Page 15 of My Santa Mountain Man
Everything about tonight was off-kilter.
The warm glow from the fireplace felt a little too romantic.
Every other night, it had just been a fire.
But tonight, it felt cozy crackling in the corner, warming Poppy up.
She was no longer shivering, and she’d taken off her coat when we’d cooked the first two turkeys, revealing some generous curves in that dress of hers.
If I’d thought she’d looked sexy wearing overalls with cobwebs in her hair, I’d been wrong. Tonight she was as beautiful as Marilyn Monroe. If Marilyn had been a chubby shorty like Poppy.
I was trying hard not to look at her. It had been too long since I’d interacted with any women younger than the age of sixty. And I didn’t know how to talk to her.
But she seemed surprisingly content to just sit here at my place tonight. She occasionally yammered on for a minute or two before puttering out into silence again when I didn’t respond.
It was through those fits and starts that I’d learned she was a teacher’s assistant in Fernwood. It was probably what made her so patient with dogs… and men like me.
She had a gentle spirit, the kind of woman who liked to take care of things. Poppy would be a great mom one day.
And shehadgrown up on Red Oak Mountain, even if our paths had never crossed before.
Since I was a recluse who tended to be home more than not, it wasn’t that surprising to know we’d been living on the same mountain our entire lives.
Plus, she was about ten years younger than me. We wouldn’t have run in the same circles, anyway.
“Why’d you buy the house, Poppy?” I blurted out without intending to. I blamed the warmth of the fire, and the curve of her breasts in that dress I was trying not to look at. Somehow, she just made everything feel cozier.
She studied me for a minute. “Why does it bother you so much? Is it just having neighbors that you don’t like? Or is there some practical reason you want to be out here all alone that I’m missing?”
“No,we’re not talking aboutme. I askedyoua question,” I grumbled back.
She nodded. “Fair enough. I’ll tell you. It’s the only place I could afford. And I know you’ve chased the last half a dozen owners away. I just foolishly thought I could figure out a way to befriend you in order to make it work. But now I think you’re right. I’m afraid I’m in over my head. What would I have done if you hadn’t been here tonight? Walk five miles in a snowstorm to find the nearest neighbor?”
Just her saying that made me uncomfortable. “You shouldn’teverdo that. It could be dangerous. If you run into a problem like this again, you need to come knock on my door.”
She gave me a tiny smile and tucked her legs up on the couch, pulling a throw blanket I’d brought out over her lap.
Hopkins shifted and resettled on her in an instant. It was as if I didn’t exist tonight. He was going after thenewlap in town.
“Corbin, you’re going to ruin your mountain grump act talking like that.”
I sighed. “You heard me. If you run into something dangerous, that’s when you come here. Not just foranyold thing.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t knock on your door for a cup of sugar. But… I appreciate it. You really helped me out tonight.”
Our eyes caught in the dim glow of the room, something soft and warm passing between us.
My voice sounded gruff to my ears as I grunted, “Don’t mention it.”
The timer for the turkeys went off, and I got up to tend them.
Poppy sprang up and padded behind me into the kitchen.
“But seriously,” she said, “since I’ve been living in the farmhouse, I had a face-off with a raccoon, got beat up by a piece of wood, and had a tree come down on the driveway. It’s harder than I thought it would be. I’m going to need to drag all my friends out here to make the place livable. Right now it just has decades of neglect in there.”
I hated hearing how rundown it had become. “Is it that bad?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I can tell that there was love in that house at one point. But it must have been years ago because it’s in a terrible state. Anyone with more sense than me would have known the house is a tear-down. I don’t think I have the skills to fix it, and now I’ve sunk all my money into it.”
