Page 30 of There's Only One Sleigh
“Because it doesn’t happen or because the stories don’t have funny endings?”
I shouldn’t laugh at her, but I can’t help it. If she’d seen the places Jace and I used to sled—trees whizzing by in a blur—she’d probably hyperventilate. “As soon as you’re at the bottom, we can go warm up.”
That came out more suggestive than I intended. I’m not sure how she took it but, either way, it gets her butt on the saucer.
There’s a heart stopping moment when her saucer rides high on the sloped wall of the run, just as she’d feared. But, despite the high-pitched squeak that comes out of her mouth, she stays calm and uses her body weight to correct the sled.
Right at the bottom, though, it spins and throws her into the snow, where she laughs so hard, she can’t get up. Since I’m also doubled over with laughter, I can’t really help.
When I do get myself under control and go to help her up, Whitney’s already on her hands and knees. She pushes to her feet and I’m just about to take her arm when she steps forward, hits an icy spot, and ends up in my arms.
Both of us are laughing, and it takes all of my strength to keep us upright. And when she steadies herself and tips her face up—red from laughter and the cold and her eyes sparkling—I don’t even think about it. I just press my lips to hers.
She kisses me back before snuggling against me. “You’re very warm.”
“Let’s grab the saucer and get out of here.”
Because she was such a good sport, I drive straight to the General Store. I run and grab two coffees while she sits in the warm vehicle.
“I used to go sledding with my mom,” she tells me after taking a tentative sip of the hot liquid. “We had one of those old toboggans—you know, the wooden ones with the metal runners—and we’d fly on that thing.”
I actually turn off on a side road to take a longer route back. Whitney rarely talks about herself, and I want to knoweverythingabout her.
“There was a great hill near us,” she continues. “But we’d only walk all the way back up a couple of times. Then we’d pull the toboggan through the woods, collecting pinecones and whatever else struck our fancy.”
“We have a couple of those toboggans at the inn. One of them is extra-long and my mom used to take pictures of all four of us sitting on it.”
Once we’re back at the station, she sets her coffee on a workbench and takes out her notebook while I put the saucer back in the Christmas Fair pile.
“Your family will be knocking out most of what’s left on the list, I guess. The wrapping and stuff. We have all the formsand everybody knows where they’re supposed to be.” She gives me a sideways look. “Honestly, you could easily have done this without me.”
“But it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun.”
“That’s a compliment I don’t hear often.”
I hold up my hands. “Then people aren’t getting to know you.”
She smiles, her cheeks flushing a pretty pink. “Penny’s leaving after breakfast tomorrow and she said I might have a few hours of peace before the family starts arriving.”
“When is Donovan due home?”
“Friday. He’s cutting it close for the fair, but once that deal is off his desk, he’ll have a much lighter workload in the weeks after the baby’s born.”
“So, a lighter workload for you?”
She laughs. “Except for the deluge from theafter-the-holidayscrowd whenafter-the-holidaysactually arrives.”
“Speaking of crowds.” I lean against the truck and shove my hands in my pocket. “The inn’s going to be full of my family until the fair is over and they’ll expect me to take part in some of the goings-on.”
“Oh.” She catches her bottom lip with her teeth in a way that makes me want to kiss her. I’m getting used to that, though, because everything makes me want to kiss her. “I’d rather not…”
She lets her words fade away, but I know where she was going with them. It’s disappointing, of course, but not surprising. Especially since one of my family members is her boss. “I get it.”
When she hooks her finger over the neckline of my shirt, I let her pull me close. “Maybe they’ll ding the sleigh while working on the other float and it’ll need some quickie paint touch ups. Maybe we should go up to your office and discuss it.”
I growl and claim her mouth with mine, trying to drown out the ticks of the clock counting down to this woman leaving me.
Chapter
