Kat Brookes - His Holiday Matchmaker

“Of course,” Miss McCall said apologetically. “I’m so sorry for throwing you off schedule.”

“It’s not a problem,” he replied as he swung open the driver’s side door. “Wait here, Cupcake. I’m gonna get Miss McCall’s suitcase and then see her to the door.”

“I wanna see the kitties.”

“Another time, honey,” he said, ruffling her hair. “Uncle Carter is waiting for Daddy to come help him with the rec center.”

She let out an exaggerated sigh. “Okay.”

“You don’t have to see me to the door,” Miss McCall told him. “I’ll just grab my suitcase and you can go.”

“Daddy doesn’t mind helping you,” his daughter cut in before he had a chance to reply. “He has really big muscles.”

Miss McCall met his gaze, the corners of her mouth twitching as if trying very hard to suppress a grin. “Well, then, I guess I should let your daddy help me.”

“Will I get to see you again?” his daughter asked, a little too eagerly for Nathan’s comfort.

Alyssa offered her a warm smile. “You can pretty much count on it.”

Not if he could help it. Not with Katie in mommy search mode. Nathan stepped out into the rain and rounded the truck. Opening the tailgate, he pulled her suitcase out from beneath the covered bed.

“Thank you for the ride,” she said as she stepped up beside him, attempting to shield the both of them from the rain with the floral print umbrella she held clutched in her hand.

“Thank you for handling my daughter’s meddling questions so well,” he said as he walked her up the wet porch steps. Reaching out, he knocked on the door.

“Children are naturally curious. I didn’t mind,” she assured him as she lowered the umbrella to shake the excess rain from it. “You’re blessed to have such an adorable little girl, curiosity and all.”

“I tend to think so, but then my opinion might be a bit biased when it comes to my daughter.”

She turned to look up at him. “About my helping out with the recreation center...”

A slight frown pulled at his mouth, try as he might to fight it. “Yes?”

“My intention in coming here was to do something to help your town,” she said, closing the umbrella. “If that is gonna be a problem for you...”

“Don’t trouble yourself any over that,” he told her. “I’ll deal with it.”

Chapter Three

He’d deal with it. Not a very promising start to their working relationship. The door swung open before Alyssa had a chance to reply and a tall, slender woman with a beehive of silver hair waved them inside.

“Come on in out of the weather, you two. I’ll heat some water up for tea. Something to take the chill off.”

“Appreciate the offer, Doris,” Nathan Cooper replied with a smile, “but I can’t stay. I’m just dropping Miss McCall here off.”

The older woman looked to Alyssa. “Myrna and I have been expecting you. Rusty called to let us know you were on your way. Welcome to The Cat’s Cradle.”

“Thank you for having me,” she said, propping her wet umbrella against the porch wall next to the door before stepping inside.

“It’s our pleasure,” Doris said, her gaze shifting to Nathan. “Are you sure you can’t stay for tea?”

Nathan set her suitcase down in the front foyer. “Katie’s waiting for me in the truck. I have to run her out to Mildred’s place before I head back to work.”

“Just be careful on those roads,” Doris warned. “It’s really coming down hard out there.”

“You can count on it.” His gaze shifted to Alyssa. “Guess I’ll be seeing you tomorrow.”

She nodded, then stood watching as the blurred outline of Nathan Cooper faded away behind a curtain of rain.

“A fine-looking young man, that one,” Doris muttered behind her.

She turned from the window. “I was watching the rain.”

“Of course you were, dear.” She turned toward the winding oak staircase and cupped her hands to her mouth. “Myrna! Our guest is here.”

Maybe she had been admiring the way Nathan Cooper carried himself, but that was it. She was there to do a job. Not to start something up with a man on the divorce rebound. Katie would just have to look elsewhere for someone for her daddy.

An elderly woman wearing a bright floral housecoat and fuzzy pink slippers came scurrying down the stairs. “Miss McCall!”

“Call me Alyssa, please.”

Myrna stood before Alyssa, a welcoming smile parting her wrinkled cheeks. Her blue-gray hair hung in a single braid over one shoulder. “We’re so happy to have you staying here with us.”

“Indeed,” Doris agreed with a nod. “Braxton isn’t exactly the tourist capital of Texas.”

A fluffy white ball shot down the stairs and past their legs, disappearing into an adjoining room.

Myrna laughed. “That blur of white is the newest addition to our family, Bluebell.”

“You like cats, don’t you?” Doris asked.

Alyssa nodded. “Yes, I do.” Although she’d never had one of her own.

“Good, because our dear little ones tend to crave affection.”

She could relate to their need.

“You have the prettiest eyes,” Doris observed, then leaned closer in her inspection of them.

Too bad they didn’t work. That wasn’t exactly true. Her eyes were perfect. The visual cortex part of her brain, which had been damaged in the accident, was the reason for her visual impairment.

Myrna leaned closer, as well, inspecting Alyssa’s eyes through her glasses. “She does. They’re just like topaz under the sun.”

“Goes well with her hair color.”

Doris nodded. “I always thought green eyes complimented auburn hair the best, but I do believe I was wrong.”

Alyssa blushed at their compliments and their close scrutiny. “You’re both too sweet.”

Just then two kittens with calico markings scampered into the entryway. Doris bent to pick them up. “This is Rhett and his favorite girl, Scarlett.”

“Well, hello there,” Alyssa said, scratching each of them behind their ears.

“Come on, dear,” Doris said. “Let me give you a quick tour of the downstairs. Then I’ll show you to your room.”

“I’d like that.”

“I’ll go put some water on for tea,” Myrna called out as Doris led her into the parlor.

The house was purely Victorian, from the striped damask curtains to the countless gilded picture frames that lined the walls. Taking a walk through the rooms helped Alyssa familiarize herself with the house’s layout. Like Alyssa’s town house, the women’s home was filled with warm, white lights and holiday decor.

When the tour ended, Doris led her upstairs to the room she’d be staying in. Alyssa stepped inside and looked around, her gaze drawn to the off-white, antique cast-iron bed. She walked over to it, running her fingers over the faded beige ribbon-threaded quilt.

“Our mother made it,” the older woman announced behind her.

“It’s beautiful.”

“She loved quilting. Unfortunately, neither Myrna nor I inherited our mother’s sewing abilities,” she said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

Alyssa turned to face her. “We all have our own special abilities. You and Myrna run a boardinghouse, and yet you still find time to take in strays and love them unconditionally. It’s more than some children can say about their own parents.” The second the words left her mouth, Alyssa wished she could take them back.

“Your parents didn’t show you love?”

“I was simply making a reference,” Alyssa replied with a nervous laugh.

“Of course you were,” Doris said from the open doorway. “If you ever need to talk, dear, Myrna and I are very good listeners. Now you go get settled in and then come down to the kitchen and join us for a cup of tea.”