Page 3 of Sleigh My Name
“Yes, but just one. I don’t want you to ruin your dinner,” I say, smiling at Linda. “Thank you for these. Thank you for everything.”
“Oh, sweetheart, you have nothing to thank me for. You’re a breath of fresh air. I’m glad you’re here.”
“I don’t think everyone thinks the same,” I whisper, remembering the resentment in Liam’s eyes when he saw me.
“He’ll come around. He’s a good man with a giant heart,” Linda says reassuringly.
I nod, but I’m not convinced that Linda’s right. Liam could never be described as soft, but now he’s closed off. Especially with me. I can’t blame him. When he’d looked at me earlier, all I saw was disdain. Whatever love he felt for me all those years ago isn’t there anymore.
Linda must notice the sadness in my eyes because she bundles me into her comforting arms. “Have faith. Everything happens for a reason,” she whispers before releasing me and looking at Penny. “I have to run downstairs. I’ll serve dinner at six on the dot. Hope you ladies like pot roast.”
With that, she walks out, leaving me with a spark of something I haven’t felt in a very long time.
Hope.
CHAPTER 3
Liam
“I never picturedScrooge living in such a winter wonderland.”
Charley’s voice reaches me as I turn the corner to find my new houseguests in the dining room, a steaming pot of Linda’s famous roast set in the center of the table. Earlier this summer, when we began offering distillery tours, Linda envisioned serving food to the people afterward. I bristled at the intrusion. She countered with a personal touch.
I retorted, “I don’t do personal.”
Linda threw her hands up, a hearty laugh echoing in the air, but she won.
Now, for the first time at Christmas, Whiskey Heart’s tasting room offers family-style dining to the public for special occasions.
In truth, the only reason she won the argument was that it allowed us to host holiday dinners for folks in town who didn’t have any other family to spend it with. It was one of Linda’s manipulation tactics. She knew how hard it was for me during the holidays. I liked the idea that we were giving people a place to go on what might otherwise be a tough day. I knew a little about not being welcomed or having a true home.
“Linda’s responsible for the getup,” I say, pulling out a chair for Penny and gesturing for Charley to settle in the chair beside her. “It’s just a bunch of tree branches to me.”
Charley’s eyes finally land on mine. They’ve been landing everywhere but on me since she arrived. I should’ve said no to Linda when she asked if Charley and her kid sister could stay, but the moment I saw her face, I was a teenage boy again, incapable of saying no. How does this woman still have a fucking vise on my heart all these years later? I should hate her, but I don’t. She walked out of my life a long time ago, leaving a lot of damn wounds, but for the sake of the little one, I need to leave the past in the past and do what’s right.
Hopefully.
“Well, it looks beautiful.” Charley presses her lips together as if she’s holding back more words.
“I don’t know why they keep calling you Scrooge. You don’t seem that bad at all,” Penny chirps at Charley’s shoulder, swiping a hunk of French bread off the table and taking a bite.
“Penny!” Charley exclaims.
“What? You just said?—”
“I know what I said,” Charley whispers, blushing fiercely.
My mind wanders to how she used to blush for completely different reasons. Reasons that included her panting beneath me.
I like Penny. The kid seems to know what buttons to push with my pretty Charley.Fuck no, not mine. Not anymore.
“Truth is, Penny, it’s been pretty busy around here the last few years. I haven’t slowed down long enough to think about things like Santa Claus,” I explain, as an idea forms in my mind. “In fact, I think we should do a sleigh ride this year, invite the town for hot cocoa on Christmas Eve. Would you help me organize that?”
Why the fuck did I just suggest that?
Penny’s grin widens, and her eyes sparkle. “That sounds like so much fun! We could even have a Santa Claus giving presents to the kids in town who don’t have any. Hey, you could be Santa Claus! No one would call you Scrooge then.” She beams, glancing between Charley and me. “And Charley, you could be Mrs. Claus.”
I smile at Penny. “Sounds like a great plan, kiddo.”
