Page 123 of The Holiday Gift

“I’m serious about helping you with the presents. Why don’t you call me after the kids are asleep and I’ll run over?”

He looked rueful. “I should refuse. This is something I should probably be able to handle myself, but the truth is I’m grateful for your help.”

She smiled, doing her best to conceal any trace of yearning, and walked away from him.

She was twenty-seven years old and had just discovered she must have a streak of masochism. Why else would she continue to thrust herself into situations that would only bump up her heartache?

Chapter 13

Ben gazed at his phone, at theOK. They’re asleeptext message he had typed but hadn’t sent.

He should delete it right now and tell her he had changed his mind. Caidy Bowman was dangerous to him, especially at ten-thirty at night.

He thought of how beautiful she had looked at the McRavens’ party, sweetly lovely, like a spun sugar Christmas angel. The first moment he saw her at the party, standing by the refreshment table, he had been stunned by his desire to whirl her around and into his arms. As ridiculously medieval as it sounded, he had wanted to kiss her soundly and claim her as his for everyone at the party to see.

“I’m crazy, Tri, aren’t I?”

The chihuahua cocked his head and appeared to ponder the question.

“Never mind. It was rhetorical. You don’t have to answer.”

Tri yipped and jumped into his lap with amazing agility for a three-legged dog. Resilient, the little dog, adjusting to whatever challenges life delivered to him. Ben could only wish for a small portion of the dog’s courage.

He glanced at his phone again and without taking time to think it through, he hit the send button before he could change his mind.

Her answer came instantly, as if she had been waiting for him:Be right there.

Something in his chest gave a silly little kick and he shook his head, reminding himself of all the very valid reasons he had given her a few nights earlier. He wasn’t in a good place for a relationship with her. His kids were struggling enough with this move. He couldn’t suddenly throw a woman into the chaos to distract his attention from their needs.

This would be the last time, he told himself. He would accept her help with his presents and then he had to do a better job of maintaining a safe distance from her. He had talked to his contractor at the party and learned the house was on schedule to be finished in about ten days, just after the New Year. Maybe when he moved a few miles away, he could regain a little perspective and be able to spend a few moments of the day without thinking about her, longing for her.

“Yeah, I’m crazy,” he said to Tri. He set the dog onto the ground and headed for Mrs. Michaels’s room, where all the children’s presents were hidden in her locked closet.

Before she left, she had wrapped a few of the presents. He found plenty of wrapping paper, tape and scissors in the closet.Efficient Anne,he thought fondly, missing her calming presence in his life. If not for the chaos of living in a hotel and then moving here to the ranch, his housekeeper probably would have finished the job weeks ago.

He carried the wrapping supplies down to the table in the kitchen. After a careful look inside the children’s room to make sure they were soundly sleeping, he made a few more quiet trips up and down the stairs to transport the unwrapped gifts to the table.

Just as he finished the last load, he saw a flicker of movement outside and then Caidy approaching from the ranch house, making her way through the lightly falling snow. She had a couple of dogs with her and carried two large reusable shopping bags that piqued his curiosity. As she neared the porch steps, she gestured with one of her hands and gave an order to the dogs. Though he couldn’t hear what she said, he guessed she was telling them to go back home. One of the dogs moved with eagerness ahead of the other, which seemed to trudge behind more slowly.

Caidy watched the dog in the moonlight for a moment and when she turned, he thought she looked worried about something but he didn’t have time to wonder about it before she climbed the steps and knocked softly on the door.

She was bundled up from head to toe in a heavy wool coat and nubby red scarf and hat. With her cheeks rosy from the cold, she looked delicious.

“Hi,” she said, her voice pitched low, probably afraid of waking the children.

“Hello,” he murmured and was struck by the quiet intimacy of the night. With the fire crackling in the living room and the snow falling softly, it would be easy to make the mistake of thinking they were alone here, tucked away against the world.

Tri greeted her with a few eager sniffs of her boots and she smiled at the dog. “Hi there. How are you, little friend?”

The dog seemed to grin at her and Ben wished for a little of that easy charm.

“What’s all this?” he asked, gesturing to her shopping bags.

“Christmas dinner. My arms are going to fall off if I don’t set it down. Can I put it in the kitchen?”

“Of course. What do you mean, Christmas dinner?”

“It’s not much. We had an extra ham and I always keep mashed potatoes in the freezer. You just have to add a little milk when you reheat them in the microwave. And then I always make too much pie so I brought one of those too. Without Mrs. Michaels, I wasn’t sure if you would have had much time to think about fixing something nice for you and the kids.”

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