Christmas Showdown (7 page)

The furniture shop was bustling. It looked
like everyone else had had the same idea. He maneuvered the truck
into one of the last parking spaces and shut it off, but before
they could go inside, the ungodly stench coming from their son
demanded attention. Once TJ was fresh smelling and the dirty diaper
disposed of, Trey football-carried his son to the front doors. The
second they entered the store, Kelly’s eyes lit up like a Christmas
tree.

Trey knew at that moment he had done
something right this time. “Choose anything you want for him.”

Kelly’s heart pounded. These days she never
purchased anything new, especially furniture, though at times she
wandered through different stores while she made a mental list of
what she’d buy him if she had the money. Of course, those daydreams
included a small house with a backyard and a puppy, maybe a Cairn
terrier or a beagle.

When a saleswoman about the age of forty
approached, Kelly watched the blonde scan Trey from head to toe
before she smiled. “Can I help you?”

“We need some furniture for this little guy.”
Trey bounced TJ into the air and he giggled.

Maybe Kelly should inform him that jostling a
child after he’s just eaten wasn’t a good idea. Then she silently
grinned. No. Let him discover that on his own. They’d be back in
their own home in no time.

“We have some great sales on now. Follow me.”
Leading the way to the counter, she glanced over a shoulder,
batting her eyelashes at Trey. “I’m assuming you’ll want the entire
suite?”

Kelly was preparing to say no, just a bed and
dresser, when Trey replied, “Yes. The entire getup. What about a
crib?”

“I haven’t been able to keep him in one for a
while now.”

“A youth bed?” The saleswoman asked.

“I want something he’ll be able to grow
into,” Trey said.

A youth bed probably would have been a better
choice, but this was his money and Kelly wouldn’t interfere.
Besides TJ had slept in a full-size bed for some time.

The first bedroom set the woman showed them
had a ladder leading up to a bunk bed. “Do you like this?” Trey
asked.

“Uh. No. Unless you want to make another trip
to urgent care, this time for a cracked skull or a broken arm.”

“That’s a definite no on bunk beds,” he
stated firmly.

The next set was made out of pine. Before she
could say anything, Trey said, “No. Pine is a soft wood. Do you
have something in oak?”

The saleswoman did and surprisingly both Trey
and Kelly agreed that the double bed would allow for growth and the
desk he could use in the future.

“I want the same linen and spread you have on
it, too,” Trey added. The comforter was a Western motif, the sheets
had roping cowboys on it. “In fact, give us at least three sets of
sheets. We’ll take the bedding with us, but I want the rest
delivered and set up this evening. Will there be any problem with
that?”

“Not at all. If you’ll follow me we can take
care of everything.”

Kelly was shell-shocked when Trey, holding
TJ, and the saleswoman walked off.

When they returned, Trey smiled. “Now let’s
get a stroller and a high chair.”

“No!” Her throat tightened against unshed
tears. She squared her shoulders, her pride smarting. Trey had
purchased more for their child in an hour then she had all his
life. “You’ve done enough.”

“Darlin’, please. You’ve done so much and I
nothing. Besides, we both know TJ needs these things. Let me do
this for our son.”

He was right. Biting her bottom lip to
contain her emotion, she nodded, giving in and hoping she wouldn’t
regret it later.

The next stop was a children’s store. They
not only got a stroller, which Trey immediately placed TJ in, but a
high chair, two brand-new car seats, and a toy box.

But it didn’t stop there.

Trey picked out a remote-control truck, which
she had the sneaking suspicion was more for the big boy than the
little one. The man’s eyes grew large when he saw a train set that
would never fit in her small condominium. Not only did he buy one
for TJ, but the exact same set for one of his nephews. There was a
rocking horse, a yellow-and-red car with a trailer behind it, a
wagon, a tool set, and several more gifts for TJ and his nephews.
Trey didn’t forget his nieces either, choosing what he called girly
things that made Kelly laugh.

Before the cashier could ring up all his
purchases, he cried, “Wait! Ring me up another one of those
remote-control trucks.” When Kelly raised a brow, he said, “What?
How are we going to race them tomorrow if there isn’t at least
two?”

“I’m not even going to comment on that
logic.” She shook her head, remembering that saying that men never
grew up. But Trey would learn quickly that raising a child was more
than buying him gifts.

The day had been a great success. Not only
had Trey finished all his shopping by two, but Kelly finally
appeared relaxed. Not exactly happy, but she wasn’t frowning
anymore. The prettiest smile he had ever seen curved those
delicious rosy lips of hers.

Every once in a while she would gaze back
into his truck bed. “You shouldn’t have purchased so much. TJ won’t
know what to play with first.”

Trey had tried on several occasions to
purchase her some items, but she had refused him. Learning quickly,
he gave up asking and purchased items under the guise of being for
his sisters or mother, and that included a woman’s black leather
jacket like his.

As he maneuvered his truck down the driveway,
he pulled before his single-story ranch house and drew to a
stop.

Her jaw dropped, her eyes widening. “This is
your house?”

“Uh huh. The backyard is fenced so you don’t
have to worry about TJ wandering off.
Damn
. I should have
bought him a swing set. Guess that will have to wait until after
Christmas. Of course I could go back to the store and buy a swing
for that large oak tree over there.” That specific tree had been
the reason he built his house where he did. It was a magnificent
tree, one he and his brothers had climbed many times.

“Maybe you should, because I’m not sure he’ll
be able to wait a couple of days. In fact, I expect him to burst
out in tears any minute.”

Trey glanced over his shoulder at the
sleeping child, realizing she was teasing him. “Ha. Ha.”

She smirked, her grin faltering when the
furniture truck pulled up behind them. While Kelly got the
slumbering TJ out of the backseat, Trey opened the front door for
the men. He led them through the house, showing them what room the
new furniture needed to go in, but first they had to move the old
furniture. Opening the garage, he went to the truck to get a load
of presents to take into the house. When he entered through the
front door, he saw Kelly holding TJ in her arms, staring at her
surroundings.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, placing the
items on the leather sofa before he approached her.

“It’s beautiful, Trey.”

He caught the scent of antiseptic over a warm
vanilla aroma that lingered throughout. “I can’t take all the
credit. Mom and the girls swung by this morning to do some
cleaning. I think they also filled the refrigerator. If I know
them, they did the sheets on the beds as well, but we might want to
toss TJ’s into the washer. Here, why don’t you put him in my
bedroom?”

Kelly followed him down the hall to the
double doors at the end. He swung them wide and moved aside for her
to enter. She stopped just inside and looked at the four-poster
king-size bed.

Seeing her inside his lair sent a possessive
wave through him. He wanted her on that bed—naked—in his arms.

“The bed sits so high I’m afraid he’ll hurt
himself if he rolls off. Where will I be sleeping?”

So much for having her naked in his bed.

“Right down the hall.” He led the way.

The bed inside this room was queen-size, and
in reality, the plush mattress made it just as high off the
carpeted floor as his was. Still she laid the sleeping child
between several pillows, pulling the edge of the comforter over him
to keep him warm.

“I’ll help you get the rest of the things in
from the truck, and then if you’ll show me where the washer is I’ll
take care of TJ’s sheets.”

They worked in silence, passing each other in
the process, until everything they’d bought lay scattered around
the living room. Some of the bigger items that wouldn’t be wrapped,
like the rocking horse and the car and trailer, he carried to his
bedroom and placed in the walk-in closet.

When he re-entered the living room, Kelly was
gone. He strolled into the kitchen and saw the door of the laundry
room open. She was busy inside unwrapping sheets and stuffing them
into the washer.

Trey realized how right it looked to have her
in his house. Smiling, he turned away and opened the refrigerator.
His grin widened at the twelve pack of beer.

“Thank you, Suz,” he murmured, before raising
his voice. “You want something to drink? Maybe a beer?”

“Okay.”

Popping the top on two cold ones, he
sauntered into the laundry room and pressed a bottle into her
hand.

She raised the beer to her lips, the muscles
in her slender throat working as she took a drink. “
Ahhh
. I
haven’t had alcohol in so long. Thank you.”

“I was going to call for Chinese, but I
thought I’d better ask if you would prefer something else.”

Kelly set the bottle down and started picking
up the wrappers to the sheets. “I could cook.”

He grabbed both of their beers and followed
her into the kitchen. “Under the sink,” he said, motioning to the
trash can. “I’d don’t think we’ll have the time for you to cook.”
He handed her a beer.

“Time?” She took a sip.

“Did you see how many presents we have to
wrap? I think it’ll take us all night. I just hope I bought enough
paper and tape.”

“You’re probably right. Chinese would be
great. Just make sure you order some kind of noodles for TJ and egg
rolls.”

“You know, you didn’t get a good look at the
house. Maybe when the movers leave and TJ wakes up, we can take a
stroll around the grounds.”

“I’d like that.”

A sudden crash in the living room jerked both
of their heads around.

“Oh no.” Kelly ran from the kitchen, her
voice firming as she yelled, “No, TJ. No,” even before they reached
the living room.

Standing at the Christmas tree in the corner
was their son, and several broken bulbs were at his feet. His eyes
were like saucers as his bottom lip quivered.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t expect him
to wake up so soon. He’s Houdini. He’s learned how to shimmy off
the bed backwards, holding on to the comforter until his feet touch
the floor.” Kelly sighed. “Oh, TJ, look what you’ve done.” With
those words, he puckered up and a wail burst from his mouth. She
grabbed him before he could fall on the shards scattered about the
tile. “I’m sorry, baby, but you can’t touch things in this
house.”

“Kelly, please don’t tell him that. I want
him—you—to feel welcome here. This is your home now. Besides, I
should have realized why your tree had decorations only on the top
of the tree.” He patted TJ on the back. “It’s okay, li’l buckaroo.
They’re just ornaments. I’ll get the broom and dustpan.”

After Trey cleaned up the mess, the movers
announced they were finished and the three of them went to check
out the room. Kelly stopped just inside. Tears filled her eyes, but
she batted them away.

She buried her face against TJ. “This is your
room, baby.”

The tender moment made Trey’s throat thicken
with emotion. He quickly scribbled his name on the paperwork the
man before him held out. “Thank you.”

When the man disappeared, Trey closed the
distance between him and his new family, circling his arms around
both Kelly and TJ. In silence, he held them.

That is until TJ yelled, “Down.”

Kelly released him, and the second the little
tike’s feet struck the floor he was off, both Trey and Kelly
running to catch up with him. The kid was like a streak of
lightning going through the house, touching everything and giggling
like a madman. His laughter was infectious as Trey and Kelly joined
in and instead of trying to catch him in earnest, they made a game
of it.

When Trey finally snatched the boy around the
waist, he raised him up in his arms and twirled him around. “I
think you need to run off some of that energy. Let’s take him
outside.”

After getting their jackets on, Trey carried
TJ through the kitchen and out the back door. He set the boy down
on the porch and TJ took off like a bullet. What came over Trey, he
didn’t know, but he slipped his arm around Kelly and pulled her to
his side. She gazed up at him with something close to wonder in her
eyes.

“You’ve done a great job with him, Kelly. I’m
sorry I wasn’t there to help.”

“Thank you. I just wish—”

“That I’d never walked back into your life,
or for that matter that you met me in Denver that night?”

“No. If that night never happened I wouldn’t
have TJ. I won’t lie, Trey, it’s not been easy, but I have never
regretted having him. It’s just that I wish things had been
different.”

“They can be, Kelly.” Trey turned her in his
arms so that they were facing each. “After I discovered I’d lost
your telephone number when I got home that day, I was sick. I
didn’t know your last name. How to find you.” He shrugged, not
knowing what more to say. “Please, give me a chance.”

Silence stretched between them as they gazed
into each other’s eyes. Trey bent his head to hers, nudging her
nose with his. She didn’t back away. Instead, she leaned forward,
her eyelids drifting partially closed. His lips skimmed hers.