Chapter 23
“Are we ready?” I asked Ivy nervously.
She patted my back and smiled. “Relax, Addie. We’ve got this. Mason is manning the oven, Mel has the cake and pie, and Holly is running the show.”
I grinned and laughed at the little girl who was indeed, in charge. She had on her white apron Mason had bought her at the kitchen store to match his, and her chef hat that almost swallowed her head whole. She was barking orders about napkin placement and coffee orders.
“You’re right, nothing to worry about,” I laughed, taking a deep breath.
“Is he coming?” she asked, her hands clapping excitedly.
“He was locking up the studio but said he just wanted to stay in for the night. He finally agreed to take food and pie home. He should be here any minute.”
Ivy turned back to the room. “Okay everyone, he’s almost here. Get ready!”
Filling the room was the greatest part of Bells Pass. A community of people who without question or concern for their own plans, dropped everything on a Tuesday night to celebrate with someone who needed a community behind them. His truck pulled into the parking lot and Ivy grabbed my hand, shaking it for a minute before she ran for the light switch, dousing the lights the moment he reached for the door handle.
“Is everyone okay?” he called out, checking the streetlights and noticing they were still on. The door closed behind him and Ivy flipped the lights on.
“Happy birthday!” everyone in the diner called out at once.
A banner stretched the length of the counter and balloons hung everywhere. He stood in shocked silence, his mouth open as he took in the diner. It was filled with his students, other business owners, and all of our friends. I hugged him, whispering in his ear. “Happy birthday. I love you.”
He held me and kissed my temple before releasing me. “Wow,” he said, motioning at the crowd as everyone laughed. “Thank you so much! I wasn’t expecting a birthday party.”
Ivy hooked her arm in his. I was glad the stitches were out and the doctor had cleared him on Monday for full duty. He was going to be busy using that arm tonight. Ivy dragged him over to the counter and plopped a hat on his head that said Birthday Boy on it. His eyes turned upward to look at the blue feathers surrounding the bottom and he burst out laughing, his smile widening with each handshake and hug.
Ivy clapped her hands and everyone quieted. “Let’s eat!”
Mason swung through the kitchen door with pan after pan of pizza, lining them up on the counter for people to help themselves. Loading their plates, they found a place to sit and eat while visiting with each other in ways they may never otherwise do during their day-to-day life.
I slipped my arm around his waist and squeezed him. “Bells Pass at its finest,” I sighed.
“This is wonderful. I know you’re behind it, so thank you, Addie. I’m practically speechless.”
He leaned down and kissed me, his lips quick and unseen by everyone eating and laughing throughout the diner. “Let’s get some pizza and sit,” he whispered. “Maybe we’ll get a little quiet time to ourselves.”
I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the counter. “Don’t worry,” I said, wagging my eyebrows. “I have a birthday present for you, but I’ll give it to you at home when we’re alone.”
He laughed and jumped at me, grabbing my waist and kissing my temple. “I hope it’s your birthday suit I get to see.”
I winked and grabbed a plate. “Play your cards right, Santa, and you never know.”
“That was the best night I’ve ever had,” he said as we sat on the couch and tucked into the second piece of birthday cake. “I haven’t celebrated my birthday since I was sixteen.”
I froze, my fork in the air. “Seriously? I’m sorry if I overstepped.” I dropped my fork and grabbed his hand.
He brushed a kiss across my hand tenderly. “You didn’t overstep. Tonight was truly wonderful. Everyone made me feel like part of the community. Actually, like part of the Bells Pass family. There’s nothing to apologize for. It was another step in my journey back to finding my Christmas spirit.”
“Is that what the Rudolph Express is about?” I asked, my head cocked to the left. “Working until the Christmas spirit came back?”
He laughed, but it was sardonic and not amused in the least. “Absolutely. It didn’t work. Sure, I love my studio and my kids, but it didn’t do what I’d hoped it would do.”
“Which was?”
“Honestly, restart my heart. While I was there, my heart beat steadier and there was less pain in it, but it didn’t restart it the way I’d hope. You did that. The first time I saw you, I got a jolt stronger than anything my ICD could hit me with. I was taken, but I wasn’t ready. Does that make sense?”
I nodded as I finished chewing. “Everything is about timing, Ellis. I guess your time is now.”
He held up his finger. “No, our time is now. Do you agree?” he asked, his eyes focused on my lips. He leaned forward and licked a spot of frosting off the edge.
“I agree,” I whispered, caressing his cheek. “I also think it’s time for your birthday present.”
He raised a brow and set our plates on the coffee table. “Kind of early for bed, no?”
I chuckled and stood, grabbing his hand. “I know my body is your playground, but I have an actual gift for you, goofball.” I tugged him behind me toward the door. “You can have my body later.”
He pushed me up against the door and held me there, his eyes sparking with desire. “What if I want your body now?” he asked, his hand coming off the door to caress the side of my breast through my t-shirt. “What if that’s the only present I need?”
I closed my eyes while he massaged and teased my nipple into a hard peak with his lips, right through the t-shirt material. His lips then moved to mine and he kissed me until I couldn’t breathe. When we broke apart, I waited for the cloud of lust to clear so I could think straight.
“I think you’ll want this gift, but I promise you, after you’ve opened it, you can open me, slowly, and with great precision.”
He moaned and rested his forehead on mine. “I love slow and with great precision. Why are we by the door?”
“Your gift is downstairs,” I answered, unlocking it and holding it for him.
“Why?”
“I didn’t have room to hide it in the apartment. I mean, where would I have put it?”
He shoved me up against the door again with his body and grinned at me like the big bad wolf. “How about in my bed? I don’t plan to be in it anytime soon,” he hissed, his lips finding my neck to suck and nip.
I moaned and then remembered we were standing on the stairs, which wasn’t exactly safe. I tapped him on the shoulder and he mmmh’d at me, his nose forcing my chin upward. “Ellis, we aren’t going to get very far if you keep pushing me up against doors and having your way with me.”
He sighed and his breath tickled my neck. “Right, birthday present, down boy,” he said, glancing at his pants which were nicely tented.
I laughed and shook my head. “See what happens when you don’t listen to your girlfriend?”
He shook his finger at me. “Oh no, you can’t put this on me when you’re sitting there in hip-hugging yoga pants and a t-shirt so thin I can see through it. That’s just unfair.”
I glanced down at my chest. “It’s not see-through.”
His finger came up to trace around my areola. “Are you sure? Because this sexy nipple is driving me crazy with the way it’s constantly flashing me.”
I held up a finger, opened the apartment door, and grabbed a sweatshirt off the hook. I tugged it on and when I came back out his face fell. “Problem solved,” I said, throwing my hands up, snickering when he frowned.
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “That’s disappointing. Promise you’ll take it off again when we’re done?” I trotted down a few steps, turning and waiting for him to follow. “I’ll take it all off once we’re done,” I promised, clicking the light on in the salon and taking his hand. “Okay, close your eyes. It was too big to wrap, so I had to set it out. Take my hand.”
He did as I instructed without question and knowing he trusted me was better than any gift he could ever give me. I only had the lights on in the back of the salon where I’d left the goodies and when we reached them, I stopped.
“Open.” I held my breath when his eyes came open to gaze at the gift.
His breath stopped filling his lungs. “Addie?” he said, his voice soft and questioning. “What on earth?” He walked to the ball chairs and pushed on the top of one. “There are,” he counted quickly and spun back to me, “twelve chairs here.”
I nodded, motioning at the layout. “Rudolph brown and Santa Claus red, I made sure of it,” I said, winking. “There are six kid chairs and six adult chairs. You can take the balls off the frames and use those separately if you’re working on balance. I know you wanted to offer more classes to kids with disabilities, so I thought small and large chairs would be good in case parents were with them, or if you have a group of teens. You keep your classes small, so this is a good start.”
He had his hands in his hair as he stared at the pile on the floor. “Addie, this is …” His hands came off his head in the explosion sign. “How did you know?”
“We talked about it at dinner one night, remember?”
He nodded, his head on a string. “We did, but baby, these are expensive. I meant it would take me some time to get it started.”
I motioned at the chairs. “Now you don’t have to wait. Parents are begging for a class like this. I wanted to help you the way you’ve helped so many families in town. All you have to do is look at Holly to see how your talents have changed Bells Pass for the better. Now you can add another dimension to your offerings.”
“Honey, I can’t accept this. They’re so expensive!” he exclaimed, turning and grabbing me in a hug. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll accept them. I talked to the manufacturer and they cut me a bit of a deal on them after I explained what you were trying to do. There isn’t a studio within one hundred miles that offers any classes for autistic kids or kids who have other sensory issues. You’re it. Let’s not keep them waiting, okay?”
He kissed my neck tenderly. “I love you,” he whispered and that was enough for me to know he was going to start the classes as soon as possible.
“I love you too. Happy birthday. Oh wait, there’s one more gift.” I pointed off to the side of the ball chairs.
“More?” he asked, stepping around the balls to the silk laying on the floor. He knelt, confused until he held it up. “Arial yoga hammock?”
“I know you wanted one for the back room of the studio.”
“Addie, this is too much,” he said, inspecting the hammock. “You can’t buy all this stuff for the studio. You have your own business to run.”
I held up my finger and walked to him, grabbing the other side of the hammock. “This isn’t for the studio. This is for you. I don’t care where you hang it, you can hang it in the apartment if you want to. It’s for you to use for relaxation and when you need time to calm yourself. It will give you a chance to see how you like it and if it’s something you want to implement into the studio. Maybe it’s something you can use for kids who need more help and maybe it’s not, but now you’ll have a chance to find out.”
He lowered the hammock back to the floor and pulled me into his arms. “You’re wonderful. I never would have bought myself one when there’s always something I need for the studio.”
I patted his face. “I know, that’s why I did it. Besides, I thought maybe you could show me how to use it too. It might be fun.” I winked and he groaned, his hand trailing to cup my bottom.
“I like that idea. “Ever heard of naked yoga?” he asked, his tone teasing.
“I like the sound of naked yo—”
Headlights filled the front window and the sound of breaking glass had us throwing our hands over our heads. Instantly, popping filled the space around us as we ran for the bathroom.
“Stay down,” he yelled, as an engine roared and the lights faded. He pushed me into the bathroom and hit the lights outside the door, bathing the salon in darkness. He slammed the bathroom door and locked it, but we both knew it wouldn’t stop anyone who wanted in, especially now that the front door was broken.
I had my phone to my ear yelling at 911 for help. When I took a breath, I noticed the salon was silent again. “It’s quiet,” I told the operator. Either they parked and are coming in or they took off.”
Ellis waved his shaking hand at his throat. “They’re gone, that’s what the engine roaring was. They headed south toward Lakeview. Tell them large dark pickup with bug lights on the roof.”
I repeated the information and told the operator I already heard sirens. Before she could say anything more, I hung up and threw myself at him, his arms catching me and holding me to his chest. “Are you okay?” I asked, checking him over, running my hand up and down his body
He grabbed my wrists and held them. “I’m fine. I’m okay, just take a breath,” he ordered, breathing with me in and out several times.
“Addie Collop, Bells Pass Police!” came a voice from outside. “Addie, it’s safe to come out. It’s Officer Dennison. Turn the lights on if you can,” he ordered.
Ellis fumbled for the door lock and reached around with his hand to flip the lights on before we stepped out of the bathroom. Gabe and his partner were standing by the shattered door, their hands on their guns.
“We’re fine,” I called as soon as they saw us. “We’re okay.”
I skirted the glass on the floor the best I could to get to the door. “Don’t reach in, let me unlock it,” I said, afraid they’d cut their arm on the glass.
Before he could say anything, his radio crackled to life and we heard four words no one ever wanted to hear. “Shots fired! Officer down!”