Peeking around a corner, Natalie watched the gym buzz with activity. The pageant was coming together, and decorations covered the walls in brilliant blues and silvers. Everyone, adult and child, sported a major smile.
The next moment, she noticed something strange. Concealed by a wall, she watched as Hawk peeked through a doorway—not unlike what she was doing!—with a large box in his hand. When he saw that nobody was paying any attention to him, he set the box down and casually walked over to his mother and her two friends, who were painting a giant board to look like a snow-covered mountain.
After a few moments, he strolled over to a small group of children and sat on the floor with them, and soon their voices rang out as they practiced one of the musical numbers.
With her curiosity overriding her need to hide from the man, Natalie walked swiftly into the gym. Almost as if Hawk had built-in GPS on where she was, he turned his head and their eyes collided.
“Ignore it,” she told herself, but it was so difficult. She felt quite accomplished when she managed to move forward and break the connection.
As she found herself coming closer to the box that Hawk had brought in, and when she saw a giant pink tag on it with the name Mary Pascal, she gulped. Mary was a sweet child who had just moved to the area with her parents. They were living with the child’s grandparents, and the family had hardly a dime to their name. Had he brought the little girl gifts?
“Oh, please, no,” she murmured.
She was already falling for this man, though she’d continue to fight it for as long as she had the strength to do so. It was just that even though he tried so hard to act tough, he was actually very kind and amazing with the children. She understood why everyone valued his volunteer work at the pageant so highly. Not once had she seen him lose his temper or even get the slightest bit irritated as child after child clung to him or jumped on his back.
He seemed to have never-ending patience, and if he wasn’t the fire chief, she could easily see him as a schoolteacher. In fact, she could really see him as the gym teacher, preferably in a tight shirt and a nice pair of shorts. Nope. She was going to push that image right out of her mind this second.
Natalie got busy, and she was very happy that she was able, for once, to avoid Hawk for the whole evening. He didn’t make it easy, but she was discovering that if she kept a tracking beacon on the man, she could anticipate his moves and counter them.
But if his hand brushed hers one more time, she couldn’t be held responsible for anything she might do. And if she did what she wanted to do, the local sheriff was going to be hauling her in for public indecency.
“Evening, Natalie.”
Startled, Natalie jumped, then relaxed when she saw Bethel walking up to her.
“Evening, Bethel. The mountain scene is looking wonderful.”
“You are too kind, darling. We should be all set up and ready to go within a few days.”
“Yes. It’s moving fast. Could I ask you something?”
“Anything, darling,” Bethel replied.
“There’s a box over there with Mary’s name on it, and . . .”
“Oh, that’s a secret Santa gift,” Bethel said, beaming.
“Secret Santa?”
“Yes. Each year the community members pick families that may need a little something extra. Whoever participates is very secretive and the boxes are always left where the children are sure not to miss them. Mary was one of the children chosen this year.”
“That’s amazing,” Natalie said, thinking back to her childhood. How much would it have meant to her to receive a gift from Santa?
“Her parents should be here soon, and then you’ll see Mary’s face light up. That’s always the best part. The other children love to be a part of it, too. The nice thing with living here is that we do truly love the people in our community.”
The two of them spoke for a few more moments, but fell silent when Mary’s parents walked into the gym. One of the kids quickly took them over to the box that the little girl had been waiting to open. There was so much pride in the set of both parents’ shoulders, and so much obvious love for their daughter shining in their eyes.
“Can I open it?” Mary asked eagerly.
“It appears to be for you,” her mother whispered softly.
Hawk was moving across the stage, cleaning up the endless line of crumbs from snacks the kids had just finished, but watching out of the corner of his eye. Natalie’s eyes darted between him and Mary as the child opened the box.
When Mary pulled out a warm winter coat, a brand-new pair of boots, and several outfits, her eyes welled up with tears. “Is this all for me?” she asked as her small fingers caressed the soft down jacket and took in the pretty black boots with small purple flowers at the top. She also brought out some presents wrapped in bright paper with labels saying Don’t Open Till Christmas Morning.
“I think it is,” her mother said, and a tear slipped from her eye.
An envelope was tucked discreetly inside the box, and Natalie had no doubt it contained some money so the parents could get something for themselves. Hawk’s generosity was choking her up. Damn his hide.
“Who’s this from?” asked Mary’s mother, Stacy.
“It’s from Santa,” Bethel replied, but her eyes strayed to the stage where Hawk was still sweeping away.
Without a word, Stacy began to move, slowly approaching Hawk. Placing her hand on his arm, she said something that stopped him from what he was doing. Although Natalie was too far away to hear the words whispered between the two of them, there was no mistaking the shine in his eyes as Mary’s mother wrapped her arms around him and gave him a grateful hug. When she let go, he bowed his head, nodded, and vanished through the back door. Mary’s mother returned from the stage and spoke quietly.
“He won’t admit it was him, but he said that Mary is a sweet child who has the voice of an angel.”
Natalie didn’t even realize tears were falling down her own cheeks as Stacy spoke.
“He’s a pretty spectacular man,” Maggie murmured as she stepped up and hugged Mary’s family.
“Yes he is,” Stacy said quietly.
Soon the group walked from the gym together, leaving Natalie there all alone with her thoughts. Natalie realized that she’d learned more about this man in a few days’ time than most people learned about anyone in a lifetime. He was good and kind, with a heart the size of Texas. She’d have said the size of Montana, but that was too small.
If she wasn’t careful, this man would change her entire future, whether he was willing to or not. She needed to avoid him. She had a feeling that she was going to become too attached, that he was going to want to have a casual affair, and that she was going to give him her heart. That just couldn’t happen. So what came next?
She honestly didn’t know.
chapter 10
Why aren’t you ready?”
Natalie stood in her doorway looking at Maggie, Bethel, and Eileen, all wearing thick coats, thicker hats, scarves, and high boots.
“Ready for what?”
“The big party!” Bethel said, looking at her as if she’d lost her mind.
“Party?” Natalie vaguely remembered some of the other teachers speaking about it the day before at school, but it was Saturday, and after a long week, she was looking forward to curling up in bed and sinking into a good book.
Okay, if she was to admit her true feelings, she wasn’t exactly pumped about her big plans, but she was trying to avoid Hawk, and she knew if she went to the only café in town, she would most certainly run into him.
“Yes. Tonight we light the Christmas tree and then go to the fire hall for a party,” Eileen said with anticipation.
“Brrr. Invite us in and we’ll wait while you get dressed,” Maggie said, leaving Natalie no choice but to open her door wide for the three bundled-up women to enter her toasty little house.