Free Picking Up Cowboys by Lori Soard

before she could protest.
    Catherine let him tease her lips, stoking the fires that had been banked within her.  He ran his tongue across the center of her lips, and she opened to him.  He tasted like Christmas candy canes.  Catherine groaned and moved deeper into the kiss but Gage was already pulling back.
    Why was he stopping?  Didn’t he like her kisses?  And why should she care?  She didn’t really want him to kiss her.  It would be better if he was disgusted by her kisses.  At least then she wouldn’t be forced to endure them.
    “Do you have any  Christmas decorations around here?”
    His green eyes sparkled.
    “In the attic.”
    “I’m going to go get us a tree.”  He moved toward the hall.
    “Not without me, you aren’t.”
    “Cat, it’s freezing out there.  Let me do it.”
    “No.  I go get the tree every year.  It’s a sort of tradition.  I hadn’t planned on having one this year but if we’re going to I want to help chop it down.”
    “Then bundle up.” 
     
    * * *
     
    Gage set a fast pace and Catherine struggled to keep up. She would never admit it. She’d insisted on coming along, and she refused to slow him down.
    “This one.”  Gage stood in front of a seven foot Aspen.
    “No.  Not that one.”  Catherine tugged on his sleeve.
    “And just what was wrong with that tree?”
    “It’s beautiful.” 
    He chuckled. “That’s a problem?  You want an ugly tree?”
    “Not really.  I just can’t bear to cut down something so majestic.”
    “So, what do we do for a tree?”
    “Follow me.”  Catherine took big steps through the snow, leading him to the edge of a line of trees.  “Over there.”
    He followed the direction of her pointing finger.  “That thing?  You’re kidding right?”
    “Please Gage.  It’s dying anyway.  I know it isn’t the prettiest tree but it won’t survive ‘till spring.  This is its one chance at beauty.”  Catherine could feel her eyes misting over with emotion. 
    “You really do love this land, don’t you?”  Gage’s voice was filled with a quiet acceptance.
    “I love every tree, stream, and mountain peak.”
    Saying the words freed her to an extent.  Yes, someday she wanted to see the world.  But through being forced to stay here and help her father care for the place, it had crept into her heart and rooted itself there.  She still wanted to take more risks, live a little, break free from her normal, dull self.  But she now realized it was possible to do that right where she was.
    Her gaze landed on Gage.  What better place to start than by allowing a friendship to form between her and Gage?  True, she’d never really wanted a partner, but that had been the old Catherine.  The new Catherine realized it would give her a little time to pursue some outside interests.  She might even take a couple of classes at one of the nearby colleges. When money was better, maybe she could take a trip somewhere.
    It was time to be honest, too.  No more pretending.  Her hand fell on her stomach. “Gage--”
    “Shhh!  Look.”  A white-tailed deer dodged and darted through the trees before stopping and sniffing the air.  Its wide-brown eyes rested on them and the creature looked startled for a heartbeat before bounding off.
    “Gage, I need to confess something.” She would tell him before she lost her nerve.
    “Shhh!  Truce remember?  No confessions until after Christmas.”  He jogged over to the tree she’d chosen and raised the ax.  “You’re certain this is the one you want?”
    “Yes, but--” Catherine tried again.
    Gage swung the ax, it arced out and down, hitting the base of the tree with a hollow thunk.  He pulled back for another chop and Catherine felt her knees grow unsteady.  The recollection of his bare chest surfaced and she could sense the powerful ripple of muscles under his heavy parka.
    In half the time it would have taken her, Gage had felled the tree.  He grabbed the end and pulled it