Page 8 of Must Love Mistletoe

He looked so fine in his shiny cowboy boots and neatly pressed black trousers. So very solid in his black shirt and gray suede coat that ended somewhere around his knees. Below the knees on anyone else, but this was Cal Casey. Big in stature, great big heart.

“Ready to go home soon?” she asked as Sam reached her side.

“Soon as you do that thing you said you would.”

Right. That thing she’d promised to do today, in front of God and anyone else within hearing distance.

She knew where Cal was. She’d known where he was every moment of the morning, often without even having to look. Standing on the other side of her son in the church. Shaking hands with neighbors. He was the calm in the eye of a storm, the king pole in a circus tent, bringer of towering strength and shelter.

Tolerant.

To a fault.

His brother Mason had been right to defend him, and she’d been so very wrong.

She glanced down at Sam and took a deep breath. “Back me up?”

“You bet.”

She shook out her hands, did a little dance on the spot the way boxers sometimes did before entering the ring for a big title fight.

Time to be the best mom, the bestperson, she could be.

Stepping up into a circle of Casey men wasn’t easy, even if Jett and Seth automatically made room for her.

She held out her hand to the nearest one, starting off small and warming her way up to the big event. “Thank you, Jett, foreverything. I won’t forget the honor you’ve afforded Red, or me, or Sam, by being a pallbearer today. TJ, you, too. Thank you for making the journey. Mason, I know you were supposed to be at the big stock auction in Dallas today, so thank you for being here instead. I won’t forget that courtesy. Seth, you’re a rock, thank you so much. I’ve left you each a little something at your mom’s place.” Whiskey, the best she could afford, and a thank you note written by Sam and signed by them both.

Finally, she stood in front of Cal and looked up into that craggy face and forever kind eyes. “Cal, thank you for showing up in spite of all the horrible accusations I leveled at you up on the mountain.”

“You were in shock.”

“I was a witch.”

Someone coughed to hide a laugh, but her gaze never left Cal’s wary face, so she didn’t know who. “I’m ashamed of myself and deeply regret hurting you with my hateful words.” How many nights had she lain awake trying to get the words of this apology exactly right? She dug around in her clutch purse that held little more than tissues and a folded sheet of paper crammed full of words on both sides. “Do you have a moment? I have an apology memorized, but I wrote it all out just in case I got too nervous.” And boy, was she nervous.

“I don’t need to hear it,” he said quietly.

“I might,” Mason said, and Beth didn’t know whether to be relieved or horrified when Cal’s gaze left hers and landed on his older brother with the chill of a thousand winter mornings. Mason lifted his hands in surrender, and said nothing more, but he was right. Word of her outburst had gotten around. Hopefully word of her apology would make the rounds too.

She cleared her throat and fingered the edge of the paper, risking a paper cut, and tried not to lose her nerve. She glanced down at the starting words and then back at Cal and letmemory take over, hoping her voice wouldn’t sound as shaky as her hands. “Dear Cal.” She hoped thedearwouldn’t count as overstepping. “You’ve been a better friend and neighbor these past years than I ever deserved. You eased my load so many times, and Sam’s, too, and for that we can never repay you.” She caught her son’s eye and he gave an encouraging nod. So far, so good. “You’re generous, honorable, hardworking, and as solid as the mountains. There is no better role model for Sam than you, and he’s blessed to have you as his godfather. And instead of thanking you for such a blessing, I abused the privilege of your friendship and I—”

“Dog, just shoot him now,” one of his brothers muttered, and she glanced over to find Seth’s big hand covering his face as if he simply couldn’t watch.

What? What was she doing wrong this time?

“Cal, I deeply regret my behavior. Not one word of what I said was true. It was unfair of me to skewer you with my issues, possibly even unforgivable—”

“Apology accepted,” Cal interrupted gruffly.

“But I still have a page and a half to—”

“Beth.”

The way he said her name, just a gentle, pained kind of weariness.

“Enough.I know you’re hurting. I know you want to put this behind you and move on. You’re not the only one. I’ve heard you out. I accept your apology. Your outburst that day doesn’t keep me awake. Let it go.”

It sounded like good advice.

---