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And Shelley did know that whatever was happening with Rudolph wasn’t her fault. But that didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt her. She hated thinking of the man reverting back to his old ways, especially with the holidays right around the corner.
Ever since she and Rudolph began working on the children’s ice-skating classes together, she had come to care for the grouchy old man. More often than not, she found his moods and gruffness funny and endearing.
Brandon walked into the living room humming a Christmas carol under his breath and holding a plate that was piled high with Christmas cookies. He set it on the coffee table before collapsing into the recliner beside the sofa that Matthew and Shelley were occupying.
The three of them slipped into their movie night routine, with Matthew pulling up the streaming service that held the Christmas movie they’d agreed on and Brandon reaching behind him to dim the lights. The opening scene forElfbegan to play, and as the noise of the movie drifted through the room, Matthew leaned toward her.
“Thank you,” he said in a tone low enough that only she could hear. “For loving everyone as much as you do. Me, Brandon, even Rudolph.”
“You don’t have to thank me for that,” she told him honestly.
Matthew just smiled and said, “I know,” before pressing a kiss to her temple and turning his attention back to the movie.
Shelley tried but she couldn’t pull her thoughts away from Rudolph. Matthew was right, she did adore the old man. If she was being entirely honest with herself, she had come to think of Rudolph Hutchins a bit like family.
She glanced between Matthew and Brandon. She and Matthew weren’t married. They weren’t even engaged. It had been hard for him to date again after losing his wife, and taking that next step wasn’t anything that Shelley would ever pressure him to do. Not until all three of them were ready.
But that didn’t stop her from seeing them as her family. They weren’t bonded by marriage or by blood. But they were her family, regardless. And as far as Shelley was concerned, they always would be.
And she couldn’t help but think that maybe Rudolph could use a little bit of family too.
CHAPTERTEN
Clark’s eyes fluttered open, suddenly feeling wide awake. His room was still mostly dark, with only a faint light coming in around the edges of his curtains. He rolled onto his side, glancing at the alarm clock on his bedside table.
Seven a.m. Still an hour before he needed to meet Valerie at the Hilton house. But at the thought of her his heart began to pick up its pace. He couldn’t deny the fact that he was excited to see her, and with the excitement currently coursing through him, there would be no way that he would be able to go back to sleep.
He pushed himself out of bed and flicked on the light before striding to the bathroom. Clark made quick work of showering and getting ready for the day, continuously telling himself that he didn’t need to put a ton of effort into his looks since he was just going to be getting dirty when they worked on the house. But that didn’t stop him from pulling on a pair of his favorite jeans and a black, long-sleeved t-shirt that he always received compliments on when he wore it. He’d just make sure to be extra careful while they were working.
By the time he was done, it was just before seven thirty, and he was struck with an idea. He strode from his room, walking through the house and grabbing the keys to his truck along the way. He shrugged on his thick coat, slipped his feet into his work boots, and then stepped out into the cold, winter day.
The air was milder than it had been all week. Still not warm enough to begin melting the snow, but it wasn’t cold enough to immediately begin nipping at his nose. Which meant it was bound to be a good day to get a lot of work done on the house for the Hiltons.
Clark fired up his truck before expertly navigating out of his driveway and making his way toward downtown Snowy Pine Ridge. The moment that Sweet Thing Bakery came into view, he grinned.
The small parking lot at the side of the shop had been recently salted, and he pulled into one of the empty spots without any problems. The moment he pulled open the door to the bakery, the smell of freshly baked pastries and coffee wafted over him, making his mouth water.
It was still early on a Saturday morning, so the bakery was mostly deserted. In fact, there were only three people inside of it. All of whom flicked their eyes toward the door and noted Clark’s arrival.
“Good morning!” William called out from behind the counter where he was putting pastries in the display case.
Sarah and Colette were sitting on the stools that were pressed against the bar at the far side of the bakery. When Clark had walked in, their heads had been bowed together as they chatted eagerly with one another, but they had broken apart when they heard him enter. Now the two women were grinning at him, giving him identical waves in welcome.
Clark approached the counter, already knowing what he wanted to order to surprise Valerie with. William met him at the register, giving him a grin.
“You’re in here early,” he said, tapping at the screen of the register to bring it to life.
“Working on the Hiltons’ house today,” Clark answered. “Valerie is supposed to be meeting me there soon.”
“Did you say Valerie?” Sarah’s voice flitted over to him, high pitched with interest.
Clark nodded before rattling off his order to William. He paid, and then the other man turned and began packing everything up for him and readying his drinks. As Clark stood by the register, he was startled slightly when both Sarah and Colette slid up beside him, one on each side.
“So what do you and Valerie have planned for the day?” Colette asked, and he could tell that she was trying to keep her voice from sounding too interested in his answer.
“I told you, we’re working on the Hilton house today.”
The two women shared a pointed glance while Sarah just murmured, “Mm-hm.” Suddenly it dawned on him why they were so interested to know what he had planned, and he had to stifle a groan.
