Merry Kisses (Riverbend Romance 5) (9 page)

The shopping cart shuddered as Sonya dropped a bag of flour into it.

Heath started. He’d been so lost in his own thoughts he hadn’t even noticed. “I’m sorry. You should have let me get that.”

“Five kilograms, Heath. Not that heavy.” She smiled. “If you’ve got a recipe for ginger cookies, I’ll give them a try. What else do we need?”

“Really?” Heath put his hands on her waist and gave Sonya a little twirl, nearly running into an elderly woman. Thankfully she looked more amused than annoyed.

“Molasses, right?” Sonya clutched the shelf beside her.

The old lady moved on.

“Molasses. I think so. I’ve never had this much trouble concentrating in my life.”

“Being Santa messes up your brains?”

“Being with you does. My brains, my heart, everything.” He reached for her again.

“Heath.”

He stopped. “What?”

“We need to finish in here. You have to be at the mall in two hours.”

Right. “It will seem strange having Destiny there and not you. I’ll miss you.”

“Heath.”

He loved the way she said his name. “Say that again?”

“Say what again?”

Heath leaned closer. “My name.”

She jabbed him lightly with an elbow. “Which kind of molasses should I buy?”

“Molasses?”

“For the cookies.”

Did it really matter? He selected a small carton. “Can I help you decorate them?”

“You’d better. I’ve never done it before.”

He put on his best puppy dog look. “Tonight? When I’m done at the mall?”

Sonya chuckled. “Maybe tomorrow. I might call Kelly for instructions. But don’t you have to get some sleep before plowing at three in the morning?”

“I can sleep next year.” That’s how he felt, too. Like he wanted nothing more than to spend every minute savoring Sonya’s tentative steps toward celebrating.

“Says the guy who keeps falling asleep on my sofa.”

“Uh.” She had a point. “It’s for Tangle’s sake. She needs a cat nap, so I feel obligated to provide a place for that to happen.”

She grinned, shaking her head. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

“I try.” Anything to make her smile.

“Sonya?” A short, thin woman with curly red hair stopped beside them. “It’s Sonya Simmons, right?”

Sonya turned toward the woman and reached out a hand. “Yes. And you’re Carmen. How’s the cupcake bakery doing?”

“Crazy busy this time of year.” The woman smiled as she shook Sonya’s hand. “Well, always, to be honest. Listen, I really wished I could offer you a job the other day when you came in, but my staffing is full.”

“I understand.”

“But I looked over your résumé later and noticed you’ve taken the bookkeeping course at College of the Rockies over in Castlebrook.”

“Yes, I did. I received my diploma two years ago.”

“I need to hire someone trustworthy to do the bakery’s books. I just can’t keep up with it anymore as well as everything else. It’s not a full-time job by any means, so I hesitate to even ask if you might be interested. I’d hate to switch to a new bookkeeper when you find something more permanent.”

A myriad of emotions rolled across Sonya’s face. “Really?”

Wait. Sonya did books? What had she been doing working retail?

“Really. You have no idea what a mess my paperwork is in, or you might run for the hills. All I know is I make a deposit every day and there’s enough in the bank to pay for supplies and staff. I work my magic in the kitchen, but numbers…?” She shuddered.

“I’d love to.”

Way to go, Sonya.
Heath leaned back against the shelving in the aisle, unable to help the grin that spread on his face.

“Can we get together one evening between Christmas and New Years so you can get an idea what you’re up against?” Carmen fished out a business card. “You pick the day. What works for you?”

Sonya looked a little dazed. “Um, the Monday sounds good.”

“The back door of the bakery at about seven, then? And, of course, bookkeeping is worth more to me than another server up front. It’s considerably fewer hours, but it pays twice as well.”

“Wow. Thank you. I’ll be there.”

“Whew. That’s one thing I can cross off my list. I look forward to handing everything in that department over to you.” Carmen waggled her fingers in Heath’s direction and gave her cart a nudge. “Merry Christmas.”

Sonya stared after her. “Merry Christmas.”

“Congrats,” Heath said softly. How amazing that he’d been privileged to be present. “I didn’t know you were a bookkeeper.”

“I-I’m not, really. I mean, I took the course, but I don’t have any experience.”

“Looks like you’ll be getting some.”

She turned a worried frown toward him. “What if I can’t do it?”

“I bet you can. In fact...” He searched her face. “I kind of need a bookkeeper, too.”

Sonya stepped back as her brows furrowed. “Santa has such a list of income and expenses?”

“Not Santa, Sonya. My landscaping and snow removal business.”

“You do landscaping?”

“I sure can’t plow snow for twelve months. Even if I lived in Tuktoyaktuk that wouldn’t be possible.”

“But I never knew.”

He reached for her hands and tugged her closer. “I never knew you were a bookkeeper. I guess neither of us have told all our secrets yet.” Heath brushed his lips against hers.

She gave him a tremulous smile. “I thought we’d agreed the supermarket was a no-kissing zone.”

“Then we’d better hurry up in here, or I can’t be held responsible. I feel a kiss attack coming on.”

CHAPTER 11

“Thanks for letting me join you.” Sonya rolled cinnamon-and-ginger infused dough over Kelly’s kitchen table. “I’ve never done this before and needed some expert help.”

“And here I thought Heath might be willing to give you a hand.”

Sonya glanced sideways at her friend. “I said expert.”

Kelly burst out laughing. “Hard to believe there’s anything that man isn’t good at. He sure knows how to project confidence.”

Now there was an understatement. Sonya plucked a loose bit of dough from the table and popped it in her mouth. Molasses and spices exploded against her tongue. Wow. “Is this thin enough?”

Kelly patted the dough. “It’s a little thick in the middle, still. So tell me more about you and Heath. Sounds like you two have been spending a lot of time together.”

Sonya nodded. “He’s amazing.”

“What did I tell you?”

“Pretty much exactly that.”

Kelly raised her hands in the air and danced a little jig. “I can’t believe how excited I am for you guys.”

“It’s too early yet for that kind of celebration.” Didn’t seem like it, though. Every minute she spent with Heath felt more right than anything in her life ever had.

“Why say that? You two aren’t eighteen. What’s the point in taking it slow, once you know?”

“That’s the thing. I
don’t
know.”

“Hmm.” Kelly set several festive cookie cutters on the table then began pressing out snowflake shapes. “Is it still the Santa thing?”

“Yeah. Still that.”

“Well, you two have one advantage Ian and I didn’t have.”

“You mean not having kids already?” Oh, man, had she really said that to Kelly? They didn’t know each other that well. It was none of Sonya’s business that Kelly had spent seven years as a single mom.

“Kind of.” Kelly shrugged. “We met in March, had a whirlwind courtship, and married at the end of August. Santa — and how each family celebrated Christmas — never came up before we’d tied the knot.”

“Oh. I see how that could be a problem.”

“We both conceded a lot. My mom has always been really into Santa. I know some kids feel crushed when they figure out Santa has not, in fact, slid down their chimney in person every Christmas Eve for their entire life. Accompanied by Rudolph. That was never a big deal for me. Mom played Santa up to the hilt, and I went along with it, loving the magic of it all.”

Sonya had to know. “Were you guys Christians at the time?”

Kelly nodded. “Yep. I understood that the Baby in the manger was more important. That He was the reason we gave gifts and did all the fun stuff for Christmas. It was like His birthday party.”

Huh. “So how did you find out?”

“I was eight when I confronted Mom. I’d suspected before, because there are always kids who feel it is their job to straighten out the believers.”

Sonya winced.

“So I asked her if Santa Claus really came down our chimney or if she’d bought the gifts and pretended.”

“And she said?”

“She asked if it wasn’t a fun game of make-believe, and I had to agree. She told me it was now my job to help make Christmas magic for other people. That it creates a stage for talking about Jesus.”

Life without that stage sure hadn’t offered Sonya many opportunities to share her gratitude at her Savior’s birth. Would being less antagonistic make a difference? Her mind drifted to young Bailey.
Lord, I pray You’ll send someone to her and her family to demonstrate Your love to them in a complete way.

Sonya fitted the cut-out shapes together on the baking sheet. “So you did the same thing with Elena?”

Kelly put the first tray of cookies into the oven and set the timer. “More or less. I did mention the pretend aspect a bit more than my mom did. But Ian and Sophie... they did things differently.” She glanced sidelong at Sonya. “No talk of Santa bringing gifts. Face it. If you don’t have to buy a gift from Santa and a gift from the parents, you save money, so it’s easier to explain how to live within your means.”

As a bookkeeper — now that Sonya was allowing herself that title — that made sense.

“Mom had trouble explaining to me how Santa could give me a plastic pony with a mane and tail I could comb while other kids from rich families got real horses like I’d asked for. I figured Santa could right the injustices of the world and treat all kids equally. It really bugged me that he didn’t.”

Sonya nodded. “See, that’s one of the things that bothers me about the whole Santa scenario.”

“Anyway, Ian and I realized in September that we had to come up with a united front for both girls. Their expectations were so different. You know Elena. She started talking about what Santa might bring her before the new school year started. She wasn’t happy when Sophie kept correcting her.”

“I guess not.”

Kelly set aside another tray of cookies and began rolling out more dough. “They’re good girls, and they truly love each other. They have their moments — don’t we all? — but we’ve found many compromises. One of those is with Santa. Ian agreed a little more magic in Sophie’s life might be a good thing, and we agreed on adjusting Elena to more reality. We sat both girls down together and had a good family talk.” Kelly rolled her eyes. “One of many, I assure you.”

“I bet.” At least she and Heath didn’t have two seven-year-olds to make their adjustment to each other that much harder. They had time to find the compromises that would work for them. If any were possible when her family entered the equation. Kelly’s mom had accepted Ian, even though it changed her way of doing Christmas. Could her dad ever accept Heath?

“It sure frustrated my mom,” Kelly went on. “Elena is her only grandchild. Well, besides Sophie, now. She wanted to keep the game going for longer, but we told her it was over.”

Sonya couldn’t resist. “I hear the girls want a baby for Christmas.”

Kelly spread her hands across her flat belly. “Does it look like they’ll get their wish?”

Sonya started to giggle then more and more laughter erupted until Kelly joined her. The timer broke into their hilarity a moment later, and Kelly rescued the first pan of perfectly browned cookies.

* * *

Heath followed Ian and the two little girls into the Tomlinsons’ basement suite. Warmth and laughter enveloped him along with the aromas of molasses and roasting beef. The girls kicked off their snow-covered boots, and Ian reminded them to set them on the rack and hang their coats before running into the kitchen. The men followed more slowly.

Sonya looked terrific with her hair tied back, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes dancing. A bright red apron with ruffled edges covered most of her jeans and navy T-shirt.

He rounded the table without conscious thought and slid one arm around her then kissed her lightly.

“Mr. Heath is kissing Miss Sonya,” Elena stage-whispered.

The conscious kicked in.

“Are they going to get married?” Sophie whispered back. “Maybe they’ll have babies. Twins, like us!”

Heath dropped another quick kiss on Sonya’s mouth. He wouldn’t let those girls sabotage anything. “How may I be of service?” He turned to Kelly, but she was no help, wrapped in Ian’s arms and getting a smooch that made Heath look like an amateur. Well, maybe he was.

“I think supper is ready. The slow cooker has been smelling awesome for the past few hours.” Sonya stepped out of Heath’s grasp, crossed to the counter, and lifted the lid.

“I’m starving!” Elena wilted dramatically to the floor.

“Daddy is going to carve the roast. Can you two help Miss Sonya put all the cookie cutters in the sink? After we’ve eaten, all of us can decorate the cookies.”

“Is Mr. Heath going to help?” Sophie glanced at him from under her eyelashes.

Heath knelt beside her. “Do you mind? I really like decorating cookies. I especially like adding lots of coconut.”

She nodded. “I like coconut, too.”

“It’s a deal, then.”

Later, after the meal was cleaned up, Heath took his place back at the table between Sonya and Sophie. He helped the little girl spread butter icing on an angel-shaped cookie then watched as she carefully arranged tiny silver ball candies. At the other end of the table, Elena doused an entire cookie with multi-colored sprinkles in two seconds flat.

Heath caught Sonya’s gaze as she grinned at him. The two children were so different, yet somehow this blended family seemed to work. “What can I pass you?” he asked Sonya.

She reached up and touched his nose. “Oops. You have some icing there.” Her eyes glinted.

This was the Sonya he loved best. The flirty, playful one, like the evening of their first date. Without breaking their gaze, he found the icing bowl with his fingertip then touched her cheek. “Oh, no. You do, too.” He kissed it off, and it tasted deliciously like peppermint and Sonya.