He pats my shoulder then walks around the front of the Sprinter. I head over to Wren, and the moment I’m next to her, I pull her into me. Her sweet, fruity scent fills my nose.
“That’s the truck?” she asks.
“Yeah. That’s Foxy.”
“It looks good.”
“Oh yeah. He keeps it in mint condition,” I say before kissing her lips. I can’t help myself.
“You missed me I see,” she says jokingly when our lips part but there’s nothing funny in my response.
“The minute you left the ranch this morning,” I tell her, meaning that shit and she smiles big as hell.
“Your cowboy charm is going to win me over.”
“Damn! Crush my heart then. I thought I won you over last night.”
Smiling even harder, she says, “When you’re right, you’re right.” She pecks my lips again.
“Are you ready to get the tree?”
“Beauden already had it chopped. Travis is attaching the stand. We just have to pick it up from the tree farm.”
“Can we drive to it?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
“Okay. We can take Foxy.”
“And have Mr. Rufus mad at me because my tree scratches up his pride and joy? We’ll go in my truck. The pads are already in the bed but you can drive it though.”
She places her hand in her pocket, pulls out her keys, and hands them to me. We walk over to her ride and get in. I follow her directions through the massive ranch to the tree farm.
“That’s Travis. Oh, I hope that’s my tree,” she gushes. Travis is on his knees, hammering what looks like a painted dark green wooden stand onto a beautiful balsam fir. It’s full and a deep green, reminding me of the trees my grandmother loved. “Look at how full and pretty it is. Amara is going to freak over it if it is.”
“It’s a beauty,” I agree before getting out.
We step over to Travis and he confirms that this is Wren’s tree. It is truly a beautiful tree and has to be at least seven feet because it’s taller than me. I help him tie it up and together, he and I place it on the back of her truck.
When we make it back to the lodge, I get into Foxy and follow her back to her ranch. Once at her house, I unload the tree and place it in the precise spot she wants in the living room. Then we head up to the attic for the decorations and lights.
“You want all of this in this corner?” I ask, nodding at a stack of bins.
“Yes. The clear ones are for the tree and the big green ones are for the house. It’s mostly lights with some inflatables but you don’t have to put up the house ones.”
“Yeah, I do. I told Amara I would,” I remind her. “And I’m not trying to have her mad at me,” I say and she smiles.
“Well, I’m helping.”
“I got it, Wren.”
“I know but I’m helping,” she insists. She kisses my cheek then walks over to the bins. She opens a few, looks inside them, then tries to lift one. I quickly step behind her and place my hands on her hips.
“I’ll carry them all downstairs. Put that down. You can help by directing me,” I say and she laughs.
“Oh, I can definitely direct you. I’ve been called bossy my entire life and I fully accept the role and title.” She stands back upright then turns to face me. The small space between us is immediately destroyed when I get right up in her pretty face. She laughs again. “Get away from me. You have work to do,” she teases.
“I can’t kiss you first, boss lady?” I ask before placing my hand on the back of her neck.
