A Boulder Creek Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page B

season.”
    “Grandma’s gone.” Lani’s voice faltered as the corners of her lips bowed down. “And I’ve been busy this year.”
    “I’m sorry about Cora…truly.” He lifted a hand to Lani’s shoulder. “But, I’m sure she’d love for you to carry on the traditions you both held so dear.”
    “That’s awfully presumptuous of you, don’t you think, Ryan.” She shrugged his hand away.
    “No.” He shook his head. “Lani. No one should ever be too busy to usher in the holiday spirit.”
    “The holiday spirit doesn’t come in bags and boxes, Ryan. It comes from here.” She pressed a splayed palm to his chest. “You used to know that.”
    “I still do. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a festive home.”
    “Maybe I’m not feeling all that festive this year.” She removed her hand and took a giant step back. Her eyes narrowed as the corners of her lips sagged further in an obvious reflection of the still-raw pain over Cora’s death. She crossed her arms tight over her chest and lifted her chin. “And maybe it’s really none of your business, either.”
    “I’m sorry, Lani.”
    “For what?”
    “For whatever I did to hurt you. I didn’t mean to. Truly, I didn’t.”
    “Forget it.” Lani shrugged. “It’s in the past…and no longer important.” She turned away and set her mug on the coffee table. “The roast and vegetables will take a bit longer to finish, and I had to give the bread time to fully rise. Do you want to sit by the fire while we wait? You must be chilled to the bone.”
    “That sounds really nice.” Ryan could not dismiss the tremulous tone of her voice. She was about to cry. Had he hurt her that badly…truly? His gut seized as he racked his brain to unearth a clue but none came. He gazed at her as the last vestiges of sunlight spilling through the bay window turned her hair to burnished copper.
    “OK, then.” Lani reached for the fire poker and bent to stir the ashes gathered along the base of the hearth. Nothing flickered or popped…not a single ember took hold. The brick sat stone-cold. Moe lumbered over to check things out, drew a sniff, and sneezed as the soot tickled his nose. He edged closer to Lani, his eyes crossed, and she gave him a good scratch between the ears.
    “OK.” Ryan studied Lani’s long, slender fingers as she smoothed her hand down the length of Moe’s back. Those fingers were a mirror of her shape…tall and slender and graceful as a willow dancing in the breeze. He used to love to watch her swim in the creek, her stroke so fluid it captured his attention and held tight. Once again, that special Christmas Eve whispered to the forefront of Ryan’s memory. Lani had loved his gift so much that, upon opening the small velvet box and catching her first glimpse of the treasure inside, she’d gasped with delight. Then, before Ryan could even begin to wrap his brain around her joy, she’d leaned in and thrown her arms around him, squeezing tight as her lips found his. The rest…well, the rest was history. “Sure, let’s sit by the fire…if you don’t mind.”
    ~*~
    Alani was already second-guessing her decision to ask Ryan to stay for dinner, but the deed was done, and it would do no good to convey those feelings to him at this point, anyway. He’d worked hard today, knocking at least half a dozen tasks from the to-do list he’d penned—items that had been waiting months for attention. The deck boards out back no longer sagged, and gutters along the detached garage were now minus the dead leaves and twigs that kept them from properly draining. As for the shutters that flanked windows along the front of the house…well, their slaps against the wood-framed eave would no longer wake her in the night; Ryan had expertly repaired them, as well. Guilt niggled as Alani stood convinced she in no way deserved such generosity, especially after the way she’d acted when she caught him out front. She’d spent a good part of the afternoon