Red Hot Christmas (Pride Series Romance Novels)

by Jill Sanders

  “We never necked,” Aaron piped in, signing along.

  “Amber, huh?” Allen loosened his grip a little, allowing Luke to renew his efforts to gain his freedom. But Allen tightened his grip again. “Is she hot?”

  “She's the new manager at the restaurant. Lacey has been put on house arrest by her overly protective husband.” Iian smiled at Aaron.

  “What else can she do? Her overly protective brother keeps kicking her out of her own restaurant.”

  It was an old argument that gained smiles between the two brothers-in-law. At this point, Mark and Steve, their other school friends, walked over to see what was going on.

  “Come on man, let me go.” Luke squirmed more, pushing on Allen's back.

  “Oh, no. Not until you tell us all the juicy details. They may be happily married,” he said, nodding towards Iian and Aaron, “but the rest of us are single and horny. Hey, maybe we stand a chance with Iian's new manager?”

  Luke saw his opportunity. He twisted and kicked out, causing Allen to fall backwards. Allen laughed when he landed on the ground.

  “So it's that bad, huh?” Allen said, looking up from the ground.

  “What?”

  “Dude, I can see it. You look just like they did.” He pointed to Iian and Aaron who were standing there smiling. “Whipped already.” Allen shook his head and got up off the ground, making a show to dust off his shorts.

  “I don't know what you're talking about. We've only kissed. It's not like we're dating.”

  “Oh...,” all five of his friends piped in.

  If he had known that he was going to get grief over it, he would have skipped the game today. So his mind was on a soft, tasty woman. It wasn't as if he was in love with her. After all, he barely knew her.

  Driving home, his mind kept playing over that fact. He knew the next step, if he wanted to get to know Amber more, was to take her out on a date. The problem? There was only one restaurant in town worthy of taking a woman, and she was the manager there. Not to mention everyone in town would know they were on a date.

  So he could take her out to Edgeview, the nearest larger town. There were a handful of nice places to eat there.

  When he pulled up to the house, he realized the old place could use a fresh coat of paint. His grandparents had always kept the large Victorian house in its original colors. The tan and green colors were nice, but now he could see the green trim needed a fresh coat, which probably meant it's original colors. The tan and green colors were always nice, but now he could see the green trim needed a fresh coat, which probably meant, painting the whole damn thing again. The large porch covered a lot of the front windows, and the larger top windows had nice planters sitting just outside on the sills. The front door was the same green, and was half etched glass so you could see the light shining through. It felt and looked like home to him. He couldn't imagine living anywhere else and feeling this peaceful.

  Walking into the large entryway, he realized he had a plan. He was going to ask Amber out to dinner. When he walked into the big kitchen off the back of the house, all thoughts of a date vanished as he saw his grandmother lying on the floor. A bowl of carrots lay shattered around her.

  Chapter Six

  Luke rushed over to where his grandmother was laying on the kitchen floor and with shaky hands felt her frail neck for a pulse. When he felt the slow beat, he gently shook her, calling her name, until her eyes fluttered open slowly.

  “Oh, dear.” His gran's voice was weak. “I must have fallen.”

  “Don't move, Gran.” He held her still. “I'm going to call Aaron, and have him come check you out. You stay right here. We don't know if you hurt yourself.”

  He held her as he reached into his bag and pulled out his cell phone.

  Fifty minutes later, Aaron closed his grandmother's bedroom door, and Luke walked him to the living room.

  “Well?” Luke asked eagerly.

  “Well... I want to runs some more tests.” His friend took a deep breath. “My initial thoughts are that the cancer is back. But I won't know until after I get this blood work done.” He motioned to his black bag. “For now, keep her off her feet, and if she has another spell, call me.”

  That night he sat up in the La-Z-Boy recliner next to her bed, watching and listening to her every breath. Thoughts of what he would do if he lost her flashed through his head. When the sun streaked in through her white lacy curtains, the doorbell chimed. His grandmother blinked a few times and sat up.

  “Is someone at the door?”

  “Yes, I'll go see who it is. You stay right there.” He walked down the short hallway to the front door. Standing on the steps of the deck he and his grandfather had built almost ten years ago were more people than he cared to deal with at eight o'clock in the morning.

  “Well, don't just stand there, son. Let us in so we can take care of Margaret.” Betty, one of his mother's friends, stood on the deck along with at least seven other women, all about the age of his grandmother.

  He knew better than to argue with his grandmother, and she was just one woman. To go up against more than half a dozen, well, he would never hear the end of it. So he stood aside and watched the women walk single file into the house. He ran his hands through his hair and wished for a shower and a cup of coffee. Then the smell of something wonderful hit him.

  “Is that your coffee cake, Mrs. Lettle?” he asked one of the gray-haired women. She chuckled, then she nodded and held up a large square pan.

  “Yes, and you can have some, too...after you clean yourself up. You look like you haven't slept a wink,” Patty O'Neil chimed in.

  He looked down at himself and saw that he was still wearing his basketball clothes. Then he realized he must stink; he’d planned to shower after he got home from the game, but with all the excitement with his Gran, he'd never gotten around to it.

  “Don't eat it all. Promise you'll save me two pieces?” he asked Mrs. Lettle. He knew better than to trust Patty's word. When the older woman nodded again, he smiled and quickly left the room.

  Half an hour later, he walked in and saw his gran sitting at the kitchen table, talking to several women. Women were all over the house, cleaning and cooking wonderful-smelling things. How could he complain when he knew this is exactly what they did when someone they knew and loved was sick?

  When his grandfather had died and his gran had gotten sick with cancer, the whole town of Pride had shown up at his door. The house hadn’t been quiet for weeks. He hadn’t minded, and neither had his Gran. She always loved the attention and the company.

  He walked up and kissed his gran's cheek. “How are you feeling this morning?”

  “Oh, much better, dear. I'm so sorry I've caused such a fuss.”

  “You never cause a fuss.” Mrs. Lettle handed him a plate, and he sat down and ate a double helping of the best coffee cake he's ever eaten and washed it down with two cups of coffee.

  “Gran, I'm going to go down and see Aaron. I'll be back soon.” He didn't want to worry his grandmother about the tests, but he was anxious to know what Aaron had found out.

  “Well, okay, dear. Don't forget your coat. It's going to get colder.”

  “Yes, ma'am.” He kissed her cheek again and left, knowing that his grandmother wouldn't be left alone until she was back to full health.

  When he walked out the front door, he immediately turned back around and grabbed his jacket from the hall closet. He'd lived here long enough to know when the weather was going to change, and he knew by evening they'd have some snow. Fall was fun on the Oregon coast; you never knew what kind of weather you'd end up with. Those select few who could read it could usually tell. He was one of those few. By the time he pulled into the parking lot at the doctor's office, there was a light mist on his windshield.

  When he walked into the office, he noticed that Betty was back behind her desk in the reception area. The whole room was decorated in Halloween decorations. Ghosts and witches hung from the ceiling, and black and orange s
treamers circled the room. There were several kids with parents sitting around the room, some with sniffles, some playing quietly with the toys in the corner. He'd grown up coming to this office when Aaron's grandfather had been the town's doctor. Dr. Stevens Sr. had been a great doctor, but Aaron was even better.

  When he walked in, Betty smiled at him and motioned for him to sit. Then she got on the phone and called Aaron in the back, telling him that Luke was there. He sat next to a woman, Keri, whom he'd grown up with. She was holding a little girl who was asleep. The girl couldn’t have been older than three, and she looked pink in the face.

  “Is she running a fever?” He asked.

  “Yes, it started late last night. This is the first real sleep she's gotten.”

  Luke could see Keri was tired, no doubt from staying up with the baby all night. He knew the feeling, but instead of a child, he'd been up worrying about a full-grown woman.

  This got him thinking about having children. There was no doubt in his mind that he would have stayed up with a sick child. His gran was important to him, so he could only imagine what a small, helpless baby would be like. Dark curly hair, big soft blue eyes, little freckles on her tiny nose, covered with porcelain skin. He shook his head realizing the image he'd created was a mini version of Amber.

  “Luke?” Aaron walked into the room. “Come on back.”

  “Why don't you take Keri first? I think her little one is in more need.”

  “Oh, no. I'm not moving until Riley wakes up. She needs the sleep. You go ahead.” Keri kept holding the baby gently and smiled weakly at him.

  Once he was back in Aaron's office, he sat down and rubbed his eyes. He felt like he'd been hit with a truck.

  “Stress due to worrying about someone you love is a killer. You can't help your grandmother if you can barely stand on your feet. Why didn't you get some sleep last night?” Aaron sat behind his desk and looked down at a chart.

  “I grabbed a few hours,” he said, looking down at his hands. He knew his friend was right, but he also knew he'd stay up again tonight.

  “Well, the blood work that’s come back so far all looks good. Your grandmother’s counts are right on the mark. I'm still waiting for a few tests to come back, but I think we can rule out that the cancer is back. I'd like her to come in for a complete physical at the Edgeview hospital once she feels up to it.”

  “Sure. Can you set that up or do I have to call?” Luke felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest.

  “No, no. I'll take care of it. How about Friday?” Aaron looked at his computer screen and Luke sat there while he clicked away. “Friday around one?”

  “Sure. I'll make sure we're there.” Luke went to stand.

  “Luke, if I see you tomorrow and it looks like you haven't gotten at least six hours of sleep, I'm going to have to tell your grandmother I'm worried about your health. Neither of us wants her to worry about you, so get some sleep.”

  He nodded his head and smiled a little at his friend.

  Amber was excited. Tonight was her first official night as manager. It had been two weeks since she'd moved into the small town, and she was more than ready to fly solo. Well, okay, she wasn't exactly flying solo, since there were fifteen other employees on shift that night. Why was she nervous? It wasn't as if she had never managed a restaurant by herself. She'd pretty much acted as owner at the last place, since the actually owners had never been around.

  But this felt different somehow. She wanted everything to go smoothly. She'd really come to like the small town and its people over the last several weeks. She found it humorous that she could almost set her watch to the comings and goings of some of them. She knew the patterns of the mothers as they herded their children to school.

  She found that she spent more time looking out the large windows in her apartment than she did watching her new flat-screen television. Every time she looked she saw two old men sitting across the way on a long bench just outside the barber shop. They were usually smoking pipes and laughing. They always waved when she stood at the window. At first she was embarrassed that they had seen her, but then they went back to talking like she wasn't there, so she'd made it her habit.

  She'd left for her shift a few minutes early and was thankful she had. It was still a week until Halloween, but the snow was coming down quickly. She trusted her Jeep to get her there and back with no issues. She'd just gotten new tires over the summer and knew that everything was in top shape. It took her some extra time making it down the hill towards the restaurant, but only because there was a late-model sedan in front of her that was driving ten miles under the speed limit.

  Amber walked through the front doors of The Golden Oar at exactly two o'clock. Taking a deep breath, she made her way to the back room and stored her bag and coat in her personal locker. She chatted with a few employees and waved as Iian headed out the door for the day.

  As far as bosses went, he was turning out to be the best she'd ever experienced. He was laid back and still kept all his employees in control. She didn't know how he did it...yet. She knew everyone had their secrets, and she was bound to find his out sooner or later.

  By the third hour into her shift, she was ready for her break. When she stepped out back to walk along the dock, something she'd become accustomed to doing during her breaks, the snow was coming down faster and in thick bunches.

  Thomas, one of the floor managers, was leaning against the railing, smoking. When he heard her approach, he turned and tossed his cigarette over the railing.

  “Hey, out for some fresh air?” he asked leaning against the railing.

  He was a fairly good looking man. His blond hair was slicked back, and she could see snowflakes landing on his head and quickly melting.

  “Yeah, you never realize how hot it is in there until you step outside.” She pulled her jacket closer and tucked her glove less hands in her pockets. Looking out over the choppy ocean, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes at the wonderful freshness. “In Portland you don't get this.”

  “What?” he asked. She could hear laughter in his voice, and when she opened her eyes, she realized he was staring at her.

  “The freshness of it all.” She smiled at him. “Don't get me wrong, it's not like Portland is rolling in smog. It's just that I didn't get to feel the wholesomeness of it all until I came here. Does that make sense?” She laughed at herself.

  He chuckled and nodded. “I felt the same way almost eight years ago when I came here.” He turned and looked out over the water. “There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not thankful that I came here.”

  “Where did you come from?” It sounded funny and she realized it the second she said it. Her already flushed face turned even redder.

  He chuckled and looked over at her. “Originally, New York. But we bounced around a lot. My father is still pretty high up in the military command. The last I checked, he was stationed in Fort Worth. I had always wanted to find that place, that one special town I could call my own.” He smiled, “It was easy to spot when I drove through. I walked into the restaurant that same day and Iian hired me. It helped that my dad had sent me to a special school that taught sign language.”

  “Oh, you know sign language? I've been trying to teach myself a few phrases. I purchased a book and everything.”

  “Not working well?”

  “No.” She pulled her hands out of her jacket and crossed her arms. “I can't believe how hard it is to mimic simple drawings.”

  “If you want, I can tutor you.” He almost laughed at the face she made. “No, I'm not hitting on you. I'm actually in a relationship right now and don't want to do anything to upset him.”

  Her chin almost dropped; she was lucky she'd caught it in time. She usually had a pretty good gaydar, but this one had jumped out of nowhere. He chuckled again.

  “I know, I know. I don't come off as the type.” He smiled again.

  “Well, personally, I have no problems with it at all, just so you know.” S
he walked over and leaned closer to him. “Now I feel ridiculous for almost having a crush on you.” She smiled.

  “Well,” he winked. “Almost?” He laughed as she punched him lightly on the shoulder.

  By the end of her shift, her feet hurt, her hair smelled like burnt food, and she felt like she had a layer of grease all over her body. Her mind was focused on one thing and one thing only: getting home and taking a hot bath.

  When she started her Jeep, the cold air blowing from her heater hit her full blast. She'd forgotten to turn it off, and she knew that it would take almost two minutes to get warmed up.

  When she drove into the parking lot outside her apartment, the snow was almost blinding. She made a run for the door and stopped dead when she noticed Luke's truck in front of her steps. Looking around, she saw that the store lights were all out, since they had closed a few hours earlier. She approached the truck and saw Luke in the driver’s seat. His head was leaned against the foggy window, and he looked like he fast asleep.