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“Merry Christmas,” Ace replied. “Give everyone my love and big hugs to all the kids.” Ace never wanted kids of his own—God, no,not if his life depended on it—but he loved his nephew and nieces like crazy.
Ace disconnected the call and frowned as the weather grew worse.
Rain poured down so heavy it seemed almost like milk, making it hard to see as he drove. He had to take it slow. He couldn’t see more than a car’s length ahead.
His frustration rose as time ticked by. Damn, he hoped she was okay.
Charlee was pretty, intelligent, and his sister’s best friend. He’d known her since they were kids and he had a thing for her when they grew older. How long had it been? It had started when they were teenagers, some sixteen years ago. In high school, when she was a sophomore and he was a senior, he’d come close to asking her out. He’d been too slow and Greg Baldwin beat him to it. Charlee and Greg had dated that entire year, and he’d heard they’d stayed together until they graduated.
After Ace left for college, he and Charlee had never been around each other for long—some family get-togethers where they’d cross paths or talked a little during parties, but that was about it.
He had dated over the years—even got his heart broken a couple of times. Once he’d been close to proposing to a woman, only to find out she was dating someone else at the same time. That had sucked, putting it mildly.
Charlee, though—she was special, like seeing something beautiful in a shop window at Christmas and wishing you could have it for your own.
Truth was, she’d never paid much attention to him when it came to his interest in her, at least not that he knew of. He’d made her blush a couple of times—he never could resist teasing her whenever she was around. She was so damned cute when she got riled up.
He smiled, thinking about the last time he’d gotten under her skin. Had something to do with her butt and a nice pair of jeans.
His smile faded. He hoped she was okay.
It took him a full twenty-five minutes to locate Charlee up Black Bear Road.
Ace parked his truck behind her Mustang. “Stay, Ossie,” he said before jumping out and shutting the door behind him. He jogged up to the car’s passenger side before opening it and climbing in, completely soaked.
He shut the door behind him. “Sorry about the upholstery.”
“That’s the least of my worries.” She met his gaze. “Thanks for coming, Ace.”
“I’m happy to help.” This wasn’t the best time to tease her. “How do you feel about leaving your car here and taking my truck to your cabin before things get worse? We can make it there faster than we can get back to civilization.”
She blew out her breath. “That’s probably the best plan in this storm.”
“Get your coat on.” He glanced in the back seat. “The overnight case has your clothes?”
She nodded and took the coat he handed to her. She shrugged into it while he grabbed the red overnight case.
“Are those groceries for the cabin?” He pointed toward the reusable shopping bags with perishables sticking out from the top.
“I’ll take one.” She gripped the handles after he handed one of the bags to her.
“On the count of three,” he said with a quick grin after her coat was on and zipped.
“Hold on.” She grabbed her red tote in her free hand, along with her keys, and got a good hold on everything.
He smiled. “You ready now, sunshine?”
“Three,”she said before he could say another word. She headed out into the rain, her tote hitting the steering wheel as she got out, almost knocking her back onto her seat. She made it out and let the car door fall shut behind her.
He beat her to the passenger side truck door anyway. He opened the door for her and helped her toss her tote onto the back seat and climb in. He opened the rear door and set the overnight case next to Ossie and placed the sack of groceries he’d carried onto the floorboard behind her seat. He took the other bag from her and placed it next to the first.
Ace shut the door and jogged to the driver’s side, then hopped in and slammed the door with a firmthunk.
Charlee gave a big sigh. “Thank you, Ace.”
“No problem.” He smiled. “Rescuing damsels in distress is my specialty.”
Charlee laughed and twisted in the truck seat and spoke to Ossie. “This mean old man dragged you out into the rain?” Ossie pushed her nose under Charlee’s hand as she reached for the dog. “You’re such a good girl.”
