Page 11 of Second Chance Christmas

“I see you refurbished your dad’s old truck. I love the tan leather.” She rubbed her gloved hand over the seat. Cars and trucks were not her forte, but she could appreciate the amount of dedication and work it must have taken to make the classic look authentic.

“Dad was going to haul it to the dump. I couldn’t stand to see such a classic thrown away.”

He patted the wheel. “She does well in cold weather.”

Ivy fiddled with a loose string on the cuff of her sweater before turning to Aspen. “I’m sorry about this morning. I don’t know what has gotten into Gran. She’s a little weird right now.”

“You mean more than usual?” He smiled a lazy grin that pulled one from her as well.

“Got me there,” she shrugged. In the small cabin space, Aspen’s masculine scent seeped into her senses.

“Nothing new. She keeps the town on its collective toes and stirs the waters when things start to die down. Last month she hosted a bingo night down at town hall and it ended with everyone singing Copacabana and a conga line from the pictures on Facebook someone must have spiked the punch bowl because a few lost their shirts at some point.”

“You’re kidding!” She turned in her seat.

She felt her shoulders start to relax and she slipped her gloves off since the cabin was toasty warm.

“Nope.”

“I bet Gran planned the whole damn thing.” Laughter bubbled up and she rested a hand on Aspen’s thigh.

“You would be right.”

His came to rest on top of hers as he took a turn in the road. “The next day Dixen’s Facebook page blew up with pictures from the so-called Frat Party Senior Style, as Mrs. Winters labeled it.”

“Did she take responsibility?”

“She didn’t have to. She damn near took the mic from the preacher’s hand the next Sunday to make sure everyone had their Christmas lights up before Dec twentieth rolled around. Their little impromptu shindig resulted in a lot of tourists coming through town.”

“Who knew Gran was a mastermind marketer?”

In light of that, Ivy couldn’t ignore the fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach. No, not fluttery. What she felt from the simple contact was hot. From head to toe. “You don’t think she’s up to something now, do you?” Her gut made her question the entire morning. “She practically pushed us out the door. I barely grabbed my coat in time before losing a finger.”

Ivy slipped her hand from Aspen’s and pressed her hand to the heater vents. The warm blast of air felt heavenly and she wiggled her fingers until she could feel them again, unable to shrug off the awkwardness of the whole morning.

“With her, who knows.” He slowed around a particularly sharp curve that caused her to fall into his lap. Moving fast, he caught her to his chest before she face planted in his lap.

Righting herself, he held her gaze for the briefest of seconds.

Her heart lurched to a stop and she jerked back. Ivy swallowed hard. Sparks, the kind that zinged through the skin and pelted the heart with warm fuzzy feelings shot up her arm in a flash of surprise.

Aspen’s attention swung between the road and her. Had he felt it too?

“There’s nothing to be afraid of, Ivy.”

“I’m not afraid. I’m just…”

“Lost?” he offered.

Her face screwed up in denial. “Lost? Where did you get that? Um..no,” she stammered, thrown off track. “Try cautious.”

His sharp gaze slid to hers. “We’re just old friends. Let’s leave it at that. Sound good?”

She nodded. “You’re like ice. Here.” He guided her hands back to the warmth of the vents. “Let me turn up the heat some more.”

First, she would not lose her cool. Second, a rush of heat started in her toes and traveled to her face in record time and had nothing to do with the vents.

Lightning. The kind her momma told her about that meant the one had been found zapped between them the second her bare hand landed on his. He had to have felt it too. This was not good. Not good at all. People touched gazillion times a day. Didn’t mean anything and this didn’t either.

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