Winter's Magic (Music City Hearts Series) (8 page)

She nodded, unable to speak. Swallowing hard, she tried to will the flush from her cheeks and touched the corner of one eye to make sure it hadn’t spilled over, just as the first tear did.

“I’ll be right back.” Beth patted his waist before leaving and deliberately controlled her steps as she strode down the hallway leading to the restrooms. Once inside, she went straight to the paper towels.

Carefully dabbing the corners of her eyes, she tried to remove all evidence of tears. More fell, but she contained the onslaught that had threatened to release and waved the cloth in front of her face to cool off. What had come over her? These feelings hadn’t surfaced in over a year. She thought she’d buried them too deep to ever show again.

She’d been twenty-seven when her doctor called and said her annual physical had shown abnormalities. Further testing revealed cervical cancer. Relief from early detection and a quick recovery from a hysterectomy had outweighed the repercussions. And she thought she’d moved on.

Yet, watching the children take their turns on Santa’s lap and open their presents with such excitement and delight on their little faces had ignited a yearning deep inside. She’d tried to squash the feelings. She didn’t need all of these emotions swimming in her head. Then Nick had arrived and she’d watched the tenderness pour out as he held Melissa in his arms.

Suddenly, she realized she had a bigger problem than a few tears. At what point in a relationship do you tell someone you can’t have children? Date Number One didn’t seem right.
Thank you for dinner, I had a great time. By the way, I’m barren
. However, waiting for the engagement ring seemed too far down the road.
Yes, I’ll marry you. But I hope I’m enough
. As if she didn’t already have a dozen reasons to worry about being enough.

Nick went to work Saturday morning with the same lack of focus he had the week before. This time, it wasn’t due to anticipation of his date with Beth. Not completely. He couldn’t get the look on her face out of his mind.

She was wonderful with the kids. They loved her. And her smile grew brighter every time one of them came running to her just to show off a new toy. His initial flare of possessiveness had been replaced by an immense feeling of pride once he’d met Brian and several other parents who conveyed their gratitude for the party and everything Jenny and Beth do for the children every week.

The thought was irrational, but through all of the excitement and joy, he’d also sensed a sadness come over her as the choir began their first song. As they’d lingered on the sideline watching, her expression had been a combination of affection and pain. Before she’d stepped from the room, he’d even caught a glimpse of a tear running down her cheek. Yet, when she returned from the restroom, her composure was back in place.

It had taken him half the night to figure out what was wrong. Then he’d felt foolish for not understanding sooner. At twenty-nine years old, she probably wanted marriage and a family of her own. That biological clock thing started ringing louder the closer women came to thirty, didn’t it? He wondered how many children she wanted.

Nick settled back in his office chair and felt his smile spread wider. Marriage. Wow! Talk about a punch in the gut. Up to this point, he’d never thought about tying the knot. Of course, he’d never let himself date anyone he would want to get that close to. Exactly why women like Lauren were perfect. Pretty on his arm, while never a temptation to have feelings of attachment. Low risk.

But with Beth, he couldn’t help it. She brought out a side of him that had been buried for a long time. Life had become so serious he’d forgotten how to have fun. To laugh. To give whole-heartedly. To even relax.

That carefree spirit he’d seen the first day they met as she savored a piece of chocolate and joked about her dating life. She didn’t pretend. She didn’t want anything from him. She had no agenda. She was just . . . Beth.

And one week with Beth felt like a lifetime of renewal. It was unbelievable how everything he did now seemed different. He had more energy, more excitement about life. He couldn’t wait to leave work today and see her. They were planning to take a horseback ride in the snow she’d mentioned Sunday night.

If he could just focus on work for one hour.

“Are you sure you don’t mind me being out this afternoon?” Beth asked Gina as she rushed through a stack of backed up paperwork at the front desk. “I feel like I’ve been gone half the week already.”

“We’re fine. And Anita enjoys having the extra hours. Three kids make an expensive Christmas list.” Gina smiled and gave her a quick wink. “Have fun and tell Nick we
all
said hello.”

“All?” Beth closed her gaping mouth. She hadn’t thought about office talk. Of course, she hadn’t dated anyone they knew of since opening the salon. They obviously liked Nick though, which loosened the knot that had started to form in her stomach.

“Of course. You don’t think you’re the exception to the gossip mill around here, do you?”

“How many of you have met him?” Beth could tell from the look on Gina’s face the woman had second-guessed her comment and wasn’t sure how to proceed. “It’s okay, Gina. You just caught me off guard.” Beth laughed and then leaned toward her with a conspiring grin. “But now you have to tell me what everyone is saying.”

“Really? You’re not mad?” Gina visibly relaxed.

“Not as long as you share.” She couldn’t wait to hear what the staff had to say.

“Well, Nancy and Amy were up here when he brought your flowers in last Saturday. They were dreamy-eyed for the rest of the day. Then Shelly saw him heading toward your office on Wednesday. You should have seen the concern on his face when he came in and hadn’t been able to get a hold of you. And when he told me to lock up later that evening . . . Man, you should have seen him. All protective and guarded, but soft and tender, too.”

Beth remembered the expression he’d had on his face when she’d threatened to fire him. His amusement hadn’t hidden the worry buried underneath. That tenderness Gina talked about had come through. Most men would have shied away or even run from the wreck she’d been in that night. Nick hadn’t. He’d taken care of her, and she’d actually let down her guard long enough to let him.

“Beth?”

Snapping to attention, Beth refocused and found Gina holding back a chuckle. “I need to go. Hope I gave you something to talk about this afternoon.” She winked and grabbed her coat and purse before leaving.

Beth’s mind raced as she drove to Nick’s house. He lived on the other side of town, closer to the farm than she did, so she’d packed a change of clothes before going to the spa this morning.

Turning into his gated subdivision, she punched in the code he’d given her and drove through the iron gates. The community was exactly as she’d pictured. A combination of elegance and welcome comfort. The homes were large, but not grand, each representing the centerpiece of what had to be at least two- or three-acre lots. She could imagine the scene in the summer with their Bermuda lawns mowed and edged to perfection, trimmed with immaculate floral landscapes.

Nick’s home faced the west and the afternoon sun reflected off the copper hoods covering the front bay windows. Various shades of rust and tan stone outlined the garage and two-story entry, blending with a cream stucco façade.

A garage door went up as she drove down the long driveway. Nick emerged and waved her to pull through. Once inside, Beth turned off her car and grabbed the duffle. Her door opened, and he was there with an outstretched hand.

“We’re supposed to get more snow, so I thought you might like to park inside.”

Taking his hand, she stepped from the car and into his arms—exactly what she’d been waiting for all day long.

“I could get used to this, Mr. Chester. I don’t take long to spoil.” She lifted onto her toes and kissed him.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Beth heard the car door shut. Too lost in the feel of Nick’s mouth on hers, she didn’t care that they were standing in the middle of a cold winter breeze. They hadn’t had a single moment alone the day before and she’d dreamed about feeling the warmth from his body all night long.

When she drew back, he was achingly sexy with a half smile, half smirk on his face.

“I like to spoil,” he said. “And if a warm parking space gets me this kind of welcome, it’s yours any time.” Nick kissed her again, then led her inside the house to a half-bath where she quickly changed into thermals, riding jeans, double socks, and boots. She would grab the coat and gloves from her backseat before they left.

When she emerged, she could hear Nick’s voice on the phone. Entering the kitchen, she laid her bag on the counter and followed the faint sound.

“I appreciate it, Grandfather. I understand everything’s been taken care of and I’d like to keep this a private matter.”

Nick’s head whipped around just as she entered the dining room. His startled expression quickly dissolved into a smile. He waved her forward, holding her tightly against his side, and continued the conversation.

“Thank you.” He paused. “I need to go. Beth just got here, and we’re heading out to the farm for a ride this afternoon.”

There was another pause as Nick listened.

“Dinner? I’m not sure what our plans are. Let me find out and I’ll give you a call when we’re on our way back.”

Nick hung up and led her back out to the garage. “My grandfather would like to meet us for dinner.”

“That would be great, but I didn’t bring anything nice to wear for a dinner out. I just have this and the jeans I wore to work this morning,” she said.

“I think he’s hungry for Margaret’s Café. That’s my guess, anyway. He’s subtly mentioned it about six times this week.”

“Then count me in.” She laughed. “I’d love to have dinner with him.”

“I’m glad you were able to take the afternoon off after the busy week you’ve had.” Nick backed out of the garage and turned the Jeep around before heading out of the driveway. She had warned him the road leading in and out of the farm would have limited snow clearing.

“Come to find out, they do pretty well without me. Anita’s been covering my front deskwork and does a really good job. I stayed late last night and I’ll probably have a stack of paperwork waiting for me tomorrow.”

“Do you get out to the farm very often?” he asked.

“Not as much as I’d like, especially now that winter’s really hit. I know Nathan, our manager, takes good care of everything.”

The drive from Nick’s home to the farm was short. On her direction, he turned down a long path covered in snow with a single set of tracks down the middle. She was glad they’d brought the Jeep. Neither one of their regular vehicles would have fared well on the gravel-dirt mix they called an entrance.

Once parked, Beth led them to the barn where she could hear Nathan rustling around. As they entered, she saw her two best thoroughbreds saddled and ready.

“This is Salo.” Beth stroked the chestnut’s black mane, then nodded toward the palomino standing next to him. “I’ll be riding Izzy.”

Just as Beth got ready to lead them from the barn, Nathan stepped out of the front office.

“Beth, I hope you dressed warm,” he said.

“I’ve got three layers and a down-lined coat, so I’ll be okay.” She put her toboggan on her head and motioned toward Nick. “This is Nick Chester. Nick, this is Nathan. As I told you earlier, he keeps everything around here in perfect order.”

“I’m impressed. Beth says you have about eighteen horses on site? You must work around the clock. This place is spotless.”

“Beth is too kind. She probably didn’t mention all the help I have.”

“Oh, Nathan. You and I both know this place couldn’t run without you,” Beth said. “And thank you for having Izzy and Salo ready for us. We’ll be back in about an hour.”

“Be careful.”

Beth handed Nick the reins to Salo and they headed out of the barn. Once mounted, she took it slow in the direction of the western hills.

The farm was a mixture of five hundred acres open field and another two hundred acres of timberland that were thinned and full of man-made trails. Beth led Nick down a long path winding up and around the side of the hill.

When they emerged from the woods, they came to an open spread of land.

“This is where we typically let them loose. With the snow, we’ll take it a little slower. They won’t like the slower pace, but I’d hate for one of them to get hurt.”

Beth urged her mount into a gentle gallop and felt the beautiful sting of cold whipping across her cheeks. She loved her farm. No matter what ailed you, riding across the open field, feeling the power in the animal beneath you, was like free therapy. And if you were already in a good mood, making your way to the top of the hillside was even more exhilarating.

Nick rode next to her as the field opened up and wound around to the back of the forest. A gradual incline took them to the top of the hill where her small lake had started to freeze. The gazebo and picnic tables were snow covered and the woodpile and bonfire pit were buried in a deep drift.

She dismounted and let Nick take the reins. Once the horses were tied to the hitching post, he came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. She covered his hands with one of her own.

“This is Sergeant’s Gate.” She waved her free hand over the great expanse and gazed out across the magnificent skyline.

“You can imagine what the view is like at night, with everything in downtown Nashville lit up. It’s breathtaking.”

“It sure is,” Nick said.

When she turned her head toward him, he wasn’t looking at the city. Rotating in his arms, she faced him and slid her hands up the front of his chest.

“I was talking about the skyline,” she said.

“I know you were.
I
was talking about you.”

The chill she’d felt in her cheeks suddenly turned warm as she stared into his gentle eyes. “Please tell me we didn’t ride all the way up here so you could look at me? I wanted you to see how beautiful the city is.”

“I think you’re a more stunning view.” Nick pulled her closer.

“You’re pretty smooth with your lines,” she whispered, suddenly not able to take in enough air to make her voice any louder.

“It’s true.” He was sporting a devilish grin as he leaned down and touched his nose to hers. “I really like the hats. This one’s almost as cute as the Santa hat you were wearing yesterday.” He kissed her nose. “And your red nose is adorable.”