Susan Mallery - A Christmas Bride

He left his bag on the passenger seat and stepped into the night. Kaitlyn flung herself at him, wrapping both her arms around his waist and hanging on tight.

“Hey, baby girl,” he said softly, touching her cheek.

She looked up at him, grinning. There was a smudge of flour on her cheeks and a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. “We’re making cookies. Rina said we could and it’s Friday!” As if the cookies were all the more magical because of the day.

“Christmas cookies?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“Uh-huh. We rolled them out and then used cookie cutters and now they’re cooling and after dinner we’re decorating and Rina said you could help.” She paused to draw breath. “I can’t stand waiting, can you?”

“I’ll manage.”

His daughter released him, then ran around the truck to get his medical bag, something she’d been doing since she was big enough to drag it into the house. Now she carried it more easily. The time might even come when she couldn’t be bothered, preferring to spend her time with her friends. But that was for later. Right now, he was a blessed man.

Kaitlyn led the way into the house. The smell of freshly baked cookies mingled with the spice of marinara sauce. Noah, their sheltie, raced to greet him. A female—despite her name—Noah circled around his legs in an attempt to get closer and express her joy about yet another pack member returning.

“Hey, you,” he said, scooping up the dog.

Noah bathed his face in ecstatic kisses. When he lowered her to the ground, she ran off to get her ball.

Rina stepped out of the kitchen.

“Hi,” she said, her long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. “Is Athena all right?”

He nodded. “She feels better than Heidi, who’s still feeling guilty about what happened. They should both be back to normal by the morning.”

Big blue eyes crinkled slightly as she smiled. Cooking had added color to her cheeks, making her look flushed. Her mouth was full and inviting and the way she moved...

Out of long habit, Cameron pushed away “those” kind of thoughts. Sure, Rina was beautiful and funny and great with his daughter. But while he liked her company and liked having her around, he wasn’t ready for a long-term relationship. He wasn’t going to let something as fleeting and confusing as romantic involvement with Rina get in the way of his daughter’s happiness.

He’d thought he loved his ex. She’d stunned him by leaving with no warning. But in the panicked few weeks that had followed her departure, in the reality of caring for a newborn while trying to keep his practice alive, he hadn’t had time to miss his wife. Or maybe he hadn’t loved her at all. Either way, by the time he’d resurfaced, his life slightly under control, he no longer regretted her leaving.

Lesson learned, he reminded himself. Friendship he could understand and trust. Rina was his friend. One of his best friends. He was going to do everything in his power to make sure that didn’t change.

“I told Daddy he could help with the cookies,” Kaitlyn said, walking to the sink to wash her hands without being asked.

Rina grinned. “Did you? Do you think he’ll do a good job?”

“I have some creative skills,” Cameron told her, shrugging out of his jacket.

“Maybe you could audition,” Rina told him. “Do one and if we think it’s all right, you can do a second.”

His daughter burst out laughing. “She’s kidding, Daddy. You can decorate as many cookies as you want.”

“Thank you, baby girl.” He walked by Rina. “I’ll deal with you later,” he growled in a low voice.

She glanced at him, then looked away. But in the split second when her gaze locked with his, he would have sworn he saw something. A spark. No, bigger than a spark, because whatever it was hit him hard in the gut. It made him think about being alone with her in a dark, quiet room. Just the two of them and all the time in the world. It made him want to hold her in his arms and kiss her. And more.

He shook off the moment, telling himself it was just the season. Holidays were a time for belonging. While Kaitlyn was amazing, she was his kid, not his partner. Maybe it was time for him to start dating.

He went to the sink to wash his hands, then he and Kaitlyn set the table. When the oven timer went off, he removed the garlic bread and put it on a plate. The dance of preparing dinner was a familiar one, formed over the past year. Rina stirred the sauce, while he dumped the cooked spaghetti into a colander. She combined pasta and sauce, then brought the serving bowl to the table while he poured Kaitlyn’s milk and a glass of wine for Rina and for himself. Noah settled into her bed in the corner of the kitchen, a dog biscuit held delicately in her teeth.

“Maybe we could get our tree this weekend,” Kaitlyn said, her voice faintly pleading.

“It’s a little early,” Rina told her, passing the garlic bread. “There’s a new delivery coming in next Thursday. They’ll be fresh. I love that smell.”

“Me, too,” his daughter said. “You’re right. We should wait. If it’s fresh, we can keep it up through New Year’s.”

Conversation flowed around him. A discussion about whether or not there should be more decorations on the lawn. His daughter talking about practicing for the holiday pageant and how she would start taking dance classes in January. That meant next year she would appear in the Dance of the Winter King. There were also not-so-subtle hints about what she would like for Christmas and a recounted conversation in which Rina had threatened to paint a cat’s nails.

“How’s the adoption program coming?” he asked.

“Good. I’ve been putting pictures of the pets up online, so people get an idea of what’s available. The shelter has been getting lots of calls.” She wrinkled her nose. “There’s a family interested in the iguana, if you can believe it. Why anyone would want a four-foot-long lizard that can live twenty years is beyond me. But they have a special room prepared for it and everything.”

“Having the iguana adopted out will be a big savings,” he said.

“I know. Based on the calls we’re getting, we have a lot of good prospective owners interested in other animals, too. I’m hoping for a big turnout.”

“You’ve put a lot of work into the project.”

Rina smiled. “The animals shouldn’t be stuck in a shelter—not even the iguana. Everyone should have a home to be part of, especially over the holidays.”

When he’d bought the veterinary practice in Fool’s Gold, he’d wanted to find a welcoming community to raise his daughter. What he’d found was a place to call home. No one simply lived in the town. They became a part of whatever was going on.

“You’re not really going to try to paint the cats’ nails are you?” he asked.

“You’re going to have to wait and see what I do.”

They finished dinner and then sat around the table talking. It was close to seven-thirty when they got up to clear the dishes. While Kaitlyn helped Rina load the dishwasher, Cameron walked Noah. When he returned there were boxes of decorations scattered across the coffee table in the living room.

“Just a few more things,” Rina said, with a shrug. “We couldn’t resist.”

“Where am I supposed to store all this?” he asked. “I’ll have to add on a second house.”

That made Kaitlyn laugh. She spun in a circle, her long hair flowing out behind her, Noah chasing her. Dog and child collapsed onto the floor in a heap. Kaitlyn opened her eyes.

“Daddy, look!”

He followed the direction of her pointed finger and found a small sprig of artificial mistletoe pinned to the door frame.

Turning to Rina he explained, “She read about mistletoe when she was six. Now she wants me to put it up every year. It’s kind of a family joke.”