24. Carter
Chapter twenty-four
Carter
For the first time in years, gifts wrapped in every imaginable color surrounded both ten-foot Christmas trees. Metallic bows caught the glow of thousands of white lights, reflecting flecks of gold, silver, and crimson across the polished hardwood floors.
Carter stood there for a moment, taking it all in. He never thought he would feel the spirit of Christmas at Winterridge again, and now it was bursting from the walls, filling his veins with a joy that was almost foreign to him.
When Bill came to him with his outlandish idea of playing dead to get the Wetherbys back to the estate, Carter thought he was nuts, but somehow, it worked.
He didn’t know if the threat of being cut out of the will would be strong enough to assemble them all again next year, but for now, Carter was happy Bill had the Christmas he wanted.
He turned off the lights and headed for bed, but as he passed the stairs to the kitchen, he paused. Light seeped up the staircase, and the scent of spice was too strong to have been lingering from earlier. He detoured down the stairs.
Tiny stood behind the large table, an array of spices on the tabletop, flour on her cheeks and in her hair.
Guilt settled low in his gut. He had been the one to give her the impossible task, and now here she was losing sleep over a mystery she would probably never solve.
Though he respected her dedication to cracking the case.
“It’s late,” he said, and she startled.
Her hand slammed to her chest, and she took a deep breath. “You scared the living hell out of me.”
“Thought I was the ghost?”
Tiny had recently become convinced Winterridge was haunted after reading A Christmas Carol, but having lived at the estate most of his life, Carter never encountered anything that would make him think so.
Unless you counted Marilyn stumbling drunk through the hallways at two a.m. looking for her bedroom.
“Yes, though I imagine a ghost would make more noise. Are you part cat or something?”
He laughed and ran a hand over his face. “Not to my knowledge.”
“Could have fooled me.”
“Why don’t you call it a night?” he said.
“Because it’s almost Christmas, and I feel like I’m so close.”
“It’s okay if you don’t get it exactly right.”
Tears pooled along her bottom lids, and she shook her head. “I have to.”
“I never should have put this responsibility on you. It’s just a cake.”
“No!” She slammed her hand on the table before composing herself.
“Hey. What’s going on?”
“He’s dying, Carter. Dying. It might not be today or tomorrow, or in a year, but he is dying.
And all he wanted this Christmas was to taste his wife’s spice cake, and how could I look at myself in the mirror on Christmas morning if I can’t make that one thing happen for him. After everything he’s done for me.”
“I already told him how hard you’ve been working. He knows.”
“Did you know that when he offered me a job, I had just lost my apartment to a fire? The building was condemned. They wouldn’t even let us in to get our stuff. I had nothing and barely enough money in the bank for a month’s rent, let alone one month’s security.”
He shook his head. “I had no idea.”
“I was homeless. The only option I had was to get a hotel room until I ran out of money or go to a shelter. I had a coworker who offered me her couch, but only for the week her boyfriend was away on business. After that, I’d be out on the street.
Then Bill showed up and offered me a ridiculous salary and the option to live here.
” She held her hands out, palms up. “At Winterridge. At the estate I had fantasized about since I was a little girl.”
Her voice cracked, and she looked around the kitchen.
“This place became my home. Ms. Porter became like a mother to me. Clint taught me how to ride a horse and drive the sleigh. Hawthorne showed me which forks went where.” She laughed through her tears.
“Wendell still leaves peppermint patties outside my door every Christmas Eve because he knows they’re my favorite. ”
A smile tugged at Carter’s mouth.
“When everyone else saw a pastry chef, Bill saw family.” She looked at the bowl in front of her filled with most of the ingredients for the spice cake. “How do I repay someone for that?”
“You don’t,” Carter said without hesitation.
For all that Bill had done for him, he knew he’d never be able to repay him, but Bill didn’t want payback; he wanted loyalty and companionship, and Carter knew that came naturally.
It wasn’t something you forced. It was given willingly, just as Tiny had been doing all along.
“I have to try,” she insisted.
Silence settled between them. The only sound was the old pipes.
Carter stepped beside her. “You know what I think?”
“What’s that?”
“I think Lily would have loved you. She would have respected the hell out of you, and she would have been pretty damn honored someone put this much effort into her cake, especially for Bill.”
A tear slid down Tiny’s cheek, and she swiped it away. “I wish I could have met her. She sounds fabulous.”
“She was. She would also tell you to stop overthinking it. That Bill would love anything you gave him.”
A watery laugh escaped Tiny. “That man loves his desserts.”
“Exactly, so go to bed.”
She shook her head. “I’m going to get this right. It’s the Winterridge way.”
“I won’t argue with you, Chef.”
“Good, because I’m not above kicking you out of my kitchen.”
A laugh erupted from Carter that was pure and light. “I’ll save you the energy. Night, Tiny.”
“Night, Carter.”
Carter made his way to his room, shutting lights and making sure nothing was out of place. By the time he got to his room, he was ready to collapse on his bed and drift off to sleep. He pushed his door open and stepped inside, easing the door closed behind him.
His nightlight clicked on, casting the room in a soft glow. He spun around, his eyes settling on Ashley, who had his covers pulled up over her chest. Bare shoulders sat above the comforter, and a smile spread across her face.
“I was getting worried you’d never show up,” she said. “Or that you were Luca coming in to borrow a book.”
“Luca doesn’t read.”
Ashley smiled and covered her lips beneath the comforter. A pretty pink spread across her cheeks, and her bangs slid to the left as she tilted her head. “Are you going to join me?” she asked. “It’s a little cold and lonely under here.” She lifted the blanket, giving him a glimpse of her naked body.
His cock jumped to attention as he took her in before she lowered the material, cutting off his view.
Carter slipped off his shoes, then slowly removed his suit jacket, draping it over his desk chair. Ashley bit her lip as she watched him.
Christmas hadn’t even arrived yet, but this was the best Christmas gift he could ever receive. He refused to think about what would happen once the holiday came and went, or what that meant for them. For now, all that mattered was this moment and absorbing every second they had together.
Living without Ashley wasn’t new, but years of memories had carried him through before. He wanted new memories, new moments that he could go to when she inevitably left him for the city.
His finger flicked one shirt button open, then another. Ashley sat up in bed, eyes meeting his as he continued the journey from one button to the next.
She kicked a long leg out from the comforter and stood, letting the blankets fall away. She strode toward him, placing her hands over his. “You’re taking too damn long,” she said and slid the shirt off his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor.
She hooked the hem of his t-shirt and dragged it over his head, tossing it aside.
“Better,” she said, her hands resting on his chest as she leaned in and pressed a kiss to his heated skin. She kissed down his chest, knees bending as she stopped at his pants.
Her smile beamed up at him, setting his whole world aglow.
He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, unable to stop looking into those blue eyes.
“What?” she asked, the corners of her mouth curving upward.
“I’ve spent years wondering if I’d ever get to look at you like this again.”
The teasing in her gaze shifted, her eyes softening. “You’re looking at me like I’m going to disappear.”
“I thought you had.”
“I’m here now, so let’s stop wasting time.
” She flicked his button open and lowered his zipper before shoving his pants to the floor.
His cock sprang from the material, and she took her own advice, not wasting a single second as she wrapped her fingers around his hard length and took him in her mouth.
Electric current shot through his body. His legs trembled as she took him to the hilt. He held her head with one hand, not to guide her—she was doing fine on her own—but to anchor himself to the world.
Her tongue swirled around his head, and a new rush of pleasure erupted inside him. His thighs quivered at the sensation, overwhelming his entire being. Every nerve ending sparked to life, and if he didn’t stop her, this night was going to end much sooner than he intended.
He withdrew, his cock falling from her mouth. She pouted up at him with those big gray eyes, and he cupped her face, dragging her to her feet and crashing his mouth to hers. She let out a surprised squeak as he backed her toward the bed.
Every swipe of her tongue, nip of her teeth, press of her lips flooded him with new sensations. He had no idea how he had survived so long without her. And though he didn’t want to think about what came after Christmas, the thought lingered in the back of his head.
He let her go once without her knowing exactly how he felt, and there was no way in hell he was going to do that again. With all the strength he could muster, he broke the kiss, holding her face as their jagged breaths mixed.
“Ashley,” he said, his fingers tightening on the silky strands of her hair. “I love you. I always have. I think I always will.”