Holiday Promise (Hollyberry Harbor #2)

Chapter 4

FOUR

Blake poured over the documents on his desk and rubbed his temples as the words blurred together. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had to work from home, and he’d forgotten how distracting it could be.

Outside it had just started snowing. The smell of pine and fresh sugar cookies filled the house. It was more tempting than he’d thought it would be to push aside his work and go enjoy the festivities.

All morning he’d heard his son and Miss Melody organizing the Christmas decorations. They sang Christmas songs and chased each other around the house. For the first time in a long time, all Blake wanted to do was join in on the fun. It was strange, really. Work was no longer the one thing that pulled his attention.

His office door banged open and Max darted inside. “Dad! Dad! It’s snowing. Can we go outside and build a snow fort? Please?”

Miss Melody was hot on his heels. “I’m so sorry, Blake. I told him we’d have to wait until you got a break before we could come in here, but the snow must have caused some forgetfulness .” She gave Max her best chastising stare, but Max only continued to grin as he jumped from one foot to the other.

“But it’s snowing. Dad’s never here when it starts to snow. He’s always at work.” He moved to the edge of the desk, still dancing. “We have to go out and make a snow fort before it stops. We have to.”

Blake could feel Miss Melody’s gaze on him as he studied his son. “As tempting as that sounds, I have a lot of work to do, kiddo.”

Max’s heart-breaking frown tugged at Blake’s resolve, but Melody intervened before he had to say or do anything that would make him out to be the bad guy.

She dropped down to his level and brushed some hair from Max’s brow. “Come on, bud. Your dad already made some sacrifices to be here this month. I’m sure he’ll be able to make a fort with you later. Besides, didn’t you want to decorate those sugar cookies that Ms. Anthony made for us?”

Max darted one last look at his father. “You promise?”

Blake nodded. “I promise we’ll go out and play in the snow as soon as I can take a break.”

The look of determination on his son’s face made Max appear older than he was. He nodded and turned to leave the room with Melody. Blake’s own reluctance to stick to his plan and actually get his work done weighed heavily on his shoulders. He didn’t want to be cooped up in his office anymore.

Max’s excitement over the snow awakened long-buried feelings Blake had when his wife had been around. Alison would’ve never let Blake get away with working on a day like today and based on the brief glances he got from Melody, he got the distinct feeling she didn’t want to let him either.

He shook his head and turned toward the window once more. He couldn’t let his own distractions take away from what he needed to accomplish this month. There were bills to pay and employees to take care of. How many of the men and women who were under his supervision would need the paychecks he promised them for their own Christmas celebrations?

Blake returned to his desk. If he could find that focus he was so well-known for, he might be able to rationalize a break that would get him outside like he’d promised. The thought spurred the motivation he needed to write up the handful of proposals that still needed final signatures.

Reading through the documents took a little longer than he’d expected, but that could also be blamed on the fact that he’d gotten distracted with his work and completed more than was necessary. It was only the sound of boisterous laughter that drew his attention away from the documents on his desk.

He glanced up, half-expecting to have Max come running into his office again. The realization that his son wasn’t coming sent a new wave of disappointment ripping through his midsection. Blake pushed away from the desk and rose.

The laughter continued, though it grew quieter, as if those involved were moving farther away from his door. Blake took a few tentative steps toward the door, part of him believing that if he were to open it, the magic of the moment would disappear.

His hand hovered above the handle and his ears strained for the musical sound of his son’s chatter. When all sounds ceased, his heart burst with fresh adrenaline and he grabbed hold of the handle.

Blake moved down the long hallway toward the front of the house and just as he entered the kitchen, Max’s laughter echoed and bounced against the walls. It wasn’t just Max who was laughing. It was Melody, as well.

Both of them had what appeared to be foam sheets cut into the shape of white beards attached to their faces. There was an Oreo cookie stuck to their foreheads and each of them were making the most outlandish expressions known to man.

Blake watched, partly in shock, and partly with morbid curiosity as the two of them remained facing each other, raising their eyebrows and wiggling their noses.

They’d grow quiet when their concentration got to be too much, but then their laughter would return. He found himself unable to hold back the smile that filled his face. Whatever this game was, he wanted in.

He took a step toward them, then hesitated. They were having so much fun, he didn’t want to destroy the moment. His gaze locked on Melody. Out of anyone he could have hired, she’d been perfect. He’d known it from the first day she’d moved her things into his home to care for Max. Melody was the kind of woman who would be willing to stick a cookie to her forehead to keep a five-year-old captivated.

Blake wasn’t sure what it was that had tipped her off that he was watching, but her eyes darted in his direction and all of a sudden she gasped and straightened. She scrambled to pull the cookie from her forehead and the beard from her face. Just as quickly, she shoved the cookie into her mouth. A beautiful shade of crimson flooded her cheeks.

“Hey! That’s not fair!” Max stood on his chair and pointed at her. “You cheated. I thought we were supposed to get the cookie into our mouths by making funny faces.” It was then that Max realized they weren’t alone. His eyes darted toward Blake and he beamed with excited anticipation. “Are you done? Can we go outside?”

Blake moved closer to the table and motioned to the cookie and beard his son wore. “I’m more curious about what’s going on here.”

Melody fidgeted, giving Blake a great deal of quiet pleasure. He’d put her on the spot just like she’d done to him. He flicked a finger toward her head. “You’ve got a little something…”

She gasped and turned around as she wiped at her forehead.

“It’s the funniest game, Dad. You have to wear a Santa beard and put a cookie on your forehead. Then you make faces to get the cookie to fall into your mouth.” He climbed down from his chair and grabbed a new sheet of white foam from the table. “You want to try?”

Melody spun around. “I don’t think your father wants to?—”

“Sounds like Miss Melody is scared that I’m going to beat her.”

She snapped her mouth shut, but her eyes widened.

Blake picked up a pair of scissors. “Does it matter what kind of beard I make?”

Max shook his head. “You just need to look like Santa. That’s the rules.”

“That’s the rules, huh?” He glanced once more at Melody, his gaze lingering on her. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking in this moment. And perhaps it didn’t matter. Right now, he wanted to be here for his son. She’d helped him realize that. Blake would have to make sure to give her his appreciation for the nudge she’d given him.

He snipped and clipped, but ended up miscalculating what he was working on and ended up with just an oversized moustache.

At least Max found it humorous. He handed Blake the tape dispenser. “Now, tape it on and get a cookie.”

Blake did as he was told. He pried one side of the cookie from the other, then glanced at both of the individuals in front of him. “Are you going to join us, Miss Melody?”

She blinked once, then again.

“You have to, Miss Melody. It was your idea.”

She retrieved her beard with an embarrassed smile. “Yeah, well, I didn’t think I was going to have to go up against your father.” Her eyes locked with his and for a moment, he forgot all about what they were going to do. In her gaze, he saw something he hadn’t thought he would ever experience again. He found the possibility of a future.

That was crazy, right? So farfetched, in fact, that he startled himself into looking away. His heart pounded harder than it had a right to do. Melody was his employee. And he had a rule about dating his employees. As the boss, he simply couldn’t.

One glance more in her direction was all it took for him to realize that his heart had other plans.