Page 27 of Blame It On The Reindeer

“No worries. This is Aiden. He owns Sugar Faced Bar—the place to go when the holidays start getting to you,” Sam joked with a wink as he clapped Aiden on the shoulder. “And this is Bert. He’s got that beast of a snowplow and will work his magic to get you guys out of here.”

“Nice to meet you guys,” I said, waving my hand, knowing I would forget their names in a minute.

“Most of the road was already cleared up here, so I didn’t have to do much. I’ll clear the rest of the driveway and the sides of the road so you don’t have to worry about snow falling and blocking you in again,” Bert said, tugging on his hat.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

“Cool, so did you have a tree picked out?” Sam asked, rubbing his hands together as he looked at Jasmin.

I hated the feeling that lingered deep in my gut as I watched his eyes light up as he looked at her. I had no idea if she had a boyfriend back home—I guess I should have thought to ask that before everything happened last night. But she was clear in giving her consent and didn’t seem to mind as we crossed that line together.

“I think I want that one,” she said, pointing to the one behind me. “Butsomeonewon’t let me cut it down.”

“That’s becausesomeonedoesn’t want to have to deal with you cutting off a limb and taking your ass to the hospital,Princess,” I replied, matching her snark.

“You guys fight like an old married couple,” Sam joked, shaking his head as he grinned. “But he’s right, Jas. You’re not in any position to try to cut down a tree.”

“And why not? I swear to God, if one of you says it’s because I’m a woman, I will lose my shit.”

“No one ever said it’s becauseyou’re a woman,” I answered defiantly, arms over my chest. “I said you can’t cut the tree down because you’re wearing shoes that are a hazard as well as an oversized coat—that is also a hazard. If you’re not wearing the right stuff, I’m not allowing you anywhere near my tools.”

“Yeah, well, you’ve done nothing but complain about my boots since the moment I got here.”

“That’s because they’re better suited for dancing on a stage than trekking around a ranch in the middle of a fucking blizzard.”

We were face to face again, both crowding each other’s space as the others silently watched around us. I heard a chuckle here and there, which made it hard to stay focused on whatever she was really mad about.

“Are you insinuating that my boots arestripperboots?” she exclaimed, eyes wild with anger.

“If the shoe fits...”

“You know what, the shoe is gonna fit. It’s gonna fit right up your ass as I take the heel and shove it so far u—”

“That’s enough,” Sam said, wrapping his arm around her waist and swinging her behind him. “Take her inside and get her stuff together. It won’t be long getting this tree down, and then we can head back to town before the roads start freezing.”

“Will do,” Aiden said, leading Jasmin back to the house as she glared at me over her shoulder.

I scrubbed a hand over my face, trying to get rid of the frustration she had caused.

“Man, I know that look when I see it,” Sam said, shaking his head.

“What look?”

“The look of a man who is trying desperately not to fall for the woman who is driving him crazy. If you want to hang in town for a bit tonight, Aiden makes a drink called Dirty Reindeer Balls that will fix that and all of your problems.”

I lifted my eyebrows in worry as he laughed.

“I don’t know about that,” I said. “But I do know that if we don’t get this tree down soon, we’re going to lose daylight, and no one will be going anywhere.”

“Let’s get it done,” Sam replied, following me to the shed with Bert right behind us.

Seventeen

Jasmin

Isang Christmas carols at the top of my lungs the entire way from the ranch to Sugarplum Falls and didn’t even mind that we were going fifteen miles an hour the majority of the time. While the guys were able to clear the roads, there were still layers of ice that we had to be careful of.

Bert led the way with his snowplow, deviating every now and then to clear more of the road when he could. Sam and Aiden were piled in his truck with him, which left Brody following in his truck behind me. He had the tree secured, which I was incredibly grateful for. But not as grateful as I was to be by myself and away from him for a bit.

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