Page 5 of Second Chance Christmas

“Don’t be,” she husked in a raspier tone than she’d intended.

She laughed softly when a sinful smile curved his lips. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming. It’s been too long, Ivy Sunday. Dixen has missed its angel and it hasn’t been the same with you gone. It’s been too long, sweetheart.” He cupped her face in a warm palm and stroked a callused thumb just shy of touching the corner of her lip.

He raked his gaze over the delicate line of her jaw and traced it to the tiny dip in her chin then finally settled the heated look in his eyes on her lips. One look and he had her internal temperature feverish.

Everything between them had always been hot, instant and all-consuming. Nothing had changed, it seemed.

“It has, Aspen. I don’t know about the angel part, but yeah. Too long.” She sounded a little out of breath and everything in her wanted to contribute it to the sudden drop of adrenaline in her system. Not the man with his arms still wrapped around her, holding her body close to his.

Ivory soap with a hint of wintry pine. Her eyes slipped closed, and despite her best efforts, she inhaled and buried her face into the nook of his shoulder when he hugged her close to him. He smelled like everything that said home for a Dixen girl.

Before anything got too out of hand she reluctantly stepped from his arms. The more distance she placed between them, the cooler his expression turned. It was like watching a fire burn out until only embers were left behind.

“So, Fire chief, huh? I wondered what Mrs. December meant bynew chief.”

She watched a crooked grin tip the corner of his lip. “Yeah, Chief Matthews retired three years ago and I took over.”

She nodded. “It’s a good fit. Red suits you and the title definitely fits.” She tapped the bill of his hat with Fire Chief across the front in crisp white letters against midnight blue.

Despite her better judgment, Ivy rested her free hand on his chest. “What are you doing here? And so early? I thought you were an ax-wielding murderer for a full twenty minutes. You scared the crap out of me and Max. You know, one command and Max could have killed you,” she teased, tapping a finger against hard, taut muscle.

His brow arched over a pointed look of disbelief. “You’ve been in the city too long if you think every person is a murderer, Ivy Sunday. And the only thing that dog could kill is a can of chow and strawberry cake.”

Despite going for a straight face, Ivy could not help the laugh that bubbled up. “You got me there. But don’t second-guess Max. He has a vicious tongue. His kisses can be just as deadly.”

Aspen stood close enough she could feel his body heat hug close to her. His laugh, rich and deep, reached through her and stirred up fond memories of the last time he smiled down at her like that.

“For real though. What brings you out here so early?”

He took in everything about her. From the way her hips fit snuggly to his, the way her hands rested on his chest and she knew for a fact he didn’t fail to miss the fact she didn’t have a bra on under her pajamas.

“I come out through here every Saturday to make sure your grandmother and Ms. Lucille down the road haven’t cooked up any trouble and have a good stock of firewood. Power went out when the storm blew down a couple of large limbs a few miles from here. With the snow front that came in last night, the men and I at the firehouse are making rounds, checking in with the residents to make sure everyone has what they need until the lines crews get the problem fixed. So while I waited for you to rise and shine, city slicker, I thought I would cut some wood for you ladies.”

He stood only inches from her now and she had to tilt her head back to look into his eyes. Soft brown like rich coffee and observant. She felt as though the longer he looked at her the more he could see of her failures, which was ridiculous.

Aspen squared his shoulders, making himself look less like the football star she fell in love with years ago and more like the fireman with a few more years on him. Handsome, more so even.

“Here, slip this on and let’s get you warmed up.”

Aspen leaned to the side and plucked up a heavy coat he must have taken off while chopping wood.

“Uhh, yeah. Thank you.” She smiled thinking back on why he was here. That was one long-winded explanation if she ever heard one. She huffed out a billowy cloud of hot air. Of course, her grandmother let everyone in town know she’d be here. The woman was a menace with her use of social media. Most times Ivy wondered if there should be a law on granddaughters teaching firecracker grandmothers how to Facebook in the first place.

“Let me get that for you.” Aspen slowly leaned in, his eyes on hers the whole time. Yeah, she still had it bad for him because her heart raced and skin flushed when he leaned in just shy of touching her and held the kitchen door open for her.

“Let’s get you inside, sweetheart.” He placed a light touch to her lower back and ushered her inside where it was only marginally warmer.

Shafts of sunlight beat through the heavy clouding and burst through the kitchen window to give the place a glow of warmth despite the cold. Definitely colder now that she did not have Aspen’s heat to cocoon her from the cold, but his jacket was the next best thing. She tightened the sides around her and tucked her nose inside.

“Thank you.” She turned away from Aspen, who walked in behind her and took a second to roll her eyes in bliss. Would it be wrong to groan at how good this man smelled? Wow. Some would argue the seasons did not have a scent. That snow was just frozen water. But to her, winter was her favorite time of year and smelled just like Aspen Kennedy. Her odd revelation came at an awkward moment, but it was the truth.

Her self-imposed man-hiatus since being dumped a month ago suffered a fracture in its core structure.

Twice now she’d tried to get married. Both attempts failed. First one was her fault but not the second.

Some would say it was karma getting back at her since she did almost the same thing by leaving Aspen at the altar. She would agree but could examine it more in-depth when she could ugly cry from all the crappy decisions that lead to this moment when she was alone in her room. Right now, she wanted to enjoy the delights of seeing Aspen again. And didn’t that make her twisted in the head!

“I wondered how long you two crazy lovebirds would stand out there in the cold. Love really is blind. Oh, hon, red looks good on you!” Gran flashed a wide smile her way and winked.

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