Firefighter Under the Mistletoe

by Melissa McClone

Leanne’s heart melted. If only… Nope. She knew better than to fantasize over something that wasn’t going to happen. She took the plant. “Thanks.”

  He went upstairs.

  She followed and set the plant on the breakfast bar. “I’ve got everything ready to collate.”

  “Let’s hit it.”

  Time flew by. Leanne sat on her living room floor with Christian across from. They inserted the programs into each of the catalogs and clipped a bid number to the front. “This is my last one.”

  “Two more to go for me.” A minute later, he placed his stack of catalogs in a box. “That’s it.”

  “I can’t believe how many catalogs there are.”

  “Carly said tickets sales have been brisk,” Christian said. “We should be set for the toy drive. We might even have enough donations to pass on to other organizations.”

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself just yet.” She placed lids on the boxes. “Let’s wait to see how many toys are donated first.”

  His gaze racked over her. “So cautious for someone who takes risks every day?”

  He was one to talk after this morning. “This is a different kind of risk.”

  “How so?” he asked.

  “On the mountain skiing or climbing, it’s an individual risk. Or you and your partner taking the risks together.”

  “Not if you’re on a rescue.”

  “Then the team leader assesses the risk, too. The same way the lieutenant or the chief does on a call. But this celebration…” The weight of the boxes seemed to press down on her shoulders. “It feels as if all of Hood Hamlet is counting on this to save Christmas. If the event fails…”

  “Christmas will survive no matter what happens. But I have a feeling it’s going to be a huge success,” he said. “What’s left on the To Do list?”

  She scanned the list. “Nothing. We get the rest of the night off. Now I can finally decorate my tree.”

  “Want some help?” he offered.

  Temptation flared. She would love him to help her. But did she dare say yes? “I’m sure you have something better to do.”

  “I want to help you.”

  Last year she’d been alone at Christmastime for the first time in three years. Decorating the tree by herself had been a chore, not fun. She didn’t relish the thought of a repeat performance this year.

  “What do you say?” he pressed.

  Having Christian trim the tree with her wasn’t the same as kissing under the mistletoe. He wouldn’t be kissing her again. He’d given his word. She would be safe having him keep her company. “Sure,” she said finally. “I’d love the help.”

  Christmas carols played on the stereo. Flames crackled in the fireplace. Rubber boxes filled with ornaments neatly separated by cardboard sat on the living room floor. The only thing missing was…mistletoe.

  Christian pushed that thought aside. Leanne wanted a boyfriend. He didn’t want a girlfriend. Best to keep things platonic. No matter how sexy she looked in her tight-fitting jeans and turtleneck. Or the way she kept glancing his way.

  He removed a paper star ornament. Gold-and-silver sparkles covered one side. The name LeLe was scrawled in a child’s writing on the other. He remembered someone mentioning the nickname at the brewpub.

  He held up the star by the attached gold ribbon. “Did you make this?”

  “When I was seven.” Leanne hung a red ball on the tree. “I have lots of ornaments from when I was growing up.”

  He placed the star on the tree. “You really do like Christmas.”

  She nodded.

  “So Christmas magic—”

  “I prefer Christmas spirit,” she interrupted. “Magic implies some supernatural force that makes everything okay. Bad things happen this time of year, so does that mean that Christmas magic is only for some people? That doesn’t seem fair.”

  He returned to the box. “I see your point, but it’s still a nice thought.”

  Leanne shrugged.

  Christian pulled out a frame made out of Popsicle sticks. The picture showed three children. Two teenage boys and a younger girl dressed head to toe in pink. The back read Cole (13), Troy (11) and LeLe (6). “Are these friends of yours?”

  She took the ornament and stared at the picture. Her soft smile took Christian’s breath away, but sadness filled her eyes, the way it had during the news interview with Rachel.

  “My brothers.” Leanne hung the frame on the tree right in the front. “I had two older brothers.”

  Had. Past tense. Christian didn’t know what to say.

  Leanne took another ornament out of the box.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “A car accident.” She hung a silver bell on a branch. “Black ice. Head-on collision.”

  No wonder the accident last week had affected her. Leanne reached for another ornament, but Christian touched her arm. “Wait a minute, okay?”

  Leanne nodded.

  “How old were your brothers?”

  “Fourteen and sixteen.” She pointed to a picture on the bookcase. A family portrait. Christian hadn’t noticed it before. The little girl had curly ringlets, pink ribbons in her hair and a frilly pink dress. It looked nothing like Leanne. “That was taken a few months before the accident.”

  Such big smiles. Happy eyes. Christian remembered when his dad died suddenly. He never thought he’d feel happy again. “You must have been young.”

  “Nine.”

  “What about your parents?”

  “They were killed, too.”

  He winced. His mother had taken off when he was twelve. His dad passed when he was twenty. But Christian couldn’t imagine losing both parents when he was nine. “I had no idea.”

  She shrugged. “Everyone around here knew because of the stories in the newspaper. I saw therapists and grief counselors for years. But no matter what I said, my family wasn’t coming back. So I stopped talking about it.”

  Always so tough. On the outside at least. Christian squeezed her arm. “Leanne, I’m so sorry.”

  She picked up another ornament, an angel. “Thanks.”

  Feathers covered the wing. Gold braided thread made the halo. The sweet face reminded him of Leanne. “At least you weren’t with them.”

  “I was in the car.” Her lower lip quivered. “I was the only survivor. Everybody else died. It was…”

  He recognized the faraway look in her eyes. He’d seen it in his own reflection after his father died.

  Christian took the angel out of her hand and carefully placed it back in the box. He led her to the couch and pulled her down to sit next to him. “Sit for a minute. You don’t have to tell me anything.”

  “I want to.” She stared at the photograph in the bookcase. “We were on our way home from my grandparents’ house. It was late afternoon. We’d had an early supper. I was in the backseat. My brothers were on either side of me. I was playing with a new doll I’d just gotten.”

  She closed her eyes. Willing herself to remember or wanting to forget? Christian stroked her hand with his thumb.

  “My mother screamed. She sounded so scared. Headlights were coming straight at us. My dad yelled. My brothers leaned over me. Covering me. Protecting me like they always did.” Leanne grimaced. “And then that sound. The crunching. Jerking. Glass breaking. Spinning. It went on forever.”

  She trembled.

  Christian let go of Leanne’s hand, wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him. “You’re safe now.”

  She opened her eyes.

  The vulnerability he saw made it difficult for him to breathe. He wanted to kiss her until all the hurt disappeared and a smile returned to her face.

  “I’m…okay,” she said, her voice a mere whisper. “When the car stopped, the sounds did, too. I hurt all over. I tried to move, but couldn’t. My brothers were on top of me. Cole told me to stay still, to hold on because someone would be coming to help us. I called for my mom and dad and Troy. But no one answered. Cole tried to keep me calm,
but his voice faded in and out. When it would come back, he kept telling me someone would be there soon. That someone was a paramedic. By then Cole had stopped talking. Breathing.”

  Tears gleamed. She wiped her eyes. “Once I recovered and was out of the hospital, I came to live with my grandparents here in Hood Hamlet. End of story.”

  Not even close. “And you became a paramedic.”

  “I wanted to help others the way I’d been helped.”

  “You are an amazing, brave woman, Leanne Thomas.” Christian’s admiration and respect grew exponentially. He rubbed her back. “Does the paramedic who helped know you followed in his footsteps?”

  “Yes, we’ve kept in touch.” She blinked. “Sorry, I’m usually not like this in front of others.”

  He brushed the hair off her face. “It’s okay.”

  “Maybe for you.” She tried to sound lighthearted and almost succeeded except for her red eyes. “It’s my reputation at stake.”

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “Your tough-as-nails-never-let-anything-get-to-you reputation is safe with me. I promise I won’t say a word.”

  “Thanks.” She peered up at him, looking more shy than tough. “You’re only the second person I’ve ever told exactly what happened during the accident.”

  “Was Paulson the other?”

  “Nick Bishop.”

  “You were more than friends.”

  “For like five minutes. We were so young, but figured out really fast we were much better as friends.”

  “He and Hannah—”

  “Were perfect for each other. Two people couldn’t have been more different. Hannah’s terrified of heights and hates camping and the outdoors. But she made Nick happy in a way no one else could.”

  “Not even you.”

  She half laughed. “I wouldn’t have wanted to try.”

  “Thanks for telling me about the accident.”

  Leanne stared up at Christian. Holding her felt so natural, so right. Her face was so close to his. He wanted to kiss her.

  But he couldn’t.

  She needed a friend tonight, not a lover. Plus, he’d told her he wouldn’t bring up kissing again.

  Leanne’s eyes darkened to that sexy dark chocolate color. They mesmerized him. Her lips parted. She brushed her mouth against his.

  Magic. Fireworks. Heaven.

  She jerked back. Her cheeks reddened. “I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay.”

  She stood and stared at the carpet. “But I told you no more kisses then I…”

  Christian rose. He raised her chin with his fingertips. “No worries. I won’t hold it against you.”

  The corners of her mouth curved upward. That was the response he was hoping for. Christian wanted nothing more than to kiss her again. His gaze wanted to linger on her lips. His tongue wanted to taste her again. But kisses weren’t what she needed from him.

  Leanne wasn’t some random woman he’d met at a bar or the ski resort. She worked with him. She’d rescued him. She deserved more than he was willing to give.

  Christian lowered his hand. “What do you say we get this place looking like Christmas?”

  CHAPTER TEN

  LEANNE stood on a step stool and placed the star on the top of the Christmas tree. The scent of pine filled her nostrils. The multicolored lights blinked. Her vision blurred. She toyed with an ornament. Not because the candy cane needed fixing, but she needed a few minutes to herself.

  She couldn’t believe she’d told Christian about her family. Nick had pried the information out her during a moment of weakness, but she’d spilled to Christian like a fire hose with its nozzle wide-open. Worse, she couldn’t believe she’d kissed him.

  Okay, Leanne could believe it. Christian had been here to listen and to hold her. He’d also made her smile and laugh as they decorated the tree and the house. She’d fallen for him. Hard. Just like Alexa had. And Rachel. And probably every other single woman in town. After Christmas, he would start dating again.

  Leanne grimaced. What was she going to do? Pretend nothing had changed? Switch shifts?

  Paulson and O’Ryan would want to know why. So would the chief. He’d been the paramedic who saved her. She didn’t want to disappoint him.

  “The tree looks great,” Christian said from behind her.

  She climbed down and folded up the step stool. “Thanks to you.”

  “It was a team effort.”

  If only… Leanne took a deep breath. She forced herself to smile and turned around.

  Christian held a stuffed reindeer. “Where does Rudolph go?”

  She touched its ear. The reindeer’s red nose lit up, filling the dark room with its glowing light. His mouth moved and the song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” played.

  “He deserves a special place of honor,” Christian said.

  She’d received Rudolph during a white-elephant gift exchange. Cocoa wouldn’t let Leanne regift him the next year. “I usually stick him in the bathroom.”

  “Come on, buddy,” Christian said to the toy. “Let’s put you where you belong.”

  Leanne placed the lids on the now-empty ornament boxes. Christmas carols continued to play. Flames danced in the fireplace. With all the decorations up, the atmosphere was cozy and romantic.

  Christian returned. “It’s getting late. I should head home.”

  Of course he wanted no part of romance. “I’ll get your coat.”

  Christian followed her downstairs. She removed his coat from the closet and watched him shrug the jacket on. “Thanks for helping with the catalogs, listening and decorating.”

  “That’s what friends are for.”

  Friends. Leanne tried out the word, let it swirl around her mind. Hated it. Maybe once the event was over with she’d look back and laugh at falling for Christian.

  She opened the door. Wind howled. A sheet of white fell from the sky.

  “The storm moved in early,” he said.

  A sense of dread filled her. “The roads might be bad.”

  He took a step toward the door. “I’ve driven in worse.”

  “I’m sure you have.”

  As he moved past her, a knot formed in the pit of her stomach. The thought of him out on the road sent a shiver of foreboding down her spine. “Stay.”

  Christian stopped. His eyes widened. “You want me to stay?”

  Leanne heard the surprise and the confusion in his voice. She was confused herself. He probably could make it home. Still… Not trusting her voice, she nodded.

  “Spend the night here,” he clarified.

  Bad idea. Really bad idea, except… “The visibility and the roads will be horrible. If something happened to you…”

  A beat passed. And another. He closed the door. “No sense taking chances. I’ll stay.”

  Relief washed over her. Then she tensed. Oh, no. She’d invited him to spend the night. “I have a guest bedroom.”

  Leanne said the words so quickly they all ran together.

  Christian flashed her a charming smile. “A bed will be better than the couch.”

  Tension filled the air. Leanne wouldn’t mind him sleeping in her bed. Her mouth went dry at the thought.

  His gaze met hers. “We should probably call it a night. I have a bag in the truck.”

  She raised a brow. “That’s handy.”

  “It’s for the gym.” He sounded slightly annoyed. “I’ll be right back.”

  When he returned, snow clung to his hair. But he looked hot, not cold. The way he stared made Leanne feel like the last chocolate cookie on the plate, and he wanted it. Her. She swallowed. “Need a toothbrush?”

  It was his turn to raise a brow. “You have spares for overnight guests?”

  “I was at a warehouse store. They only sell packages of six.”

  “I’d love a toothbrush.”

  What was going on? This shouldn’t be so awkward. She’d slept in the same bunk room with him for over a year. It wasn’t as if they were strangers. And
this sure wasn’t a date. Still nerves threatened to get the best of her. “Help yourself to whatever you need.”

  “Does that include you if I have a nightmare?” he asked.

  “Uh, I…” Leanne needed to get out of here, away from him. Christian was short-circuiting her brain. She didn’t like it. “I’ll show you where the bathroom and bedroom are upstairs.”

  “I’ll be right behind you.”

  And he was. She kept moving to stay ahead of him.

  Leanne stood in the hallway, full of uncertainty. She pointed out where Christian could wash and sleep. Now all she needed to do was say good-night. “Thanks again for tonight.”

  “I’m glad you told me about your family. You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever met.” His gaze grew serious. “I’m not talking about how much you can bench press or the number of one-arm pull-ups you can do, either.”

  Emotion clogged her throat. “Thanks.”

  Desire filled his eyes. Leanne’s heart thundered against her ribs.

  The corners of his mouth curved. He tilted his head. His warm breath caressed her cheek.

  Leanne wanted him to kiss her. She moistened her lips.

  Reality hit her hard and fast like rime ice. No more kissing. “We’d better get to bed. Sleep, I mean. Lots to do tomorrow.”

  Laughter lit his eyes. “If this nasty weather keeps up, we’ll be stuck inside.”

  That wouldn’t be bad. No, she corrected. That would be very bad. She took a step backward and bumped into the hall wall. “Let’s hope the storm blows over.”

  “Do the same rules apply for inside bivvies as ones on ledges?” he asked with a hint of mischief in his voice. “Rules?”

  “What happens on bivy stays there.” Christian winked. “Sounds a little like Vegas.”

  Desire flared. No one would know if anything happened between them. Tempting, yes. But she would know something happened. Leanne had to get away from him before she did or said something she might regret. “Good night, Christian. See you in the morning.”

  She said the words for as much her benefit as his.

  A phone rang. Christian reached for his nightstand then realized the sound wasn’t coming from his cell phone.

  He blinked open his eyes. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness in the room. Not his room. Leanne’s guest room.