Page 48 of Christmas Wish
Chapter Fourteen
“Ithink itneeds to be moved over a little more,” Savannah said, pointing to the right of tree and trying to suppress a giggle as exasperation masked Ryder’s face.
“This is the last damn time I’m moving this monstrosity, woman.”
“Then I guess you better get it right.” She threw him a big smile to his scowl.
Shaking his head, he grabbed hold of the tree and inched it over.
“Perfect.” She clapped her hands.
“Nowcan we decorate it, Mommy?” Timmy asked.
“We sure can!” Savanah walked over to the boxes of lights and ornaments she’d bought earlier that morning at Walmart. She wished she had some of the beautiful bulbs her grandmother had given her before she died, but she’d left everything behind when she ran away that fateful day.
“I’ve done my part,” Ryder said, walking over to the couch.
“Just point me in the direction of a ladder and we’re good,” she replied, untangling a string of lights.
For a few seconds, Ryder’s eyes darted from the tree to her then back to the tree, and then he mumbled something inaudible—most definitely some cuss words—and stalked back over to the tree, taking the lights from her hands. Without a word, he started wrapping them around the tree from the top down. Warmth spread throughout Savannah while she watched him, and she felt as though her heart was dancing around in her chest, filling a hole no one had ever done before. To think that Ryder was a complete stranger just a couple of weeks before, and now she couldn’t imagine him not being around. It just blew her mind.
Savannah scanned the room, her gaze landing on the three stockings hanging from the mantel, the snowmen and Santa decals on the glass panes, and the string of lights around the kitchen window.The man who hates Christmas did this all for us.As if he sensed Savannah’s eyes on him, Ryder turned around and looked back at her, a string of lights dangling from his hands. The faint glimmer of the afternoon sun ghosted over his olive skin, and there was something so beautiful in those brown eyes, something so safe and warm.
Savannah padded over to him and stroked the side of his face then kissed him sweetly on the cheek. “Thank you for doing all this for me and Timmy,” she whispered in his ear.
A low growl emitted from his throat, and he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in close.
“No worries, darlin’. I’m under your fucking spell.” He brushed his lips across hers.
Giggling, Savannah pushed away. She wanted to kiss Ryder passionately but didn’t want to confuse Timmy. He had taken a real liking to Ryder. The two of them had spent quite a bit of time together in the workshop with Timmy trying out each toy Ryder had made. Outside, they’d had fun snowball fights, made at least five snowmen, and had built a really cool snow fort. Ryder had spent more time with Timmy in just two short weeks than Bret had in the entire six years of Timmy’s life. Savannah didn’t want to get Timmy’s hopes up about Ryder and herself, especially if things didn’t work out between them—a thought that made her heart ache.
After Ryder had finished wrapping the last strand of lights, he looked over his shoulder at Savannah, who was perched on the edge of the couch placing hooks on the ornaments.
“That’s the last thing I’m gonna do with this tree—the rest is your job.” His tone was gruff, but his eyes were twinkling.
“And mine!” Timmy danced in place, and Ryder and Savannah laughed.
“You do the bottom half, sweetie, and I’ll do the top. After we’re done, I’ll serve the sugar cookies we made this morning.”
An hour later, empty boxes were in the garage, broken bulbs in the trash, and the floor was spotless as the three of them sat on the couch—Timmy in the middle—eating cookies, drinking hot chocolate, and watching the colored lights reflecting off the bulbs.
“It’s the most beautiful tree we’ve ever had,” Savannah said.
“I got to help. It’s the best,” Timmy replied.
And it was because they all did it together. It was the first time in years that she and Timmy had decorated a Christmas tree. They’d always had decorators come into their Boston home and deck it out to the nines. Bret told her it was what the Carltons did, so he employed the same company that did his parents’ home to do theirs as well. It was breathtakingly gorgeous, but it felt too perfect and lacked the homey feel of the holidays.
“This is your firstrealChristmas tree,” she said softly then kissed the top of his tousled hair.
“No shit? I mean … no way,” Ryder replied.
“Daddy had people do it for us. I like this better.” Timmy took another bite of his cookie.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Ryder put his arm on the back of the sofa, and her body tingled in anticipation of his touch. His warm fingers lightly caressed the back of her neck, and she raised her hand and placed it on his, squeezing it lightly.
Savannah sat staring at the tree as Ryder and Timmy talked while Brutus was sprawled next to Ryder’s feet.This is perfect. Maybe a bit more screwed up than a Norman Rockwell painting, but perfect nevertheless.
* * *
