Christmas Kisses (Romance on the Ranch Series #5) (10 page)

Cecelia stretched in Mac's arms and then lifted
her head to kiss him. He reached behind her head and pulled her mouth tighter
against his. "You taste wonderful," he whispered against her lips.

Moving her mouth to his ear, she whispered back,
"I kind of like your taste, too."

"Hmm, sounds like we need to have a tasting
contest."

Cecelia laughed and pushed slightly away.
"After I have a heart-to-heart talk with you."

Mac lifted his eyebrows. "Am I in
trouble?"

"Not now, but you could be soon."

Placing his good arm behind his head, he said,
"Okay, you have my undivided attention. What gives? I have a feeling it
has something to do with Sean. Correct?"

She grinned. "It does."

Mac puffed a breath, scooted backward until he
was leaning against the headboard, and finally said, "Go for it."

Cecelia's grin widened. "I love it when you
do that."

"What?"

"Look so sexy."

Mac chuckled. "Are you trying to change the
subject? Because if you are, it's working. Why don't you scoot up here and I'll
try to look even sexier."

"As tempting as that is, I really have to
talk to you first." She paused a second before forging onward. "Sean
was asking about your locked room."

Mac frowned. "When was that?"

"When I drove him to Tessa's birthday party
earlier."

Mac reached to finger a strand of Cecelia's
hair. "What do you think I should do?"

"You know what I think."

"You want me to reveal my identity."

She nodded.

Mac glanced past her and then back. "If the
tabloids find out about my son, they'll track him relentlessly."

"But if he finds out on his own, he'll hate
you."

"He already does."

"He does not. He wants a relationship with
you, but he doesn't know how to go about it."

Mac moved his knuckles to graze Cecelia's cheek.
"I need to contact his parents for their approval before saying anything.
Things could get uncomfortable for them, too." Mac studied her shocked
expression and pulled her forward. "See how much influence you have on me.
I'm already changing my mind about things I thought were forever settled."

Cecelia burrowed her head against his chest.
"I think you've made a wise choice." She bit her bottom lip and made
a hasty decision. Since Mac was feeling so amiable she decided to ask a
question she had long been pondering. She said, "Changing the subject,
Mac, I have a burning question." She added quickly, "You don't have
to answer, of course?"

He reached to smooth her hair again. "And
what might that burning question be?"

"Who are the mysterious figures in your
paintings?"

Mac chuckled low and moved his mouth to Cecelia's
ear. He whispered, "I have no idea. At first, I felt compelled to paint them.
Now, it's become something I rather enjoy. I sometimes speculate myself."

After his response, Mac's kisses made her forget
everything but the present moment, until she remembered one more thing she
needed to get off her chest. She leaned back and placed a finger over his lips.
Shyly, she said, "After that first day we met and you bandaged my wounds,
I researched you on the internet."

When she didn't continue, he nibbled on her
finger still against his lips. "And?"

She inhaled deeply, moved her hand to rub the
hair on his chest, and said, "You may not know this, but I'm five years
older than you. Does that bother you?"

Mac grinned so big she knew his answer. And when
he placed his hands on her shoulders, pulling her mouth back to his, she said,
"I guess not."

*

Cecelia locked her coffee shop for the evening,
walked across the street, and just stared at the wonder of it. Her employees
were already gone and Sean had left an hour earlier. The next night she and
Sean were driving to the Lazy M Ranch where Sage and Sarah Tanner were hosting
a Christmas party for twenty disadvantaged or physically challenged children.
Sarah had explained that after their first gathering several years previous,
they'd become hooked on spreading joy to these children, and now, some of those
same youth, as young adults, returned each year to help with their endeavor.

The Tanners' kindness touched Cecelia in a way
she hadn't expected and she felt tears gathering. She would be forty-three soon
and she had no one to lavish love on. Oh, she had Miles and Tooty and their
children, but she wanted a family of her own. Her relationship with Mac was
strong, but she knew it was only temporary. He needed her help only until he
recovered and to briefly act as a go-between with his son. Once he regained his
strength and Sean was gone, she would return to her own home. The thought
brought a silent sob. Attempting to capture wayward emotions, she studied her
place of business.
I love my coffee shop. I love my town. I love my new
friends.
The sob wouldn't go away.
I love Mac and Sean.

Glancing up and down the street and then back at
Dixie's Cuppa Joe, she sniffed at the lovely scene. A dusting of snow glistened
under colorful lights and sent reflections across the sidewalks and street.
It's
the perfect Christmas card picture.
The tree inside her shop twinkled with
white lights. The cardboard cutouts of Santa and his elves going about their
duties of making toys, made her grin. From her vantage point, she watched a few
locals she recognized, and others, probably tourists, stop to gaze in the
windows and point inside, laughing happily.

She had so much to be thankful for that she
needed to stop feeling sorry for herself and just be happy she was now a friend
of the artist she idolized. As she walked toward Mac's house, she thought about
their conversation the previous day. He'd finally spoken with Sean's adoptive
parents and told them of his desire to reveal his identity, but warned them of the
possible ramifications to their family. When he'd clicked off his cell phone,
his expression had been reflective, but unreadable. Finally, Cecelia couldn't
help herself and asked, "What did they say?"

Mac responded, "They told me to tell him.
They said they were totally onboard and wished I'd done this years ago."

Cecelia had placed her hands on her cheeks.
"That's wonderful."

"I don't now how wonderful it is. It looks
like you-know-what is about to hit the fan."

"Are you going to tell him tonight?"

"No. I'll wait until after Christmas. He
may go ballistic and I don't want to ruin the holidays for everyone."

Cecelia thought about that. She wasn't sure if it
was a wise decision, but she wasn't about to voice any negativity—not with Mac
having come this far.

She reached Mac's house and climbed the steps.
Inside, he and Sean sat in the living room conversing and sipping hot chocolate
with marshmallows. They both grinned at her and she thought,
Maybe Sean will
do well with his dad's revelation.

*

Sean walked into the living room ready to leave
for the Christmas party at Toby's house. He glanced between his dad and Cecelia.
They'd been making eyes at each other since the day after Thanksgiving. He'd
been waiting for his dad's attitude to turn sour, but so far it hadn't
happened. Cecelia had even decorated the living room with a small tree and
lights and his dad hadn't complained. Even now, Mac couldn't stop smiling at
her.

Cecelia glanced at Sean. "I'm ready, if you
are." She looked at Mac and added softly, "Sure wish you were
going."

Sean saw a look pass between them that he
couldn't discern. His dad said, "Not yet."

Cecelia said brightly, "Okay." She
turned to Sean. "Sean, I've been looking forward to this Christmas party
ever since we were invited. Sarah and Sage are wonderful people who do so much
for the community. Of course, you've already made friends with Preston and Toby,
which is terrific."

While she opened the door she continued to
rattle on and Sean gave his father a little salute as he stepped outside.

Mac said, "Have fun, son."

Sean got that lump in his throat whenever his
dad was acting like a dad. Maybe the guy wasn't so bad after all. Maybe his
rotten attitude had been because of the pain after surgery. Still, Sean wanted
to know what was behind the locked door and he was just waiting for the
opportunity to pick the lock.

Cecelia talked happily the entire drive to Lazy
M Ranch, and when she turned off the road and past a huge opened gate wrapped
with Christmas lights, Sean was impressed. They followed a long drive with
several bends in the road to the main house. Finally, it came into view and Cecelia
gasped and pounced on the brakes. Both she and Sean sat entranced.

Sean said, "There must be a million
lights."

Cecelia responded, "More like two
million."

Sean moved his gaze from one end of the property
to the other. The barn was covered with sparkling green lights; next to it, a
building with people wandering in and out of it, twinkled with white lights,
and further away, the main house blinked with red lights."

Cecelia pointed to the building with white lights.
"That's the dorm. It's where they're having the party." She put the
car in gear and as they came closer, they got a better view of mechanical
figures in front of the dorm. Frosty the Snowman winked; Rudolf, his red nose
blinking and his front legs moving, led reindeer pulling Santa in his sled. In
the sled Santa held his belly and called intermittently, "Ho. Ho.
Ho." And circling the entire scene was a large train with elves sitting in
open cars.

Cecelia parked beside the other vehicles and neither
she nor Sean moved to open their doors. She laughed, "Now I know why Sarah
hasn't had time to visit the coffee shop lately."

Sean had to agree. "Yeah." He moved
his gaze to the main house where a manger scene with life-size figures took
center stage—baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, shepherds, wise men, and angels. Above
the manger a star hovered and twinkled and Sean tried to figure out how it was
hung. He finally saw the line tied from the house to a power pole.

A rap on the car's hood startled both of them
and they jumped to attention.

Harris came around to Sean's door and opened it.
"Howdy, Sean. Howdy, Aunt Cecelia. If you think the outside is crazy, wait
'til you see the inside."

Cecelia responded, "I had no idea Sage and
Sarah got so elaborate for Christmas."

"Oh, yeah. They get crazier every year.
Come on in."

Cecelia asked, "Is your mom and dad
inside?"

"Yep. Dad's giving the little kids rides in
his wheelchair and Mom's helping Sarah fill the stockings with goodies."

Sean followed Cecelia and Harris as they entered
the dorm. He wondered if Tessa was already there.

Toby yelled from across the room, "Hey
Sean!" Preston was nearby, but didn't call a greeting. Toby rushed over.
"Come on. I'll show you around. We got some new stuff this year. Dad
finally got the train set with the Christmas village."

Harris excused himself when one of the little
kids called his name. Cecelia got motioned over by Julie Hackstetter.

Sean followed Toby past a gigantic tree in the
center of the room. It was so tall it nearly touched the ceiling; and the
ceiling was way up there. Lights of every color twinkled and illuminated bulbs
hanging from every branch. A huge star on top blinked on and off. Gifts tumbled
from beneath the tree—presents stacked on top of presents. When Sean paused
beside the tree, Toby said, "Yeah, my mom and dad go all out for the
kids."

Toby walked to the back of the room and the
entrance to a hallway. Against the wall on a large table, a little train puffed
around a village. Toby started pointing out all the buildings, "There's
the general store and the livery and the church and the dressmaker and the
sheriff's office," as if Sean couldn't figure it out for himself.
"And there are the people's houses."

Sean was really impressed. "Looks like
you've got the whole town."

"Nope. Believe it or not, there's tons more
stuff. Dad said we can order more every year."

Sean pointed down the hallway. "What's down
there?"

"Oh, that's the dorm rooms. We have a dude
ranch and every summer we set aside a couple of weeks to sponsor challenged
kids, and then at Christmas we bring in kids to spend their holidays. My mom
got the idea when Preston and I were four and it worked out so well, we do it
every year."

"Where do the kids come from?"

"Most are found through the Big Bro and Big
Sis Organization. There's this guy named Les who came here when he was seven—he's
eighteen now—and my dad hired him as a cowhand, but he also helps the
organization scout out kids to attend our Christmas party. He's cool."

Sean was impressed.

At that moment, a boy in a wheelchair rolled to
watch the train. Toby said, "Hey, Pete, you having fun?"