Page 34 of A Gift for her Festive Firefighter

She heard her phone ding, sighed in frustration, and put the fender back down on the ground. The holes were not lining up now and she was getting really irked. She definitely needed a break for a moment.

Wanna puppy-sit for me?

Please?

I’m going to close on the house, and I am afraid to leave Knox (aka – poop troop) alone in the apartment because the cleaners are going to be there within the hour.

Of course.

Can I get a kiss for luck, too?

For Knox, sure!

Ouch.

For meeee – your Hostess snack cake?

I’m never going to live that down, am I?

I adore your nickname for me.

And she looked up to see Cade walking across the street, carrying Knox, smiling. Holly saw the look on his face and started chuckling. He obviously was pretty sure she would puppy-sit and hesitated, looking at her watch.

“You’re early.”

“I kinda need to use my truck,” he began sheepishly. “I didn’t think about this, but is Crusty driveable? I’ve been so panicked about everything else it never dawned on me that there’s no Uber out here. Sweet Bloom might actually be smaller than Ember Creek.”

“It’s definitely a little more remote,” she smiled grimly. “Yeah, take your truck. I can’t get the holes to line up right now and pretty frustrated, so yeah - Crusty can leave my sight until he decides to play nice and…”

“Hey, hey,” Cade said gently, grabbing her hand and pulling her forward, tugging her inside the little office space that connected to the stairs going up to her apartment. “No coolant in here, right?”

“Nope. Knox is perfectly safe here.”

“Good,” he replied quickly, setting down the puppy and gathering her into his arms, hugging her. “Breathe, and don’t let your frustration get at you. I’m sure that whatever is wrong, you can fix it.”

“I thought you loved that truck. How come you aren’t blowing up or getting angry at how long this is taking?”

“I do love my truck – and it’s not worth hurting my girlfriend’s feelings to get upset over something out of her control.”

“I’m the one fixing it, which means I should be able to put it back together.”

“And you will – I’m sure of it.”

“Cade…”

“Shhh,” he said tenderly, leaning forward to kiss her again. “I’m in no hurry and certainly don’t want to pressure you.”

“But…”

“It’s nice out, Knox is safe, and…”

“Take Butter,” she interrupted, looking at him. His eyes widened in surprise as he looked at her, stunned. “Butter was a birthday present from my father, and he died a few years later. Please be careful with her. That car and this shop is all I have left from him.”

“I can’t…” he began, and she smiled slightly at his expression, seeing so much that made her heart happy. He was a simple guy and didn’t expect anyone to just ‘give up’ something for him. She also noticed that he was truly moved to learn about her car and the origin – which meant he understood what it was like to be close to a parent and treasure mementos from them. Granted, a car was a big and expensive ‘memento,’ but those memories were still priceless.

“You can – and I trust you with it.”

Cade looked away. His face was full of disbelief, confusion, and wonder that she could put something so precious to her into his hands so easily. She was truly trusting him with something vital and visceral to her, putting everything she held dear on the line.

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