“It was like the kisses Aunt Anna gives Uncle Mitch when they’re in the kitchen alone,” Ivy spoke in a loud voice. “Lauren had her arms around him and everything.”
Seth closed his eyes. Dear God, could this get any worse? He opened his eyes a second later to the sound of Lauren’s laughter.
“What can I say? I was swept away. The old bearded guy knows how to kiss.” Lauren shot him a wink.
Though Seth told himself it shouldn’t matter what Lauren thought of his kissing ability, his chest puffed with pride. If he was being honest, he’d admit that for a second, he’d been swept away, too. He’d forgotten how good it felt to hold a woman. How good it felt to have soft, warm lips pressed against his. Most of all, how good it felt to simply be that close to another human being.
The three years since Jan passed had been lonely ones. Oh, he kept busy raising Ivy and running the ranch. He played ball with his friends and went to church with his neighbors. He hadn’t realized until now how much he missed physical intimacy.
“What happened to Santa, Daddy?” Ivy’s sweet voice broke through his thoughts. “Where did he go?”
“Out the bedroom window,” Seth said. “The reindeer were pawing the roof. I’m surprised you didn’t hear them. I think they were eager to deliver more presents.”
Ivy’s mouth formed a perfect O. “Did you see them? Did you see Rudolph ?"
“Yes, Seth,” Lauren asked, her lips twitching. “Was Rudolph with them?”
“Everything happened so fast.” Though it seemed weird to be having a conversation about a reindeer, Seth somehow managed to keep a straight face. “I’m afraid I didn’t look for him.”
Ivy exhaled a heavy sigh. “I wish I could have seen Rudolph and the other reindeer.”
“Me, too.” Lauren reached over and gave Ivy a sympathetic hug. “At least we got to see Santa.” Lauren’s generosity of spirit toward his daughter continued to amaze him.
“When I heard bells jingling, I knew it was Santa,” Ivy said to Lauren, her expression oh-so-earnest. “That’s why I got out of bed.”
“I don’t blame you,” Lauren responded.
Seth stared in amazement.
Lauren’s expression was as serious as his daughter’s. Despite the psychologist’s feelings about fantasy figures, she seemed determined to help him preserve Ivy’s innocence.
“Since Santa was here already, can I open my presents now?” Ivy’s focus shifted to the stack of brightly wrapped gifts beneath the tree. “Pretty, pretty, pretty please?”
When his daughter turned her attention back to Seth, her blue eyes shining with hope, he wanted to give her the world. Only the thought of his sister stopped him. Anna and Mitch were coming over tomorrow specifically to share Christmas morning with their niece. He could imagine how they’d feel if they arrived and found gifts already opened. “’Fraid not, princess.”
“Please, Daddy, please,” Ivy begged.
“Just think, once your aunt Anna gets here tomorrow, you get to open Santa’s gifts and the ones from her and your uncle Mitch.” Lauren’s tone remained matter-of-fact.
Seth pretended not to notice Ivy’s trembling lower lip. Experience had taught him that commenting on her distress would only make things worse. Instead he moved to the sofa and lifted her high over his head, careful not to bang her casts. “Can you see Rudolph from way up there?”
Ivy giggled. “He’s not here, silly.”
The childish laughter was music to his ears. As Seth lowered his arms and hugged her close, he was struck by how much of Jan lived in her. Ivy had her mom’s button nose, curly hair and crooked smile. And from the moment she was born, she’d had her mother’s total and complete love.
Growing up, Jan had experienced firsthand the disaster that sometimes happens when a parent remarries. During those last weeks of life she’d worried that her daughter would experience that same pain. Assuring her that he wouldn’t remarry until Ivy was out of high school had been a small price to pay to ease her fears.
The promise had been freely given and would be kept. The only problem was that Seth hadn’t foreseen the loneliness of a single-parent existence. Hadn’t fully taken into account his physical needs. His friend Wes Danker had once said that if he had an itch, he scratched it. But Wes wasn’t a father. Seth couldn’t just go out and have a brief fling. Not in Sweet River. Not without causing talk.
He remembered how hard such gossip had been on Mitch growing up. Seth would never put Ivy in such a position.
“Good night, Ivy...again.” Lauren stood and leaned close, brushing her lips across the child’s forehead. “Sweet dreams.”
“You smell good.” Ivy studied Lauren. “You’re very pretty. I bet that’s why Santa kissed you.”
A swath of red cut across Lauren’s cheeks.
Ivy squirmed in Seth’s arms so she could look up at him. “You think she’s pretty and smells good, don’t you, Daddy?”
Seth gave a noncommittal smile. He’d noticed the sultry scent that wafted about Lauren, a scent that stirred his senses. And pretty? No living, breathing man could say otherwise. But this was his sister’s friend, his daughter’s potential babysitter. Although kissing her had probably been a mistake, he wasn’t going to compound the error by saying sweet words that might give her the wrong impression.
He’d been under the influence of the Santa suit when he’d lost control. Which meant that as long as he steered clear of red velour and hats with pom-poms, he should be safe.
A wave of irritation washed over Lauren. She’d felt sure that Santa—er, Seth—had noticed her new perfume, but for some reason he refused to admit it. Six months ago she’d have been devastated if Seth had disavowed any attraction to her. But that was when she’d had a silly crush on him, one more suitable to a schoolgirl than a mature, educated woman.
The “crush” period had begun shortly after she’d moved to Sweet River. She’d never been around a rugged cowboy before.
