“What is?” he asked, kissing the tip of her nose.
“That all this time…all this time that they’ve been trying to make certain you and I ended up like this…they’ve never once caught on to our involvement in making certain they didn’t miss falling in love,” she said.
Buck chuckled. “Yep,” he agreed. “But that was only because they’re such good kids…and because, whether they’ve admitted it or not, we were their excuse to spend time together.”
Dottie nodded and twisted a lock of Buck’s hair around her index finger as she gazed into the mesmerizing blue of his eyes. “I do love you, Buckly Bryant. So very, very much.”
Buck smiled. “Then prove it, honey.”
Dottie giggled as his head descended toward hers once more, and as her lips felt the first touch of his, she knew it—she knew her heart would be forever seventeen and in love!
❦
“Jesse!” Cozy breathed as Jesse opened the passenger’s side door of his truck. She was so overwhelmed by the lighting display of his house and the trees in his yard that she stumbled as she climbed down. “Oh, Jesse, it’s breathtaking! It’s literally breathtaking.”
Jesse shrugged as if the huge cottonwood tree entirely drenched in white icicle lights and looking like something out of a fantasy were nothing out of the ordinary.
“I think it looked a little better last year,” he said, frowning as he studied the tree for a moment. “I’m not quite sure what I did different…but something seems a little off.”
Cozy looked at him with her mouth gaping open in astonishment. “Are you serious?” she asked, returning her attention to the lighting display. “It’s…it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before!” And it was true. Not only was the little, cozy-looking two-story house dripping with perfectly arranged white icicle lights, the tree was awe-inspiring! There was also a waterfall, pond, and deer scene on the front lawn similar to the one Jesse had created for her grandmother—only this scene was vastly more detailed! The blue lights creating the waterfall blinked, flashed, and twinkled in such a perfect way that it appeared as if water were truly cascading down and into a pond. There were also five animated deer instead of three, and every tree and bush in the yard was flawlessly decorated with tiny white lights so that a person could almost swear they’d stepped into some sort of fantastical winter dream.
“Jesse!” she breathed, looking at him again. He was still studying the large cottonwood, an expression of frustrated dissatisfaction on his face. “Jesse…it’s…I can’t even think of the words!”
“Thanks,” he mumbled, still studying the big tree to one side of the yard.
Cozy held her breath then, not quite sure she should believe what she was hearing. “Is that music?” she asked as further astonishment rinsed her body with goose bumps.
“Mm hm,” he said—as if hearing Mannheim Steamroller’s beautiful version of “Silent Night” wafting out over the night air were the most natural thing in the world. “I just pipe it out through the…okay, that’s really bugging me,” he said, starting toward the cottonwood.
Cozy caught hold of his arm, however. When he looked at her, he seemed puzzled by the tears in her eyes.
“What’s the matter, baby?” he asked, taking her face between his hands.
“Who are you?” she asked, smiling at him.
He seemed to understand then. Shrugging his broad, broad shoulders, he answered, “Just an electrician who likes to slap up a few Christmas lights here and there.” He kissed her and then put his arm around her shoulders. “Come on. But be prepared, Little Red…’cause the inside ain’t nothing like the outside.”
“Well, you wouldn’t need my crackle-glass votive if it were, now would you?” she said, brushing a tear from her cheek.
“Oh, yeah! I almost forgot to bring them in. Wait here a minute,” he said, turning and hurrying back to his truck.
Cozy shook her head, still unable to believe the breathtaking beauty Jesse had created. “He’s unreal!” she whispered.
“Here,” he said as he returned, carrying the box of crackle glass they’d retrieved from her home. “Let’s get inside. It’s freaking cold out here tonight!”
“Yeah…it is,” Cozy breathed, shaking her head in residual awe as they walked beneath the cottonwood tree dripping with white lights.
The moment she stepped into Jesse’s house, she could smell it—the rich, sweet scent of raspberry. “It smells wonderful in here,” she said as he closed the door behind them.
“Only at this time of year,” he chuckled.
He turned on the light, and Cozy smiled—bit her lip to keep from giggling with delight. Jesse was right: the inside of his house looked absolutely nothing like the outside of it. It was purely masculine, void of any softening decorative embellishments. It was a beautiful house, but it wasn’t homey—not in the least. No wonder Jesse loved spending time at her grandmother’s. She thought it was amazing—the stark contrast to the beautiful, inviting scene outside.
She did giggle a little then when her attention fell to the Christmas tree in one corner.
“You see? I told you I had a tree,” he said triumphantly.
Cozy bit her tongue, determined to not agree with him that his tree looked like the well-known little bald cartoon kid picked it out and decorated it—even though it appeared exactly like he had.
“You certainly do,” she said, still smiling. “I stand corrected, Mr. Bryant.”
“Come on. I’ll let you see your walnuts too,” he said, taking her hand and leading her toward his tree. He leaned down and pressed the reset button on a power strip, and the pitiful tree burst to life. Cozy did note that the lights were perfect. There were tons and tons of them, and she thought the lights alone saved the thing from being downright ugly.
“See? There they are,” he said proudly, pointing to the five walnut ornaments clustered together in the middle of the tree. Cozy giggled as she reached out and opened one of the hinged ornaments. Other than a few colored glass ornaments strewn here and there, Cozy’s walnut ornaments were the only ones on the tree. “Do you like it?” he asked.
Cozy smiled, wondering how in the world the man could’ve created the wonderment outside but have such a ghastly looking Christmas tree. “It’s beautiful,” she said—and she meant it. It was beautiful, after all. For all its pitiful imperfection, Jesse’s Christmas tree was absolutely beautiful—beautiful because it was so awful!
Cozy threw her arms around Jesse’s neck and held tight to him. She could never have loved a man who could decorate a Christmas tree better than she could. To her, Jesse’s hideous tree only added to his heroic character.
“It’s that bad, huh?” he laughed as he kissed her neck and tightly held her to him.
Cozy giggled, but she would never admit to him that his tree was pathetic. “You are adorable!” she said instead. “How do you do it?”
“Do what? Mess up a perfectly good tree?” he asked.
Cozy pulled away from him just enough to be able to gaze into his eyes. “No. How do you just keep getting more wonderful with every day that goes by?”
“Okay…what do you want?” he teased.
“Well, first of all,” she began, pulling herself from his arms and taking her cell phone out of her pocket, “I need a picture of this tree. I’m thinking of doing a website for my ornaments, and this will be perfect for the—”
“How not to decorate with Cozy Robbins’s walnut things?” he finished for her.
Cozy giggled, steadied her phone, and snapped a digital image of Jesse’s tree. “You are my hero, Jesse,” she sighed.
“Because my tree is so bad?” he asked.
“There are too many reasons to list,” she said, smiling at him
“Hmm,” he mumbled skeptically. “Well, let’s unpack these candle things and light them up so your attention won’t be on that tree all night long.”
Cozy sighed as she took one last look at Jesse’s sad, yet wonderfully lit, Ch
ristmas tree. She loved him all the more for it. She loved him. And no matter what conflict arose to try and strip him from her, she was determined that nothing ever could.
❦
“Okay,” Jesse said, returning from the kitchen and plopping down on the sofa next to Cozy. “Are you ready for me to change your life, Cozy Robbins?” He held a brown paper lunch sack in one hand, and Cozy could smell raspberry and almond.
The room was warm and comfortable. The fire in the fireplace crackled and spit with the soothing sounds and scents that only burning wood could provide. Tiny flames flickered inside the crackle-glass votives Cozy had lovingly arranged on Jesse’s hearth.
She gazed at Jesse for a moment before answering, thinking that he already had changed her life. She knew she would never be the same again—not after knowing him—not after loving him—not after the way his kisses made her feel.
“I’m ready,” she said at last.
He smiled, pure mischief glistening in his eyes. “Okay then…have at it,” he said, offering the brown paper lunch sack to her.
“I still can’t believe you’re such an experienced chef,” she teased him as she accepted the bag.
He shrugged. “Jerky and raspberry almonds,” he said. “They’re the only two things I can cook without a microwave.” He paused, adding, “Other than grilling meat on an outdoor grill.”
Cozy opened the paper sack and peered inside. The almonds inside were coated in what appeared to be powdered sugar. “Mmm!” she hummed as the scent of raspberry filled her lungs. “They smell good!”
“They are good,” Jesse said. “Go on. Try one. But I promise you…once you start, you won’t be able to stop.”
She smiled at him. “You’re very confident where your raspberry almonds are concerned.”
“Yep.”
Reaching into the bag, Cozy chose an almond. She started to put it in her mouth, but Jesse reached out, taking hold of her wrist and stalling her.
“I should warn you, Little Red,” he began, “once you go down this path…there’s no going back. These almonds really will change your life. I promise you that.”
“Why?” she asked then. “Why are these going to change my life? I can’t think of anything edible that would change anybody’s life.”
“Well, for one thing…I’ve mixed in a little love potion stuff,” he said. “You know…to make you fall in love with me.”
Cozy’s smile faded a little as her amusement turned quickly to nervous anticipation. “A love potion, huh?”
“Yep,” Jesse confirmed with a nod. “After you eat even one of those almonds, you won’t be able to resist me. You’ll fall helplessly in love with me…and then I can do whatever I want with you.”
“That sounds like a very wolfish thing to do,” she teased.
“Maybe,” he said. “But I’ve got to find some way to have you…now don’t I? After all, I’ve been hunting you for a month now. So try this almond, and fall in love with me, Cozy.” He kissed the back of her hand and released her wrist.
“Wh-what if I’m already in love with you?” she bravely ventured.
He smiled, and she knew he was pleased. “Then the almonds will just help you to say it.” He winked at her. “Go on, baby. Eat one.”
Cozy was trembling with excitement and delight. Was this his way of confessing he loved her? Whether he was just being playful or was truly trying to tell her something, she did know he wanted her to taste the almonds he was so very proud of. She knew it was important to him—that they represented more than just something good to eat—that they were part of his past and who he was.
Therefore, Cozy raised the almond to her mouth—bit into it. Instantly such an explosion of delight filled her mouth that she actually wondered for a moment if there was some magic ingredient in the almond. She truly had never tasted anything so delicious—not in all her life! She put the rest of the almond in her mouth and immediately reached into the paper bag for another. Surely she was imagining how scrumptious they were. But after she ate a second almond—a third and then a fourth—she still knew that Jesse’s raspberry almonds were the most delicious thing she’d ever eaten.
“Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed at last. “Jesse, I can’t believe how good they are!”
He smiled, obviously pleased and amused by her reaction. “I told you,” he said. “Once again, you doubted me…even though I promised you they would change your life.”
“Oh my gosh!” she breathed again, popping two almonds at once into her mouth. “Jesse, seriously. I have never tasted anything like this!”
“So is it working then?” he asked.
“What?” Cozy mumbled with her mouth full.
“The love potion in them,” he answered. “Are you in love with me yet?”
Cozy swallowed the nuts she’d been chewing—began to tremble with anticipation again. “I was in love with you long before this,” she confessed.
She heard him exhale a heavy sigh—a sigh of relief. Leaning closer to her, she looked up into his eyes as she felt his hand slip beneath her hair to caress the back of her neck. His expression was that of contentment and happiness—mingled with desire.
He kissed her—tenderly at first, the way he had the very first time they’d kissed. His lips were warm and tempting.
“I love you,” he said. The low, provocative tone of his voice that Cozy loved so much did something to her—broke a chain that had been holding her back—and she dropped the bag of almonds, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him, open-mouthed and with consuming ferocity!
Jesse didn’t pause but rather gathered her into his arms, returning her kiss with a ravenous hunger. Cozy could feel it then—the passion and desire threatening to devour them both—to exhaust their self-control. She felt his body trembling as violently as hers did, and she feared that her strength to resist him would fail her.
Suddenly, however, Jesse broke the seal of their kiss, pulling her tightly against him and holding her as the rough whiskers of his chin deliciously scratched at her neck.
“I-I’m sorry my house is so…so plain,” he breathed. “I-I’m not much with…with stuff like that.”
Cozy understood that he was trying to distract them—trying to cool the passion that threatened to whirl them out of control.
“It’s fine,” she breathed, caressing the back of his neck with one hand as her other was lost in the softness of his dark hair. “It just needs a woman’s touch.”
He released her then, pulling away from her, taking her chin in his hand, and gazing into her eyes. “Will you be the woman to touch it, Cozy?” he asked.
“What?” she breathed. Her mind was still fuzzy from the effects of his kiss, and she didn’t know what he meant.
“Will you put your woman’s touch to this house…and to me?” he mumbled. His eyes were smoldering with emotion—filled with sincerity. “I want you to take another walk with me, Cozy Robbins,” Jesse breathed.
“Now?” Cozy asked, afraid to believe that what she was beginning to think he was saying was actually what he was saying. “But it’s so late…and really cold out and…”
Jesse grinned and caressed her lips with his thumb. “I want you to take another walk with me, Cozy…one that will never end. I want you to walk through life with me…through forever with me, Cozy. I want you to marry me.”
Tears spilled from her eyes—raced over her cheeks.
“But…but this was all about Grandma…and Buck,” she breathed.
Jesse shook his head. “This was all about you and me, Cozy. It always was. They just got lucky and fell in love while they were watching us do the same thing.”
More tears streamed from Cozy’s eyes. “But you’ve only known me a month,” she said. “How can you love me after only a month?”
“How can you love me after only a month?” he asked her.
She shook her head, afraid to believe he had truly asked her to marry him. “But there…there has to be something else…some c
onflict. An old girlfriend who’s obsessed with you…or something. It can’t be that you just met me and—”
“There’s no conflict, Cozy,” he said. “Sometimes people really do just fall in love and live happily ever after.” He kissed her then. “Live happily ever after with me, Little Red Riding Hood. Marry me and live happily ever after with me. Love me, sleep in my arms…let me share your bed and show you how passionate a wolf really can be.”
Cozy giggled a little through her tears. “You are rather wolfish, you know,” she whispered. “Leading me in here under the pretense of showing me that pitiful Christmas tree.”
Jesse chuckled and kissed her again. “Oh, I’m more wolfish than you know, baby,” he said. “I meant to have you eat that whole bag of nuts before I proposed to you…but I couldn’t hold off any longer.”
“Why? So I’d be overcome by your love potion?” she breathed.
Jesse retrieved the bag from where Cozy had dropped it. “Here,” he said, offering it to her again. “Dig down a little deeper in there.”
Cozy’s heart began to hammer more furiously than it had been hammering even a moment before. Tentatively, she reached into the bag of roasted and flavored raspberry almonds, gasping when she felt something square and solid in the bottom.
Carefully and with a trembling hand, she removed the red-velvet-covered jewelry box protected by a plastic sandwich bag. “I have to be dreaming,” she stammered breathlessly.
“You’re not dreaming,” Jesse assured her. “But you still haven’t told me if you’ll take that long walk with me, baby.”
“Of course!” Cozy cried. “Of course! Right this minute if you want!”
Jesse smiled, sighing with relief as if he’d been holding his breath. “Thank you,” he breathed. “There for a minute I thought I was going to have the ugliest Christmas tree in town for the rest of my life.”
Cozy giggled through her tears, flung her arms around his neck, and kissed him. “I love you, Jesse,” she wept. “I love you more than I love life itself!”
“I love you,” he said, kissing her. “More.” He kissed her again, and Cozy melted at the sense of his hot, moist mouth to hers. He ended the kiss far sooner than she would have preferred, however.
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