Page 13 of Daddies’ Holiday Toy (Kissmass Daddies #1)

JACK

The snow is deeper than we thought once we finally make our way past the first few steps out of the cabin.

It clings to my boots in thick clumps, every step sinking past the ankle with a crunch that echoes in the stillness surrounding us.

That’s the one thing I appreciate about a good snowstorm—the aftermath is always a deep quiet that can’t be replicated any other way.

The air up here in the mountains is so cold it burns breathing in, each inhale searing my lungs before turning to vapor in front of me when I breathe it out.

Normally, this is my kind of day: a bright winter afternoon with sunlight filtering through the pines above us while we walk, crisp air filling my head until there’s no room for the noise of real life to settle there.

Normally, I’d call it perfect.

But today?

Today the air between the three of us feels heavier than usually, enough to crush a man entirely.

We aren’t talking much, or at all for that matter, today. Which in itself is strange.

On these weekend trips, we usually shoot the shit nonstop, arguing about sports, making crude jokes, reminiscing about the old days like we were already washed-up men in rocking chairs.

But after last night’s dinner and the morning after with Holly very obviously avoiding us…

Well, it’s making the three of us keep our mouths sealed shut.

It’s not hard to guess why none of us are bringing up the obvious elephant in the room.

The unspokenness of the subject is far louder than anything we could’ve said out loud, anyway.

I adjust the strap of my pack on my shoulder, trying to keep my eyes on the narrow trail we’re making cutting through the snow-dusted trees.

But every time I blink, I see her sitting at the table last night under the dim lighting over the light overhead, my gaze catching on the slope of her slender neck and how her hoodie seemed to cling to her curves despite it being oversized.

It’s a thought that no man with a moral compass should have, let alone notice.

It wasn’t just her looks either, though fucking hell, those alone are enough to make a saint stumble.

It’s the way she would glance at me every so often, her dark eyes teaming with curiosity and that same guardedness she’d had since the beginning.

It had me wondering all night if she could see past the bullshit, to get down to whatever you didn’t want her to find, in the same way I could.

I’d been around beautiful women before.

Hell, I’d slept with more than my fair share.

But Holly?

Holly hits somewhere deeper for some reason and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.

Part nostalgia, part forbidden fruit, maybe? I don’t know.

Either way, I’m not proud of it. For feeling this way.

Reece has been quiet too, keeping a few paces ahead with his long strides, breaking the pristine crust of snow for Liam and me to trudge through.

Liam’s taken up space beside me, hands shoved into his coat pockets, sighing every so often under his breath like he’s trying to fill the silence that has so obviously descended over all of us.

After a while, Reece veers off toward a strand of pines.

“Gonna take a leak,” he calls over his shoulder.

That’s when Liam elbows me. “Hey. Tell me I’m crazy, but are we really gonna pretend we’re all not thinking about her?”

I shoot him a glare, sharp enough to cut glass. “About who ?”

“Come on, man.” His eyes narrow. “You know who. Holly.”

I look forward again.

I’m not about to entertain this nonsense, let alone breathe life into it. “Drop it. Alright?”

He doesn’t.

Of course not because that’s not at all who Liam is.

Like Reece, he likes to beat a dead horse until it’s unrecognizable, even after I lay down the law and tell him to knock it the fuck off.

“We need to figure out what the hell we’re doing if she’s stuck here all weekend.”

“There’s nothing to figure out,” I say flatly.

“Okay, well there is if we don’t want things to get weird.”

A humorless laugh escapes me.

“Things aren’t going to get weird if you don’t make them weird, Liam.”

“You’re telling me,” he drawls, kicking a patch of snow covered moss buried.

“That you don’t feel like any of this is weird?

Come on, man. This was supposed to be a blow-off-steam trip.

Beers, cards, maybe hit the bar in town before crawling back to work Monday.

Now we’ve got a damn, uh— girl, snowed-in with us who also happens to be our best friend’s kid. ”

I know what he means, but it still grates on my nerves.

To him, the problem is that she’s ruined our plans for the weekend of letting loose and having a wild time our hangovers would most likely make us regret come Monday morning.

For me, the problem though, that problem is far from that. It’s that…

I can’t trust myself.

She’s right there.

Sweet, beautiful, and absolutely off-limits.

Forbidden for every reason in the book and in every way possible.

I have rules. Hard rules.

Ones I don’t cross no matter the circumstances and especially not when it involves one of my best friends.

That’s a line that never needs to be crossed. It’s been drawn in the sand long before and will stay there, out of reach.

It’s a ten-foot high, poured in concrete, topped with barbed wire, kind of boundary that should be respected no matter how annoyed my libido is at me for doing so.

But the curve of her smile still has me feeling like a man standing on the wrong side of things, wondering what the hell would happen if I leaned forward and figured out how soft they really were.

Reece returns just in time, zipping his coat back into place. “We pushing on or what?”

“No,” I say.

They both turn to stare at me.

“Seriously? We’ve only been out an hour.” Reece’s brow raises high, practically disappearing into his hairline.

I shrug, already turning back down the trail.

“Got a bad feeling about leaving her alone too long. Come on, let’s go make sure she didn’t do something stupid like try and dig herself out.”

It’s not entirely a lie.

I really don’t like the idea of her stuck in the cabin with nothing to do but twiddle her thumbs, but mostly I just need to move again, change direction, and let that burn off this restless, gnawing energy.

Liam mutters something I don’t quite catch, but they both fall into line behind me anyway.

By the time the cabin comes into view, the light above is already shifting.

The sun slides lower over the tree line, casting the area around the cabin in a warm, afternoon glow.

The porch steps are still half-buried in snow, the only impressions left are from our footsteps an hour ago.

I stomp the slush from my boots and freeze when I get to the top of the steps and reach for the door.

I can hear something on the other side…music?

It’s a low and steady beat that bleeds through the front door.

Turning the knob and pushing it open, the smell of something rich and savory hits my senses.

My stomach growls instantly, but there is something else threading through the scent, a warm and home fragrance that I haven’t been around in years.

We step in through the door, welcoming the heat that wraps around us.

Liam kicks off his boots and lifts his eyes to catch mine.

Holly appears from the kitchen within moments.

Hair piled up in a messy knot on top of her head and a wooden spoon in her hand.

She’s still in her clothes from yesterday, but they look just as good on her as they did last night.

Her eyes light up when she sees us. “Hey! I’m making you the best damn dinner you’ve ever had. Or, well, that’s what I’m calling it.”

Reece lets out a laugh from behind me. “That’s quite the title.”

Her eyes sparkle as a wide smile stretches across her face. “Yeah, maybe. But I’m determined for my food to live up to the title.”

Right then, I know the hike hasn’t done enough to put distance between me and this problem I have.

If anything, it’s only made it worse.

Holly disappears back into the kitchen before I can say anything.

The clatter of pots and the low hum of her singing along with the music—something old-school, Fleetwood Mac maybe—drifts over to me.

Reece pushes past my frozen figure, dropping his pack by the couch and glancing toward the kitchen with a slow, amused shake of his head.

“That’s cute that she’s making dinner again.

I really thought she would be hiding out in her room by the time we got back.

Maybe she’s warming up to us after all.”

“Guess so,” Liam says, grinning.

Or maybe she’s bored. Or lonely.

Or…any other excuse I’m trying to find to justify her not wanting to spend time with us outside of obligation.

I toe off my boots, every muscle in my body feels a little too tight as I step toward the kitchen doorway.

She’s at the stove, stirring something in a pot, hips swaying just slightly to the music.

I clear my throat. “Need any help?”

She glances over her shoulder, smiling like I’d just asked the dumbest question in the world. Maybe I have.

“I’ve got it. You three just sit and relax. It’s almost done.”

There’s no point arguing.

I back away before I do something stupid, like walk up behind her and—Jesus, I need to get my head on straight.

We settle around the table twenty minutes later.

Holly moves easily between stove and table, setting down dishes one by one.

Pasta in a rich tomato sauce, garlic bread still steaming, a big bowl of salad that looks like it belongs in some cookbook photo.

“Wow, I can’t believe you made all this for us. What’s the occasion?” Liam asks, eyeing the spread and barely containing how much his mouth is watering.

Holly shrugs. “Wanted to do something nice. Plus, I’m the one that went to school for this stuff, so it’s only fair I get to show off my skills.”

Reece chuckles, but I catch the way her gaze lingers on me for half a heartbeat before she sits down across from me.