Kat Brookes - His Holiday Matchmaker

Carter was beside him in an instant. “What is it, Nathan?”

He waved his brother off and forced the dreaded question from his suddenly bone-dry mouth. “Is it Katie?”

“Oh, goodness, no. She’s right as rain,” Millie assured him. “It’s my sister.”

Relief swept through him with gale force. “Your sister,” he repeated as he dragged a hand back through his hair. Then his thoughts shifted to concern for Millie, who had been through enough after losing her husband. “Is she all right?”

“From what I understand, Eleanor lost her balance coming down the stairs this evening and broke her ankle. It’s bad enough to require immediate surgery, which they’ve scheduled for tomorrow.”

“Ah, Millie,” he said, shaking his head, “I hate to hear that. Is there anything I can do?”

“That’s why I’m calling. Eleanor’s all by herself. I really need to be there with her.”

“Of course, you do,” he said without even a moment’s hesitation. “I’ll come get Katie.”

“No need to pick her up right now,” Millie assured him. “She can sleep here tonight like we planned and you can pick her up in the morning. I’m not about to drive up to Laredo tonight. Not with the weather being what it is.”

“I can drive you there,” he offered. How could he not? Millie had done so much for him the past two years.

“I appreciate the offer,” she said, “but Eleanor really needs to get some rest before her surgery tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. You just keep on working to get that rec center done in time for the party. I’ll make a few calls and see if I can round up someone to watch Katie until I get back. I’m not sure how long I’ll be needed in Laredo.”

“Don’t trouble yourself any,” he told her. “I’ll just bring Katie into work with me tomorrow. There’s no school. Some sort of teacher in-service day, which will be followed right after by Christmas break. I’m sure Audra would be willing to help out if I need her while you’re away.”

“Of course,” she said. “Thank you for being so understanding about my leaving.”

“Eleanor’s your sister,” he told her. “You need to be there for her. Now you be sure to get some rest yourself. I’ll be by first thing tomorrow morning to pick Katie up.”

“I’ll have her ready.”

“And, Millie...”

“Yes?”

“Give Katie a kiss good-night for me.”

“I’ll do that.”

He turned the phone off and found Carter standing there staring at him.

“What happened?” his brother asked, his brows furrowed in concern.

“Millie’s sister in Laredo busted her ankle pretty bad. She’s having surgery tomorrow and Millie’s gonna head on up there to be with her. Sounds like she’ll be staying with her sister for a while afterward to help out.”

“I have to admit, when you first answered her call and I saw the color drain from your face, I thought something had happened to Katie.”

“You and me both,” Nathan admitted. His baby girl was his world. If anything ever happened to her...

He forced the thought from his mind and pulled the hammer from its loop on his tool belt. “What are we standing around for? We’ve got us a rec center to finish.”

Chapter Four

The morning sun shone brightly through the multipaned windows of the dining room as Alyssa hurried downstairs, eager to start her day’s work at the rec center.

“Good morning, dear,” Doris greeted from the dining room, giving Alyssa a start.

“You’re up early,” she said. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“Not at all. I rise with the sun.”

Just then, Myrna entered through a door on the far side of the room, a warm smile moving across her face. “Perfect timing,” she said as she moved toward the antique pedestal table in the center of the room. In one hand, she held a bowl filled with what Alyssa guessed to be scrambled eggs. In the other, a plate of crispy bacon, which had Alyssa’s mouth watering. “Come on in and have a seat, dear. We’ll see to it you’re fed before you start your busy workday.”

Alyssa stepped into the room and settled into one of the balloon-backed Victorian chairs. “You didn’t have to make me breakfast. I could have grabbed something on my way through town.”

“Honey, this is a bed-and-breakfast,” Doris reminded her as she and Myrna took their places at the table. “You can’t have one without the other.”

Myrna set the filled dishes in the center of the table and then reached for the vintage rose-print teapot. “Tea?”

Alyssa nodded. “Yes, please.”

Lifting the delicate old teapot gingerly, she filled Alyssa’s teacup with steaming water and then pushed a doily-lined wicker basket filled with assorted teas across the table to her.

“You were so tired last night,” Myrna said as she dipped her tea bag up in down in her tea water, “that we decided not to bombard you with questions about yourself.”

“There’s not much to tell,” Alyssa said as she perused her choices, selecting an apple-cinnamon tea. “I was born and raised by a single mother in Waco. No brothers or sisters. I never knew my father.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Doris said with an empathetic frown.

Alyssa forced a smile. “Can’t miss what you never had,” she said. “After graduating from Baylor, I was offered a job with a large interior design firm down in San Antonio. So I packed up and moved south to begin my new life.”

“Have you ever been on TV?” Doris asked as she spooned two heaping teaspoons of sugar into her cup.

Alyssa was thrown by the unexpected question. “TV?”

“You know,” Myrna joined in. “On one of those home makeover shows you see all over television these days. You’re sure pretty enough to be a TV star. Isn’t she, Doris?”

Her sister nodded, the beehive of hair piled atop her head shifting to and fro. “I could see her starring in one of those cooking shows, looking all pretty in her ruffled apron.”

Alyssa laughed softly. These two women were so endearing. “I’m afraid cooking is not my forte.”

“All you really need to know how to make is sweets,” Doris noted as she sipped at her tea. “My beloved Henry, God rest his soul, was especially fond of my sister’s county-fair-winning apple-pecan cobbler.” Her gaze drifted off and a soft smile lit her face. “That man had quite the sweet tooth.”

“Most men do,” Myrna said. “Nathan Cooper included. Just ask Millie.”

“She’s a close family friend,” Myrna explained. “Always baking up sweets for those Cooper boys.”

“Nathan... I mean Mr. Cooper,” Alyssa quickly corrected, “has sons, too?”

“No, only Katie,” Myrna clarified. “My sister was referring to Nathan and his two younger brothers, Carter and Logan. Big and strong, those boys. Some of the heartiest stock Texas produces.”

“Like three peas in a pod,” Myrna told her. “All with that same dark, wavy hair and bright blue eyes. Just like their daddy had. Real lookers, those Cooper boys.”

If his brothers had even a smidgen of Nathan Cooper’s good looks and charm, she could understand why even women old enough to be the men’s grandmothers were smitten with them.

* * *

Huddled beneath the hood of her jacket, Alyssa quickened her step. The previous night’s rain had left the earth damp and the air chilled. She should have thought to bring gloves with her when she packed for the trip. It would have made the long walk from the boardinghouse to the opposite end of town far more tolerable.

The moment she saw the large Cooper Construction sign flanking the front sidewalk of what had to be the town’s new rec center, relief swept through her.