Page 55 of Mistletoe and Christmas Kisses
The first thing Macy had noticed was his kindness.
Hidden beneath layer upon layer of muscle and a rather determined stare, he presented, all told, an intimidating exterior. People would not utter kindness and Caleb Garrett in the same breath, not unless they really knew him. Took the time to do a thorough examination. She tapped the pencil against her bottom lip. The fact he had a reputation as a brawler was not surprising, because he looked the part. Yet, the night of the shipwreck, amidst a world of chaos and horror, he had cared for the fallen with compassion and a gentle regard she had not expected from a man. Had never experiencedwitha man.
In fact, she had experienced the opposite.
She swept her hand over the leaflet on women’s health services Savannah had asked her to review without seeing a line of text. Without hearing a word as the women’s league meeting buzzed around her, filling every darkened corner of Savannah’s cozy parlor.
His eyes were the second thing she’d noticed, piercing gunmetal in a slice of moonlight skipping off the sea. The Garrett grays, they called them, because the three brothers shared them. Caleb’sweregray, yes. Deeply, absorbingly so, but they were not exactly like Zach’s and Noah’s. And she’d taken the time to analyze. A bit of covert research, when, as a doctor, research was a gift. His not only had streaks of molten brown and obsidian edging into them, they were also brimming with sadness, unlike the rest of the deliriously joyful Garrett clan.
The third thing was his scent. Or perhaps it was discovering how much shelikedit. He smelled, no matter the season, like the sea. Sun-kissed and salty. Not a trace of city grime. And last night, in her office, he’d smelled like the evergreens wrapped around every lamppost in town. As if he’d worn a wreath around his neck. She had worked very hard to contain the urge to press her lips to his glistening skin and take a soulful breath.
When she, with the exception of their brief kiss, had never done something so forward in her life.
Savannah clapped her hands and Macy startled, slipping on the cool facade she used when caught daydreaming and having completely lost her place. She was tucked in one of those darkened corners, content to be passively present. Elle sat beside Savannah on the settee, taking diligent notes, her hand cradling her stomach. She and Noah were expecting a baby in the spring, and she fairly glowed. Savannah and Zach had added to their brood last spring, so the Garrett family was growing in fast measure.
At least this provided business for Macy’s obstetrics practice which, unsurprisingly, was her busiest. No one disagreed with having a female doctor for anything connected to birthing.
If Macy told Caleb no man had made her lose her place during a lecture, that he was the only one she’d experienced a connection with since the incident with her uncle, the only one, possibly, she had everdesired, he may not be so vexed about the kiss. When she’d simply wanted to turn him inside out as he did to her without trying. A brief, shared glance across a crowded street enough to make her burst into flames. Again, as she’d stated, the kiss had been a perilous impulse. An undeniable impulse, as it were.
Everyone knew following those was the path to disaster.
Though he’d said he was not angry. Was notsorry.
And the opposite of sorry was glad.
The possibility of Caleb Garrett being glad about her popping up on her toes in the dank cloakroom of an assembly hall and pressing her lips, her entire body, to his, made her want to step outside skin suddenly too tight. Of course, the kiss hadn’t been exceptional. Because she was new to it. Too, she’d done little research into the process. However...
His eyeshadgotten a dazed look once or twice last night, so perhaps he’d appreciated her sincere but artless effort. She tapped the pencil on the desk. Maybe, just maybe, he wanted to press his lips to her skin and take a soulful breath, too.
She watched Savannah gesture to Elle as they entered into a passionate discussion and wondered what they would do if she said:I fear I’ve developed an attraction for your brother-in-law.
Yes, Caleb-of-recent-heartbreak. That’s the one.
The one who was kind and intelligent and capable, more so than he wanted anyone to know. The one with the dimple that darted his entire cheek when he smiled. The one with work-roughened palms he’d used to capture her hips and pull her against him in the darkness.
The most passionate, searing moment of her life.
He had the long fingers of a pianist, a sculptor, and she wanted them all over her.
Macy ducked her head as a fire lit in her belly and crawled lower, settling in the awakening area between her thighs.
What was happening to her?
Forcing aside musings too captivating to envision in a crowded parlor, she turned her attention to the leaflet, making notes in the column, striking through words, adding context. She loved editing almost as much as she loved performing surgery. Both were important work. Savannah had been quite a force in the suffrage movement in her native New York, and much to the dismay of some, when she married Zach, she decided to continue her efforts from Pilot Isle. She had recruited Macy to assist with advocacy campaigns championing the many medical issues surrounding women and children. Most of the topics were controversial, consequently, the league’s members were labeled rabble-rousers and given a wide berth. If there was any bright spot, it was Savannah being married to Pilot Isle’s constable. He seemed remarkably skilled at balancing her campaigns against the town's tolerance.
“Is Caleb bringing someone to the tree trimming? The ladies are keeping their distance, even if an available man under the age of eighty is as rare as snow. His perpetual glower is scaring them off.”
Macy caught her breath and glanced up to find Savannah circling the room, collecting teacups and wrinkled napkins while Elle stood before a blackboard propped against the wall, erasing a list Macy hoped was inconsequential as she’d not read a word. “Suffering cats, I’m not asking again! You do it this time,” Elle said and dusted her hands on her skirt, leaving a streak of white on the dark wool. “Juste Ciel.You think Noah is stubborn? Try the middle child if you want to understand how little the Garrett men communicate. He said he’s had enough sweetheart-this and darling-that in the past year with all the blasted love in the family and could I please keep my infernal snooping to myself.”
Macy bit back a smile.
Savannah laughed and settled the teacups on the sideboard with a clatter. “I simply adore that man.”
Elle huffed and gave the blackboard another swipe.
“What fun you must have had growing up. You and Caleb, why, your escapades are renowned. The revival tent collapsing, the fire in the church. What’s the other one? Something about”—Savannah pursed her lips and tapped a teacup against them—“a sinking skiff and the town sending out a search party. I can almost see it. Zach concerned, Noah frantic, Caleb amused. Honestly, he has the best sense of humor of the lot of them. So at odds with his attitude of late.”
Elle snapped a length of chalk in half, then frowned at the pieces in her hand. “The old biddies in this town have nothing else to do except chatter, do they? The tent was Cale’s fault. The skiff, too. I was the only one who’d sail on his new boats. Can you imagine Noah leaving shore in a craft of uncertain design? I love him more than life itself”—she laid a protective hand over her stomach and the baby growing there—“but a risk-taker, he’s not.” She tossed the chalk in the tray, her scowl digging deep. “I only stuck my nose in, snooping as Cale termed it, because Noah is worried.”