“Thanks,” she said, a little breathy.
Could being close affect her the way it did him? His heart pounded so loudly that he couldn’t hear if hers did the same thing.
She turned away quickly and lined up the edges. When she went to put the gun against the wood, the piece slipped. “Could you just … hold something?”
Moving purely on instinct, Forest stood behind her and place his hand on the pine. Her hair, pulled into a high ponytail, smelled like almonds and coconut. He drew in a breath, letting the scent of her wash over him. There was no trace of the pine candle. Today was her day off, and after she’d run errands, he had her all to himself. Homemade chicken noodle soup simmered on the stove, and from-scratch rolls proofed on the counter for dinner. Strange how these small things had become big things to him over the last week.
“Like this?” he asked, his voice husky. He was playing with fire and he knew it. The feelings inside of him were ready to burst into flames. But he could toy with his own feelings as long as he wasn’t hurting Mitzi. Truly, it was a form of self-torture that he indulged in. No harm done. And when he left town, he’d take it all with him.
She nodded and then gulped. From where he was, he could see her lashes. With her deep red hair, he would have thought they’d be red too. But they were a dark brown, thick and long. She hadn’t put on any makeup today, and her freckles were on full display. He liked her like this, and it was all he could do not to brush his fingers over her cheek and then down her neck.
Mitzi’s hand holding the nail gun shook as she lined it up. Odd. She’d had a steady hand earlier. Wanting to test the waters, to push limits he knew he shouldn’t, he leaned down slightly and let his breath brush her neck. She shivered and then shifted so she was more tucked into him. The sensations this created overpowered him.
Darn it! Why did he have to cross that line? It was all he could do not to take her in his arm and kiss her until steam rose off both of them. Wouldn’t take much—he couldn’t even feel the cold anymore.
The nail gun fired and both of them jumped. Mitzi giggled. “Oops.” He leaned over her shoulder and saw that the nail had gone through both pieces of wood, but it was on an angle instead of hidden and it poked out. “I’ll grab the nail pullers.”
Mitzi turned, but Forest didn’t back up to let her go. He just didn’t have it in him to fight the attraction growing stronger by the second. “Leave it.”
Her forehead creased. “Why?”
“Because I want to have it to remember this moment.”
She lifted her eyes to his and then dropped them quickly to his coat collar. She lifted it and fiddled with the fabric. “Why this moment?”
“Because I—”
Honk. Honk. Honk. Quack. Quack. Honk. Meow!
The animals in the yard went nuts, flapping and darting about. Forest and Mitzi both turned to watch the commotion. “What the gingersnap?” Mitzi stepped out of his arms and into the waning afternoon light. Sunset came early in these parts.
As soon as the feel of her next to him was replaced by winter air, he snapped out of his temptations. As good as it felt to be right there, ready to brand her lips with his own, he would have hated himself for it. He was a better man than this, and he should act like it. What would his parents say? His mother? She’d tell him to get out of there, to create boundaries. And he would. He vowed to be the man he’d been raised to be and no less. From here on out, he wouldn’t fall into the traps that he’d jumped into so willingly.
The ducks flapped and quacked their way to the edge of the tree line. The geese charged in circles. The cats took up posts on the fence posts and the hood of his truck. The calico had been sleeping there, warmed by the cooling engine at first.
Snowflake poked her head out of the barn. She’d settled in for a long winter’s nap after their PT session this morning but was bright-eyed now.
Billy appeared, his hat in his hand, his backpack hanging open, and his hair disheveled. Forest, Mitzi, and Snowflake surged forward to intercept him. The closer they got, the more rumpled the kid looked and the faster Forest’s feet moved.
Billy didn’t look at them until they were all on top of him. Mitzi hugged him to her, and Forest knelt in the snow to look him over.
“What happened?” asked Mitzi.
Billy shoved her away. “Stupid Jordan said there wasn’t a Santa Claus.” Whatever had happened between the two boys wasn’t over, as far as Billy was concerned.
Snowflake pranced circles around them, wanting to get in and be next to her kid but not able to with Mitzi standing so close. Bless the reindeer for not shoving Mitzi out of the way. She had matured a bit in that area over the last year.
Forest understood why Billy shoved Mitzi. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her love and reassurance; he just had too many emotions running through him to settle into her embrace. He’d wait for the boy to yell it all out. Once he did, he’d feel better. He placed a hand on Mitzi’s back to reassure her that she was doing great.
Billy’s face grew red as he relived the heated exchange. “He said believing was for babies and that moms bought all the presents.”
“What did you tell him?” Mitzi asked.
Billy clamped his lips shut.
Forest nudged him. “Go on. You can tell us.”Us? He glanced at Mitzi, but she didn’t disagree with him throwing himself into the adult side of this moment.
Billy dropped his chin to his chest. “I told him my mom couldn’t afford presents—but Santa always came.” He lifted his dark green eyes to Mitzi. “I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to—I mean—I don’t—”
