AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hopefully. We have four-wheel drive, so …” I say with a shrug.
Her posture goes stiff, and she double-checks to make sure her seat belt is snug.
“Relax, Hannah. I drive out here all the time.”
“Well, I don’t, and there’re no streetlights, and there’s a steep drop-off on this side of the vehicle,” she says.
I reach over and clasp her hand. She immediately jerks it away.
“Both hands on the wheel, Brannigan,” she demands.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I keep my amusement to myself. I swear she almost passes out from holding her breath the entire drive through the trees until we make it to the clearing and I cut a left into the driveway.
“Are you serious?” she says when my home comes into view.
I pull up beside the steps that lead up to the deck and put the vehicle in park.
“I thought you might want to meet my elf buddies. They should have a fresh batch of cookies coming out of the oven now,” I tease as I open the door and exit.
She follows suit, and I meet her at the bottom of the staircase.
“I thought we were going for pizza,” she says as she looks up at the massive tree house before her.
“We are. We’re just gonna make them ourselves. Come on,” I beckon her as I climb my way up to the wraparound deck.
She follows me, and when she makes it to the top, she stops for a moment before walking over to the railing.
“Wow,” she murmurs.
“Best view in town,” I state.
“It’s breathtaking.”
“It sure is,” I agree as my eyes focus on the stunning woman before me.
She turns to me and smiles.
“Come on. Let me show you inside before you turn into an icicle.”
I lead her inside, where I already have a fire crackling in the hearth.
Hannah removes her coat and hangs it on the back of one of the stools by the kitchen island to the right before walking fully into the living space.
“I have to be honest; when you said you lived in a tree house, I imagined having to climb a creaky ladder up to a trapdoor and into an old fort that was barely tall enough for me to be able to stand up straight. Not this.”
“Yeah, schoolboy clubhouse wasn’t the look I was going for when I designed this place. I’m more thecomfortable living space, where I can sit on my couch and look at the foliage out of the large windowskind of man. I also have a full bath and running water, if you can believe that.”
“Of course I can. How else could you bake cookies and crackers up here?” she quips.
I scoot around her and plug in the Christmas tree tucked into the corner beside the fireplace.
“Mood lighting,” I say.
“Nice.”
“Let me show you the kitchen,” I say as I turn and gesture to the small area behind the couch.
