CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
DAVE
I stare downat the phone screen, stunned. Before I can consider what I’m doing, I dial her number.
“Hell—”
“Where are you?” My voice comes out rougher than I intended. It sounds more like a command than a question. I’m halfway to apologizing when her soft voice crackles through the line.
“I’m at Matt and Ellie’s.”
That’s all I need. Twenty minutes later, I’m standing on their doorstep, snow melting down my jacket, heart hammering like I’d just sprinted the entire mountain. It’s a miracle I didn’t end up in a ditch, considering the way I tore down those winding roads.
She opens the door, and the rest of the world simply falls away. “Hi.”
I grin like the love-drunk man I am. “Hi.”
“I hope you didn’t take out any mountain animals getting here so fast.”
“They could tell by the look in my eye they needed to get the hell out of the way.” I take a slow breath, trying to keep my voice steady. “Please tell me I can hug you now.”
A blush crosses her cheeks. And this one isn’t from the temperature. “Yes.”
Stepping forward, I growl, “Come here.” I cup her face in both hands. Her skin is cold from the wind, her eyes bright and wet. I can’t stop myself from leaning in.
“I thought you asked to hug me, not kiss me?” the little devilteases. I freeze, guilt flashing before she lets out a small, musical giggle. “I’m fine with it. You just caught me off guard.”
Relief floods me so fast it feels like I have a bad case of vertigo. “Sorry. I just missed you so damn much. I can’t hold back any longer.”
Before she can answer, a male voice rings from behind her. “Well, you better hold back a little longer. We don’t need to see all that, Romeo.” Matt chuckles, Ellie under his arm. “You think you can wait until you make it back to your tricked-out cabin? I’d hate to read in The Sycamore Mountain Times they found your naked bodies frozen to death in your truck.”
Char laughs, burying her face in my chest.
I bring her hand to my lips, brushing a kiss across her knuckles. “Maybe Ishouldtake you somewhere warmer,” I whisper into her hair.
Matt folds his arms, grinning. “Why don’t I reach out to Jason and see if I can get your next shift covered so you two can get reacquainted?”
I raise an eyebrow. “I’m definitely not going to turn that down.”
We don’t saymuch on the drive back. I hold her hand, thumb tracing lazy circles against her skin while the heater hums and snow dances on the windshield. It should be enough just knowing she’s here with me, but I can’t stop touching her.
When we reach my cabin, I light the fire while she studies the corner where a bare tree stands before the window.
“There’s no ornaments on your tree,” she says softly.
“I don’t usually decorate,” I admit. “My mom’s not here, and no one really comes by. I’m in the middle of a string of shifts, so I can’t visit her until the weekend.”
She tilts her head. “But you put up a tree.”
I glance at it, then back at her. “I cut it down the day you answered my texts. Guess I didn’t let myself hope you might actuallybe sitting here with me like this. Hell, all I have are lights. No decorations.”
A gloriously bright smile takes over her face. “Wait right here.” She disappears into the kitchen and comes back with paper towels and the kitchen shears. “We’re fixing this.”
We sit by the fire, cutting paper snowflakes, laughing when the shapes turn out crooked or lopsided. The fire crackles, the tree glows, and for the first time in months, my chest feels lighter. Then I reach for the small box I’ve been carrying around all week.
“What’s this?” she asks.
“I hope it’s okay.”
