Sweet Christmas Kisses (161 page)

A date. Noelle had gone out on a date. With an orthopedic surgeon. Set up by her cousin and no doubt encouraged by her sister. Michael’s mother had called last night with the news. She might have even called from the restaurant.

Not that he cared.

He was happy to see Noelle moving on. Relieved not to be causing additional pain for his parents.

A shelf of bobblehead dolls shook their plastic chins at him in disbelief. “Oh shut up,” he muttered, turning away from the window.

With great strength of will, he managed to stay on the far side of the store until closing time. Then he locked up and headed for the Christmas Village. Festivities would carry on, even if no one showed up due to the weather.

The rain had stopped, but unfortunately the downpour had left the ground a mess. The nativity set had fared the worst. He found Julia staring down at the mud pools surrounding the manger.

“Not a very dignified bed for the Savior of the world,” Michael said as he approached.

“I suppose not, but then the original nativity probably wasn’t much better,” she said with a grin. “Seth and Ethan are bringing some extra bales of hay to spread around. Hopefully, it will absorb some of the mud or at least make it not so squishy.”

“Good idea. I knew your husband had his uses.”

“Sometimes,” she said, with a wicked chuckle.

“How are you feeling?”

“I shouldn’t be needing a trashcan tonight.” She rubbed her belly. “This baby has kept its displeasure confined to the hours before noon for the most part. Which proves he or she must have Seth’s personality. If Junior took after me, it would be causing havoc twenty-four hours a day.”

Michael laughed, even as his gaze made a casual circuit of the park.

“She’s at the animal trailer,” Julia said. “Feeding all the wooly creatures before bringing them over here.”

“Who?” he asked, although he wondered if there was any point in trying to play dumb.

Julia’s long,
who-are-you-kidding
stare gave him an answer. “She looked as forlorn as you do, despite the fact that she had a date with a gorgeous surgeon last night.”

“You heard about that?”

“
Everyone
heard about it. The jilted bride stepping out with the handsome new doctor? It’s the kind of epic romance this town lives for.”

The swift jab to the gut stole his breath for a moment. “I’d hardly call one dinner a romance.”

“No, especially when dinner lasted all of fifteen minutes.”

Michael’s head whipped around. “What?”

“I guess whoever reported the sighting to you forgot to mention that part. Her date ran out of the restaurant right after they got there.”

“He
abandoned
her?”

Michael had the sudden notion to hunt down the good doctor and—

“Calm down, Lancelot,” Julia said, patting his shoulder. “He had an emergency with his daughter.”

“He’s got a kid?” Michael hadn’t heard about a child either. Would Noelle be intrigued by the idea of an instant family?

“Apparently, he only recently discovered the daughter existed. The Covington Falls gossip mill doesn’t know which story to concentrate on more, but I’m guessing a long-lost daughter will win out over one botched dinner. Of course, it could turn out to be more than one date.”

“Perhaps,” he said, telling himself he didn’t care.

“On the other hand, there wouldn’t be a need for Noelle to go on stupid blind dates if
someone
—” Julia drew out the word and eyed him pointedly, “would get his act together and decide to fight for the girl he so obviously wants.”

Michael clenched his teeth, pursing his lips to bite back a retort. “It’s complicated.”

“Things usually are between people who’ve experienced heartbreak and disappointment. Especially when family members are a big part of the complication.”

He closed his eyes. “I can’t hurt them anymore.”

“But you can hurt Noelle?”

“She’s not hurt,” he retorted. “She’s going out with rich doctors.”

“Because
someone
hasn’t stepped up to the plate.”

“Julia—”

“Noooooo!”

The scream tore through the quiet of the Christmas Village. Michael and Julia turned to see what had happened.

“Fred! You get back here!”

Michael recognized Noelle’s panicked voice.

A moment later, a donkey rounded the corner and tore down the main thoroughfare. The creature’s beady eyes were trained on the open gate leading to Main Street. Fred was instigating a jailbreak.

“He’s making a run for it!” Julia cried, sensing the donkey’s intent as well. “Someone close that gate!”

“Forget the gate,” Michael said, already taking off in pursuit. “We’ve got to round up that animal.”

He put on a burst of speed, trying to catch up to Fred, but the donkey apparently had a trace of a racehorse in him because he was fast.

“Fred!”

Noelle stumbled onto the path ahead of Michael. Her eyes widened for a moment when she saw him.

“He’s headed for the gate!” Michael shouted, pointing ahead of them.

“Oh no!”

They both joined the chase, but Michael realized they’d never make it in time. Fred was closing in on the open chasm leading to freedom.

He edged into another gear and gained some ground. Fred’s backside was within lunging distance so Michael launched himself in the air. He hit the ground with a jolt, but managed to catch one of the donkey’s legs.

“Hold on!” Noelle reached for Fred’s collar, but then the animal jumped straight in the air, flinging its limbs like a colt frolicking in a pasture.

He lost his grip, and Fred broke free, sending Noelle toppling to the ground as well. Michael tried to cushion her fall, and she mostly landed on him.

Fred continued on his course, but, at the last second, Nate Cooper was there, swinging the gate shut. Ethan Thomas and Seth Graham had returned with the hay just in time to aid in the pursuit too. They aligned themselves behind Fred, leaving the donkey sandwiched between the gate and three men.

“Oh, Freddy boy!”

From the middle of the chaos, Addison Covington emerged. The famous actress held a familiar red-and-white-striped container.

“She remembered the popcorn,” Noelle whispered.

Michael glanced down at her. “What”

Addison shook the box and crooned to the donkey again. “I’ve got popcorn. Come and get it.”

Whether it was the actress’ soft, melodious voice or the smell of his favorite treat, Fred stopped in his tracks. His nose twitched as he sniffed the air. He took a step toward Addison.

“That’s right, Freddy,” she said. “Come on, baby. Have some popcorn.”

A moment later, the donkey was eating out of the woman’s hand. Literally.

“You sweet baby,” Addison said as Fred nudged her for more. “You caused a lot of trouble, didn’t you?”

“Addison, grab him,” Ethan whispered.

“Oh, he’s not going anywhere.” She scratched Fred under the chin. “Are you, baby?”

The animal practically quivered beneath her touch.

From his position on the ground, Michael eyed the escapee and the gorgeous actress. “I don’t believe it.”

“I do,” Noelle said. “Males will do anything if a gorgeous woman coos at them while waving their favorite snack. Even male animals.”

“True. I can’t really blame Fred. I’d go anywhere if Addison offered me popcorn like that.”

Noelle socked him in the arm, and he looked up at her and grinned. “What?”

“She’s engaged, you know.”

“A guy can still look.”

He could feel too, he realized, suddenly becoming aware Noelle was lying practically on top of him.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, using the inquiry as an excuse to run his hands down her side to her hips. He was only checking for injury, of course. “You took a pretty hard fall.”

Noelle’s breath hitched, her widening eyes letting him know she’d noticed. “You took the hard fall and then played human landing pad,” she said, her voice uneven. He didn’t think she was breathless from exertion. “I’ve never seen anything like that outside of an action movie.”

“He was getting away,” he said, grinning up at her.

“My hero.” She batted her eyelashes at him. “You saved my… donkey.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” he drawled like a country sheriff.

“You two all right?” Julia asked, leaning over them. “Do we need to call 911?”

Michael silently cursed Julia’s bad timing. He was enjoying the feel of Noelle in his arms.

Noelle jolted, as if realizing they had an audience. She scrambled to her feet. Now he noticed she was covered in mud from head to toe, courtesy of the earlier storms. Since Michael was paying close attention, he also saw her wince as she put weight on her right leg.

“You are hurt,” Michael said, ignoring the bite of pain in his shoulder as he jumped up. “Did you sprain something?”

“I just banged my knee,” she said with a shrug of indifference. “What about you? You can’t feel good after taking a dive.”

“You’re both a mess, too,” Julia pointed out helpfully. “You should get cleaned up before the crowds descend.”

Noelle glanced down and winced again. “I don’t have time to drive home and change. Plus, there’s a deviant donkey to lock up.”

“We can go to my store,” Michael said. “There’s a bathroom, and I’ve got all the clothes you could want.”

“And it looks like Addison has the escapee well in hand,” Julia said.

Another shrug and a nod, but this time Noelle wouldn’t look him in the eye. She followed him back to Good Sport.

“Thanks again for stopping Fred,” she said as they left Rice Circle.

“I didn’t actually stop him,” he answered, trying to be casual. “Nate shut the gate, and the others corralled him. Not to mention the Donkey Whisperer working her magic.”

A SUV passed them and honked. They both waved in return.

“Thank goodness, you were all there,” Noelle said. “I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if Freddy Houdini had left the park.”

“What did happen?” he asked as sport coupe drifted by, the mushy squish of tires accompanied by an exuberant
beep-beep
.

Again he and Noelle acknowledged the greeting

“I was taking Fred over to the nativity exhibit, and he bolted,” Noelle said. “I guess I was distracted and wasn’t holding on to his lead tight enough. The next thing I knew, my hand was empty, and Fred was doing a good impression of thoroughbred breaking out of the gate.”

Too distracted thinking about orthopedic surgeons.

Michael pushed the thought away. Besides, maybe the doctor was the right choice for her. Not being related to the groom who’d fled town rather than marry her had to be a plus in Noelle’s eyes.

“I didn’t sleep well last night,” she said.

Because of the botched date? Had she been disappointed? Or relieved?

A minivan rounded the corner. The windows rolled down, and three children stuck their heads out, shouting and waving at them to the cheerful tune of “Jingle Bells” as played by a car horn.

“Are we part of a parade I don’t know about?” Michael asked as the vehicle went by.

The comment brought forth the first real smile he’d seen on Noelle’s face all night. She was chuckling as they reached Good Sport. Michael unlocked the door and stepped aside to let her in first. He flipped on the lights and started toward the racks of clothes at the back of the store.

A moment later, he handed her an emerald green sweater and black sweatpants. “Try these.”

Noelle eyed the gear. “How do you know they’ll fit?”

Oh, he knew her size. Knew exactly how she fit against him.

She swallowed and looked away.

“The bathroom is back there,” he said, pointing to the open doorway behind the counter.

She disappeared through the arch, moving a lot quicker than she had before.

Michael headed to his office. He always kept an extra set of clothes there. A few minutes later, he had on clean jeans and a new flannel shirt. An inspection of his shoulder had revealed an impressive bruise that would likely make him feel like a ninety-year-old man tomorrow. Ah, well, a few war injuries were worth it if he made Noelle happy.

He was retying his shoes when Noelle appeared in the doorway. She was clean, too, but didn’t appear any happier. The sweater set off her blond hair and made her eyes shimmer. Michael had never been fanciful and certainly never thought of the word shimmer when it came to a woman’s eyes, but tonight Noelle’s dazzled like Christmas lights in an evergreen tree.

“You look amazing,” he said before he could stop himself.

She let out a quick, indrawn breath before brushing a hand across the dark pants. “I’ll pay you back.”

“You will not,” he said. “Consider them a gift.”

They stood there, tension hovering in the space between them. The kind of awkward silence they’d never had before.

“I’m guessing your mother told you about my date last night,” Noelle burst out.

The very last thing Michael wanted to talk about. “She might have mentioned it,” he said, careful to keep his tone even.

A huff of sarcastic laughter rumbled from her chest. “I’m sure she mentioned it about ten minutes after she saw me. Did she mention Dr. Granger left right after we got there?”

“I might have heard that part from Julia.”

“Of course everyone knows,” she muttered. “They probably think I can’t keep a man for more than a half-hour.”

“That’s not true. Julia heard there was an emergency with his daughter.”

She nodded. “I think his daughter is the emergency at all times.”

“Sound complicated.”

“Isn’t everything?”

“Are you going to see him again?” Again, the wrong words left his mouth before he could stop them.

Noelle leveled a penetrating stare. “Would you care?”

“Of course I care,” he ground out. “We’re still friends.”

“That’s what we are? Friends?”

Michael suddenly hated the word. “I think that’s all we can be, considering.”

“Right. Considering your mother lit up like one of those glowing lawn ornaments when she saw me out on a date with someone else.”

“She wants you to be happy, and so do I.”