Chapter Four
Case drove Annabelle an hour and a half away to a small town with a strip mall. They talked the entire drive about the Dalton family—their relationships with each other, pet peeves and funny quirks. By the time they arrived at their destination, Annabelle felt she had a better understanding of each family member. Shopping for them should be a little easier now.
As soon as they parked, Case hopped out so fast that she wondered if there was something wrong with a tire or something. But a second later, he stood at her door, smiling that crooked country boy smile.
He opened her door, and she experienced a little flutter low in her belly. Too low to be anything but attraction.
Well, of course she was attracted to Case—he was a hunk. And he was sweet too, she was learning by the second.
“Thank you,” she said as she slid from the truck. For a breathless moment, she thought of reaching for his hand. Then she stuffed her fists in her pockets to keep from acting impulsively.
The last thing she needed was a holiday fling. This wasn’t a Hallmark movie and she wasn’t the type of person to love ’em and leave ’em. She liked her relationships with lots of strings and a healthy dose of commitment.
Kissing the hot cowboy sure would be a fun Christmas bonus, though.
“Where do you want to start?” He peered toward the shopping center, looking as out of place as a thumb on a horse. Shoppers milled around the parking area, carrying brightly-colored bags and pushing carts full of items. They were all dressed for the public eye, and Case had just stepped off the ranch in come-as-you-are chic of worn jeans and dusty boots, his jacket zipped up so only a hint of the collar of his plaid shirt showed.
She assessed the selection of stores, from candle shops to clothing between a department store and a grocery store anchoring the ends of the mall.
“I guess we’ll start at the department store. Get the kids out of the way first. There’s bound to be a toy department.”
He nodded, and they headed toward the entrance. At the door, he let her pass first, a gentleman in all ways. Then he insisted on pushing the cart for her.
The moment was oddly familiar and intimate at the same time. She’d never really shopped with a man before. People must see them as a couple. Not that she minded.
As he ticked off the names of the Dalton girls, Annabelle placed dolls and arts and crafts kits in the cart. The older boys were a little more her speed, being close to her students’ age, and she got them the latest trading card game that everybody had been mad for at Lincoln Elementary.
The toddlers and babies were a bit more out of her realm, but Case stepped up to a shelf with suggestions.
She looked at him in a new light. “You would know better than I do.”
He grunted and grabbed enough for all the little ones.
When they made it to the checkout, he immediately unloaded the cart with a swift efficiency that had her feeling clumsy. Then he stood back as they waited for the person in front of the line to complete their order.
“What do you mean declined? I know there’s money in the bank. I—” The woman was red-faced, her two kids in the cart whining about being hungry.
“I’m sorry, but that’s what the computer says. Do you have another form of payment?”
The woman rifled through her wallet and came out with a handful of bills. After counting them, she stuffed them back in. Sweat broke out on her brow.
“Mommy, I’m hungryyyy.”
“I know, honey,” the woman said absently, mind locked on how to get out of her dilemma.
Before Annabelle understood what was happening, Case reached into the back pocket of his fitted Wranglers and pulled out his wallet. He stepped up to the woman and looked down at her face.
“May I?”
Her jaw dropped, whether from Case’s generosity or his rugged good looks, Annabelle wasn’t sure. Probably both, because Annabelle felt all too breathless at that moment too.
Without waiting for her answer, he slid his card in the machine and pressed a button. He dashed off a signature and replaced his wallet in his pocket before tugging his hat brim in farewell.
When he took his place next to Annabelle, the woman looked at them with wide, teary eyes. “Thank you,” she mouthed.
He gave one dip of his head and said nothing more.
The woman accepted her receipt and headed out with a parting wave and smile to Case.
The cashier greeted them. “That was really sweet of you,” she said to Case.
Annabelle thought she was a bit starry-eyed too. Good men with hearts of gold were hard to come by, and everyone who witnessed the interaction was smiling at the Christmas cheer Case had spread.
Annabelle leaned close to him. “You’re really kind.”
Was that a blush on Case Dalton’s cheeks? He ducked his head, avoiding her gaze. “Was nothing.”
“It definitely was something. Not many would help that way.”
He shrugged, looking more uncomfortable the more he was praised.
With the cart piled with bags, Case suggested they put everything in the truck before moving to the other stores. When all the packages were stowed in the back with a bed cover in place and the tailgate locked, they looked at the strip mall once again.
“What’s next?” she asked, chewing her lip.
He clapped a hand over his stomach. “I’m buyin’ you lunch. I can’t wait another minute to get something in my stomach.”
She turned to him. “Oh, I’m sorry! I usually grade papers over my lunch period at school. I never thought—”
“Well, you’re not starving on my watch. C’mon.” He grasped her lightly by the elbow and led her across the parking lot, waving at cars that let them cross. In a minute, he had her seated at a booth in a family-style restaurant and menus in front of them.
“You’re definitely not buying,” she said, scanning the list of meals ranging from pot roast dinner to crispy chicken salad with homemade rolls.
“No Dalton man would allow his date to pay for his meal.” He looked up from his menu, eyes piercing, the blue deeper than she’d seen yet.
She opened her mouth to protest, when she realized what he’d said. His date.
Her mouth dried out and her belly pooled with warmth.
He shot her a grin. “No arguments.”
The cowboy was charming, she’d give him that. That smile could cajole the money from rich people’s pockets to give to the poor if he had a mind to try. It had ensured the woman at the checkout couldn’t argue with him, and Annabelle was equally as helpless at the flash of Case’s white teeth.
He was a hardworking man, great with kids and animals. He was helpful to his aunt and respectful of his uncle.
Not to mention he smelled amazing.
Yes, Case was a rare breed of man—a hero in his own right—and his act of kindness back in the department store had given Annabelle more Christmas cheer than she’d known in a very long time.
* * * * *
Watching Annabelle take her time selecting gifts for each and every Dalton family member touched Case. Not only because the way she chewed her lip ratcheted up his desire for her by a hundred notches or so. She was so sweet, making sure the gifts were useful or meaningful.
When she’d told him about her grandmother and family, and then shared the locket she wore around her neck with him, he knew he had to give her something for Christmas that would make her remember her time here with them.
On the down-low, he’d kept his eyes peeled for a gift that would fill this order, but he hadn’t spotted anything so far. He did manage to grab gift cards for a meal out for each of his cousins and their wives.
In the wine shop, he held up a bottle with a victorious smile.
An adorable little crease of confusion appeared between Annabelle’s eyes. “I take it this is a good find?”
“Good? No, it’s great. This is the wine Aunt Maggie and Uncle Ted toasted to on their wedding day.”
Her mouth fell open and a soft expression came over her face that he couldn’t look away from.
“How do you know?” she asked.
“Aunt Maggie told me the story a few months back.”
“And you kept that information in your head the whole time?”
He tapped his temple and grabbed a second bottle on impulse, carrying both to the cashier. Of course he was carded, which had Annabelle giggling. On the way out of the spirits shop, he grimaced.
“You always get carded?”
“I’m told I have a bit of a baby face.”
She stopped walking to search his features. The caress of her warm brown eyes was a touch he didn’t think he’d ever forget even when he was eighty and senile.
He held his breath, waiting for her reaction to what she saw. When a light pink flush stole over her cheeks, his gut clenched and his heart pounded.
“Not a baby face.” She raised a hand and brushed her knuckles over his jawline. Need tore through him, barely checked. He fought to control his breathing and clutched the brown wine bag tighter to keep from grabbing her, bending her over his arm and kissing the hell out of her.
“Well, that’s good to hear.” His response was gruff with the emotion stampeding through his system.
“No, not a baby face at all. But I suppose you could be one of those teenagers with a surge of testosterone and a full beard in ninth grade.” Her eyes twinkled more than the festive lights strung in the store windows.
He chuckled. “You should talk. You don’t look old enough to teach school. You should be a junior in high school at least.”
“Oh, you’re such a tease. I do not.”
All the way to the car, she chided him that he needed to go do his homework, and damn if that didn’t have his mind spinning even faster.
I can think of some homework with you.
Their ride home was full of chatter and laughter. She asked questions about the area and their schools. He knew a little but suggested she talk to Charlotte if she was interested in the particulars.
By the time they arrived home, the parking area was full of vehicles.
He cut the engine and looked across the cab to Annabelle. Her face glowed with happiness he’d like to think he put there. His time with her had meant a lot to him, and he hoped she felt the same.
“Uh-oh,” she said, looking at the house that was lit up like a Christmas tree, every light seemingly on. “We’re late for dinner.”
He checked the time on the dash. “Not late, but just in time. Let’s leave the packages—we can’t carry them in with all the snoopy little kids anyway. I’ll unload the truck after dinner and hide everything.”
To his surprise, she reached across the console and rested a hand over his. “Thank you, Case. And not just for putting up with me shopping and for lunch.”
His chest tightened, and he couldn’t stop himself—he turned his palm up to cradle her hand. The initial shock of skin-to-skin contact made his body tense and Annabelle’s expression to sober.
She squeezed his hand, silken fingertip running over the small oval pebbles of calluses riding at the base of each of his fingers.
The light from the house grew brighter, and he glanced past Annabelle to the front door. Someone had thrown it open and kids barreled out.
Annabelle pulled away with a laugh. “Looks like your fan club’s here.” Kids ran down the porch steps and toward the truck.
“Someone probably tipped them off that we were shopping.”
In seconds, the truck was engulfed by kids throwing questions at him and Annabelle. She was the poster girl of patience as they walked to the house, empty-handed. But Case’s hand was still burning hot where Annabelle had touched it.
Dinner was big as usual, with baked chicken and pasta with cream sauce flavored with herbs that Case savored. Salads were passed, along with flaky biscuits. When he caught Annabelle taking a second biscuit, he purposely reached into the basket at the same time.
Their hands met, and she jerked hers away, her eyes locked on her plate and that rosy blush back in her cheeks.
Oh yeah, she wasn’t immune to him either, and that thought made him want to saddle a horse, gallop for miles into the countryside and whoop as loud as he could.
Charlotte gave Hank a nudge, and he looked up at Case. Giving him his best little-cousin, I-didn’t-take-your-pocket-knife-and-break-it look in return, Case bit off a big chunk of the biscuit.
After dinner, the adults set up the older kids with a board game. And Annabelle joined in while Case lounged on the floor, stealing glances at her.
When Cash and Maya’s daughters Emma and Addie got that sneaky gleam in their eyes, Case sat up and watched more carefully. He’d played enough games with the young girls to know they liked to dabble in cheating—they thought it was funny when they got caught and would giggle like mad.
As soon as Annabelle was distracted, Emma reached out and stole cards off the pile.
Addie folded her lips into her mouth to hold in a giggle, and her face reddened with the effort.
Annabelle turned from helping Witt’s daughter, a hand still on the child’s small back, and her sharp eyes caught Emma doing something under the table.
A private smile spread over Annabelle’s face. Case couldn’t help but smile too.
“Attack!” The small cry sounded right before a solid body hit Case from the side. The thirty pounds of three-year-old was like being struck by a flea, but Case made an exaggerated fall to the floor and lay there silent, eyes closed.
The room quieted as those playing the game stopped to watch. When Witt’s boy, Jase, looked at his cousin Case with concern, Case reared up with a roar.
He tore the boy off his feet, and he shrieked with glee. Other kids attacked Case as he knocked them playfully to the floor and tickled them breathless. When he heard the familiar throaty laugh coming from Annabelle’s direction, he peered up at her through a mire of child limbs. They shared a grin.
With four kids clinging to him like ticks, he began a slow, lumbering crawl. Their laughter increased until they were barely able to hold onto him. When he shook like a dog, they tumbled to the carpet and he tickled them all over again.
The card game slowly resumed, and he missed the moment Emma finally revealed what she’d done. But Annabelle had the child pinned under her own tickling fingers. Addie jumped up and down.
“I helped! I helped her!”
“Why, you little—” Annabelle delivered a full thirty seconds of tickles to her armpits and belly that had Addie writhing on the floor.
By the time Anabelle tore from the kids, she searched for Case. Their gazes met and he tilted his head toward the door. “Want to slip out for some cool air?”
He took note of the adults in the room exchanging smiles, but luckily Annabelle didn’t feel odd about accepting. She nodded and followed him out onto the porch.
The cooler air enveloped him, but it did nothing to cool his need. Since seeing the happiness on the woman’s beautiful face, he only wanted to put more there.
In the form of passionate kisses and soft touches, growing more urgent as the need flowed between them.
“That was fun,” she said. The light from inside fell across the porch and her socked feet.
He smiled at the reindeer marching in a line across her toes. “Love the socks.”
She looked down. “Thank you.” Then back up into his eyes.
The pull of her was too strong. Unable to resist another second, he stepped closer.
When he raised a hand to cup her cheek, it trembled like a little girl accepting the blue ribbon for her prized pony.
“Case.” Her whisper sent a spike of need straight through him.
“Shh.” He leaned in and claimed her mouth. The full lips under his were capable of mass destruction—of his heart. His eyes drifted shut as he pressed more firmly, raising a small moan from her.
Oh God, this wasn’t going to go well for him. He liked her far too much and she’d be leaving after the holidays. But it didn’t matter. Case wasn’t about to let this moment slip by.
As he angled his head to deepen the kiss, she rested a hand on his chest. Did she feel his heart pounding? Was hers pounding just as hard?
He eased his tongue out and probed the seam of her lips. Tasting sweetness like he’d never known. Aunt Maggie’s award-winning peach pie had nothing on Annabelle.
With a groan, he anchored her to him, a palm stretched across her back. She parted her lips on a gasp, and he flicked his tongue over hers like a question.
Will you?
Another moan slipped from her, and he couldn’t hold back anymore. He tugged her flush against his body and kissed her like he’d wanted to since the first moment he set eyes on her.
Long sweeps of his tongue through her sweet mouth, tasting an unbridled passion he’d only seen glimpses of. But the way she threw herself into everything she did told him there was much more to this woman.
* * * * *
Annabelle’s body was full of liquid fire. She felt herself melting against Case with each flick of his tongue. Low in her belly, a tingling sensation spread through her. She squeezed her thighs together and opened her mouth wider to accept the invasion of his tongue.
Sweet Lord, he tasted so good. Better than she’d ever imagined those times she’d found herself staring too long at his hard, full lips.
And his hands on her… Damn, he hadn’t done more than touch the small of her back and waist and she was ready to tear off her clothes and beg him for more.
She brought her hand up to cup his cheek. The stubble under her palm pulled a shocked gasp from her lips. Each flip of his tongue was sending her shooting toward the big night sky of Texas hanging over the ranch, spangled with a million stars.
Inside, the strains of children practicing their hymns for the church play reached her, but all she knew at this moment was Case Dalton.
He slowed the kiss, lips probingly soft, making her dream of so much more with this man. Of how gentle he’d be as a lover, though perfectly rough when passion called for it.
A shiver ran through her.
He pulled away slowly and searched her eyes. His were dark glittering gems in the dim lighting of the porch. She rasped her thumb over his jawline.
“Been wantin’ to do that all day.”
A breath trickled from her lips. He’d been thinking of kissing her all the time she’d felt like an annoying pain in the rump, taking forever to choose gifts for his family?
This was all silliness—she was caught up in the magic of the holiday and enveloped by warm fuzzy feelings of family. Case was an extension of that.
But if she was honest with herself—he’d been the one to offer the most welcome. Charlotte was great and they’d shared some good chats so far, but she couldn’t deny Case had welcomed her so completely, made her feel a part of it all.
“Case…”
He dragged the pad of his thumb over her lower lip, tugging the skin lightly. “Shh. I can see you’re overthinking this. It’s a stolen kiss. I’m not putting demands on your time, okay?”
What if she wanted him to?
Jeez, she was in worse shape than she’d thought.
She started to speak and a creak on the other side of the door made her jump away from Case. Cold air gathered around her, and she wrapped her arms around herself. Behind him, the door opened, and they pivoted to see his cousin Witt standing there.
Witt cleared his throat. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt anythin’.”
“You’re not,” Case said smoothly.
“Goin’ out to the barn to hitch the team to the wagon. Sleigh ride time, Texas-style,” he said with a grin toward Annabelle.
She smiled back, aware that she was standing in a puddle of warm yellow light from the mudroom and Witt could clearly see her features. She couldn’t look like she’d just been confused as hell by Case’s kisses.
“I’ll help out.” Case threw Annabelle a meaningful look. In her dazzled eyes, it said I’m not finished kissing you.
But no, she couldn’t let it happen again.
Could she?
The only thing stopping her from throwing herself at the hunky cowboy family man was that she lived in another state and wouldn’t see him again, at least not anytime soon.
Witt moved off the porch and took the steps in two long strides. With his back to them, Case grabbed Annabelle’s arm and tugged her near. His warm breath washed across her lips, and she was helpless against the need rising inside her again. She wanted to jump into his arms and kiss him all night and long into the morning.
“I’ll see you on the wagon?” he asked, low.
Unable to think straight, she nodded.
A crooked grin cut a path across his cheek, and his eyes glowed. She swallowed a hiccup of excitement, unable to stop her own smile.
She watched him follow Witt and seconds later, the ruckus in the mudroom had her thrown into the swirl of activity again. She went inside to help the little ones get on their boots and coats, while the parents grabbed blankets and hats.
She pulled her coat off the peg, and seeing Case’s Carhartt next to it, she grabbed it down too. He’d forgotten it and would need it against the chill air. Though he was tough enough to withstand the cold, and she swore he had his own furnace inside his body. In his arms, she’d felt so warm.
With his heavy jacket draped over her arm, she started out the door. Charlotte caught her eye and looked down at the coat.
“Case forgot it,” she said lamely.
“How nice of you to grab it for him. C’mon. You can sit by me and we can talk. This is a Christmas tradition on the ranch, and you’re going to love it. It’s one of my favorites!”
When they got outside, everybody gathered at the base of the steps waiting for the wagon to pull up. As it came through the darkness, jangling with bells and draped in greenery, she could see why everybody was so excited. It was pure magic.
The wagon was actually a hay cart, and six horses were hitched to it instead of a tractor. She imagined it would be a nicer ride than sucking down diesel fumes. The inside of the cart was lined with bales of hay for people to sit on, and she took her place next to Charlotte. Charlotte’s little girl, who’d been sick just a day or so ago, came to curl up on her momma’s lap.
Witt had gone off to hitch the team to the wagon, but he jumped in the back with his wife and children while Case took the reins.
Annabelle’s breath stuttered as she set eyes on his strong back and muscular shoulders. He twisted to toss a grin at them over his shoulder. “All aboaaaaarrrrd the Dalton Express! Remember, kids, keep your eyes to the skies because you just might see Santa’s reindeer practicing their Christmas Eve run!”
Annabelle laughed as all the children craned their necks, eyes fixed in wonder on the starry sky.
“I think that’s Rudolph!” one kid squealed, pointing to a blinking airplane light moving rapidly across the sky.
“Hold on tight,” Case called, and the wagon lurched forward in his capable hands.
She folded her hands in her lap and snuggled into her coat. She realized suddenly that Case’s jacket was still draped over her knees—she’d forgotten to give it to him.
A glance at him showed he didn’t appear to be bothered by the cold. Yes, he had to have his own personal furnace burning inside him. She wished she could snuggle up next to him on that bench behind the team and talk quietly together as they drove all over the ranch.
“You forgot to give that to Case.” Charlotte eyed her.
“Don’t look at me that way. Innocent mistake.”
“What way am I looking at you?”
“Like you think I just wanted to cuddle with Case’s jacket,” she whispered.
Lacey reached out a chubby hand, and Annabelle wrapped it in her own, smiling down at the child lying across her mother’s lap.
“I’m glad she’s feeling better,” Annabelle said, changing the subject.
Charlotte didn’t look ready to let go of the question of Case, but she rolled with the conversation. “Yes, she had a really good night’s sleep. I think the antibiotics are working already.”
Keeping the child’s hand in her own, Annabelle looked out on the ranch. Fields lying quiet, silver in the moonlight. Cattle stood in small clumps, and in the far corner of one field was a wooden shelter like a big manger. The fence that ran for miles was completely familiar to her since walking it with Case.
Her gaze drifted to him again. She wished she could see his hands with the reins wrapped around them, the tendons of his forearms flexing. Each place he’d laid his hands on her body, she still felt his touch. Surely, that wasn’t just part of Christmas magic in Paradise Valley, was it?
Charlotte caught her looking and gave a knowing smile.
Annabelle elbowed her lightly in the ribs. “Stop that.”
“Stop what? He’s good-looking. Admit it. These Dalton men all are. Though Hank’s the best.”
At her side, Hank was deep in conversation with Beck, talking about ranch work and cattle auctions, oblivious to his wife’s praise. Though the couple looked happy enough that Annabelle was sure he knew what his wife thought of him.
When Annabelle didn’t respond, Charlotte pushed on. “What were you doing on the porch?”
Giving her the side-eye, she said, “Just talking about the gifts we’d bought and where he hid them when we got home.”
“Ah.” Charlotte didn’t believe her, and no wonder. Annabelle was a terrible liar.
“Momma, I’m tired.” Lacey’s eyelids were dipping low. The jostling of the wagon was lulling her to sleep.
Looking around, Annabelle saw other children already passed out in the arms of their mothers. Mr. and Mrs. Dalton were huddled together, a thick blanket draped around them, enclosing them in a private cocoon. How they must feel to look around themselves and see what they’d created—the big family, the happiness. The future.
What did Annabelle have going back in Illinois? She didn’t see anything like this for herself. The thought left her melancholy as they rode over the ranch. At Hank and Charlotte’s house, her friend got off the wagon with the heavy sleeping child draped over her shoulder.
“We’ll talk more about the porch tomorrow. I’m going to put her to bed,” Charlotte said as she left.
Hank asked his wife if she wanted him to come along with the other children, and she waved a hand. “Enjoy yourselves. I’ll see you in a while.”
With the space next to Annabelle empty, she imagined Case there. What would they talk about?
He drove along, passing Witt’s and Cash’s homes. Then at Kade’s, they stopped and everybody piled out.
Kade and his stunning redheaded wife Ryan ran into the house and came out with jugs of apple cider and a package of plastic cups, along with a big plastic tub of Christmas cookies. Everybody got their snack, which energized the kids again with a dose of sugar. Case didn’t dismount from the team, and Annabelle trembled a little as she approached him with a cup of cider and two cookies in her palm.
When she neared, his faraway expression faded and he pinned her in his gaze. “What’s this?”
She handed him the cup and cookies. “I thought the driver could use some refreshment as well.”
“I appreciate it.” As he accepted the cup, he stroked his thumb over the backs of her fingers. White heat slithered down between her thighs and her stomach knotted.
He brought a cookie to his lips and stopped. “You have my coat.”
Realizing she’d draped it over her shoulder, she pulled it down into her arms, loving the musky smell of the owner on it. “I thought you might need it, but I forgot to give it to you before the wagon started moving.”
“You’re so damn sweet, Annabelle.” His words were laced with more than gratitude.
Their gazes locked and both of them forgot the cookies in their hands. She didn’t realize how long they stared at each other, but soon everybody was climbing back into the wagon and they were left holding full cups and uneaten cookies.
Case shoved both in his mouth and gulped the cider. She took the cup from him and watched him shrug into his coat before swallowing her own goodies and getting back into her spot on the wagon.
“This is a mighty quiet ride tonight. I think we’d better sing some Christmas carols, let Santa know we’re ready for him. What do you say, kids?” Case called back.
“Yeahhhh!” a chorus of cheers went up from the little ones.
Case started off a rendition of Jingle Bells, so off-key that the hairs on Annabelle’s forearms stood on end. She found herself giggling through the lyrics and liking the cowboy even more.
Oh yeah, she was driving into dangerous territory. Nobody had warned her that Paradise Valley at Christmastime would mean finding the perfect man she couldn’t have.