Be Mine for Christmas by Alicia Street & Roy Street

Author:Alicia Street & Roy Street
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: A Contemporary Romance Short
Published: 2012-11-12T22:00:00+00:00

**

It was only a week before Christmas when Reece walked up the driveway to a garage and climbed the outdoor stairs to an apartment above it. His tree farm was closed to visitors on Mondays so he’d hoped to get here earlier, but other business needs took over. He rang the doorbell, and that familiar anticipation made his heart beat faster.

It happened now every time he went too long without seeing Ellie. It wasn’t just that he found himself missing her. It was that his mind started conjuring all sorts of things that could take her away from him.

Like an accident. Or another job. Or another guy.

Get a grip, man.

The door opened and he looked up to see Ellie’s bright smile. Except she wasn’t smiling. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it. Did you bring the tree?”

“Yep. But I need both hands. So here.” He handed her a brown paper bag.

“What’s this?”

He grinned. “Didn’t you say you and Brandon like moo goo gai pan?”

She shook her head. “Do you remember every word I say?”

“Try to.” He turned and headed for his truck.

Ellie set the bag down and followed. “Can I help?”

“Get back inside. It’s twenty degrees out.” Reece scolded her, but he couldn’t deny enjoying the way she looked in her short skirt and blouse instead of the jeans she usually wore at the farm. Had she dressed up for him? Or… “Job interview?”

She nodded. “But no offer yet.”

Ignoring his orders, she accompanied him to the truck and helped him yank out the seven-foot tree. He hefted the base onto his shoulder and Ellie lifted the tip behind him. Inside, she had the stand ready and waiting, and Reece managed to set it in with little trouble.

He glanced around. The apartment was small, but clean, with very little furniture or knick-knacks. An old gray sofa and a quilted leather lounge chair in the living room. A simple square dining table across the way.

“Uh-oh. Something’s burning,” he said, sniffing the air.

Her shoulders slumped. “I was making Christmas cookies for Brandon to take to school. They’re having a party and I promised him I’d bake something. But I’m just the worst…”A sob escaped her.

Reece folded his arms around her. “Whoa. Eeeeasy. We’re talking about cookies going up in smoke. Not all of civilization. By the way, where is the little guy?”

“In his room. Sulking. I let him down again.”

“You’re always so hard on yourself.”

“It’s not just the cookies. And it kind of is the equivalent of Brandon’s civilization going up in smoke.”

“Come on. We better talk about this. Let’s have a seat.”

They settled in on the living room couch. Ellie glanced at her son’s bedroom door and lowered her voice. “Brandon is demanding his father’s phone number. He’s decided he’s old enough to call his daddy himself whenever he wants to. If you remember, it’s my brother in Oregon who plays daddy on the phone. Well, he has three daughters who rule the roost. Even his cell isn’t sacred. Not to mention that David uses his own name on the voice-mail message.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.