Lucy giggled as Cole gasped from the shock. He hadn’t seen that one coming.
“I can’t believe you just did that.” Cole dropped the snowball and used the back of his glove to wipe away the snow.
“I told you not to come any closer.”
She was still laughing when Cole lunged for her, grabbing her around the waist. Her laughter turned into shouts of protest. “Let go of me!”
She squirmed and managed to get away. Cole took off after her. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do with her once he caught her, but he was going to catch her.
The deep snow impeded her getaway, and Cole’s legs were longer. He caught her within a few seconds, but the momentum of their chase pulled them both down into the snow. Lucy ended up under him, and Cole shifted his weight so he didn’t crush her.
“Now,” he said, his breath a little ragged from the impromptu game of tag. “Let’s talk about which tree is better.”
Lucy’s face was only inches from his, and he felt her warm breath against his skin as she continued to giggle while at the same time accuse him of cheating.
“How did I cheat?”
“You’re taller than me. It wasn’t a fair race.”
He laughed. “Do you always change the rules to fit your needs?”
“My daddy calls it smart thinking.”
Cole was about to make a witty comeback when their gazes met and locked. She stilled beneath him, and he watched the color of her eyes deepen. His pulse surged, heat racing through him like a match to a dried-out Christmas tree.
“I told myself I wasn’t going to kiss you again,” he murmured.
“And what are you telling yourself now?” Her voice came out soft and breathy.
“That rules can always be altered.”
With that, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. He didn’t rush the kiss, but took his time, enjoying the incredible sensations she evoked in him. The cold world around them disappeared, leaving them in a cocoon of warmth and sunshine.
Lucy returned the kiss, her arms coming around his back, pulling him closer. Cole deepened the kiss, exploring her sweet mouth, tasting the candy cane lip gloss she’d put on earlier. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he heard the sound of giggling.
He and Lucy broke apart, and Cole looked up to find two teenage girls watching them from a few feet away.
“Are they hurt?” a deep voice asked.
One of the girls turned around and shook her head. “No, Dad. No one’s hurt.”
This elicited more giggles from the two teenagers.
Aside from the fact they had an audience, it suddenly became apparent he and Lucy were lying in cold, wet snow. Cole jumped up and held out his hand to help Lucy stand.
“What’s our cover story?” Lucy whispered to Cole as she brushed snow from her pants.
“I don’t know. You’re better at this than me.”
A slightly overweight man came into view, dragging a tree behind him. His face was red, like he’d been running. Clearly, he thought Lucy and Cole had been injured, most likely thrown from the ATV.
“You folks okay?”
“Yes,” Lucy said with a laugh. “Sorry if we scared you. My husband is afraid of spiders, and when he saw one in the tree we’d picked out, he screamed like a little girl and took off running and tripped in the snow.”
That was her cover story? Cole shot her a disbelieving look, but kept his mouth clamped shut. He had absolutely no defense for that.
The girls snickered, while their father eyed Cole suspiciously. He either didn’t believe Cole was the type of man who screamed like a little girl when confronted by a spider, or he couldn’t believe Cole called himself a man and screamed like a little girl when confronted by a spider.
“Do you need me to cut the tree down for you?” the man asked.
Awesome. He didn’t think Cole was man enough.
“Oh, no thank you,” Lucy said, slipping her arm through Cole’s. “Facing his fears is all part of his therapy.”
Cole really hoped he didn’t end up being this family’s doctor. Hopefully they weren’t even from Snow Valley.
“Well, all right. You have a nice day.” The man pulled on the tree. “Come on, girls. Let’s get this tree home to your mother.”
“Merry Christmas!” Lucy hollered cheerfully as the family left them alone.
Once they were out of sight, Cole looked down at Lucy. “I scream like a little girl?”
“Actually, I have no idea. Do you?”
“You can be quite annoying, you know.”
She laughed. “Next time you come up with the story then.”
“Oh, I will. Trust me.”
Cole watched her tread back to the tree she’d found. “Let’s get this cut down. I’m freezing.”
He rolled his eyes, not bothering to argue. Luckily he didn’t meet any spiders, or any other critters as he chopped down the tree. After securing it to the back of the ATV, he held out the keys.
“Still want to drive?”
Grinning, she snatched the keys from him and took the driver’s seat. Cole climbed up behind her and straddled the seat. Lucy started the engine, and drove slowly back along the path they’d come. After about two minutes without increasing her speed, Cole settled his hands on her waist and leaned in close. “You can go a little faster.”
“I don’t want to lose the tree.”
“At the rate you’re going, the tree will be dead from boredom.”
She smiled, and increased the pace, but not by much. Cole didn’t say anything else. For one, he was enjoying the close proximity way too much to keep bugging her about going faster. Two, he needed the added time to figure out his next strategy with her.
An unexpected kiss from this girl had turned his life upside down. Although he hadn’t counted on meeting someone like Lucy, he knew he couldn’t just let her go. One thing he’d learned today: rules, especially self-imposed rules, were meant to be broken.
Chapter Eleven
LUCY ENDED THE CALL WITH her mother, and grinned at Cole. “Mom spotted Allie and her kids at the Winter Carnival. Pastor John and his wife just invited them to go on a sleigh ride. That won’t be for another hour, so in the meantime Allie and her kids are going on some of the rides.”
“So we have about two hours?” Cole asked, glancing at the clock on the dashboard.
“Maybe longer, but just in case their plans change Mom said she’ll call me if they leave earlier.”
Cole studied Lucy for a few seconds. “Does your mom think you’re doing this all on your own?”
“No, but I told her everything was a secret for now.” Her mother had drilled her for over an hour to give up her anonymous Secret Santa partner. Lucy had prevailed, but she knew it couldn’t last much longer.
It looked like Cole wanted to say more, but finally he put the car into gear and drove to the old Carpenter house. With the engine idling, Cole turned off his headlights. Aside from the porch light, the house was dark. But she and Cole would have plenty of light to work by. The full moon shone on the pristine snow, making it brighter.
“I sure hope the gutter can withstand the weight of the lights,” Cole said, putting on a dark beanie.
“I know.” Lucy put on her own hat and gloves. “By the way, did we bring a ladder?”
“Nope,” Cole said, glancing over at her with a frown. “I knew we forgot something.”
“My parents aren’t home, but I think my dad has a tall enough ladder,” Lucy said. “Do you want me to call him?”
“No, I’m pretty sure Uncle Will has one, but we’d waste thirty minutes going to get it.” He pulled out his phone. “Let me call him. If I can catch him before he and Beverly leave for the carnival then he could bring one by.”
While Cole called his uncle, Lucy studied the Carpenter house. At one time the small Victorian styled house must have been beautiful. The gabled roof, and wrap around porch were missing most of the gingerbread trimming. The white
paint, now mostly peeled away, had faded to a dingy, gray color. From what her mother said when she’d visited Allie and her children, the interior was in pretty rough shape, but had been clean.
“Uncle Will isn’t answering his phone.” Cole turned toward Lucy. “Do you know anyone close by we could borrow one from?”
“Yeah, Lance’s house is just up the road about a half mile.”
Cole’s gaze narrowed a fraction. “Besides him?”
If Lucy didn’t know better she’d think Cole was jealous. She smiled. “Sorry, other than going back into town, the Christensen’s are the only option.”
Not waiting for permission, Lucy took off her gloves and pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket. Before she got a chance to make the call, a pair of bright headlights lit up the inside of the SUV as a big truck pulled up alongside them.
Recognizing the truck and its driver, Lucy slipped her phone back in her pocket. “Wow, speak of the devil. There’s Lance now.”
Cole lowered his window at the same time Lance did. Lucy watched Lance’s lips flatten.
“You having car problems or what?”
“No, but we were just about to call you,” Cole said.
One of Lance’s eyebrows rose up. “Oh? What about?”
Lucy leaned across the seat. “Hey, Lance. We need to borrow a ladder.”
“For what?”
“We’re going to put Christmas lights up on the Carpenter house.”
Lance looked at the house and squinted. “Seriously?” He brought his gaze back to them. “Why?”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “Because Christmas is in five days.” When he still looked skeptical, Lucy told him the whole story. One thing about Lance was he had a big heart. He looked crushed when he heard what TJ had said about Santa not coming to their house.
“I’ll go get the ladder on one condition.”
If his condition involved a date, Lucy was going to be sorely angry, not to mention disappointed.
“What would that be?” Cole asked, sounding as irritated as Lucy felt.
“That you let me help. No kid should have to wake up Christmas morning without a tree or gifts around it.”
Lucy felt tears sting her eyes. “You’ve got a deal. Thank you, Lance.”
Lance nodded his head. “Do you need anything else like extension cords?”
Both Cole and Lucy looked at each other. They had totally forgotten to get power cords. Cole glanced back at Lance. “We didn’t bring any so if you could get those that’d be great.”
“Okay, be right back.” Lance made a U-turn and headed back down the road.
“I didn’t see that coming,” Cole said, turning toward Lucy. “I thought for sure he would only let us borrow the ladder if you went to the Christmas ball with him.”
“That’s what I was thinking too.”
Lucy couldn’t look Cole in the eyes as guilt pressed heavy on her chest. It appeared that Lance had finally accepted Lucy was no longer an option for him, but only because he thought Cole was her boyfriend. However, Lance did seem different from the last time Lucy had come home for a visit. She knew since his father’s stroke this past spring he’d had to take over running the ranch.
“You going to be okay with him working with us?” Cole asked.
“Yeah, Lance is a good guy.”
“I think you’re right.”
Lucy’s gaze shifted to meet Cole’s blue eyes. “So are you, Dr. Taggart.”
A slow smile slipped across his handsome face. “So, does that mean you’ll go to the Christmas ball with me, then?”
Surprised by the invitation, Lucy felt her mouth go dry. An evening dancing with Cole was very tempting. Really, she should tell him no. Going with him would only make things harder when she had to leave.
“I don’t know. Going to a dance together in Snow Valley would be like making an announcement, and my mother will be there.”
The skin around his eyes crinkled. “I’ve told you before your mother doesn’t scare me, but if it will make you feel better, we can go separately. You just have to promise to dance with me.”
Cole’s blue eyes held her captive, and all of Lucy’s rational thoughts vanished. “Okay. I promise to dance with you,” she whispered.
The air crackled with awareness between them, and Lucy was unable to stop herself from leaning toward him. Cole’s eyes darkened as he met her halfway and pressed his mouth against hers. Overwhelming sensations flooded her body as he skillfully kissed her thoroughly, and deeply. Too soon, Cole ended the kiss.
His breath a little ragged, he kept his eyes locked with hers. “I plan on kissing you again, Lucy, but not when Lance is around. He is a good guy, and I don’t want to hurt him anymore than he already is.”
Lucy nodded in agreement, trying to fight the emotions rushing through her, but realized it was futile. She was falling in love with Cole Taggart. She just had no idea what to do about it.
***
Cole knew if he didn’t do something else, he might voice what his heart already knew. He was in love with Lucy. There was no use denying it any longer. Truthfully, he’d probably been in love with her ever since she’d thrown her arms around his neck at the airport and begged him to kiss her.
Fighting the urge to kiss her again, he cut the engine and opened his door. “Let’s go ahead and open up the lights so they’ll be ready to go.” He climbed out of the car and rounded the front of the vehicle to open Lucy’s door. “When Lance gets back he can help me get the tree off of the roof. While he and I put the lights on the house, you can put the lights on the tree for Allie. That way she and the kids can plug it in and decorate it when they get home.”
Lucy exited the SUV and put on her gloves. “Sounds like a plan.”
Lance pulled in a few minutes later, and hopped out of his truck. “I brought two ladders to make it go faster. We don’t want Ms. Parker and her kids returning before we’re all done.”
“Good thinking,” Cole said as he helped remove the twelve-foot ladders from the back of the truck. He told Lance about the plan for Lucy to string the lights on the tree while they did the house.
The two men worked together, and quickly had the fresh tree in the stand.
“Nice tree,” Lance said.
Lucy beamed. “Thank you.” She started unwinding the lights.
Lance secured the first ladder next to the porch roofline, while Cole placed the other one a few feet down. “I’ve never put up lights before,” he confessed.
“It’s easy,” Lance said, climbing the ladder. “Especially using these light clips.”
He demonstrated what to do with the clips, and Cole mirrored the procedure. The work went fast, and soon he and Lance were stringing the lights across the gutter. Cole and Lance were on the last set of lights when Lucy announced she was done with the tree.
“I’m going to plug it in to make sure it looks okay,” Lucy said from below.
Cole watched her search for an electric outlet. When she couldn’t locate one, Lance suggested she look on the side of the house near the power meter. Using the flashlight app on her phone, she moved out of Cole’s line of sight.
“Did you find it, Luce?” Lance hollered a minute later.
“I think so. I just need to—”
Her words were cut off abruptly when she yelped out in pain. Cole was down the ladder and around the house before she could make another sound. He heard Lucy whimpering, like she was trying not to cry.
“What happened?” Cole asked, fumbling for the flashlight in his pocket.
“I took my glove off so I could get to the outlet and cut my finger on something sharp.” She sucked in a breath. “Ooh, it’s really bleeding.”
Turning the flashlight on, Cole shone the beam toward Lucy. Immediately, he could see bright red blood staining the gray glove she’d wrapped around her injured appendage.
“Is she okay?” Lance asked, coming in behind Cole. “Oh, man, that doesn’t look good,” he said when he spotted the b
lood.
Cole handed the light to Lance. “Hold this so I can assess her wound.”
“Sure,” he said taking the light.
“Lucy, let me take a look,” Cole said.
She held out her hand, still gripping the glove around her index finger. “I don’t want you to get blood on your coat.”
“I’ll be careful.” Cole gently took her hand. “Lance, bring that light a little closer, please,” he said, removing the glove. He winced when he saw the deep slice that ran the length of her finger from above her first knuckle to the base of her finger. Right away, he knew the wound needed stitches.
“What did you cut it on?” Cole asked, wrapping the glove back around the finger.
“A piece of sheet metal is partially blocking the outlet. I took off my glove so I could slide the plug in easier, but it was a tighter fit than I thought.”
“I need to get you to my office,” Cole said.
“Your office?” Lance questioned. “You should take her to the ER. She might need stitches.”
“I do?” Lucy said, her eyes wide.
Cole pinned an annoyed look on Lance. “I won’t know that for sure until we get the bleeding stopped.” Cole put his arm around her shoulders and led her toward his vehicle. “Once we get to the office, I’ll examine it again.”
“No offense, dude,” Lance said, following close behind. “But she needs a doctor, not some overprotective boyfriend.”
“Lance,” Lucy said calmly. “Cole is a doctor.”
Chapter Twelve
LUCY WATCHED THE SURPRISE CROSS Lance’s face as he strode purposefully next to Cole. “You’re a doctor?”
“Yes,” Cole answered, producing his keys and unlocking his car.
“And you have an office in Snow Valley?” Lance asked.
“Yes.” They reached the Land Rover, and Cole opened the passenger door for Lucy.
She took her seat, knowing that with any more questions about Cole’s recent arrival in town, Lance would do the math and know things didn’t add up.
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