Christmas at Twin Falls (10 page)

The word tormented and delighted her at the same time. So much meaning in a single utterance, and in some ways, she wanted to remain in the dark about his intentions. This Christmas so far, spending it with him, was like a fairytale unfolding, and she had no illusions about the ending. While it lasted, she would have fun.

“Decorating and cooking when we get home,” she announced. “And I bought more tins so we can package up goodies for your staff. We’ll suck down too much eggnog, and I will put the turkey in the fridge.”

Cody nodded, a slight smile on his face. She tried to remember if he ever smiled like that without her having to push him. Her heart beat faster in her chest, and moisture built in her eyes. When they got home, Cody brought the tree in along with the bags. Kaleena headed for the kitchen. She settled on dinner and put the turkey in the fridge before returning to the living room to help with the tree. Cody stood at her side taking her orders like a soldier. She had to bite back a laugh time and again. He really was sweet in his way.

“What was your life like as a child?” she asked. “Did y’all decorate?”

He seemed to hesitate. “We did, every year. My mom went all out like you’re doing. That’s why it was difficult after…”

“I’m sorry.” She toyed with one of the figurines for the mantel. “Sometimes the girls at school talked about shopping with their mothers, and I’d get so jealous, but Uncle Cornell made up for it when he could. It wasn’t the same, but I knew he loved me. Besides, how can you miss something you never had, right?”

“You can, and you do.” Cody pulled her close and kissed her. Kaleena settled in his embrace, breathing in his familiar scent. She wondered how he could become so much a part of her so quickly. Last year they’d formed a bond, she realized, and her leaving hadn’t broken it. That’s why she could come back without notice, and he let her in. Did he understand it?

“Why were you rude to that woman? You could have told her you’re not interested.”

Cody released her and turned her toward the tree. “Let’s finish this. I’m starving.”

She grunted. “You’re so stubborn.”

He placed the bison on a branch of the tree. She resisted moving the bulky weird thing to a spot in the back. When they were done, the tree looked amazing. Kaleena took the time to
ooh
and
ahh
over it, and to her surprise, Cody disappeared from the room only to return with a camera and tripod. They took pictures in front of the tree and the fireplace, and Kaleena turned on Christmas tunes.

“I have something for you I want to give you early,” Cody said.

She thrilled that he got into the mood of the season. “Really? What is it?”

He left the room once again and returned with the big bag she’d seen in the truck.

“I have wrapping paper if you want to wrap it first,” she suggested.

“We’ll use it right away. There’s no point.”

She rolled her eyes. “Men.” Kaleena opened the bag to find a huge sled, and she gaped. “Wow! What am I going to do with this?”

“You’re going to ride it—with me. You wanted to know what my brother and I did as kids? This is it. You and I are going to find a hill and ride this down it.”

“Um, yeah, don’t put me down for that.” She turned to run away, but he caught her around the waist and hauled her to his chest.”

“Don’t be chicken.”

She laughed, the first hardy, deep laugh that went all the way down to the places that were still tender and painful. “Okay, but if I bust my ass, it’s your fault!”

They found a hill with no problem, and being Wyoming, they had plenty of snow. The sled’s build didn’t give her much confidence with just a few wooden slats to sit on and a sort of crossbow look to it at the front where they would brace their feet. A rope was the only guidance that Kaleena could see.

“I’m not sure about this,” she said in doubt.

Cody rubbed her back. “Don’t worry. It will be fun.”

“Says you. I suddenly feel old.”

He kissed her lips and encouraged her to sit down in the front, while he positioned himself in back. With his arms around her waist, he scooted in very close, and the sense of safety that came over her took her breath away. This was Cody, the man who had stuck by her side during the worst time.

“Hey,” he whispered in her ear.

“Hm?” She settled into his chest and nuzzled her face into the warmth of his against the wind. Despite trusting him, she hoped this little indulgence wouldn’t last long. She did it for him and hoped the experience would be everything he remembered and more.

“Kaleena, look at me.”

She opened her eyes and raised her head to meet his gaze.

“I walked by her because I don’t want her or any other woman here. I have a past. That’s been obvious from the beginning. I realize that, but I don’t want you to think that’s still me. It’s not. After I met you…”

She shivered, and hung on his every word. He narrowed his eyes and then kissed her again.

“Come on. Let’s go,” he said. Before she could register that he cut off the conversation, they whisked down the hill with Cody holding the rope in front of her. Kaleena screamed, squeezing his knees at her sides. At first fear gripped her, and then fun kicked in. She
whooped
in delight and raised her hands in the air. Cody’s grip tightened. When they reached the bottom, somehow they tumbled into the snow. “Kaleena!”

She lay flat on her face, the snow cold and biting against her skin. Cody jerked her up and into his arms. “Kaleena, are you okay? Baby, talk to me!”

She laughed. “If you shut up I will. I’m fine. That was incredible. Let’s go again.”

He frowned. “You’re cold. We should—”

“Race you to the top!” She took off running, although gravity weighed her legs. Cody caught her and held her hand. For almost an hour, they rode down the hill and climbed back up. Kaleena had never had so much fun. On the way back to the truck, she pelted Cody with snowballs, and he chased her, capturing her with ease.

“You’re going to pay for that, woman,” he growled suggestively in her ear.

She squirmed, not even trying to get out of his hold. “I bet I will, but I’m not complaining. Whatever you want to do to punish me is fine with me.”

The expression following Cody’s shock had her laughing again, and he concentrated on getting them home.

Over the next day, Kaleena wrapped gifts and cooked. The house filled with the scent of roasted turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans, baked macaroni and cheese, and homemade biscuits. She added a chocolate cake and a pumpkin pie to the dessert menu. The fact that Cody stayed beside her, helping to prepare anything she asked him to when he wasn’t taking care of his animals, warmed her heart beyond belief. She saw the contentment on his face more often than the sadness deep in his eyes.

“You know we can never eat all of this, don’t you?” he asked in the midst of the process.

“You can have it all week and forget about that processed junk for a while.”

He fell silent, and she wondered what was on his mind. “We’re invited to my brother’s place for dinner tomorrow. Apparently, he has met someone.”

She stopped mid-stir with the gravy. “He has? And they’re having Christmas dinner?”

“So he tells me.”

Kaleena studied Cody’s face. He might appear nonchalant, but curiosity peeked through. She smiled. Miracles never ceased. The same time she had been working to make the holiday a happy time for her and Cody, another woman worked to help Beau. So much joy bubbled up inside, she felt like she’d burst. Tears spilled onto her cheeks, and she turned her back to Cody so he wouldn’t see.

“That’s cool.” Hopefully, he didn’t hear the emotion in her tone. “We can have a little something here and open presents, and then go there.”

“Hm,” he agreed and laid down the knife he’d been using the chop tomatoes. He wiped his hands on a dishtowel. “I have to take care of something. I’ll be back later.”

“Cody, there’s so much more to do.”

“I’ll be back.”

He disappeared, leaving her alone, and she sighed. Maybe all of this was too much for him, and he didn’t want to change. She thought about what he’d said out on the hill when they went sledding. He wanted no other woman except her, but did he mean no other one while she visited? Something told her Cody wouldn’t be the type of man to cheat. If he wanted another woman, he’d break ties with the first. So his “devotion” to her while they were together for Christmas wasn’t shocking. That didn’t mean he loved her either. She grunted in annoyance, wishing she knew once and for all what he felt.

And what do you feel, Kaleena?

She mulled it over for the next hour and a half, but her mind refused to come to a firm conclusion. The fact of the matter was, she feared deciding once and for all that she loved him. If she admitted it, even in her own head, she opened herself to more pain, which would defeat the purpose of her being there.

“No, I’m going to stay the course, see this through, and that’s all. Then we’ll have something great to look back on. Period. End of story!”

“You’re muttering to yourself.” Cody appeared in the kitchen doorway, and she jumped. Excitement brewed in his eyes, and his obvious attempt to hide it didn’t fool her.

She glared at him. “Where did you go? I need some more help.”

“You’ll find out.”

They completed all the cooking and preparation for Christmas day. Kaleena brought out several gifts wrapped in shimmery paper and placed them under the tree. She fixed Cody and herself a plate of sandwiches, and they enjoyed a glass of wine to round out the day. She curled up on Cody’s lap, and they sat in comfortable silence watching the crackling fire.

Chapter Eight

Christmas Day, Kaleena woke with expectation and excitement in her heart. She crawled out of bed trying not to wake Cody and showered and brushed her teeth in the bathroom. Once she reached the kitchen, she brewed coffee and started on breakfast for the two of them and brought it to the living room. She set the tray down and dropped to her knees to sort through the gifts. A few were from her to Uncle Cordell, and two were from her for Cody. When she spotted a couple for her from her lover, she grinned and picked up the nearest box to shake with her ear close to the package.

“How old are you?” he asked from the doorway.

She let out a small squeak. “Don’t scare me like that.”

“Stop being nosy,” he quipped.

“I wasn’t being nosy.”

“What do you call it?”

She rolled her eyes at him and put the box back.

Cody took a seat in the chair farthest from the tree and held out his arms. “Come here, baby.”

Kaleena didn’t have to be asked twice. She rushed across the room and climbed onto his lap, feeling like the child he accused her of being when he wrapped her in his warm embrace. He raised her chin, grasping with a firm hold, and slanted his mouth over hers. She moaned, accepting his tongue as it slid between her parted lips. For long moments, they kissed, and when Cody raised his head, Kaleena was drunk off his loving. She wanted to stay just where she was and never let the outside world interfere or come between them.
Reality will come soon enough, but for now…

“Let me get the tray before our food gets cold.”

He released her, and she brought the tray closer. Cody pulled her on his lap, and they shared a plate of sausage and waffles, drizzled with blueberry syrup. “Mm,” Cody moaned. “You’re going to make me fat with all this food.”

“Please, your body is hard as ever.”

He smiled. “I’m hard in certain places.” He demonstrated by moving under her. She didn’t mistake the erection pressing against her ass, and an answering pulse passed through her pussy.

“Get your mind out of the gutter.” She smacked his arm, and he leaned in and licked a bit of syrup from her lip. Kaleena trembled with desire.

“If you don’t quit it, we’re going to be back in the bedroom.”

Cody slid his hand between her legs and gave her pussy a squeeze. She tried not to ride his palm like the slut she was. “I don’t mind,” he teased.

“Well I do. I want to open gifts and see what you got me.”

“Fine. Go get some presents, but come back over here. I want you on my lap all day.”

“Why do I feel like you’re not talking about me just sitting there?” She studied him over her shoulder.

“No idea.”

Kaleena laughed and hurried to grab a few presents. She returned to his lap as instructed and handed him the gifts she’d gotten for him. “Open these first please.”

Cody tore into the paper with no reverence whatsoever for its beauty. He tossed the remains on the floor and pulled the box open. Her heart sang when he burst out laughing full force, the mirth so filled with genuine happiness.

“A cookbook?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes, because I don’t want you to keep eating that processed stuff. It’s not healthy, and no one can live off of eggs. At least not the way you make them.”

“Haha, funny.” He tweaked her nose, and then his eyes softened. “Thanks. This shows you put in a lot of thought for me, and you can’t imagine what that means, Kaleena.”

She ducked her head and lowered her lashes, not wanting him to see just how much she thought of him. “There’s another one.”

He opened her second gift and discovered the journal. His gasp and eyes wide with awe was all she needed to know she’d made a good choice there too.

“Kaleena.”

“I hope you like it.” She knotted her fingers in the sweat pants he wore.

Cody pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “I can’t believe you. I knew last year, but I can’t believe…” He paused, his eyes shut, and she got to enjoy the way his dark lashes lay against pale cheeks. So cute. His babies would be adorable if he had any one day. Longing stirred inside her, but she pushed the emotions down. Her stay here was coming to an end.

“Cody?”

He studied the workmanship of the engraving and ran his fingers over it. “This is the Twin Falls Ranch entryway, and you’ve had my name carved into it.”

“I thought maybe you could use it for your business. I hope you like it.”