Page 12 of How The Mountain Man Stole Christmas
Really? What the heck do I say to that?
“You think so?” Well that was a dumb thing to blurt out.
Kaleb stood up and walked away from their seat but turned back to her. “I’m not usually one for meddling in his relationships except when I know it bugs him,” he chuckled, “but with him, you won’t be sorry. Give him a chance is all I’m asking.” Then Kaleb walked out to the barn.
Harper tried to recap the last several days of being stranded together. It’d been a very long time since she’d had anyone in her life that cared even just a little and here she was spending not just one night but several in a man’s house. Granted they hadn’t slept together but they’d been close a time or two. The way his presence turned her insides to mush, if he hadn’t been the perfect gentleman she most definitely would have taken him up on…on what?What would I have let happen? The two or three guys she’d dated in the past couldn’t hold a candle to Fin, or even come close to the same stratosphere Fin held himself in. She was a big talker but would she have actually let loose and given in to her desires?
“Oh lord, Harper what do you have to lose? You never really had much of anything to begin with.”
***
Fin watched Kaleb and Harper on the porch together and wondered what they’d been talking about as they looked toward him. “Damn it I hope he’s not trying to put in a good word for me with Harper.” He’d really gotten good vibes from her the last few days and it seemed like she’d let her guard down since she’d been on their farm. “I really need to do this one on my own.”
He finished the last of the driveway ending by the equipment barn and parked the tractor in its place. Crossing the yard, he watched Harper stand, smiling as he approached her.
“Are you ready to get back into town?”
“Yes, if we must.” She acted distraught but he could tell she was just playing around and ready to see civilization again.
Fin held the door and she walked in ahead of him. “I just need to grab the Christmas tree so we can drop it off at the feedstore across from the vet clinic then I can take you back to your house to get ready. Do you mind if I get changed at your house too?”
“Sure that’s fine. Do you want to pack a bag?”
“Probably a good idea, I’ll go do that now. Make sure you get your stuff.” Fin planted a kiss on her cheek and a pat on her butt then ran up the stairs ahead of her.
“You rat.” She raced after him, turning off into the spare room instead of following him.
With the temperatures warming up overnight and that morning, the roads were finally passable as Fin and Harper drove into town to deliver the tree. Pulling up in front of Harper’s house, Fin left the engine running. “Go on ahead. I have a couple more stops to make then I’ll be back. The pre-lighting party starts at six so we have a couple hours. Save a little hot water for me.” He smiled as she climbed out of the truck.
Once she was safely inside her house, he took off back toward the center of town. “Now to just put a few of my own Christmas plans in motion.”
With a few stops out of the way including Sugar Rush, where he picked out a dessert for Christmas Day and a small tray of cream cheese danish for breakfast, he then headed back to Harper’s.
She answered his knocks with a loud yell coming from somewhere in the house. After closing the front door, he made room for the goodies in her frig and went in search of his bag and the bathroom.
“Did you say Kaleb would meet us there?” Harper yelled from the bedroom door.
“Yes dear.”
“Oh gosh Fin, I didn’t know you were standing there.” Harper continued wrapping long strands around the hot iron.
“Would you relax? Everything will go just fine.”
“I can’t relax, I know how small towns are. We show up together and the whole town will know.” Harper moved the iron cord aside and dug through her underwear drawer in search of something, ignoring Fin who was now standing right behind her.
“Yep, that’s right. The whole town will know that I’m in love with the post-marm. Is that so bad?”
Harper stopped what she was doing and looked up at him in her dresser mirror. “What did you just say?”
“I said, is that so bad?” Harper elbowed him in the ribs.
“Not that you oaf, the other part.” She was staring at him with expectation, her eyebrows arched.
“Oh, you mean the part where I said I’m in love with you?” He took pleasure in the surprised look on her face.
She turned now to face him directly. “You love me?”
His smile told her all she needed to know. She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed. “I love you too Fin.” She leaned back again to see his face. “I’m not sure how it happened that fast either and without me really realizing it til just now. It feels right, natural.”
