The Christmas Wish (12 page)

“She already thinks you’re pretty cool and she likes you. Don’t worry—everything will go well.”

And everything did go well… for a while.

At Thunder Ridge Mountain, they purchased their lift tickets and rode the chairlift up to the children’s sledding hill since they’d already decided that the giant hill populated with adolescents and adults would be too much for Charlotte. When they all three stepped off the lift, Brinn grabbed one of Charlotte’s mittened hands, and Tyler grabbed the other. They lifted her and swung her out, forward and back. Charlotte squealed with delight. Skiers and snowboarders whizzed by them on their way off the lift and to their runs.

“Daddy, hold me.” Charlotte reached her little arms up to Tyler and he bent down and picked her up.

Brinn dutifully picked up both inner tubes and tracked behind Charlotte and Tyler to the top of the inner tube run.

“I want to go down with Daddy.” Worry glimmered in Charlotte’s eyes.

“No problem, bean.” Tyler looked at Brinn and she nodded. “How about we let Brinn go first and we’ll follow?”

“No. I want us to go first.” Charlotte tilted her head. She’d always been sweet and accommodating, but there was temper in her voice. Possessiveness. She looked at Brinn and grabbed her father’s leg.

“That sounds okay too.” Brinn handed Tyler the inner tube and smiled at him. This was normal, right? Charlotte had been alone with her dad for going on two years. Of course she was possessive and wanted to make certain that she had the prime spot in Tyler’s life. Brinn smiled at the little girl.

“Maybe after a couple of runs we can go back to the bakery for hot chocolate and a cookie?”

Charlotte’s eyes lit up with the idea of a sweet treat.

“Do you have more castle cookies?”

“I made some especially for you.”

Charlotte smiled and Brinn glanced at Tyler. He mouthed the words “thank you,” and Brinn nodded. How hard was this for him? He wanted his daughter to be happy, and Brinn was certain that he would do nearly anything so that Charlotte
was
happy. And yet, he wanted to move on with his life. They could do this. She reached out her hand and Tyler clasped it in his. He gave her gloved hand a reassuring squeeze as if to say these were just little bumps.

Brinn’s heart swelled. Tyler adjusted the inner tube and sat down. Brinn lifted Charlotte and placed her in her Tyler’s lap.

“Thank you.” Charlotte looked up at Brinn with the warmest eyes. Eyes filled with happiness and excitement.

“You’re welcome.”

Tyler pushed off, and Brinn watched them slide down the hill, listening to Charlotte’s happy shrieks and delighted giggles.

“They’re cute together aren’t they?”

Charlotte turned around. Her heart leapt to her throat. Beside her stood Jasmine Dumont, Charlize’s mother and Charlotte’s grandmother.

“Mrs. Dumont, I had no idea you were here.” Brinn pushed at the edges of her snow hat. Why did she feel as though she’d just been caught doing something very wrong? Jasmine Dumont was as beautiful as her daughter Charlize. She had high cheekbones and bright blue eyes. She had the fair skin that seemed ageless. She looked much younger than her fifty plus years.

“Just getting in a few runs before dinner tonight.”

Mrs. Dumont’s eyes trailed over Brinn. Brinn’s lips thinned under the woman’s judging gaze.

“This is a very small town, Brinn. You didn’t forget that, did you, while living in San Francisco?”

What kind of question was that?

Mrs. Dumont’s hard-eyed gaze remained latched onto Brinn. “I was so sorry to hear about what happened between you and your fiancé.” The expression on Mrs. Dumont’s face didn’t match her words. With her soft, sly, smile, she seemed to be saying that it was only to be expected that a woman who looked like Brinn could never keep a man. “I certainly hope nothing like that happens to you again.” She lifted an eyebrow and tilted her head.

Was that a warning? A fire lit in Brinn’s belly. A dire warning that Brinn should stay away from Tyler and Charlotte and that somehow, even though Mrs. Dumont’s daughter had been the one to abandon her now ex-husband and daughter, Tyler and Charlotte still belonged to Charlize.

“Thank you for your concern.” Brinn dropped the inner tube to her feet. She forced a smile to her face and plopped down. “Hope you enjoy your runs. Come by the bakery, Mrs. Dumont. I’ve got a chocolate torte with your name on it.”

Mrs. Dumont grimaced. Of course the woman was Q-tip thin. The idea of a dessert passing over her lips had to give her hives. With those words, and some other choice ones that Brinn kept locked in her mind, she pushed off and whooshed down the sledding hill to meet Tyler and Charlotte.

Cheeks bright red and smiles on both their faces, Charlotte and Tyler waited at the bottom of the hill.

“What took you so long?” Tyler’s eyes sparkled from the thrill of the sledding run. “You look like Old Man Winter kissed you.” Tyler leaned forward and pulled her to her feet, then planted a kiss on her lips. Brinn pulled back, surprised but happy about Tyler’s public display of affection.

“Daddy kissed the pretty lady!” Charlotte clapped her hands. She seemed nearly giddy. “Do it again! Do it again!”

“Can’t argue with that.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Brinn’s. The cold leapt away and Brinn heated from her toes to her ears. He pulled away but still stayed close. She was nearly breathless.

“Your ex-mother-in-law is here,” Brinn said once Charlotte stood a few feet away, picking up clumps of snow and throwing them.

“Where is she?” Tyler scanned the area as he stayed close to Brinn.

“Top of the sledding hill. She had a few things to say about you and me and about”—her lips stalled around the words—“us.”

“That’s choice. Seeing as we’ve been back in Powder Springs going on a month and she’s yet to come by and see her granddaughter.”

Brinn’s eyes widened. “What?” How could that be? How could anyone stay away from Charlotte? She was sweet and adorable and just pure joy in a tiny body.

“Seems when Charlize left us, the entire Dumont family left us too. I never hear from them. Charlotte doesn’t either. She gets a birthday gift and a Christmas gift each year, but they never come see her. Not in Denver and not even when we’re here. And I always let them know when we’ll be in Powder Springs.”

Her heart ached. Maybe Charlotte didn’t notice the absence of her mother’s parents. The Emerson family did their best to provide a giant circle of family love for Charlotte. Brinn closed her eyes. As much as Ma drove her nuts, she never once doubted her mother’s unwavering love. Or that she would always be there. No matter what. Always.

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” Tyler looked at her with surprise in his eyes. “I can’t imagine what she said to you, and you’re sorry?”

“I just…” Brinn looked at Charlotte, who now lay on her back in the snow, waving her arms and legs up and down. “She’s so wonderful and it breaks my heart about her mom and her grandparents.”

“We do the best we can, and we give her all the love we have.” He looked toward his cherubic little girl. “I’m certain that will be enough. It’ll have to be.”

“Daddy! Brinn! Look, I made an angel!” She jumped to her feet and pointed at her angel in the snow.

And she had, Charlotte absolutely had. The angel of a girl had made an angel in the snow.

*

How could he be this lucky? Tyler wanted to freeze this moment. Please God, don’t let Brinn run from us, from me, from Charlotte. Charlotte’s beautiful blond curls were beside Brinn’s head of black curls. The two of them bent over the worktable in the back of the bakery. A cookie castle was before them as well as three bags of different-colored icing plus sprinkles, sparkles, and all kinds of sugar confections that Charlotte could use to decorate. They’d returned to the bakery, and Brinn had pulled out a rack of castle cookies so that Brinn could decorate them for her cousins.

Brinn was magic. This was happiness. Pure and simple happiness watching his daughter decorate Christmas castle cookies with a woman he really liked… Everything fit when they were together.

“I’m getting more coffee. Want some?”

Brinn looked at him, smiled, and shook her head no. Then she returned her attention to helping Charlotte outline the castle cookie with bright pink frosting. Tyler walked to the front of the bakery where Alison was finishing wiping down tables.

Alison’s hair was now a bright red and she wore earrings shaped like jingle bells. “How’s it going back there?”

“She may be the most awesome person I know.”

“So how did it go between the two of them?” Alison whispered.

“Good. A couple of little bumps, but good.” He looked at Alison. “Charlotte really likes her, but we’ve been alone now for a while, so there were a couple of moments today where she seemed to want to be sure I was still hers.”

“Makes sense.”

“Daddy! Come and look at my cookie!”

He walked from the front of the bakery to the back. “Oh, doll, those are so pretty,” Even with the hodgepodge of sprinkles and silver balls, the castle cookies looked pretty darn good thanks to Brinn’s help keeping the frosting lines around the edges straight.

“Your cousins are going to love these cookies.”

“Can I give them to them at the dinner?”

“Of course.”

“Can Brinn come to family dinner?”

Tyler smiled at his daughter. “I am sure that Grandma and Grandpa would love Brinn to come to family dinner. Hey, Brinn, you coming to family dinner this Thursday?” A teasing lilt decorated his voice. She’d already said yes, but he could tell she was a little nervous about the prospect of dinner with his entire family. His brothers could be a bit much.

She set the frosting bag onto the stainless steel counter and turned to Charlotte. “I
am
coming to family dinner on Thursday night, and I think that I will bring a dessert. What sounds good to you, Miss Charlotte?”

Charlotte took a deep breath and her eyes widened. The prospect of picking dessert seemed to make her particularly excited. “Chocolate.”

“Consider it done.” Brinn looked past Charlotte to Tyler and smiled. “I know just exactly what I’ll make and bring, and it will have lots and lots of chocolate.”

Tyler ran his hand over Charlotte’s curls. Then he looked at Brinn. He could get used to Sundays like this. Sled rides and cookie decorating and hot chocolate. A quiet, happy day.

“So what you think, bug? Is it time to take Brinn home and then head out? It’s getting kind of late.”

Charlotte turned to Brinn. “Hold.” Charlotte lifted her arms toward Brinn.

Tyler’s heart nearly leapt from his chest. Charlotte wanted Brinn. She wanted Brinn to hold her. Today was going even better than he’d hoped. Brinn held Charlotte in her arms and turned toward the bakery door and stopped.

Mrs. Bartoli stood in the doorway. Her eyes widened as her gaze traveled over Brinn and Charlotte and finally Tyler. She recovered quickly, and the corners of her lips turned up into a smile. But what was that? What was that look that Brinn’s mother had shot toward Brinn while Brinn held Charlotte? Was there something he didn’t know? Was Brinn uncomfortable with the way things were going? Was he going too fast? Putting too much pressure on her?

“Charlotte, this is my mom.” Brinn walked toward Barbara Bartoli.

“Hello.” Barbara tried to keep that hard facade, but there was a smile in her eyes when Charlotte grinned at her.

“You’re pretty too,” Charlotte said.

Barbara patted her hair and smiled. “Thank you. I love your blond curls.”

“Thank you. You’re Brinn’s mommy?”

“That’s right.” Barbara’s gaze flickered from Charlotte to Tyler.

“My mommy doesn’t live here. She lives in New York.”

“Yes. I’ve heard that.”

“I get to see her after Christmas. We’re taking a big trip.”

Brinn flinched, but her own smile remained firm on her face.

“Won’t that be nice?” Barbara walked to the worktable and looked at the Christmas cookies. “Did you decorate cookies?”

“For the cousins. For family dinner.”

“Ma, I’ll get the mess when I get back. Just a couple of things—”

“Don’t be silly. You three go. I’ll get this.”

“Are you sure?”

Barbara nodded. “I’m sure. Please go.”

Mrs. Bartoli’s shoulders and neck were stiff. Some sort of tension between mother and daughter. Tyler could feel it, but he didn’t know what it was about.

“Thank you, Mrs. Bartoli. Charlotte had fun.”

“Tyler, please call me Barbara. It would seem we’ll be seeing more of you?”

Tyler smiled. “I hope so, Mrs. Bartoli. I certainly hope so.”

“Well, don’t you look happy today?” Alison reached for the coffeepot and poured them both a cup as Brinn pulled a Bea & Barbara apron over her head. “Could that smile be because of
another
date you had last night with one Mr. Tyler Emerson?”

Brinn took the coffee cup from Alison and sprinkled cinnamon into her mug. Tyler had been over to her place nearly every night for a week. After their first night together, it’d been hard to be apart. So he’d wait until he put Charlotte down for the night, and then he would come to Brinn’s. That meant he left for home around five a.m., the same time she left to go to the Grande. The fatigue would have killed her if she weren’t so hopped up on love hormones.

“I hear he’s been to your house nearly every night for a week.” A teasing smile decorated Alison’s lips. She took a tray of snowball cookies and slid them into the display case.

“And how would you know that?”

“You aren’t the only person in town who gets up early. What time you think those snowplows run down your street?”

Brinn lowered her gaze and took a drink of coffee. It wasn’t like they were keeping their relationship secret, it was just… after how Ma had reacted… it seemed simpler not to broadcast it. Then there was Charlotte to consider. This week Brinn was meant to go to the Emersons’ for family dinner.

“My former brother-in-law likes to yap a little about what cars he sees at what houses at what time. He just happened to mention that he’s seen an Emerson vehicle at your house the past six nights.”