Chapter 14
HOPPER
When I woke, Noel was gone. He must have returned to his room before dawn.
I couldn’t blame him. The Grisolds probably wouldn’t have a problem with us getting involved, but they might get their hopes up for more than a holiday fling.
It was going to be tough enough to manage my own hopes, so it was good Noel was gone, really. Even if I’d secretly hoped to wake with him warm and sleepy in my arms.
I showered and changed, then went to the kitchen. I was the first to arrive this morning, so I put on a pot of coffee.
The counter was laden with baked goods: loaves of cranberry-orange bread, raspberry brownies, peppermint bark, more cinnamon rolls, and dozens of Christmas cookie kits with frosting and sprinkles just waiting to be decorated at home.
The peanut brittle Noel had been working on when I got home last night still sat in the middle of the table. I scooped up that container and put it with the rest.
“Noel got busy last night.”
I startled and turned. “Uh, what?”
Ed blinked bleary eyes at me. “All the baking.” He rubbed his hands together. “Breakfast should be good today.”
“Oh, right.” I laughed, trying to ignore the tiny flicker of guilt that I’d fucked Ed’s son. Really, to be technical, Noel had fucked me—and loved it. But it was weird to look at Ed, who had been a better father to me than my own had, and know that I was doing dirty things with his son.
“He’s amazing,” I said. My tone came out a little too fervent, and Ed gave me a funny look, so I rushed to add, “With the baking, I mean. I can’t believe he got so much done.”
“Well, Maggie helped, of course,” Ed said with a rusty chuckle. “We’re not ready to go out to pasture yet.”
“Of course not.”
Ed pulled out a chair and sat down. He was doing a hell of a lot better than he had been, but I noticed he still tired easily.
“I want to get out and cut down a tree,” he said. “I don’t know how long Noel will be here, and Maggie has her heart set on him helping decorate one like when he was little. She’s feeling nostalgic with him home like this.”
“Oh, I can do that for you,” I said.
“No,” he said gruffly. “I’ll go.”
I turned to pour a mug of coffee to hide my grimace. I didn’t think that was a good idea.
“Go where?” Maggie asked as she came into the kitchen. “You want some oatmeal, hon?”
“No, I don’t want any damn oatmeal,” he groused. “I want another cinnamon roll.”
She clucked. “Well, those are for the store, Ed. We finished off the home batch.”
“Then some of that cranberry bread or a brownie. I’m not picky.”
She smiled at him and opened the pantry door, drawing out a packet of instant oatmeal. “All for the store, dear. Noel is determined to help us get a good start to the season.” She sighed. “I imagine he’ll head home soon now that he’s got us better stocked.”
“But he hasn’t even been here a week yet,” I blurted.
We’d only hooked up twice last night. He couldn’t go yet. We’d only gotten started.
“It’s longer than he’s stayed in a long time, hon,” Maggie said. “You don’t get to be a head chef by taking vacations. It’s a competitive field.”
“Yeah, he told me a little about that,” I said glumly, knowing she was right.
I carried two mugs of coffee to the table. Ed eagerly took the one I slid to him as I sat down.
“You never said where you were going, Ed,” Maggie said as she put a bowl in the microwave.
“Oh, just out to get a tree,” he said.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said. “Hopper can—”
“It’s my damn house, and I can damn well cut down my own tree!” Ed burst out. “I’m not some goddamn invalid.”
“You’re still recovering.”
He puffed up, looking ready to blow, when Noel stepped into the kitchen. “Morning, everyone. Guess I’m late to the party.”
“Well, you worked hard yesterday,” Maggie said.
“So did you.” Noel gave her a hug from the side, eyes meeting mine briefly. “Guess I stayed up too late.”
“You didn’t have to finish all that brittle, sweetie,” Maggie said. “It won’t all sell in one day.”
“I know. I just want to do what I can while I’m here.”
“Well, we appreciate it, don’t we, Ed?”
“Appreciate it more when I get to eat some of the baked goods,” Ed said sourly.
Noel chuckled. “Yeah, I bet. It was tempting for me, too, but I didn’t eat any of it. If you can’t eat it, I won’t either.”
Ed’s bushy eyebrows rose. “That’s not necessary.”
Noel grabbed a mug and poured himself some coffee. “It’s probably better for my health. As a chef, I had to learn a long time ago not to eat every delicious thing I made.”
Maggie laughed. “That’s some good willpower you’ve got.”
“Mm.” Noel turned, eyes finding mine again. “With some things, anyway. Others, not so much.”
I smirked, unable to hold back the expression. Maggie glanced between us, brow furrowed. “Am I missing something?”
“Nope,” I said quickly, pushing back from the table. “Noel, we better get out there if we want to get those lights up before the church crowd arrives.”
“Okay.” He grabbed a couple of breakfast bars from the pantry and held them up.
I nodded, and he tossed me one. Usually, I ate a heartier breakfast, but Noel and I had snuck down to the kitchen last night, and he’d made me the fluffiest, most delicious omelet that I’d ever had.
It was filled with ham and cheese and peppers, so I barely had an appetite even now, hours later.
There were perks to sleeping with a chef.
“About that Christmas tree for the house,” Ed started.
“Oh!” Noel said. “Can I pick one out this year? It’s been so long since I’ve done it.”
Ed hesitated. “You remember how to do it?”
Noel rolled his eyes. “As if I’d ever forget. Besides,” he said casually, “Hopper can help me, right?”
“I think it sounds like a lovely idea,” Maggie said. “Don’t you, Ed? Noel so rarely gets to be here for the holidays.”
“Well, all right,” Ed said. “If you really want to do it.”
“I do,” Noel said brightly. “It’ll be fun to decorate with Mom. Just like old times.”
His parents grew misty-eyed, and hell, I damn near did, too. Noel was so good at handling them. The love between them all was so strong I eased back into the corner so that I wouldn’t intrude. It was a damn shame that Noel couldn’t be here every year.
Noel finished off his coffee and rinsed his mug. I hurried to do the same. And then we headed into the mudroom to pull on our shoes and thick coats.
Cinnamon barked from outside, either wanting in or wanting us to come out. I opened the door, and she danced in a happy circle, yipping once more.
Come play!
Noel went out the door and ruffled the fur on Cinnamon’s neck. “You’re a happy girl, aren’t you?”
He turned a grin my way, eyes bright, and it hit me right in the chest. Damn. I liked seeing that kind of smile on him.
“You look pretty happy yourself,” I said.
He straightened. “Aren’t you?”
I went down the steps, grabbed his arm, and pulled him around the side of the house. “I don’t know. I think I need a refresher.”
He went up on his toes, arms sliding around my neck, and met me for a sweet kiss. “Is that better?” he murmured.
“Getting there.”
I took the kiss deeper, tasting his tongue, and groaned quietly. “That’s what I wanted for breakfast.”
His eyes sparkled up at me. “Lucky for you, we’re open 24/7.”
“Very lucky for me,” I murmured, even as my asshole of a brain added, while he’s still here, anyway.
We kissed for another minute until Cinnamon broke us apart by jumping against our legs. I sighed. “We should get started on those lights.”
“Right. Especially now that I have to go cut down a Christmas tree, too,” Noel said with a rueful smile.
“Just how much of that conversation did you overhear?”
“Enough to know Dad was being stubborn. He wasn’t going to let someone tell him he couldn’t go cut down a tree. He’s done that his whole life.”
“So, you let him think you really wanted to do it.”
“It’s not like I don’t,” Noel said with a shrug. “It’s been years since I did that. It will be fun.” He waggled his eyes. “Especially if you do the heavy lifting for me.”
I grinned. “Oh, I see. You just like me for the manual labor I can do for you.”
“That’s not the only reason.” He slapped my ass to make his point. “Come on. Those lights won’t hang themselves.”
He started across the yard, and I followed, a grin breaking loose. Maybe Noel would only be here for a short time, but that just meant I had to make the most of the time we had.