Heart of Clay Read online

  Clay wished he could throw Callan’s brother Bob and his family out into the snow. Bob was eighteen years older than Callan and the polar opposite of her and their brother Josh. Not only did he look nothing like his younger siblings, Bob was also arrogant, bad mannered, and one of the most negative, unhappy people anyone could meet. From what Clay observed over the years, Bob took after Margo, Callan’s mother. She had never been happy either. Bob’s wife, Donna, wasn’t much better. It seemed they took pleasure in trying to make others miserable.

  Their only child, Melanie, and her husband, Ted, were every bit as awful as Bob and Donna. Known for her negativity, Mel was whiny, rude, and demanding.

  The two bright spots to come out of that muddle were Audrey and Emma, Melanie and Ted’s children. At six and three, they were wiggly, giggly spots of sunshine. Callan was absolutely loopy over the two girls. Clay had to admit he was fond of them, too. The only downside was dealing with Mel and Ted when they wanted to see them.

  Josh and Jenna, Callan’s younger brother and his wife, were always fun to see. Since Jenna and Callan were close and he and Josh were good friends, Clay mulled over the reasons why they didn’t spend more time together. Probably because Jenna had to commute to Portland for her job and Josh was busy with his farm.

  Callan and Josh bore a strong resemblance to each other. Hard workers, they both were tall, had a great sense of humor, and a dimple in their left cheek. Although no one seemed to know where their height came from, Clay thought they both must take after the Carver side of the family. Some old family pictures their dad had once shared with him showed a few tall branches in the family tree. Josh was nearly as tall as Clay and liked to joke around every bit as much.

  He wondered that Josh and Jenna, like he and Callan, had not trooped down the road to parenthood yet.

  Callan’s dad, Big Jim, was like a one-man show of Christmas joy. Callan worried about him, now that her mother was gone, but Big Jim seemed to do well. He sold the house he’d shared with Margo for almost fifty years and moved to a retirement village in town. In his seventies, he decided it was time to slow down and enjoy the life left in his years. Clay could only imagine how Big Jim kept the clubhouse at the retirement center hopping.

  Clay’s folks, Bobbie and Steve, were also there, along with his aunt Maggie and uncle Tom and his cousin Jake, who took classes at the community college where Clay taught. Jake and Clay loved to harass each other and never missed an opportunity to get in a teasing zinger.

  Laken, Tyler, and their two kids, rounded out the motley crew. Alex, who did not like to be called Alexis, was fast friends with Audrey. Brant decided with a lack of other prospects, especially boys, Emma would do for a playmate.

  Aware of Bob and Donna’s efforts at upsetting Callan, Laken and Jenna attempted to serve as buffers between their unkind barbs and their friend. She had smiled and ignored their hurtful comments as much as possible. Clay grinned as he thought about finding Callan hiding out in the laundry room following lunch.

  After the dishes were finished, Callan took the dirty linens to the laundry room and was gone longer than she should have been. Clay found her sitting on the dryer, worrying a helpless dishtowel into a knot.

  “Callan, what are you doing?” Clay asked, sticking his head inside the room, shocked to see her on the dryer.

  “It’s not as if that idiot Bob and snarky Donna aren’t bad enough, but Mel and Ted are just too much,” she whispered hotly. “They are all so mean to those sweet little girls. I could wring their necks. Just give me a minute. I needed a breather.”

  Clay shut the door behind him and moved to stand in front of Callan. He wrapped his arms around her and gently rubbed her back. “I’ll hold them if you want to wring,” he said with a teasing smile.

  “You’re sweet.” Callan leaned into Clay and let out the breath she’d been holding.

  Clay felt her relax against his chest. She turned her face up to him and asked, “Have I told you how much I love my present?”

  “Hmm. You may have mentioned it five or six times,” Clay said, continuing to stroke her back. “But go ahead, tell me again.”

  “It is so wonderful, Clay, truly it is. It was such a wonderful surprise and I’ll use it all the time. Thank you so much.” She planned to give him a kiss on the cheek, but he turned his head at the last second and made sure it landed on his lips.

  Clay was thrilled Callan liked the gift. He put together a portfolio with photos and memorabilia she filed away from past events she had coordinated and assembled it into a leather-bound album she could take with her to client meetings.

  On the outside of the album, his mom helped him work Elegant Events by Callan Matthews into the leather in a nice script with some scrolls and embellishments around the edges. It turned out well, if he did say so himself.

  Callan had shown it to everyone – well, everyone she liked. He was certain it had resulted in at least a half-dozen kisses of thanks so far. Just to make sure there would be plenty more, he tucked a piece of mistletoe into his shirt pocket and pulled it out whenever no one looked their direction.

  Suddenly jumping off the dryer, she threw down the dishtowel and squeezed his hand. “Let’s go slay a nasty dragon or two.”

  By the time she got back to the gathering, she had a smile on her face and walked over to Big Jim. “Daddy, why don’t you tell everyone about the time Santa got stuck in the chimney while I set out dessert.”

  Callan shot Clay a wink before disappearing into the kitchen, knowing they wouldn’t have to listen to any of Bob’s family for a while. Once Big Jim got started with a story, there was no interrupting him.

  Hours later, as everyone left, Steve and Bobbi were the last out the door. Callan gave Bobbi an extra hug. “Thank you so much, Mom, for helping Clay with the portfolio. I love it. Thanks, too, for the wonderful gift card. I’m really going to enjoy finding something fun to buy with it. You guys are the best.”

  Bobbi hugged her back with a big smile. “You are so welcome, sweetie. Why don’t you come out to the ranch one day while you’re off? I’d love to catch up on things. I haven’t had a good visit with you for a long while.”

  “Great, I’ll plan to do that. Maybe we can bring the girls sledding one day,” Callan said, already making a mental list of things to accomplish on her days off.

  “I’d love that. It would be great fun,” Bobbi said, tugging on Steve’s coat sleeve. “Come on, Frosty, let’s head for home.”

  “Yes, dear.” Steve gave Callan a quick hug and Clay a thump on the back then escorted his wife out to their car. “Thanks for a great day, kids. Merry Christmas.”

  Exhausted after cleaning up all the trappings from the gathering, Clay rested on the couch as Callan walked into the room. He motioned for her to come over and she stretched out with him, resting her head on his chest. He slipped his arm around her and pulled her closer.

  It was the best Christmas he could remember for a while. He watched her look above the patio door to where he’d hung her gift to him that morning.

  Clay owned a long saw blade that had belonged to his great-grandfather. It had been gathering dust and rust in the barn for years and Callan thought it might be nice to have it painted with an outdoor scene. One of her event clients was a talented artist who agreed to take on the project. It turned out even better than Callan had hoped. She gave the artist some copies of outdoor photos Clay liked and Sally turned them into one amazing collage. Callan was so excited about the gift, she had a terrible time waiting until Christmas morning to give it to Clay.

  “So you like your saw?” she asked.

  “Yep. I can’t believe anyone could make that old rusty thing look that good. It’s a wonderful present, Callan. Thank you.”

  “You’re most welcome. Thank you for a wonderful Christmas.” Callan sounded happy and content.

  Clay tipped up her chin and gave her a kiss that made her toes tingle. When he declared it past her bedtime, Callan didn’t argue, e
agerly following him to bed.

  During her week off, Callan couldn’t remember having so much fun, laughing so hard, or enjoying Clay so much for a long time.

  The two of them took Audrey and Emma sledding out at the ranch twice and Callan caught up on all the news with Bobbi.

  She and Laken drove into the city one day to have lunch with Jenna and do some after Christmas shopping.

  Best of all, she and Clay spent some time together, becoming friends again. All too soon, though, her week of play was over and it was back to work. She dreaded the coming of January, but she’d make it through somehow.

  The alternative wasn’t an option.