Page 34 of Mistletoe Mischief

Pike followed her down the hill and through the trees, wondering if being compared to Alia bothered her. She’d made several comments about him wanting to hook up with her boss, but while Alia was gorgeous, he hadn’t been struck with a bolt of electricity shaking her hand. Not the way touching Ryler’s palm to his had singed, leaving a warmth on his skin that lingered.

“What about this one?” Ryler said, stopping next to a tree that was twice as tall as her, with thick poofy branches that tapered all the way to the top.

“If that’s the one, sure.”

Pike squatted down at the base and had his saw against the trunk before she cried out, “Wait!”

He looked up and spotted her a few rows down, standing next to another tree. “I think this one is better.”

Pike climbed to his feet and crossed the dirt trail, eyeballing the tree that was at least a foot taller than the other. “You sure?”

“I think so.”

Pike went down once more, the muscles of his thighs protesting the motion after his post-Thanksgiving workout this morning.

The rapid sound of her footfalls preceded her exclamation of “Hold on!”

Pike shuffled his feet to turn, still crouched down. By the pinch of her lips, Ryler appeared to be holding back laughter, and he scowled.

“You know, this whole up and down motion is bad for my knees.”

“Womp womp,” she mocked. “What are you, thirty-two? I think you’re fine.”

“Whoa, who you calling thirty-two?” he asked, climbing to his feet. “I’m thirty-one.”

“Good for you. Now, if you please,” she said, waving her hand like a benevolent queen.

“You know what?” he said, reaching for her hand and placing the handle of the saw in her palm. “I think you’ve got this.”

Ryler’s eyes widened. “You’re really going to make me cut down the tree?”

“Why not? You look like you can handle it.”

To his surprise, she grinned. “You’re right.” She squatted down on her haunches, calling from the ground, “Hold the trunk steady, will you? I don’t want it to fall on me.”

Pike did what she asked, smiling at a man and woman walking by. The man gave him a once-over and muttered something to his companion, who stared at him in a judgy way that made him squirm. They probably thought chivalry was dead, but Ryler had this little lesson coming.

“She’s got this,” he called out lamely.

They ignored him and kept walking. Pike felt the vibration of Ryler’s saw easing back and forth against the trunk, and not long after, the tree shifted, cut free from its base. She climbed to her feet, standing just a foot away from him with a wicked smirk. She held out the saw to him, and he took the handle silently.

“There,” she said brightly. “That wasn’t so hard.”

Pike grunted.

“Since it’s so tall, I’ll grab one end and you take the other. That way we don’t lose pine needles dragging it.”

“Look at you taking charge,” he grumbled.

Ryler shrugged. “I’m used to making sure everything is perfect.”

Pike got a better grip on the trunk and tilted it so she could grab the other end. Her arm disappeared between the branches.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yep.”

As they carried the tree, Pike asked, “So, you ever cut down trees before?”