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I smiled and gave her another short peck on the lips before I pulled her to the boxes that held the ornaments. “Mom had so many ornaments, so I know we won’t use them all. Let’s open the boxes and find our favorites for the tree. The rest I’ll put together in a separate bin as extras so when we take the tree down after Christmas, we have an empty bin for the favorites.”
“Great idea,” she agreed, kneeling by the first bin to look through them.
“I’ll start by hanging what Mom called the filler ornaments.”
“The filler ornaments?” she asked, glancing up at me.
I held up silver balls and bells in various sizes. “When we had the artificial tree there were always spots in the tree that you could see the pole through because it was fake.” I paused and turned toward the tree. “Come to think of it, maybe we don’t need these since Bruce is a real tree.”
She laughed and shook her head at me. “Bruce. I swear everyone in this town now calls their tree Bruce, thanks to Heather.”
“Yeah, but did you see the paintings she did of the Bells Pass tree and the one of the big tree on Cameron’s farm?”
“I did! I loved how they were labeled Bruce Senior and Bruce Junior. They were stunning. She is such a talented artist and she refuses to see it.”
I shook my head as I accepted an ornament from her to hang on the tree. “I don’t think that she refuses to see it. I think she can’t see it.”
She stood and hung an angel that my mom had made out of doilies on the tree. “What do you mean she can’t see it?”
“Heather was told all her life that everything she did was bad or wrong, so she sees everything she does now the same way. She has no self-esteem so therefore she has no confidence in her abilities. It’s going to take Gabe a long time to rebuild her self-esteem to the point she can see her talent.”
“Probably something like that, yeah,” she agreed, handing me another ornament.
I didn’t take the ornament. I grasped the front of her shirt and pulled her up to meet my gaze. “Listen to me, Indigo Dickson, and listen to me good. You are not bad at anything you do. Do you understand me? You are an extremely talented manager, a wonderful friend, and a beautiful lover. Be proud of who you are and what your talents add to the community. That’s all we can hope for in this life. That we’re making a difference with our time and talents. Right?”
“Right,” she said, but it had more of a hint of a question than anything.
“This is a good time to remind you that family doesn’t have to be blood. A family can be created by trusting the people who love you and want you to be part of their life and traditions, right?”
“Right,” she said firmly this time.
“Good, then let’s finish decking out Bruce with all our baubles so we can turn the lights out and sit in the glow of these magnificent bubble lights.”
“That sounds like the best idea I’ve heard all day,” she whispered.
I stepped up and gazed down at her lips, their plumpness personified being so close to her. “Of course, it couldn’t hurt to take a little break to warm your lips.”
“Warm my lips?” she asked with skepticism. “My lips aren’t cold.”
“Are you sure?” My lips were almost on hers now. “I think I’d better be the judge of that, Gumdrop.”
I captured those perfectly plump lips then and they were anything but cold. They were warm, smooth and tasted of spicy brandy and sweet gumdrops. It was the essence of this woman and I never wanted the kiss to end. I didn’t want this night, or this life that I was making with her, to end. I knew it would, but for tonight, I would remind myself of the same thing I told her. A family can be made by trusting the people who love you and want you to be part of their life. Right now, Indigo Dickson wanted to be part of my life, and for that, I would drink in her essence tonight without a worry about tomorrow.
Chapter Twenty
The diner was quiet as we approached seven p.m. and I loved the time I had without demands from customers. It was when I could create new dishes for the daily special. Today I was making an eggnog sweet potato bake that incorporates a horseradish and bacon cheese spread. A little bit spicy and a little bit sweet is on the menu. That described the woman I’d spent loving last night to a T. Only she was equal parts both and that was what I loved about her.
“Hey, Lance,” Ivy said as she walked into the kitchen.
“Hey, boss,” I said, setting the large pan of sweet potatoes aside. “How are you doing tonight?”
She raised a brow as she sipped from a cup of coffee. “I’m doing just fine, thanks for asking. Looks to me like you and my bakery manager had a good night.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked, turning away from her so I could wipe the ridiculous grin off my face.
“I walked over to the bakery and Indie was dancing around the baker’s bench while shaking sprinkles across the cookies like she was Mrs. Claus.”
I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. “That sounds like my gumdrop,” I agreed.
