Page 37 of A Gift for her Festive Firefighter

“You mentioned burnt marshmallows,” he mumbled, staring at her beloved face painted with shock. “And I never want you doing something that makes you unhappy.”

“You came over for me… and marshmallows?”

“Mostly you,” he smiled tenderly and saw her melt before his eyes. “Now, princess, can I help you – and can I borrow a few sawhorses so I can put together a somewhat functional table apparatus?”

“I’ve got a card table that folds in my apartment upstairs we can use. We can take it and a few folding chairs. I’ve already got a tablecloth ready, and I thought I would take Mr. Pumpkin and my flowers for décor.”

“You kept those?”

“Well, the baby pumpkin is looking pretty pathetic,” she admitted begrudgingly, making him laugh in delight. “But yes. I’ve never gotten something like that from someone, and it meant a lot to me.”

“You mean a lot to me,” he confessed, tucking a curl behind her ear. “No more tears. You are breaking my heart, and I don’t want our memories to be full of panic attacks or weeping, okay? My inflated male ego can’t take the abuse.”

Holly let out a nervous laugh and rolled her eyes – before darting forward to hug him in a rush. She buried her head under his chin despite the sweat, and he melted. Other girls he’d dated in the past complained if he smelled like smoke or sweat, but not her. Holly was as real as they came, he thought, kissing the top of her head before resting his cheek against it.

I am falling in love with this amazing woman, and he couldn’t be more excited to see what would come next for them.

“C’mon,” he whispered lovingly, kissing her again. “I’m terrified Knox is going to stubbornly refuse to use his new puppy door and what that could mean to the place. I never realized it was so hard to housebreak a dog.”

“Knox is a sweetie,” she chuckled and pulled from his arms slowly, smiling shyly at him. “Thank you for coming to my rescue, Captain Hostess.”

“Any woman that dubs me a snack-and-a-half without coercion is my kinda girl,” he teased, pulling her into his arms and kissing her once more. They loaded up both cars, and Cade paused and looked at his truck. “I thought you said it wasn’t ready? Crusty looks incredible.”

“I’m trying to adjust the body seam on that side so it’s a little more flush, and I think I need to roll the…”

“Holly – the car is over seventy years old and rattles my teeth when you get it up to fifty miles an hour. There is so much wind noise that it would make it impossible to listen to the radio – if it even had one. I had to rent a trailer to bring it from Ember Creek because I couldn’t maintain highway speeds and was terrified I would get stranded. I love that truck, but it’s to piddle around town. Trust me when I say – the body seams do not have to be perfect in the slightest, princess.” And then Cade paused, looking at her. “Do I get to see the bill now?”

“I need to total the invoices. Let me figure it up when we aren’t hauling hot food over to your house, okay?”

“Deal.”

Driving his truck to the house for the first time felt so incredibly good, but seeing Holly’s smiling face in his rearview mirror outshone that feeling. His mind was working a mile a minute because he could honestly see so much happening between them. He wanted to have her at his side, needed to give her the fairy tale she deserved, and couldn’t fight the thrill of seeing her pull into the driveway next to his car. He looked over to see her smiling at him, and the only thing that filled every corner of his chest, heart, and soul was a simple phrase.

We’re home.

Chapter 14

HOLLY

Holly couldn’t fight the smile on her face as she pulled up in front of Cade’s little brick home. It was an older house that was once red, but someone had refinished the outside of the home with the stylish German schmear look, turning the house white with hints of deep russet peeking out. It almost reminded her of a castle, which only made her chuckle at the irony of seeing the overgrown front flower bed of irises. If they were blue in the spring or summer when they bloomed, it would look like a moat, she thought, getting out of her Mustang.

She heard a bark and saw Knox running up to the chain-link fence surrounding the house – turning to look pointedly at Cade. He just raised an eyebrow and smirked at her as they obviously shared the same thoughts. The dog was outside, but that meant nothing until verified.

“Don’t hold your breath,” Cade chuckled and hesitated. “Actually, do hold your breath, just in case…”

She laughed and moved around her car to pop the trunk, withdrawing a crockpot full of green beans – only to see Cade take it from her and set it back down.

“What are you doing?” – and began to writhe in distress as he picked her up in his arms like she was some damsel in distress. “Cade? What are you doing? Put me down before you hurt yourself and…”

He leaned forward to kiss her, stopping the string of panicked words immediately. As he pulled back, he looked at her with so much emotion in his eyes that she couldn’t speak.

“Firefighters are superstitious – and your first trip into my domain is going to be in my arms…”

“I thought that was a wedding custom,” she said breathlessly, not looking away from his heated gaze.

“Maybe this is practice,” he replied, not hesitating in the slightest. “Can you get my keys in my pocket?”

“You want me to… whaaaat?”

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