Page 23 of The Santa of the Mountain

I shrug. “Possibly.” I’m not wanting to get into anything heavy right now. “But living in a place like Whispering Winds in my line of work, it’s easy to become numb to the season.”

“And what do you do?”

“Christmas tree farmer. Well, during the holiday season. We do other things like landscaping and hardscaping. Anything and everything a normal garden center does.”

She nods. “And volunteer Santa Claus?”

“Tradition. Or as I put it, generational trauma from which no male in my family can escape.”

She snorts. “I think you don’t like Christmas.”

“Complicated, as I said. It also happens to double as my birthday.”

She blinks at me. It takes her a few moments but then she says, “Okay, I’m beginning to see your complicated relationshipwith the holiday. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be born on Christmas.”

“Not all it’s cracked up to be. And to give you a little insight into my family. My father wanted to call me Kris.”

“Kris. Kringle?”

I nod. “My mother vetoed it but they finally settled on Cole.”

“So they could say we’re getting Cole for Christmas,” she says, and I mouth because I can’t tell her how many times I’ve heard it as a joke.

“You know this is getting kind of wild.”

“Welcome to my life, Kate. I hope you stay a while.”

She takes her bottom lip into her mouth again, chewing it softly before releasing it. “Well, I’m here until the storm passes. And then after that, it’s my sister’s wedding and who knows where I’ll end up.”

With me. There’s no question in my mind.

“Leave it up to fate?”

“Maybe,” she says as we hold each other’s gaze. She yawns. “But fate is pulling me to bed. Sorry about the stew,” she adds, nodding to the nearly full bowl in front of her. “It was delicious, the one bite that didn’t burn my face off.”

“There’ll be plenty more for you tomorrow. How’s your tongue?”

She stands up and then moves toward me, the blanket slipping off her lap. “Better,” she says, her voice low as she blushes. “But there’s no telling what tomorrow will bring.”

My heart slams against my chest as she pauses beside me. “I think I might have a helmet and pads somewhere around here.”

She sighs. “At the rate I’m going, I’m sure I’ll need them. Do you think there’ll be cell service? My phone’s dead but I should try to call my sister. Let her know I’m okay. I’m sure she’ll be worried when Evan shows up without me.”

My jaw tenses at the mention of another man but relaxes almost immediately. I’ve only known Kate a short time but he’s not the man for her.

“Maybe. But not here. We’ll have to hike a little way. There’s a spot not far that I use when I need to make a call.”

“Think we can make it in this snow?”

I nod. “I’ve got the equipment.”

She swallows, eyes dipping almost imperceptibly as she turns around, folds her arms across her body, and moves toward the fire.

She might be wearing clothes so baggy a stiff breeze could carry her off the ground, but I can see the outline of her perfect body. Shoulders. Back. Thighs. And when she turns around again, two tight little buds press against the sweater’s fabric.

“I can see that,” she says. “You have quite the setup here.”

“Have to prepare for everything the mountain can throw at you.”

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