Chapter Twelve
“Wow,” Chase said as his daughter rushed down the stairs so they could leave for the Saint Nicholas Lodge. “Who is this strange young lady in my house who suddenly looks all grown-up?”
Addie grinned and swirled around in the fancy red-and-gold velvet dress she was wearing to perform her musical selection with Olivia and Louisa. “Thanks, Dad,” she said. “I love this dress so much! I wish I could keep it but I have to give it back after the show tonight so maybe someone else can wear it for next year’s Christmas show.”
“Those are the breaks in show business, I guess,” he said. “You’ve got clothes to change into, right?”
She held up a bag.
“Good. Are you’re sure you don’t need me to braid your hair or something?”
He was awful with hair but had forced himself to learn how to braid, since it was the easiest way to tame Addie’s curls.
“No. Faith said she would help me fix it like Louisa and Olivia have theirs. That’s why I have to hurry.”
“Yes, my lady. Your carriage awaits.” He gave an exaggerated bow and held out her coat, which earned him some of Addie’s giggles.
“You’re so weird,” she said, with nothing but affection in her voice.
“That’s what I hear. Merry Christmas, by the way.”
She beamed. “I’m so glad we’re having our pretend Christmas Eve on the same night as the show. It’s perfect.”
He buttoned up her coat, humbled by the way she always tried to find a silver lining. “Even though we can’t spend the whole evening playing games and opening presents, like we usually do?”
“You only let me open one present on Christmas Eve,” she reminded him. “We can still do that after the show, and then tomorrow we’ll open the rest of them on our fake Christmas morning.”
“True enough.”
“Presents are fun and everything. I love them. Who doesn’t?”
“I can’t think of anyone,” he replied, amused by her serious expression.
“But that’s not what Christmas is really about. Christmas is about making other people happy—and our show will make a lot of lonely older people very happy. That’s what Faith said, anyway.”
His heart gave a sharp little jolt at her name, as it always did. “Faith is right,” he answered.
About the show, anyway. She wasn’t right about him, about them, about the fear that was holding her back from giving him a chance. He couldn’t share that with his child so he merely smiled and held open the door for her.
“Let’s go make some people happy,” he said.
Her smile made her look wiser than her eleven years, then she hurried out into the December evening.
* * *
Three hours later, he stood and clapped with the delighted audience as the children walked out onto the small stage at the Saint Nicholas Lodge to take their final bow.
“That was amazing, wasn’t it?” Next to him, Flynn beamed at his own daughter, Olivia, whose red-and-gold dress was a perfect match to those worn by Louisa and Addie.
“Even better than last year, which I didn’t think was possible,” Chase said.
“Those kids have truly outdone themselves this year,” Flynn said, gazing out at the smiles on all the wrinkled and weathered faces in the audience as they applauded energetically. “Like it or not, I have a feeling this show for the senior citizens of Pine Gulch has now officially entered into the realm of annual traditions.”
Chase had to agree. He had suspected as much after seeing the show the previous year. Though far from an elaborate production—the cast only started rehearsing the week before, after all—the performance was sweet and heartfelt, the music and dancing and dramatic performances a perfect mix of traditional and new favorites.
Of course the community would love it. How could they do otherwise?
“I’m a little biased, but our girls were the best,” Flynn said.
Again, Chase couldn’t disagree. Olivia had a pure, beautiful voice that never failed to give him chills, while Lou and Addie had done a more than adequate job of backing her up on a stirring rendition of “Angels We Have Heard on High” that had brought the audience to its feet.
“I overheard more than one person saying that was the highlight of the show,” Chase said.
He knew Flynn had become more used to his daughter onstage over the last year as she came out of her shell a little more after witnessing the tragedy of her mother’s death. While Flynn would probably never love it, he appeared to be resigned to the fact that Olivia, like her mother and grandmother before her, loved performing and making people happy.
Almost without conscious intention, his gaze strayed to Faith, who was hugging the children as they came offstage. She wore a silky red blouse that caught the light and she had her hair up again in a soft, romantic style that made him want to pull out every single pin.
She must have felt his attention. She looked up from laughing at something cute little Jolie Wheeler said and her gaze connected with his. Heat instantly sparked between them and he watched her smile slip away and her color rise.
They gazed at each other for a long moment. Neither of them seemed in a hurry to look away.
He missed her.
He hadn’t really spoken with her since that sleigh ride the other night. She had seemed to avoid him for the rest of that evening, and he and Addie hadn’t made it to Sunday dinner that week.
When he dropped Addie off earlier in the evening, he had greeted Faith, of course, but she had seemed frazzled and distracted as she hurried around helping the children with hair and makeup.
He hadn’t had time to linger then anyway, as Rafe had sent him out to pick up some of the senior citizen guests who didn’t feel comfortable driving at night amid icy conditions.
Now Jolie asked her a question and Faith was forced to look down to answer the girl, severing the connection between them and leaving him with the hollow ache that had become entirely too familiar over the last few weeks.
More than anything, he wished he knew what was in her head.
Addie came offstage and waved at him with an energy and enthusiasm that made Flynn laugh.
“I think someone is trying to get your attention,” his friend said to Chase in a broad understatement.
“You think?” With a smile, Chase headed toward his daughter.
“Did you see me, Dad?” she exclaimed.
“It was my very favorite part of the show,” he told her honestly.
“Lots of other people have told us that, too. We were good, but everyone else was, too. I’m so glad I got to do it, even though I missed the first rehearsals.”
“So am I.”
She hugged him and he felt a rush of love for his sweet-natured daughter.
“What now?” he asked.
“I need to change out of the dress and give it back, I guess,” she said, her voice forlorn.
“You sound so sad about that,” Faith said from behind him.
He hadn’t seen her approach and the sound of her voice so near rippled down his spine as if she had kissed the back of his neck.
Addie sighed. “I just love this dress. I wish I could keep it. But I understand. They need to keep it nice for someone else to wear next year.”
Faith hugged her. “Sorry, honey. I took a thousand pictures of you three girls, though. You did such a great job.”
Addie grinned. “Thanks, Faith. I love my hair. Thank you for doing it. I wish it could be like this every day.”
“You are so welcome, my dear,” she said with a smile that sent a lump rising in his throat. These were the two females he loved most in the world, with Louisa, Mary and Faith’s sisters filling in the other slots, and he loved seeing them interact.
“I guess I should be wishing you a Merry Christmas Eve,” Faith said.
“It’s the best Christmas Eve on December 20 I ever had,” Addie said with a grin, which made Faith laugh.
The sound tightened the vise around his chest. She hadn’t laughed nearly enough over the last three years.
What would everyone in the Saint Nicholas Lodge do if he suddenly tugged her to him and kissed her firmly on the mouth for all to see?
“What’s for Christmas Eve dinner?” Faith asked him before he could think about acting on the impulse.
He managed to wrench his mind away from impossible fantasies. “You know what a genius I am in the kitchen. I bought a couple of takeout dinners from the café in town. We are having a big breakfast tomorrow, though. I can handle waffles and bacon.”
“Why don’t you eat your Christmas Eve dinner here? We have so much food left over. I think Jenna always overestimates the crowd. Once the crowd clears, we’re going to pull some of it out. Everyone is starving, since we were all too busy for dinner before the show to take time for food. You’re more than welcome to stay—though I completely understand if you have plans at home for your Christmas Eve celebration.”
“Can we, Dad?” Addie begged. “I won’t see my friends for three weeks after this.”
She wouldn’t see him for that amount of time either—a miserable thought.
He shrugged, already missing her. “We don’t have any plans that are set in stone. I think the only other thing we talked about, besides the show, was playing a couple of games.”
“And reading the Christmas story,” she pointed out.
“Right. We can’t forget that,” he answered. “I don’t mind if we stay, as long as you promise to go straight to bed when we’re done. Santa can’t come if you’re not asleep.”
She rolled her eyes but grinned at the same time. At eleven, she was too old for Santa but that didn’t stop either of them from carrying on the pretense a little longer.
“I’m going to go change and tell Lou and Livvie that we’re having dinner here,” she announced.
She hurried away, leaving him alone with Faith—or as alone as they could be in a vast holiday-themed lodge still filled with about twenty other people.
“It really was a wonderful show,” he said.
“I can’t take any of the credit.”
He had to smile, remembering how busy she had been before and during the show. The previous year had been the same. She claimed she wanted nothing to do with the holiday show, then pitched in and did whatever was necessary to pull it off.
His smile slid away when he realized she was gazing at his mouth again.
Yeah. He decided he didn’t much care what people would think if he kissed her again right now.
She swallowed and looked away. “I need to, um, probably take Sparkle back to the barn for the night.”
Besides the musical number with Addie and her friends, the other highlight of the show had been when Celeste, under duress, read from her famous story “Sparkle and the Magic Snowball” to the captivated audience while the real Sparkle stood next to her, looking for all the world as if he were reading the story over her shoulder.
“I’ll help,” he offered.
Both of them knew she didn’t need his help but after a moment, she shrugged and headed toward the front door and the enclosure where Sparkle hung out when he made appearances at the lodge.
Faith paused long enough to grab her coat off the rack by the door and toss his to him, then the two of them walked outside into the night.
The reindeer wandered over to greet them like old friends, the bells on his harness jingling merrily.
“Hey, Sparkle. How are you, pal?”
The reindeer lipped at his outstretched hand, making Chase wish he’d brought along an apple or something.
“I really don’t need your help,” Faith said. “He’s so easygoing this is a one-person job—if that. I could probably tell him to go to bed and he would wander over to the barn, flip the latch and head straight for his stall. He might even turn off the lights on his way.”
He had to smile at the whimsical image. “I’m here. Let’s do this so we can eat, too.”
With a sigh, she reached to unlatch the gate. Before she could, Ella Baker came out of the lodge, bundled against the cold and carrying an armload of sheet music.
“You’re not staying for dinner?” Faith asked after they exchanged greetings.
“I can’t. My dad is having a rough time right now so I need to take off. But thank you again for asking me to do this. I had so much fun. If you do it again next year and I’m still in town, I would love to help out.”
“That’s terrific!” Faith exclaimed. “I’ll let Hope know. I can guarantee she’ll be thrilled to hear this. Thank you!”
“I’m so sorry your sister couldn’t be here to see it,” Ella said. “I hope the live video worked so she could watch it at home.”
Hope was still taking it easy, Chase knew, though she’d had no other problems since that frightening day the week before.
“She saw it,” Faith assured her. “I talked to her right afterward and she absolutely loved it, just like everyone else did.”
“Oh, I’m so glad.” Ella smiled, then turned to him. “Chase, it’s really good to see you again. I didn’t have the chance to tell you this the other night but I had such a great time dancing with you. I’d love to do it again sometime.”
It was clearly an invitation and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say. Any other single guy in Pine Gulch would probably think he’d just won the lottery. Ella was lovely and seemed very nice. A relationship with her would probably be easy and uncomplicated—unlike certain other women he could mention.
The only trouble was, that particular woman in question had him so wrapped up in knots, he couldn’t untangle even a tiny thread of interest in Ella.
“I’m afraid opportunities to dance are few and far between around here,” he said, in what he hoped was a polite but clear message.
“You two could always go to the Renegade,” Faith suggested blithely. “They have a live band with dancing just about every Saturday night.”
For a moment, he could only stare at her. Seriously? She was pimping him out to take another woman dancing?
“That would be fun,” Ella said, obviously taking Faith’s suggestion as encouragement. “Maybe we could go after the holidays.”
Chase didn’t want to hurt her but he was not about to take her up on the invitation to go out dancing while he was standing in front of the woman he loved.
Even if it had been Faith’s suggestion in the first place.
“I don’t know,” he said, in what he hoped was a noncommittal but clear voice. “I have my daughter a couple weekends a month and it’s tough for me to get away.”
Understanding flashed in her eyes along with a shadow of pained rejection. He hated that he had planted it there—and hated more that Faith had put him in the position in the first place.
“No problem,” she said, some of the animation leaving her features. “Let me know if you have a free night. I’ve got to run. Good night. And Merry Christmas in advance.”
She gave a smile that was only a degree or two shy of genuine and headed out into the parking lot toward her car.
He wasn’t sure how, exactly, but Chase managed to hold on to the slippery, fraying ends of his temper as they led the reindeer the short distance across the snowy landscape to The Christmas Ranch barn.
It coiled through him as they worked together to take off Sparkle’s harness and bells, gave him a good brushing, then made sure he had food and water.
He should just let it go, he told himself after they stepped out of the stall and closed the gate.
The evening had been wonderful and he didn’t want to ruin it by fighting with her.
He almost had himself convinced of that but somehow as he looked at her, his anger slipped free and the words rolled out anyway.
“Why the hell would you do that?”