Chapter 2
Red
“Are you goin’ to tell me where you’re takin’ me?” my darling wife asks as we drive down the highway for our surprise Christmas date I’ve organized.
Reaching over, I lace my fingers with hers and lift her hand to my lips. “I seem to remember a time when I was askin’ you the exact same thing last year.”
My wife snatches her hand back with a gasp. “That wasn’t a date. I didn’t even know I was hearing the Mountain’s Call.”
I arch a brow. “So you didn’t have secret feelin’s for me when we went on that hike in Anchorage? And we didn’t have a moment on that knoll lookin’ over at Denali?
“I–” she stutters. I slow down to turn down an old dirt road. Once that’s done, I shoot her a knowing stare, which earns me a narrowed one in return. “Don’t you give me that look, Ernest Bartholomew Grayson. Yeah, I full-named you. You’re sassin’ me.”
A snort escapes. “That’s ‘cause you were about to lie to my face when we both know the truth. And I know because I was already head over heels for ya. I just didn’t think I should be havin’ those kinds of thoughts about my best friend.”
She reaches for my hand again and squeezes my fingers gently. “Oh, I definitely know a little bit about that.”
“So, you’re admittin’ I’m right. I knew it!” I puff my chest out, earning a smirk and a playful roll of eyes from my beautiful bride.
“How ‘bout you channel all that cocky energy into gettin’ us to this sneaky date of yours. Yeah?”
“Haven’t heard you complainin’ about my cocky energy.”
“Yeah, when you’re usin’ it the right way,” she murmurs under her breath.
I come to a crossroads, spotting the small outbuilding I’ve commandeered for the night in the distance.
Lucky for me, when I realized I needed a location where we wouldn’t be disturbed, I remembered that one of the old timers at Spring Haven’s only bar, The Secret Cow, had just finished renovating his barn, and it wasn’t yet in use.
After promising not to burn the place down and that we’d leave it in the same condition we found it in, we had a deal.
Having reached our destination, I shut off the engine and watch as Mags leans forward to look out the windshield.
Following her line of sight, I catch the flickering lights shining out of the white-framed windows of the quaint barn that could easily pass for guest accommodation for humans, let alone animals.
“What have you done, Red?” she whispers, her voice full of awe.
“How ‘bout you sit right there and wait for me to open your door, then you can find out.”
Pink tinges her cheeks, her cute blue knitted hat doing nothing to hide it, nor does it stop me from wanting to kiss her and make her blush a little more.
So that’s exactly what I do.
After I’ve left her with glazed eyes and swollen lips, I give her one last peck on the forehead before quickly hopping out of the truck to help her out.
With her hand in mine, I lead her toward the barn, pulling out the heavy iron key and unlocking it. Leading Mags inside, I shut us in and flick a switch by the door, slow melodic folk music filling the air as I move in close behind her.
The LED candles turned on a few hours ago are still thankfully shining bright, casting a magical soft glow over the bare wooden stables. To the right of the space, I put a sea of blankets over the floorboards with a bunch of cushions on top to make us comfortable.
There’s also a low table I commandeered from back home so that we can eat while lounging, two plates covered in silver domes waiting for us on top of it. Under them is the supper I prepared earlier while Mags was still working.
Last, but not least, there’s a white screen hanging over the far wall in front of a projector, a small TV screen, and a nondescript closed black box.
“You’re pullin’ out all the stops tonight. Aren’t you, Redmond?” she says, leaning back against me. I wrap my arms around her waist and turn to touch my lips to her neck.
“Don’t I always?”
“Hmm,” she says, nodding over to where the food is. “Whatever you’ve got waitin’ for us smells delicious.”
“I aim to please, darlin’,” I say, slowly walking her toward the food.
“Wine too. I’m impressed.” And even without seeing her face, I can tell she’s smiling.
“Mmm hmm.” When we reach the bed of blankets, I step back and hold her hand to steady her as she carefully sits down.
Quickly joining her, I unveil the plates, placing the domes off to the side. As soon as I do that, the mouthwatering aroma of beef, mushrooms, and spices fill the air between us.
In a sight I never knew would do it for me, Mags leans in over her plate, breathing it in before her sparkling eyes slide over to me. “You did good, husband.”
“I do try,” I say, grabbing the wine bottle and filling our glasses before holding out the drink for her.
“You’re definitely succeedin’ tonight,” she muses. “So far, anyway.”
“The night is still young, darlin’.” I lift my glass between us as she does the same. “To my beautiful wife, my forever love. My One and my favorite Christmas gift this and every year from now. May we have many more nights like this, and many more mornin’s like tomorrow.”
Her eyes grow hooded as she looks me up and down.
There’s no mistaking the lust and desire in her gaze.
“Now that sounds promisin’. To my husband.
I hope you never stop surprisin’ me, especially if it ends up with us in an abandoned barn in the middle of nowhere all alone.
” Her lips quirk up. “I love you so damn much. The best times of my life have and will always be with you.” She licks her lips and touches her glass to mine.
We both sip the wine while staring at each other, our eyes locked, silent promises being made that I have every intention of fulfilling later. Then I can’t stop myself—and I don’t want nor have to.
Leaning in, I capture her lips in a slow, passionate kiss. The barn around us fades away as we lose ourselves in each other–something that seems to happen a lot when we’re together.
When we finally come up for air, she’s smiling, her eyes filled with love. “As much as I want to do a lot more of that, this food smells too damn good to go to waste.”
“It was torture makin’ it and not bein’ able to eat it. Believe me,” I chuckle.
“Oh, I can imagine.”
“I’ve got somethin’ to give you first.” I turn and reach my hand beneath the blanket for her gift I’d hidden away earlier. Pulling it out, I hold it out for her.
“But Christmas is still a week away,” she says, eying the black and red wrapped present.
The paper is covered in red and green mistletoe, finished off with a perfectly tied white ribbon.
Her gaze slowly lifts to mine, her lips curving up in time with her brow.
“Did you wrap this?” Her tone is curious… almost disbelieving.
I make a show of being offended. “You don’t think I could wrap a present like that?”
My seductress wife slowly licks her lips as her gaze roams over my face, and I know she’s trying to detect my lie. I hold her stare before a laugh escapes, giving me away. The gratified smirk that appears on her face is reward enough.
“I think you could… potentially… maybe… wrap a present like this one,” she says, tugging at the ribbon until it pulls free. “But I think you’re a smart man who knows where best to spend his time. And wrappin’ a present would be somethin’ you’d sooner delegate than do yourself…”
I trail my hand over her knee and stroke her thigh. “I’d much rather spoil my wife in Ronnie’s barn in the middle of nowhere, where I know we won’t be interrupted.”
“Ye–yes. That,” Mags replies, sounding more than a little affected by my touch.
She carefully slips a finger underneath the tape and unwraps the paper, revealing a scrapbook of sorts that I definitely did make myself. “What’s this?”
I shuffle closer and she puts the book between us.
“This, darlin’ wife, is a collection of memories from our road trip last year.
The one that opened my eyes and made me see what everyone else could.
One I won’t ever forget. I’ll be tellin’ our grandkids and their kids about it while we’re in our rockin’ chairs on the porch at Bull. ”
She lifts her chin, and I see her smiling, glassy glaze.
“Can’t wait for that,” she whispers, gently cupping my cheek.
“To live a long life with you by my side, to grow old–” She looks over the top of my head, “—and grayer together.” Her giggle is like music to my ears.
“I can’t wait to watch our kids have their own kids. ”
“You just wanna spoil them rotten before sendin’ them home again,” I chuckle.
Mags leans in and touches her forehead to mine. “Yeah.”
I swear I fall in love with this woman a little bit more every single day. “Love you so damn much, darlin’. Never thought I'd be happy to have a higher bein’ give me a knock around the chops so I didn’t miss out on havin’ this–on havin’ us.”
“I love you too, Red. That’s never goin’ to change.”
“Good to hear. Cause you, Margaret Grayson, aren’t goin’ anywhere.”
“Wasn’t plannin’ on it,” she says, shooting me a hopeful, irresistible grin. “Unless you wanna forget about the food for a while and just make out for a bit.”
“I would…” I say slowly, tilting my head to brush my lips against hers. “But that Beef Wellington took forever to make…”
Mags pulls back slowly, her eyes narrowing as I shoot her a slow-growing grin. “I see…they say it all goes downhill once you get married.” She clicks her tongue. “Thought the honeymoon phase would last longer. But I guess–”
She doesn’t get another word out after that, because I hook a hand behind her neck and tug her into me before laying a hot, heavy, and very convincing kiss on her lips, keeping at it until she sags against me and moans into my mouth.
“I’m thinkin’ you might be wrong about that,” I murmur against her lips, loving the way hers curve into a smile. “But maybe I need to keep remindin’ you.”
“Maybe you do,” she says, slowly pulling away. “Maybe we’ll eat, then make out. It does smell good.”
“That might be the second-best thing you’ve said on this date.”
Mags cocks her head. “The second?”
“Yeah. Every time you say you love me will always come first.”
Her eyes turn half-lidded. “OK. You win.”
“Knew that. I won the day you said ‘I do’.”
“Funny,” she says. “I think the same thing about you every single mornin’ I wake up next to you.”
Hearing that, I give in and kiss her again. Then, we set out to taste the Beef Wellington.
After we finish eating and I’ve tidied everything away, Mags enjoys her second glass of wine while we go through the road trip scrapbook I made for her.
Unsurprisingly to me, my wife’s gaze drifts over toward the projector and screen hanging on the wall. “Anything else you forgot to mention, Red?”
“Hmm?” I say, lips twitching.
“Oh c’mon! Don’t you think you’ve kept me waitin’ for long enough?” She points to the items in question. “What are those for?”
“Ah, that would be what we’re goin’ to do for the rest of our date,” I say vaguely.
She turns her beautiful eyes my way. “And that would be…?”
“The way I see it, there are two options. One, we can put on some music and slow dance together. Or…”
“Not that it doesn’t sound like a nice and very romantic idea, darlin’ husband, but I’m kind of thinkin’ there’s another option that I’m goin’ to like even more…” She’s almost vibrating where she sits, making it hard for me not to laugh.
I rub my chin. “Maybe… well, I’d hope you like it…” I say slowly, drawing it out before jumping to my feet and holding my arm out to her. With the utmost of trust, Mags places her hand in mine and lets me pull her up, watching me expectantly the whole time.
“Well? C’mon, Redmond. Please put me out of my misery,” she begs, batting her lashes for extra effect.
A resigned, melodramatic sigh escapes me. “I was just thinkin’...”
She leans in. “Yes…?”
“I was thinkin’ we could recreate that night at the Singin’ Canary. You know, the one with the–”
“You didn’t?” She looks at the wall, screen, and box again and I realize she really didn’t know what I had planned until just now.
But going by the look on her face, I’ve just scored big…
huge… “Oh my, you did. You really did,” she rushes out before launching herself into my arms. “You.” Kiss.
“Red.” Kiss. “Are.” Kiss. “The.” Kiss. “Best.” Kiss. “Husband.” Kiss. “Ever!”
The last kiss is long, deep, and full of intentions I was trying not to act on until we got home. Though if she keeps kissing me like this and turning me on like this, I won’t be held responsible for my actions. We’re in the honeymoon phase after all…
“I was meanin’ karaoke. But I’m warnin’ ya now, darlin’, if you keep kissin’ me like that, we’re goin’ to be doin’ somethin’ a hell of a lot more fun,” I growl, flexing my fingers in her hair and burying my face in her neck.
“There’s time for that later, Red. We’ve got a whole Kenny and Dolly Christmas album to sing our way through first,” she squeals, jumping back out of my arms and rushing over to the black box where the microphones are housed.
After taking a few moments to catch my breath and get my body back under control–at least a little bit–I move to stand next to her, my smile so big I swear it’s hurting my face.
Just knowing I’ve made her happy has my heart overflowing with love, gratitude, and pure happiness, something I wasn’t sure I’d ever have again.
And now I get it every day for the rest of my life with my best friend, my wife… my One.
“You goin’ to help me out here? Or keep starin’ and smilin’ like a loon?” she says, looking back over her shoulder with a beaming grin.
“How ‘bout all three?”
She shrugs. “Works for me.”
For the rest of the night, we don’t just sing Kenny and Dolly, we sing Aaron and Linda, Sonny and Cher, even Meatloaf and Celine.
And when we pack up the barn and I take my wife home, you bet I follow through on every dirty intention I had earlier.
Best. Christmas. Date. Ever.