Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
SIERRA
My heart is warm and my stomach happy as I eat Christmas cookies and sip warm cider. Of course, watching Cole setting up the tree doesn’t hurt with all the warm fuzzies in my belly.
That man. He’s like my personal fantasy come to life. All broad shoulders, cut arms, slim waist, and strong, hard thighs. Oh, and the eyes… those mesmerizing eyes.
I’m besotted.
He glances my way and gives me a little eye roll. “Enjoying the show?”
Guilty as charged. “I am.”
I couldn’t resist him if my life depended on it.
The tree set up takes a while. And I enjoy every second of it. Sipping cider, I let my heart soar and my body heat as his muscles flex and move beneath his clothes.
When he’s satisfied that the tree is straight, he joins us, lowering his big body onto the couch next to me.
He smells delicious. Warm man mixed with fresh greenery. For a second, I lose myself in the way that his smell stirs things deep inside of me.
I blink and refocus when his mom passes a cup of warm cider to him and pushes a plate with a dozen cookies on it in his direction. I blush hotly.
Santa, I’ve been bad. Yes, I was having a very naughty fantasy about her son while she was handing out Christmas cookies.
Now, if that isn’t a way to get on Saint Nick’s naughty list, I don’t know what is.
Cole grabs a cookie, his eyes bright with his happiness. “Ah, it’s damned good to be home for Christmas for a change.”
“Language, Cole,” Nolene Strong says as she squints her eyes. “Remember you’re in my house, young man.”
Cole’s gray eyes dance. He winks at me as he bites the head off of a cow shaped cookie wearing a green icing wreath around its neck.
“Sorry. Too many years in the service.”
“Your father will be down in a minute, he’s in the middle of hanging a new towel rack in the bathroom.”
That amuses Cole too. “Keeping him busy, are you?”
“Never a problem around here. Gotta get the house ready for the big Christmas party.”
Cole chomps another cookie, chews and asks, “Christmas Eve still?”
“Indeed, and now it’s morphed into Christmas afternoon too. All the kids come and make cookies and crafts.”
Cole grimaces and shudders. “Sounds like torture.”
Nolene rolls her eyes. “You’d love every minute of it. Who are you kidding? I’ve seen you with little ones.”
He shrugs and takes a drink of cider. “I do okay, I guess.”
She makes a pfft sound. Cuts her eyes at me. “Better than okay. This man’s a natural born father.”
His brows rise as his color brightens. “On to other subjects, please. Did Sierra tell you I got a tree for the cabin?”
A sly smile lights his mother’s face. “She did not. But that’s wonderful.”
I swear I’ve never seen Cole blush in the few days I can remember, but he’s definitely doing it now. “Would you happen to have a box of ornaments that we might be able to borrow?”
A tender moment passes between them.
Nolene’s eyes are soft when she reaches for his hand. “Of course, honey, I do. I’ll go get them now. You two enjoy your cider and cookies. I won’t be but a minute.”
He chuckles when she’s out of earshot. “Boy, did that make her happy.”
“You getting a tree?”
“Us getting a tree.”
It’s my turn to blush. “She’s rooting for you to have a family, huh?”
His smile softens. “She’s just rooting, period. Mom and Dad have always been in our corner, no matter what my brothers and I want or do.”
I realize I’m pressing my hand over my heart.
Heavens. A warm throb pulses behind my palm and radiates all the way to my toes. “That’s beautiful. How nice to have family like that.”
He catches my other hand in his. “It is. I’ve been blessed.”
Out of nowhere, tears sting at my throat. Crap.
I may not be remembering, but I’m putting puzzle pieces together from the facts. “I don’t have parents, do I? No one mentioned them to me. And when I needed someone to pick me up from the hospital, no one said they had tried to contact a mother or father.”
His stillness is the only answer I need.
“No. Your parents are gone.”
The tightness in his voice reminds me he’s not going to fill in the details. “I knew. I wish it wasn’t the case. But I knew.”
His thumb rubs over my knuckles, slowly. His warm touch makes me feel cared for even if I don’t have family. But a lingering hunger fills my gut.
I want to know more.
He sighs. “I’ll tell you what I know about them when we leave.”
More moisture fills my eyes. “I know you don’t want to make things worse, but I feel like, since I already figured that out, it’s probably time to talk about it. Plus, it might help.”
A flurry of motion catches my eyes. Mr. and Mrs. Strong appear in the doorway, each with a big cardboard box.
“Cole! Good to see you today, Son.”
I blink away the tears. Cole rises and hugs his dad. After some back smacks and a couple muttered words, they let go.
“Dad, meet my friend, Sierra. She’s visiting for a bit.”
His father, still handsome and strong, extends a hand. “Welcome to Eden, Sierra.”
I can see why these two people made such a gorgeous son.
“Thank you. It’s a beautiful place.”
“So, Nolene here tells me you need some decorations.”
Cole sits back down and sweeps up another cookie off the plate. “We do. Gonna have a nice big twelve-foot tree at the cabin.”
His dad’s smile is so damn much like Cole’s. I flip my eyes to my man’s own smile and it makes my heart skip. “I’ll get a tree stand from the barn. Be right back.” Seconds later, the back door is slamming closed.
I laugh. “The Strongs don’t waste any time.” Which I should have gathered from Cole. He’s efficient in everything he does.
Especially in quickies…
In no time flat, the tall, rock hard stud had me shouting out my orgasm as he bent me over the bathroom sink.
When he tosses me a wink, I blush the hottest I’ve ever blushed. Santa’s definitely going to skip our house this year.
Nolene turns around when she hears him laugh. Her gaze is filled with curiosity. Oh yeah she knows we’re getting it on.
Mortified, I clear my throat.
She brightens. “So, you’re coming for dinner tomorrow evening, correct?”
“I am. I mean,” Cole says as he locks his gaze on me. “I think I am. It’s all up to Sierra at this point.”
Nolene is beaming like the sun. “You’re going to love the family. They can be a bit overwhelming, but I know they’ll just be so happy to meet you.”
Cole saves me. “I’ll let you know, okay?”
“Of course, honey.”
“And I’m traveling for work next week, so my schedule’s a little up in the air. Speaking of, can you and Dad be on standby in case Sierra needs anything while I’m on an overnight training mission?”
Without hesitation, Nolene replies, “Of course, we’ll treat her like family.”
My vision is suddenly misty. What it must feel like to be surrounded by love like this. I can’t get the thought of that out of my mind as we drive home to Cole’s cabin.
“When do you leave?” I ask. Part of me is glad he’s going to be taking care of his business and not changing his schedule for me.
“Early Monday. For one overnight.”
“I’m fine to stay alone, you know.”
He glances at me. His brow is tight and his jaw is set. “I’m not a hundred percent comfortable with that idea.”
“What do you think could happen?”
He doesn’t look at me again as he navigates the snowy roads between his parents' place and the cabin.
Once he’s parked outside his place he turns to face me. Oh boy. I know that expression. He’s going to be all clinical on me.
“Even though you didn’t show signs of a serious TBI, you have amnesia, which is a sign of neurological trauma. Something could happen. And you’d be alone. I’m not happy about that idea.”
“Chill out, Mister Paramedic. I’m feeling fine.”
His narrow gaze tightens more. “At the moment.”
“I’m going to be okay.” I hope.
“I believe so too, but I’m not letting anything happen to you while you’re in my care.”
He turns the truck off. The vibe around him says he’s not convinced by my argument. I try anyway. “Is this open for discussion?”
I bet he’s shrunken more than a few grown men with the intensity of his stare.
I reach for his hand. Trace my eyes over the face that turns me inside out. “I love that you’re concerned. Thank you. Let’s go put up the tree and not talk about this until we have to.”
He sighs, but his face remains hard. “Twist my arm.”
I twist his thumb instead.
He leans in and plants a kiss on my cheek. “Come on, hotshot, let’s whip up some Christmas.”
And we do.
The big fire that Cole builds crackles and adds even more to the cozy vibe as I stir a batch of hot chocolate. I probably don’t need it, but it’s too perfect of a night for hot cocoa not to make it. But between the cider and the cocoa, I’m going to be buzzing for a week from all the sugar.
I’m grinning like a fool as I stir the cocoa.
Staying awake all night with Cole would be fun.
With my heart glowing, I fiddle around in the kitchen. Content. Before Cole brings in the tree, he puts holiday music on the Bose speaker in the living room.
It’s a classic. I know the lyrics, which is a pleasant surprise. It’s so odd what I can and cannot remember. Song lyrics, but not my relationship with Cole…
He saunters into the kitchen and wraps his arm around me.
Gently, he smooths my hair aside. It’s a wonderful sensation. Then he melts me even more when he rubs his scruff seductively, deliciously against my cheek. “I love your hair down, by the way.”
I lean back into him while the cocoa finishes heating. “Thanks, I like your hands in it.”
“You didn’t wear it down a lot before.”
He slides his hands into the heavy mass of my red mane. Stroking those big strong fingers against the sensitized skin.
I could purr. “Hm. That’s interesting. Well, if you’ll keep touching me like that, I promise to keep wearing it down for you.”
He groans. I teeter a bit when he steps back suddenly. He huffs out a short breath. “I need to get away from you if we’re ever going to get this tree decorated.”
Laughing, I reach for two mugs. “Agreed. And we don’t want to waste the cocoa either because it’s the best cocoa I’ve ever made. That I remember...”
“I heard you singing,” Cole calls from the other room.
My eyes shoot wide. Uh oh. “Do I sound horrible?”
“You sound like a sexy lounge singer. I’ve always loved your voice.”
“Hardly,” I scoff.
Cole appears at the kitchen doorway. He’s smiling fondly. “You used to say you had the voice of a buzz saw.”
I freeze. For a split second, I get a falling sensation. The spinning in my head is so strong I gasp.
Cole strides toward me. “Babe, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just… it was just déjà vu.”
His hand tightens around my upper arm. “Are you sure?”
I nod, but I can’t concentrate. Something’s happening and I’m afraid it isn’t good.