Page 58 of Snowbound with the Santas

All attention switches to Frankie. He spreads his arms wide and lifts his brow, expecting someone to jump in with the answer. When no one does, he sighs dramatically and points at a vacant corner of the room.

“The Christmas tree!”

It doesn’t take longfor everyone to get dressed up to head out into the snow. I’m definitely bundled up tighter than they are, and despite my protests over how they might freeze—especially Archer who wears a shirt similar to what he was wearing the first time I saw him—I’m ignored.

“Trust. We’ll be fine,” Nick says with an axe in his hand as we trudge through the forest just behind the cabin. “We’re used to cutting down the trees for firewood, so we know how to be effective and keep warm.”

“You wouldn’t have this problem with a fake tree, though,” Frankie points out from ahead of us. He also carries an axe and winks at me when we lock eyes. “Fake is best sometimes.”

“Idiot,” Archer mutters from the front of the line. “For a forest ranger, you have some weird ideals.”

“Okay, listen. Fake is much more practical. There’s no bugs, for one. No pine needles on the floor.” Frankie laughs loudly. “You telling me you like vacuuming?”

“Natural smells better,” Nick counters.

“You can get a fragranced tree,” Frankie points out.

“Natural looks better?” I offer. In truth, I’ve never had a natural tree and my mom quickly gave up on the task of us decorating a tree together. Now, she buys from professionals who make a living decorating fake trees so it’s a guess that natural looks better.

“Rayne’s right. Nothing beats au naturale.”

“Hater,” Frankie scoffs. “Okay, think about it this way. A fake tree you only decorate once. Then you can wrap the entire thing up in bags or some shit and store it so the next year, you just have to cut off the bags.”

“Ain’t no way.” Nick laughs heartily. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am!” Frankie kicks up some snow as he walks. “I saw it online. Amazing time saver.”

“So, where do you store a fully decorated plastic-wrapped tree for a year?” Archer asks, rocking his axe back and forth in his hand.

“Fuck knows.” Frankie grins. “I can’t be the brains all the time.”

“Sure, but decorating is the best part,” Nick says.

“See, I agree,” I say, picking my way over a fallen log. “Getting to see all the decorations and tinsel come to life. Choosing where to put the robin.”

“I’m with Rayne. I can’t wait to decorate a tree with Freida,” Nick says.

“Okay, fine,” Frankie groans, kicking up some more snow toward Nick. “But you can do that with a fake treeandyou can get one in Freida’s favorite color.”

“Spray paint,” Archer snaps. “If you want to be cheesy.”

“It’s Christmas. Of course it’s cheesy.” Frankie laughs. “Plus, as aforest rangerit’s my job to save the trees, not chop them down for aesthetic.”

Archer comes to a stop near a tree that’s just a branch or two taller than he is. “Go on, then,” he says to Frankie. “How much are the mega-corporations paying you to push the fake tree agenda?”

“Oh, nothing.” Frankie snorts. “Pissing you off is priceless, though.”

“Asshole!” Archer yells, and Frankie quickly dodges a ball of snow that flies in his direction, then he turns to me with a small smile. “You like this tree?”

Suddenly, all attention is on me as they wait for my answer. They really walked all the way out here for a tree that I’ll like sothey can bring it back and give me a Christmas. Fuck. I never want to leave.

“I love it.” I smile widely.

“Okay, stay back.” Nick guides me back a few steps, then approaches the tree with Archer and Frankie on either side. It’s a thick, very bushy tree. With a few strong shakes, they shake all the snow free from the tree and reveal a gorgeous deep green fir. I picture it covered in ornaments and tinsel, and my chest squeezes with excitement.

Keeping back as requested, I watch in awe as they start to cut the tree down. They work in tandem with one another, swinging axes in a perfect rhythm, and I suddenly understand why they came out without their thick coats. The bulkiness would get in the way and they’re clearly working up a sweat.

I lean back against the nearest tree and bite my lip, drinking up the sexy sight. Nick grips his axe so tightly that the veins on his forearm pop up. He swings wide, causing his perfect ass to pop out slightly. Frankie tosses his head back and grins while Archer remains as stoic as ever. His patterned shirt flies open, and I catch a glimpse of his gorgeous abs when the fabric rides up.

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