Page 13 of Love, Lies and Sleigh Rides
“She’s incredibly kind to put me up for the night. Especially with so much going on with your party.” She shrugged. “I just feel…a little awkward here, to be honest.” She rose from the couch and walked with him to the kitchen. He pulled out a stool for her and then walked around the island to check the coffeemaker.
“My mother has never met a stranger. She’s talked about opening an inn for years, but she’s already over her head with the studio and herd.” Elaine had made coffee already. Kade rummaged through the cabinets until he found where the nicer mugs were now stored. He poured coffee into one for Fallon and another for himself. “Cream and sugar?”
Fallon slid the mug across the counter toward her. “Neither, thanks.”
At thirty-nine, he’d been around plenty of beautiful women in his life. He was comfortable in his own skin and knew the affects he had on the opposite sex. But for some reason, sharing the quiet kitchen of his childhood home with Fallon, who was practically a stranger, made every movement feel awkward, stilted. Her hawklike focus when she looked at him didn’t help either.
He stirred a little cream into his mug. “So, have you heard from Bart?”
She gathered the loose ends of her dark hair that had escaped the rubber band at her neck and made a face.
“Only that he towed it back to his place late yesterday. He said he’d take a look at it today and give me the scoop later.”
“Like I said, it’ll be a while until he can get the parts.”
Frowning, she stared into her coffee mug. “I can work remotely, so that’s not a problem. I’ll have to pick up some clothes and toiletries at some—”
The doorbell rang, melodious deep chimes that set Maggie barking. Fallon stopped mid-sentence to swivel on her seat and looked down the hall.
“That’s probably Tim. I have no idea why he’s ringing the bell.”
“It’s so early. Has he come for breakfast?” She stood, a look of panic on her face.
“The traditional First Party always starts early.” He came around the island again to head to the front door but stopped. Fallon’s frown had deepened while she massaged her throat.
“Is something wrong?”
“I’m going to go upstairs. To call the motel, see if there’s an opening for later today.”
Her discomfort was so obvious.
“It’s very casual, this get-together.” He didn’t want her to feel out of sorts. Then again, he understood. “And it’s not just family. Friends come too. You might even know someone.”
“I feel like a party crasher just the same.” She had her hand on the banister and one foot on the bottom step. “I don’t want to get in the way.”
The doorbell rang again in short, impatient bursts, which Fallon must have taken as her cue to bound up the stairs two at a time. He watched her disappear around the corner at the top of the landing before he crossed the foyer and opened the door. Another blast of cold air and snowflakes pushed inside. Sure enough, Tim stood there holding Della, his three-year-old.
“Hey, KB!”
A flashback to a handmade sign waving in the stands at his high school football field hit him. He’d been the team’s senior captain. His mother had drawn “KB” on poster board in big bubble letters, his nickname. She’d let the twins, then four years old, fill them in with poster paints.
“Get in here.” He ushered his brother and niece inside. “Where’s Jeannie and Kyah?”
“They’ll be along in a bit. We drove separately since I might have to give Sean Stetman a hand with his Bobcat. Keeps dying on him.” He set Della down to undo his parka and she promptly scooted behind her dad’s legs.
“Not ideal in this weather.” He waited for Tim to hang their jackets on the coat-tree and then gave him a hearty hug. “It’s good to see you two.”
“Same. And now you’re home for good, huh? Hard to believe.”
They walked toward the kitchen together with Della clinging to her dad’s jeans. Kade almost scooped Della up for a hug too but remembered she didn’t know him. He’d seen her only twice before. His last trip back home had been almost two years ago. She’d just started walking. He remembered Della toddling across the kitchen toward Elaine after her mother, Jeannie, set her down. Della took one look at him and took the long way around the room to get to her grandmother.
“For the foreseeable future at least.” Kade watched Tim hoist Della onto the counter, where his niece promptly plucked a banana from a wire basket of fruit and held it out to her father to peel. “I figure there’s plenty to do around here while I sort it out.”
Tim looked out through the kitchen window. “Whose car is out there, by the way?”
“The woman helping Mom with the Holly Days Festival. From some PR firm in the Twin Cities.” He chuckled when Della handed him the banana peel. “Thank you.”
“What’s she doing here today?”
