his cowboy hat back just a bit to eye her. “I suppose I could if I heard the magic word.”
“Please,” Libby replied.
She was as light as a feather and as wiggly as a worm as he lifted her into his arms and placed her in the bed of the wagon. She went to the bale of hay directly behind the bench seat.
“I only have one rule,” he said once she was settled. “While we’re going into town, you have to stay sitting down. Once we get to town and slow down, then you can stand up and hang on to the top of the sides.”
“All my friends can stand up when we are in town?” she asked.
“All of your friends? I thought we were only picking up one.”
Libby pulled her coat closer around her and eyed him boldly. “I called some of my other friends this afternoon. Since you want me to like you, I thought you wouldn’t mind.” She blinked long dark lashes innocently.
She was a pip, that one, he thought as he helped Melody up to the bench and then joined her and took the reins. “I should have told you about the other friends earlier, but I didn’t know she’d made the calls until ten minutes before you arrived,” Melody said.
“It’s all right. Maybe this will get me on her good side,” he replied with a smile.
“I asked her this afternoon why she didn’t like you, but she refused to give me an answer.”
“Maybe she’ll warm up to me just a little bit after tonight.” With the jingle of bells and the lights on the wagon casting out in the darkness, and the scent of Melody’s perfume mingling with the fresh smell of pine, a sense of peace stole over him.
“So tell me what you two window-shoppers bought today,” he asked.
As she talked about what stores they’d gone in and what they’d bought, he realized he would gladly listen to her if she were reading a cookbook out loud. Her voice held a joy that he had a feeling was her natural state of mind.
Thankfully he wasn’t haunted by visions of Stacy at his side. His attention was divided between the road and Melody. Her cheeks had turned pink with the wind and her hair quickly became a windblown mass of silky strands.
When they went over a bump in the road, Melody’s laughter mingled with Libby’s, and Jake felt a sense of connection, a wave of utter happiness he hadn’t felt for a very long time. It was delightful, and it was equally dangerous.
He didn’t mind spending some time with his beautiful neighbor and her daughter, but he would never, ever give his heart away again. Been there, done that, and the pain of loss had left him forever incapable of love.
* * *
MELODY SNUGGLED BENEATH the red blanket Jake had provided and listened to the magical sound of childish laughter coming from the bed of the wagon.
It seemed that Libby had invited half the town’s children to join them in their ride. She marveled at Jake’s patience as he stopped by house after house and lifted little bodies into the back.
Seth had been a good man, a good husband, but patience had never been one of his strong suits. She’d often wished he’d display a little more patience to the little girl who had been so enamored of her daddy.
By the time they finally headed down Main Street toward the center square, the back of the wagon was filled with chattering, laughing children.
“Let’s make a real entrance,” he yelled back to the kids. “How about we all start singing ‘Jingle Bells’?” He started them off, his baritone voice sending an unexpected shiver of pleasure up Melody’s spine.
She could smell his cologne, a spicy scent that made her want to find the source. Had he splashed it on his shirt, or was it in the hollow of his throat where she could nuzzle her nose?
Something about Jake Hanson made her feel like a giddy teenager with a crush. Conversation had become impossible between them the moment the children had begun to pile up.
Still, she was happy just sitting next to him, watching the play of emotions on his handsome face. Main Street in Mistletoe was filled with shoppers and people lingering around the beautiful gazebo in the center of the square.
A group of people had begun singing carols, their voices adding to what was already for her a festive night. She wondered how Jake would react if she snuggled closer to him.
The thought flew out of her mind as quickly as it had come. Not only would Jake probably think her forward and inappropriate, Libby would have a hissy fit.
He brought the wagon to a halt in a parking space in front of the center square. “Sit tight,” he said to Melody, and then he got down and went to the back of the wagon to unload the children. “There are ten of you here, and when the wagon gets ready to leave again, there’d better be ten of you back here. You’re only allowed to go directly to the gazebo. Ms. Melody and I will be there in a few minutes.”
He climbed back on the seat as the children all ran toward the gazebo. “We can see them all from here, and I thought if we waited just a bit we’d have a chance to talk.”
“I’d like that,” she replied. “For a man who hates Christmas, you sure pulled out all the stops tonight.”
“The look on Libby’s face was worth it. Besides, Christmas is for kids. Adults don’t have to like it, we just have to endure it.”
“You’re wrong, Jake. Christmas is magic, and it’s magic for everyone. It’s the one time of year people come together and sing about peace on earth, and even the most curmudgeonly of human beings find something to be joyful about.”
“Are you calling me a curmudgeon?” he asked, a teasing twinkle in his eyes.
“If the boot fits...” She laughed as he looked outraged.
“Maybe it has fit over the past couple of years,” he finally said thoughtfully.
“I heard about your wife. Trust me, I understand the pain.” She touched his gloved hand with her own, wishing she could feel the warmth of his skin. “I was lucky. I had Libby. I had to get past Seth’s death so I could be the mother she needed.” She pulled her hand from his and looked toward the gazebo. “Maybe we should get out and make our way to the kids,” she said, not wanting the conversation to get too deep. It wasn’t the time or the place.
“When it comes time to leave it’s going to be like herding cattle,” he said as he got down and came around to her side of the wagon to help her. He surprised her by grabbing her around the waist and sliding her to the ground.
For a brief moment he held on to her. Despite all their clothing, warmth filtered through her at his nearness. She fought the impulse to lean into him, to have his arms surround her as she closed her eyes and listened to the childish voices singing, “Santa Claus is Coming to Mistletoe.”
Instead she stepped back from him, both appalled and intrigued that the man who had just been a neighbor had squeezed a little bit into her heart.
She grabbed his hand and tugged him to run with her. He groaned aloud, but when she caught a glimpse of his face in the twinkling lights that decorated the gazebo, there
