Page 37 of A Christmas For Holly

“Nice,” I said, giving him a nod. “Now, just close the door and let it do its thing. Keep an eye on it, though. You can add more logs once the fire’s strong to keep it going.”

Holly stood back, almost mesmerized by the flames, as if the fire was this mysterious thing he’d somehow managed to create out of thin air. His posture was stiff, but this flicker of pride was in his eyes, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

I could tell he was proud of himself, even if he didn’t say anything. Hell, I wasn’t sure when the last time was that Holly felt he’d accomplished something. But at that moment, standingin front of the fire he’d managed to get going, it was as though he’d won some small battle.

It struck me how something so simple could mean so much to a guy like him—someone who used to be larger than life, who was used to being in control of everything. Now, lighting a fire seemed like a win, and that hit me harder than I expected.

“That’s it?” he asked, his voice softer.

“That’s it,” I confirmed, dusting off my hands. “Not so hard, right?”

He shrugged, his eyes still on the fire. “I guess not.”

I could see the wheels turning in his head as if he were trying to process its simplicity or distracting himself from everything else. Either way, he’d learned something new today. I leaned back against the wall, watching him as the fire’s warmth started filling the room.

“Now you know how to make a fire,” I said. “Maybe next time you won’t nearly freeze your ass off.”

Holly chuckled, the sound low and almost self-conscious. “Yeah, maybe. So, I’ll um… you can’t leave in this, right?”

“Yeah, I need to stay here and wait for the worst of the snow to pass,” I told him, shaking the snow off my jacket by the door. “The mountain road’s dangerous even to locals when the weather gets this bad.”

Holly stood stiff, arms folded as if he wasn’t sure what to do with himself. “Is anyone going to be worried about you?”

I pulled out my phone and checked the last message I’d sent. There was no signal now, but a short okay from Duncan had snuck in when I was outside. “Everyone knows both of us are okay.”

Holly shifted, looking around like he was trying to figure out how long this situation would last. “So, uh… how long will you be staying?”

“Until it’s safe to leave,” I said, eyeing the window as snow piled up faster than I liked. “Forecast said the storm would be over by tomorrow, so if I have to, I’ll stay here.”

“‘Here’.”

“You have a sofa and blankets—it’s not like we’d be sharing the one bed you have,” I teased, but his eyes widened. “Oh, and I have a tree in the car.”

“A tree,” he repeated.

“Yep, not a real one, but an emergency one that I’m using to bring Christmas to this place.”

“Oh,” he said, his cheeks flushing, and then he smiled. “Sure.”

Chapter 15

Holly

Lucas was in the cabin.

My cabin.

And he’d brought a tree?

And he’d rescued me from the snow.

And now he was trapped with me until the snow decided to stop. The walls were pressing in on me—either that or I was too big for the space. I discreetly swallowed a pill to stave off the incoming panic attack. I tried to keep my hands busy, anything to focus on except him, and I pulled out some half-baked cookies I’d found earlier in the freezer, hoping they’d be a distraction. The top ones were peanut butter, and the second layer was chocolate and pecan—damn, I hoped he liked nuts as much as I did.

Shit. Don’t go there.

“Do you have any allergies to nuts and things?” I asked, trying to keep my voice casual and steady.

“No,” Lucas replied from the sofa, barely six feet away. His presence filled the room, making it impossible to ignore him, no matter how hard I tried. “You know how to use the coffee machine, right?” Lucas deadpanned.

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