect evening. The fireplace crackled. They’d made popcorn and put on a Christmas CD of kids’ songs. Most importantly, people she cared about were present.
“Thank you for this,” she said. “Decorating this tree means a lot to Sydney.”
They’d left Davis’s tree propped against the side of the side of his garage in a bucket of water, agreeing to decorate Sydney’s lopsided wonder first.
“What about her mom?”
Her conscience tweaked. She should tell him Sydney was not her child, but now didn’t seem the right time. Soon, though, she promised. Soon.
She simply said, “It means a lot to her, too.” Wherever she is. “Decorating yours tomorrow gives us another good excuse to get together and have fun.”
Davis, a strand of glittery tinsel in his calloused hands, moved closer. He jacked a sandy eyebrow. “Do we need an excuse?”
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