And after her last words Ellie couldn’t help but say, “Go on.”
“First of all. The guy’s not really a tree farmer. He’s a stockbroker. A Wall Street playboy who got bored. A swinger who gave up the midtown club scene for the simple life, leaving a trail of broken hearts along the way.”
Ellie wanted to cry and kick herself at the same time. Has he been lying to me about everything? Could it be I don’t really know Reece at all?
She took a deep breath. “I don’t know whether to thank you for the warning or scream at you for ruining my day.”
“Understood.” She fished a delivery slip out of her pocket and gave it to Ellie, who signed it, trying to keep her hand from shaking.
Sheila sauntered to the door, then turned. “Trust me. I’ve been there. Nothing like flying high on that wondrous jet stream current of love with your eyes shut, only to find out you’re merely his number three girl.” Sheila flashed an engaging smile. “You take care, sweetie.” She closed the door behind her.
Ellie completed her day feeling like an anvil had landed on her chest. After a few self-lectures, she resolved that Reece was not important in her life. All that mattered was finding a job and taking care of her son.
Around four thirty, Reece stepped in. She couldn’t look him in the eye for fear she’d break down and act like a weepy female.
He walked up close to her, angling for a kiss. She backed off.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Just not in the mood.”
“Ah, come on, Ellie. We’re under the mistletoe.”
“Don’t you know mistletoe is a poisonous plant?”
**
Ellie hurried to the office next to Santa’s house to finalize an order with Claire, hoping she wouldn’t run into Reece. And hoping she could keep her voice steady long enough to get home and have a good cry.
“Got any food requests for Reece’s Christmas party?” Claire asked. “I’ll be calling the caterer tonight.”
“No. I’m sure you’ve got it all covered.” Crud. Ellie had forgotten about the staff Christmas party. It would be pretty obvious to everybody if she didn’t show. Maybe she’d play sick.
“I think Tommy and Brandon and a few of the other Saturday kids have cooked up some kind of performance for us.”
Which means I have to go. Ellie let out a fake laugh. But she’d never been a good actress.
Claire noticed. “Are you all right?”
“Sure.”
Tall, blond and large-boned, Claire towered over Ellie when she stood and put an arm around her. “Did you and Reece have an argument?”
“There is no ‘me and Reece.’ I’m just feeling a little—”
“I’m not blind, Ellie. I can see my brother is crazy about you, so let’s not pretend.”
“I think you’ve got the wrong girl.”
“Wrong girl? Are you saying he has another woman?”
“More than one, from what I hear.”
Claire pulled her chin back. “Wait a second. What little birdie gave you that intel?”
Feeling like a childish tattletale, Ellie considered clamming up, but a part of her needed to lay her cards on the table and see Claire’s reaction. “Sheila. The cookie lady.”
“Oh she’s a cookie, all right. One with a lot of nuts.”
“Sounded like she was one of his many conquests.”
“More like the other way around. She was gunning for him. He went out with her on and off a couple years ago. Never got serious, at least not on Reece’s part. But Sheila’s reputation reaches far beyond chocolate chips. She’s a local man-killer who hates it when she’s not the one to break things off. Got news for you, Reece isn’t the only dude she’s tried to smear.”
Ellie paused in thought, grasping at a thread of hope. “In other words, all her talk about his being a Manhattan party animal who came to prowl out here is gibberish?”
“Yes and no.” Claire led Ellie to a bench and sat next to her. “Several years back there was a time when Reece went through a lot of women. He was working as a stockbroker in New York City and living a lifestyle that was completely indulgent. And destructive. One night he was on his way out to the North Fork. He’d been drinking and was driving his BMW at warp speed. His car swerved off the road and hit a tree. Being in an empty, wooded area, a long time passed before anyone knew he was lying there, stuck in his car and hurt badly. So badly the doctors were surprised he didn’t bleed out and die before the rescue workers got there.”
Ellie’s hand went to her mouth. As angry as she was with him, she couldn’t bear the thought of Reece being hurt. “How horrible”
Claire tapped her lip. “Let’s see… aside from a broken back, he had four broken ribs, shattered pelvis, and internal bleeding.”
“But he seems in such great shape now.”
“Yeah, following multiple surgeries and four months of rehab. But those steel plates in his back, along with the nuts and bolts can get ornery at times. He’s always got a certain amount of pain. Practically lives on NSAIDs.”
“He never said a word to me about this.”
“It’s a very private subject to him,” Claire said. “He had some weird experiences when he nearly died. Went through some big changes, like quitting his job as a stock broker and moving back out to the North Fork to grow trees.”
“What do you mean by ‘weird experiences’?”
Claire shrugged. “He won’t talk about it.”
Ellie dropped her face into her hands. She’d been a total jerk. Jealous and accusatory when he was completely innocent. Judging him without even asking to hear his side of the story. “I think I just layed one on him. Maybe even ruined what we started. He looked pretty upset when he left the shop.”
“Well, you look a bit shook up yourself. Funny how you both seem so alone, except when you’re with each other.”
Ellie glanced up at her and realized it was true. A certain kind of loneliness she’d come to accept as her lot vanished whenever Reece was around. As if he completed her in some way.
Claire patted her shoulder. “Do you want me to call Reece and explain that Sheila lied to you?”
“No. I’m the one who should call him. I’m the one who owes him an apology.”
But would he accept it? Or had Ellie just nixed her chances with the most wonderful man she’d ever met?
**
Reece read Ellie’s text message over and over again: Sorry about what happened. We need to talk. P.S. You’re a great guy.
Yeah, “Great guy.” That’s what a woman always told a man before she gave him the dump. He could imagine what she was going to say. She wanted to end it. Things were getting serious between them and it obviously scared her. Ellie was chickening out. A case of cold feet on a cold day.
Boy, would he like to slug her ex for what he’d done to her. And her father. No wonder she figured every man would do the same.
One minute he was thinking of what he could say to convince her he was different. The next minute he thought, If you can’t see how good we are together, then fine. Have it your way, woman. It’s over.
But what about the dream vision he’d had of her when he was dying? Didn’t it mean anything?
He decided he wouldn’t talk to her until the end of the day. Otherwise he might be so furious he wouldn’t be able to maintain the Christmas cheerfulness his friends and customers expected.
Forcing himself to put it out of his mind and pretend everything was fine, Reece worked through the busiest day of the season, cutting and bundling trees, and helping people choose and cut their own.
A flaky, dry snow began falling around two, and Reece decided he’d at least take Brandon sledding before Ellie ended it all. He and the boy had become close, and he resented Ellie for the pain she’d be causing her son over the loss of another father figure.
After making sure his workers had all units covered, Reece headed for Santa’s house where Brandon spent Saturdays and Sundays. It was December
twenty-fourth, Ellie’s last day working in the Christmas shop. He’d made a point of avoiding places she might be today. Maybe after a good round of roughhousing in the snow, he’d be ready to face her.
He stepped into Santa’s house and saw there were only Brandon, Tommy and his sister’s eight-year-old twins, Gus and Gina. Just after he told them his plans for sledding, Ellie walked in. They exchanged an awkward glance and looked away.
She stepped toward her son. “Time to go, Brandon.”
“I can’t,” Brandon said. “We’re going sledding on Madsen’s hill. Reece said it’s a really good snow.” He ran to hide behind Reece.
Ellie turned to him, and something in her eyes told him she loved him. Whether or not she was ready to admit it.
“Claire and I closed up early,” she said. “She had some last minute Christmas shopping to do.”
He shrugged and uttered a lethargic, “Okay.” Her mentioning Claire’s Christmas shopping only heightened his sadness by reminding Reece of the gift he’d bought Ellie. A silver and gold choker inlaid with turquoise, carnelian and onyx, designed by an abstract expressionist whose work she’d admired. He’d purchased it at an upscale gallery in Greenport.
“You can go home, Mom,” Brandon said. “We men have plans. Right, Reece?”
“Right.” He loved this kid. And Ellie. And he couldn’t bear to lose either of them. “Girls can sled too, you know. Want to come, Ellie?”
She gave him an awkward smile. “Can we talk?”
“Let’s use the office.”
Reece closed the door behind them.
Ellie bit down on her lip and said, “Guess you’re wondering about what happened the other day?”
“I already have some idea.”
“You do?”
His patience spent, Reece blurted out a speedy declaration. “Can we cut to the chase? I’m a great guy who will make some lucky woman very happy one day, but you’re just not ready. Time to end it. Fine. Terrific. I understand.”
She broke into a laugh.
“You find that funny?”
“I’m sorry,” she replied. “No. Of course not. My texting skills really suck lately. I meant you’re a great guy because I never want to lose you. I want you forever. It’s just that I needed to say it to your face.”
Reece couldn’t believe his ears. A glowing warmth spread through his whole body. It was the most wonderful Christmas present he could ever ask for. He wrapped Ellie in his arms, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss.
“I’m sorry, Reece. I heard something that made me think things that were so wrong. It’s only my own fear that you’d never really want someone like me that allowed me to believe her.”
“Her?”
“Sheila Wooley. She came into the store.”
“Uh-oh. I should have known.”
“She said you had a lot of women and that I was only your number three girl.”
Reece threw his head back. His turn to laugh out loud.
“Hey, are you laughing at me?”
“After all we’ve shared, you’re going to take the word of some stranger who comes walking in off the street?” He took her hands in both of his. “I’m the one who’s sorry. A couple years back I’d witnessed Sheila’s nasty jealous streak, but I thought she was over all that crazy stuff. She must be off her meds. Too bad she picked you.”
Jubilant, he pulled her toward the door. “Come on, we’ve got some sledding to do.”
Brandon, Tommy and the twins piled into the back seat of his jeep, while Ellie sat next to him in front. On the way over, Reece told her about this special hill on his ten-acre farm. When they reached it, the kids raced outside, shouting and laughing.
Tommy pulled a big sled out of the back hutch. Reece watched Ellie as she stepped out into the gentle snowfall, the swirling flakes turning the world into a misty wonderland.
She pulled up the collar of her parka. Brandon called to his mom to watch him go down the big hill with Tommy.
Reece saw her go pale and tense up as the speed of the sled heightened. He put his arm around her shoulder. “Our turn.”
He got Ellie on the sled and they rode down the hill together at breakneck speed, his arms wrapped tightly around her. Soon she was squealing and laughing as much as the others.
The snow was coming down in a dense curtain and getting deeper by the minute. Claire showed up to take her children home and offered Ellie and Brandon a ride back to her car.
Memories of his accident haunted Reece. “Ellie, those tires on your Mazda are bald. You can’t drive in this snow.” Before his sister could offer her a ride back to her apartment, he added, “Come dry off at my place and I’ll take you home as soon as it lets up.”
Ellie frowned. “But it may not stop until morning.”
Reece grinned. “If we’re lucky.”
**
Ellie was thrilled by Reece’s renovated nineteenth century farmhouse. It was grand in its majestic scale, yet it was cozy at the same time. After a dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches and soup, the three of them sat by the fireplace, the snow still falling relentlessly, creating a gentle hush outside the windows.
Wiped out from all the sledding, Brandon drifted off and Reece carried him to bed like a father would. The whole evening was like something out of a dream, stirring up wishes she’d once held dear: a loving husband, a warm family, a happy home.
Years ago she’d stopped believing in such things. Could something like that actually happen for her?
Reece and Ellie sat together on a sofa, mugs of coffee on an end table.
“So did we cover what you wanted to discuss with me?” he asked.
“Pretty much. I do wonder why you’ve never mentioned your accident. Claire told me how horrible it was. Is that why?”
He hesitated. “No. It’s because I didn’t want you to think I was weird. But you’re an artist. You know life has all kinds of mysteries we’ll never understand, right?”
Ellie nodded, hoping he wouldn’t leave it at that.
“I was lying there with my chest pierced and getting crushed, unable to move, seeing blood pouring out of me. The pain was hideous. Add to that the awareness that I was probably dying.”
“Claire said they were amazed you held out until the ambulance arrived.”
“I had help. From a… vision, for lack of a better word. It sustained me. More than that, it told me to hold on, not to give up.”
“Wow. What did you see?”
He locked his gaze on her for a moment and said, “You.”
Ellie had expected him to say it was a saint, an angel, a ghost, or spirit of some kind. But her? “What do you mean? I don’t understand.”
“I saw your face. You spoke to me, begged me not to give up. To hang on. Then you would go running through these rows of evergreen trees. Every so often you’d stop and gesture for me to follow you.”
Ellie’s eyes went wide. “Is that why you bought this farm?”
“I’d already bought it, but as I once told you, I was going to build condos on it. After my accident my values changed totally. I have a much deeper sense of what’s important in this world. As a result, I had a slight rift with my older brother and father. They owned part of this property and gave me a hard time when I wanted to buy them out and continue my life as a tree farmer.”
“How can you be sure it was me you saw?”
“Ellie, it was your face and your voice. A part of me couldn’t stop waiting for you. Then you came along and I knew. I tried to keep it casual, but when you showed up here…” He shook his head.
She pouted. “I hope this vision isn’t the only reason you like me.”
Reece laughed and pulled her into his arms. “How can you say that? Face it. The chemistry between us is explosive.”
“Mmmm.” She reached her arms around his neck. “I think this is going to be a very special Christmas.”
**
The snow stopped by morning and the sun came out bright and sparkl
ing. Brandon feared Santa might have skipped their house since he was not at home, but he found gift after gift with his name on it under Reece’s tree.
There was also one marked for Ellie. “Oh. This choker is so beautiful. I love it.” She kissed Reece and added, “I’ll wear it to the party tonight.”
All of the gifts Ellie had bought were still at her apartment, including the sweater she’d gotten for Reece. And the gift Brandon’s “Daddy” had supposedly sent. But the boy still got a Christmas morning “Daddy” call from Ellie’s brother.
When the excitement settled down, Reece and Ellie went to the kitchen to make some pancakes and eggs, leaving Brandon to play with his new toys. Ellie had barely finished beating an egg when she heard her son crying in the living room.
She rushed into the room, Reece right behind her. She tried to hold Brandon, but he pushed her away. “What’s wrong, Brannie? Did you hurt yourself?”
“You’re a liar! I hate you! I called Daddy’s number on your cell and got cousin Carly. She told me the truth. All this time it was my Uncle David talking to me.”
“I’m so sorry, Brandon. I couldn’t bear to see you hurt. But I guess I handled it the wrong way.”
“Daddy doesn’t want me. That’s why he ran away from us.” He burst into tears.
Her lips tightened in anger. “Daddy ran from me, not you. But he is a selfish man who doesn’t really care about anybody.”
Brandon rubbed his small fists against his eyes, still recoiling from his mother’s attempts to hold him. “All those cards and presents. He didn’t send any of them, did he? He doesn’t want to be my daddy. Nobody wants me.”
Reece rushed in and knelt next to the boy. “I want you, Brandon. And so does your Mom. And when I marry her, I’ll be able to adopt you and be your father for real. Would you like to be my son?”
The small boy dove into his arms.
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