The Parting Gift(21)

Maybe it was in the way he said it, or the way his eyes seemed to darken when he asked that question – a question which her double-crossing heart leapt at. Indeed, she saw something that struck her fancy, and just the thought of it scared her to death.

“I, um...” She pushed the escaped hair back into her knit hat. “How about that one?”

The tree she pointed to was a blue spruce, full and alive with thousands of tiny needles. It was a solid seven feet and would fit perfectly in their—the Graham’s home. She needed to stop thinking of it as hers. It wasn’t hers. Temporary, it was only temporary. This – this thing with Blaine and David, it was a dying man’s last wish. Nothing more. It couldn’t be, because if it was, she was afraid her heart might not be able to take it.

“She’s a beauty,” Blaine said, never taking his eyes off hers.

Neither of them spoke for several seconds, and then a voice broke through their moment.

They paid him, and the man handed them some twine to tie down the tree’s wide branches. “Will ya need help loading it in yer truck?”

“I think we have it under control,” Blaine said smoothly.

Mara felt herself blush for no apparent reason as Blaine took the saw and began cutting at the bottom of the tree. She knew it was rude to stare, especially with one’s mouth open, but she couldn’t help but be mesmerized as the saw went back and forth with a smoothness and agility she knew she would never possess. What made men so good at things like cutting down trees and fixing and protecting?

Shielding her thoughts from the unholy, she tried to concentrate on something, anything else that would take her away from Blaine’s movements, but the noise alone was doing her in. Everything about Blaine screamed for her to take notice, even if he was, at times, the most stubborn man on the planet.

“Watch out!”

Suddenly she was being thrown bodily to the snowy cold ground.

Blaine was above her pressing her down into the thick blanket of fresh snow, eyes laced with concern.

“Mrs. Crawford, are you alright? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to tackle you, but the tree nearly took you out.”

She laughed nervously. “Yes, well, I must have been lost in my thoughts.” Of you, she should have added, but she was already embarrassed enough. To think she was almost killed by a tree because she was trying not to watch the attractive man cutting it down. Stupidity at its finest.

Blaine didn’t move. Neither did she. For the moment she felt, protected, cherished, wanted. Her breathing was shallow, and she was scared if she took in a deeper breath she might shatter the perfect moment.

His hand softly touched the side of her face. She felt her eyes close with the pressure of him leaning towards her, and she thought she almost felt the faintest touch of his lips, and then…

“Sir? Ma’am? Is everything okay here?” The man’s face held concern, but then lit with realization, and he averted his eyes to what he held in his hands. “Here’s your receipt of purchase and some cookies from the old lady. Merry Christmas!”

What had Mara been thinking?

Then, as if Blaine was terrified she would somehow give him cooties, he leaped to his feet and pulled her to hers.

“Thank you, sir, and have a Merry Christmas yourself!”

The man grinned, shot them a knowing look, and walked off.

Blaine shoved the plate of cookies into Mara’s hands. “I’ll just get this in the truck then.”

Mara followed awkwardly behind as he dragged the tree to the truck and loaded it in. After he slammed the tailgate closed, he lifted his gaze to hers. “Ready?”

She nodded. Words escaped her. Her mind was still reeling. Had they really almost kissed?

It was the snow. And Christmas. And his emotions. He was more indecisive and moody than a wet cat.

Yes, that had to be it. Emotional exhaustion did weird things to people.

Making up her mind to ignore the almost kiss, she tried to distract Blaine with stories all the way back to the house. Though try as she might, it was apparent he was not in the type of mood to talk. He had a perfunctory smile on his face, and he nodded politely at her anecdotes, but something had changed. She hoped it wasn’t because of her stupidity.

Her attempt to cover the awkwardness was ineffectual, but she tried. All the way back home. When the truck pulled up into the driveway, relief flooded her.

She watched as he brought the tree into the house and leaned it against the nearest wall, then she ran up the stairs to check on her patient. He was sleeping still.

Back downstairs, Blaine was beginning to set up the tree in front of the living room window. “Oh, that’s a wonderful place. It looks good there. I’ll start the cocoa.” Mara excused herself to the kitchen.



****



Blaine tightened the stand and filled the basin with water. Then he stood and stepped back to take in the view. “Tomorrow I’ll crawl up in the attic and pull out my mom’s Christmas boxes. We can decorate after breakfast maybe,” he called toward the kitchen.

“Hot cocoa, Captain?” Mara rejoined him and handed him a steaming frothy mug. Examining the tree, she nodded her approval. “This is the most beautiful tree I have ever seen. We chose well.”

Standing side by side, they admired their tree in silence. For Blaine, it brought memories of childhood Christmases flooding back. An overwhelming nostalgia. And he couldn’t help but imagine that, even from Heaven, his mother was dancing and clapping her hands right now over the most beautiful tree ever. A betraying mist clouded his vision.