Page 6 of Mistletoe and Holly

Except that Shephard was still here, and he was sitting on the couch with two steaming mugs and a plate of frosted sugar Christmas cookies on the coffee table.

“Hey. You…you’re still here,” I stammered.

“Just for long enough to have a mug of cocoa and some Christmas cookies with you. Harper and I made them tonight,” he said with a smile.

That made me grin. And it was something else Owen would have done. Come up with a fun activity to distract Harper so I could get work done, whether it was taking care of Mistletoe or putting in some extra hours at the salon.

“Thank you,” I sighed as I sank onto the couch next to him and took a sip from one of the mugs. “For everything tonight. Dropping everything to watch Harper. Making dinner. Making tonight fun for her. The bath and taking care of Mistletoe when I got home.”

“Of course. I wish you’d let me do things like this more often,” he murmured, rubbing circles on my back.

“Let you?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yes, let me. You’re one of the strongest people I know, Holl. You’ve had to be strong, for yourself and for that beautiful little girl. But you don’t have to do everything all by yourself. You and Harper still have people who love you and want to help.”

Another round of tears stung my eyes, and try as I might, I couldn’t stop a few of them from trailing down my cheeks. Shephard reached out and swiped one of them away with his thumb, and that simple gesture just made more take its place.

I raised my eyes to meet his, and the way he was looking at me, the intensity in his gaze…it took my breath away. But at the same time, it broke my heart.

Shephard was looking at me the way Owen used to. Like I was the only woman in the whole world. Like there was nothing he wouldn’t do for me. His eyes darted down to my lips, and I quickly turned away.

I couldn’t keep going down this path. I couldn’t disrespect my husband’s memory by getting involved with his brother. No matter how easy it would have been with him. No matter how right it felt. No matter how attracted I was to him.

“Shep…I…” I trailed off, surprised I could speak at all.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” he said quietly as he stood up. “I’m sorry. I’ll see you tomorrow, same time?”

I nodded robotically, not sure what to do or say.

“Get some rest,” he murmured, squeezing my shoulder before heading to the door.

I should have said something. Should have jumped off the couch and raced outside into the snow after him. But I just sat there mute, unmoving. Wondering what the hell had just happened and why it had taken everything in me to stop myself from bridging the gap between us, melting into Shephard, and giving in to the feelings that were growing stronger and stronger by the day.

CHAPTER4

SHEPHARD

“Sorry I’m late,”I panted as I rushed through the door of McGovern Hardware fifteen minutes after my scheduled start time. “I slept through my alarm.”

Walking behind the counter to clock in, I grinned when I saw the two coffee travelers with all the appropriate condiments – probably one coffee and one hot chocolate – and a huge box of pastries from our local coffee shop, Beans and Co. Noelle and Julian liked to randomly surprise us with coffee and breakfast, especially in the wintertime.

“Jules, you and your wife are saints,” I said as I poured myself a cup of coffee and grabbed a bear claw. “I need the caffeine something fierce today.”

Julian just chuckled and threw a smirk in my direction. “Late night?”

I snorted. “Yeah. I stayed up so I could take care of Mistletoe when Holly got home last night.”

And then I’d spent the rest of the night wide awake thinking about the fact that I’d been a hair’s breadth away from kissing Holly. Killing myself for even thinking about going there, especially after I saw how uncomfortable it made her. Not that I wouldeversay that out loud when Holly’s father was standing three yards away from me.

“Sure you weren’t taking care ofHolly?” Joey – the only other full-time employee besides me and Kris – teased, wagging his eyebrows.

“Really, Joey?” I groaned.

“What?” he asked, shoving half of a piece of coffee cake into his mouth.

“Her dad’sright there,man.”

“And we’re all adults here,” Kris chuckled. “Including my daughter.”

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