Page 3 of Christmas Escape
“No!”
I jumped in surprise, his emphasis on the word startling me. When my full attention shot to him, he dropped his gaze and shifted on his heels.
“I just mean, no, I’ll have it fixed. Tomorrow is Christmas. I’m sure your family would be disappointed if they didn’t get to spend it here.”
“Oh… No, it’s just me,” I assured him. “A little Christmas break.”
“That’s nice,” he said, his shoulders relaxing. He smiled, and his eyes twinkled the same way his mom’s had. Obviously, that trait had been passed down from her. I had a brief mental flash of a little girl with dark hair like mine and eyes like his.
Whoa, Melody, slow your hormones. You just met this guy. There’s no reason to imagine how your kids would look.God, what the hell had gotten into me?
“I’ll be back soon.” Caleb started toward the door then stopped and looked back at me. “Unless you want to come with me.”
“I would love to,” I said, smiling at him.
Hopefully, he’d be willing to stop somewhere so I could pick up just a few decorations. The cabin was amazing, but it could do with some Christmas cheer.
Two
Caleb Hollister
It occurred to me that I’d never had a girl in my truck. As Melody and I drove into Majestic Falls, I was glad I’d cleaned out my vehicle last night. I was a fairly neat guy, but she didn’t need to be tripping over my hiking gear or the remnants from basically living in here while I ran all over the Adirondack area doing repairs for people. Handymen were in short supply, therefore I was in high demand.
I also hoped the hardware store would have what I needed to fix the heat issue at Melody’s cabin. They were usually well supplied, but if they didn’t have the parts, they’d need to order what I needed. And Melody would be without a place to stay.
My glance strayed to her, and I remembered the tingle I’d felt when our hands had met. No, I definitely didn’t want her heading back to wherever she’d come from.
What was the story with that? Why was she spending Christmas alone—or why did shethinkshe was? Because I knew for a fact my mom would never let that happen when she found out. Melody would find herself parked at our holiday table, like it or not.
“So…do you usually vacation alone at Christmas?”Smooth, Caleb.
She huffed a laugh. “Nope. First-time.” She gasped. “Oh my God!”
I started at her exclamation. “What?”
She pointed. “What is that? Is that a…moose?”
“Eh…yup.”
“It’s freaking huge! We should take a picture.”
“Why?”
“It’s a moose!”
“Babe…” I grimaced when the word slipped out, the same one my dad used when talking to my mom. What was happening here? With Melody, the endearment felt right on my tongue, though. “I think this town might be the moose capital of New York. Stick around, and you’ll see more of them.”
“Oh.” She turned around as we sped down the rural road, her gaze still glued to the animal. “I’ve never seen a moose—not in real life anyway.”
And I’d never seen a woman as beautiful as her in real life. But I kept that to myself. She really was gorgeous, though. We’d been blessed with a sunny day this morning, and the light reflected off her glossy near-black hair. Her light silvery-blue eyes were a startling contrast. I wanted to stare into them while I leaned in to—
Nope. Not going there. Yet.
“So this is your first Christmas on your own?” Picking up on the train of conversation from before the moose seemed likea better idea than pursuing my other more intimate thoughts. “You just break up with your boyfriend or something?”
I didn’t like the idea of that. Of her being with another guy, not her breaking up with some jackass, because A…he was obviously stupid, and B…clearly, he didn’t deserve her.
She snorted. “Or something.”
