Free On Christmas Hill by Nichole Chase Page A

magical. I’d wait until he came home every
year so we could open it together, while mom smiled and shook her
head at us.
    The last few years had been
bittersweet. I’d looked forward to the packages, but once they were
there, I’d been torn about opening them. The box had simply
reminded me that Dad was gone. And this year, Mom wasn’t even going
to be home for the holidays. She was going skiing with her friends.
Not that I blamed her, because the holidays seemed to throw Dad’s
missing presence into a sharp light.
    Taking a deep breath, I shook my head
to clear it of my sorrow and opened the door. “C’mon, Remy!” The
black and white dog jumped over my lap and out of the car before I
could even swing my feet into the snow. I laughed as he bounded
through the white stuff, sinking up to his shoulders. Wiggling
backward, he sneezed and turned around to go the other way. “Over
there, Rem!” I pointed at a spot in the grass that seemed to have
accumulated the least amount of white stuff. Once he was finished
with his business, I grabbed my purse and slung it over my
shoulder.
    The groundskeeper was supposed to meet
me, and it was getting late. I didn’t want to hold the old guy up.
Especially since it looked like he had taken the time to build a
fire in the house. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve and he might have
family waiting on him. Pulling my hat down over my ears, I took the
steps two at a time. Remy barked behind me, pulling my attention
and I gasped when I realized the reindeer had come to
investigate.
    “ Remy!” I ran back down the
stairs and scooped the nosey dog up in my arms. The reindeer didn’t
seem threatening, but they were huge. Much larger than I realized
reindeer grew. One of the braver ones took a few steps closer to me
and I turned to look at him. At least, I think it was a he. Did
female reindeer have antlers? I knew regular female deer didn’t,
but reindeer weren’t exactly your normal deer. The reindeer sniffed
the air around me, before pushing his nose at my shoulder. I
couldn’t help my smile when he nudged me.
    “ Well, you’re a friendly
guy.” Lifting my hand, I ran my fingers over the velvet soft fur
along his nose.
    “ He likes you.” The deep
voice made me squeak and I turned around to see a man leaning in
the doorway to the cabin. He was wearing jeans and a long sleeved
grey thermal shirt. His arms were crossed over his chest, but the
corners of his mouth were turned up. If my heart wasn’t already
jumping out of my ribcage it would have stuttered at the sight of
him.

Chapter Two

     
     
    “ Good grief, you scared the
crap out of me!” I touched the spot where my heart pounded under my
jacket. Even with the scare of a lifetime, I immediately noticed
the man was gorgeous.
    “ Sorry, I didn’t mean to
startle you.” He pushed off of the door and strolled down the
steps. “I’m guessing that you’re Molly?”
    I nodded my head, still a bit shocked.
The closer he came, the faster my heart beat. Where I originally
thought he was attractive in a rugged sort of way, I quickly
changed my mind. Oh, he was rugged with a five o’clock shadow that
enhanced the angles of his face, but he was more than that. Dark
eyes under dark brows ran over my body and I felt frumpy from
having been in the car for so long. I should have stopped to primp
before making the final leg of the trip. If I had known the
groundskeeper was hotter than an underwear model, I would have
stopped to primp.
    “ I’m Nate.” He held his hand
out to me, so I juggled Remy to one arm. His hand swallowed mine
whole, the skin along his knuckles broken and coarse.
    “ Nice to meet you, Nate.” I
shouldn’t have assumed the groundskeeper was older, but just the
word brought to mind an old man in a derby hat.
    “ And who’s this?” He ran a
hand over Remy’s head, scratching behind his floppy
ears.
    “ Remy.” I smiled up at Nate
and blushed when I realized he was staring at me
intently.
    “ What do you