“To The Cat’s Cradle,” the elderly store owner said. “Now that the sun’s gone down, it’s sure to be too cold for our town’s guest to be walking that far.”
Nathan nodded. “You’ll get no argument from me there.”
“I don’t mind the cold,” she insisted. “Besides, I’d rather not impose.”
“It’s no imposition” came his husky reply.
“Miss McCall,” Rusty said, “I’d like you to meet Nathan Cooper.”
“We’ve already met,” she said, her gaze fixed on the man in the doorway. His face wasn’t as clear as it had been when she’d looked up at him out on the sidewalk outside, but that didn’t matter. She recalled every chiseled contour of his handsome face. The startling blue of his eyes. The slightly crooked hitch of his smile.
Rusty Clark clapped his hands together. “Wonderful. It saves me the time of making introductions. Something tells me the two of you are gonna work real good together.”
“We’ll what?” Both Nathan and Alyssa replied in unison.
“I assumed you already knew, seeing as how the two of you are already acquainted. Nathan and his brother’s company is in charge of construction for the rec center.”
She looked his way. “I had no idea. I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ve done so far. I can’t wait to start on the design plans for it.”
Nathan Cooper held up a hand. “Hold up. Design plans?” He shot a questioning look in the older man’s direction.
“Miss McCall’s design firm has ever so generously offered to donate their services for the project and have sent us one of their top designers to do the job.”
“I thought I was handling the project through to completion,” he replied as he moved farther into the room to join them. “Does the council have some sort of problem with the work I’ve done so far?”
Mr. Clark shook his head. “Goodness, no. Your work, as usual, has been top-notch.”
Alyssa bit at her bottom lip. She hadn’t meant to step on anyone’s toes when she’d accepted her firm’s offer to send her to Braxton for this project. “If my helping out is gonna be a problem...”
“Nonsense,” the councilman assured her. “Your assistance is more than welcome here. Nathan has already given this town so much of his time when it comes to the rebuilding efforts, accepting your offer was the least I could do for him.”
“You might have let me know sooner,” the glowering cowboy replied stiffly, his entire demeanor changing.
“Her firm only contacted me a few days ago with their very kind offer,” Mr. Clark explained. “I had hoped to surprise you.”
“Well, you succeeded.” Some of the harshness in Nathan Cooper’s expression faded as he looked her way. “Welcome to the team.”
“Thank you.”
“Now that we have that settled, what brings you here?” Mr. Clark inquired of Nathan. “Problem at the site?”
Nathan shook his head. “No. We’re moving right along, all things considered. I just stopped by with Katie so she could add a few dozen more things to her Christmas list.”
The older man chuckled. “Just like her moth...” His words trailed off.
A deafening silence fell in the room.
Alyssa looked between the two men, unsure of what had just happened. The tension in the air was palpable.
“I really should be getting back to work,” Nathan said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. He turned to her. “Miss McCall?”
“Alyssa, please,” she replied. “And I’m ready to leave whenever you are.”
“We’ll talk more tomorrow,” Mr. Clark told her as he walked them out to the front of the store.
“I look forward to it.” She reached for the handle of her suitcase only to find a much larger hand already wrapped around it—again. The warmth of his skin soothed her chilled fingers. Glancing up, she found Nathan Cooper staring down at her.
“Allow me.”
“Thank you, but I think I’ll walk to the boardinghouse after all. The crisp air will do me good.”
He shrugged his broad shoulders, looking almost relieved. “Suit yourself.”
* * *
Releasing his hold on her suitcase, Nathan tipped his hat, then turned toward the aisles of toys. “Let’s go, Cupcake,” he hollered. “Daddy’s gotta get back to work.”
A tiny whine floated through the air somewhere in the vicinity of the doll aisle. “But I’m not done yet,” his daughter said as she stepped into view.
“We’ll come back another time,” he assured her. Right now he just had to get out of there. Away from the festive holiday music and mechanical Christmas characters. Away from the woman who was going to invade his life and stir up memories he’d just as soon forget.
He flexed his hand. The one she’d touched briefly. A light, gentle touch. Accidental. But it had been so long since he’d had any sort of physical contact with anyone other than his daughter it had taken him completely off guard.
“Daddy, what’s this?” his daughter inquired as she skipped up to him.
He stared at the sprig of green tied with a red bow, which she held pinched between her fingers. “It’s mistletoe.”
“Whose toe?”
Alyssa McCall’s soft laughter filled the room. “It’s called mistletoe. Back in eighteenth-century England, if a young woman stood under some mistletoe, brightly trimmed with ribbons, she couldn’t refuse to be kissed. In many cases, that special kiss under the mistletoe led to love and marriage.”
Nathan stared at her in disbelief. Was the woman a walking encyclopedia on holiday traditions?
“It can make people fall in love?” Katie repeated in awe.
Miss McCall nodded. “So they say. Apparently, there’s something very special and romantic about mistletoe.”
“Can we buy some, Daddy?”
“Not today.” Or ever. “Now go put that back where you found it and let’s get going.”
She scowled as she returned the sprig of mistletoe to its hook on the aisle’s end cap display.
“I’d reconsider taking that ride with Nathan to the boardinghouse,” Mr. Clark advised Alyssa as she neared the door, pulling her suitcase behind her. “It’s gonna be a mighty cold walk to the other end of town.”
“In the rain,” Katie added as she bounced over to press her nose against the store’s front window.
“It’s raining?” the woman who had so unsettled Nathan gasped.
“Big fat drops!” his daughter exclaimed.
Alyssa looked his way.
Nathan shrugged. “Looks like they were wrong about the rain not moving in until later.”
“Oh, no.”
“My offer still stands.”
“If you don’t mind,” she replied, looking less than thrilled.
“We don’t mind a bit,” Katie answered for him as she opened the door, letting a gust of wind-blown rain inside. “Daddy’s got a real big truck with a real big seat.”
Rusty’s hearty chuckle followed them out the door.
Nathan