Shoved (Moonlit Lake Matchmaker #4)

Chapter 24

SERENA

Not sure how long we would be staying at the farm, I stuffed our winter clothes, clean or dirty, into suitcases. I sent Sadie into her room with a bag to put any toys she wanted to bring along. While she was doing that, I called my mom and explained everything that had happened since we left her last night—a lifetime ago.

Thankfully, she hadn’t gotten whatever crazy virus Sadie and I had. I’d never experienced something come on so suddenly and leave just as fast.

Mom offered to stay with us in our place for a few days, but I thought it was safer for us to be somewhere else, and the farm seemed to be the best choice. She could visit us there if she wanted.

Before I hung up, Mom added, “There is something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about, Serena. But let’s save that for tomorrow or the next day.”

“Are you sure? You mentioned that last night, too. Why don’t you just tell me?”

“You’ve got enough going on. It can wait until I see you.”

“You’re scaring me, Mom. It must be bad if you don’t want to tell me over the phone.”

“No, no. Nothing like that. It’s good news, at least I think it is. I promise.”

“Okay, if you say so. Talk to you soon.”

As soon as I ended the call, Sadie appeared at my door. “Will we be at the farm on Christmas, Mommy?”

“I hope not. I think it’ll only be a couple of days, but I’m not sure.”

Her brow pinched as she puzzled through this. “What if Santa can’t find us, because we’re not home?”

“Santa’s magic, remember? He always knows where you are.”

Her face brightened, like daisies dancing on a sunbeam. “I bet the reindeer like going to the farm because they have lots of veggies.”

“They better not eat too much or they won’t get all the presents delivered.” I thought about the gifts I’d wrapped and hidden in my closet for her. Should I bring them or come back for them later? Later would be easier. Hopefully, we’d be back home by then. “Speaking of presents, what did you ask Santa for this year? You never told me.” Not out loud, anyway.

“It’s a secret. Santa knows what I want.”

I cringed, dreading her disappointment when Santa didn’t come through for her. “Besides what you told Santa, what other things do you want for Christmas?”

She shrugged and walked over to the window. Most kids her age had a list a mile long of the toys they wanted. Not my girl. She only wanted what I couldn’t give her… or wrap up and put under the tree. Sigh.

Sadie jumped up and down when she saw Storm’s SUV pull into the driveway. As if he hadn’t just left us an hour ago. “They’re here. They’re here. Come on, let’s go.”

She put on her coat and rushed out the door to his car, leaving me gathering up the bags.

Storm met me at the door. “Let me help you.” He took the two suitcases and carried them to the back of his vehicle. I set the two bags I was carrying on top of them and he shut the door.

“I’m not usually such an excessive packer, but I didn’t know how long we’d be there, or what to bring, so I just grabbed everything I saw.”

He held his hands up. “Hey, I have three sisters. I know better than to comment on such things. And you’re packing for a child, so that’s different.” He smiled, showing a dimple I hadn’t seen before. He even opened the door for me. So chivalrous.

Was this the same guy that I thought was such a Grinch? Had I really assumed he didn’t like kids or animals?

Holy mistletoe, was I wrong.

The whole ride over Sadie jabbered non-stop about Santa, goats, puppies, snowmen. Her train of thought was as erratic as a drunken bumblebee. Never a dull moment, nor a quiet one, with this girl.

I kept peeking over at our driver, trying to figure out if he was for real. I’d been fooled before. I’d thought Ty was my knight in shining armor, and look how wrong I was about that. But loading luggage into the car and driving away together, it seemed like the three of us were going on a family vacation.

And that thought sent my imagination off in all sorts of directions it shouldn’t be going.

As I was looking over at Storm for the bazilllionth time, I noticed him frequently checking his rear-view mirror. How could I have forgotten to look over my shoulder to make sure we weren’t being followed? This wasn’t a fantasy family road trip over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house for Christmas. No. We were basically on our way to a safe house because we were in danger and I had to protect Sadie. I couldn’t forget that or let my guard down. There was too much at stake here.

When we arrived, Storm’s parents came out to greet us. Rob was out of his snowsuit, and wearing a thick flannel shirt and a stocking hat over his salt and pepper hair. He helped Storm with the luggage. Honey stood on the step in her apron, her face lit with excitement. As soon as I opened the door, Sadie and Lulu bolted out of the car and ran up the steps. Honey wrapped Sadie in a big hug, while Lulu stood on her hind legs to get in on the action.

Honey bent down to Sadie’s level and smiled warmly. “I’m so glad you’re here. I was just making Monkey Bread. You’re just in time to help me.”

Sadie’s eyes widened with disbelief. “Monkey bread? Does it have monkeys in it? Or does it just look like monkeys?”

“Neither, but all of my little monkeys loved to eat it. Are you a little monkey?”

“I can be.” She jumped from foot to foot and scratched her armpits.

Honey chuckled. “Just as I suspected. You’re going to love this. Come on in, little monkey.”

I followed behind, and Storm met me at the door. “Mom is a retired kindergarten teacher. Sadie’s in good hands. And Monkey bread really is the best. I haven’t had it in years, but it was always my favorite.”

“Probably why she’s making it.”

“I think she’s making it for her new favorite little monkey. She’s been hinting, not so subtly, that she’d been dying for grandchildren and none of us have come through for her yet.”

I stopped walking, my heart leaping at his words.

Storm realized what he said and began backpedaling. “I mean, she loves kids. Not that Sadie would be a grandchild. That’s not?—”

I laughed and bumped my body into his side. “I know what you meant. It was fun to see you get flustered, though. That doesn’t happen too often.”

Under his breath, he muttered, “More often than you know. Lately.”

By the time I took my coat and boots off, Sadie and Honey were already busy in the kitchen. Storm showed me hooks on the wall to hang our coats. “Let me show you which rooms are yours and Sadie’s and give you a quick tour. Then you can make yourself at home.”

The house was huge but comfortable—you could definitely tell a family lived there. It had gorgeous woodwork and furniture you’d want to cozy up in. The kitchen, living room and master bedroom were on the main floor. There were five bedrooms upstairs, and two more bedrooms and a living area downstairs.

As we climbed the wooden staircase, Storm pointed out Junie’s room on the left with the door closed. “She’s probably working, but I’m sure she’ll be home for supper.” The next room was open. I peeked my head inside. It was very feminine, decorated in pink and gray. “This room used to be Skye’s. Mom thought Sadie would like sleeping here.” He stepped inside to show me around. A big doll house sat in the middle of the floor. “Mom must have gotten this out for Sadie. Junie and Skye loved playing with it. Junie liked to play out scenes with the dolls. But Skye liked to rearrange the furniture and the layout of the house. My dad had to build the walls in a way that the whole thing could be taken apart and changed, at Skye’s insistence. The first sign she’d become an architect.”

I’d never seen such an elaborate doll house. I had a Barbie dream house when I was younger, but it was nothing like this. “Sadie’s gonna think she’d died and gone to heaven. She’ll never want to come home.”

“And this is the room Mom set up for you.” Storm showed me to the room next to Sadie’s and stood in the doorway as I walked in and looked around. It was definitely a boy’s room, painted dark blue. It had lots of books, stars on the ceiling, and a telescope in the corner. Star Wars posters covered the walls. “Was this your room?”

He grinned awkwardly. “It was. Not very impressive. I was a nerd. What can I say?”

“Whatever. Just because you liked books and were smarter than everyone else doesn’t make you a nerd.” A part of me was thrilled to learn more about this man through his childhood bedroom, imaging what he was like then. Would we have been friends? More? My gangly, pimply teenage self doubted I would have ever caught his attention.

“Well, I preferred my books to people. Most of the time, I still do.”

The way he looked at me when he said those words had my heart flipping in my chest again. My poor heart would turn into an Olympic gymnast at this rate. “Not all the time. You chose to come here with us instead of just taking us home and leaving us there. And you decided to stay here with us. That has to mean something. Doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. I can’t resist Mom’s monkey bread.”

I playfully shoved his shoulder. “Where are you sleeping if she put me in your room?” She wouldn’t put us in the same room. Would she? My face flushed with heat.

“I’ll be right across the hall from you in Raven’s old room.”

I peeked into that room and saw brightly colored paintings and art projects everywhere. Her walls were dotted with large circles in all the colors of the rainbow, but brilliantly mixed and overlapping. It was the coolest paint job I’d ever seen in a bedroom. It reminded me of a radiant flower garden, with every color bloom imaginable. Definitely Raven.

“Not sure how much I’ll be able to sleep with all this color. I might wake up in the night and think I’m on a psychedelic trip.” He moved on to the next room on the tour. “And this room is Jasper’s. I think he spends most of his time with AJ lately, so I’m not sure how much we’ll see him.”

He placed his hand on the small of my back and led me to the stairway. My whole body hummed from this simple touch. I stopped at the top of the stairs and turned to him.

“Storm.” I wanted to thank him for all he was doing for us, but my brain froze.

Our faces were inches apart, and my heart was thumping in my throat. I swallowed and bit my lip. His gaze shifted to my mouth, and he pushed a lock of hair over my shoulder.

“Serena.” He pointed above us. Mistletoe hung from the light fixture. “You know what that means, don’t you?”

“Uh, yeah. But—” Everything in me wanted to pull this man to me and kiss his lips off, but that would be a bad idea. He didn’t want a family. He sure wouldn’t want to take on the mess that was my life right now. And besides that, he was my attorney.

Not to mention, I’d vowed to stay away from relationships until Sadie was grown. She was my priority. I couldn’t risk her heart getting broken because I wanted to kiss a hot man under the mistletoe. If I continued looking at him, I’d be toast, so I focused on his shirt instead.

He lifted my chin with a finger. “Hey. I’m game if you are. It is a tradition, after all.” He gave me a smoldering look that melted my resistance in an instant. Poof!

What was I thinking again? How I’d love to know if my dream kiss was accurate? The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. “It’s probably some kind of bad luck if we don’t comply. Right?”

He inched closer. “I’m sure it is. Wouldn’t want to test the fates, would we?”

We were just a breath apart. I breathed in his musky-woodsy scent and felt my body draw to him like a magnet. “I suppose not.”

“I’ll follow your lead, Serena. You’re in charge.”

“Like last time?”

“I hope not. Are you feeling better?”

Other than a little breathless and light-headed from his closeness, I felt good. Last night’s illness was a distant memory. “Better than I’ve felt in a long time. But I know what would make me feel even better.”

“Are you of sound mind and body?”

“I believe so. As sound as I ever get.”

“Prove it.”

I pressed my lips to his and mmm… definitely better than monkey bread. As his lips brushed over mine and then deepened the kiss, I heard a low throaty moan. Was that me? Or him? I couldn’t be sure. My knees weakened, and I hoped he didn’t let go of my waist or I’d fall down the stairs.

We pulled apart, slightly breathless and discombobulated. Whew! That mistletoe was some powerful stuff! I had a whole new respect for the plant. Where could I hang some more?

We’d just stepped apart when Sadie appeared at the bottom of the stairs. “Hurry up, Mommy. The Monkey bread is almost ready to go in the oven. I got to roll balls of dough in cimmin sugar like Mr Storm’s toast. It’s gonna be so yummy.”

I forced myself away from Storm and fled down the stairs with my lips still buzzing, wondering who or what had just inhabited my body and emboldened me to kiss that gorgeous man. They’re welcome to come back and try that again. Anytime.