22. Nora
22
NORA
N ora sat cross-legged on the area rug in the Taylors’ house and tugged on one strand of tangled Christmas lights. She’d been fighting with the strands and failing for a good half hour, and she had little to show for her efforts.
“Nora, breathe,” Caroline said.
She took a deep breath and lowered the lights to her lap. How long had she been holding her breath?
“Here.” Vicci scooted a box toward her. “Give the lights a break and unwrap the china.”
Nora tossed the lights aside and opened the box. “Bless you. The lights were about to get the best of me.”
“We might need to just buy new ones,” Vicci said. “Clint usually handles the exterior lights, and he’s not the best at storing them properly.”
“I should have known it was Clint,” Nora joked .
“Because he’s the cause of all your problems?” Caroline asked with a sweet grin.
Nora chuckled. “Well, he’s also the one who is always there to pick me up when I hit rock bottom.”
“Amen to that. I’ve called Clint many times when I needed help, and he always drops what he’s doing and comes running,” Caroline said.
Vicci didn’t look up from the box she was sorting through, but her smile widened. If anyone should be proud of her kids, it was Vicci Taylor. Even Dom had been a good kid, but Nora knew better than most that you couldn’t change others, only yourself.
When Nora had the dishes unwrapped, she stood and stretched her back. “I’m going to wash these. They’re covered in dust.”
“After you do that, you can put them on the middle shelves of the china cabinet. I cleared a spot for them earlier,” Vicci said.
Nora grabbed a stack of dishes and took them to the kitchen before returning for another load.
“Where is Clint? He never misses decorating,” Caroline said.
“Therapy,” Vicci and Nora said in unison.
Vicci looked up at the grandfather clock on the wall opposite the fireplace. “They should be back soon. Grant has to feed the cows this evening.”
Nora paused with a stack of Christmas bowls in her arms. “I can do it. ”
Vicci waved her off. “No need. Grant will be itching to get to work after sitting all afternoon.”
“Okay. If you’re sure, I’ll just wash these and put them away.” She’d been using work to distract her from the never-ending terrible news that had been assaulting her lately. For once, resting sounded like a good idea.
She arranged all of the dishes next to the kitchen sink and started washing them. The sweet notes of “Silent Night” drifted from the living room where everyone else was still hanging lights, ornaments, and tinsel.
Despite the long workday and the even longer afternoon decorating at the Taylors’ house, she wasn’t ready to go back to Clint’s cabin just yet. Just hearing the women chatting in the other room was a balm to her tired soul.
Christmas with her dad was never like this. There weren’t decorating parties, festive songs, and hot chocolate. In fact, she hadn’t bothered to decorate since she graduated from high school. What was the point?
Seeing the way Grant and Vicci ran their household was the opposite of her own experiences. Her dad had struggled to raise Nora on his own, and she’d always appreciated his efforts. Still, there hadn’t been a lot of joy. They worked hard and talked when the situation warranted a conversation about what they were doing. No chitchat. No girl talk. No revelation of feelings.
She’d always come to the Taylor’s house for those things. Vicci and Caroline never failed to fill her cup, and now Alicia was a part of the family too.
The shiny plate almost slipped out of Nora’s hands, and her chest constricted. She wanted this family. She wanted it with all of her heart.
But there was a commandment about coveting things that belonged to your neighbor, and the realization turned her supper to acid in her stomach.
“Hey.”
Nora whipped around to see Clint limping into the kitchen on a crutch. How had he snuck up on her?
The pounding in her chest didn’t ease as he moved closer and stopped beside her.
“You need some help?” Clint asked as he picked up the drying rag and a plate.
She opened her mouth to tell him she had it covered, but nothing came out. He settled into his place beside her like he’d been there his whole life.
He had. Clint had been the most loyal friend since the moment they met. She looked up at him as reality clicked into place. This family did belong to her. Clint had made sure that she always had a place in his home when hers hadn’t been enough. He spent his life filling the empty spaces in her heart and covering them with love until it was impossible to know they’d ever existed.
He looked over at her but kept drying dishes. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” The word came out soft and unsure, but she meant it. Everything was okay, and it was all thanks to Clint.
She turned back to the dishes, and they finished washing and drying them in record time. When the stack of dishes was dry, Clint stepped back and surveyed their work.
“Sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be able to help carry them,” he said, lifting his crutch and positioning it under his arm.
“Don’t even think about it. This china is a hundred years old, and your mom would disown us both if we broke it.”
“I’ll get the door,” Clint said as he hobbled over and used his back to clear the way for her.
She rested the first stack in the china cabinet and returned for the rest. Clint remained in the doorway, patiently waiting for her to arrange the beautiful plates and bowls in the glass display case.
When she returned, she swiped her hands together before propping them on her hips. “Thanks for the help.”
Clint’s stare bore into her as he crooked one finger at her. “Come here.”
The grin on his face was a dead giveaway that he had some joke or trick up his sleeve. He’d been extra restless since the accident, and indulging his games was one way to keep him occupied.
Nora stepped over to where he stood in the doorway. “Okay. Now what?”
Clint looked up, and she followed suit. A sprig of mistletoe hung on the doorframe above them.
Nora chuckled, then lowered her gaze to Clint. She propped her hands on her hips and tilted her chin up, making a show of offering herself up for the expected kiss.
Instead of making a joke and playing it off, Clint leaned toward her and slowly lifted his hands to cradle both sides of her face.
Every muscle in her body tensed, and her skin burned as hot as the fire blazing in the living room. Her hands fell from her hips as the breath in her lungs seized. The pads of his thumbs stroked over her cheeks, and she instinctively took a step back until the doorframe behind her brought her to a halt.
He stepped closer, and time slowed as she inhaled a deep breath. His gaze traveled down her face and neck before lifting to her lips.
Clint was going to kiss her, and she was powerless to stop him. She didn’t want to. She wanted to be surrounded by him, and it took every ounce of restraint she had to keep her hands from grabbing his shirt and pulling him in .
He paused and met her gaze, silently asking for permission to continue, but she didn’t speak. She stood frozen, and the fact that she wasn’t pushing him away would have to be her answer.
Clint took his sweet, precious time inching closer to her. He stopped with his lips half an inch from their target until his nose brushed against the side of hers.
Good gravy, he needed to put her out of her misery before she climbed him like a tree.
When his lips met hers, she inhaled a deep breath, and the world around her faded into nothing. The only thing that existed was Clint as he slowly brushed his mouth against hers. Her taut muscles melted like butter with every move he made.
Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as Clint adored her. The unspoken promise behind it had tears pricking behind her eyes. What had she ever done to deserve him?
The kiss lasted only seconds before Clint pulled away. Nora blinked rapidly, trying to settle back down on planet Earth after that little flight in the clouds.
Clint looked down at her with a bewildered look on his face. For once, she couldn’t read his thoughts, and the enormity of what they’d just done crashed into her.
It didn’t matter if his friendly feelings for her were changing or not. She loved him, and that meant he had the power to hurt her more than anyone ever had in her life.
The world around them came back into focus, and the voices in the living room moved closer. Clint took a step back, but his stare remained locked on her.
Vicci, Caroline, and Alicia walked into the dining room, laughing and talking as if Nora’s center of gravity hadn’t just shifted to the man standing in front of her.
Caroline glanced between Clint and Nora before speaking. “Hey, we’re about to head over to Alicia’s and put up the tree. Jordan is home now, so he can help us.”
Nora swallowed hard before stammering, “Um, okay.”
“So, can you come help?” Caroline asked as she looked between the two guilty parties again.
“Yeah. We’ll help,” Clint answered for them. Apparently, his throat wasn’t closed up the way Nora’s was after that earth-shattering kiss.
Caroline clapped her hands. “Great. We’ll take Alicia’s car since we can all fit.”
Nora nodded, trying and failing to ground herself back to reality. “Okay.”
No, nothing was okay. Everything in her life had changed in an instant, and she had no idea what to do now.