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Now that the emotion of the moment was over, Keely told herself to step back, take a breath, and put some distance between her and Ethan. Things were changing between them, their relationship morphing into something different.
Step. Back.
Instead of heeding the internal warning, she held her ground, drawing strength from the man’s solid presence.
She should probably feel embarrassed for admitting her fears to him, knowing he could use them against her one day. Though he’d never been that small and petty. Argumentative, yes, but never unkind. And so she stayed rooted in the moment.
It felt good, she silently admitted, allowing Ethan’s confidence in her abilities to chase away her worry. A sob of gratitude slipped past her lips.
He tugged her into a friendly hug. “That’s it. Let it out, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart. The endearment spread warmth through her chilled limbs.
“Flicka seems to adore you. That’s half the battle in these types of situations.”
Drawing on his assurance, Keely stepped out of his embrace. To her horror, a rogue tear escaped. Tenderly, almost affectionately, he wiped her wet cheek with the pad of his thumb.
She could hardly stand his casual show of kindness. Any moment she was going to break down in sobs.
Taking another step back, she searched for another topic. Think, Keely, think. “I’m determined to make this Christmas special for Felicity. I plan to pull out all the stops, whatever it takes to make her feel comfortable in her new home.”
“Tell me what I can do to help.”
His immediate offer of assistance didn’t mesh with the Ethan Scott she knew, the man who’d turned avoiding her into an art form. So much had changed in two short days.
As she stared into Ethan’s blue eyes, she saw the secrets he kept inside him, remembered the way he kept everyone but his closest family and friends at arm’s length.
A timely reminder. Never again would she weave dreams around a man who couldn’t be completely open with her. And now that Felicity was in her life, she had to think of her, as well.
Bottom line, falling for Ethan Scott was far too risky. Even a friendship between them carried complexities she didn’t want to explore.
And yet she found herself asking, “You truly want to help me give Felicity a memorable Christmas?”
“Isn’t that what I just said?” He sounded more than a little insulted.
And they were back to familiar territory, just as she’d feared their tenuous truce a thing of the past. “Somehow I can’t see you trimming a tree, stringing popcorn or pinning up stockings to the mantel.”
Instead of his rising to her provocation, a look of sorrow came and went in his eyes. It was the same expression she’d seen right before he stepped into Felicity’s room last night. Had he lost someone he cared about, someone he’d done all those things with in the past?
“I was thinking of something more manly,” he said, not quite smiling. “You know, like hanging your outdoor lights.”
Her twin brother usually did that, but with the Slippery Slope’s extended hours during the holidays, Beau’s free time was limited. “That would be lovely, Ethan. Thank you for offering.”
She’d text Beau the good news later tonight.
“No problem, happy to do it.”
As they stared at each other, something quite wonderful passed between them. Keely opened her mouth to say something, but Ethan spoke first. “How does Sunday sound?”
She blinked, trying to picture him on a ladder, hanging Christmas lights. The image was entirely too homey for her peace of mind.
This had to stop, this thinking of Ethan Scott as anything other than a distant acquaintance. Thankfully, she remembered she’d invited him to dinner, which was only half done. “I’ll finish up in here while you go see if Felicity and Baloo need anything.”
Ethan’s features softened into what might be considered affection, with a twinge of amusement around the edges. Somehow, after she’d spilled her guts only moments before, that look was far worse than a sneer.
And then he smiled. “Trying to get rid of me, O’Toole?”
No. Yes. “Maybe.”
He laughed, a deep, masculine rumble in his chest.
Something actually fluttered in her stomach, and her knees threatened to give out. She frowned at her reaction.
“Right,” he said, still laughing. “Off I go.”
Keely grimaced after his retreating back, trying feverishly to isolate the exact moment when things had changed between her and Ethan. Long before Felicity had moved into her house.
Forcing her breathing to calm, she gathered all the ingredients for making a salad. She’d just retrieved her favorite wooden bowl when her cell phone rang.
A quick check of the screen had her wondering why the newly elected mayor of Village Green was calling her. She put the phone up to her ear. “This is Keely O’Toole.”
“Keely. Hardy Bennett here. I’m glad I caught you.”
Her frown deepened at the overly friendly note in his voice. The man was usually all business when they spoke, which was often, since she was the coordinator of Village Green’s annual Christmas parade. “Hardy, what can I do for you?”
“It’s what I can do for you.” He laughed at his own joke. “During our previous conversation you hinted that your committee was short on staff.”
“Well, yes, we could use at least one more member.”
Two would be better, but with the parade only three weeks away, Keely didn’t hold out much hope for finding volunteers at this late date. Hardy, proving why he’d won the mayoral election in a landslide, offered up a solution to her dilemma.
“I have an updated list of potential volunteers. I’m shooting an email with the names to you...” She heard the click of computer keys. “Now. Once you’ve reviewed the list, let me know who you’d like to fill the open position.”
He spoke as if it was as simple as picking a name off the list and putting the person in place. “I’ll take a look and get back to you in the morning.”
“Good enough.” Hardy ended the call.
Keely opened the email app on her smartphone and absently thumbed through the potential candidates for the hole in her committee. She’d barely begun when a familiar name popped out at her. She snorted. “Yeah, right.”
She moved on. Backed up. Stopped. Considered. Not him, Keely.
No, she decided, definitely not him.
She scrolled to the end of the list. Then looked again, drawn once more to the third name from the top.
The sound of purposeful footsteps had her jumping in surprise. She bobbled the phone from one hand to the other, then lost her grip entirely.
With catlike reflexes, Ethan reached out and caught the phone before it hit the floor. He started to hand it over but then glanced at the screen and froze.
“What is my name doing in an email from—” he scrolled to the top of the page “—our illustrious mayor?”
“Apparently, Hardy is under the impression that you’re interested in getting involved in the community.”
“Well, yeah, I sent him an email just this morning asking him to plug me in somewhere.” Confusion dug across his forehead. “But why is he forwarding my name, and these others, to you?”
“Because I happen to have the perfect volunteer opportunity for your particular skill set.”
He shot her a wary glance. “What sort of opportunity?”
“Village Green’s annual Christmas parade needs you.”
Silence met her words.
“The committee is short at least two members.”
More silence.
Keely searched his face, but the man was good at hiding his emotions when he wanted to be. At least he hadn’t said no. Yet. She gave him her sweetest smile. “Don’t you want to give back to your community? Wasn’t that the point of your email to Hardy?”
“How much time are we talking about?”
“Just over three weeks.”
“Uh-huh.” His gaze neutral, he passed the phone back to her. “What would I be doing on this committee, precisely?”
“That would be up to the parade coordinator to decide.”
“Who’s the coordinator?”
She beamed at him. “Me.”
His eyes widened. “So I’d be putting my life in your hands for the next three weeks?”
“A bit of an exaggeration but yes, in a manner of speaking that’s precisely what you’d be doing.”
He leveled her with a dark look, no doubt meant to intimidate her. The gesture had the opposite effect.
Keely would probably wonder over her nerve for years to come, but in that moment, she couldn’t help herself. She moved in close, lifted herself onto her toes and pressed her lips to his ear. “Afraid?”
“Not even a little,” he clipped out, sounding as though he was forcing the word past jagged glass.
She’d clearly hit a nerve, which had been her goal. Gloating would be in poor taste. So she stepped back and, deciding to soften her approach, explained that much of the work was already done. “We’re just finalizing details at this point.”
He appeared to consider her request. That was when Keely knew she had him.
This is crazy, she told herself. She needed to spend less time with Ethan, not more. It wasn’t too late to let him off the hook, to let them both off the hook.
Instead she found herself nudging him along. “So, I can count on you?”
He nodded.
Giving him no time to change his mind, she shot out her hand. “Welcome aboard, Dr. Scott. Our first meeting is Wednesday night, seven o’clock sharp.”
* * *
The following afternoon, Ethan took a break between patients and escaped into his office with the idea of reducing the never-ending stack of unanswered phone messages.
He’d barely read through the first one when his mind wandered back to a single moment from last night. In Keely’s kitchen, when she’d asked him to stay for dinner. He hadn’t planned on accepting. He still wasn’t sure why he’d agreed to stick around.
One moment he was introducing Baloo to Flicka. The next, he’d been transported to another time, another home, another life. Every instinct had urged him to grab his dog and bolt, before the memories became unbearable.
And yet he’d accepted her invitation.
Things had gone downhill from there.
Now he was committed to working on the town’s annual Christmas parade, in a position that would require him to take orders from Keely. Part of him couldn’t imagine a worst-case scenario. Another part actually looked forward to watching the woman in action. Something about Keely intrigued him.
She ran her restaurant with efficiency and poise. Whenever a problem arose, she simply dug in and did what was needed. He was becoming more comfortable around her, thinking of her in familiar terms. Not quite friends, nothing so simple.
Then there was Flicka. She was a sweet kid, yet full of a silent, underlying despair that made him want to erase her pain.
A portion of the ice around his heart chipped away, leaving him feeling raw and vulnerable, missing the family that had been ripped away from him.
He spun his chair around and took in the view of his hometown. Village Green was all dressed up for the holidays, a virtual winter wonderland straight off the front of a Christmas card. Along shoveled walkways, storefronts were decorated with garland and twinkling lights.
The festive decorations did nothing to ease Ethan’s gloominess. This would be his second Christmas without Tracy and Samantha. Still wallowing in grief from their sudden deaths, he’d found last Christmas lonely and depressing.
Admittedly, Ethan wasn’t as sad this year. Yet he wasn’t at peace, either. He couldn’t shake the notion that he was at a crossroads in his life. The sensation had been growing over the past few months.
A rustling sound from the doorway had him spinning back around. His medical partner Connor hovered on the threshold of his office, his attention engrossed on the tablet in his hand.
“Got a minute to discuss a patient?”
Ethan checked the watch he’d worn in the military and continued to wear as a symbol of where he’d been and how the past had shaped the man he’d become. “Sure.”
His next patient wasn’t due for twenty minutes.
“I’ll keep it brief.” Connor stepped fully into the office, then shut the door behind him.
Ethan felt his jaw tighten. He recognized that look on the other man’s face. He’d seen it often enough during their long-standing friendship to know whatever Connor had to say, Ethan wasn’t going to like it.
He made his way around the desk. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he leaned back on his heels and waited.
Connor dropped his gaze back to the tablet. Ethan studied his partner’s bent head as he punched at the screen. They’d been friends longer than Ethan could remember. They’d played on the same sports teams and run in the same crowd.
But while Ethan had alternated between keeping his siblings out of trouble, working two jobs and earning his college degree before joining the military, Connor had taken the traditional route of college, medical school and marriage to his childhood sweetheart. Sheila’s death had hit Connor hard, leaving him to raise his twin daughters on his own, until he’d found happiness a second time around with Ethan’s sister, Olivia.
Throughout the years, even with time and distance between them, Connor and Ethan’s friendship had remained strong.
