He tickled my sides, making me squirm. “I’m going to tell him what you said.”
“You better not!”
We fell into each other again, laughing, which led to kissing, which led to us back in bed.
After another round, we bundled up in layers and ventured out into the snow. The storm from last night had blown over, leaving the world blanketed in clean white powder. The sky was a deep blue above it, clear and sunny, making for a lovely day for a stroll through the winter wonderland.
I sipped my warm coffee and followed Luke through the snow. He carried an axe and wore a red and black checked flannel like a lumberjack. I was happy to be his lumber-jillforthe day, as long as I got to appreciate his strong arms and broad chest.
Luke meticulously searched for the perfect Christmas tree in the woods outside of his cabin. It was endearing, how much thought he was putting into the decision.
He would eye a tree, looking for whatever he was searching for. Then he would glance my way to gauge my reaction. I had less strict standards than he did, apparently, because I kept saying they looked good and he kept thumbing his nose at every single one.
It took a bit, but Luke finally found one that met his lofty expectations. It was around ten feet. I wasn’t a tree expert but I was pretty sure it was some sort of fir tree. Maybe a pine. Spruce?
I gave up and just watched a gorgeous man get to work. I would never tell anyone out loud, but watching him swing an axe got me all hot and bothered. I was surprised steam wasn’t rising off me in the cold air.
“I’m impressed,” I said, mostly to stop my fantasies from running away from me. Technically, there were no rules against fucking in the snow, but I suspected it was a terrible idea. With my luck, I would wind up with frostbite in places that would be embarrassing to explain to a doctor.
He stopped and wiped his sleeve over his sweaty forehead. “You didn’t think I could use an axe?”
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen anyone chop down a tree in real life without a chainsaw.” I shrugged. “So yeah, it’s pretty cool. Don’t get a big head about it.”
“You should remember better than anyone that I grew up on a ranch.” He hefted the axe again. “It hasn’t been that long since I was out there working with my brothers.”
I nodded. “Troy and Chris. It was nice seeing them at Tipsy’s.”
He hit the tree again. “They told me they ran into you. Don’t laugh at me, but I was so jealous.”
I scoffed and shot him a skeptical look. “Shut up. No you weren’t.”
“It’s true.” Luke didn’t stop chopping. “I didn’t want to go back to Texas for Thanksgiving, so I was dragging my feet, and I showed up a day later than I was supposed to. If I had stuck to my original plan, I would have been there with them, and I would have had a chance to catch up with you too that night.”
“And here I thought you didn’t even remember me,” I said, playfully pouting and fishing for information.
“Clara Snow, you have always been unforgettable,” he said, no laughter in his voice. “Never doubt that.”
His words sent a shiver through me. I sipped my coffee and pretended I wasn’t madly in love with him.
“So you were talking about me with your brothers?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
He chuckled. “Maybe a little.”
With a loud crack, the tree trunk leaned to the side like a drunk uncle at a wedding and fell over. I clapped for him and he gave a little bow.
“Will you take the axe while I drag this thing back to the house?” he asked.
“I’ll hold whatever you want, baby.” I grinned at him.
He laughed. “I’m not going to be able to walk after a couple days up here with you.”
“Then we can just live in bed together forever.”
“Do you promise?” he asked, and I was suddenly too shy to respond.
We made it back to the house and he asked me to go inside and find a roll of twine in the kitchen pantry. He needed to wrap the tree before he could secure it to the roof of the SUV. Hewas going to trim some of the longer branches in the meantime, wanting to make it picture-perfect for me.
It seemed like Luke had a vision for his perfect tree and I wasn’t going to interfere with that. I was just glad he was feeling the Christmas spirit. He’d gone from having zero decorations in his home to chopping down a real tree miles away from the city.
