Meet Me Under the Mistletoe (Kinky Spurs 4)

She felt the heat of embarrassment creep up into her face. “But I danced on the bar like an idiot.”

“So what? You looked great up there. The mayor was smiling and clapping along. The captain thinks you’re a saint, so nothing you could do would tarnish that.”

“But I was drunk—”

“You’re young. We get drunk. That’s what we do.” He took her by the shoulders and dropped his eyes level to hers. “And in case you think everyone is a Goodie Two-Shoes around here, don’t. Mrs. Evans from the Christmas breakfast you met runs through her back yard during the full moons naked. Jason, the guy that runs the homeless shelter, was a drug addict for a long time.” His mouth twitched a little when he added, “And your ever-so-perfect cousin, Clara, has had a few nights that I’ve driven her drunk ass home. No one is perfect, Penelope. You’re a good woman. That’s all that matters.”

“My family…” She couldn’t even get the rest of the words out.

“They hurt you, and you reacted to that hurt.” He placed his arm around her neck, tugging her close, and kissed her forehead. “I’ve been there. I know that pain.” When he leaned away, he dipped his chin and said softly, “But don’t let their shit ruin you. You can’t change them, but you can change how you interact with them. You’ve got your cousins, me”—the side of his mouth curved—“the entire town of River Rock who has fallen in love with you. Pick us. Pick here. Pick this life, not the life with people who can’t see this amazing woman in front of them.” He paused to wipe her tears, snowflakes covering his hair. “Ten years ago, there was a spark. One that was instant then, and lasted this past decade, always staying with me.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the mistletoe, holding it up high in between them. “Penelope Carter, will you stay and let me love you?”

“You want to love me?” Her voice cracked.

“Yeah, about that…um, I already do love you,” he said, “but I can hold that in, in case that makes you want to trudge down the middle of the road again with your suitcase.”

She laughed through the tears, then rose on her tiptoes. “No more running away. I love you too.” She moved closer and stopped just before meeting his lips. “And just so you know, I happen to be a hundred percent certain you are not an uptight fuddy-duddy. Oh, Darryl. I can’t believe you came for me.”

His eyes filled with emotion. “I can’t believe you kept the letter all these years.” He closed the distance, pressed his mouth to hers, and kissed her, meaningfully, deeply.

Tyson barked.

Darryl broke off the kiss with a laugh.

“Oh, I won’t

forget about you,” Penelope said, dropping down to kiss Tyson’s head too.

Darryl took her suitcase in one hand, and twining the fingers of his free hand with hers, he led her back to River Rock.

Sometimes life pointed you in the wrong direction, she realized. But then sometimes it led you right to where you belonged. With a good man, a cute dog, and a very grumpy cat.

Epilogue

Fate finally got things right. A week had gone by since Darryl and Tyson found Penelope trudging through the snow along the road, and she still had no little flicker in her gut telling her to hit the road. She was staying in River Rock, which was what brought her to the kitchen table with her cousins. She sat next to Maisie, glancing from face to face, hoping to hell she didn’t mess up somehow. She thought back over the week, sure she hadn’t done anything wrong. When their expressions revealed nothing, she broke the silence. “Okay, I know I ate the last piece of caramel apple pie, but come on, it was taunting me at two o’clock in the morning. What’s a girl to do?”

Maisie giggled.

Amelia smiled.

Clara said, “That’s not why we called a family meeting.”

Penelope blew out a loud, relieved breath. “Okay, so what’s up, then?”

Amelia turned to face Penelope fully. “I wasn’t joking when I said I didn’t want to do the beer tours anymore. I’m the dreamer, the creator, and I want to put my focus into creating some new beers for us to market.” Amelia had graduated from the Brewmaster and Brewery Operators program in Denver.

“And I’m going on the road with our beer to try and win some of the big tasting contests,” Maisie said.

Clara nodded at her sister, then said to Penelope, “You’re good with people. We’re all so proud of these amazing things you’ve done lately. So, the tour job is yours, if you want it. The pay isn’t great, but you get free room and board here with us, and free dinners, of course.”

Penelope parted her lips, but nothing came out, so she shut them again. She’d been wondering exactly what her next steps were. This last week had been all about heading back to the room in the Airbnb in Southern California that she’d been renting this last month and moving her stuff out to River Rock. She’d only arrived back an hour ago after Maisie picked her up from the airport since Darryl was working a shift, without much of a plan of where she would be living. “Are you all really sure about this?” she asked, a little speechless.

“Really,” Clara said. “We have an extra bedroom, and who better to talk about beer and get people wanting beer, than someone who loves beer herself and is a fantastic bartender.” She smiled.

Maisie grabbed Penelope’s hand on the table, her eyes softening. “Say you’ll take it.”

Penelope didn’t even have to think about it. “Of course, I’ll take the job, and stay here with you all.” Arms were suddenly surrounding her, squeals of delight filling the small kitchen. But with all this warmth around her came a reminder of something else that didn’t feel quite right. “Wait.” The warmth disappeared and wide eyes greeted Penelope. “Before this can happen, I need to tell you something, Clara.”

“Uh-oh,” Maisie said, dropping back into her seat, folding her arms.