Page 43 of Family Forever
The startled look in Marissa’s eyes let him know just how abruptly he interrupted her, and, though he meant his words, he wished he hadn’t snapped them out the way he did.
“When is Thomas coming back to work?”
“Should be in a week or two. Will and Juan have altered their schedules to help out more as well. It’s all good.”
“Of course it is, you have everything under control as usual, and don’t need help from anyone.”
Was that a smidge of sarcasm in her tone?Yes, ouch.And where did that remark come from, why now? She’d never said anything like that before, or used that type of tone with him.
“So, Cole said it was his job to get the boys out of your hair so you could wrap gifts this afternoon.”
“Yes, that was the plan, and I’d better get started.”
“I know you don’t need my help, but I love wrapping gifts, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to help. Consider it as doing me a favor,” she said in that same tone.
Double ouch.
“I’d love your help. Can you put the leaves in the kitchen table while I start hauling the presents from my room?”
She nodded.
“Good Lord, Dylan, did you buy out the whole store?” Marissa asked as he set the fourth load of gifts on the floor by the kitchen table.
“It almost feels like it. There’s just a couple more loads.”
“A couple more,” she repeated in a whisper.
After the gifts were piled near the table, he managed to haul the wrapping paper, bows, and gift labels in one trip.
He glanced at Marissa who was staring at the mounds of presents. “Each pile is already sorted by brother so all we have to do is wrap and label.”
“How do you want them labeled?”
“What do you mean?”
“The ‘from’ part.”
“Just pick one from each stack and make it from me, and then mark the rest as from Santa. I don’t want them to think I didn’t get them anything. And use the Santa paper roll for the gifts from Santa and the snowman paper roll for the gifts from me.”
“You even want Braden’s, Aric’s and Cole’s labeled as if they’re from Santa?”
“Of course. We don’t want Luke and Nate to think the others were bad and didn’t get anything from Santa, do we? Or that I favor them, right?”
She giggled. “I guess that makes sense.”
Dylan blew out a sigh of relief, she seemed to be loosening up. No harsh sarcastic tone was evident.
They’d been wrapping gifts for nearly two hours and were near completion when it was time for Dylan to do chores. He quickly hauled the wrapped gifts back into his bedroom and stashed them in his closet and under his bed. Marissa offered to finish wrapping the remaining gifts and get them stowed before his brothers returned.
* * * *
Marissa watched as Dylan trekked through the light snow from the house to the barn. What the man did for light brown Carhartt bibs was insane. She wished she hadn’t been so snarky with him earlier, but she just couldn’t seem to control herself. She was doing everything he asked of her, enjoying her college experience away from home, but her patience was wearing thin as she waited for him to come around. During Thanksgiving break, Aunt Mitzi had left her the impression Dylan’s walls were slowly coming down, and with just a wee bit more time he would be ready, but she wanted him, and she didn’t want to wait any longer. She hoped the woman was right, Marissa wasn’t sure how much more time her lonely heart could bear.
Once Dylan disappeared out of her sightline she turned her attention back to the stack of unwrapped gifts. She was shocked by the amount of presents he’d purchased for his brothers. He had to be the kindest, sweetest man on earth, and she was sure a parents’ love could be no more than how much Dylan loved his brothers. Though it broke her heart the Jacobs brothers had lost their parents, she was sure Cole, Aric, Braden, Nate, and Luke could not be more loved.
Using her shirtsleeve, Marissa patted her teary eyes before she wrapped the remaining gifts and carried them off to Dylan’s room. The second she stepped through the doorway his rugged woodsy scent flowed into her nostrils, sending a rush of desire straight to her core with such force it nearly knocked her to the floor. She’d passed through his room hundreds of times in the past to get to the bathroom they shared, but today it seemed to grab hold of her with the strength of a Vise-Grip.
After stashing the gifts in his closet, she glanced at Dylan’s bed. The sight drew her to it like a magnet. She sat and ran her hand over the soft quilt covering the sheets Dylan climbed between every night. She kicked off her shoes and curled into a ball on the bed, rubbing her hand over the cool fabric, back and forth, over and over again like some sort of obsessed, crazy woman. Her fingers tingled with delight. Needing more, she pressed her nose to the material and took in every bit of his intoxicating aroma her nostrils would allow. It still wasn’t enough, so she pulled his pillow from under the quilt, wrapped her arms around it and buried her face into its plushness. Her stomach swirled at the thought of what it might be like to have Dylan’s arms wrapped around her, warming her, stroking her, soothing her.
