Christmas in Eternity Springs (25 page)

Jax flipped through the stack. “Honestly, I don't have a clue. I don't know what to expect from him at this point. The only thing that gives me pause is the jingle bell necklace.”

“I know.” Claire bit at her bottom lip. “I debated even bringing that one home.”

“Still, I hate to underestimate him. The door chimes didn't faze him. I say keep the bells in there and see how it goes. The ‘take our cues from Nicholas' approach seems to be working all right.”

“Okay.”

She returned the costumes to the bag and then suddenly found herself backed up against the kitchen cabinets. His hands on her hips, Jax stared down into her face, a now-familiar wicked glint in his eyes. “Fifteen days, Miss Christmas.”

She smoothed her hands across his chest, the soft, well-worn flannel of his shirt a sharp contrast to the hard, unyielding muscles of his chest. She wanted to purr. “I know.”

“It seems like forever.”

“I know. I looked at their Web site today during lunch. They have a spa that makes the one at Angel's Rest look spartan.”

“Oh, yeah?” He was staring at her mouth. “We'll have to check it out.”

“The massages looked interesting.”

He arched a brow. “I think you're already booked for massages with Sven.”

“Oh? He does massage, too?”

“Honey, Sven will massage anything you want, for however long you want. As many times as you want.”

She blinked. Twice. And blushed red as Santa's suit.

Jax laughed then closed his mouth over hers in a steamy kiss that ended only when the bark of the dogs alerted them to an approaching vehicle. “The anticipation may be the death of me.”

“I know…” Claire moaned. “You know, Jax, I do close the shop for lunch breaks. While the children are in school.”

“Miss Christmas, I'm shocked, I say. Are you proposing a nooner?”

“I … uh … that's not the term I'd use.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

“Well … how about…” She licked her lips slowly. “Rendezvous?”

“French. Brings to mind French maids. Claire, you have all those costumes … what do you have in adult sizes?”

She trailed a finger down the center of his chest. He sucked in his gut reflexively when she reached his navel. “I do have a closet you might want to peruse sometime during the next two weeks. It's in the second bedroom of the old apartment. I keep it locked. You can ask for the key.”

As Nicholas's footsteps pounded on the porch, Jax grabbed her finger and nipped it. “You play to win, Miss Christmas.”

“Always,” she said lightly, though it took effort to maintain the tone. As much as she enjoyed this long seduction, it was killing her, too.

Especially since this fling had taken on the sense of being something more serious.

Jax released Claire's hand and took a step backward as Nicholas burst into the kitchen. “I'm home. I'm starving! Do we have cake? I want cake.”

“I want to win the lottery, too,” Jax replied. “Guess we will both have to settle for fruit.”

“Fruit! Ah, Dad. We ran laps today. I should get something better than fruit.”

“It's pizza night. You know the rules.”

“Pizza!” Without further argument, Nicholas ran to the fruit bowl and grabbed a banana and an apple. He sat in his usual chair and eyed the bag sitting in the middle of the kitchen table. “What's that?”

Mindful of his previous reaction to her red-and-green logo bags, she'd used an unmarked trash bag for her booty. “I brought home costumes for Tinsel.”

“Oh.” He contemplated the bag as he ate his banana.

“Want to talk about school, Hot Rod? How did you do on your math test?”

“Good. I'm sure I aced it. I suck at soccer, though.”

“Language, boyo,” his father cautioned.

“Sorry. I don't like bouncing the ball off my head and I keep forgetting I'm not supposed to use my hands. I'll be glad when soccer is over. I want to do basketball.”

“Didn't you score a goal recently?” Claire asked. “I think you're probably better than you give yourself credit for.”

Nicholas shrugged. “I'm still ready for basketball to start.”

“It won't be long now,” Jax said.

“November tenth. Right when I come back from visiting Mimi and Pops. I saw Coach Lucca at school and he told me.” He shot them a wicked grin and added, “I caught him smooching on Mrs. Lucca when I delivered a note for the principal to the kindergarten room.”

“Oops,” Claire said.

“Mrs. Lucca had a message for you, Dad. She said that Holly would finish her CPR class this weekend, so she'll be ready to start babysitting. What's CPR, Daddy?”

“It's an emergency first-aid technique.”

“Oh. Are you going to let Holly Montgomery babysit me? I like her. She's good at basketball.”

“We might give that a try,” Jax said, with a glance toward Claire.

Nicholas polished off his banana, licked his fingers, and said, “In the picture Miss Celeste showed me of Three Bears before the fire, Papa Bear had a basketball goal. Are you going to build it back, Dad?”

“I am.”

“You should do it next.”

“That could probably be arranged.”

“Awesome. Miss Claire? Would you show the costumes to me?”

“I will. How should we do it? One at a time or should I lay them out for you to see all together?”

“All together, I think. So what sort of costumes do you have?”

She ticked them off on her fingers. “I have three or four different Santa suits, a reindeer, a snowman, one that's made to look like a gift box. An elf. An angel. A Christmas tree. Hmm … what else?”

“Those all sound sorta lame. Of course, Tinsel is a girl so she can wear something embarrassing. Captain wouldn't wear a costume.”

“I'm not sure, but I think I should be annoyed about that,” Claire teased. “I'll set them out on the sofa in the family room, and you come out when you're ready.”

Nicholas bit into his apple as Claire exited the kitchen. Her nerves were strung tight. She sent up a quick little prayer that they were doing the right thing, then she set out the dog costumes. Nicholas and Jax exited the kitchen a few minutes later, both looking tense.

Nicholas took small steps toward her. His gaze zipped over the items she'd left out on the sofa, right to left. He looked a second time, and then relaxed.

He stepped forward, studied the costumes one by one, and slowly shook his head. He picked up a Santa beard and held it out toward her. “Miss Claire. Do you really want to embarrass Tinsel this way?”

“Too much, you think?”

“Yeah.”

She motioned toward an elastic band covered in green velvet and sporting a dozen jingle bells. “What about the necklace?”

Claire held her breath as Nicholas picked it up. Bells jingled. Tinsel tilted her head toward the sound.

Nicholas went down on his knees and snapped his fingers for Tinsel. Both she and Captain moved toward him. He slipped the jingle bells around Tinsel's neck. The collie shook. Bells pealed. Claire gripped her hands so hard that her knuckles turned white.

Nicholas shrugged. “I guess that's okay. Just don't put a hat on her. Hats on dogs are just embarrassing.”

Then he looked up at his father. “Can we go out and play, Dad?”

“How much homework do you have?”

“None!”

Jax hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “Hit the grass, Jack.”

Claire grabbed the jingle bell off Tinsel right before she darted outdoors after the boy and the other dog. Laughing, she turned a triumphant gaze toward Jax. “How about that!”

He picked her up, spun her around, and said, “You are a miracle, Claire Branham. I want you to know one thing. Hats … you know, those little French-maid lace blob things? Hats are okay with me.”

*   *   *

At noon on the day of the Chamber of Commerce fund-raiser, Jax sauntered into Fresh bakery and waved a hello to Sarah Murphy, who was speaking on the phone. She held up a finger signaling just a minute. Jax made himself at home by pouring a cup of the complimentary coffee Sarah kept available for customers whenever the bakery was open. He sat sipping the strong brew and waited for Sarah to finish her conversation with her son Devin. After his sister's wedding, the young man had returned to the Caribbean, where he ran a charter fishing service out of Bella Vita Isle.

Sarah had tears in her eyes when she hung up the phone. “Everything okay?” Jax asked.

“Yes. I'm just missing my kids. I've decided I don't like having an ocean or two between us.”

“Any word from the honeymooners?”

“We heard from them yesterday. They're having a blast. Chase is over the moon with excitement over the rafting trip Lori arranged as a surprise. He asked about Captain. I told him that Nicholas brought him by to visit over the weekend. Your son is just so darned cute about being the dog-sitter for Lori and Chase.”

“He's taking his responsibilities very seriously,” Jax said.

“He seems to be doing well. Eternity Springs agrees with him?”

“It does. He says he's going to Claire's reception tonight.”

“Oh, that would be fabulous, Jax.”

“I'm hopeful. And I'm here to pick up dog paw cookies for Claire.”

Sarah laughed. “They're ready. I'll bet she's a busy little beaver today. Our chamber meetings aren't always well attended, but I haven't heard of anyone who is planning to skip tonight's reception.” Slyly, she added, “So, you're an insider. Have you seen what she's doing with this Christmas Doghouse?”

“Not yet. She's putting the finishing touches on it today. That's why she's closed this afternoon.”

“She's such a clever girl. People around here do love their pets. I'll be curious to see just how much money she raises for the chamber with the ornaments. Celeste is president of the organization this year, and she has big plans for the money.”

“Claire mentioned to me that the chamber has earmarked the funds the ornament sales raise for new Christmas decorations for the town.”

“The stuff we have now is tired and tattered and a mishmash of styles. I know Celeste has been poring over catalogues for months and she has a wish list a mile long. The past couple of years we've had a decent bump in the winter tourist season, and we need to put a good foot forward year round.” She reached beneath her counter for a stack of cookie boxes marked “Claire” and added, “Besides, the whole dog ornament thing is just fun. Sage and Claire kept the drawings secret, so we don't quite know what to expect—especially when it comes to Mortimer. Have you seen them?”

“Nope. One thing I'm learning about Claire, when she wants to keep a secret, she keeps a secret.”

He didn't mention that she'd offered to give him and Nicholas a sneak peek. Claire thought the boy might do better facing his demons in a setting that wasn't filled with other people, but Nicholas had disagreed, telling them he was tired of being “special.” He wanted to be a normal kid and go to the party just like everyone else.

“I can do it,” he'd said this morning at breakfast. “I'm not afraid anymore.”

Jax prayed the boy was right. He'd have preferred Claire's approach, but since he'd committed to taking his cues from Nicholas, he couldn't argue with his son.

He finished his coffee, loaded the cookies into his truck, and called Claire to tell her that he was on his way.

“The back door is unlocked,” she told him. “Will you come in that way, please? Leave the cookies in the storeroom.”

“Is there anything else you need me to bring?”

“Not right now. The champagne's being delivered, and Ali won't have the hors d'oeuvres ready to pick up until four.”

Jax parked next to Claire's car in the alley behind the store, and he carried the boxes of cookies inside. Deciding his efforts had earned him a treat, he stole a cookie and headed for the stairs. The life-sized display of Sage Rafferty's Snowdrop dressed in an elf suit complete with ears brought him up short.

A similar display staring Mortimer in a Scrooge hat made Jax laugh out loud. Claire's voice greeted him from the second-floor landing. “Cute, aren't they?”

He lifted his gaze, and his heart grew like the Grinch's. “You sparkle, Miss Christmas.”

“I'm excited. I'm so pleased with how this whole project has turned out. Eternity Springs has given me so much since I moved here. It's a great feeling to give something back in return.”

“Do I get a tour?”

“I should make you wait, but I could use your long arms. Come on up.”

He took advantage of the mistletoe hanging in the doorway to what had been her apartment before the upstairs remodel.

“Ten days,” he murmured when they ended the kiss. “You gonna let me have a peek at the costume closet while I'm here?”

She rolled her eyes. “I swear, Lancaster, the dog room is a perfect fit for you.”

Then she took his hand and led him into the “Doghouse.”

An artificial tree stood in the center of the room, and it showcased the Twelve Dogs of Christmas ornaments. The glass balls had a white background and the sketches of the dogs were done in red, green, gold, and silver. He recognized Gabe Callahan's Clarence, Zach Turner's Ace, and the Cicero family's wheaten terrier. He didn't know who the little terrier belonged to, and a couple of the dogs depicted didn't fit any breed he recognized. Mutts, he imagined.

In addition to the ornaments, Claire had trimmed the tree with dog-themed ribbon, garland shaped like dog bones, twinkling lights and bubbling lights shaped like doghouses. “So what do you think?” she asked.

“If it starts barking, I'm outta here.” Then he shot her a grin. “You've hung Captain front and center. Nicholas will love this. It's all wonderful, Claire. The ornaments are great.”