Christmas Kisses (Romance on the Ranch Series #5) (7 page)

Chapter 16: Deck the Coffee Shop

Cecelia unlocked the door to her coffee shop,
walked to the back and disarmed the alarm, and then returned to Sean who had
slumped into a rebellious heap in a chair. She pulled another chair out from the
table and joined him. "What do you think of my coffee shop?"

He barely glanced around. "It's okay."

She decided to do some teasing. "Just okay?
Hey, this place is fabulous. After I bought it I was so scared that I'd made
the biggest mistake of my life, but now…" She made an expressive movement
encompassing the room. "I consider it the
best
move of my life.
Sometimes you have to take chances." She waited a second and added,
"Like you did with your dad."

Sean frowned. "Are you about to give me a
pep talk?"

"Do you need one?"

He glanced away. "No."

Cecelia saw him reading the menu posted on the
wall above the cash register. He almost grinned.

"Do you like the names of our drinks and
pastries?"

He said aloud, "Fluffy-Puffy," and
then he did grin, which transformed his face so drastically that Cecelia
inhaled sharply. In that moment he looked like a happy-go-lucky young man whose
greatest worry was how to impress the girls.

Cecelia said, "I'm always open to new
names. If you think of any, please run them by me."

"You mean something like, Happy Zappy or
Groovin' Grinds or Mornin' Mocha?"

Cecelia laughed loudly, "You're good…really
good! I may have to hire you."

The sound of the door bell tinkling distracted
them.

One of the Tanner twins held the door for his
mother and two others, Tessa Branigan and his identical twin brother. Cecelia
could never tell the boys apart.

*

Sean watched several people enter the coffee
shop. As soon as the first group arrived, they were followed by another and
then another. The teenagers stared at him and he figured introductions would
soon begin.

Cecelia jumped up and started welcoming
everyone. She'd turned out to be a pretty nice lady and even though she and his
father had denied any hanky-panky, he wondered if they were lying. He slid his
gaze to the chubby girl who'd entered with the first group. Normally, he didn't
pay much attention to girls who were overweight, but she was really cute.

"Hello everyone and welcome," Cecelia
spoke loudly, and the gathering of maybe a dozen people stopped talking to
listen. "I just want to express how grateful I am that you've taken time
out of your day to help me decorate the coffee shop for Christmas." She
laughed and lifted her hands in an expressive motion, something she did often.
"I know…I know…it's not even Thanksgiving. Not to worry. I'll be dressing
the shop with Thanksgiving items on the tables. But for today, let's turn this
place into Santa's North Pole Workshop."

One of the twin boys said, "I'm ready to
get started."

Cecelia grinned at the boy. "We will in
just a moment. But first, I'd like to introduce a young man visiting our town.
His name is Sean Barfield." She pointed toward him.

Sean wanted to groan. He hated introductions.

Everyone in the room spoke almost in unison.

"Hi Sean."

"Nice to meet you."

"Welcome to Paxtonville."

"Hello, good to have you here."

Sean wanted to groan again when Cecelia said,
"Instead of me introducing everyone, why don't we go around the room and
you can give your name and tell something about yourself?"

The lady that had been the first to arrive said.
"That's a great idea. My name is Sarah Tanner and the twins are my sons.
We live on a ranch outside of town. If you'd like to visit, you're more than
welcome."

The boy in a green T-shirt beside her said,
"Hi Sean, I'm Toby. Glad you're here."

A second later his brother in a red T-shirt
said, "Hi, I'm Preston. Where'd you come from?"

Sean said, "San Diego."

Preston replied, "Cool. Believe it or not,
our school made it to the baseball Nationals last year in San Diego."

Sean wasn't much interested in baseball and figured
that since Preston didn't mention anything about winning the playoff, they'd
probably lost.

Everyone looked at the cute girl. She turned
pink and said shyly, "My name is Tessa."

Toby piped up. "Her Dad is Dirk Branigan,
the rodeo champion."

Tessa turned pinker and Sean almost smiled. She
was super cute with really curly brown hair that reached her shoulders, and a big
dimple in one cheek. She was too young for him, though; maybe twelve or
thirteen.

The next person to introduce himself was a guy
probably in his early twenties. He said, "Hi Sean. I'm Justin and I work
here. I make the best coffee drinks in the county." He glanced at a woman
standing across the room and amended, "Besides Julie, that is."

The woman he grinned at replied, "You got
that right. You could say I was Justin's mentor." She looked from Justin
to Sean. "Guess you figured out that I'm Julie. Nice to meet you." She
pointed at the twin boys, "And those rascals are my brothers." She motioned
toward a girl of maybe seven or eight standing beside her and wearing a pair of
shredded jeans and a stretched out T-shirt that made her look like a homeless kid.
Julie said, "This is my daughter, Maudie."

Maudie grinned and said loudly, "Howdy,
Sean."

After that, introductions continued. Sean
figured he'd probably forget all the names, except for Tessa. The last person to
speak was an old lady who said her name was Molly Tucker. Sean tried not to
grin. His mom and dad had once made him go to a musical called
Annie Get
Your Gun.
The woman was dressed like Annie with a full leather skirt,
fringed jacket, and fancy boots. Blue hair peeked from beneath her pink cowboy
hat. He wondered if she packed a pistol.

Sean was happy when the introductions were over
and the attention moved away from him. Suddenly, the door burst open and a
teenage boy called loudly. "Hi, Aunt Cecelia. Sorry I'm late. Mom and Dad
said to tell you hello. They'll be back after grocery shopping."

Cecelia said, "Good morning, Harris."
She turned to Sean. "This is my nephew, Harris. Since you, Toby, Preston, and
Harris are all about the same age, I'm sure you'll become good friends."

Sean doubted that. He was in no mood to make
friends, especially in this hick town.

Cecelia rubbed her hands together. "Are
ya'll ready to make Santa's workshop a reality?"

Everyone in the group answered excitedly in the affirmative
and Sean frowned. What was with these people? Were they "happy"
clones or something?

An hour later, the room was transformed. Cecelia
had purchased wall to ceiling 3-D murals that looked awesome when viewed from
different perspectives. On opposite sides of the room, the murals depicted a
workshop filled with elves making toys. In one setting Santa sat on a stool
inspecting a bicycle while an anxious elf looked on. The other mural had an elf
sitting on Rudolf's back lifting a glider into the air, as if coaxing Rudolf to
fly.

From the ceiling above the glass case of
pastries, Preston and Toby were hanging a paper mache sculpting of Santa in his
sled pulled by his reindeer. Rudolf's nose glowed on and off.

Sean glanced across the room at Harris who stood
on a ladder hanging large, dangling snowflakes. Climbing his own ladder, Sean
did the same. They would meet in the center of the room.

Tessa caught his attention when she tried to
hang an ornament on a high branch of the Christmas tree that had been placed in
the farthest corner of the shop. He jumped down from his ladder. "Here,
let me get that."

Another voice said, "I think I'm a little
taller. I can get it for you, Tessa."

Sean turned to see Preston behind him. He turned
back around and grabbed the bulb. "Not a problem, Preston. I can reach
it." When he stretched to hang the bulb, it brought him close to Tessa.
She blushed that pretty pink again. He missed the branch and almost fell. Her emerald
eyes widened and she said, "Oh, be careful." Now
he
blushed.

Preston said, "Like I said, I'm
taller."

Sean hung the bulb and stepped back.
"There. Got it."

Tessa glanced from Preston to Sean and said
shyly, "Thank you."

The "Annie Get Your Gun" lady stepped
to the tree with an ornament. Sean didn't know who she was talking to, but she
said, "Yep. Things should be quite interesting in a few years." She
winked at him. He figured she must have a few screws loose.

There was a banging noise and everyone looked
toward the counter. Cecelia was hitting a spoon on a pan.

"Listen up, Santa's elves…"

Sean rolled his eyes.

"It's time for refreshments for our North
Pole workers. The counter is open. Order whatever you want, compliments of Mr.
and Mrs. Claus. Who will be first?"

Everyone glanced at each other and when no one
said anything, Cecelia clanged the spoon on the pot again. She grinned,
"Now don't be shy. Elf-barista Justin awaits your orders."

Sean rolled his eyes again. Were these people
for real?

Toby called, "I'm not shy. I'll have a Peppermint
Razzle-Dazzle."

Cecelia said, "That's what I like to hear…a
man who knows his mind. Anyone else want a Razzle-Dazzle?"

Harris said, "I'll have one of those,
too."

Cecelia waved the spoon in the air. "That's
two, anyone want to make it three?"

Tessa shyly lifted her hand.

Cecelia continued the joking until there were
four Razzle-Dazzles ordered. The fun continued with Sarah ordering a Lumpy-Luscious-Blueberry
Frappe. After everyone had ordered, Cecelia turned her attention toward Sean.
"Journeyman-elf Sean, what can we make for you?"

Sean had been so engrossed in listening to the
craziness that he hadn't ordered anything. "Ah." He glanced at Tessa.
"I'll have whatever Tessa is having." He heard Toby snicker and
glanced from him to Preston, who was frowning at Sean. He looked from Preston
to the crazy old lady. She winked at him again.

Justin called, "First Razzle-Dazzle is
ready!"

Chapter 17: Wrecking Ball

Mac listened to Cecelia recount their day
decking out the coffee shop. He glanced at his son and when she got to the part
about serving Razzle-Dazzles, the boy almost smiled. Cecelia's enthusiasm was
infectious and he found himself asking questions and even chuckling.
All-in-all, Mac considered the day a success as far as making progress with
Sean—thanks to Cecelia.

After Sean said goodnight and Mac was left alone
with Cecelia, she said, "I think he had fun. He met several teens and
Sarah Tanner invited him to her ranch. Her boys are about Sean's age and if we
could get him to the Lazy M, I just bet he'd have a great time. Sarah and her
husband, Sage, operate a dude ranch so there's a never-ending list of
activities. I wonder if Sean likes horses?"

A wave of thankfulness flooded Mac. "Thank
you, Cecelia."

She reached to place their cups on a tray and
then shyly lifted her eyes to his. "I enjoyed every minute. Sean is a good
kid. He just needs time to adjust to you."

Mac sighed. "There isn't much time before
his return to Denver. I hope we can at least become friends in the next week
and a half."

"Perhaps you should invite him back. Maybe start
a yearly get-together."

"I know you're right, but I don't know the
outcome of my surgery just yet."

Cecelia frowned, "What does that have to do
with being with your son?"

Mac studied her face. "I'll be honest with
you, Cecelia. If I lose my ability to paint, I'll be no good to anyone,
especially Sean."

Cecelia stood, lifted the tray, and said softly
before turning to leave, "That's a copout." When she returned to the
living room, she said quickly, "Goodnight. See you in the morning."

Mac watched her retreating back. He'd give her
one thing; she had guts to speak her mind when provoked.

A week later, Mac hadn't progressed any further
with his son. The boy had started going to the coffee shop daily with Cecelia.
She said he showed interest in watching Justin make drinks. She also paid him cash
to help with cleanup, like sweeping and mopping. When he was back at the house however,
he spent most of his time in his room and Mac was feeling very frustrated.
Once, to curb his frustration, when no one was home, he'd unlocked his studio and
tried to mix some paints. The effort ended with a mess on the floor and him
spouting profanities into the empty room.

The night of that same day, while Cecelia tried
to engage him in conversation, he'd barely responded. He'd been surprised by a
flash of anger in her eyes. She was usually so calm and understanding. He'd
expected her to speak her mind, like before, but she merely said goodnight to
him and Sean. Rather than stay in the same room with his father, Sean also
headed to bed.

Two days later, Mac received a phone call that
sent him through the roof. "What!" He practically yelled into the phone.
"Sean can't stand the sight of me and now you want him to stay until
January. What kind of Christmas can he have here? I don't even decorate a
tree."

His arguing had been useless.

That evening, after sitting around the coffee
table finishing a dinner of Chinese takeout, he broke the news. "I
received a call from your parents, Sean."

Sean jerked his eyes away from the fortune
cookie he'd just cracked open.

Mac scratched his eyebrow. "You won't be
returning home until January."

"What! No way!" Sean shot off the
couch.

As calmly as he could, Mac explained, "Your
parents got a call from your grandmother in Italy. Seems your grandfather fell
and broke his hip. Ruth insists on going to help her mother and James won't let
her go alone. They said your grandfather is a crotchety old man and the time
spent there will not be pleasant, so they want you to stay here—in fact, they
insisted that you stay here."

"And they think this is better? You're just
as crotchety as him. I won't stay!" The boy tossed his sliver of paper
from the fortune cookie onto the table and stormed from the room.

Mac rubbed his forehead trying to ease the
headache that was trying to gain a foothold. "That went well." Cecelia
was so quiet he finally glanced up. Their eyes met and he ground out, "Go
ahead and say what's on your mind."

She started cleaning the cartons off the coffee
table and placing them on a tray. "The boy's right."

Mac couldn't believe he'd heard her correctly.
"Excuse me?" He absentmindedly picked up the fortune cookie slip,
read it, and disgustedly tossed it back down.

 

SURPRISES ARE INEVITIBLE.

 

Cecelia stopped her busywork and stared into his
soul. "I said, 'the boy is right.' You have so many walls erected a wrecking
ball couldn't reach your heart."

Even though Mac knew her words were smack on,
they pissed him off. "Really? And what about you, Cecelia? What about your
walls? You hide behind your coffee shop."

She gave him a startled look and then rushed to
the kitchen with the tray.

Mac was so angry he grabbed his cane and
followed. He stood in the entrance watching her sling half full cartons of
Chinese food into the trash. He said, "Well?"

She jerked around. "Well, what?"

"You didn't respond to my
observation."

"I didn't respond because I have no idea
what you're talking about."

He advanced forward. "Don't give me that
bullshit. You can sure dish it out, but you can't take it."

Suddenly, she became perfectly still and stared
at the box in her hand. Tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks.

"Aw, crap." Mac walked to stand in
front of her. He took the box from her hand and tossed it on the counter. "Forget
what I said. I'm an asshole. I was just lashing out in frustration." He
lifted a hand to her chin and tilted her face until she was looking at him.

More tears gushed. Her nose sounded stuffy when
she said, "You're right. My coffee shop has become my family, my escape,
my lover."

Mac sucked air and caressed her lovely face with
his eyes and then his thumb. "I'm so sorry, Cecelia. Forgive me."

For a long moment they stared at each other, and
then, because he was powerless to stop himself, he leaned forward until his
lips gently touched hers. He hadn't connected with a woman in so long he was
immediately intoxicated by her fragrance, her feel, her honesty, her sweetness.
He deepened the kiss and she sighed into his mouth.

When Cecelia wrapped her arms around his neck
and molded her lips to his, he figured he was on the verge of experiencing
nirvana. He forgot the pain in his arm when he gripped her waist and tightly
fitted his body to hers. The passion he always kept contained—the passion he
unleashed only while painting—for this moment, belonged to her. He explored her
mouth and when she tilted her head he moved his lips across her cheek and then
down her neck. Her rapid breathing inflamed him and he moved his lips lower
while bringing his hands higher. In a moment of exquisite excitement he fondled
her breasts with his mouth and hands, and when she breathed a passionate
exclamation and pulled his head closer, he figured he'd surpassed nirvana and
entered uncharted territory.
And we're only kissing.

A noise in the living room broke the magic
moment and Cecelia jumped backward. When Sean entered the kitchen, her eyes went
wide and she quickly turned to face the sink. With his body standing at full
alert, Mac had never felt so embarrassed. Awkwardly, he bent to retrieve his
cane that had fallen to the floor.

Sean didn't say anything for a moment—a moment
that stretched to eternity. Then he snarked, "I thought you said there was
nothing between you two. Sheesh, can't anyone tell the truth around here?"
He walked to the fridge, grabbed a Pepsi, and left the room still shaking his
head.

Cecelia continued to face the sink and Mac
cleared his throat. "Ah…" He tried again. "Ah…I'm really sorry.
I don't know…" He couldn't finish his sentence. The hell he didn't know
what had come over him. He'd been lusting after Cecelia for weeks and he'd
finally given in to it. "Goodnight, Cecelia." He left the room.

*

Lifting a shaking hand to her face, Cecelia
swiped the tears that kept escaping.
How could you let this happen?
She
knew perfectly well how—she was crazy about that stubborn, hurting, mixed-up
man.
He's so locked into the past he'll never let you in.

Another tear leaked and Cecelia hurried to
finish cleaning the kitchen. She needed to find solace in her room and consider
her next course of action.

After a sleepless night that involved erotic
dreams of Mac, followed by heartbreaking dreams of rejection, Cecelia woke at
daybreak and lay in bed for a long time. Finally, with resolve, she arose,
donned her housecoat, and grabbed the clothes she would wear to work. The
sharing of the bathroom had been worked out so that each person got thirty
minutes, with Cecelia being first. She was about to knock softly, just to make
sure the coast was clear, when the door opened and she came face-to-face with
Mac.

She gasped and he sucked a breath. Quickly
averting her eyes from his, she stepped sideways so he could leave. He said
softly, "Good morning, Cecelia."

She responded automatically, "Good
morning."

He stepped past her and paused as if he wanted
to say something else. Quickly, she ducked into the bathroom and shut the door,
leaning against it.
You're being ridiculous! It's not as if you spent a
passionate night in his bed!
Lightly she banged her head against the door.
Again, her inner voice demanded,
How could you let this happen?
Angrily,
she responded,
Oh, how could I let this happen? He just happens to be a man
of integrity, passion, humor, and he's sexy as hell. That's how!

Other books

Deserter by Paul Bagdon
Mother’s Only Child by Bennett, Anne
A Place to Call Home by Christina James
Over the Threshold by Mari Carr
The Prague Orgy by Philip Roth
Donnel's Promise by Mackenzie, Anna
The Talmud by Harry Freedman


readsbookonline.com Copyright 2016 - 2024