Chapter 12 #2
“Nothing much going on today except visiting my new niece later. I don’t mind helping.”
“Appreciate it.”
“You guys be nice to Grayson,” Lucas said to the horses. “He’s out of practice. Don’t take advantage.”
“I heard that,” Grayson called after him.
Lucas’s laughter echoed through the barn.
Grayson took a seat on the bench and snapped the reins to get the horses moving toward the path through the woods that would deliver him to Lincoln and Molly’s backyard.
The bells on the horses’ harness were the only sound other than the glide of the blades through the fresh powder.
As a kid growing up here, this had been one of his favorite things to do after a snowstorm, and he was hoping Simone and Emma would love it as much as he did.
In spite of his desire to focus on his plans with them, Grayson couldn’t seem to think about anything other than the bomb Noah had dropped on him. What would his other siblings say when they heard this news? Would they agree to be tested?
Despite the cheerful jingle of the sleigh bells, Grayson couldn’t shake the sense of dread-laced anxiety that came over him any time he had to deal with a past he’d much rather forget than have to confront once again.
He navigated the final turn before Linc and Molly’s yard came into view and reminded himself that today was about Emma and her daughter. There’d be plenty of time after they went home for him to confront the anxiety and despair this news had resurrected in him.
This was a day for lighthearted fun and for giving Simone an experience she hopefully wouldn’t soon forget.
It was most definitely not the time to allow his painful past to intrude on the best week he’d ever had.
He drove the sleigh into the yard, where the jingle of the bells immediately caught the attention of George and Ringo, who’d been frolicking in the snow.
Grayson was amused by the way the horses totally ignored the barking dogs.
Apparently, Emma and Simone had been watching for him, because they came out of the mudroom door to greet him, both wearing huge smiles at the sight of the horse-drawn sleigh.
“Who would like to go for a ride?” he asked.
“Me,” Simone shouted, raising her good arm. The other was in a sling that she wore over her coat.
“Me, too,” Emma said with a warm smile for him that reminded him of the pleasure they’d found in each other’s arms.
“Let’s put you on this side, Simone, so nothing bumps your sore arm.
” After he got her settled under the blanket, he helped Emma up and then followed her, taking the middle seat.
Grayson tucked the blanket in around Simone and then tended to Emma, who placed a hand on his thigh under the blanket.
That was all it took to make him hard for her.
Jesus… If she moved that hand even a fraction of an inch, she’d be able to tell what her touch had done to him.
Thankfully, she kept her hand where it was as he snapped the reins to get the horses moving.
“This is so awesome,” Emma said. “Where’d you get the sleigh?”
“From the family Christmas tree farm. Landon uses it to give rides during tree-harvesting season and leases it out for groups during the winter.”
“You seem to know what you’re doing…”
He laughed. “Driving this rig was my job every Saturday in December all through high school.”
“I love how you all work for the family business in some way or another,” Emma said. “Izzy was telling me how she’s shooting the new catalog for the store after the first of the year.”
“Did she tell you how they’re expecting us to be their models?” He rolled his eyes. “Can you imagine what a calamity that will be?”
“After game night, I can picture it.” She leaned in closer to him. “But you’d be a very sexy model.”
“This is family day,” he said, tipping his head toward Simone. “Behave.”
“I am behaving.” She squeezed his leg for emphasis.
He’d never been so hot for anyone, especially when he was also freezing. “What do you think of the sleigh, Simone?”
“I love it. I wish I could drive.”
“You can help me.” He handed her the right-side rein while keeping a tight grip on the left side and showed her how to guide the team with small corrections. “No big moves. That’s the secret. You got this.” He loved the way she concentrated so intently on what she was doing.
Emma squeezed his leg again, and Grayson resigned himself to being hard any time she touched him.
“Are you guys going out now?” Simone asked.
Grayson had no idea what to say to that. “Ahhh…”
“What if we are?” Emma asked her daughter. “Would that be okay?”
“Of course it would. Auntie Lu and I have been telling you for years that you need a boyfriend.”
Emma laughed at her daughter’s bluntness. “Yes, you have.”
“Is Grayson nice to you?” Simone asked.
“He’s very nice to me,” Emma said with another squeeze that made him want to whimper.
“Then he should be your boyfriend.”
“What about the fact that he lives here and we live in New York?” Emma asked, as if he wasn’t sitting between them, listening to their conversation.
“Lucy and Colton figured that out, and so did Will and Cameron. You can, too.”
“None of them had a girl named Simone to think about when they were working it out.”
“That’s true.”
“That’s all you’ve got? That’s true?”
“For now. Give me time to think about it, will you?”
Grayson laughed at Simone’s saucy reply. “Yeah, Mom. Give her some time, will you?”
Emma smiled at him, and he was so focused on her adorably red cheeks and big blue eyes that he nearly missed the huge obstruction standing before them.
He brought the team to a stop about three feet from a collision with Fred the moose.
“Oh my God,” Simone whispered. “Is that him? Is that Fred?”
“That’s him.”
“He’s huge!”
Fred let out a loud moo that had Emma moving closer to Grayson, if that was possible.
“No wonder Cameron’s car was totally smooshed,” Simone whispered.
“She’s lucky all she had were two black eyes from the air bags,” Emma said in the same whisper. “Do we need to be afraid of him attacking us?”
“Absolutely not,” Grayson said. “He’s a pussycat.”
“Right,” Emma said sarcastically. “A thousand-pound pussycat.”
One of the horses whinnied, and Fred took a long, measuring look at them before ambling into the woods.
Emma released a sigh of relief. “He’s way bigger than advertised.”
“And totally harmless,” Grayson said as they began to move forward again. “Ask anyone around here.”
Emma cast a wary glance at the woods into which Fred had disappeared. “I can’t believe Cameron survived running into him,” she said with a shudder.
“He’s totally forgiven her. They’re old friends now.”
“I know,” Emma said. “I was there when Fred crashed her wedding.”
Simone giggled. “That was so funny. He came right into the tent.”
“I was sorry to miss it. I was away on work travel.” Another perk to self-employment was that he’d never again have to miss an important event due to something his partners decided “couldn’t be avoided.” Whatever. Life was too short for that nonsense.
They completed one big loop around the trails that surrounded Butler. “Do you want to go with me to the barn to put these guys up?” Grayson asked his passengers.
“You feel up to it, Simone?”
“I’m fine. I’d love to go.”
Grayson loved her spunk and how she was up for any adventure even when nursing an injury. “Then let’s go home.” He guided the team toward the Christmas tree farm and relaxed to enjoy the ride and the company.
“This was fun,” Emma said. “Thank you so much.”
“I enjoyed it, too. It’s been far too long since I did this.”
“You haven’t forgotten how.” She surprised and pleased him when she leaned her head on his shoulder, and then Simone did the same thing on the other side.
For a guy who’d spent his entire adult life avoiding commitment, he ought to be feeling panicked to have the two of them leaning on him.
But it wasn’t panic he felt but rather a pervasive sense of contentment, a feeling so strong and so pure, he wanted to hold on to it with everything he had.
Then he remembered they were leaving tomorrow, and the contentment evaporated into a messy mix of anxiety and sadness. How would he bear to let them go?