Temporarily Yours

Chapter 9

It was just shy of four weeks until Christmas. The boys are getting more and more excited as the days tick by. "When will Santa be here?" "Christmas is soon, right Miss Caroline?" I'd just laugh and answer their never-ending questions.

   It was a chilly, rare snowy day making it so I had no motivation whatsoever. The only time I'd left the house was early this morning to haul the kids to school. After that, it had just been Luke and I sitting around not doing much. He had told me he'd decided not to head into the studio today because of how crappy the weather was, and I didn't blame him. However, I can conclude that it wasn't an excuse. Ever since we sat down and talked, he's seemed to be doing much better, more cheerful. Kelsie was now a thing of the past.

It was about noon when Luke came into the kitchen, a toothy smile painted across his face. I would never get tired of seeing that grin. When he smiles, my heart thuds loudly, it's beating pace quickens. Seven billion smiles and Luke's happens to be my favorite.

"What are you up to? You're too happy." I chuckled.

He smirked. "Come decorate the tree with me. We have all the decorations up around the house. The only thing left to finish is the tree."

I laughed. "Is that what you're so happy about?"

He shrugged. "Yes, I love Christmas."

I just shook my head and hopped down from the island bar stool, following him into the family room. Boxes were sitting next to the tree, filled with every glistening bulb and tinsel garland the Bryan's owned. Luke turned on Christmas music and Baby It's Cold Outside began to play through the home speaker system.

   "You know what would make this even more Christmasy?" I asked.

   "And what would that be?" Luke asked, placing wood into the fireplace.

    "Hot chocolate, homemade, the way my ma used to make it. Rich and dark chocolatey, with whipped cream on the top." I said, licking my lips.

    Luke's eyes lit up. "That sounds wonderful. You go make that and I'll get a fire started."

    I left Luke alone and went into the kitchen once again and began to prepare my mother's famous hot chocolate. As a little girl, I remember always looking forward to the Christmas season just for that reason. My Ma would only make the chocolate drink in the few weeks before Christmas. No matter how much you'd beg, she wouldn't make it after Christmas or too early before Christmas. I remember sitting on a stool next to the stove, watching her delicately pour the milk into a pan and eventually drop the Hershey's dark chocolate in it. Sometimes, she'd even add crushed up candy canes to it to make it so the drink had a little peppermint taste to it. Being a young girl, no more than eight years old, the thrill of being able to spoon homemade whipped cream into individual mugs was high.

   I smiled, remembering the days of my girlhood. Soon, the hot chocolate was done and I poured it into two different mugs, one for Luke, one for me. I took them out to Luke who had already begun placing ornaments onto the tree. A fire was lit in the fireplace, giving the family room a warm, homey feeling. The flames' light flickered across the wall like dancing ballerinas.

    "Here you go," I said, handing Luke a cup of hot chocolate. "Sorry for not having any whipped cream. We didn't have any heavy whipping cream."

    Luke took the mug from me. "What? No whipped cream? I'm very disappointed." He took a sip, and began to nod his head, swallowing the drink. "I take that back, it doesn't need it."

   I laughed. He pointed to the mug. "This is some damn good hot chocolate if I do say so myself."

   I grinned, shrugging. "Eh, it's nothing much. Wait until you taste my Christmas sugar cookies. They'll transport you to Heaven and back."

   Luke chuckled and set his cup on the coffee table. "I can't wait."

  Soon we began decorating the tree, slowly filling up the pine-needled branches. As Luke's nanny, decorating his tree with him seemed oddly intimate as if I shouldn't be engaging in this kind of stuff with him. Yet, I could care less. It felt nice to be able to bond with Luke like this. We honestly haven't been able to at all, now that I think about it.

   "So what's your favorite thing you did as a child on Christmas?" Luke asked me.

   I thought for a moment. "Well, I think it'd have to be making syrup candies."

   Luke placed a red bulb on the tree and furrowed his brow. "Syrup candies?"

   I gasped. "You don't know what those are?"

   He shook his head. I explained. "Well you boil syrup to a certain temperature and then pour it over snow immediately and it hardens into a taffy like candy."

   Luke laughed. "Where'd you get the snow to do that?"

   "Good question. Since I grew up in Georgia, my dad would make the snow, shaving ice." I explained. "What's your favorite memory?"

   I sipped the still-warm hot chocolate from my cup and listened to Luke talk about his favorite holiday memories as a boy.

   "Well this might sound cheesy, but my favorite memory is from when I was a sophomore in college. It was the school's annual Christmas dance. It was at this huge banquet hall. I had worked up the nerve to finally ask Heather Blankenship. She was a Kappa Delta. My buddy Carter had asked this girl named Brittany. Anyways, she had said yes. We danced the night away."

   I laughed. "You? Nervous to ask a girl to a dance? Never."

   "It's true."

   "I dubbed you as one of those guys who just asked a girl without hesitation, thinking they were some type of big shot."

  Luke placed his hand over his heart, pretending to be hurt. "I'm slightly offended. Anywho, want to see some of the moves I charmed her with?"

   I crossed my arms. "Oh, you could actually dance?"

   He scratched the back of his head. "Well, no, not exactly, but I can now."

   He held his hand out and I took it. "Flatter me cowboy."

   "Will do, ma'am." He retorted.

   Luke began to dance and I followed his lead, feeling at home. My hands in his just felt right, and that swarm of butterflies in my stomach just wouldn't die down. Faster and faster their wings fluttered. I was falling for this man harder each and every day. And like a beating drum, my heart thumped loudly when Luke pulled me close to him.

   "Don't be afraid," He whispered and then chuckled softly. "Lay your head on my chest, I don't bite, I promise."

   I gulped, hesitant to do so, but gave in, and rested my head upon his chest. We stood there rocking back and forth so effortlessly. My mind and body overcome with a sense of nostalgia that I didn't want to go away. In the background, I could hear the crackle and pop of the fire and Mariah Carey belted put over the speakers as she sang the lyrics to All I Want For Christmas Is You. Everything was so perfect, so intimate.

   "You know," Luke spoke softly. "I haven't danced like this with anyone since Chelsea died. It's nice."

    The butterflies made my stomach flip flop. I didn't know what to say. "Yah..."