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“Don’t take too long,” Ace said to Ossie. “You’re going to freeze your butt.”
Ossie barked then bounded into the snow.
In the meantime, Ace checked out the pine tree. “Do you have plastic to put around the tree base and a tree skirt in case it drips?”
She nodded. “I have a tree skirt, too.”
“Good.” He turned away from the pine. “How about lights?”
“Outdoor LED lights, so they’ll be okay on a damp tree,” she said.
“It’s actually not too bad.” He ran his hand over a branch and the pine needles. “Most of the water has dried or dripped off.” He glanced at her. “Do you have some old towels? We can dry off the excess.”
Ossie trotted back as Charlee went in search of old towels in one of the cabinets. When she returned, Ace had knelt beside the dog, scratching her behind the ears.
They managed to get the tree fairly dry. Fortunately it wasn’t a huge tree or very thick. Maybe six feet, and the circumference wasn’t that big, with large gaps between the branches. They left the tree in the laundry room for now.
Ace helped Charlee get the tree skirt, base, stand, decorations, and ornaments down from the attic. Charlee carried the tree stand and base to the family room as Ace lugged the boxes of decorations and ornaments beside her.
She plopped her items down where they were going to set up the tree. “This is a lot of stuff to get out for just a couple of days.”
He smiled at her. “Could be more than a couple of days. Besides, it’s Christmas.”
The look on Ace’s face, so earnest, made her want to smile, too, and she found herself doing just that. “You’re right.”
“We can decorate tonight.” Her stomach growled. “How about lunch now? It’s almost one.”
“I could eat a bear.” He leaned back against the counter. “But I’ll settle for a sandwich.”
She leaned into the fridge. “We’ve got lunchmeat—roast beef. Then there’s cheese if you want a grilled cheese sandwich. She looked at him over her shoulder, to see him looking at her butt.
She could only give him a mock frown, because for some reason it didn’t bother her. “Stop staring at my ass.”
“But it’s so cute.” A totally unrepentant grin followed his statement. “Now go back to what you were doing.”
She rolled her eyes and straightened. “Just for that you don’t get a choice. It’s grilled cheese for you.”
“Awesome.” He looked in the pantry. “Got any green chilis?”
“You put green chilis on your grilled cheese?” She grabbed the cheese and the wholegrain bread out of the fridge, along with a stick of butter. “That’s weird.”
“I’ll put any kind of spicy chilis on it.” He found the can and brought it out. “Best way to have it.”
Charlee turned on the griddle and stepped out of Ace’s way. She gestured toward the griddle. “Have at it.”
Ace held up the can. “Wanna try it?”
She laid out the ingredients. “Sure, why not.”
“My kind of woman,” he said. “Game for anything.”
“Notanything,” she said. “No maple syrup on my sausages, thank you very much.”
He softened the butter a few seconds in the microwave. “Did you bring fresh bananas? Oh, and do you have a jar of honey?”
“I do have fresh bananas and honey, but don’t tell me you put them on grilled cheese.” She stared at him with what she hoped was a well-executed look of horror. “I’ll have to kick you out of here and into the storm—you’re too crazy to stay.”
He grinned and buttered the slices of bread before putting them butter-side down on the griddle. “I saw you have peanut butter. I love a good peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwich.”
