A Fairytale Christmas (5 page)

The protective bubble in his chest tightened. He had to at least offer her the opportunity to stay nights. If he intended to work her fourteen hours a day he had to for once forget about his own fears and think about hers.

Because Claire had taken an overly long nap that afternoon, Gwen brought her to the supper table that night. As she sat, Drew peered over at her precious baby. He let his gaze linger on the little girl, as if taking in every detail about her, maybe growing accustomed to her. Then he turned his attention to Brody, talking about the stand they’d helped Max rebuild.

Gwen happily let the conversation steer itself totally away from her. After the sled ride, then the look he’d given her over
the Christmas tree conversation, she knew they’d be better off ignoring each other.

When dinner was eaten, she got up from the table and started the dishes. Brody excused himself for his room, and as he left for the office Drew reminded her that they again had to work that night.

After the dishes were done, she lifted Claire’s carrier and headed off to join him. As she stepped inside the office Drew was deep in concentration, reading a document. She settled Claire in the swing.

“Will she be okay?”

His question startled her, but didn’t surprise her. She’d caught him staring at Claire at dinner and knew he wasn’t complaining as much as acknowledging that he was okay with her being here.

“As long as she can see me she’s fine.”

Drew set the contract he was reading back on his desk, scrubbed his hand across his face as if wrestling with himself about something, then said, “That’s going to be hard when you get a real job.”

She frowned. That was a weird comment. Especially since he’d barely ever asked her anything about herself. Their last discussion about something personal about her had been when she’d told him about Gill.

Still, she couldn’t ignore him. “I’m not getting a real job for a while. Once this assignment is over I’m taking the money I earn here and using it to support us while I finish my degree.”

He sat forward on his chair. “You’re that close?”

She nodded and smiled. It felt good to have a real plan, not just a dream or a hope or a wish. “I got pregnant the next-to-last semester of college. I finished that semester, but not the
last. So I have to take some classes, but mostly I’ll be student teaching.”

His eyes lit. “You’re going to be a teacher?”

“Yep. So for the next four months, when I’m not teaching or taking a class, I’ll be with Claire. But I’ll also be away from her enough that I’m hoping she’ll adjust to daycare before she has to be there for eight-hour days.”

He smiled. “You have it all thought out.”

“I have to. I can’t leave anything to chance.”

“I guess.” He fiddled with the pencil he was holding, then caught her gaze again. “Speaking of chance…is there any chance you’d consider sleeping here at nights?” His face reddened endearingly. “I said that wrong. Everything has changed since I decided to open the Christmas tree farm. You’re working eight hours in the house during the day and four hours with me at night.” He rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. “I worry about you driving down the mountain.”

The warm, fuzzy feeling in the pit of her stomach returned.
He worried about her—

She stopped her thoughts. To her dreamy schoolgirl side that might seem wonderful, but it wasn’t smart for two attracted people who were beginning to care about each other to sleep in the same house. He had to know that as much as she did.

She peered over at him.

He held her gaze. “Okay, since the episode on the sled outed both of us, I think it’s time for us to be honest.” He paused, sucked in a breath. “We’re very attracted to each other.”

The air in her chest stuttered. She licked her suddenly dry lips. He was right. Since the fall off the sled neither one of them could pretend indifference. Still, she hadn’t expected him to come right out and talk about it.

“But our lives are totally different. I’m not going to start
something that I know is wrong. So if you agree to stay nights you’ll be perfectly safe with me.”

His reassurance should have made her happy. After all, he was right about the drive down the mountain at night. Instead, her heart hurt. Her pride felt wounded. He might be attracted to her, but he absolutely, positively didn’t want to be. He’d sent her that message every day in subtle, silent ways. And she’d caught it. That was why she held back her own feelings.

But she still had them, and spending more time with him, no matter how convenient and smart it might be, would only add fuel to the fire. She wasn’t just attracted to him anymore. She had real feelings for him, and was getting a little too comfortable in this house.

She looked down, then back up at him. “How about if I think about it?”

He nodded, maybe a little too eagerly, as if happy to have the awkward conversation over. “Okay.”

Her heart plummeted. It was one thing to decide herself to keep her distance, quite another to have him come right out and say he didn’t want anything to do with her.

A
S IF
Mother Nature wanted Teaberry Farms opening day to be a grand success, the snow stopped the next morning. Gwen arrived at the Teaberry mansion to find Max, Drew and Brody sitting at the kitchen table. Jovial Max laughed like a kid at Christmas, Drew grinned—looking every bit as excited as Max—and Brody pouted.

“The three of us will have our work cut out for us this morning,” Max said over the rim of his coffee mug. “It’s two weeks till Christmas. People are going to be coming in droves. I think it will work best if two of us assist the customers and one mans the cash register.”

Brody snorted derisively. Drew nodded. “I’ll take the cash register.” He glanced at Gwen, his eyes cool, emotionless, telling her with their lack of expression that she truly was safe with him. “I’m expecting a fax around eleven. If I stay in one place all morning, you’ll know where to find me when it comes in.”

Turning to get a cup from the cupboard, so he wouldn’t see the hurt in her eyes, she said, “Okay.”

With that, the men rose from the table. Max and Drew grabbed the coats they stored on the hooks by the kitchen door. Brody had to go upstairs for his. In a silent protest at
the work he had to do, he’d stopped leaving his parka by the door, so he could delay going outside while he got it.

Seeing a flicker of apprehension race across Drew’s face, Gwen said a silent prayer that everything would go okay, and within seconds the men were outside and the Christmas tree farm was officially open.

Gwen carried Claire’s swing into the dining room and went to work. She cleaned first, then began to decorate. She strung lights and tinsel through the arms of the chandelier above the long mahogany table, looped tinsel above the tan brocade drapes, and made a centerpiece of evergreens and Christmas tree ornaments for the table.

She longed to see if Drew and Max had any customers. She knew how much Drew was banking on the Christmas tree farm impressing Jimmy Lane. The old man was dragging his feet in negotiations, ignoring Drew’s e-mails, and only corresponding enough that Drew knew he hadn’t totally lost the possibility of buying Jimmy’s company. So Gwen was too apprehensive to even let herself look out the window at their success or failure. It was ridiculous. Foolish. Caring too much about a man who clearly didn’t want her was almost as bad as wishing a man would return to her life the way her mom had. She knew better than this.

When Drew’s fax arrived at eleven-thirty, she put on her coat and walked out the front door into total chaos. Cars lined the lane that led to the Teaberry mansion. People milled about the groups of already cut trees that leaned against the wood fence for inspection and purchase. A glance past the outbuildings into the rows of uncut trees showed that even more customers were in the field, choosing their very own special tree.

Not even sure where to look for the cash register, Gwen wove through the customers. She saw Max and Brody first,
hoisting trees to car roofs and securing them with twine, or shoving them into the backs of SUVs and pickups.

“They’re all here because of the legend,” she heard Max telling Brody. “Every year someone who buys one of these trees has a fantastic wish granted.”

Brody snorted.

“Scoff if you want to,” Max said, “but even though only one person gets a great wish, lots of people get little wishes granted. Family members show up unexpectedly for Christmas dinner, special presents arrive, money finds its way into bank accounts.” He tapped Brody’s shoulder. “And all because there’s magic in our trees.”

Brody rolled his eyes. “Right.”

“And you’ve been touching them for two weeks now.” Max’s eyes twinkled. “Imagine how good of a wish you could be granted if you’d just believe.”

Not wanting Brody to scoff again, and ruin Max’s holiday cheer, Gwen rushed over to them. “Where’s Drew?”

Max pointed to a crowded area. “He’s at the back of that line, taking money.”

Following the direction of Max’s glove-covered finger, Gwen looped around the crowd and saw Drew.

A short woman in a worn blue coat walked up to the sales stand as his next customer. “How much?”

Drew examined her tree as Brody and Max approached. “Thirty… Um…” He looked down at the tattered wallet the woman produced from her coat pocket at the same time as Gwen noticed the big sign behind the makeshift checkout area. The sign said the trees were priced at five dollars a foot, and this customer had at least a six-foot tree.

She didn’t expect Drew to realize that thirty dollars was a lot of money. In his world it probably wasn’t. But in the world of the woman in the tattered coat it was a small fortune.

He glanced down at the cash register, then looked up with a beaming smile. “Guess what? Your tree is free. You’re our one-hundredth customer.”

The woman’s face bloomed into a glowing expression of delight. “I am?”

Brody said, “She is?”

Max nudged Brody in the ribs to get him to hush.

Gwen stifled a giggle.

“She is.” Drew waved away her money. “Merry Christmas from Teaberry Farms.”

With a chuckle, Max wrapped his gloved hand around the trunk of the tree and angled his head to Brody, indicating that Brody should follow him. They loaded the woman’s tree onto the roof of her beaten-up car. As she drove off Brody looked from the woman’s car to his dad and back again, shaking his head.

Drew was smoother with the next customer, an elderly gentleman with two grandkids dancing around his legs.

Drew glanced at the tree, then the man, then the kids, and said, “Ten dollars.”

The man happily paid, and Max and Brody loaded the tree. This time Brody didn’t appear to be confused. He actually smiled.

Realizing there wasn’t a break in the line of customers for her to pull Drew away, Gwen walked to the counter and handed his fax to him.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

She should have turned away and gone back to the house, but all she could do was stare at him. He’d given away the tree so kindly, so naturally, that only she, Max and Brody had recognized his generosity. She suddenly understood why she was so drawn to him. Deep down he was a good man.

A very good man. Her instincts had known it all along. That was why she kept forgetting there were too many differences between them for them to have a relationship. That was why she’d gotten so depressed when he’d reminded her the night before that they should keep their distance. She
wanted
a relationship with him.

Drew nodded toward the house. “You should go back in. It’s cold.”

She might want a relationship with him, but he didn’t want one with her. She had to accept that.

Without looking at him she said, “Okay,” and walked to the house. But at the front door she paused and glanced back at him, just in time to see him fold the fax and put it in his pocket so he could serve the next customer. He was putting his tree customers before his conglomerate.

She opened the front door and stepped inside the house. If he were hers, she’d tell him what a wonderful guy he was. But he wasn’t hers. He would never be hers.

The tree farm didn’t officially close for the day until after eight. Gwen took sandwiches and coffee out to the men at one for lunch, and again at six, but she had a real dinner waiting for them when they came in for the night.

Drew didn’t even look at her when he said, “Thanks.”

She smiled anyway. “You’re welcome.”

Brody snorted and kicked off his boots. “
Thanks. You’re welcome.
You can stop the act. I get it.”

Drew cast a horrified glance in his son’s direction. “What are you talking about?”

“You’re trying to teach me better manners. I get it. But you can stop now.”

Obviously tired from the day’s work, Drew looked like a
man who had reached his limit. Gwen wasn’t surprised when he exploded.

“Why are you so grouchy?”

Brody rounded on him. “Me? Grouchy? You bring me to the pit from hell, put me to work, then constantly act super-polite around me with Gwen, as if you’re walking on eggshells.”

Gwen’s breath caught in her throat. He thought they were walking on eggshells because of
him?
She saw a corresponding look of horror come to Drew’s face.

Luckily, he recovered quickly. “I’m sorry, but Gwen and I aren’t walking on eggshells because of you. We’re professionals. A boss and his assistant, trying to get our work done.”

“Then why do I hear you talking nicer to each other when I’m not around and only being super-polite when I am?”

Gwen coughed uncomfortably.

Drew shook his head. “I don’t know what to say, Brody—”

Neither did Gwen. Was it appropriate to tell Drew’s sixteen-year-old son that they were fighting their attraction and that was why they were so stiff and polite with each other?

Brody blew his breath out. “Right. You don’t know what to say. You never know what to say because I’m a pain in your butt. An extra person underfoot that you don’t need right now. Why don’t you just ship me off, like mom did?”

“Hey, look, Brody, this might not be convenient for you, but your mom is on her honeymoon. Give her a break.”

Brody snorted. “You still think she’s taking me back, don’t you? I’ll bet you never even called her to ask if what I’d told you was true.” He shook his head. “You know, Dad, for a smart guy you can make it amazingly easy for someone to pull the wool over your eyes.”

As he said that, Brody shoved his boots to the corner by the door and stormed out of the room.

In the silence that followed, Drew’s gaze strayed over to
Gwen. She smiled sympathetically, but embarrassment rose up in her. It was hard being attracted to someone and not being able to show it. They’d flubbed this deal royally.

Drew shook his head. “I don’t even know where to start with the apologies.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me. But I do think you need to call Brody’s mom. That’s the second time he’s said she doesn’t want him back. The first time I thought he was just exaggerating to make himself look put upon, but now I’m not so sure.”

Drew sighed. “Yeah. I’m going to have to call.” He glanced at the table. “Sorry about ruining dinner.”

She waved a hand in dismissal. “Everything will keep until you and Brody get this straightened out.”

“And if we don’t?”

“You’ll eat it as leftovers tomorrow.”

Drew couldn’t help it; he burst out laughing. Was it any wonder he found Gwen irresistible? In the face of all the trouble they’d had with Brody, she managed to not only give him good advice but also to make him laugh.

But when he dropped to the seat behind the desk and dialed the number for Olivia’s cell phone, he forgot all about Gwen and braced himself for a difficult conversation—if only because his conversations with Olivia were always difficult. He didn’t beat around the bush or waste time. He simply came right out and asked if she planned on taking Brody back after her honeymoon. She didn’t mince words, either. Now that she had a new husband she wanted a new life. Brody was officially Drew’s responsibility.

He spent ten minutes alone in the office after he disconnected the call. He didn’t know whether to be angry because Olivia had handled this so poorly or scared to death because
he now had the care of a sixteen-year-old who clearly didn’t like him.

Gwen was still at the table when he returned to the kitchen.

She faced him eagerly. “Well?”

He took a seat across from her and blew his breath out on a heavy sigh. “She wants me to keep him.”

Her face scrunched warily. “Is that good or bad?”

“Well, I work a lot—”

“You can fit Brody in. In the two weeks you’ve been here you’ve managed to find eight hours a day to run a Christmas tree farm, keep your conglomerate going, and continue to negotiate to buy a new business.”

“Only because I pawned a lot of work off on my vice-presidents.”

She laughed merrily. “So? Keep doing that.”

Catching her gaze, he relaxed on his chair. “I guess I could.”

“You hired those people for a reason. I’ll bet they’re thrilled to be getting more responsibility.” She put her elbow on the table and her chin on her fist and smiled at him. “What else?”

He winced. “Now I have to tell Brody that he was right. He will be living with me.” He blew his breath out. “I have no idea what to say.”

Gwen glanced down at the table, thinking of her own dad, wondering how she would have felt if he’d suddenly gotten custody of her and Gill. Her mom would have had to have been deathly ill to give them up, and Gwen would have been terrified to live with the dad who hadn’t wanted her.

Drew snorted a laugh. “How can I expect to be a good father when I don’t even know how to tell him he’s now living with me?”

She slowly raised her gaze to meet Drew’s. “My dad left my mom when Gill and I were born.”

Drew frowned, obviously not understanding why she’d said that.

She plugged on, talking about the most humiliating, most difficult situation in her life. “Mom said he was expecting one baby and got two.” She shrugged. “It freaked him out. And—” She sucked in a breath. “If he had suddenly gotten custody of us, I would have been terrified.”

“I suppose so. You didn’t know him?”

She shook her head. “No. That isn’t what would have frightened me. I would have been terrified because I knew he didn’t want us. I don’t know the guy, so I couldn’t have said he would have beaten us or not fed us or anything like that. But can you imagine living with someone who ignored you? Or complained about having you around?”

Drew’s eyes narrowed. “Are you saying Brody’s acting out because he’s afraid I don’t want him?”

“I don’t know. But think it through. How would you feel if the mother you loved suddenly didn’t want you anymore and the dad you were sent to live with didn’t really have time for you?”

Drew squeezed his eyes shut. Several seconds passed in absolute silence. Then he rose from his seat and headed out of the kitchen.

Thinking she’d screwed up with her advice, since Drew wasn’t really anything like her totally absent father, Gwen scrambled after him. But he was quicker than she was. By the time she got to Brody’s room he was already inside.