Red Hot Christmas (16 page)

“I'm sorry. I forgot my cell phone in the Jeep. I was just running in to grab those boxes, but she was there on my landing.”

“Who?” He pulled back and looked at her.

“My mother. She came to try to convince me to go to my father's hearing tomorrow.” She leaned against his chest and closed her eyes, realizing that her eyes stung.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head no. “But I will be. I told her that if she wouldn’t take my side, then I didn't want to hear from her again. She left without another word.” It stung. Stung so much that fresh tears streamed down her face.

He pulled her face up and looked her in the eyes, gently wiping the tears from her cheeks. Then he bent down and kissed her lips. “I'm so sorry, Amber. I can't begin to understand what you're going through, other than the feeling of loss.”

She took a deep breath, and looking into his copper eyes, realized he'd been through much worse lately. Now, this party meant everything to him and to her. It was a way to tell themselves that this was their family. The people they'd invited tomorrow had replaced the blood relatives they’d lost, and the ones that simply had chosen not to be there.

She took a deep breath again and smiled up at him. “We have a party to plan, and I'm running late getting everything over to your house.” She pulled back and wiped her eyes. “Now, if you'll help me carry down these boxes, we can get going.”

When she opened the door to help him out, she gasped, “Oh! It's snowing.” He laughed behind her.

“You stood there looking out a large window for an hour and just now noticed it was snowing?”

“Well, I was preoccupied.” She laughed, “Okay, it does sound a little weird. I supposed I was reliving that night over and over again, trying to determine if I’d really seen what I’d thought I’d seen.” She opened the back of her Jeep so he could put the box inside and get it out of the snow. She closed it and turned to look at him. The snow hit his hair and instantly melted, making his hair look darker. Large flakes landed on his eyelashes and cheeks. “You forgot your hat and gloves.” She smiled at him.

“I know. I seem to be forgetting a lot now that my grandmother isn’t around to remind me all the time.” He pulled her into a hug and kissed her as the snow silently fell around them.

B
y the time the first guest arrived the next day, Luke's house shined like it hadn't in years. He and Amber had spent several hours cleaning and reorganizing. She'd helped him optimize the space so that the room flowed better—her words not his. He had to admit, it did open the place up a lot. Now he didn't feel like he was going to be constantly hitting his shins on the chair as he walked by.

She'd even helped him clean and organize his food shelves. She told him with this system—yeah, she'd called it a system—he'd be more efficient in the kitchen. He replied, “The last time we were in this kitchen together, I didn't hear you complaining about my efficiency.” He'd followed it up with a loud smack of a kiss and a quick slap on her butt.

He should have known that Allison, Iian, and Conner would be the first ones to show up. Conner was a sturdy looking toddler, and he played with Jackie in the kitchen while Iian helped with the finishing touches in the kitchen.

“Not that I don't trust your cooking. After all, I did spend a summer teaching you everything you know,” Iian had signed to him.

“Right, then I taught you everything you know about women. That's why you're married to hot Ally.” They laughed as they worked in the kitchen. He was just putting the sweet potatoes in the oven when Todd and Megan walked in.

“Come to give us a hand?”

“God, no. Don't you know by now not to trust my wife in the kitchen?” Todd laughed and kissed his wife. She smiled and set her youngest, Riley, down on the floor to play with the puppy. Her fly-away blond hair had a pretty red bow in it today.

“Where are your other two rug-rats?” He asked Megan as he kissed her cheek.

“Oh, they're coming. They are just seeing the new baby. Aaron and Lacey showed up right behind us.” As if on cue, two kids came running into the room. Matthew, a rambunctious eight-year-old came first, and his sister, Sara, wasn't far behind him. They both plopped down on the ground and started playing with Jackie.

“Kids, say hello to everyone first.” Megan sat down at the kitchen table.

“Hello,” both kids said without looking up from the dog. Everyone laughed.

By the time all his guests had arrived, the place was packed and smelled of wonderful food. The kitchen table was loaded with dishes people had brought. Folding chairs and tables were brought in from the garage. Everyone made their way through the kitchen, grabbing heaping plates of food, then they filled every chair in his house to sit down and eat.

He enjoyed the feeling of having friends over and knew it wouldn't be the last party he'd throw. He sat next to Amber as they ate at the main table in the dining room, surrounded by their only family, and he knew the path he wanted to take. He wanted Amber to be sitting beside him for the next party, and the next, and the next. His heart skipped a beat when he thought of her not being there. He could only imagine that this was how his grandparents had felt about one another.

He'd only know her for two months, yet she was everything he wanted for his future. Now he just needed to figure out how to tell her and show her he was the right one for her.

After the paper plates had been disposed of, and the dishes had been handled by a group of women and men, everyone sat around and listened to Todd and Patty play the violin and piano in the front room. Luke knew that Iian could play piano as well, but he hadn't attempted it in years, since losing his hearing.

Amber sat next to Luke on the couch holding George.

“Such an old fashion name for such a little guy.” Amber gently rubbed George's dark hair.

“It was Todd, Lacey, and Iian's father's name. He died in the same accident that took Iian’s hearing.”

“Oh!” Amber looked at Luke.

It was Iian’s eighteenth birthday and his father had taken him out sailing, something they'd always done. Apparently there was a bad storm. They found Iian later, and he was pretty banged up and had lost his hearing. Iian can only remember bits and pieces. He thinks his father threw him on the life boat just before getting hit by lightning. He swears his father saved his life.”

“Oh, how sad.” Amber looked down at the tiny baby. “Well, from the sounds of it, you're named after a really great man.” She kissed the baby's nose, and another piece of the puzzle he'd been missing was found.

It was wonderful spending the weekend at Luke's place. The party had been a huge success. She really was starting to feel like part of the town. Everyone was so friendly that she doubted she'd ever want to leave. She was trying to focus on the good and not on the visit from her mother. She was due back at work on Monday morning to meet with the contractors, but for the weekend, she pretended she had a different life. She imagined this was her life, living in a huge Victorian house on a country road in a small town along the Oregon coast, with her dog and her man.

The only reminder of what might be coming was the constant view of game items in his bedroom. When she tried to bring it up, he laughed.

“If you don't like the stuff, I can move it into my gran's sewing room down the hall. I've been thinking of turning that into an office anyway.” It seemed to her that instead of winning the battle, she'd only postponed it, but she didn't mention it the rest of the weekend. Instead, she spent her time laughing and enjoying every moment with Luke and Jackie. The snow hadn't stuck so the back yard was a mud pile. Every time Jackie went out, they had to use a towel to dry her off. Amber had gotten it in her head to give the girl a bath, which had just soaked them and made them both smell like wet dog.

She did enjoy the hour long, hot shower they'd taken together, afterwords, though.

By Sunday night, she was feeling a little sad that she had to head back to her place.

“
Why don't you stay one more night? You can leave first thing in the morning.” He made a sad face, puckering his bottom lip out.

“I wish I could. But I have laundry to do tonight and I really do need a full night’s rest. We both know that I'd never get that if I stay here.”

He smiled. “I didn't hear you complaining last night.” He pulled her closer. Her coat was already on, and she had been trying to get her gloves on. She pushed him away playfully.

“No. No complaints from me. But I do need to go.” She kissed him again and picked up her overnight bag.

“Well, fine. Give me a call when you get home. You know, so I know you got there okay.”

She smiled. “Okay.” She leaned in and kissed him again. “Goodnight.”

She drove home in silence, and when she turned onto Main Street she was stunned to see that the Christmas lights were already hanging across the street, and on every light post hung large wreathes with red bows. She really did like this town.

It took her a few minutes to get situated. She had laundry going before she called Luke. When he answered, he sounded out of breath.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Well...” He took a deep breath and she could hear him moving around. “Actually, right after you left, Jackie decided to start acting up. She dragged my good jeans—you know, the ones I always wear—all the way downstairs dragged my good jeans, you know the ones I always wear.” She knew the ones and couldn't really call them his good ones.

“The faded blue jeans with holes in the knees?”

“Yeah, those are the ones. Anyway, she dragged them all the way downstairs, then got out the back door with them and drug them through the mud. They’re ruined. Totally ruined.” He actually sounded hurt, and she laughed and laughed until her sides hurt.

When she finally stopped, the other side of the call was quiet. “Luke?”

“Yeah?” He still sounded hurt.

“You can always buy new jeans.”

“Do you know how long it took me to break those in?”

“Twenty years?” She laughed some more, and this time he joined her.

“Okay, so it's not so bad. I just don't know how she did it all so quickly. She was such a good girl when you were here.” He left the statement hanging.

“Is that supposed to be some sort of guilt trip?” She smiled and snuggled under her blanket on the couch. The heater was just kicking in, warming the place.

“Did it work?” She laughed again. “What are you wearing?” His voice changed and got deeper, more like a whisper.

She smiled. “Are you trying to have phone sex with me?”

“Is it working?” She laughed again.

“Well, maybe. What are
you
wearing?” she asked in a breathless voice.

“Not my favorite blue jeans.” They both laughed.

The next morning she felt like she still hadn't gotten enough sleep, probably due to spending half the night talking to Luke on the phone. He kept trying to tell her how late it was, but she just didn't want to get off the line with him; it was her own fault. She walked into the restaurant at eight the next morning wishing for a strong cup of coffee. Good thing she worked at a restaurant. Less than fifteen minutes later, armed with a large cup, she opened the doors for the construction crew and showed them what was being done.

Several hours later, just before the lunch rush, the men from the fish tank company showed up. Iian had arrived shortly after her that morning, and they'd spend a good deal of their time taking measurements and discussing what they wanted.

“My brother drew this up.” He handed her a piece of paper.

On the sketch, instead of a large V, there was a somewhat oval-shaped semi-circle. The smooth lines would enhance the shape of the current bar. She could just imagine the fun shape and how it would look from both sides.

“Wonderful. I like it so much better.”

They spent some time walking over the carpeted area, trying to find the right spot. When the two men from the fish tank company showed up, she told them exactly what they wanted.

The estimate they provided was lower then she'd imagined, especially since they had added a custom-shaped curved tank instead of two square ones.

“We can still keep two tanks if you want. One for fresh fish, the other for salt water. We'd use a divider here,” the company’s owner, Mark, said pointing to the middle of Todd's drawing. “We’d use extra thick material here. Add another filter and pump below.”