Christmas Kismet (7 page)

..oo     Chapter Ten     oo..

With hot tears
streaming down her face, Kate brushed past Henri and fled out the front door.  She
wore only her leggings and a light sweater.  Her hair was still wet from the
bath that she had taken with Henri.  Heavy snowflakes bombarded her, but Kate
was numb to the cold.

Henri stood
shirtless in the kitchen holding two cups of fresh coffee.  He watched Kate in
disbelief, momentarily too stunned to move.

“Kate!” he called
out as sat down the coffee mugs and ran after Kate into the snow.  The frozen
ground stung at his bare feet.

Kate tossed her
bag into the front seat of her jeep.  She was hastily brushing the blanket of
snow off of the windshield.

“Don’t you even
speak to me!” Kate raged as she glared over her shoulder at Henri.  Anger
swelled within her like a storm.  How had she been so naïve to trust Henri? 
She barely knew the man!

“Kate! What
happened?” Henri asked urgently as he touched Kate’s shoulder. 

Kate jerked away
harshly and swatted his hand away.

“I should have
never trusted you!” she sobbed as tears streamed down her face.  She pushed
past Henri and crawled into the front seat of her jeep.

“Wait!” Henri
screamed.  “Tell me what I did wrong!” Henri begged, his voice desperate.  One
minute Kate had been kissing him good morning and the next she was storming out
of his life.  Henri wondered what on Earth had had done wrong.  “Let’s talk
about this…please, Kate!”

Kate said nothing.

She slammed the
door and fit the key into the ignition.  The engine of her jeep thundered into
motion and she jerked the vehicle into reverse, wiping harshly at the tears
that still spilled from her eyes.

How had she
been so stupid to think that Henri had cared for her?

Kate stomped on
the gas and the jeep spun in the snow.  She jerked the steering wheel and
righted the jeep, steering it onto the snow covered driveway.  She made the
mistake of looking in the rearview mirror as she sped away.

Henri was standing
barefoot and shirtless in the snow.

Why did he have to
look so perfect?  His muscled chest and tousled hair had stirred those feelings
within her again.  Her body betrayed her.  Even after what had happened, Kate
still found that her body responded to Henri.  She forced her eyes away from
the mirror and onto the mountain road.

Henri watched
blankly as Kate sped away, dragging the shreds of his tattered heart with her over
the rocks and snow that covered Snoqualmie Pass.

He wondered what
on Earth he had done wrong.

And then he
remembered the phone call.

Kate must have
overheard it.

His words echoed
through his mind.

He closed his
eyes.

I love you too,
sweetheart.

I’d be with you
if I could.

See you soon,
love.

What else would
Kate have thought?

He should have
told her.

..ooOoo..

Henri jumped into
his Audi, still barefoot and shirtless.  His skin rippled with goose bumps, but
he did not care.  His breath fogged out in a puff of white as he jammed the key
into the ignition.

He had to get
to Kate.  He had to explain himself to her!

The Audi barreled
down the mountain, following the tracks of Kate’s jeep.

Henri’s heart
thundered in his chest.

He had to catch
her.

The road was
perilous and covered with a thick sheet of glistening ice.  Henri worried about
Kate driving under these conditions.

If only she had
given him a chance to explain! 

How had he
messed something this perfect up?

The Audi skidded
around a bend in the road and slipped on a sheet of ice.  Henri jerked the
wheel sharply.  He overcorrected and the SUV slid into a heavy snow bank.

“Not now!” he
screamed out loud as he hit his hands against the steering wheel.  He slammed
the car into reverse and hit the gas.  The tires skidded helplessly in the
snow.

He was stuck in
the snow bank.

Henri let off the
gas.  He rested his head against the steering wheel in defeat.

He had waited
so long for someone to come into his life.

And he had
screwed it all up and let her get away.

..oo     Chapter Eleven     oo..

Something was
burning.

“No!” Kate gasped
as realization overtook her.  “No, No NO!”

Kate hustled over
to the oven and slipped on the mitt as she flung open the door.  Smoke hissed
from the oven when she opened it, revealing the tops of her vanilla crème
cupcakes were burned black.  Kate grabbed the cupcake tin and dropped it on the
top of the counter in defeat.

She had forgotten
to set the timer.

She was clearly
losing her mind!

Thinking that
throwing herself back into her work would make her forget about Henri, Kate had
opened the
Cupcakerie
at five thirty in the morning.  As if seeing Emma
and Shane this morning wasn’t enough for her heart to bear, burning the
cupcakes pushed her over the edge.

Kate buried her
face in the flap of her pink apron.  She rested her elbows on the counter next
to the smoldering cupcakes and wiped harshly at the tears that threatened to
spill down her cheeks.

Thoughts of Henri
raced through her mind.

His smile.  His
laugh.  The way that his perfect muscles looked when his shirt was off.  The
way that he had held her in his arms.

She had known
that he was the one.

 She had felt
it with every beat of her heart.

And he had
betrayed her.  Just like every other man that she had ever loved.

Emma stormed into
the kitchen.  She stood frozen for a moment as she looked at her sister.  Kate
was crying next to a pan of burnt cupcakes.

Kate never fell
apart.  And, she never burnt cupcakes.

“Are you alright?”
Emma asked hesitantly as she surveyed the cupcake disaster and Kate’s
red-rimmed eyes.

“Does it look like
I’m alright?” Kate asked sarcastically.

“There’s someone
here to see you,” Emma said quietly. 

“I don’t want to
see anyone right now.  Tell them to go away.”

“Alright,” Emma
said as she turned and walked out of the kitchen.

He stood where
Emma had left him, just between the cake display case and the cash register. 

“She says that she
doesn’t want to see you,” Emma said apologetically.  She gave a half smile to
the handsome stranger standing before her.  He wore a forest green Henley shirt and dark jeans.  His auburn hair was tousled from the late December breeze. 
Emma thought that he might have stepped right out of an Eddie Bauer catalogue. 
She wondered what sort of connection this man had to her sister.

“I really need to
see her,” Henri said.  His hazel eyes locked with Emma’s.  With a look of sheer
determination, Henri stepped behind the counter and brushed past Emma.

Whether Kate
wanted to see him or not, he needed a chance to explain to her.

Henri stalked into
the back room of the bakery. 

There stood Kate,
starting blankly back at him.  She was leaned up against the counter with a
look of utter defeat marring her pretty face. Next to her sat a pan of cupcakes
that had been burnt to smithereens.  Kate’s eyes were red.

She had been
crying.

Henri’s heart
sank.

She’s crying
because of me.

“Kate,” he
whispered as he walked towards her.

She shook her head
from side-to-side.  “No,” she whispered.  Her tears came freely now, rolling
down her cheeks.

“You have to let
me explain!  I tried to let you go, Kate, but I can’t!  I can’t think about
anything but you and how perfect…”

“I can’t take
anymore, Henri!  I thought that you cared about me!” she stammered as she wiped
away her tears.  “Leave!” she pleaded as she brought up her hand to stop Henri
from coming any closer.  “Please leave!” she begged, feeling the pieces of her
shattered heart constrict in her chest.

“I’ll leave as
soon as I’ve told you…”

“I don’t care,
Henri!  I just don’t care about anything anymore,” Kate sobbed.

Henri closed the
distance between them.  He clenched his jaw and whipped out his wallet.  Kate
was slipping away from him, and he refused to stand by helplessly and watch it
happen.

He would fight for
her.

“I know that I
should have told you sooner, but I was afraid that you wouldn’t want me if you
knew,” he said softly.  He held his wallet up in front of Kate’s tear stained
face.  “This is Abby, and this is Olive,” he said, pointing to the pictures in
his wallet.  “I was talking with Abby on the satellite phone when you
overheard,” he confessed.

Kate wiped at her
tears.  She stared numbly at the faces of two beautiful little girls.

“After Nicole died,
they’re all that I had left” Henri said with a shaky voice.  “I should have
told you, but I was afraid.”

Henri’s words hung
between them.

He waited, eyes
searching Kate’s face.  If she rejected him now, now that he had born his
broken heart for her to see, it would be the end of his fragile hope.

“I’ve been numb
for so long, Kate,” Henri whispered.  He felt the stinging of tears welling
behind his eyes.  He had promised himself that he would not cry and he wiped
them away harshly.  “It has been so long since I’ve felt
anything
,”
Henri admitted.  “Until I met you.”

Kate brought her
trembling hand up to her lips.

Henri was bearing
the scars of his broken heart openly for her to see.

“I should have
told you about my daughters,” Henri said apologetically.  “Please forgive me,
Kate.  Give me another chance.”

Kate took a
tentative step forward. 

Her heart had not
misled her after all.

She reached up and
brushed away the tear that cascaded down Henri’s cheek and wrapped her arms
around his neck.  Henri’s solid strength comforted her.  He held her close and
she breathed in his familiar, masculine scent.

Henri released the
breath that he had been holding and folded Kate into his arms.  He inhaled the
sweet scent of her hair and stroked her back as she cried against his shirt.

“I’m sorry,” he
whispered against her auburn hair.

“Me too,” Kate
replied.  She cursed herself for pronouncing such swift judgment upon Henri. 
Pulling herself away from the solace of Henri’s chest, Kate looked up into his
eyes. 

What she saw there
almost caused her heart to beat right out of her chest.

Henri’s eyes were
filled with relief and something else.

Henri’s eyes were
filled with love.

He trailed his
fingers down Kate’s jaw line and smiled that lop-sided smile that Kate loved so
much.

Kate stood on her
tip toes and pressed her lips to Henri’s.  She felt him smile against her lips
before he committed to kissing her.  His kiss held aching sweetness.  Henri
brushed his lips reverently over Kate’s, taking his time to taste her and
relish in the sheer joy of kissing her again.  She opened her mouth and
welcomed his tongue into her mouth, making Henri’s heart race in his chest.

Oh how Kate
affected him!

Henri tore his mouth
away from Kate’s.  He looked into her green eyes, thanking the Lord for second
chances.

“Miracles only
happen once in a lifetime,” he breathed as he smiled down at Kate.  “And I’m so
glad that mine didn’t get away.  I’m planning to go about this the right way
now,” she said softly as he kissed the corner of Kate’s mouth, relishing the
fact that her lips were curled into a delicious smile.

“What is the right
way, Henri Archer?” Kate asked as she wrapped her arms around Henri’s waist and
looked up into his eyes.

“I’m going to
court you.”

“Court me?” Kate
giggled in disbelief.  “What does that mean?”

“It means that
we’re going to date and we’re going to take our time and learn every little
thing about each other so that we don’t mess this up.”

“What if I don’t
want to take my time?” Kate asked as she arched an eyebrow up at Henri.

“You
deserve
to be courted, Kate,” Henri drawled out.  “I almost lost you because I was
rushing things.  I was so happy to have found someone that made me feel
again…I’m afraid that we were moving too fast.”

“What if that is
how we are meant to be, you and I?” Kate asked as she slid her fingers under
Henri’s shirt and felt the solid warmth of his muscled back.  “What if we are
meant to be maddening and crazy and all consuming,” she whispered against his
chest.

“Perhaps we are,”
Henri chuckled as he wrapped Kate up in his arms.  “All I know is that I love
you like crazy.  At first I thought that it wasn’t possible in such a short
time, but losing you made me know that it was true.”

Kate lifted her
head from Henri’s chest.

I love you like
crazy.

Henri’s words
echoed in her mind.

She stood on her
tip toes and pressed her lips tenderly to his.

“I love you like
crazy too,” she whispered.  “And whether we take things slow or continue like a
raging wild fire, nothing will change that, Henri Archer.”

..oo     Chapter Twelve     oo..

“This is Abby,”
Henri said proudly as he looked down at his daughter.  “And this wild one here,
this is Olive,” he smiled as he patted the little girl’s head. 

Olive had her face
buried in her dad’s coat.  Her tiny hand was clasped securely in Henri’s.  She
looked up at Kate and smiled shyly.

“Hi girls,” Kate
said warmly as she knelt down.  “Thanks for letting me come to the zoo with you
today.”

“Can we see the penguins?”
Abby asked as she tugged anxiously on Henri’s hand.

“If that’s where
you want to go first,” Henri smiled at his daughter.  “I can already see them,
they’re right over there,” Henri pointed across the zoo courtyard.  He laughed
as Abby took Olive’s hand and they did their best interpretation of a penguin
walk.  The girls ran off giggling together towards the penguins.

Kate couldn’t help
but smile as she watched Henri with his girls.  She could tell that he loved
them very much and she could also see that Henri was a wonderful father.

“I should have
told you about them,” Henri said regretfully as he watched the girls run up to
the penguin enclosure.  He laughed softly as he watched Olive press her hands
to the glass and make faces at the swimming birds.  “They’re everything to me.”

“They’re lovely,”
Kate laughed as she watched Henri’s girls giggle at the penguins.

“I’ll understand
if it’s too much for you,” Henri said as he stopped and looked down at Kate. 
“Sometimes it’s too much for me,” he chuckled.

“They’re part of
you, Henri,” Kate said as she smiled up at him. 

“The best parts,”
he laughed as he glanced over at his girls.  Loving them was what had kept him
alive after Nicole’s death.

“And when I said
that I wanted you, I meant that I wanted
all
of you,” Kate said softly
as she took Henri’s hand and interlaced her fingers with his.  “I want the good
parts, the bad parts, the broken parts, and
especially
the best parts.”

Henri leaned down
and kissed Kate’s hair.  He brushed his thumb over the back of her hand,
wondering how in the world he had been blessed with such a Christmas miracle as
Kate Murray.

..ooOoo..

“Can you French
braid hair?” Abby asked as she sat on the bench and watched the lion bask in
the rare January sunlight.  It was a clear but chilly winter day, something
almost unheard of in Seattle.

“Sure,” Kate said.

“You can?” Abby
asked, eyes alight with wonder.  “Could you braid mine?  Right now?”

“I’d love to,”
Kate smiled.

Abby was already
ripping out her pony tail.  She spun around eagerly on the bench so that Kate
could have access to her long chestnut hair.  Kate noticed that Abby’s hair was
the exact same shade as Henri’s.

“Daddy can’t you
know,” she said with clear disappointment.  “He watched a You Tube video and
everything, but it looked horrible!” Abby said with over exaggerated emotion.

Kate laughed
softly as she worked her fingers through Abby’s hair.

“Daddy’s good at
lots of things,” Abby said lovingly.  “But some things he’s not so good at. 
All the other girls at school have mommies to fix their hair, but that’s
something that my Daddy can’t do.”

Kate paused mid
braid.  Her eyes were trained on Abby who sat with her chubby fingers laced
together waiting patiently.  She imagined Henri watching internet videos about
how to braid his little girl’s hair.  The thought brought a smile to her face. 
Henri’s hands were masculine and strong and Kate knew that they were good for
many things, but Abby was right.  Kate was sure that Henri was all thumbs when
it came to French braiding his daughter’s hair.

But Kate loved the
fact that he had tried.

Kate finished the
braid deftly and used Abby’s ponytail elastic to tie off the end. Abby’s hands
shot up to explore Kate’s work.  She turned around and smiled.  Abby’s face was
alight with happiness.

“Thanks!” Abby
shouted as she sprung up from the bench.  “Look Daddy!” she yelled as she ran
over to where Henri was showing Olive the lion.  “Kate braided my hair!”

“That’s beautiful,
honey,” Henri smiled.  He winked at Kate and mouthed “thank you.”

Kate stood up and
walked over to Henri.

Her heart beat the
truth.

This was what she
wanted.

Henri needed her.

His girls needed
her.

Never in Kate’s
life had she been more certain of something. 

Kate needed Henri
and his girls just as much as they needed her.

Sometimes when
something is so right, you just know.

Kate stood beside
Henri and grasped his hand.  Henri set Olive down on the ground and intertwined
his fingers with Kate’s.  The girls scampered up ahead to the gorilla enclosure,
laughing and skipping in the January sunshine.

Olive saw the
gorilla and raced back to hide behind her Daddy.

“It’s alright,
sweetheart,” Henri said as he took her tiny hand in his.

Kate looked over
at Henri.  He was everything that she had ever wanted.  Her heart swelled with
love and hope for their future.

Abby skipped back
towards them.

“Let’s go look at
the gorilla!” she said happily as she took Kate’s hand in hers.

Kate’s breath
caught in her throat.

She stood holding
Henri’s hand with her right hand and Abby’s hand with her left.  The four of
them stood, hand in hand.  It was if even the girls knew that this was right. 
Kate smiled up at Henri, her heart ready to burst with happiness.

Henri leaned down
and kissed her forehead.

The four of them
walked forward as one.

Perhaps two broken
hearts could mend one another.

Epilogue

This year,
Christmas was different.

Kate had decorated
her apartment from top to bottom.  Abby and Olive had made glittery Christmas
pictures that lovingly adorned her refrigerator.  Henri would get to keep the
girls this year for Christmas, and together, they had decided to descend upon
Kate’s parent’s house for Christmas Eve.

The Murray house was bustling with the festivities of Christmas.  All of Kate’s extended
family was crammed into the house, which was festooned with Christmas trimmings
from top to bottom.  Abby and Olive sat in a mountain of torn up wrapping paper
in front of the Christmas tree.  Kate smiled as she watched her parents fuss
over the girls.  The Murrays had taken to spoiling Abby and Olive soon after
they had met the girls, and Christmas was an excellent opportunity for
spoiling.

“C’mere,” Henri
whispered into Kate’s hair.  They were wrapped up in each other on the love
seat, happily watching the girls open their Christmas gifts.  Henri stood and
helped Kate to her feet.  “I want to show you something,” he said, his hazel
eyes twinkling.

“Will they be
alright without us?” Kate asked as she cast a glance over her shoulder at the
girls.

“Your mom will
keep an eye on them,” Henri said reassuringly as he led Kate through the crowd
of her relatives.  “Close your eyes,” he whispered, his breath hot against the
skin of her neck.

Kate closed her
eyes and let Henri lead her out onto the deck.  The winter air was refreshing
against her warm skin.  Henri closed the door behind them, shutting out the
hustle and bustle of the Murray family Christmas.  Kate couldn’t help the broad
smile that spread over her face.

“Alright, you can
open them,” Henri said as his eyes focused on Kate.  She was smiling radiantly,
which filled his heart with happiness.

Kate opened her
eyes.

Her heart raced in
her chest.

The deck was
adorned with a sea of white burning candles, each glowing warmly against the
backdrop of the night sky.  Snow sputtered from the December sky, glittering
around them as Henri gathered Kate into his arms.

“I love you,” he
whispered.

“I love you too,”
Kate smiled, relishing the warm solid feel of Henri’s chest beneath her cheek.

“Can you imagine
that it has been a year?” Henri asked as he reached over and tucked Kate’s hair
behind her ear.

“It’s been the
best
year,” Kate smiled as she looked lovingly up into Henri’s eyes.

“My Christmas
miracle,” Henri sighed as he trailed his fingers reverently over Kate’s cheek. 
He swallowed hard and dropped to one knee in front of the woman that he loved. 
“Will you marry me, Kate,” he asked hopefully.

Kate gasped and
brought her hand up to her chest.

“Yes!” she cried. 

Henri reached into
his pocket and withdrew a small velvet box.  “I guess that I should have had
this out already,” he chuckled as he flipped it open.  “I was nervous!” he
admitted.

Kate drew in a
shaky breath as Henri slipped the most gorgeous ring that she had ever seen
onto her ring finger.  The diamond sparkled in the light from the dancing
flames of the candles.

Kate cupped
Henri’s face with her hands and brought him to his feet.

He smiled and
captured her lips in a passionate kiss.

“My Christmas
miracle,” Henri whispered, just a breath away from Kate’s lips.

“When something is
this right, sometimes you just know,” Kate whispered as she wrapped her hands
behind Henri’s neck.  “I love you like crazy, Henri Archer.”

“I love you like
crazy too, Kate,” Henri said softly as snow flakes landed on their shoulders. 
“And I plan to spend the rest of my life crazy in love with you.”

..ooOOoo..

The End

Main Entry:
kis.
met

Pronunciation:
/’kiz-met, -mət/

Function:
noun

Usage:
often
capitalized

Etymology:
Turkish, from Arabic
qisma
portion, lot

Date: 1834

1:
Fate   
2:
 
Destiny