“Hey, Tuck.” Jack’s voice boomed over the phone and raucous noise in the background indicated the Christmas party was starting a little earlier than planned.
Tucker decided from Jack’s cheerful tone that he was already into the eggnog. The guy had seemed damned happy to get Houdini back in one piece, and Tucker had now become Tuck, which he took as a sign of Jack’s goodwill. “What’s up?”
“That woman you stayed with last night called here asking if you’d come over and pick her up. She said you invited her for dinner. Did you?”
“Uh…” Tucker’s heart lurched into high gear. He’d been so sure he’d never hear from Lacey again, and he had trouble wrapping his mind around this new development. “Yeah, I did. I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s more than okay. Mom’s been chewing my ass about why I didn’t invite her when I went over there to get you. I wish I’d known you invited her. I could’ve saved myself some grief. Oh, and tell her to bring an overnight case. Mom won’t hear of you taking her back tonight. Too cold.”
“She might not go for that.”
“Then you’ll have to use your manly charm to convince her. Since the fence is still down, you can take the shortcut. I expect to see you both back here ASAP.”
“You want me to go now?” Tucker glanced at the bunkhouse clock. “It’s only one. I thought dinner wasn’t until four.”
“That’s the official time the food will be on the table, but…hang on.” Jack lowered the phone and called out to someone that he had the situation in hand. Then he was back. “Did you hear that? They’re bugging me about this lady. What’s her name again?”
“Lacey Evans.”
“Yeah, Lacey. Gabe and Nick think they remember her from school. Anyway, you need to produce this woman before I end up in some serious shit for lacking good manners. Take one of the snowmobiles. But don’t wreck it, okay?”
“I won’t. And I’ll pay for fixing—”
“Ah, hell, don’t worry about it. I just can’t afford to lose another one of those machines in the middle of snow season. See you soon, buddy. With the girl,” Jack said, ending the call.
Tucker hung up the phone, but he was so distracted that he walked out of the bunkhouse minus his hat and coat. The freezing weather sent him right back in to retrieve them. He’d have to snap out of it or he really would wreck another snowmobile.
Forcing himself to concentrate on one thing at a time, he eventually headed across the snowy meadow in the same direction he’d gone the day before when he’d chased Houdini. He and Jack had retraced this route going back to the ranch, so by now the snowmobile had created a recognizable path in the snow.
That was fortunate for Tucker, who thought far more about Lacey than he thought about driving the snow-mobile. He’d worked so hard to banish her from his mind earlier today because he’d been convinced she was reuniting with Lenny. Apparently not. And that meant… He didn’t know what that meant, or rather, he was afraid to speculate for fear he’d be slammed again.
No smoke came from the chimney as he approached the cabin, which was a good thing. She couldn’t go off and leave a fire burning. But then, she’d know that, being a Forest Service employee.
His chest tightened as he parked the snowmobile near the porch. She’d shoveled most of the snow from the steps and he wished he’d been here to help her. He wished he could walk through that door, close it and stay right here instead of carting her back across the snow to the ranch house where he’d have to share her with a whole lot of people.
As he mounted the steps, the blood rushed in his ears. He hadn’t been this nervous about seeing a woman in…he’d never been this nervous, come to think of it.
Lacey opened the door. “Thanks for coming to get me.” She stood there looking ready to party in a bright red sweater and crisp jeans. She even had on makeup and gold hoop earrings.
“What happened to Lenny?” He hadn’t meant to blurt it out like that, but it was uppermost on his mind and apparently he’d lost control of his tongue. “I thought he was coming out here.”
“You thought wrong.” She stepped back from the door. “Come in for a minute, Tucker. I have something to say.”
He struggled to breathe normally, and when he finally dragged in some air, he got a whiff of the peppermint-soap scent clinging to her. He wanted to gobble her up. He took off his hat, mostly so he’d have something to do with his hands.
She closed the door and turned to him. “Tucker, about Lenny. I—”
“Sarah Chance wants you to bring an overnight bag,” he said, deliberately interrupting her. He didn’t want to hear about Lenny. Maybe Lenny had been delayed and was coming tomorrow, so Lacey had decided to accept the dinner invitation, after all. “Sarah thinks it’s too cold for you to come home tonight, so she’s inviting you to stay at the ranch house.”
“That sounds great. Now, let me tell you about Lenny.”
“I don’t want to hear about Lenny, okay? If you’ve decided to go back to him, that’s your business. It has nothing to do with me, so—”
“Tucker, shut up.” Walking over to him, she grabbed his face in both hands, pulled his head down and kissed him, hard. The kiss was over in a second and she backed away again. Her eyes glittered as she looked up at him. “Get this straight, cowboy. I don’t want Lenny.”
“You don’t?” An avalanche of relief made him dizzy.
“No. I want you.”
He stared at her, not quite willing to trust what he thought he’d just heard.
“I’m taking a chance that you like me enough to give us a shot,” she continued. “I realize you’re not normally a one-woman man, or at least you didn’t used to be when I knew you before, but I’d like you to consider—”
“Yes.” He tossed his hat across the room where it landed, he hoped, somewhere in the vicinity of the couch. Then he wrapped both arms around her. “Yes, what?”
“Yes to being a one-woman man, if you’re the woman.”
Her beautiful mouth curved in a soft smile. “That’s pretty much what I had in mind. I…seem to be falling in love with you.”
“Dear God, if this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up.”
She reached up and pinched his earlobe.
“Ow! What was that for?”
“You’re not dreaming.”
Still doubting his senses, he gazed down at her. “I must be. The woman I’m falling in love with just said she’s falling in love with me.”
She went very still. “You’re falling in love with me?”
“Yeah.” He combed his fingers through her glossy curls. “It’s been going on for years, and after the time we’ve shared in this cabin, it’s officially a full-blown case. But I was so sure when Lenny called that you—”
“Why? After our special Christmas, how could you think that I’d go running back to a jerk like Lenny?”
“Because it’s happened…a few times before. It seems that I’m generally viewed as a short-term kind of guy.”
Her blue gaze grew soft. “Like the girl at the formal, who used you to make her boyfriend jealous?”
“Yeah, or the woman who needed some hot sex to feel better about herself, or the woman who decided that I was fun, but her ex had better career prospects. I could give you more examples, but you get the idea.”
“Oh, Tucker.” She stroked his cheeks with her thumbs. “No wonder you didn’t believe in me. But you will. I promise you will.”
He looked into her eyes and saw the love shining there. Only a fool would doubt it. Leaning down, he feathered a gentle kiss over her lips. “I already do believe in you, Lacey.” And he kissed her again.
She drew back and placed her finger against his mouth. “Don’t we have a party to go to?”
“Good point.” Reluctantly he released her, pulled his cell phone out of his coat pocket and hit the speed dial number for the ranch. He wasn’t sure who answered because the noise level was so high. “This is Tucker.” He winked at Lacey. “We’ll be a little late for the party. Something came up.” He disconnected really fast because Lacey had started laughing.
“What?” Dropping the phone back in his coat pocket, he grinned at her as he began unbuttoning his coat.
“You don’t think that was too broad a hint?”
“I don’t care if it was.” He hung his coat on a peg by the door. “It’s Christmas and everyone should be allowed to celebrate however they choose.” He pulled her close. “Merry Christmas, Lacey.”
She smiled up at him. “Merry Christmas, Tucker.”
And as he kissed her, he thought about the many Christmas holidays they would celebrate together. They would all be special, because they’d rediscovered the magic of Christmas. But this day, the day they discovered the magic of their love, would always be the most special of all.
NORTHERN FANTASY
Jennifer LaBrecque
An Alaskan Heat Holiday Novella