Page 39 of Christmas Secrets

Ben was up early Christmasmorning before Dottie was even out of bed. He’d decided he would surprise his wife with a simple breakfast of French toast with syrup, butter, and powdered sugar options. And some Clootie Dumpling for a chaser. They still had a few of those from the party at Neamh day before yesterday.

Humming to himself, he started a pot of coffee brewing and grabbed a non-stick pan from the cabinet. The things Poppy showed him had opened up a whole new world that he was enjoying exploring. He’d had no idea how easy and quick some things were to fix. Even pancakes weren’t difficult, especially if you just used a box mix and added eggs and milk. He especially loved French toast though, because he liked the egg coating.

He slapped two pieces on the pan and waited for them to brown on one side.

They would be having Christmas dinner at Thistlewind with his dad and Poppy today. He was glad because he wasn’t up to preparing a full holiday meal yet, and he didn’t expect Dottie to. Poppy said she was keeping it simple though, because she was about burned out on holiday foods after all the family visits and get togethers. He had to agree. He’d settle for a nice big pizza if he had his choice.

“What are ye doing up so early?”

Ben whirled and spied his lady love walking towards him with sleepy eyes, mussed hair, and nothing but one of his t-shirts on. A certain part of his body saluted her.

“I wanted to surprise ye with breakfast, but ye are awake now,” he teased.

Her eyes lit up. “Is that French toast I smell? I love French toast.”

“Aye,” he agreed, flipping the toast over to brown on the other side.

“Have I told ye how much I love ye?” Dottie asked, slipping her arms around his waist as he took the two toasts off and laid them on a plate.

He turned around in her arms and ran his hands up beneath his t-shirt. “Aye, but I never get tired of hearing it.” Then he turned her around, slapped her bare bum, and pointed her towards the hall. “Get dressed and be quick about it. I have a surprise fer ye this morning.”

Dottie grabbed her abused cheeks and started backing away. “Another one?”

“Aye, ye deserve to be spoiled. Especially at Christmas.”

“I have a few surprises fer ye too,” she purred. “And one surprise is a really big one.”

“Get moving then. I have plans before we go to Dads fer lunch.”

“Aye, aye, SIR!” She saluted smartly, then turned and ran when he started towards her with the pancake turner.

Smiling, Ben turned back to the business of finishing breakfast. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t added the dimension of spanking to their relationship before now. She could have used a few before this, but it had never seemed like the right time. Now it was and he couldn’t be more pleased with some of the changes in her attitude. It improved their sex life and they both slept better. A win all the way around.

***

Dottie was beyond excited. She couldn’t wait to tell Ben her good news. He seemed pretty excited too, and she wondered what he had in store for her? How could anything top the party though? His announcement had absolutely shocked and delighted her.

As she showered, she thought about everyone’s reaction to her Clootie Dumplings. She’d received lots of compliments, but so did everyone who brought something. The entire meal was raved about by all. The expected excessive adulation for her dumplings never came about. She’d been so relieved; it had taken the spotlight off and she didn’t feel like anyone was judging her.

Dottie still felt like a fraud when she thought about it, but Ben said the few people who knew about it understood and they were family. There was no need to make a public apology, which she’d thought she would need to do, because she didn’t owe anyone anything. She brought a dish as promised and that was all that mattered. It was no one’s business but his how much she paid for it.

Her mangled thumbs had been thanking her ever since.

Happily, she dressed in her new Christmas sweatshirt with a white snowman on a pretty pink background and slipped on her new jeans. Then she padded to her office where she picked up the envelope from her desk drawer and headed to the kitchen. She hesitated a moment, then put the envelope back. This would trump everything else and could quite possibly change some things in their lives. Mayhap it would best to leave it out of the normal Christmas gift exchange for now. She headed for the kitchen.

“Breakfast is ready,” Ben caroled and she smiled as she came out of the hallway. “Good, I’m starving!”

After breakfast they sat in front of their Christmas tree to the left of the warm fireplace and exchanged gifts. They were simple gifts, things that were needed, some new clothes, the Cinnamon Red perfume she liked and so on. They hadn’t had a big budget for personal spending this year. It hadn’t helped that she’d siphoned off 400 pounds for her biggest mistake ever.

“Thank ye, Ben,” she said, planting a kiss on his lips. “I dearly love this perfume and it’s rather expensive. It’s very thoughtful of ye to get it fer me.”

“So is this cologne ye bought me,” Ben enthused. “I know it’s not cheap either.” He set the bottle down and took her in his arms. “I’m sorry we’ve had a small budget since we’ve married, but it will get better, I promise. The demand fer beef is slowly increasing and I think running cattle is going to pay off. It just takes time.”

“We aren’t poor, Ben, we have plenty to eat and the best place on earth to live. We will build our lives together.”

Bens eyes suddenly twinkled down at her. “Now fer my surprise. I’m afraid I went over budget a wee bit myself, but I couldn’t pass it up, not when the price was perfect.” He jumped up and pulled her to her feet. “Come on.”

“Where are we going,” Dottie asked, following his long stride as he pulled her to the door. Then he stopped and took both her hands in his.

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