Page 6 of Second Chance Christmas

Ivy placed her makeshift weapon on the counter and rubbed her hands together. “Morning, Gran!” While outside, the power had come back and her gran had set about her morning routine of caffeine and Facebook, it seemed.

Coffee, thick and strong with a hint of cinnamon, wafted through the icy air and tingled her senses. Oh, how she’d missed that and the woman responsible for making her famous winter blend. She caught a hint of nutmeg and vanilla too.

“Morning, sunshine!”

She dropped a quick kiss on Gran’s cheek. “I see you’ve started early.” Ivy pointed a finger at the smartphone. “Anything new in the world we should know about?” Ivy moseyed around the counter to the coffeepot. “Behave.” She half mumbled and whispered as she passed by the kitchen island.

But it did not matter because her grandmother already had a twinkle in her eye. When that happened, you better keep off her radar because it meant her mind was set on something or someone.

“What? I have eyes. And a good imagination. But you two were painting the whole picture for me.” She tapped the corner of her head and her sassy, say-it-like-she-wanted grandmother waggled her eyebrows at Aspen over the rim of her steamy cup of dark roast.

Her pulse thudded harder when Aspen only cleared his throat and gave that crooked grin of his in response.

Ivy reached for the planner she left on the counter the night before and a pen:Call siblings, curse each of them for life for throwing me to the wolves.

“Mrs. Winters. Glad you’re feeling spunky as usual. Morning.” Aspen slipped his cap off and leaned in to give a quick kiss on the cheek. The bad boy of Dixen High was nothing less than a gentleman.

“Morning, handsome. I see you wasted no time in stopping by.” She tossed him a wink. “That’s my boy.”

“Gran,” Ivy mouthed sideways as heat crept up the back of her neck and flushed over her cheeks. Aspen didn’t seem nearly as bothered, though. He stood leaning half his weight against the counter, cap in hand and a smile bigger than Alaska on his face.

“Yes, ma’am. Couldn’t let anyone go without firewood on my watch.”

“Sure,” her gran quipped. “If you deliver firewood with kisses like those, you would have everyone in town wanting you to deliver theirs too.”

Ivy scribbled another quick note, anything to keep her eyes glued down and not on Aspen until she got ahold of her runaway thoughts.

Gran scooted off the stool and went for another refill of coffee. “This is going to be the best Christmas ever. I’ve already planned it out.”

Didn’t seem likely given how the holiday season kicked off with her getting dumped and then losing her house. Or was it the other way around? Didn’t matter.

“Oh, what kind of plans?”

“You’ll see.”

Ominous, but she left it for a later discussion. She did not have time for Christmas plans or anything remotely festive. Christmas could scoot along and so could New Year’s and while she nixed the holidays from her mental list she might as well include Valentine’s, too. She would take a pass on anything that involved the heart and the home for the foreseeable future, thank you very much.

And it was all her fault, she reminded herself.

All. Your. Fault.

CHAPTER THREE

Leaning against the counter Ivy, let her pen drop into the crease of her planner and arched a brow at Aspen, which earned her a deeper smile.

Evidently, going eight years without seeing that smile meant diddly-squat. It still made her heart rate increase and her knees do funny things.

She mouthed overtop Gran’s head, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He shook his head and mimed complete ignorance with a shake of his head.

Returning her attention to her gran where it was safer territory, Ivy took in the older lady’s holiday-themed ensemble. Frilly red bathrobe that brushed the floor, Rudolph slippers that matched her own—that explained a lot—and every strand of hair pulled back in mistletoe green curlers. For the final touch, tiny fingers of steam wafted up from a Rudolf Christmas mug as she nursed coffee and flipped through her phone like an amused teenager. Young at heart and all that, she supposed. Ivy leaned closer. Love for the woman filled her heart and Ivy wound an arm around her shoulder.

“Thank you, sweetie. Morning hugs go a long way in making the day go better. Hey, take a look at this.”

Ivy looked down at her grandmother’s Facebook page. Aspen slid closer and they both peered over for a closer look.

“Holy smokes, woman!” Her eyes nearly fell out. “You’ve been busy.”

---