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“If you don’t take care of it, you’ll only make it worse.”
She folded her arms. “You think you’re smart don’t you?”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “I went to school for this.”
She giggled.
“So are you going to let me freeze, or are we going through with this session?”
Heather looked behind her. “I was working on my Christmas tree.”
“Need help?”
“What?” He didn’t like Christmas so why would he help her?
“That’ll be our bargain. I have some new exercises for you so I’ll help with the tree, if you give me one hundred percent with the exercises.”
Letting him inside her home would mean so much more than working on new exercises. This man was gradually getting underneath her skin.
Heather took a step back, giving him room to walk inside. “Sounds good to me.” What did she just do?
***
Allen handed Heather the silver garland they were wrapping around her seven-and-a-half-foot tree. She nailed every exercise he threw at her, surprising him with her determination. When they finished, she dabbed her forehead as the sweat glistened along her hairline. She was a hard worker, and he admired her resilience.
“You got it?” she asked, holding the garland in her hand.
He took it, brushing his fingers against hers. He tried to avoid it each time she handed it to him, but it was inevitable. Allen tucked in his upper lip.
When did the waters become muddy? He never got his feelings involved. He worked with many patients, even before moving to Maple Meadow, but none of them affected him like Heather Shaw. Her boldness intrigued him. She never bit her tongue but wasn’t proud to admit her hang-ups. He never got excited about traveling to a patient’s home, but with her, he couldn’t wait to see her face again.
She lit a candle on the mantel, and based on the scent, it was vanilla. He wouldn't stare at her angel face, but his eyes diverted to the scattered boxes in her living room. He brought them inside from her garage. The majority of them carried ornaments, garland, and her tree topper. He even dragged a storage tub across her carpet, carrying more ornaments. Heather's love for Christmas was clear.
“Are you decorating anything else in the house?” he asked.
“Later,” she said. “The tree is most important right now.”
If she wanted to decorate the rest of her home, she would need help. Allen shook his head. Why did he care?
“Now, the tinsel,” she said. She grabbed the package of silver stringed decorations.
“Tinsel?” He looked over at her dog, resting on the couch. “Is that why you named him that?”
“It’s cute.”
“Sounds a little obsessive with the holiday.”
Heather narrowed her eyes at him as she grabbed a handful of tinsel. Allen held out his hand, willing to appease her by scattering it around her tree. Instead, he got a handful thrown in his face. His mouth fell open and Heather’s laughter filled his ears.
“Cute,” he said.
“It looks good on you.”
He picked at the few pieces dangling on his shoulder and threw them back at her.
She blinked at him, as if processing what he did. “You didn’t.”
“Want more?”
