Page 5 of Mistletoe and Holly

“Do you love my mom?”

Well, shit. I hadn’t been expecting that.

What was I supposed to say? I couldn’t lie to her. She deserved better than that, and she would have seen right through it if I’d tried anyway. But I also couldn’t tell her the truth: that I loved her mother so much it hurt.

“I love youandyour mom very much,” I tried. “And I’ll always be here for both of you, no matter what.”

“Yeah, but you love Mom different, don’t you?”

I couldn’t help it. I snorted. Kids were so much more intuitive than anyone gave them credit for.

“It’s okay if you do,” she mumbled. “I just wanted to tell you that.”

I sighed. If only it was that simple. But Harper was a child. She didn’t understand how complicated this whole situation was.

“It’s time for you to get to sleep, little miss,” I chuckled weakly, bending over to kiss her forehead before I stood to walk to the door. “Sweet dreams.”

“Night, Uncle Shep,” she murmured.

“Night, princess.”

Shutting the door behind me, I walked out to the living room and flopped down on the couch, turning on a rerun of some crime drama that I didn’t have to think about.

Because I couldn’t think. Not beyond that simple, innocent question my eight-year-old niece had asked me, and her blunt answer when I’d tried to deflect. I couldn’t stop wondering if I was making this mess with Holly way more complicated than it needed to be.

I honestly didn’t know the answer to that. But one thing I did know? I was fighting a losing battle when it came to keeping my feelings for Holly beneath the surface, and I didn’t know how much longer I could do it. Especially not when it was so obvious that she and Harper needed me more than they’d ever admit.

CHAPTER3

HOLLY

It was justafter midnight when I finally pulled back into my driveway. It had been along-ass night of lugging carriages full of people around and constantly keeping kids from trying to use Mistletoe as a jungle gym.

And the saddest part? It wasn’t over yet. I still had to get Mistletoe back into the stable, get her covered up with a cold weather blanket, and make sure the heat was on for her, and then unhook the trailer from my truck. It'd probably be one-thirty or two in the morning by the time I finally got into bed. And I’d get about four and a half hours of sleep before I had to get up and do it all over again tomorrow – er, today.

Just as I was about to get out of my truck and get to work, Shephard came out of the house dressed in full cold weather gear. Confused, I opened my door and climbed out.

“Hey. You heading out?” I asked.

I couldn’t entirely tell in the dim lighting streaming down from the porch, but it looked like he was rolling his eyes at me.

“Hell no,” he chuckled. “I drew up a hot bath for you when I heard the truck. I’ve got Mistletoe and the trailer. You head inside and get yourself warmed up.”

The exhaustion had to be going to my head. That was the only possible explanation for the lump that rose in my throat, which made my nose flare and eyes sting. But, using every ounce of strength I possessed, I swallowed it down. There was no way in hell that I was going to let Shephard see me start crying over a stupid bath and offer to take care of getting Mistletoe and her trailer situated.

“Thank you,” I choked out, handing him my keys and then rushing into the house just as a few tears started to slip down my cheeks.

I knew it was a bad mom move, but I didn’t even bother going to check on Harper. She was almost certainly asleep by now, and I didn’t want her to see me crying either. She’d just ask what was wrong, and I had absolutely no idea how to explain it.

Instead, I headed straight for the master bathroom, where a huge billow of steam was rising out of the full tub. Quickly stripping out of all my layers of clothing, I sank down into the warm water, sighing as my joints started to unfreeze. And now that I was alone, I let the tears I’d been trying – and failing – to hold back break free.

I couldn’t help the thoughts about Owen that came to the forefront of my mind. All the times he’d done things exactly like this when I’d had a rough day. Making dinner so I didn’t have to. Drawing me a warm bath and telling me to relax while he took care of whatever chores were on my to-do list.

And now his brother was filling that role in my life.

How was I supposed to stop myself from falling for Shephard when he did things like this? When he went out of his way to make my life easier and even did things to take care of me? When he dropped whatever he was doing to be there for me whenever I needed him? When he made it a point to be present in my daughter’s life and make sure she still had a father figure? I was standing on the very edge of a precipice, and all it would take was a light breeze to send me toppling over the edge and into a freefall.

I stayed in the tub until the water got cold, then got out and changed into my warm flannel pajamas before heading to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea.

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