A Mistletoe Christmas: Santa's Mistletoe Mistake / A Merry Little Wedding / Mistletoe Magic. Carla Cassidy

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 was a relaxed happiness that only made him more handsome.

      The fact that the loner, the self-proclaimed Christmas Grinch smiled as he tightened his grip on her hand assured her that Mistletoe magic was at work...at least for tonight.

      It was an evening of laughter and song and visiting with friends. While the kids expended their energy running races around the gazebo and singing, Melody and Jake found an empty bench nearby.

      “Stay here. I’ll be right back,” he said. He returned a few minutes later with two steaming cups of Mistletoe Toddy.

      “If you aren’t careful, somebody might think you’re actually enjoying all this,” she said after she thanked him for the drink. She took off her gloves to hold the warm foam cup and noticed that he was also gloveless.

      “Actually, I think it’s the company I’m keeping that I’m enjoying, not so much the holiday or the silly mistletoe madness.”

      Her cheeks warmed. “I’m enjoying the company, too,” she replied.

      For the next hour they drank their toddies and talked about favorite movies, types of music they enjoyed and all the questions that people asked when getting to know each other better.

      It felt like a first date, although Melody reminded herself it was nothing of the sort. It wasn’t a date at all. It was simply neighbors getting better acquainted.

      At nine o’clock they began to round up the children for the trip home. The parents had been promised that their sons and daughters would be delivered back home safely before ten.

      The children were quieter when they piled back into the wagon, but their faces glowed with a tired happiness. By the time they pulled up in front of Melody’s house, Libby was curled up on a hay bale and sound asleep.

      “I’ll get her,” Jake offered. He climbed into the bed of the wagon and picked up the sleeping child, who immediately wrapped her legs around his waist, but didn’t appear to awaken.

      Melody hurried to unlock her front door and guided Jake through the living room and down the hallway to the purple explosion that was Libby’s bedroom.

      He placed her gently on her bed. “Night, Daddy,” she murmured, but it was obvious they were the words of a sleeping child.

      Jake left the bedroom and followed Melody back to the front door. “Thank you so much, Jake. It was such a fun night.”

      “I enjoyed it,” he said, his voice holding a touch of surprise.

      He took a step toward her, and her heart skipped a beat. Desire glowed from his eyes, a sweet desire that made her think he intended to kiss her. She found her lips parting slightly in anticipation.

      He reached out a hand and shoved back a strand of her hair, and then stepped back once again. “Good night, Melody,” he said, and walked out the door.

      She watched as he climbed back on the wagon seat and with a jingle of bells, finally disappeared into the darkness. She closed and locked her front door and then leaned her back against it.

      She closed her eyes at the memory of his scent, of the drowning depths of his gray eyes. She was slightly appalled by the fact that she’d wanted him to kiss her. It had been a long time since she’d hungered for a man’s kiss, a man’s touch. It was a reminder to her that her grief had passed and the future held all kinds of exciting possibilities.

      She didn’t know yet if Jake was simply a friendly neighbor or if he might become something more in her life. She would have to wait and see how things progressed between them and if he could possibly win the heart of a little girl, because if he couldn’t do that, then he would never be more than a very hot, very nice neighbor.

CHAPTER FOUR

      JAKE AWOKE CRANKY, and he had a feeling it was because he felt guilty that he’d enjoyed the night before with Melody and the kids.

      He’d rolled over in his big king-size bed, and the first thing he saw in the early dawn light was the picture of Stacy that had been on his nightstand since the day they had married over seven years ago.

      Her chocolate-brown eyes appeared to glare at him accusingly, even though he knew he was imagining it. Her short, curly blond hair set off her pixielike features.

      The tormenting pain he’d felt for so long whenever he gazed at the picture or allowed himself to dwell on thoughts of what might have been no longer plagued him. But he would always have a wealth of sadness when he thought of her.

      He’d promised to love her through eternity, and while he would always have love in his heart for her, he’d never dreamed that he’d want to spend time with another woman—a woman who made him laugh, a woman who made him feel wonderfully alive for the first time in years.

      He got out of bed, grateful that he had morning chores that hopefully would keep the thought of all females out of his head. It took him most of the morning to check on his herd of cattle and ride the fence line looking for breaches or other issues.

      It was only as he rode the fence nearest Melody’s house that visions of her once again filled his head. She’d looked so beautiful the night before with the wintry breeze whipping color into her cheeks and her beautiful eyes sparkling with merriment.

      Night, Daddy. Libby’s sleepy words had shot a different kind of pain through him.

      Jake had been ready for children the minute he and Stacy had finished their wedding ceremony. But Stacy had wanted to wait. If they’d had a child at the time Jake had wanted, he or she would have been about Libby’s age.

      Maybe if he’d had a child when Stacy had died, he would have pulled himself together more quickly instead of wallowing in grief and isolation for so many years.

      By the time he finished his chores and got back into the house, it was lunchtime. He made himself a couple of sandwiches and listened to the news and weather. He frowned as he heard the forecast for a fast-moving winter storm predicted to move in midevening on Christmas Eve.

      He couldn’t care less about the storm, because he had no intention of participating in whatever festivities the town might have planned for the night, but he’d hate to see the people of Mistletoe disappointed if special events had to be canceled due to weather.

      He finished his meal with a cup of coffee in hand as he stood at the window that gave