AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I closed my eyes, breathing in his scent, evergreen mixed with a hint of something spicy, and I reveled in the heat of his body. I wanted to touch him, log all the ways his body was different than when we were kids. He’d filled out, become broad where he was lanky, muscular where he was lean.
I opened my eyes to find him gazing down at me, a look of wonder and something else in his gaze.
“Are you okay?”
I made an effort to step back and away from his hold. “I am now. Thanks for catching me.”
Talon’s lips tipped into a grin. “If I hadn’t, I think you and the tree would have rolled down the hill.”
“That would have been a sight.” I wondered if anyone below would have seen the commotion.
Talon’s grin turned to a chuckle, and I couldn’t help but laugh with him. It felt good, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen Talon laugh.
When he recovered, he placed his palm over his stomach, and then he said, “We’d better get the tree home and set up before it’s too late.”
The sun had completely dipped below the horizon, and it was getting dark. The lights on the paths illuminated our way back to the truck.
Talon easily lifted and threw the tree into the bed of his truck. There was something so innately manly about the motion. He was strong.
Then he opened the passenger side door and waited while I climbed inside. When we’d dated, he’d always opened my door and paid when we went out. He was a gentleman. I took it for granted until I started dating again in my twenties. Not all men were created equal.
I watched as Talon rounded the hood and climbed in next to me. He was all man, even when he was deep in his work at the shed. His muscles flexed, and his powerful thighs stretched his worn jeans.
There was something about a man who worked with his hands. I wondered if the skill would translate to the bedroom, especially since we were older and more mature now. I wanted to know all the ways he’d changed over the years.
Talon was quiet as we drove to his house, and I wondered if he was thinking about something similar to me. Was he wondering how I’d changed? Whether things would be different? Or was he merely enjoying our friendship and hoping he could move on with someone he didn’t share a troubled past?
It would be easier to meet someone new. He wouldn’t need to relive his past or worry about falling into old patterns. Everything would be fresh and exciting.
As he parked in front of his cabin, I couldn’t help but think that our history made this reunion so much better. I was noting all the ways things were the same but different. I was getting to know the man Talon was now. We weren’t the same. No one could go through what we had and remain unchanged.
Talon threw the truck into park and said, “Let’s get this tree prepped and ready to decorate.”
“You have a tree stand?”
Talon gave me a look as we climbed out and met at the bed of his truck. “I live and work on a Christmas tree farm.”
I laughed. “Got it.”
He easily lifted the tree from the bed of the truck and carried it to the porch, where he rested it against the house. “I need to trim some branches that are uneven, but the stand is in the basement with the rest of the holiday decorations.”
“You have holiday decorations stored but you’ve never put up a tree?” I wondered if he’d lied about that fact and why he would.
“Mom made sure we had everything we needed to decorate for the holidays, including outdoor lights and even festive sheets.”
I couldn’t stop the spread of the smile across my face. “Are we talking about a plaid flannel or maybe holiday lights that glow in the dark?”
“If I have glow-in-the-dark sheets, they’re meant for Ember and Addy, not me.”
My cheeks flushed hot at the idea of what sheets he had on his bed. “I’ll get the tree stand.”
“Be careful on the stairs. The basement isn’t finished, so the stairs aren’t as sturdy.”
“Will do,” I said as I flashed him a smile and headed inside. My heart filled with the joy of the season, something I hadn’t felt in a long time. Every Christmas was a year I’d mark how old my child would have been.
I wondered what it would have been like to celebrate the holidays with a little one and Talon by my side. The image was so real, so intense, that my heart clenched painfully. I stopped at the top of the stairs, and sucked in a breath, hoping to ease the sting of tears in my eyes.
The idea of the baby and Talon, us together as a family, never failed to set me off. I wanted that picture so badly over the years, and I couldn’t have it. It wasn’t meant to be.
