Free On a Snowy Christmas Night by Debbi Rawlins Page B

that.”
    “Feed you?” He smiled when she carelessly shoved her hair away from her face and rolled her eyes. “What kind of reputation will the Sundance have if we starve our guests?”
    “I’m sure you have a stellar reputation. Your whole family is wonderful,” she said, then glanced away. “Jeez, I say I don’t want to be a bother and then I keep you out here in the cold.”
    “Such a hardship.”
    She slid him a hesitant look, saw he was teasing and a small smile tugged at her lips.
    Dammit, he had the sudden urge to kiss that shy, sexy mouth. “Come on, I’ll walk you to the house.”
    “You don’t have to—” They’d already moved in that direction, but she stopped, eyes wide, lips parted in awe. “That Christmas tree, it’s beautiful.”
    Jesse followed her gaze to the ten-foot pine he’d helped Rachel put up in the foyer. White lights glittered from the branches, five hundred of the tiny suckers—he happened to know because he’d bitched about having to string them. But looking at Shea’s unadulterated delight made the chore worth it.
    “It’s huge and so perfect. I’ve never seen one like it before.” She swung her gaze toward him. “That couldn’t have been there last night.” She paused. “Was it?”
    “That would’ve been pretty hard to miss.”
    “Trust me, I can overlook an elephant in the middle... Never mind.”
    “I cut it down this morning.”
    “You?”
    “Yes, me. I’m not as scrawny as I look.”
    “I didn’t mean—” The instant she saw he was teasing she smiled, something she didn’t do nearly enough. Not a real smile like this one that showed off her straight white teeth, or the pretty shape of her pink lips. She turned back to the tree, her face lit as if she were a kid who’d been visited by Santa. “Where did you find it?”
    “Not far from the trail we took yesterday. It’s McAllister land so it’s legal.”
    “I have mixed feelings about cutting down something so glorious.” She sighed. “I’m a hypocrite. I love being able to see it every night.”
    “If we don’t thin out the forest, nature will. We’ve had some bad lightning strikes that have taken down acres of trees. Had a wildfire this past August that wiped out half a hill of spruce and pine.”
    She stopped a few feet from the porch, hands shoved deep into the pockets of her jacket, and just stared at the tree even though she’d started to shiver. “I like the red ribbons and candy canes.”
    “We used up the ornaments on the trees in the den and living room. Mom and Rachel tend to get carried away this time of year.”
    “Were the other trees up last night?”
    “Have been since the day after Thanksgiving.”
    “Oh, I’d love to see them sometime.” She shivered and hunched her shoulders. “If that would be all right.”
    “Come on before you freeze. The tree looks just as pretty inside as it does out here.” He took her by the elbow and gently urged her toward the steps before he did something stupid like wrap his arms around her.
    “I’m kind of hoping it snows for Christmas,” she said, pulling a hand out of her pocket to hold the railing.
    “We’re supposed to get some tomorrow night. Not much, only three or four inches.”
    “That sounds like a lot.”
    “You have four-wheel drive.” He glanced over his shoulder toward her car. “You’ll be okay.” Something unpleasant occurred to him and he stopped in front of the door. “You do know how to drive in snow?”
    She nibbled at her lower lip. “Guess I’ll find out.”
    “I hope you’re kidding.”
    “The roads will be plowed, right?”
    He studied her face. She had to be pulling his leg. Nobody came to Montana in the middle of winter unable to drive in snow. Except, she was beginning to look more uncertain by the second. Shit. “I’ll drive you tomorrow.”
    “Absolutely not.” She pulled away and grabbed the doorknob. “But thanks, anyway.” She hesitated. “Should I ring the doorbell?”
    He