Page 32 of Mistletoe Dreams
Although Mason had definitely enjoyed his time at the medical center and did every task he was given with an intensity that reminded her of his father.
Ben.
She smiled a little, thinking about their meeting earlier in the week and the few times that she'd seen him picking Mason up from the medical center.
It wasn't that far, and Mason could walk, and Mason had mentioned to her that he wasn't sure why his dad insisted on picking him up.
There was a part of her that hoped that Ben was doing it because he wanted to see her. Of course, that was a silly thought a schoolgirl might have, but she couldn't mature past them.
Because she hoped that Ben would come pick Mason up so that she could have a glimpse of Ben.
She hummed along with the melody to "O Little Town of Bethlehem" while she set the chocolate down and tidied up the boxes. She hadn't really thought about what a huge house this was and how one person kind of rattled around in it and how her grandma maybe had felt lonely at times.
Maybe her coming to stay with her grandma during the summers had been just as much of a joy to her as it had been to Hannah.
If her gram had said so, she didn't remember. All she remembered was that her grandma always looked happy to see her and always made her feel like she was wanted and loved.
Maybe when she had the house decorated, she would get out her grandma's old Christmas recipes and see if she could re-create some more of the things she remembered eating as a child and loving since the meatloaf had turned out so well. Things that made the holidays seem more like a holiday.
Of course, that was assuming she was going to have time, with getting ready for the Mistletoe Christmas Festival and doing some double duty at the medical center as Terry's time drew near.
She started thinking about children and work at the medical center and recipes and was surprised by a thump on her back porch.
What could that be? she thought to herself as she paused for a moment, then hurried to the door. She needed to get a dog. She was far enough out that it might be a good idea. She didn't want to do it around the holidays, though, but she made a note to think about it in the spring.
Glancing at the corner where an umbrella sat leaning against the wall, she decided she would use that as a weapon if she needed it as she opened the door and glanced out the crack before opening it wider.
"Ben?" she asked, surprised to see him standing on her porch, Mason beside him, grinning from ear to ear.
"We brought you some firewood. Dad said you didn't want to have a fire by yourself, but he also said that you didn't say you didn't want a fire at all, so he said we should stack some up on your porch."
"I know we kind of talked about it, and if you don't want it, we can take it back." Ben shifted uneasily on his feet, and she shook her head with a smile.
"Oh, it's fine. A fire would be perfect, and maybe there'll be a reason to have one; now I don't have an excuse not to." She glanced from Mason to Ben. "You guys can come on in, and I'll give you some hot chocolate."
"Maybe when we're done. We have enough firewood to make about three more trips each," Ben said, his brows raised as though asking if she wanted that much.
"That would probably be more than enough for me for the year and then some."
"Sounds good. Anything else we get, we'll make sure we give away to someone else."
"All right." She lifted her brows. "Twenty minutes? And I'll have hot chocolate waiting for you.” She paused. “I have some cowboy butter meatloaf left from supper that I could warm up as well.”
Mason’s eyes lit up.
Ben grinned. “We’re not turning down food and hot chocolate, apparently. We'll be in if it's not too much trouble."
She glanced at Mason's eager eyes and figured that the kid was a typical teen and hungry all the time.
"No trouble at all," she said. And she meant it. In fact, now the evening seemed much brighter, considering that she was going to have some company and she could serve them something that would warm their insides and make them smile.
She hummed along to "Joy to the World" as she bustled in the kitchen, heating some milk for the hot chocolate and getting mugsready as the meatloaf warmed in the microwave. It was almost twenty minutes later when there was another knock at the door.
She went to answer it and was surprised to only see Ben standing there.
"Mason?" she asked, looking over his shoulder, even though the porch was completely deserted.
"There's one more load to bring up, and Mason asked if he could do it because he wanted to be able to drive the pickup. At that age, driving anywhere is a special treat." He blew out a breath as though he were nervous, but she couldn't imagine why he would be. "I can wait out here if you want me to."
