The Best Christmas Ever. Stella Bagwell

moved forward and offered her hand to Nick. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” she said.

      So this was Old Lady Lee’s granddaughter! She had the most gorgeous red hair he’d ever seen. Or was it blond? Whatever color, the shoulder-length curly tresses went perfectly with her ivory white skin and sea green eyes. Why hadn’t anyone told him a vision was living next to the Gallagher farm?

      “Hello, Allison. And before we go any further, whatever my family has told you about me is definitely not true.”

      There was a sparkle in his dark blue eyes that Allison couldn’t quite ignore. She found herself smiling back at him in spite of the warning signals going off in her head. “Actually, I didn’t believe the part about you eating bullets for breakfast.”

      Nick’s smile grew broader. “You were right. I wouldn’t eat bullets unless I had cinnamon toast to go with them.”

      Across the room, Sam made a noise somewhere between a snort and a laugh. Deliberately ignoring his brother, Nick continued to hold Allison Lee’s small hand in his. “Mom tells me you’re Martha’s granddaughter,” he went on, careful to use the old woman’s given name.

      Allison looked back at Nick Gallagher. Ella had been right when she’d described her son. He was a tall, handsome man. On first glance his closely cropped hair appeared almost black, but on second look she saw that it was actually a deep shade of auburn. Yet he didn’t have the fair complexion of a redhead. In fact, his complexion was darker than Sam’s or his father’s. A result of his job, she supposed.

      At the moment his lean, angular face was creased in a smile that dimpled his right cheek and displayed his straight white teeth.

      Allison took a deep breath and pulled her hand from his. “That’s right,” she answered. “My father was Martha’s only child.”

      “Nick,” Kathleen spoke up, “why don’t you get Allison a glass of wine, and I’ll go see if Mom and Olivia need any help in the kitchen?”

      “Sure thing,” he said and crossed the room to pour the drink. When he turned around, he saw that Allison had taken a seat on the couch a couple of cushions from his brother.

      “I wanted to thank you for the wood you left yesterday,” she said to Sam. “You can’t imagine how much it will help in heating the house. But I would like to pay you for it.”

      Sam shook his head at her just as Nick arrived with her drink. “I don’t want your money, Allison. Consider the wood a Christmas gift from me,” he said.

      Nick offered Allison the wineglass. She accepted it with a brief thank-you and a faint smile, then turned her attention back to Sam. Nick was amazed at the envy that knifed through him. She was looking at his brother as if he were dear and familiar. Maybe he was, Nick thought crossly. But Sam already had one beautiful blonde madly in love with him. Did he really need two?

      “You’re too generous, Sam.”

      Yes, far too generous, Nick thought dryly. He’d always wondered why women were drawn to Sam. His older brother had always been quiet and brooding, even cynical at times. Maybe they found him a challenge.

      Hell, Nick thought, his good humor suddenly returning. He was a challenge himself. No woman had caught him yet. And no woman was ever likely to catch him. He was young and still having too much fun to be tied down by just one woman. Even one as lovely as Allison Lee.

      “So how long have you been living in the old farmhouse?” Nick asked Allison as he took a seat on the arm of the couch.

      “I moved in last May,” she answered, trying not to notice how close he was to her.

      He was nothing like Sam, she thought. Sam had always treated her like a friend. But this military man was sending her all sorts of dangerous signals. There was a reckless glint in his eyes that left her feeling decidedly edgy and wishing the night was over before it had even began.

      “Allison is originally from Louisiana,” Sam explained.

      Nick wondered why Allison Lee had left Louisiana and moved into her grandmother’s old house. And where was her husband?

      Curiously, he glanced at her left hand to check for a ring. There was none. She wasn’t wearing any jewelry that he could see, yet she appeared anything but plain. She was like a jewel herself—full of vibrant color and a touch of mystery.

      Olivia came into the room and took a seat on the arm of the couch beside Sam. Allison smiled warmly at the woman who’d become her friend over the past month.

      “Are you nearly ready for the wedding?” Allison asked her.

      Olivia laughed softly. “Right now I think we have things in an organized sort of chaos.”

      “Well, I’ll be glad to help anyway I can,” Allison assured her.

      Olivia exchanged glances with Sam, then looked back at Allison. “Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you,” Olivia began carefully.

      Allison looked at her expectantly. “Yes?”

      “Sam and I talked it over and we’d love for you to be my bridesmaid.”

      Allison couldn’t have been more shocked. “Oh, but surely Kathleen is—”

      “Going to be my maid of honor. So please say you will. I know it’s a little late to ask but it would please Sam and me if you would agree.”

      Allison was overwhelmed. These people wanted to include her in something that was obviously a family affair. She couldn’t quite believe it. “Oh,

      Olivia, I—”

      Embarrassed, especially because she knew Nick was listening, she broke off. But then she realized there was nothing she could say except the truth. “I’m so touched that you want me to be your bridesmaid, but to be honest I—don’t have a dress that would be—”

      “Don’t worry about a dress,” Olivia quickly assured her. “What you wear isn’t important. Is it, darling?” she asked, glancing down at Sam.

      He shook his head. “Olivia isn’t worried about a person’s clothes.”

      Sensing how awkward she must be feeling, Nick felt compelled to lighten the mood. “That’s right, Allison, or she definitely wouldn’t be marrying Sam,” he told her. “He’s a true farmer. He wears long johns until April. I just hope the neck doesn’t show when he puts on his tie.”

      “Sure, Nick,” Sam said while the rest of them laughed.

      “I won’t take no for an answer,” Olivia said when the laughter died away. “Besides, Kathleen has all sorts of dresses you can wear if need be.”

      Allison smiled and lifted her hands in a gesture of compliance. “Then I’d be honored to be your bridesmaid.”

      “That’s wonderful!” Olivia exclaimed.

      From across the room, S.T. broke into the conversation. “Sam, Benjamin wants to know where Jake and Leo are.”

      Sam motioned for the boy to come to him. Benjamin approached the couch shyly, one finger stuck in the side of his mouth. Nick could see his resemblance to Allison and for the second time he wondered about the child’s father.

      “The dogs are down at the barn, Ben. They’re asleep on the hay.”

      “Why?”

      “Because it’s cold and dark and they’re sleepy,” Sam explained.

      “I’m not sleepy,” Benjamin said, in a way that implied the dogs shouldn’t be sleepy, either.

      Amused, Sam got to his feet and held his hand out to the boy. “I know where there’s another dog. Come on, I’ll find him for you. Want to come with us, Olivia?”

      Ben placed his hand in Sam’s and the three of them left the room. Nick quickly slid off the arm of the couch