Mistletoe Magic (Evergreen Lake: Under the Mistletoe)

Chapter 15

fifteen

HOLLY

I woke up feeling a million times better than I had been. For the first time in what felt like forever, I didn’t feel exhausted when I opened my eyes. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and sat up. It was dark in the room with only the glow of the fire and the lamps. Chris and Noelle were sitting on the floor, hunched over concentrating quietly. My rustling must have caught their attention.

“Morning, sunshine,” Chris greeted with a wide smile. “How you feeling?”

“Better,” I conceded before quickly adding, “thank you.”

“Are you hungry?”

“Yeah, Mom. Guess what we had for dinner?” Noelle gushed. My daughter was a ball of energy and even feeling better, my fuzzy brain couldn’t keep up.

“What did you have?” I asked as my stomach rumbled.

“PB&Js with milk and crisps.”

“With milk and crisps!” I exclaimed, looking over at Chris who just shrugged. He was truly amazing. Somehow, he’d managed to do the impossible. Keep Noelle not only distracted but entertained while I was down and out for the count, and we were stuck in the middle of a blizzard. Not to mention, he didn’t really seem like a kid-friendly kind of guy with a secret stash of children's books and toys to help pass the time.

“You’re very lucky, Noelle,” I pointed out as I rose from the mattress, wobbling on my feet like a newborn deer.

“And I’m winning!” she exclaimed, showing me a handful of what looked like money.

“What are you playing?”

“Monopoly.”

“Monopoly? Do you know how to play?” I was shocked. I’d never played with her before, I thought she was too young, but it seemed not only was she playing, but she was enjoying it.

“Chris is teaching me. I’m really good.”

I shook my head. My daughter did not lack confidence, something I hoped never changed. I’d rather be raising a bossy, independent girl than one who the world was going to bite in the ass. At least this way she had a fighting chance.

“Are you now?”

I folded my arms over my chest and watched as Chris swallowed deeply. I hadn’t realized that my lack of a bra meant my nipples were pointing through my shirt and Chris could see everything. The worst part was, I felt them tighten under his gaze.

“I am. Look at all my money!”

“That’s great, sweetie.”

“Did you want to play? You can be the iron,” Noelle suggested, and Chris snorted. Noelle was clueless about what she’d said that was funny, but we got it. “Chris is the battleship and I’m the top hat.” Noelle was grinning so wide I couldn’t help but smile. Then she picked up her top hat and pretended to put it on her head. When she bounced to her feet and walked the weirdest walk I’d ever seen with her top hat on her head, I completely lost it .

“Sounds good, I agreed. I’m just going to run to the bathroom then I need to get something to eat …”

“I’ll make you something,” Chris offered, setting his handful of money down and pushing to his feet with a groan.

“I’ll help,” Noelle offered.

Even though I could do it myself, it seemed like they wanted to do it. Chris was already pulling slices of bread from the bag and Noelle had a knife in her hand. Not wanting to derail their plans, I offered a quick “thanks,” before ducking out the door.

I was just pulling my pants back up when the light bulb above my head flickered.

It came on and then went off just as quickly as it had appeared.

Then it flickered again.

The third time, it took, and suddenly I was standing under the harsh fluorescent lighting, blinking wildly, trying to adjust my eyes.

I should’ve stayed hidden in the dark.

When I glanced in the mirror I recoiled in shock. I looked like some troll out of one of Noelle’s books. My hair was everywhere. My eyes were sunken and lined with dark black bags. My lips were chapped. Not to mention the crusted drool in the corner of my mouth. I was a mess.

Splashing water on my face, I tried to pull myself together but wasn’t having much luck. Without a hairbrush or more importantly, a toothbrush, I didn’t have much of a chance. And while I still looked like roadkill, at least the cold water made me feel a bit more alive.

I finished washing up and hurried back into the office where Noelle was packing away the game.

“What are you doing?” I asked, disappointed I didn’t get to join in .

“Mom, the lights are back,” Noelle pointed out, and I nodded.

“Now we can have real food,” Chris added. “And coffee.”

“Oh my god, coffee.”

“It’s going to be pretty chilly upstairs, so let me go up and get the heating started, we might be better off camping out one more night down here.”

“But …”

“The power’s back now but who knows if it will last. I think we should ride it out one more night with the fire to keep up warm, then reassess in the morning,” Chris suggested.

It sounded like the smart thing to do but … “Can we still have coffee?” I practically begged.

“I’m on it.” Chris shot a wink in my direction before grabbing his coat.

While he was gone, I ate my sandwich, and Noelle and I packed.

“Mom?”

“Yes, sweetie?”

“Chris is really nice,” she commented innocently.

“Yeah, he is,” I agreed.

“He played games with me and helped me read my book.”

“That’s great. I’m glad you had a good time,” I told her, patting the couch beside me.

Noelle came and sat down, and I pulled her to my side. “I’m sorry I’ve been sick,” I apologized.

“It’s okay, Mom,” she replied, snuggling even closer.

It was moments like this that reassured me that I wasn’t doing everything wrong. I knew I wasn’t a perfect mother, and I wasn’t trying to be, but at least I wasn’t making a complete mess of it either. Noelle was a happy, polite, fun, independent little girl, and even though I knew she’d grow up before I was ready, I wanted to treasure these moments and make memories we could hold on to.

“I’m glad you had fun with Chris,” I offered.

Chris. I owed that man a debt of gratitude I’d never be able to repay. He’d quite literally been my savior to my damsel in distress. Without him, I didn’t even want to think about where we’d be right now.

“He had fun with you, too,” a deep, gruff voice answered, but it was what he carried in his hands that had me practically salivating. “Here you go,” he said, handing me a steaming mug.

The first sip soothed my soul.

I didn't even care that it was too hot, and I almost burned my tongue. I didn’t care that it was stronger than I liked it. I was drinking it, and I was going to enjoy every sip. I hadn’t realized how strong my addiction was, but functioning without my daily cup was probably the whole reason I’d ended up curled in a ball wanting to die.

“Noelle, this is for you,” he said, handing Noelle her own mug.

“What is it?” she asked, accepting the cup and peering inside.

“Hot chocolate with marshmallows,” Chris told her with a wink.

He was spoiling her, and she was loving it. He was giving her not only things that would make her happy, but also his time, and she was glowing under his attention.

Chris sat on the edge of his desk and chuckled over the rim of his cup.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

“Uh-ah. Come on. You’re over there laughing and it’s probably at me,” I called him out, trying again to finger-comb my hair only to get my finger caught on a knot.

“I’m not.”

“Chris …”

“I’ve just never met someone who loved coffee as much as you do. The way you’re moaning and groaning over the mug, a man could get jealous,” he suggested, and suddenly I was warm enough. And it wasn’t the coffee warming my blood.

I tried to redirect the subject asking how bad it was upstairs. When he told me we should definitely stay put for the night, I accepted it but told him as soon as I was done with my coffee, I was going to find a hairbrush.

“Don’t go out of your way on my account,” Chris offered.

And, of course, he would. It’d been days without power, living off sandwiches and bottled water, and the man still looked like he could grace the cover of a magazine. Other than the scruff on his chin that had thickened, he looked exactly like I imagined he would each morning. Sexy and smoldering.

“If I don’t do something with this soon,” I began, pointing to the rat’s nest on my head, “the only way I’m going to be able to fix it is to shave the whole lot off.”

“You can’t shave your head, Mom! You’ll be bald,” Noelle pointed out.

“I don't know, I reckon you could rock the earrings and scarf combo,” Chris countered before standing up and walking over to the door leaving my mind whirling a million miles an hour.

Chris was a riddle I hadn’t quite figured out yet, but the longer I spent with him, the more I found I wanted to.