“Sounds good,” he said quickly.
And the spell was broken.
As I moved away, I knew he was watching me cross the room and I forced myself not to run to get behind the safety of the counter. I busied myself making fresh coffee and he finally ambled toward me when I poured it into clean mugs.
“Thanks,” he said and then he nodded toward the laptop. “Crunching numbers?”
“Yeah, I have an idea about expanding into on-line sales,” I said. Then I turned the computer in his direction and began explaining my strategy and the steps needed to make this little dream a reality. The longer I talked, the more convinced I became that it would work and I could hear the excitement in my voice.
“Beauty and brains,” he said with a shake of his head. “You are really going to have to stop giving stuff away for free though.”
I laughed. I’d given my employees the holiday off plus extra pay. I’d given out free coffee all morning and I’d given old man Hagenseker his whole order free and the boy had stolen a couple of dozen cookies.
“You might be right about that,” I said. “What’s his name?”
“Who?”
“The boy who stole the cookies.”
“Frankie,” he said, his voice taking on a more somber tone. “He really is a good kid. Does well in school. His dad just got laid off after Thanksgiving and with that new baby in the house, the family is just in bad circumstances right now.”
It reminded me that my little heartaches were nothing compared to Frankie’s situation. “If there’s any way I can help, will you let me know?” I asked, finally daring to look up into those iron-gray eyes.
“Will do,” Tate said. “I probably should go talk to his dad.”
“Can it wait until after the holiday?” I asked.
Tate didn’t reply but simply reached for his hat again. He zipped up his heavy jacket and pulled on gloves. As he left the shop, it occurred to me that he really and truly cared about his town and the people in it. How many police officers spent their holiday making sure the rest of us were safe and secure? He really was a good man and perfect for his job.
And then I let myself remember how it felt with his big body so close to mine when I almost fell in front of the Hagenseker house. A little shudder of pleasure ran through me when I recalled how he had lifted me out of the snow on the sidewalk and held me close for a moment. When I was standing by the fire, his shoulder had brushed my thigh and the memory of that made my knees weak.
Having romantic thoughts was a good sign that I was leaving my past behind but I reined them back in. I poured myself some coffee and turned back to my spreadsheets.
I was still struggling to get Tate out of my head and concentrate on the numbers when jingle bells pulled my attention back to the present about half an hour later. I looked up to see Frankie standing in the doorway. This time he wore a toboggan but his face was even redder than before.
“Hi, Frankie,” I said with a little smile.
He smiled back uncertainly. A small face appeared from behind him, a little more than waist high, then another just a little lower.
“Pa says I need to apologize for stealing the cookies,” he said.
His green eyes swam with tears of embarrassment and he swiped angrily at his runny nose. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out some worn and crumbled bills.
“Apology accepted,” I assured him.
Sniff, sniff. Swiping at his nose angrily. “I hope this is enough money to pay for them. It was all I had.” He came forward and placed the bills on the counter. “I just wanted to do something nice for my Ma. She cries a lot,” he explained.
His younger brothers followed closely. The smallest one hugged his leg. Both of them had curly chestnut brown hair and the same green eyes as Frankie.
“Are these your brothers?” I asked.
“Yeah. This is Tommy and this is Pete,” Frankie explained pointing to the youngest one last.
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Pete said and held out his little hand.
I reached across the counter and we shook. His little fingers were like ice.
“How would you like to work off the cost of those cookies?” I asked, without touching the money.
Frankie nodded slowly.
“I need someone to build me a snowman,” I said the first words that came into my head. “I’ve got a hat and scarf and everything else we might need and your brothers could help if they want.”
“Let’s do it, Frankie,” Pete whispered loudly and tugged on Frankie’s jacket.
“Yeah, let’s do it,” Tommy piped in.
Suddenly the boys were scrambling for the door. After a few minutes, I strolled over to the window to watch. The little ones had already begun rolling the bottom part around in the deep snow covering the sidewalk. Frankie took over once it got too big for them to handle and they started on the middle.
Those boys seemed to know exactly what they were doing and before long, Frankie was hefting the middle section of the snowman up onto the perfectly shaped bottom. I headed for the storage room where I had stashed some Christmas decorations hoping that I had what I needed.
When I put my coat on and stepped outside, they were just putting the head in place. All the boys were beaming with pride.
“I thought we should put it near the door so everyone can see him when they come to buy coffee,” Frankie explained.
“Great idea!” I said. “And he looks fantastic. I put the box I’d been carrying on the ground at my feet and opened the lid. “Here’s his scarf.”
Frankie, who was a head taller than me, wrapped the red and green plaid scarf around the snowman’s neck and knotted it securely.
“He needs buttons,” Pete said, holding out his small hand.
I handed over the three gigantic buttons I’d found and Frankie showed them how to push them in so they would stick.
“We need a carrot nose.” Now Tommy was getting into the spirit of things.
“You certainly know your snowmen,” I told him, handing him a fake carrot I’d scrounged from my fall decorations.
“And coal for his eyes,” he added. “Two eyes made out of coal,” he sang as if I didn’t know the song.
Frankie put the eyes in place over the carrot.
“Now, we need a hat.” Pete was back.
“I just happen to have one right here,” I said, pulling an old silk top hat out of my bag of goodies.
“Is it magic?” he asked.
“I don’t think so but you never know,” I told him. “It is Christmas Eve.”
He took the hat and peered down inside. “I don’t see any magic,” he said.
We all laughed and Frankie picked him up so he could place the hat right on top of the snowman’s head. Then Frankie adjusted it at a rakish angle and we all stood back.
“I think it’s just about perfect,” I told them. “I don’t think anyone could have built me a better snowman.”
“Arms,” said someone from behind us.
We all turned to see Tate striding through the deep snow in our direction with two small tree branches in his hands.
“You need arms.”
Frankie took one from the sheriff and poked it deep into the snowman’s side. Tate did the same with the other.
“Now, it’s perfect,” Pete said, clapping his bare hands together.
“And since you guys did such a great job, I think you need a little bonus,” I told them. “Who would like some hot chocolate?”
Everyone went still and Tommy and Pete looked up at their big brother. Finally, with a little smile playing across his face, Frankie nodded.
“Yeah,” Pete squealed, holding his arms up indicating that he wanted me to pick him up.
Before I could pick him up, he was scooped right out of my arms. I was surprised to see Tate holding the little one, already striding for the door. He held it open for all of us to come inside.
“I’ve seen you walk in those boots,” he teased
as I passed him. “Didn’t want you to drop little Pete on his head.”
I hoped he thought I was blushing at his teasing.
Inside, Tate put Pete down and stoked up the fire again. The boys huddled around it warming their hands while I made hot chocolate. I added cookies to a plate and brought everything out to the closest table.
“Help yourself, guys,” I told them. “You earned it.”
They each very politely took a cookie and a steaming mug and sat down near the fire.
“Cocoa or coffee, sheriff?” I asked.
“Coffee is fine,” he said with an amused look on his face. “You’re really enjoying this aren’t you?”
“Yes, sir, I am,” I answered truthfully, hurrying back behind the counter. “Most fun I’ve had in a long time.”
“Were you a teacher in your other life?” he asked. “Seems to come kind of naturally to you.”
“You mean before I moved here?”
He nodded.
“No. Graphic design,” I answered.
He took his coffee and stood close by while we watched the boys enjoying the warmth and unexpected treats. At one point I caught him looking at me a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“Hey, you were the one who brought the arms…” I began.
“No, I mean for them. They really needed this.”
“It’s the least I can do,” I assured him and longed to brush that dark hair off of his forehead.
He laughed softly and touched the end of my nose with his fingertip.
A shiver of excitement zinged through me and I had the sudden image of the two of us snuggled together in front of a fireplace. Quickly, I turned away so he wouldn’t see me blushing. This time I was sure he would know what I was thinking.
After all the cookies were gone and their cups were empty, the boys brought them to me, one by one. I couldn’t help but notice that their clothes were obviously hand me downs, too big and more than a little worn.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Frankie said, as they put on their coats and headed for the door.
“You’re more than welcome,” I told them. “And, again, you did a great job with the snowman.”
“We all did,” Pete chimed in. “Even Sheriff Chandler.”
“Yes,” I laughed. “Even Sheriff Chandler.”
They trooped toward the door.
Bringing up the rear, Pete turned around at the last minute and gave us a solemn look. “Are you going to kiss?” he asked.
From the look on Tate’s face, he was as surprised as I was at the question.
“Pete,” Frankie scolded.
“Well, they need to find missed toes and kiss,” he protested. “That’s what always happens with pretty ladies.”
By this time I was struggling not to laugh out loud. And Tate wouldn’t even look at me.
“Let me give you boys a ride home,” he said abruptly turning from me and zipping up his jacket. “It’s starting to get dark.”
“Merry Christmas, guys,” I called out. “Come back and see me.”
“We will,” Pete said before Frankie shoved him into the back seat and slammed the door.
Little did I know that they would be back here in less than twelve hours and even though it would be Christmas day, the circumstances would not be far from happy.
Chapter Seven
The snow had let up while we were building the snowman but it was starting to come down again adding a layer of fresh powder to an already white landscape.
Once they were gone, I did laugh and was still laughing as I wiped down the table and loaded the dishwasher. Jingle bells brought me back out to the front again and I discovered two men standing in front of the counter.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
“Coffee, please,” the taller of the two said. “For both of us. To go.”
I poured coffee and snapped on the lids. The shorter one pointed toward a tray of beautifully dressed gingerbread men and I pulled it out of the case.
“One for each of us, please,” the taller one said.
“Are you visiting family?” I asked as I carefully wrapped their cookies, placed them in a bag and rang up their order. They looked oddly out of place.
“Just passing through,” the taller man said. “Actually, I think we might be lost. Our GPS doesn’t seem to be working and we just needed a break from driving. Looks like you’re the only place open.”
Tate chose that moment to enter the shop. “Gentlemen,” he said with a curt nod at the two men.
“Sheriff, these gentlemen might need your assistance. I think they’re lost,” I told him.
Tate looked in their direction. “Where are you headed?”
The man told him and Tate began to give him directions. Finally, after the man’s face grew more and more confused, Tate said, “Let me just get you back to the highway. It’s a straight shot from there.”
He came back about an hour later. “You about ready to close up? The roads are getting worse.”
I looked up from my laptop in surprise. Silent Night was playing on the radio. It was dark outside and a quick glance at my watch told me it was almost eight o’clock. “I guess… Uh-oh.” I put my hand over my mouth.
“What?”
“I should have had those boys dig out my car instead of building a snowman,” I said with an exasperated sigh. “I guess I’ll have to walk home.”
Tate laughed. “It’s almost two miles. You’ll never make it in those boots.”
“Well, it’ll take me till morning to dig my car out and get it warmed up,” I said. “What choice do I have?”
Again Tate laughed. “I’m offering you a ride, Lexi,” he said, as if speaking to a small child. “I’ll feel better if I know that you got home safely.”
“Tending your flock,” I teased.
“Something like that,” he said. “Get your coat and lock up. Let’s get you home.”
Once I was buckled safely inside of Tate’s Jeep for the second time that day, I realized just how tired I was. I leaned my head against the cold glass and closed my eyes. The headlights revealed that it was still snowing steadily and I had the feeling it was going to go on all night.
“You okay?” he asked quietly when we had made it through the narrow streets of our town and out onto the highway.
“Yeah, just tired,” I confessed.
He chuckled. “You’ve had a busy Christmas Eve.”
I laughed, too. “We’ve both had a busy Christmas Eve.” And then I realized how much I’d really enjoyed myself. “One of the best days I’ve had for a while.”
“Even f you gave away the farm,” he teased.
“All in the spirit of the season,” I told him. “Oh, and Tate, thank you for not taking any legal action against Frankie. I think he was just desperate.”
He nodded, his handsome face highlighted by the soft dash lights of the vehicle. “He’s a good boy, just having a hard time right now.” And then he laughed again. “And you certainly made him pay for his crimes.”
Before I could respond we came to a dangerous right hand curve that hugged an embankment. One side was higher than the road and crowded with trees, the other side sloped downward into a thick patch of woods. The pavement looked like black ice where water ran across the road almost constantly.
Even though Tate instinctively slowed the vehicle, the back tires broke loose and skidded toward the sloping side of the road. I held my breath and watched Tate’s sure hands on the wheel. He expertly corrected the slide and, finally, the tires hit the treated part of the asphalt and held.
“Sorry about that,” he said, taking a deep breath. “I need to get those guys back out here with some salt. That’s a dangerous curve.”
In less than five minutes we were in my driveway.
“Stay put,” he said and climbed out of the Jeep.
I did as I was told watching as he kicked a path through the snow up my front steps to the door. Then he retu
rned to the vehicle, opened the door and helped me out. The snow was almost knee deep and I squealed in surprise as I sank down into it. With his hands on my waist, Tate lifted me up out of the snow and began leading me toward the house.
“I can do this,” I told him, shaking free of his grip. “I’m not helpless.”
Before the last word was out of my mouth, I lost my footing. Just like earlier in the day, one went one way, one went the other. Unlike earlier on the street though, Tate was prepared for this. He caught me with one arm around my waist and pulled me against him.
“In those boots you’re helpless,” he whispered in my ear.
No arguments this time and I held on tight.
We made it to the door and he stood close by, blocking some of the wind while I unlocked it and pushed it open. A warm rush of air welcomed me home.
“Thank you, Tate,” I said as I stepped inside. “I really appreciate all your help today.”
“Just doing my job, ma’am,” he replied, touching the brim of his hat
We stood there for a few moments looking at each other. I didn’t want to just shut the door in his face and he looked like he was about to say something else. The wind howled and whipped the falling snow into delirious circles.
Without giving myself time to think, I reached for the front of his jacket, pulling him to me. This time we held onto each other but it wasn’t to keep from falling…or maybe it was. The moment our lips touched, the desire that had been teasing me all day, rushed through me like a tidal wave. Looping my arms around his shoulders, I pressed my body against his, closed my eyes and whimpered when the tip of his tongue darted between my lips. He tasted wonderful, like coffee and mints and I wanted this kiss to last all night.
With a muffled sound of pleasure, Tate slid his hands down my back, pulling me even closer. Now, the full length of our bodies was touching and I molded mine against his. The kiss deepened and I was totally lost in the moment.
Finally, he pulled away slightly, only to kiss his way along my jaw to my ear. “I’ve been wanting to do all day,” he whispered.
Heat spread downward from where his lips were touching me to my aching breasts and I closed my eyes and moaned softly. I longed to feel his hands and mouth on my bare flesh. “Stay with me,” I whispered, tangling my fingers in the thick hair at the nape of his neck and pulling his mouth back to mine.
Star-Crossed Curves: BBW Erotic Romance Boxed Set Page 34