by Deb Kastner
Cam adjusted his coat collar up over his neck and blew out a breath. “Right, then. Let’s do this thing.”
***
It figured. It just had to happen this way. No sooner had they had brought everything they’d purchased inside Cam’s house, then the lights started flickering. And to his knowledge, he didn’t have a backup generator. There might be one somewhere in this enormous mansion but he wouldn’t know the first place to look.
“I have flashlights,” he said, darting toward the kitchen. Earlier, he’d noticed a lower drawer that contained a couple of flashlights. However, he hadn’t actually checked the batteries to see if they worked. Oh—and he remembered seeing a small LED camping lamp inside the clothes closet.
At this point, his biggest concern was that they were both going to freeze to death. The wide spaces wouldn’t hold heat very long. He went to the hall closet to grab as many blankets as he could and noticed one shelf was jam-packed with pillar and votive candles.
They could work in a pinch for light, he supposed, but he wasn’t going to go there unless absolutely necessary.
Maisey was here for safety reasons and for that alone, not to find herself in some candlelit, fire-crackling quasi-romantic situation with her new nerdy neighbor.
Even the thought made him feel as if his skin was covered in ants, but that didn’t stop him from pointing out their best hope for staying warm. “Thankfully, it’s a wood fireplace,” he said, walking into the living room with his load of stuff, “and I think I saw some chopped wood out by the back porch. At least that will provide some heat.”
Maisey didn’t answer.
He tossed the blankets on the couch and looked around. It took him a moment to find her. She was standing in a shadowed corner of the room with her hands out in front of her like a zombie, as if she couldn’t see.
“What?” she asked, and then turned in the direction of his voice.
She was wearing his VR glasses and gloves—which explained why she couldn’t see him and why she was acting so funny.
“What is this?” she asked. “I only put these on as a joke. I didn’t think they’d work, since the power is off. I hope I didn’t mess anything up.”
“They’re fully charged right now and attached to the Bluetooth on my cell phone.”
“And all of these—letters? Numbers?”
“They’re scientific calculations.” He pulled open the LED lantern to offer a modicum of light until they could get the fire lit.
She squeaked in dismay. At first he thought he might have startled her with the light, but then he realized she couldn’t see the light.
“Oh, Cam. I hope I didn’t ruin your data.”
“No worries. I’ve got everything backed up onto my laptop.”
“I owe you an enormous apology,” she said, flipping up the glasses and staring at him with silver eyes four times their normal size. “I’ve greatly misjudged you.”
“Yeah? How’s that?”
“That first day, when I brought the twins back to you after they’d snuck outside without your knowledge, I thought you were playing games on your VR. That you were being irresponsible in not watching out after your nephews.”
“It doesn’t matter what I was doing. Those little beggars still managed to get away from me, and that’s all on me.”
“Yes, but you were working—and it looks like it was on something important. You weren’t goofing around. And I do apologize for judging you the way I did.”
“Entirely unnecessary.” He cleared his throat. “Would you like to see what else the VR glasses can do?”
She reached out for him, her arms flailing as she walked forward with blurred vision. His heart slamming, he took her hand and led her to the couch, seating her gently.
“Here. Watch this.” He took out his phone and programmed in a colorful forest full of elves, unicorns and fairies.
“Oh,” she exclaimed, swinging her arms. “My goodness. It’s a unicorn, Cam!”
“Hold out your hand, palm up,” he said.
She followed his directions and purred in excitement. “I don’t believe it.”
Cam knew she couldn’t see his expression, which was just as well, because he was grinning like an idiot. What she could see was the fairy who had just landed on her palm and was interacting with her.
“This is amazing,” she whispered.
“Heh,” he uttered gleefully. “I’m glad you think so. I made the program. It’s one of my earlier works but I still keep it around for the kids to play with.”
“Can you do horses?” she asked.
“I’m sure I could. I’ve never tried.”
“You would make little girls the world over incredibly happy if you created a virtual reality horse ranch.”
He didn’t really have any interest in making little girls happy the world over, but there was one particular woman he suddenly desired to please.
With a sigh of regret, she pushed the VR glasses off her head and removed the gloves.
“With just the two of us here, it’s the perfect time to wrap presents. I’ll have to visit you again to experience more of your VR adventures.”
He busied himself bringing in wood for the fire, but Maisey had to be the one to build and light it because, as with practically everything else he’d encountered in his new home state, he hadn’t a clue how lighting a fire was done. It wasn’t like he’d ever been a Boy Scout. He paid careful attention so he’d know how to do it next time, though. He suspected the twins would enjoy a fire on a cold, snowy evening like this one.
Maisey must be thinking he had no practical knowledge at all, which in many ways was true. Even wrapping presents was entirely out of his skill set. He could do no more than watch as Maisey arranged everything—the toys and gifts neatly piled on the floor on one end of the wide coffee table with the wrapping paper on the other. The tape and scissors went on the corner of the table itself.
The woman was beaming—literally shining with delight. Her eyes, her skin—everything. She was so beautiful. And he was so—
Awkward.
Wrapping presents should be easy enough to learn how to do, right? But his gut was grinding. He had the sinking suspicion if he tried, he was going to end up with paper and tape going every which direction, with no more finesse than if a three year old had tried his hand at it.
Please, God, just give me the tiniest break here.
Maisey crossed her legs on the floor and leaned her elbows on the table. She raised her brows, evidently waiting for—something.
He jammed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and rocked back on his heels, wishing he knew what that something was.
She gestured to the empty spot across the table from her. “Are you going to stand there all night or are you going to help me wrap presents?”
CHAPTER 6
A t first, Cam had hemmed and hawed about wrapping, but when push came to shove, the man was a sheer genius. She supposed she already knew that. He hadn’t said as much, but after peeking into his VR set, she knew his IQ must be off the charts. Still, she’d never seen anyone take to wrapping quite like Cam.
He had a method. And it was a good one.
For the first couple of presents, he silently watched her. She eyeballed the packages and cut the paper without a straightedge. She folded and taped until whatever she was working on was completely covered so no one could peek. And then she made every package festive with an overabundance of bows and ribbons.
Cam brought out what looked like some kind of large measuring triangle, with which he measured the first package he picked up—a bow and arrow set for Sebastian. He mumbled under his breath as he did some calculations in his head and used a straightedge to cut perfectly-proportioned paper, which he then folded without using so much as an inch of wasted space. Every line and edge was perfect. Even the pieces of tape were all exactly the same size and were placed at measured intervals across the seams.
It just figured that he would pic
k up on the art—or should she say science—of wrapping presents, and put her to shame.
“You know,” she said, leaning back on her palms after almost all the gifts were wrapped, “You’re pretty good at that.”
He folded his arms and grinned. “I am, aren’t I?”
“Humble much?”
“I have stumbled my way through practically every single thing I’ve done since I’ve arrived in Wyoming. You have to give me this small win.”
She tilted her head and regarded him steadily. “Well, I don’t have to. But luckily for you, I’m going to. Now, what do you say we unpack your nativity scene?”
Cam was a serious individual, especially compared to Maisey, who took most everything in life with a smile, counting her blessings with a heart grateful to God in everything. Even this snowstorm had turned out to be a blessing as she got to know Cam better. The more time she spent with him, the better she liked him, but at the same time, the larger the gap she saw between them.
He was a brilliant scientist with a ton of money whose focus was rightly on the twin boys of whom he was suddenly a permanent guardian. She’d barely finished high school and at the end of every day smelled like horse and hay. And she was fairly certain she had a long way to go before she could ever consider becoming a mother-figure.
She didn’t even know why she was thinking such ridiculous thoughts. Cam was way too smart to be interested in a woman like her. She ought to keep her mind on decorating and away from the man she found so oddly intriguing.
As with everything else he did, Cam appeared very serious about getting the nativity scene just right. First, they set up the stable in which they would put all the figures.
“I’ll bring you over a handful of hay to give the scene some extra realism,” she promised him.
Together, they opened the creche box and jimmied off the Styrofoam. With honor and reverence, Cam pulled out the Blessed Mother figurine and placed it in the center of the stable. Maisey followed with the manger where the Christ Child would be laid.
One by one, they set up the figures. Every so often, Cam would stop and observe their progress, sometimes tenderly moving the figurines slightly one way or the other. She knew he was using his scientist brain, but deep inside, the man was an artist. He wouldn’t stop until it looked perfect.
Finally, he was happy with the scene. As Maisey had suggested, the three wise men were currently on a side table near the front door, slowly making their way to Bethlehem for the Epiphany. At one point Cam disappeared with the baby Jesus. Maisey didn’t question him on it, knowing it was going to be his special secret for the twins. Watching his excitement about this new tradition warmed her heart.
Cam would find joy this Christmas.
By that time, the room was growing cold, even with the fire in the grate. Maisey added a couple of logs and used the poker to get a better flame going. The two of them sat down near the warmth, each with a thick blanket wrapped around their shoulders.
Maisey had scissors and ribbon in her lap and was tying ribbons to decorate the Christmas tree. She was thinking about how much fun Cam and the boys would have searching out and cutting down the perfect tree.
Cam just stretched out his legs, leaned back on his hands and stared pensively into the fire.
“I was going to offer some change for your thoughts, but I don’t think I have enough money in the world,” she said softly, breaking into the silence.
He glanced toward her and the whisper of a smile lined his face. “I was just thinking about how much my life has changed recently.”
“Good or bad?”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure I can qualify it that way. There’s nothing good about the way the twins came to me, and I have so much to learn to be a decent guardian for them. And yet—before now, I never had the chance to really get to know them. I lived all alone, and now I’ve got the boys to love and spend time with. It’s a blessing, in a way.”
“I can see that.”
“Then there’s snow…angels, you said? I don’t even know what that means, but it sounds nice.”
“You have no idea.” She couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she imagined Cam’s first experience with snow angels. Or maybe she would introduce him to snowballs first.
“I’m sure you think I’m pretty stupid for not finding out more about the house before I bought it. I need a mansion like I need a hole in the head. It’s just—I always had more important things to think about. Dumb, huh?”
“Not dumb. Just—way out of my perception. I save pennies in a literal piggy bank so I can get a Chocolate Chip Frappe from McDonald’s once in a while.
“Hmm. Well, in any case, I’m glad I moved here and met you. Maybe I didn’t mean for it to come out of my mouth the way it did, but I meant what I said before. I like you.”
She smiled softly, pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders and rolled to her side, couching her head in her arms. “I like you, too.”
“And Maisey?”
“Hmmm?”
“I think you’re pretty, too.”
Her last thought before she drifted off to sleep was that was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her.
***
“Cam? Cam?” Someone was shaking him. Someone with a gentle female voice.
He sat straight up, his heart pounding in his head.
When had he gone to sleep? He remembered Maisey drifting off. For the longest time he’d just watched her sleep. She snored softly and every once in a while she’d let out the cutest little snort.
He’d been positive he wouldn’t get a wink of sleep with her there. But somewhere along the way, he must have closed his eyes.
“What? What is it?”
“The storm has passed. The sky is blue—although there’s a good two feet of snow on the ground. But the electricity is back on, so we can make some breakfast.”
“What about the boys?”
“I’ve already called my mom. My sisters are going to bring them out here on our ATVs. I’m sure they’ll get a big kick out of that. And then we’ll be able to go out and cut down your Christmas tree.”
“We?”
“Well, unless you don’t want me there. I thought I could be your guide.”
“You are absolutely going to be our guide. I would have no clue what to do if you weren’t dragging me around showing me how everything works.”
“Dragging you?”
“Bad choice of words.”
“But not wholly inaccurate, at least as far as the shopping was concerned. I really did torture you, didn’t I?”
He laughed. “No comment.” He stood and stretched. “Let me cook the pancakes. They’re my specialty. You can organize the decorations while you wait for breakfast.”
A few minutes later, the twins arrived with Sophie and Lacey. They left one of the ATVs for Maisey to return home on, since Cam’s sedan probably wasn’t going anywhere any time soon.
Cam served everyone animal-pancakes. A cat for Silas, a dog for Sebastian and a mouse for Cam. He served Maisey a rather decent replica of a horse.
After eating, everyone bundled up and they hiked off onto Cam’s property in search of the perfect tree. Once they were well away from the house, Maisey scooped up a ball of snow and tossed it at Cam. She hadn’t meant to be quite so accurate, but it hit him right in the back of the head.
“Ow. Hey, what?” He whirled on her, already reaching down to scoop up a snowball of his own.
Maisey squealed and ducked, but Cam had anticipated her move and she got a snowball right on top of her head.
“Snowball fight!” Sebastian called, jumping into the fray. Silas, however, stayed out of it, hiding halfway behind a nearby lodgepole pine. Maisey wasn’t sure whether to try to include him by tossing a snowball his direction or simply leave him alone, but Cam and Sebastian were letting him be, so Maisey did, too. Not everyone liked being pelted by snow.
Then she had an idea. “Hey, Silas. Watch this!�
� With that, she merrily threw herself backward into the snow and vigorously waved her arms and legs.
“What are you doing?” Cam asked, gaping. “Are you nuts? It’s freezing out here.”
Maisey grinned. “Observe.” She rolled to her feet, careful not to disturb her masterpiece. “Voila. Snow angel.”
“Hey,” Cam said. “Pretty clever.”
Snowball fights might not have been Silas’ cup of tea, but he threw himself right down on the ground to make a snow angel, followed very quickly in turn by his brother.
“Your turn, Uncle Cam,” Maisey said, gesturing to the snow.
“I said it was clever. I never said I was going to do it.”
“Chicken.”
“True. I imagine chickens wouldn’t throw themselves into the snow in this frigid weather. Anyway, I thought we were looking for a tree.”
At the mention of the tree, the boys scrambled to their feet. Maisey admired their snow angels and then the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree began in earnest again. Maisey stayed a few steps behind and observed as the man and the boys discussed the merits of various trees.
At last they settled on the perfect tree, about eight feet high with nice, full branches.
Cam had the ax, but Maisey had to instruct him on how to use it so he could cut the tree down in the shortest amount of time and have it fall the proper direction so everyone stayed safe.
“Wouldn’t a chainsaw have been easier?” Cam asked about halfway through the project, when his breath was coming fast and sweat was pouring off his brow.
“It would have, but it’s good for you to have the authentic experience of chopping down a tree at least once in your life.”
“Says you,” he muttered.
“I can take over for a while if you’d like.” She flashed him a cheeky smile, knowing he wasn’t about to let her help.
He gritted his teeth and swung the ax hard. “Absolutely not. If I’m going to do this thing, then I’m going to do it.”
She held up her hands in surrender. “Far be it from me to interfere, Paul Bunyan.”
He grunted and swung the ax again. “You’d better believe it.
