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I couldn’t help but laugh now. If he only knew that we had already both done exactly that.
“I’m simply saying to give the boy a chance. That’s all I ask, if you have the same feelings. And by the way you light up when my son walks into the room, I’m going to go with my hunch on this one and say you do.”
I dropped my hand and stared at the floor for a moment before I lifted my gaze back to his. “Thank you for letting me stay with y’all. This is all really new to me. This environment with a loving family,” I said, motioning around the room. “I had loving parents until my mother died and my father…well, he sort of slipped away. Spending time with your family has truly been a blessing.”
Ty Senior leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. “It’s been a blessing for us to have you here, Timberlynn.”
“First Dirk, then Blayze, and now you, Dad?”
The sound of Tanner’s voice made my entire body come to attention and buzz with excitement.
Tanner’s father winked at me, and then looked at Tanner. “Nothing to worry about here, son. I am very much in love with the woman in the other room. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I best go help her with breakfast before all the gang gets here.
I laughed, as did Tanner before he said, “Mom said Brock called—they’ll be over shortly. Ty and Kaylee said they’d be here soon as well.”
As Ty Senior walked into the kitchen, Tanner reached for me and pulled me into his arms.
My teeth dug into my bottom lip. My stomach flipped when Tanner reached up and gently set it free. “I’ve been dying to kiss you again,” Tanner said.
I lifted up onto my toes and grinned. “Then, kiss me.”
His hands went to both sides of my face while I grabbed onto his T-shirt to keep my balance as he kissed me. We both moaned softly, and something jerked in my chest when he deepened the kiss.
This was how I wanted to start every day of my life. Kissing this man.
I pulled back when I figured we both needed a breath. Tanner’s chest rose and fell nearly as fast as mine. “Wow, that was…”
“Amazing,” Tanner finished.
Chuckling, I added, “So amazing.”
“I want to do that a lot more.”
The feeling of heat in my cheeks made me smile up at him. “I want you to do that a lot more as well.”
He leaned down, and once more bridged the distance between us with another heart-pounding kiss.
“Well, I see someone got his Christmas wish,” Brock called out with a bark of laughter.
I couldn’t help but smile against Tanner’s mouth as we drew apart slowly.
“When do you close on your house?” he asked in a hushed voice, ignoring Brock.
“Soon. A few weeks, maybe.”
He closed his eyes and groaned. “A few weeks, that’s too long!”
Brock walked by Tanner and slapped him on the shoulder, causing him to lose his balance some. I tried not to laugh, but I couldn’t help it.
“Trust me, it’s going to feel like forever,” he said, glaring at Brock.
I tried to give him my best sexy smirk as I whispered, “We could find lots of ways of being alone, ya know.”
His eyes went dark, and then he called out. “Chop! Chop! Time to open presents!”
“Okay!” Blayze said with a huge smile. I hit Tanner on the chest and shook my head.
“Sorry, buddy, we need to wait for Uncle Ty and Aunt Kaylee,” Lincoln stated.
Blayze pouted. “Aw, man.”
Tanner grabbed Blayze and started to play as I headed into the kitchen to see if Stella needed any help.
When I walked in, Ty Senior and Stella were dancing to “White Christmas,” sung by Elvis Presley. It was such a sweet moment that I tried to back out of the kitchen, but Stella caught sight of me.
“Timberlynn, come take my spot so I can stir the hash browns.”
“Me?” I asked, pointing to myself. Stella nodded as Ty Senior motioned for me to come to him.
I walked over and he took me in his arms and danced me flawlessly around the kitchen.
“Find a man who will dance you across the kitchen floor, Timberlynn. Those are the keepers. That type of man will be devoted and love you forever.”
I giggled when Ty Senior dipped me.
“Just try not to compare their dancing to mine,” he said. “I wouldn’t want you to be disappointed when you can’t find an equal.”
This time I found myself laughing so hard I was nearly in tears. This was turning out to be the best Christmas of my entire life.
Ty Senior spun me and let go as he gracefully went to the oven and took out the cinnamon rolls.
“So, this is Christmas,” I said softly as I watched a husband and wife work flawlessly next to one another as they laughed and stole a kiss every so often.
It truly was the best Christmas ever.
Chapter Nineteen
TIMBERLYNN
Christmas Day
As I helped Stella get all the food out into the dining room, I asked her what a typical Christmas looked like for their family.
“I guess like any other family. I’ve always liked having the main meal on Christmas Day be breakfast. The kids hated it, still do, but that was how it was when I grew up. My grandmother and mother would be in the kitchen at the crack of dawn making all the breakfast goodies.”
She smiled at the memory. “It was always my favorite part of the day, eating amazing food around the giant table and hearing all the grownups talk about whatever it was they talked about. Then, after we ate, my mother used to say the dishes could wait, and off it was to open gifts. No one took turns, we all ripped into presents like it was the first time we’d ever seen them. Ty and I decided early on that’s what we would do. It’s a madhouse, I’ll tell you right now. It should be a little less crazy this year since it’s just the kids and no one from my family or Ty’s will be here. Most of the older folk have passed on and most, like us, simply want to be with the immediate family.”
“It sounds like fun.”
She winked. “It is. And I’m so glad you’re a part of it, sweetheart. So very glad.”
“I am too. My only concern is who’s going to tell Blayze that I’m officially off the market and spoken for by his uncle?”
Stella’s face went bright with happiness. “Both uncles stealing women out from under him. How will he survive?”
We both laughed.
Stella let out a sigh and then said with a straight face. “Well, good luck telling him.”
“Wait, what?”
She looked back over at me. “I’m not going to be the one to tell Blayze. And I’m pretty sure it won’t be Tanner. So, that leaves you.”
“Oh no. There is no way I am breaking that little boy’s heart. Stella! You’re his grandmother, isn’t this like your area of specialty?”
She laughed. Hard. “My area of specialty is spoiling my grandkids. Butting into my kids’ business, keeping up with the gossip in town, not letting anyone know I’m keeping up with the gossip in town, and being able to mend any piece of clothing in any sort of emergency. Oh, and I can gut a deer faster than any of the Shaw men.”
The last one made me curl my lip. “Eeeww!”
She shrugged.
“But I don’t see why…”
Stella held up her hand, and I instantly stopped talking. “It’s your heart he wants, so it’s got to be you who breaks it into a million little pieces.” And with that she walked away.
“Okay, what just happened?” I asked as I looked around the empty room.
Before I had a chance to walk out of the room, Blayze walked in.
Oh. No.
“Hey, Miss Timberlynn! Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, Blayze. So how did Santa treat you?”
Blayze looked around and then motioned for me to come closer so he could whisper. “Can you keep a secret?”
Good Lord, what was this little boy going to tell me? Would it be something I’d ne
ed to tell his parents and then he’d never trust me again? What if it was something bad? Oh my gosh, what if he didn’t believe in Santa anymore and didn’t have the heart to tell anyone else?!
“What kind of secret?” I asked wearily.
He giggled. “The only kind there is, silly!”
I laughed and hit my forehead with my hand. Okay, this would be easy to handle, no problem. “Of course, silly me! Okay, I promise I can keep a secret. Hit me with it.”
Blayze frowned. “I can’t hit you with it. It might hurt it.”
It was my turn to be confused, but then I realized it was my choice of words. “No, I mean go ahead and tell me the secret.”
Then what Blayze said finally registered.
“Wait, what do you mean it might hurt it?”
“The baby rabbit I snuck into the barn yesterday.”
My eyes widened in shock, and I nearly fell back on my ass. “The baby rabbit?”
He nodded. “She’s really pretty. And Renee, my friend from Sunday school, told me I could have the puppy too.”
This time I let myself sit. “The…the puppy?”
“Yeah, they were moving and stopped by so that Daddy could give Renee’s daddy a name of some guy he knows in Colorado where Renee is moving. She showed me the bunny and puppy that were in the backseat of her daddy’s truck. She said they were giving them away. So, I took them.” He said it with a little shrug, so matter of fact that I almost laughed.
“What did you do with them?” I asked.
