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CHAPTER 28
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2024-10-29 19:42:56He carried Hayzel and followed behind Sparkle as she walked into the house and then turned for the great room.
“I’ve got a couple of surprises for you two.”
“For Christmas?”
Hayzel gave him a squeeze, then as she saw what was waiting for her, she squealed.
“Oh, my goodness!”
That quick gasp was followed by another squeal, this one higher than the one before. She squirmed to get out of Kaleb’s arms, then raced across the room to the oversize fairy castle dollhouse sitting in front of the tree.
Beside him, Kaleb heard Sparkle give a soft sigh. When he looked at her, there were tears in her eyes and a beautiful smile on her amazing mouth. His heart gave another hard lurch, and he welc
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Kaleb Brantley hated December and everything that had to do with it. The days were too short, making the nights seem as long as forever. It was colder than hell and dark… But, most of all, there was the incessant Christmas badgering. Lights, trees, carols, and an ever-increasing barrage of commercials urging you to shop, spend, buy. And every reminder of the holiday season ate at the edges of his soul and heart like drops of acid. He scowled at the roaring flames in the fireplace, slapped one hand on the mantel, and rubbed his fingers over the polished edge of the wood. With his gaze locked on the flames, Kaleb told himself that if he could, he’d wipe the month of December from the calendar.“If you wish, you can’t stick your head in the snow and pretend Christmas isn’t
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Early the following day, Martha was off on her vacation, and a few hours later, Kaleb was swamped by the empty silence. He reminded himself that it was how he liked his life best. No one bothering him. No one talking to him. One of the reasons he and Martha got along so well was that she respected his need to be left the hell alone. So now that Kaleb was by himself in the big house, why did he feel an itch along his spine?“It’s because… it’s December,” Kaleb muttered aloud. That was enough to explain the sense of discomfort that clung to him. Hell, every year, this one damn month made life absolutely unlivable. He pushed a hand through his hair, then scraped that hand across the stubble on his jaw. What the
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‘Hello, Mr. Scrooge!’ Sparkle thought… ‘Well, this is starting off well.’“Thank you very much for the info,” she said, desperately trying to hang on to the smile curving her mouth as well as her optimistic attitude. “But I’m not lost. I’ve just come from town.” If anything, his frown deepened.“Then who are you and why are you here? What do you want?”“Nice to meet you, too,” Sparkle said, half tugging Hayzel behind her. Not that she was afraid of him but why subject her little girl to a man who looked like he’d rather slam the door in their faces than let them in?“I repeat,” he said, “who are you, and why are you here?”“I&rsqu
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A few hours in the workshop didn’t improve Kaleb’s mood. Not a big surprise. How the hell could he clear his mind when it was full of images of Sparkle Pearce and her daughter? As her name floated through his mind again, Kaleb deliberately pushed it away, though he knew damn well she’d be sliding back in. Slowly, methodically, he ran the hand sander across the top of the table he was currently building. For now, that was better than painting. It had been six years since he’d picked up a paintbrush, faced a blank canvas, and brought the images in his mind to life. The desire was always there, humming through his blood, through his dreams. But though he couldn’t paint, Kaleb also couldn’t simply sit in the big house staring out windows, either.&
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By the following morning, Sparkle had decided the man needed to be pushed into getting outside himself. Sitting in the kitchen with him the night before had been interesting and more revealing than Kaleb Brantley would have liked, Sparkle was very sure about it. Though he had a gruff, cold exterior, Sparkle had seen enough in his eyes to convince her that the real man was hidden somewhere beneath that hard shell he carried around with him. She had known Kaleb had been trying to avoid seeing her again by staying late in his workshop. Which was why she’d been waiting for him in the kitchen. Sparkle had always believed that it was better to face a problem head-on rather than dance around it and hope it would get better. Which, by the way, never happened.&
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His mouth twitched and Kaleb shook his head.“People think I’m weird.”“I don’t.” Sparkle said it quickly and wasn’t sure why she had until she saw a quick gleam of pleasure in his eyes.“Be sure to tell Martha,” he added, and left, still shaking his head.“Bye, Kaleb!” Hayzel’s voice followed him and Sparkle was pretty sure he quickened his steps as if trying to outrun it.“Mommy, you think Kaleb is mad at us?” the little girl asked.“No, baby,” Sparkle replied caressing her face. “Why would you think that?”“He looked at me a little funny and he didn’t want to eat your pancakes.”“I’m sure he’ll ask for them
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Hayzel laughed and shook her head so hard her pigtails flew back and forth across her eyes.“I go to pre-K because I’m too little for Big-K because my birthday comes too late because it’s the day after Christmas and I can probably get a puppy if I ask Santa and Mommy’s gonna get me a fairy doll for my birthday because Christmas is for the puppy and he’ll be all white like a snowball and he’ll play with me and lick me like Lizzie’s puppy does when I get to play there and…” So... instead of halting the rush of words and noise, he’d simply given her more to talk about… And she could do it without breathing in between words…Wow! Kaleb took another long gulp of his coffee and hoped the caffeine would give him enough clarity to follow the kid’s twisty thought patterns.
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FALL IN LOVE AT CHRISTMAS Â Â Â CHAPTER 28
He carried Hayzel and followed behind Sparkle as she walked into the house and then turned for the great room.“I’ve got a couple of surprises for you two.”“For Christmas?” Hayzel gave him a squeeze, then as she saw what was waiting for her, she squealed.“Oh, my goodness!” That quick gasp was followed by another squeal, this one higher than the one before. She squirmed to get out of Kaleb’s arms, then raced across the room to the oversize fairy castle dollhouse sitting in front of the tree. Beside him, Kaleb heard Sparkle give a soft sigh. When he looked at her, there were tears in her eyes and a beautiful smile on her amazing mouth. His heart gave another hard lurch, and he welc
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For the next few days, Kaleb settled back into what his life was like pre-Sparkle and Hayzel. He worked on his secret project, which didn’t really need to be a secret anymore because he always finished what he started. He tried to put them out of his mind, but how could he when he sensed Sparkle in every damn corner of his house? In Martha’s suite, Sparkle’s scent still lingered in the air. But the rooms were empty now. No toys, no stuffed dog. Sparkle’s silky red robe wasn’t hanging on the back of the door, and that pitiful excuse for a Christmas tree was gone as if it had never been there at all. Every night, Kaleb sat in the great room in front of the fire and looked at the tree in the window. That it was there amazed him. Thinking about the night he, Sparkle, and Hayzel had
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Sparkle spent the next few days taking care of her business. She buried the pain beneath layers of carefully constructed indifference and focused on what she had to do. In between taking care of her clients, she made meals for Kaleb and froze them. Whatever else happened after she left this house, he wouldn’t starve. If she had her way, she wouldn’t leave. She’d stay right here and keep hammering at his hard head until she got through. And maybe, one day, she’d succeed. But then again, maybe not. So, she couldn’t take the chance. It was one thing to risk her own heart, but she wouldn’t risk Hayzel’s. Her daughter was already crazy about Kaleb. The longer they stayed here in this house, the deeper those feelings would go.&n
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Five stitches, three hot chocolates, and one Christmas tree ready later, they were in the great room, watching the lights on the big pine in the front window shine. There were popcorn chains and candy canes they’d bought in town as decorations. And there was an exhausted but happy little girl, asleep on the couch, a smile still curving her lips. Sparkle brushed Hayzel’s hair back from her forehead and kissed the neat row of stitches. It had been a harrowing, scary ride down the mountain to the clinic in town. But Kaleb had been a rock. Steady, confident, he’d already had Hayzel in his arms heading for his truck by the time Sparkle had come downstairs at a dead run. Hearing her baby scream, watching her fall, and then seeing the
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The house phone rang and Sparkle answered without looking at the caller ID.“Brantley residence.”“Sparkle? Oh, it’s so nice to finally talk to you!” A female voice… A very happy voice that she didn’t know.“Thank you very much… I guess…” she replied, carrying the phone back to the window so she could look outside. “I’m sorry, but who is this?”“Oh, God, you’re right! I didn’t introduce myself… How stupid of me,” the woman said with a delighted laugh. “I’m Catherine Brantley, Kaleb’s mother.” Whoa! A wave of embarrassment swept over her. Sparkle was standing in Kaleb’s bedroom, beside the bed where they&rsq
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Kaleb watched her as, for a second or two, she just stared at him as if she were trying to make sense of a foreign language. And since he was staring into those clear blue eyes of hers, he saw the shift of emotions when what he’d said finally sunk in. And even then, the uppermost thought in his mind was her scent and how it clung to her skin and seeped into his bones. Every breath he drew pulled her inside him until summer flowers filled every corner of his heart, his soul. What the hell was wrong with him? He’d led them both into a risky situation, and he had to keep his mind on what could, potentially, be facing them. It had been a long time since he’d been with anyone, sure. But it was Sparkle herself who had blown all thought, all reason, right out of his head with that one surprise ki
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Her fingers scraped through his hair, held his head to hers. Every breath came strangled, harsh but Sparkle didn’t care. All she wanted, all she needed, was the taste of him filling her. The feel of his hands holding her. Then, when she became light-headed, Sparkle broke the kiss, letting her head drop back as she gasped for breath. Staring up at the dimly lit ceiling, she concentrated solely on the feel of Kaleb’s mouth at her throat, latching on to the pulse point at the base of her neck. He tasted, he nibbled, he licked, and she sighed heavily.“Oh, Kaleb… That feels really...” She gasped again.“Good.” With his mouth against her throat, he smiled.“I’ve wanted my hand
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Everybody in town had to be in the steakhouse, and Sparkle thought it was a good thing. She knew a lot of people in town and she made sure to introduce Kaleb to most of them. Sure, it didn’t make for a relaxing dinner… She could actually see him tightening up. Still, it felt good to watch people greet him. To tell him how much they loved the woodworking he did. And the more uncomfortable Kaleb got with the praise, the more Sparkle relished it. He’d been too long in his comfort zone of solitude. He’d made himself an island, and swimming to the mainland would be exhausting. But it would so be worth the trip.“I’ve never owned anything as beautiful as that bowl you made,” Charlotte Hobbs gushed, laying one hand on Kaleb’s shoulder.&nbs
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Once it started snowing, it just kept coming. As if an invisible hand had pulled a zipper on the gray, threatening clouds, they spilled down heavy white flakes for days. The woods looked magical, and every day, Hayzel insisted on checking the fairy houses. There were now two… Every time she was near them, she squinted inside the tiny houses, trying to see if she could catch a glimpse of the tiny people living in them. Every day there was disappointment, but her faith never wavered. Kaleb had to admire that even as his once-cold heart warmed with affection for the girl. Hayzel was getting to him every bit as much as her mother was. In different ways, of course, but the result was the same. He was opening up and damned if it wasn’t pai
