Four For Christmas (6 page)

Chris’s whiskey voice was rough. “I wish I knew what happened with us. I know one of you said we all needed to grow up. That our family wasn’t meant to last forever. “

Georgia noticed Jimmy look down uncomfortably. Did he feel guilty?

“But that year? That year we
were
a family. That year Jimmy helped me work on my old mustang. The one that came without doors or brakes? That year Flynn taught me how to ski after he’d spent all morning teaching tourists; slowing down for me again and again, when I knew all he wanted to do was fly. And it was that year that Chris told me he was proud of me for getting the scholarship to DU. Proud. Of me. You’ll never know how much it meant to me to make you proud.

“Is Jimmy crying like a girl yet? Probably not. I’ll stop talking so he can have that shot…hopefully one of you has brought home a special girl to share it with. None of you should be alone. Always your brother, Nicholas.”

Georgia saw Flynn stand over the Christmas tree and reach into his pocket, pulling out a pocket watch on a gold chain. He hung it on one of the sturdiest branches, then took the glass Jimmy handed him and raised it before tipping back his head and swallowing the tequila.

Jimmy took out an old, dented tin sheriff’s star and placed it on the tree, cradled between several branches. He toasted the others and took his shot.

Georgia looked at Chris and found him staring, not at his brothers, but her. She didn’t hide her tears or wipe them off her cheeks. Nicholas deserved them. He sounded like a hero. One who believed in Christmas miracles as much as she used to.

Chris was the first to look away, placing a keychain that obviously belonged to an old mustang onto the lowest branch of the tree. He hesitated, closing his eyes for a moment before downing his shot as well.

She set down her wine glass and stood, hardly aware of what she was doing. She reached up, under her curls and unclasped the necklace she hadn’t taken off in over ten years. The heart-shaped locket that held an image of her and Grandpa Bale on her fifth birthday.

Maybe she should have asked them if it was okay, if it would be too intrusive, but none of them stopped her. The three men watched her place her locket on their tree. A silver locket that glittered like tinsel in the fire’s light.

It looked right there, somehow.

A large, warm hand took hers and placed the fourth shot glass in it, wrapping her fingers around it gently. She looked down at the tequila and thought about the man who had written that letter. The man who had the power, in death, to bring a family that had been broken back together again in his name. At least for Christmas.

To Nicholas
.

She drank.

The tequila burned down her throat and she gasped, feeling the heat in her limbs almost instantly. She coughed and placed a hand on her chest. So that’s how straight tequila tasted. She was more of a frozen margarita girl. Still, it was powerful stuff.

She looked up to find Jimmy and Flynn grinning at her reaction. Jimmy lifted the bottle. “Nick was a lightweight too. But he said the second shot always went down easier.”

Was that a dare? Georgia lifted her chin, embracing the lighter mood he offered. She lifted the tiny glass. “I hope he was right.”

A few hours later, Georgia decided he had been. The second went down easier. The third was a breeze. Before she could have a fourth she remembered she’d brought a bottle of peppermint schnapps for Connie’s famous eggnog in her bag. Unfortunately, she told Flynn about it, so he decided to mix her up one of his special cocktails.

While he and Jimmy were in the kitchen arguing over ingredients, she walked around the living room. She knew she was weaving more than walking, but it felt nice. She wasn’t drunk. She was very,
very
tipsy, but she wasn’t drunk. She never drank to excess. In fact, one of her ex-boyfriends had broken up with her because he said she, “didn’t know how to party”. Lord, she knew how to pick ‘em.

Now, of course she’d found the perfect man. Only he was broken up into three, very large delectable pieces. She felt for them, for the pain and loss that she’d recognized in them. And she envied them because they had each other. Though that obviously wasn’t always the case.

She traced her finger along the bookshelf, silently reading off the titles in her head. Medical textbooks, science fiction and cooking recipes lined the top shelf. She was just checking out the second row when someone touched her shoulder.

“Thank you, Georgia.”

Chris. She turned and smiled. “For what?”

He grimaced. “For helping us trim the tree. For being kind. For distracting Flynn. This time of year is usually hardest on him.”

“What a fibber you are.” She covered her mouth at his shocked expression. “Oops. I’m sorry. Did I say that out loud?”

His eyebrow lifted. “Are you upset that you called me a liar or that you used a word like fibber?”

“I am a writer, I can use any word I want. I can also make up new ones. Like fibasity. Which I have decided means the audacity of fibbing.” Georgia giggled through her fingers. “I probably shouldn’t have whatever they’re making in the kitchen.”

“Probably not,” he agreed, moving closer. “And I probably shouldn’t still want to kiss you, not after seeing you with James.”

Her voice rose up a surprised octave. “But you do?”

He nodded grimly. “I do. Why did you call me a liar?”

What had they been talking about? Georgia searched her memory until a light bulb weakly flared. “The time of year…it’s hardest on you. A healer faced with something he couldn’t fix. The caretaker who always has to be strong. Stand apart. Be the oldest.” He flinched and she raised her hand to his face, loving the way his beard felt against her fingers. “And in case you were wondering, I probably shouldn’t still want to kiss you after kissing Jimmy.”

Jimmy’s voice startled them both. “But she does.”

Chris turned around, keeping Georgia behind him. “James, I know what this looks like—”

“Me too,” Jimmy quirked his lips. “It looks like our traditionally morbid tree trimming party has taken a turn for the interesting. Flynn, get in here. You’re missing all the fun.”

Georgia frowned at him. “Why aren’t you upset? Was I such a bad kisser?” Oh heaven, had she just said that? She needed to never drink again.
Ever
.

Flynn arrived in time to watch Jimmy walk over to the couch and sit back lazily, as if he hadn’t a care in the world. But Georgia could see the intensity in his eyes. “On the contrary. Chris, I can tell you from experience, she is the best damn kisser this side of the hemisphere. Once you taste her, you can’t think of anything else. You won’t want to stop.”

Had she passed out? Was she dreaming? Why was that idea comforting? Why was it okay to do what she really wanted to in a dream but not in reality? Maybe it was the drinks talking, but Georgia wasn’t sure anymore. She sent a wobbly smile to Jimmy. “Thank you.”

Flynn glared at all of them. “Damn it,
I
staked a claim. Wasn’t that our old rule? We like the same girl, whoever stakes a claim first gets her and the others back off.”

Georgia put her hands on her hips. “If you talk about me like a mining venture again you won’t like my reaction. No one can stake a claim on me. And I am not a competition to be won with snowmen or strongman trophies. I make up my own mind.
I
decide who I want.”

Jimmy took a sip of something that looked cool and frothy…and pink. Of course, in his hands, even a girly drink looked incredibly masculine. “But you can’t, can you, Georgia? That’s why you stopped me from taking our kiss further in the kitchen. That’s why you disappeared inside the house this afternoon. You can’t decide.”

“God, you’re good. Seriously, how do you do that?” Georgia was too tipsy to be anything other than impressed by his observations.

Chris let out a soft laugh behind her. “He read a lot of detective novels in his youth.”

Flynn nodded, still looking confused, but willing to play along. “He’s also watched Sherlock Holmes about a hundred times.”

Jimmy made a face. “People-watching is one thing Georgia and I have in common. She watches the three of us the way I watch a potential car thief. Either she’s doing research for a new story, or she wants us.”

“Us,” Flynn clarified. “Orgy palace-style
us
? Or metaphorically speaking?”

Chris came back into her line of vision again, placing her chin between his fingers so he could look her in the eye. “Is James right? Is that something you think about? Something you want?”

Georgia was sobering up faster than she’d like. She couldn’t tell him the truth. They’d think she was beyond perverse. Sure, they weren’t technically flesh and blood brothers, but still. “You can have fantasies and not have them come true. It happens to me all the time. It’s my vivid imagination. I know that’s not the way real life works.”

Chris smiled enigmatically. “It isn’t? You and I both know of several examples that say you’re wrong.”

“Wait, Chris, you’re going along with this? James is just trying to mess with our heads.” Flynn’s voice was shocked. But not angry. Not averse.

Jimmy looked up at the tall dark haired Flynn and shook his head. “No messing with anything, Flynn. Just observing. I think we should do as she says. Leave it up to her.” He turned back to Georgia. “Do you want to kiss Chris?”

How could she lie? She couldn’t. Not tonight. “Yes.”

He smiled encouragingly. “And would you like to kiss Flynn?”

She nodded, swallowing hard.

“Can we watch?”

He was the devil sent to tempt her. She should have known from the moment she’d seen him striding her way through the snow. And now it was too late.

“Yes.”

She took a breath and, before she could lose her nerve, grabbed the fabric of Chris’s shirt and tugged him closer to her. He was so tall she had to stand on tiptoe while he ducked his head just to reach him.

She hesitated, her lips hovering beneath his. “Can I kiss you, Doc?”

His pupils were dilated and his cheeks were flushed with arousal. He wanted this, she knew. Wanted to kiss her. Somehow she knew that the only reason he held back was out of love and loyalty to his brothers.

That only made her want to kiss him more.

She didn’t give him a chance to answer, straining her neck upwards and kissing his bearded chin, his neck. The divinely scented spot behind his ear.

He placed his hands on her hips and held her back, mischief sparkling in his brilliant azure eyes. “If I said no, you’d only call me a fibber again.”

And then he kissed her. Right in front of Jimmy and Flynn.

At that moment, Georgia was aware that she would never be the same again. And that she might be okay with that.

Chapter Five

She discovered some things she hadn’t expected within moments of that first kiss. Doc Williams had been hiding his light under a bushel. He was always so restrained,  so quietly kind, she’d imagined his kiss would make her feel warm. Like coming home. And it did, but it was so much more than that.

She was on fire. She had no idea he would kiss with such a passionate ferocity. That she would feel the bite of his teeth on her lower lip. That his beard scraping against her, almost roughly, would only add to her desire. As his sensual, industrious tongue sparred and tangled with her own, showing no mercy, she had to admit it. Chris was on hell of a kisser.

His hands slid down her back until he reached the curve of her ass. He squeezed as he lifted her off her toes, as he pressed her against his hardening arousal.

Had she understated his kissing abilities a moment ago? He was perfect.

Georgia also realized something about herself that she’d never known. The lonely hermit who had spent her life out of the spotlight, despite constant requests from her publisher to do book signings or speaking engagements, loved being watched. Maybe it was just them. Just tonight. But knowing Jimmy and Flynn were both watching as Chris destroyed her, as he made filthy, dirty love to her mouth, was a fantasy come true.

It made her feel powerful. And it made her want more.

Chris nipped at her chin, leaving her lips with obvious difficulty. His blue eyes were dark; sparking with a fire she’d only seen glimpses of before. He lowered her to her feet but didn’t remove his hands from her body. “James was right, Georgia. I almost couldn’t stop. You’re so beautiful.”

Looking into his eyes, she felt beautiful. She rubbed his biceps and shoulders as she fought to catch her breath. “Ditto, Doc.”

Chris chuckled, but his hands tightened on her ass reflexively, subtly rocking her against his erection. “Are you sure you know what’s happening? That you haven’t had too much to drink? We can still stop. It might kill me, but we can still stop. I don’t want anyone to have regrets.”

Her heart skipped at his words. He was a good man. A truly decent and honorable man. Where had he—where had they been hiding all her life? “Still being the caretaker?” She grinned up at him, licking her lips. “No regrets. What about you?”