Hung By the Fire (Evergreen Lake: Under the Mistletoe)

Chapter 5

five

BETHANY

I pulled into my aunt’s driveway and sat for a moment. I’d never seen her home here and instantly fell in love with the Victorian-esque cottage. All the charm of a large Victorian house, just a lot smaller. White Christmas lights adorned the front porch railing and columns, while icicle lights hung from the roof of the house. Even in the daylight, the warm glow of the bulbs were inviting, welcoming a visitor to come inside. And I couldn’t fault the view, mountains and trees rising in the distance. Aunt Nadine must wake up to the most exquisite sight every day.

Not as exquisite as your view last night.

I shut that thought down fast. I, for one, was not meeting my aunt with my heart thudding and panties moistening to the thoughts of my way-too-handsome one-night stand. A knock on the window startled me out of what could have been a very dangerous memory lane.

I turned to see my aunt, grinning from ear to ear, her arms wide open waiting to embrace me. In an instant, no matter my feelings on this little town, I knew I’d make the effort to come visit more. This woman had been a staple of mine and my sisters’ childhood, and we let that slip when she moved here, all because of where she chose to make her home. Location shouldn’t matter when it comes to family.

I pushed open the door and was engulfed in her arms. It didn’t matter that I had a good four inches on her. The way she hugged me automatically made me feel cocooned in her love. I returned the embrace, and for a few minutes, we simply let ourselves reconnect on that physical level. Sharing something that words couldn’t necessarily communicate.

She finally stepped back, holding me at arm’s length. “Goodness, you grow more beautiful every day. You’re the perfect combination of your parents.” I’d heard that before—my mom’s hair and build, my dad’s eyes and full lips—it warmed something inside to know he could still be seen in me. “Let’s go inside. We’ll get your stuff later.” Aunt Nadine led me into her house, and I instantly fell in love again.

“Oh my.” Cozy and filled with plants, but not too overflowing as if they were taking over the space. Christmas had fully claimed the space, the focal point being the large tree decorated with flower ornaments. “I love it.”

She shrugged. “It’s home.” Since I started living on my own, I’d never had a place I could say that about, especially in that tone. Like it meant something more than a place to live and sleep. It was a place to rejuvenate your very soul. “This whole area is.”

Evergreen Lake had sort of felt like that as a kid, but now it felt more like a tightrope I was trying to navigate.

I didn’t respond, but I didn’t think Aunt Nadine expected me to. Instead, she gave me a look I couldn’t really decipher before leading me into the cutest country chic kitchen I’d ever seen. We chatted as she made coffee, and I laid out some pastries she’d bought.

“So, how was your drive over today?” she asked after we settled around her kitchen table.

I tried not to blush or let my face give away the fact I’d spent the night in Evergreen Lake, just not here. “Fine. Not bad at all.” It was the truth, even if it had been yesterday. So not really a lie.

“Good. Good.” She took a sip of her piping hot coffee. “I can’t wait to show you the shop tomorrow. It’s everything I could have dreamed of.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” When I was little, I would sit with her and she’d show me pictures of her plants and flowers, teaching me about them until I couldn’t do anything but fall in love with them. Their beauty, their natures, both strong and delicate at the same time. I lost sight of that love for a while, but over the years filling my space with them has given me a bit of peace. “You were one of the best teachers I’ve ever had.” Even if it hadn’t been in the “official” sense of the word, but sometimes we learn more from people with a passion about something.

Aunt Nadine blushed and waved my words off. “That’s silly, but I’ll tell you all my secrets.” She looked out the window, seemingly at the house across her backyard. It wasn’t the first time, and I thought maybe whomever lived there was a secret of hers.

I couldn’t help but joke as I nodded in that direction. “Boyfriend?”

A hearty and happy laugh erupted from her mouth. “Hardly. He’s a little too young for me. I was wondering something though? Something I wanted to ask you.” I worried she was going to try to set me up, which I would have answered with a resounding no. “I know you’re here to help me, and I’m so thankful for it, but I was hoping you could help him too.”

“Um, help how?” Unease tickled over my skin.

“No, nothing bad. Geez, Bethany, what did you think I was going to ask?” I only shrugged because, honestly, I had no idea. “This is going to sound, I don’t know, weird. Out of left field.” Now it was her turn to shrug. “My neighbor’s friends died a few months ago, leaving him in care of their infant.” I gasped, both at the situation and in sympathy of losing a parent. “He’s stayed home with Joy, but is due to go back to work this week and his childcare fell through.” I started to open my mouth. Aunt Nadine needed my help; that was the whole reason I made this journey back. “I know, I know. You’re here for me, but he’s a firefighter in town, works twenty-four hour shifts, and doesn’t have any family here. He’d barely been able to find someone to help, and now that’s out of the question. I thought…” She stopped and stared me down; it was the only way to describe the intense look on her face. “…you could help. The days he’d need you, you can either stay with Joy or bring her in to the shop and then home until he comes home. Oh Bethie, she’s absolutely a doll. They’re both struggling and in pain. I just want to help.”

Her gaze moved to the window again and mine followed. What would it be like to grow up never knowing your parents? Even though I’d lost my dad way to young, he’d still been there for a time. He’d still been the man I’d compare others too as I grew older. The one who’d brought me flowers to kindergarten graduation. Not the roses or carnations that other parents brought. No, he brought me orange and yellow and purple mums because I’d fallen in love with them after learning about them from Aunt Nadine. He knew because he’d listen to me, even as a five-year-old, tell him all about them. This little girl didn’t have that. Didn’t have a mom either.

I wasn’t known as the hard-ass in my family. Nope, I was definitely the softy, and everyone knew it. If Aunt Nadine had asked either of my sisters, Alexis and Pilar would have gone running in the other direction.

Luckily, for better or worse, she’d asked me.

Even then, I couldn’t simply jump in. I didn’t plan on staying long. Would it even be fair to this man and baby to help for only a little while? From the way it sounded, they needed something more long-term, and that wasn’t what I could give them. Still, I couldn’t turn my aunt’s request down without at least trying.

Heck, I was back here, in Evergreen Lake, because I couldn’t say no to the woman.

“Can you introduce us? I’ll talk to him, and we’ll see.”

A smile lit Aunt Nadine’s face, like the sun coming up over the mountains, the whole room shining in its wake. “Thank you. I may have already asked him, and he said the same thing.” I couldn’t hide my grin. My aunt knew I’d be a sure bet. “We can head over now. It’s going to be perfect.”

Considering nothing in my life ever went perfect, I highly doubted this was going to happen, but maybe luck would finally be on my side.

Oh, luck was on my side, alright. Bad luck as usual. Though that wasn’t the first thought that filtered through my mind as I walked beside Aunt Nadine, crossing over from her yard into her neighbor’s.

Nope, the first was oh shit.

The second, well, that was, God, I can remember his hands on me. I can practically feel them again.

Neither of those were the worst though. Nope, the worst was the third one. Fuck, he looks so sexy holding that baby.

Internally, I screamed at my hormones and my inner voice and anything else that would derail this disaster waiting to happen. I also cringed since there was a good chance all my thoughts played out across my face. I was relatively okay with the first two being noticed. The third, not so much.

I watched his eyes widen as we neared, and for a split second I believed I could see memories of last night flash in them. They were quickly replaced with an urge to run.

I know the feeling buddy.

“Cole,” my aunt called out, not at all aware of the emotions playing out within two of the three adults gathered. “This is my niece, Bethany.”

Having never been in a position of having my “supposed to be only a one-night stand” introduced to me the following day, I didn’t really know how to handle this. Luckily for me, Cole recovered a second sooner.

“Bethany.” He reached out his hand, his other strong arm cradling the baby. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Okay, I could do this. Act like we just met. That’ll work. Until I placed my hand in his and heat raced along every nerve ending in my body. I jerked my hand back and watched my aunt look at me in shock, like I’d embarrassed her. Which I probably did, to say nothing of my own embarrassment. To avoid the look in her eyes, I turned to Cole and that was worse. The corner of his mouth kicked up in a grin, like he knew exactly why I’d reacted the way I did.

As well he should. He was the damn reason. Him and his hands, his mouth, his…nope, not thinking about that right now.

“Sorry about that,” I voiced to fill in the silence and get myself out of this mess. “Got a shock.” You could say that.

Aunt Nadine looked between me and Cole and shook her head. “Anyway, Cole, I told Bethie about going back to work and how you needed help with Joy.”

I noticed she didn’t give any mention of why he had Joy in the first place. The whole situation had to be hard on him, so I understood.

He nodded. “Mrs. M was insistent on asking you to help.” That did not sound like he was high on the idea. “For a few days, she’d been talking about you coming out to help her. I hate to eat into that time.” Cole glanced down at Joy, who was staring out into the trees, content as could be in his arms. I’m with you, girl. “You sure didn’t sign up to watch an infant.”

Oh, this was a man who didn’t like asking for help. I could tell that without even spending much time studying him. Last night had been all about that instant attraction, but now I could really look at him.

“Sometimes what we sign up for isn’t what we really need.”

Seconds ticked by as we looked at each other. The wind whispered around us, blowing my hair across my face. For a moment, I thought I saw his hand start to raise. To push it back? I don’t know, because he simply placed it back under Joy’s bottom.

“Well,” my aunt broke in, “why don’t I take the little cupcake inside and you two can talk out here. Enjoy the view and get to know each other to see if this will work out. If not…” Her subtle sigh and side-eye told me it would indeed work out. “I’ll figure some other option for you.”

Without another word, she plucked the baby from Cole’s arms and made her way inside. Leaving us alone, still standing and staring at each other.

For someone I’d planned on never seeing again and telling myself I was okay with that, I couldn’t deny the pleasure surging through my body at being exactly where I was.