Page 25 of Tis the Season for Sass
“Oh, I bet you will.”
19
Ginger spent the morning dusting, vacuuming, and mopping. By early afternoon she made a sandwich and sat down for lunch. Over the sound of the radio, she began to hear a pattern of strange muffled thumping noises.
Holding the broom as if it was a spear, she cautiously moved toward the great room and the source of the thumping.
Staring at the wall, she was puzzled.“Is it in the wall? Pesky raccoons maybe. There it goes again.”
Moving to the window, she was shocked to see Chance stacking firewood on her porch. Opening the door, she watched and admired him.
“Weren’t you wondering how you were going to stay warm this winter?” he asked.
“Na, I knew some knight in shining armor would show up with a couple cords of firewood before long,” she teased.
“Your firewood, my lady.”
“What do I owe you for it?”
“Free of charge.”
He seemed to be calm, back to the Chance she knew on the trip to the mountain cabin and figured it wouldn’t hurt to invite him in for a few minutes. “Oh no. At least come inside for an iced tea. Sorry I don’t have beer or whatever it is you and Lars guzzled down like water.”
“Thanks,” he said, taking a seat at the kitchen table. “How’s the cleaning going?”
“Great. All I have left are some boxes that James dropped off. Some of our parents’ old things he wanted me to have. I wasn’t sure if I was ready emotionally to dig into them, so I put it off until last. But eventually, I’ll get to it.”
Chance looked around the cabin and closed his eyes. “It’s just like I remember it.”
“Hold on. You remember being here before?”
“Yeah, barely. James and I played together when we were little. I remember he had a scrawny little baby sister. I put two and two together after hearing about your uncloaked memories. I guess that was you.”
“I don’t mean to sound rude, but you seem to be…a lot calmer than the last time I saw you at Rafe’s,” she said, slightly cocking her head and smiling at him.
“I’m…I’m managing. As best I can.”
“Maybe he really has calmed down now, and we can just hang out civilly like two adult friends? Why not? We can take things slow and easy,”she said to her wolf.
Emboldened by her observation of Chance’s calm demeanor, she took a risk. “I’d like to properly thank you for the firewood. How about you come back here tomorrow evening, and I will fix you the best homecooked meal you’ve ever had.”
“You are pretty confident in yourself, aren’t you?” he replied, smiling back.
“Self-confidence is a very attractive quality.”
Chance chugged down his tea, thanking her. It took every ounce of self-control he had to stop himself from pulling her into his arms and kissing her—or more. He was beyond bewildered as to why she didn’t feel it too.
“See you tomorrow?” she asked as he opened the door.
“Best homecooked meal ever? How could I refuse a temptress such as you?”
20
Stepping out of the shower, Ginger walked into the great room and dried off in front of the fire. “One left,” she said, staring at the last unpacked box labeled Christmas in red cursive script. A woman’s handwriting for sure, she thought. Her mother’s? It had to be. She couldn’t bring herself to open it. Not yet. No, that box would most certainly break her heart.
She had other distractions to keep her mind occupied for now. The roast was in the oven, everything else for her dinner with Chance was already prepared.
Now, she just needed to figure out what she should wear? Jeans and a t-shirt? Maybe. A dress? Maybe not. She didn’t want to wear anything that would be considered too provocative. It would be best to keep the wolves’ hormones in check. She settled for a pair of comfortable pants and a sweater.
