The doorbell rang, and she pulled back with a startled laugh, a stunning red blush making itself at home in her cheeks. Chase considered ignoring it, and reaching for her hand again, when the doorbell rang a second time, longer and more insistent than the first.
“I guess you should get that,” she said.
“I guess so,” he agreed reluctantly. “To be continued?”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
He gave her a quick smile and then eased past her to the hatch, pausing to pick up one of the empty photo albums. With his prize tucked under one arm, he climbed down from the attic and made for the door. When he opened it, he found Kemp standing there, looking like he hadn’t slept in a week and shaved in a month—which was to say, much the same as usual.
He thrust a bag out to Chase.
“What’s this?” Chase asked, frowning at the bag.
“Figured you wouldn’t have much in to make a woman and kid for Christmas dinner. Can’t be feeding them salad.”
Chase took the bag and peered inside.
“Where the hell did you find a turkey?” Kemp opened his mouth and Chase held a hand up quickly. “On second thoughts, I don’t want to know. Thanks, man. Seriously. Owe you one.”
“Yeah, you do. Now go take care of that woman and her kid.”
“You want to join us?” Chase offered.
Kemp scoffed. “Hell, no, I don’t want to join you. Now stop worrying about me and go pay some attention tothem.”
He turned and lumbered back through the snow toward his waiting vehicle, and Chase went back inside, taking his precious cargo straight for the kitchen, where he found Hailey waiting for him, surrounded by boxes.
“You brought these down by yourself? You should have waited, I’d have helped.”
“I’m tougher than I look,” she said, flexing one slender arm with a grin.
“Don’t I know it,” Chase murmured, transfixed by her.
“What’ve you got there?”
He shook himself from his stupor and set the bag on the counter.
“Delivery from a friend. Don’t suppose you happen to know how long to cook a turkey for?”
*
The three of them spent the rest of the morning decorating the house, and building a Christmas of their very own.
They put up the Christmas tree, hung up wreaths and stockings, baked gingerbread—well, okay, Hailey baked gingerbread, whilst he and Riley schemed how to liberate some as it cooled. It was idyllic, and his inner reindeer reveled in having their herd close to them. And it wasn’t just his reindeer who felt that way. He’d known from the moment he first set eyes on Hailey and Riley that he wanted to spend his life with them, but he hadn’t dared imagine just how perfect it could be.
Chase paused whenever he could to snap photos: Hailey covered in flour from baking, Riley with cookie dough smeared around his mouth, Hailey with her hair a tousled mess that made his heart pound like he’d just run a marathon. Hailey had grabbed his phone to snap a picture of Chase lifting Riley up to put the star on the top of the tree, and afterwards they’d all squashed together for a festive selfie. He sent that one to his parents: they’d know what it meant.
If Hailey wondered why he was taking so many photos, she didn’t ask. She was doing a great job holding it together, but she didn’t have to tell him how desperately she wanted to make good memories for the toddler. Odds were, Riley wouldn’t remember this Christmas when he grew up. But Hailey would, and that mattered. It mattered to her, and so it mattered to him. And it mattered to him that she would be able to hold those photos, and that the three of them would one day look through them together, as a family.
He couldn’t wait for that day. He was already in love with her, and they’d only just met. If his parents had told him what having a mate truly felt like, he’d have spent his life searching for her.
But sometimes, in the quieter lulls, her gaze drifted to the window or the door, and in those moments his heart squeezed painfully because he knew she was thinking of leaving—of gathering her meagre possessions and taking Riley back on the road. He yearned to ask her why, so that he could show her she didn’t need to keep running, but he couldn’t, not while the toddler was around. Hailey had worked so hard to shield the boy from the world’s harsh realities, and he wasn’t going to lay that to waste for his own selfish, desperate need.
He would wait.
But while he did, he couldn’t help but wonder what kept calling her eye from him. Was she afraid of what her ex would do, did she think Chase couldn’t protect her and Riley? Did she worry abouthissafety? Or was it that she knew he was hiding something now, however unwillingly, and didn’t dare get close to him? Worse, did she—he swallowed, but the unthinkable returned to the forefront of his mind unerringly—not feel the same way for him that he did for her?
His inner reindeer stamped an impatient hoof.Win mate to our side.
