She’d wanted to cry.
Hell, she wanted to cry now.
And she kind of wanted to just take the three steps between her and Drew, drop down into his lap, and ask him to hug her.
She had the strangest feeling that he would. And that he would feel really fucking good.
God, she was so tired. Obviously.
“Seriously, what are you doing here?” she asked him. But she took a step forward and held out a hand.
He shoved the bag of feed that was still in his lap to the side, then reached out and took her hand, letting her help pull him to his feet.
“I was up here earlier and then couldn't sleep, so thought I'd come back and finish what I was working on.” He paused and studied her face for a moment. He was still in the shadow and she was in the light. “What are you doing here?”
It was only then that Rory realized that to anyone but her father, this might look strange. She glanced around. There was really no explanation for what she was doing. It was two a.m., she was in the barn with a sleigh—okay, it was more of a carriage considering it had wheels, since there was no snow in Louisiana to warrant a sleigh—and a reindeer that she was trying to hook to the front of said sleigh. One of Drew’s reindeer.
Oh, and the sleigh was full of wrapped boxes.
None of this had been here a few hours ago.
Honestly, her emotions had been on such a roller coaster today, and she was so tired and hungry, and she was so sure that everything sucked and nothing was going to work out, that every thought of making up a story, charming her way out of this, or even just distracting him, fled her mind and as she looked up at him. She was appalled to feel her lower lip tremble.
Drew immediately noticed and stepped closer. His expression was one of sincere concern and seemingly without thought, he reached up and cupped the side of her face. “What's wrong?”
“I'm trying to save Christmas.” She sniffed. “And it’s not going to work.”
His eyes widened briefly. “You’re trying to save Christmas by stealing all the presents?”
Now her eyes widened and she gasped. “I’m not stealing them! I’m moving them! I’m…” Then all at once, she completely deflated. “Oh, fuck.”
And the tears started.
“Dammit.” He didn’t even hesitate. He pulled her in and wrapped his arms around her.
The tears flowed harder.
Drew Ryan, the Iowa farmer—who didn’t check off the first thing on her checklist, who didn’t have a speck of southern accent, who probably cheered for a Big 10 football team, who lived so damned far away—knew who her dad was and was now here at her lowest moment, seeing her messing everything up, and hugging her.
It was the best thing that had happened to her in weeks.
It was probably because it was 2 a.m.—though her father being a complete asshole certainly factored in—but Rory gave into the urge and leaned into Drew, wrapping her arms around him and letting him hold her.
She couldn't remember the last time she'd been hugged. It wasn't as pathetic as it sounded. Her friend and partner, Lennon, hugged her. Ellie Landry hugged her. Charlie Landry hugged her, for that matter. She seemed to recall even being hugged by Donovan Foster. The Landrys and the people they hung out with tended to be kind of a huggy bunch.
She just couldn’t remember the last time.
And Drew Ryan was good at it. Maybe better than all of those people.
It didn't hurt that she was already incredibly attracted to him. The hard muscles behind his flannel shirt, the biceps wrapping around her, the big hands spread on her lower back, the way her head nestled right underneath his chin, and the way he smelled, all contributed to the absolute this-is-amazing feel of the whole thing.
And she was down and out. There was no denying that. This was a very weak moment. But even in the midst of all of that, Rory could acknowledge the fact that there was not ever going to be a time, place, or situation when she would not enjoy being up against Drew Ryan's body.
After nearly a minute of just holding her and not saying anything, his voice rumbled under her ear. “I was kidding. I didn't really think you were stealing the gifts.”
She sniffed and resolutely kept her cheek against his chest. “I can understand why you would think that I was.”
There was a soft chuckle that vibrated against her cheek. “Come on, there's no reason I would think that you would do that. Obviously, this whole Christmas village thing means a lot to you. There's no way you're gonna do something to sabotage it.”
And that made the tears start fresh.
“Dammit.”
He muttered it softly enough that had she not been pressed up against him and right underneath his mouth she might not have heard it.
She sucked in a deep, ragged breath and made herself look up at him. She was certain that she looked pathetic.
“I'm fucking this all up,” he said softly. “I really do want to make you feel better.”
“You are. Honestly. By just being here and believing me and trusting me and thinking I would never do something to ruin all of this...and hugging me.” She sniffed. “That was a really good move.”
One corner of his mouth tipped up. “Yeah? Because it was kind of an I-have-no-idea-what-else-to-do move.”
“You have good instincts.”
They just stood looking at each other for another long moment.
Then he asked, “You gonna tell me what this is about?”
She really didn't want to. But…she kind of did. She would actually really like to share this with someone. And there was something about Drew that made her want to talk.
She was still surprised by what she'd shared earlier. Drew knew more about her than anyone else in Autre. Including Lennon. Lennon knew that Rory's dad was out of the picture and that her mom was a mess. She knew that Roger had cheated and left the family and that Rory definitely had some issues with that. She knew that Rory wanted to put down roots and that being a part of the community was hugely important to her. But Lennon didn't know about Roger’s arrest record or that he bopped back in and out of Rory’s life periodically or that she lived with the constant fear of him coming in and ruining everything. Basically exactly what he'd done with the Santa village.
Rory sniffed again and finally made herself let go of Drew. She stepped back and pulled in a deep breath. “My dad stole the gifts.”
Drew frowned. “What do you mean?” His eyes flickered to the sleigh full of gifts behind her.
She took another deep breath, then looked at this man who had shown up in her life that very day. She had literally known this guy for only a few hours. And she didn't really know him all that well. Maybe that's what made it so easy to spill her guts. She really didn't know. And she didn't care. She needed a friend. And there was something about Drew Ryan that made her think that he could be her friend.
He was a good guy. She’d had that vibe from the first moment. And maybe it was stupid, and maybe she would regret it, but she honestly was feeling so alone right now that she opened her mouth and the entire story about her dad spilled out.
“I decided to wrap fifty boxes so no one here will know those toys are missing,” she finished. “Now I just need to move them outside to the display so no one else sets up the display and realizes they’re empty.”