Page 18 of Christmas In Love

Cade chuckled.

“What?” she asked.

He pointed after the car as he eased the truck forward under the now-green light. “Just remembering the time you ran a red light.”

She pressed her lips together. “I swear that light went straight from green to red.”

His sidelong glance expressed his teasing disbelief. “Whatever makes you feel better.”

“It’s better than the time you got us stuck in a snowbank,” she threw back at him.

“Pretty sure that was you, too,” he laughed.

“No, that was definitely—oh.”

“Yeah,” he grinned over at her. “I think you’re remembering I was the one who got usoutof the snowbank.”

“I plead the fifth.”

He laughed outright. “Driving with you was always a high-stakes game. Who needed Vegas when I could simply bet on whether I would survive our next road trip?”

“Hey! That’s hardly fair. You drove most of the time anyway.”

He gave her a speaking glance.

She gasped. “Wait. Did you do that on purpose? I thought you were being chivalrous, offering to drive!”

“Chivalrous. Yes, of course. That.” His grin was wicked.

“And here I thought I knew you. Apparently not.” The words were out of her mouth before she realized they could easily change the subject to topics she didnotwant to discuss. She quickly redirected. “How are your parents?”

Cade seemed to see through her hasty topic change but allowed it. “They’re great. They love retirement. Although, I guess my mom still volunteers at the elementary every once in a while. She misses working in the schools a little, but dad is loving being out of the corporate sphere. He bought a riding lawn mower last summer, and I think he was more excited about that than any of the big deals his company ever made. How’s your mom?” He didn’t ask about her dad like most guys might at this point in the conversation. He knew she hadn’t seen her dad since she was nine years old. The man had told her he’d never wanted a daughter and now that her mom had moved on from him,hewas moving on fromher. From Natalie. Father of the year, right there.

“I have a whole stack of postcards with the generic ‘wish you were here’ on them from her, and she thinks I need to grow my hair back out.” She shrugged. “She was in Paris with her new husband but apparently is coming home because he’s notthe man she thought he was.”

His hands tightened on the wheel. “I’m sorry, Nat. I know it’s hard on you.”

She shrugged away his concern and her pain. “I’m used to it. She wants me to go spend Christmas with her.”

“You have the B&B though. And the carnival.”

“That’s what I told her.”

“I take it she didn’t accept that?”

“Nope. I’ll have to find some other reason to stay home that she understands.” She looked down at her phone. “Turn left here.”

He turned, but as he did, he glanced at her. “I like your new hair, for what it’s worth.”

Their eyes had only connected for the briefest moment, but it was enough to show the sincerity in his expression. And that was enough to shoot warmth through her entire body. Now it wasn’t just her shoulders incinerating.

They’d made it into Woodcastle, and after a few more directions, they stopped in front of the store where she’d ordered the North Pole scene supplies from. Cade helped her get everything into the truck and bought her lunch at a drive-through. Then they drove back to Greenbank, steering clear of heavy subjects. They talked about the carnival, a movie that had come out recently, and what Cade’s family had planned for New Year’s all before they’d made it halfway back. And the entire time Natalie couldn’t ignore the fact that she felt… filled. There’d been an empty portion of her that was dry for so long, she hadn’t even realized it until the last hour and a half with Cade. He completed her in a way no other relationship had.

Which meant she shouldn’t have accepted his help. Her past hadn’t changed—not her emotional baggage or the physical baggage. And Cade didn’t deserve any of that.

A car tried to pass them, though they were going the speed limit, and Cade moved to the right to let the guy by easier. But the side of the road had ice build-up, and the moment his wheels touched the ice, the truck pulled to the right. The next several things happened in seconds. She jerked to the side, and the rumble strip vibrated the truck as they passed over it. Cade kept a firm grip on the wheel and pumped the breaks, but the ice couldn’t be fought—the truck slid off the road into a snowbank in a dip, coming to a halting stop.

The car passing them kept going.

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