Page 74 of The Christmas Blueprint

“No more permits for street closures on Main Street, and no more dine outside events or sidewalk sales on Main Street or an art and wine walk neither. Orders of the mayor. You kids need to go on home now.”

He began to pull down her awning.

“Hey, stop, there are kids working here.”

“Told ’em to move.” He pulled at the awning with no care to the materials or the bewildered children.

“Stop,” Killian insisted.

“I’ll call for backup,” the cop threatened. “You could be charged. Disobeying an officer, disturbing the peace.”

“You are the only one disturbing anything,” Killian told him coldly. “I will safely take down the awning without hurting the children or damaging any property, and I’ll fold up the table.”

“Doing my job,” the traffic officer reached for the table.

“I said I will take care of it,” Killian said, his voice low but firm and his flinty green stare steady. “If you wish to watch or take a picture for the mayor, fine, but there’s no need to make a scene. Harlow, please gather up the wool and put it back in the bins. We’ll sort the supplies out later.”

“I’ll help.” Sophia forced her anger down, but she trembled with it. Both she and Killian unhooked the awning, and she rolled it up while he gathered up the four stakes. Sophia tucked the rolled awning under her arm, and she and the kids took the craft tubs into the store while Killian folded up the table and chairs.

“Don’t want to see you out here again,” the cop said.

Killian, in the act of following her, stopped and turned around.

Oh. No. Sophia knew how her brothers could get hot-headed quickly, especially if they were being disrespected.

“Killian.” She shifted her items so she could lay a hand gently on his arm.

“There’s no doubt you will see us again out here since this is Ms. Gonzales’ home and place of business. She is a prominent member of the community and a law-abiding citizen, but she will hire council if she perceives that she is being harassed. You did your job. We complied.”

For a moment she worried Killian would push it, but instead the two men seemed engaged in a stare-down. Killian was relaxed, a slight smile tilted his lips as if challenging the traffic cop to say something more.

With a bored grunt and contemptuous look around, he kicked at the few sequins that scattered in the dirt of the oak trees that lined the sidewalk.

“Could give you a ticket for littering,” he said.

“You could,” Killian said easily. “But Ms. Gonzales has cameras outside her business, and they will show that you tilted the table filled with crafting supplies and two young children sitting there, one of whom is the child of a respected builder in town and the other the daughter of a special ops soldier. So, if you’re giving out tickets, give it to yourself since you spilled the glitter. Or you could clean it up,” Killian said casually.

The traffic cop kicked the dirt again, climbed back into his golf cart, and backed up, a tinny beep, beep, beep accompanying his progress.

“Ruins the whole exit, doesn’t it?”

“How is it that I want to scream and laugh at the same time?” Sophia lamented. “It’s your fault. You have an aggravating effect on women.”

“I don’t want to have an effect on women, only on one woman,” he said, touching the hair framing her face. “Sophia, I’m sorry you doubted me.” He brushed his knuckles along her cheekbones. “For so long I’ve doubted myself, but coming back to Bear Creek, seeing your enthusiasm for the community and watching your vision for a historic, long-abandoned building flicker to life has truly revealed what matters to me. You’ve shown me the path I want to take. I want to make a stand here. I want to make a difference, and I want to make that difference with you.”

“With me? Killian, what are you saying?”

“So much.” He ran an agitated hand through his hair and then sucked in a deep breath. “Too much for right now. So much has happened this week, but I have been unable to process it because the most important thing—you—weren’t speaking to me, and until I got everything squared with you, nothing else mattered.”

“I feel like I’m dreaming,” she said. “You have no idea how surreal this is. I’ve had a crush on you since middle school.”

He laughed. “My crush on you was just as long-standing, but you were too young, and I was too restless, had too much to prove to myself and my dad. Then Enrique mustered out of the army and told me that he was going to try to win your heart. I gave him my blessing but felt like my heart had been ripped out. You were always the standard I had for other women, so no one ever had a chance.”

“Our timing sucked,” she said.

“But we have a second chance,” he said, pulling her into his arms and holding her tight. “Finally a real shot. Us. Together. A team. Building a life together.”

“Making a blueprint of our life,” she whispered and pulled back a little so she could see his face. “I like that.”

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