Page 11 of Christmas Secrets

CHAPTERFIVE

Percival awoke the next morning to the sound of pounding, not able to determine what he was listening to. He also couldn’t figure out why he was so warm when he knew the fire had gone out hours ago.

He opened his eyes to find a blanket covering him. When he removed it, his cloak was over him too.

“Holly,” he said with a grin. She must have come looking for him last night and covered him up. That touched his heart. No one had cared about him like this before. Holly was a stranger to him, yet her kindness went far beyond what was expected from just a peasant.

He stood up and stretched, still hearing the pounding in the distance. When he took a step he almost kicked over the half-empty bottle of wine. Holly. Again. She didn’t have to leave it there with him, but she had.

He donned his cloak, folded up the blanket, and carried it with the bottle of wine out of the stable. That’s when he saw Holly banging on the front porch stairs. There was a broom at her side. Little Noel stood next to her, watching what she was doing.

“Good morning,” he said, startling her as he walked up behind them.

“Oh!” She spun around and dropped the iron poker from the fire. “You scared me.”

“It looks like the storm broke,” he said, glancing up at the sky. The winds had died down and it was no longer snowing. A murky tint of gray colored the sky, but he swore he saw a small patch of blue peeking through the clouds. “What are you doing?”

“I tripped on the broken step so Holly and I are fixing it.” Noel held up the metal soup ladle.

“With that?” Percival shook his head and chuckled.

“I couldn’t find a hammer, so I’m using the end of the poker to try to pry up the wood from the stair.”

“Is that what all the noise is about?”

Holly stood up and wiped the back of her hand over her brow. “How did you sleep?” she asked.

“Thanks to a little fairy bringing blankets and cloaks, I’d have to say pretty good.”

“That was my sister, not a fairy,” said Noel, looking at Percival as if he thought he was stupid.

“I didn’t want to disturb you, so I left the blanket and didn’t wake you,” explained Holly. In the morning light, Percival looked downright sexy. He had been clean-shaven yesterday with a smooth jaw. Today, he had stubble on his chin and cheeks, making him look rugged. She liked it. “I’m surprised you didn’t sleep even later.” Her eyes fastened to the bottle in his hand, subtly letting him know what she meant.

“Well, the pounding in my head woke me.”

“Really?” She wiped her hand across her nose and stood up straighter. “That’s only wine. I’d hate to think how much pounding there would have been in your head if you’d had whisky.”

“I meant your pounding. On the stairs,” he said raising his brows.

“Oh, that. Sorry.” She smiled, now wanting to tell him she purposely pounded, wanting him to get up.

“I think I almost have the top of this step loose.” With her hands on her hips, she looked at the stairs. When she turned back, he was standing very close to her. Her eyes interlocked with his. Oh, why did he look so handsome? She didn’t want to like him. Not really. But if not, why was her focus on his mouth right now and why was she hoping for a kiss?

He reached out and lifted her chin with two fingers. Her eyes flashed upward. Immediately, she found herself drowning within the complicated depths of his clear orbs. He moved closer. She didn’t budge. And just when she was sure he would kiss her, Noel said something and ruined the moment.

“I want to try now, Holly.” The boy grabbed the poker from her hand, making Holly feel quite awkward. Would she really have kissed this man—this virtual stranger—with her little brother watching? And would he really try to make a move on her with a child present?

“You have dirt on your nose.” He brushed it away with his thumb, cleared his throat and took a step backward. “Noel, let me help you with that.”

Just using his hands for leverage, along with his legs, Percival was able to rip the top board off of the stair.

“Wow, you’re strong!” said Noel with wide eyes. “I bet you could even pick up a horse.”

“Well, I don’t know about that, but I’ll bet I could pick up a little boy.” He threw down the board and scooped up Noel, holding him high over his head. Noel dropped the poker, nearly hitting Percival on the foot.

“This is fun! Look, Holly, I’m flying.” Noel put out his arms to the sides, pretending he was a bird, flapping wildly, almost hitting Percival in the face.

Holly’s heart soared. It was so good to see her brother laughing and smiling. Especially since they’d just lost their mother. Noel didn’t have a father in his life. It did the boy good to have a man to mentor him. Or at least play with him in this manner and make him smile.