“Sure,” Christian said. “If Santa can get a few more napkins first.”
Tyler wanted to help make an even better mess. His little hands grabbed at the napkins.
“This isn’t working,” Christian said.
Austin giggled. “No, it’s not. But you sure look funny.”
“That’s not nice,” Kendall scolded.
“But he does,” Austin countered.
Kendall nodded.
Leanne grabbed a roll of paper towels. “You hold Tyler so he can’t help. And I’ll wipe.”
Christian’s gaze met her. “Thanks.”
Her mouth went dry. “I haven’t done anything yet.”
“It’s the thought that counts.”
He gave Tyler his car keys to keep the toddler’s hands occupied during the cleanup. Smart man.
She ripped off several sheets. “This won’t take long.”
“I don’t mind,” Christian said in a husky tone that sent a shiver down her spine.
“You’re a good sport.”
As she brought the paper towel to his face, her pulse sped up like an out-of-control semitruck that lost its brakes coming down Highway 26. An odd reaction. This wasn’t the first time she’d cleaned up one of the guys from the station or rescue team. This was no different than helping a climbing or ski partner, either. Well, except blood wasn’t involved. Whipped cream was.
Leanne ran the paper towel over his face. Smooth. No razor stubble. She preferred the clean-cut look that most of the firefighters, including Welton, sported. The only time she’d seen him unshaven was when she found him in the snow cave or when he first woke up on their shift. The early-morning stubble did look sexy and bad boyish.
His gaze met hers again.
“Almost finished,” she said.
“You missed under his chin and by his nose,” Austin said.
“Yes, I did.” She broke eye contact with Christian, tossed the first paper towels then grabbed more. “There’s a lot of whipped cream here.”
“Such a waste.” Christian raised a brow. “I can think of some much better uses for it.”
So could Leanne.
Fluffy, yummy, sexy. Lots of different uses for whipped cream popped into her mind. None of them rated G.
She fought the urge to fan herself. When had it gotten so hot in here?
Too bad Welton wasn’t interested in dating past Monday.
Wait a sec. She wasn’t looking to date him.
“The whipped cream should be on the cake,” Kendall said.
Thank you, Kendall. Leanne’s mind had been going elsewhere. Time to focus. The sooner she finished, the better.
Wiping Welton’s face felt different than cleaning up a coworker, team member or climbing partner. Intimate. Even with three pint-size chaperones.
Worse, she liked it. Liked cleaning him up. Liked being close enough to smell the scent of his soap and shampoo.
Uh-oh. Better get some distance. Fast.
“There.” Leanne wiped off the last bit from Christian’s face. She balled the napkin so the whipped cream was trapped inside. As she tossed the paper towels into the garbage can, her hands shook. She pressed them against her sides. “All done.”
“Yep,” Austin agreed. “You got it all.”
Kendall nodded.
Christian’s gaze remained on Leanne. “You’re going to have to let me return the favor.”
Her stomach tingled. The look he gave her. His saying her name… She couldn’t have responded even if she’d known what to say.
Kendall scraped the bowl of whipped cream with her spatula. “No worries. There’s enough to finish the cake.”
Leanne forced herself to look away. She wiped her hands. “You’re right, Kendall. Spread the rest of the filling while I take Tyler upstairs to change his clothes.”
Christian stood with a whipped-cream-covered Tyler in his arms. “Do you want me to take him up?”
Leanne met them in the doorway. She held out her arms. Tyler went to her without any fuss. “Thanks, but I know where everything is.”
“I’ll supervise these two.”
The older kids cheered.
“You have a fan club,” Leanne said.
Amusement gleamed in Christian’s eyes. “The more members the merrier.”
Very charming. She would give him that. “We’ll be back.”
“Wait.” Austin pointed at the kitchen doorway. “You’re standing under the mistletoe.”
Leanne glanced up. Sprigs of mistletoe with holly berries hung from a red ribbon attached to the top of the doorway with a thumbtack. She kissed Tyler’s forehead. “A mistletoe kiss for my favorite almost two-year-old.”
“Don’t forget Christian,” Kendall said.
“Yeah.” His eyes filled with mischief. “Your favorite firefighter needs a kiss under the mistletoe.”
Leanne inhaled sharply. A kiss sounded like a bad idea. If only because the thought of kissing him appealed to her.
“You have to kiss,” Austin urged. “It’s tradition.”
“I’m all for tradition.” Christian looked at Leanne. “What about you?”
“Oh, she’s all for tradition, too,” Kendall said with certainty. “Isn’t that right?”
“Yes.” Leanne lowered her voice to a mere whisper. “This is only for the kids. Got it?”
Christian nodded once.
She rose up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. As she neared his face, Christian turned his head. Her mouth landed right on his lips.
Something sparked. Static electricity? Leanne had no idea. She only knew his kiss was hot, oh-so-very hot. It burned, but in a very good way.
His lips moved over hers as if they’d done it a million times, but she’d never been kissed so thoroughly in her entire life. Heat rushed through her veins. Her heart rate quadrupled.
Something touched her face. Sweet, sticky.
Her eyelids flew open.
Tyler.
Oh, no. No. She jerked away from Christian. Welton. What had she done?
The surprise in his eyes matched the way she felt inside. She looked at the kids at the table. Big grins lit up their faces. “Satisfied?”
They both nodded.
“Well, I’m not,” Christian whispered.
“Too bad,” she whispered back. “You were only supposed to get a peck on the cheek.”
“I knew you were going to say that.” Amusement laced each word. He would think this was funny. Darn him. “But a kiss on the cheek isn’t in the spirit of the mistletoe tradition. It’s more like sticking your tongue out at it.”
All three kids stuck out their tongues.
Leanne laughed, a mix of nerves and wanting to pretend what happened hadn’t meant anything when her lips still throbbed. She fought the urge to touch her mouth.
The older two kids were distracted as a new song came on. They sang along at the top of their lungs. Tyler clapped along.
“Well,” she whispered to Christian. “Sticking my tongue out is better than sticking it down your throat.”
“Sure about that?” His warm breath fanned her neck. “Maybe we should find out?”
Anticipation hummed through Leanne.
Heaven help her, but her lips wanted more of Welton’s kisses. Worse, she was tempted to see if it was better or not.
She swallowed around the lump in her throat.
So not good.
Hours later, the kids were nestled in their beds. Christmas carols continued to play. Logs crackled in the fire. Two cups of hot chocolate sat on the coffee table.
A great night. Especially with Leanne setting next to him on the couch. She’d long since removed the apron and washed off the flour smudges.
But all he wanted to think about was her rock-his-world kiss.
Leanne kissed as well as she did everything else. She tasted so sweet and warm. Sugar and spice and everything nice. A way he hadn’t expected. He wanted another taste. Without three kids watching them.
But she wanted only to work on the event.
Fine. But once they finished he wanted to get back to what they’d started in the kitchen. Even if it meant bringing the mistletoe into the living room.
“Donations for the toy drive are still low.” Her laptop rested on top of her jean-covered thighs. He preferred her in well-worn jeans that accentuated the curve of her hips and a sweater that fit tight across her chest to the unisex fire station uniform.
She stared at the monitor. “But even with these conservative estimates for the dinner and silent auction, it looks like this should bring in much needed funds for OMSAR.”
“You sound surprised every time it looks like the Christmas Magic celebration might be a success.”
“That’s to offset you,” she said. “Your confidence never wavers.”
“Not about this.”
Curiosity shone in her eyes. “About what then?”
Damn. Christian had left that door wide-open. He searched for a noncommittal way to answer. “A few things.”
“That many, huh?”
He shrugged, half laughed, wondered how he could change the subject.
“What are they?” she asked.
Christian hesitated. He wasn’t one to admit weakness, but this wasn’t just any woman. If he wanted to get to know her better—he did—and kiss her again—he really wanted to—he needed to talk to her. Openly. Honestly. Not something he was used to doing. He dragged his hand through his hair. “Remember when I told you about my climbing road trip?”
“Eighteen months climbing and living like a dirtbag to figure out what was important to you.”
He nodded. “At the beginning of that trip my confidence wavered big-time. My family didn’t want me to go. Neither did my girlfriend.”
“You didn’t want her to go with you?”
His collar tightened around his throat. “She didn’t want to come.”
“That had to be tough.”
“I kept wondering if I’d made the right decision to go. If I should have stayed at the winery and got engaged instead.”
“Engaged.” Leanne sounded surprised. “It must have been serious.”
“The most serious I’ve ever been.” He hadn’t thought of Kelly in a couple of years. “We met at OSU. We were both taking Enology and Viticulture courses. Fell in love over winemaking.”
“Was the road trip the right decision?” Leanne asked.
“Definitely,” he said without any hesitation. “I met amazing people and learned a lot about myself. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
“Sounds like a trip of a lifetime.”
“It was.”
“What about the girlfriend? Regrets?”
“None. She didn’t really love me,” Christian explained. “She wanted the lifestyle being a Welton could give her and her winemaking. When I wasn’t sure that was the future I wanted, she didn’t want me.”
“Ouch.”
Kelly wanted to trade her love for a life that wasn’t right for him. She was one more in a line of women who always wanted something from him that he couldn’t give. The same as his family. “I got over it.”
“And the other time…”
“You really want to know?” he asked.
“I do,” she said. “We haven’t spent a lot of time together outside of the station except for working on the celebration.”
“We’ve backcountry skied together and babysat.” And kissed.
His gazed lowered to her lips. He really wanted to kiss her again.
“Please,” she said.
If only she was asking for another kiss… Christian took a deep breath. “It was on the mountain with Owen. He had more experience. All the experience. I wasn’t sure I could build the snow cave right and fast enough with the storm on top of us. I’d only practiced once before. It was like starting all over as a rookie again. I was out of my element up there. I knew if I failed we would die.”
There. He’d said it. Christian expected to see pity, even disgust from Thomas.
Instead her eyes softened, full of compassion. She touched his arm. “You didn’t fail. You’d practiced. Many people don’t even do that. You knew what you had to do and did it. You saved both your and your cousin’s lives. You did well, Christian. I’d tie-in with you anytime.”
Warmth flowed through him. Her hand remained on his arm, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted to reach out to her, to draw her closer to him, but he hesitated.
She’d said the kiss under the mistletoe had been for the kids. Yet she’d kissed him back. Hard. That couldn’t have been for the kids’ sake. But for hers. And his.
Still he didn’t want to make a move only to be shut down. Not with so much event planning they still had to do. Best to stop thinking about kissing her.
“Anyone would have had doubts in a situation like that,” she added.
“You?”
“Heck, yeah,” she admitted. “Having a lot of experience doesn’t mean you know everything. Or aren’t afraid.”
“I never thought I’d hear you say that.”
“Well, if you tell anyone I’ll deny I said it.” She winked. “I have a reputation to uphold.”
“One of the guys.”
Thomas nodded once, but she looked uncomfortable. “So…”
“So I told you mine, you tell me yours.”
Her brows furrowed. “Mine?”
“When your confidence wavered or when you were afraid.”
“We’d be here all night.”
Christian liked spending time with Leanne, more so than any woman he’d dated in a long time. Maybe…ever. “I wouldn’t mind.”
“Hannah and Garrett might.”
“They aren’t home yet.”
Leanne took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “There was this one time on Stuart.”
“Mount Stuart in Washington?” Christian asked.
She nodded. “It was sunny. Only a few clouds in the sky. Good conditions for a day climb on the West Ridge. About halfway up the weather pattern changed. It was so strange. Rain, hail, snow, sun again. We should have turned around, but we were young with one goal, the summit, so kept climbing.”
“We?”
“Paulson and I.” She remembered the climb as if it was yesterday, not twelve years ago. “We reached the summit and started our descent, but daylight disappeared so fast. I couldn’t see the route. Neither of us was really sure where we were. Turns out we’d gotten into Ulrich’s Coulior instead of the Cascadian. We ended up stuck on this narrow ledge. It downsloped so much I kept thinking I was going to slide off. We had belay jackets, but no sleeping bags or bivy sacks. The “ten essentials” were more like “ten suggestions” to us back then. I sat on my pack and my feet dangled over the edge. They were so cold, but there was really no place for them. I tried curling up in the fetal position. Paulson cuddled against me. It took a real effort to stay like that, but at least one side of us was warmer.”
She tried to sound lighthearted, but Christian had done enough climbing to know being stuck out in the elements overnight was not a situation anyone wanted to be in. At least he and Owen had had a snow cave to take shelter in. “How did the night go?”
“Uncomfortable doesn’t begin to describe what we went through. We kept our harnesses on and anchored ourselves as best we could. It was freezing cold. The temperature kept dropping. I shivered so badly my helmet sounded like a jackhammer against the rock behind me. We shared one of those space blankets. Neither of us wanted to fall asleep. We kept slapping each other and ourselves to stay awake and warm. Paulson and I both knew if it snowed or rained again, we would be dead. But neither of us said a word to the other. I know I didn’t. I was afraid of jinxing us.”
Christian placed his arm around the back of the sofa, careful to avoid her shoulders. It was the only way to get closer to her without physically touching her. “You’re here, so you made it down.”
She nodded. “The night seemed to last forever, but finally the sun peeked o
ver the ridgeline. It was so beautiful to see the dawn break. As soon as there was enough light, we started our descent and figured out where we’d gone wrong. An hour later, snow started falling, but we were moving and warmer by then.”
“You were lucky.”
Another nod. “Learning when to turn around greatly reduced my future unplanned bivvies. Paulson’s still working on that one. He and Cocoa ended up stuck in a snow cave on Hood. Though part of me thinks Paulson did that on purpose.”
Christian laughed. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“Cocoa didn’t seem to mind much, either.”
“What about you? Did you mind them bivying?”
Leanne’s forehead wrinkled. “Why would I mind?”
“You and Paulson must have gotten friendly on that ledge.”
“What happens on bivy ledges stays there. Paulson and I only did what we had to do to stay warm,” she explained. “If anything, our unplanned bivies over the years made it clear we should be only friends if that’s what you were getting at.”
“It was.”
“You’re sure curious about me and Paulson.”
Christian shrugged. “It’s hard to believe you’re just friends.”
“Believe it. Paulson sees me like his little sister. We can’t take each other seriously most of the time.” She sounded irritated. Christian didn’t blame her. He shouldn’t care. It’s not like he wanted anything more than a fling with her. Who she dated didn’t matter.
“Did we get to everything about the celebration you wanted to cover?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She closed the laptop. “Thanks for coming over here tonight.”
“That sounds like a good-night.”
“We’re finished talking business.”
“We could talk about other stuff,” he offered.
“It’s your night off. Tomorrow we have to meet with the others about the dinner and auction,” she said. “It’s kind of late, but you could still hit the brewpub.”
He didn’t want to go anywhere. “I don’t mind keeping you company.”
“Hannah and Garrett should be finished Christmas shopping soon.”
“We still have a little time to head back into the kitchen and stand under the mistletoe,” he half joked.
Firefighter Under the Mistletoe Page 11