by Kinney Scott
“Looks like Christmas morning in here,” Rick murmured against her lips.
“I think Ricky’s waited long enough to open his presents. I called in for both of us. We’re taking a day off.”
His eyes lit in surprise, “Let me grab a shower.”
“Hurry, I saw a gift under there with my name on it,” Linnea begged.
“Have you been peaking?” he said with a grin and a heated smile.
She shook her head and teased him with a look over her shoulder, “Not yet, but I can if you want me to.”
Rick formed plans for Linnea that would need to wait until naptime, all-consuming plans, then dashed to the shower, eager to celebrate Ricky’s first Christmas.
Opening a toy of brightly colored sorting blocks held Ricky’s attention for a few moments. The boxes and paper distracted more than his new brightly colored toys.
“Now you,” Rick offered her a large box.
She tore away the wrapping and smiled. Rick knew her too well. Inside she found soft calfskin gloves and work boots.
“I’m sorry it’s not more romantic.” he apologized.
“It is romantic. These show me you want me here at home working next to you,” she kissed him, soaking in the feeling of belonging to this man.
“Open this next,” Linnea gave him two matching packages.
Rick tore into the red paper. “These two boxes have intrigued me since they were delivered,” he said but stopped tearing away the paper when he saw her face.
“What’s wrong, Linnea?”
“Keep going. Please. It’s okay,” she encouraged, not knowing how she would feel when she saw the jackets again.
Rick glanced at her a few times, keeping an eye on her while opening the large box holding his warm fleece-lined coat. “Wait a minute…you had a jacket like this on when…”
“I was pulled from my car. It was your Christmas present,” she said with a shaky voice. He stared into her tear-filled eyes and held her hand, still confused.
She explained, “Your gifts were in my car when I landed in the ditch.”
He now knew the gifts had protected her and saw the painful memory cloud her expression. Rick pulled her to his lap, “I’m so thankful the coat was there.” He held her until Ricky scrambled over to join in the family cuddle on the couch.
Rick slipped on the coat and opened Ricky’s jacket. She slipped it on the little guy, “looks like he’ll have to grow into this.”
He squirmed and dove headfirst into a cardboard box. The quick face plant began a wrestling match with Dada. While Ricky was distracted, Linnea cleared the papery mess.
The play between father and son wrapped in those matching coats erased all the painful memories and replaced them with joy. Linnea laughed, relieved that the healing had been so easy and so complete.
Taking stock of the refrigerator, she could see Rick had planned for anything she might want for Christmas dinner. Working as a team, they decided on turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and apple crisp.
Once the turkey was in the oven, the couple tested out Rick’s hiking pack and hoisted Ricky on-board. Another inch of fresh powder fell overnight, cloaking the trees with just enough snow to brighten the landscape. They hiked the paths near home, as the low winter light cast long shadows in a blue-tinted hue. Latent memories of past holidays seemed to envelop the new family as they entered the house surrounded by the smell of a roasting turkey. Following dinner, Rick pulled Linnea from the kitchen. “Clean-up can wait,” he insisted.
She lay on the couch, her bare feet propped in his lap. Rick rubbed away the ache of standing all day, “Thank you. You made Ricky’s first Christmas perfect,” he said, contentment oozing from his gaze.
Only one thing was missing, “I love you, Rick,” she murmured quietly.
“I don’t deserve you.” He said pulling her to straddle his hips. “I love you too. Linnea.”
***
“We might regret this,” Rick warned.
Linnea disagreed with an adamant shake of her head. “Do you want to spend the rest of our lives keeping Amanda and Kent separated?”
“You’re right. Let’s rip off the damned Band-Aid.” Rick loved that Linnea quickly forgave him and within days already planned a permanent future together.
“Are you sure you can handle the drive to Flattop?” Rick’s worry was evident in the lines around his tightened mouth.
“Amanda will be with me,” she reassured. “When do we rendezvous with our unsuspecting victims?”
“Noon. Linn, are you sure you’re ready for this? How are your ribs feeling?”
“I feel great. The doctor cleared me and encouraged me to get outdoors. The weather is perfect, and I’ve got lunch planned. After snowshoeing, maybe Kent and Amanda will be too tired to fight.”
“We can hope. Dad will be here soon to watch Ricky. Sounds like he and his girlfriend have the car loaded with Christmas gifts.” His father visited mid-December, and his girlfriend had two young grandkids of her own. They looked forward to spending the day with his father’s first Grandchild.
Amanda and Linnea arrived at Flattop Snowpark first and set out on the familiar trail. A crystalline-blue sky shaded to gradient white at the horizon. Mount Hood encompassed their entire Northeastern view.
A half-hour later Kent spotted the Mosquito Creek pick-up in the same lot and guessed wrong. “Looks like Wade and Ravenna planned a hike today. I’m not surprised. The conditions are perfect.”
Rick didn’t bother to correct his friend, “Maybe we’ll run into a few people we know today, the lot’s busy.”
This spot, a local favorite, was equipped with a warming station housing a cozy woodstove. Mount Adams towered over pristine forests and mountain meadow trails.
The sun glancing off the fresh snowpack warmed Linnea and Amanda enough to remove their outer layer. Stripped to sleek waterproof gear and form-fitting vests, the pair turned the heads of a few passing cross-country skiers. Amanda kept to familiar trails on flat terrain, questioning Linn’s readiness for the trek so soon after the accident.
Linnea spotted the trail intersection where she and Rick planned to meet. “Amanda, can we take a break up here? I’m starting to feel the burn in my calves, and don’t want to overdo it.
“Absolutely. I’ll pull out some of Maggie’s protein bars,” Amanda said as they brushed the snow from a resting spot on a fallen log. The pair released their boots from the bindings and sighed, their legs instantly feeling lighter.
“Maggie’s got a hit with the protein bars; I can’t understand how she turns spent grain from the brewery into something so delicious,” Linnea said taking another bite of the peanut butter and chocolate concoction.
“I’m stocking up before going back to Hood River. They disappear from my pack faster than I can stock them.”
“How are you going to balance classes with your new job?” Linnea asked.
“I don’t know, and I’m trying not to worry about it. Building my technical photography skills is important, but I’m not sure when another opportunity like this will come along.”
“That’s true. I wonder if your professors would let you use some of the job experience for college credit.”
“Great idea, Linn. I hadn’t thought of that approach. Maybe Jodi will help me pull some ideas together. We’ve got an ice climbing shoot coming up later this month if the weather holds.”
“Be careful, Amanda. Don’t take unnecessary risks, just to get a shot.”
“I won’t be climbing, not this year. I’m going along for support - sometimes I just feel like a pack mule,” she laughed, but Linnea knew Amanda had stumbled into a career she could grow to love.
Linnea heard Rick’s voice first, but it was Kent’s laughter that stopped Amanda’s words. Her expression shifted to disbelief.
“You didn’t,” she stressed with a low insistent whisper.
“Please, Amanda. Just give Kent a chance.” Linnea begged.
“Did Kent put y
ou up to this?” Linnea shook her head, No, just as the men rounded the corner.
Shocked to see her, Kent’s abrupt stop on the hill toppled him forward, face first in the snow, his poles splayed beside him.
“Fuck me,” he growled past a mouth full of powder.
“Not gonna happen,” Amanda muttered under her breath.
Rick and Linnea laughed uncontrollably. The man struggling to stand in the soft snow fragmented Amanda’s fury as a smile won a battle. By the time Kent stood, tears streamed down her face, coming from a deep well of laughter.
“Great, yuck it up assholes. I’m happy to provide comic relief.” But Kent was already laughing with them, relieved to hear Amanda’s pealing giggles ring across the mountain meadows. The music of it warmed his soul.
“Come on. I’ll help you up.” Kent could easily find his feet, but he stayed in the deep snow waiting for her hand. Grasping her gloved fingers repaired more than a thousand apologies, but those would come. He saved the groveling for later. He didn’t want to do anything to change the smile in her eyes.
***
Midnight New Year’s Eve, Kent stood alone in a crowd at the taproom. Couples kissing surrounded him, but he was grateful for the solitude. This was the first time in a decade he’d rung in a New Year without some random girl locked against his side. A random girl he’d usually kissed with the intent to take to bed, or to the seat of his truck.
Ringing in a New Year without that reward felt strange, but good. At this moment, somewhere in Hood River, he knew Amanda was kissing her date on this eventful night. He worried about how her night might end.
Linnea spotted Kent alone, “Happy New Year,” she said, leaning away from Rick to kiss him chastely on the lips. She slid back in place, tight against Rick’s side.
“Thank you for today, both of you.” Kent grinned - appreciating the restored gift of Amanda’s friendship.
***
A fresh layer of snow lay on the ground. Enough to make them both late for work. One bonus, maybe later the taproom wouldn’t be quite so busy. Linnea wanted to get home early and spend Valentine’s Day with her boys.
Laura offered to babysit, but Rick thought his mom might want to spend this particular night on a date. Watching his Mom take on Ashwood’s dating scene was an interesting adjustment, but she seemed happy.
“Can you put Ricky in his coat?” Rick called from their bedroom.
Linnea chased the little guy as he waddled away on two feet. She pulled his coat from the rack by the door and kneeled down to slide Ricky’s chubby arms into the sleeves. An object protruded from the pocket.
A blue velvet box. Before she stood, Rick knelt next to her. “We have something for you, for our Valentine.”
“Oh, Rick,” Linnea bit her lip, as he carefully opened the tiny box with his shaking hands.
A simple solitaire sparkled. “It was my grandmother’s. Is it too old-fashioned?”
“Rick, it’s perfect, I love it,” Linnea said holding out her hand. He slid the ring on her finger.
“Oh, I forgot the important question,” he laughed. His nerves had turned his mind to jelly. “Will you marry me?”
She smiled and nodded, “Is that really the important question?”
He looked confused and shook his head, wondering if he’d forgotten some obscure tradition and blundered into a mistake. “’What question…?” he begged.
“Are you ready for another baby?” she said hesitantly.
Rick fell back from his knees to his butt landing with a thud. Fortunately, Linnea held the baby in place as his daddy took a tumble. She laughed and crawled to her man, settling his son across his sprawled state on the floor.
Rick reined in his laughter, “Of course I’m ready. Are you sure, honey?” Linnea nodded as his eyes danced with pride and a little nervous fear.
Wrapping his son, and the woman he loved in a family sized embrace, Rick bent his head and kissed her. Ricky squealed with glee.
Tangled together Linnea confirmed, “I’m positive about both. I can’t wait to marry you, and Rick, we’re going to have a baby. Happy Valentine’s day, I love you.”
“Linnea, when I look at you, I see forever. Thank you for letting me love you.”
Linnea didn’t regret the journey that brought them to this moment. Rick hadn’t made it easy, yet he was easy to love.
*****
Thank you for reading Chasing Trouble, the third book of the In Ashwood series.
I love to hear feedback from my readers. If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review. Even a few words are valued more than you know.
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ALSO AVAILABLE
Inheriting Trouble
the first book of the In Ashwood Series.
When Natalie hired a rugged craftsman to build her tiny-home, Natalie never thought Seth would tangle her up in knots.
follow this link to download the free sample
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Trouble Brewing
Brewery owner, Wade Michaels discovers two alluring women more than willing to help with the expansion of his popular brewery. Chaos and sabotage could derail his dream.
Trust and lust battle in this steamy love triangle romance
Free sample download of Trouble Brewing
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Visit Kinney at her website - kinneyscott.com
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR - KINNEY SCOTT
Kinney Scott lives near Puget Sound on the rainy side of Washington State. After completing her degree, she left a career in the insurance industry to begin writing romance novels. Her steamy heroes and complex heroines feel most at home in the rugged and uniquely romantic environments of the Pacific Northwest. When she has a moment away from her computer, Kinney escapes to her garden or takes a quick hike with her husband and dogs on trails near her home.