Free Home For Christmas (A Copper Mountain Christmas) by Melissa Mcclone

boxes, but Rachel had no doubt someone would help.
    The smile on the chocolatier's face matched Rachel's elation. Business was booming, and it was only noon. Brisk morning sales meant she'd covered the cost of supplies two hours ago. Everything else she made today and tomorrow would be profit, money she could put toward a lease deposit. She wiggled her toes with excitement.
    Rachel had one person to thank—Nate.
    Thoughts of him sent a burst of heat through her veins, warming her insides better than thermal underwear.
    Nate had been on her mind a lot lately. Like an undertow, pulling her where she didn't mean to go. She'd fallen asleep thinking about him. Dreamed of him, from the way she'd twisted her sheets. Woke up wondering whether he'd stop by for coffee and a muffin. Slide his cute backside onto the counter. Look at her in the way that turned her knees gooey as bread dough.
    He'd been nice and polite at the diner the other night, building her up and treating her like someone who managed her own world, but his words and glances made Rachel wish they had been on a date. That they were…
    Together.
    That freaked her out.
    Enough she hadn't wanted to hear Nate's other ideas about her gingerbread. She liked being the center of his attention and wanted…more.
    Stupid, stupid, stupid.
    Focusing on opening a bakery these past months had turned her into a swooning female as soon as a handsome guy, who knew how to coax her into doing what he wanted with the skill of a horse whisperer, came near.
    Pathetic.
    Rachel placed twelve cookies onto tissue paper inside a white bakery box.
    She needed balance in her life. Affection. Attachments. Even annoyance, like the way Ty bragged about her cooking to everyone who'd listen when she was just making oatmeal or soup. She wanted friends who would greet her with hugs if she bumped into them at a Christmas tree farm rather than a cool hey at a club. Food service employees came and went quickly. A few stayed, but she hadn't formed any deep friendships, the kind she saw here in Marietta. The kind she wanted.
    Her fault, she realized with a start. She'd always been working toward the next thing— culinary school, a better job, her bakery. Maybe that was why she'd ended up dating stupid jerks who took advantage of her. Or fell for smooth-talking friends who betrayed her.
    She tied a candy-cane-striped bow around the package then set the box on top of a decorate-your-own gingerbread house for the woman who returned with the sleeping child and a cup of hot cocoa. A man with pine needles on his jacket carried the boy, who held his own cocoa.
    "I'll take those," the man said.
    Just as Rachel expected. Just as she wanted for herself someday.
    She handed over the gingerbread. "If you have any questions, my phone number and email address are on the instructions. Have a very Merry Christmas."
    Watching the four of them head to the parking area brought a pang to her heart.
    They reminded her of her family. The last time they'd been together had been sixteen years ago. She missed her parents and hated that the memories weren't as clear as they used to be. But she made the time to visit them at the cemetery. At least once a week.
    But Mom and Dad wouldn't want Rachel to be sad on a day like today. They would want her to smile and enjoy herself.
    She would.
    Humming along to “Deck the Halls,” a favorite Christmas carol, she set out more cookies and added another do-it-yourself kit to the empty spot on the front table.
    "So is that how it works?"
    The familiar sound of Nate's voice gave Rachel chills, ones that had nothing to do with the cold mountain air or falling snowflakes. She glanced up.
    He stood on the opposite side of the table looking way too hot on this cold day. Her gaze ran the length of him, from his wool hat to his jeans hugging muscular thighs, making her want to touch them and see if they were as firm as they looked. "What works?"
    "Making a guy purchase a gingerbread house to get your