Chapter Twenty-Three
Life had been…hectic. That might be an understatement, but I’d roll with it as I faced myself in the bathroom mirror. “Girl, you need to get more sleep.”
I’d been burning the candle at both ends for the last ten days since the tree lighting.
It turns out that mentioning my website during the speech had brought a flood of orders for books that I hadn’t been expecting.
Thankfully, I had already closed the deadline for Christmas, so these orders were for the new year.
However, with over two hundred orders, I had no choice but to hunker down and get to work.
When I wasn’t working at Evergreen Acres with the school-to-work kids, I was drawing.
The holiday season had also been busy for Major, so we didn’t have much time to spend together beyond evenings where he would do paperwork, and I would draw.
So much for the legend of the gazebo, right?
Maybe not.
The nights we did manage to spend together always ended with hot kisses or falling asleep together in his giant, fluffy bed.
Somewhat concerning, however, was the fact that he never made a move whenever I was in said fluffy bed.
Was I interested in being intimate with him?
That was what tormented me late at night.
From a purely physical point of view, there was no question that I wanted to warm his bed as more than a cuddle buddy.
From an emotional one, it was a harder call.
If he kicked me out, I still had no viable rental options.
I didn’t think he’d do that, but it would be awkward to remain here if things went south after an attempted relationship.
Never a fan of casual sex or friends with benefits, that was another sticking point for me.
No matter the promises each person made to keep it casual, someone always caught feelings and got hurt when it ended.
The problem was that part of me knew I’d already caught feelings for Dr. Warren, so cementing them by making love was a dangerous road to walk.
Especially when I couldn’t leave Bells Pass, and he just got here.
With a sigh, I swiped on some concealer, a bit of light eye shadow, and some mascara, hoping it would fool him into thinking I’d been sleeping far better than I had been.
The downside of a date at the tree farm was the layers required to stay warm out there.
It had snowed several times, which meant boots were required, especially since they were calling for more later today.
Why it mattered that I looked like a fashion plate for today’s event, I couldn’t say.
He’d seen me at my very worst and kept coming back, but I guess it came down to showing him that I cared enough to put in the effort for him, regardless of what we had planned.
With that thought in mind, I tugged on my new crocheted ear-warming band I’d picked up at the farm last week, then pulled on my parka.
Stretchy gloves were all I could get over the splint that I was still required to wear, so I pulled them on.
Unfortunately, they didn’t offer the kind of warmth I’d need today.
Maybe Major would hold my hand to keep it from getting too frosty.
After a glance in the mirror, I shrugged.
A fashion plate I wasn’t, but I didn’t look half bad.
When a knock sounded on my door, I was ready.
“Good morning,” I said when I pulled the door open. My handsome date stood on the stoop, a cup from Crystal’s Coffee Bar in hand. “Good morning,” he said, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you. I was hoping you’d understand that I had to dress for warmth and not fashion for this date.” Why did I say that? Good lord, this was going well already.
“Baby doll, if you’d dressed for fashion, I’d be sending you right back inside to change.”
Baby doll. That had become his chosen term of endearment, and I didn’t hate it.
There was something about the timbre of his voice when he whispered it in my ear before bed that did things to my heart that certainly made friends with benefits out of the question.
I’d passed friends long ago and hurtled into uncharted territory.
“This is for you,” he whispered, holding out the cup.
“A Brown Bear Honey Pot?” I asked, jumping once when he nodded. “This is better than flowers.”
“Which I was going to bring, but something told me you’d rather have this now and flowers later.” He swiped a thumb under my eye. “You look tired.”
“Just what every woman wants to hear,” I joked, holding his gaze. He was always so earnest and open when we were together. It was scary and yet welcoming at the same time. Once he’d told me about his leg, his need to hide was gone, and he let me see all his pain and joy unapologetically.
“I’m sorry, but I’m worried about you. You barely got the arm healed before you were hit with the concussion. You also sleep like a toddler hopped up on Pixie Sticks.”
I snorted, glad I hadn’t taken a sip of the coffee yet.
“The arm is good, and the concussion is a thing of the past. I’ve never been a great sleeper, but you’re helping,” I promised, accepting his kiss when he leaned in for a gentle buss.
“When you hold me, everything settles, and I can shut my mind down long enough to fall asleep.”
“That makes me happy, I won’t lie, but maybe we need to address what has you thinking so much instead of sleeping.”
“Son, if we did that, we’d be here for days.” I took a sip of the latte. There was probably a moan involved, but he didn’t hold it against me as we walked to his SUV.
“We’ll take mine so we can strap the tree to the roof,” he explained, holding the door open.
“And a chauffeur? I won’t complain.”
His smile was wide when he closed the door and climbed into his seat. He had a coffee waiting as well, and the car was already toasty, which meant the drive to Evergreen Acres would be a warm cocoon of happiness.
“No calls last night?” I asked once we were underway. It was his last night on call for the week, but I’d slept in the cottage just in case he got called in. He always felt bad about waking me up if he had to leave in the middle of the night.
“It was quiet, which made me extra sad when I woke up this morning without you in my arms. But I’m well rested and ready to find a tree.”
“That’s good because I’m caffeinated and ready to find a tree,” I said, laughing when he gave me the side eye of all side eyes. My sigh was heavy because I knew him, and we were going to have this discussion whether I wanted to or not.
“I know people who could help you with the sleeping disorder.”
“It’s not a sleeping disorder,” I clarified. “It’s a life disorder, but I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
He nodded but tipped his head to the side, which meant he had a ‘but’ of his own. “I’ll agree to that since we’re on a date, but we will talk about it later.”
Rather than agree, I sipped my coffee as the scenery flew by. “I heard Alan is being discharged from rehab on Monday.”
“He’s a rock star,” Major agreed. “From what I hear, he’s always been a highly motivated individual. That seems obvious when married to Audrey Violet.”
If only I hadn’t been taking a drink of my latte when he said that. I blew coffee out of my nose in a rather unladylike way. “Thanks for that,” I said as he motioned at the napkins in the center console. I wiped myself up and leaned back in the chair. “Fair assessment, though.”
His smirk as he pulled into the farm said it all. “Wow, this place is hopping.”
“It always is on a Saturday during the holidays. Family day will be done shortly, so by the time we have a tree, the lot will be cleared out. Not to make this a working date, but I’d like to check on the kids and see how the cookies are selling.
This was the first day of our galletas de árbol de Navidad. I’m curious to see how they sold.”
“Hmm,” he said, pulling into a spot and putting the car into park. “Navidad is Christmas, but I’m lost on the rest of it.”
“Christmas tree cookies,” I translated. “Tortilla ones to be exact.”
“That’s great,” he exclaimed, turning to me. “Wait. Did you spend all day at the bakery making cookies? That’s not great. You have enough work to do.”
“As a matter of fact, I taught the bakers how to make them, so I’m hands off.”
“We know they aren’t hard to make, considering you taught me in a matter of a few hours,” he agreed.
“And to think the bakers managed it in under fifteen minutes.” The straight-faced expression I wore had him laughing out loud.
“Fair,” he giggled. “But maybe I just wanted to spend more time with you. Ever think of that?”
“I had not.” The admittance felt foreign on my tongue.
Not because I struggled with being wrong, but because he wanted to spend more time with me and wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty to do it.
“All of that said, today’s cookies were made in the test kitchen by our new baker apprentices.
We start them out here slowly before we send them to the bakery to work with a mentor.
It’s easier if they have a basic understanding of how a bakery works and some experience under their belt.
We start with the simple items that will help build their confidence before they’re overwhelmed in a commercial bakery.
” His smile was wide as he brushed his thumb against my cheek.
“What?” I asked as he lowered his forehead to mine.
“Your kindness and compassion always overwhelm me when I listen to you talk about your job. You have so much love to share with people, and it shows.”
As I gazed into his deep blue eyes, I couldn’t help but wonder if he was one of those people I could share my love with. A scary thought, if I’d ever had one, so I leaned in for a kiss that said everything I couldn’t.