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He rushed her, and she dropped her small snowball on the ground. Instead of standing firm, she ran. She ran like her life depended on it. He caught her, and she let out a short scream, sure the next thing she would feel was ice going down her pants.
Both his arms wrapped around her from behind. She stopped struggling when she realized he had dropped his frozen ammo. Being in his embrace felt so incredibly good. Their laughter slowly died. She turned around in his arms and was rewarded with a slow, lingering kiss. The tip of his tongue teased her lips. She expected him to deepen the kiss at some point, but he withdrew.
He smiled down at her. “Hey. After we take care of the horses and check the freezers, let's cut down a Christmas tree.”
Surprise widened her eyes. “You want to cut down a tree? With me?”
“Christmas is just a few days away, and it looks like I'll still be here. We should celebrate.”
He couldn't see it, but she was glowing with happiness on the inside. Always at the back of her mind was the fact their time together was fleeting. As soon as he could, he would fly back to Boston. She'd probably never see him again. So she was going to enjoy being with him now. Live in the moment.
“I usually don't bother to decorate for Christmas,” she said. “I'm alone on the holidays.”
Jared frowned. “I thought Simon spent the holidays with you.”
“Not Christmas. Every year he goes on a special gambling cruise.”
His frown deepened. “I asked him last year if he wanted to visit me around that time, and he told me he wanted to be here with you.”
“Nope.”
“That lying freak.” Jared shook his head. “What about Delta?”
“She and Bill have their hands full every year with at least a couple of their grown children mixed in with some grandchildren. It's a full house over there around the holidays. They always invite me for dinner, of course. Delta worries about me more than you do.”
Relief touched his eyes. “You spend at least part of the holidays with them then? Good.”
She sighed. “Sometimes I go. When I feel like it.”
Jared gave her an odd look she couldn't decipher. “I had no idea. Here I was picturing you at parties surrounded by lots of happy people. If I'd known you were alone, I might have come back for a few days.”
Beth didn't know how she felt about that. She would have loved to spend the holidays with Jared, but she didn't want his pity. She didn't want to be his pet project.
She shrugged. “Since Big Jim died, there haven't been any parties. Every year I think about decorating, but it seems like a lot of work for just me. If I had kids or a husband...”
He gave her an odd look. “You do have a husband, at least for the moment.”
“Technically, yes.”
“Well, don't you think you should take advantage of it?” He winked, and her heart nearly stopped. “Put me to work. I'll cut down any tree you want and drag it back to the house. Then I'll go up to the attic and fetch the boxes of Christmas decorations. Anything for you.”
It sounded incredible to her, better than a dream.
They took care of the horses together, working side by side, but Jared did the hardest tasks without complaint. He seemed to enjoy it. Or maybe that was just her wishful thinking.
After finishing their chores, they looked for a tree small enough to fit in the house, but spectacular enough to be their first—and only—Christmas tree. It had to be fabulous, so it would stick in her memories forever.
She pointed out a medium-sized pine tree to him close to the barns. It was just a few inches taller than him. “How about that one?”
“Looks good to me.” He grabbed the ax. “Give me one second and you'll have your tree.”
She cringed when he took his first swing at the narrow trunk. Although he hated living on the ranch, he fell back into step with everything he needed to do with ease. He cut the tree down as if he'd been doing it for years. The two of them dragged it to the house together. It wasn't easy. They had to battle an enormous amount of snow, frigid cold, and wet jeans. She could feel snow melting into her boots.
They struggled to get the tree through the front door. Once they had it in the family room, she asked a question weighing on her mind. It was more curiosity than anything. “Do you live alone in Boston?”
She held her breath, waiting for the answer. For some reason, she had always imagined him living alone, but what if he didn't? What if he had girlfriends, more than one, coming and going through a revolving door?
When he didn't immediately reply, she started to ramble nervously. “I mean, I told you how I don't really celebrate the holidays because I'm alone. Then I realized I don't know how you spend them. You mentioned having Thanksgiving with Alice's family. What about Christmas? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I mean, it's not my bus—”
