“It is. I love that I made you sweaty.”
“You make me very sweaty, among other things.” He ran his hand over her hip, up to her ribs, stopping to cup her breast. “Are we going to be okay, Ella? Are we going to be able to make this work?”
“As long as you stay with me rather than running away when things get hard.”
“I will. I’m here to stay.”
“Then we’re going to be just fine.”
*
They slept in the next morning and stopped at Megan’s diner for breakfast before heading to their afternoon shift at the Christmas tree farm. As they got out of Gavin’s truck, Landon walked over to greet them. He wore his usual seasonal uniform of heavy coveralls, a skullcap and leather gloves. His face was red and ruddy from the hours spent outside in the cold. He shook hands with Gavin.
“Thanks a lot for coming to help,” Landon said.
“My pleasure.”
“I’m not sure we can afford a professional tree cutter of your caliber,” Landon said with a teasing smile.
“I’ll give you the friends and family rate.” Gavin paused before he added, “Thanks for what you did last night, Landon. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”
“You didn’t,” Landon said, his amiable expression hardening. “He did, and we don’t want his kind around here. Personally, I can’t believe anyone in this town would say such a thing to you, knowing who you lost over there.”
“Means a lot to me. Thanks again.”
Ella rested her hand on Gavin’s back, offering her support.
He smiled at her and put his arm around her. “Is this where we go our separate ways?”
“Yep,” she said. “I’ll be over there.” Ella pointed to the shack where her mother and Aunt Hannah were doling out hot chocolate, cider and donuts to families who’d come to tag their Christmas trees. By next weekend, they’d be returning to cut them down and take them home.
“Come on, Gavin,” Landon said. “I’ve got a whole bunch of cutting for you to do.” In addition to the tag-and-cut program, the Stillman Family Christmas Tree Farm supplied trees to retailers all over the state and the rest of New England.
“I love to cut,” Gavin said. Before he let Landon lead him away, he kissed Ella square on the lips in front of her brother, her mother, her aunt and anyone else who might’ve been looking. “Save some hot chocolate for me.”
“Oh, um, I will.”
He smiled at her before he walked away, whistling as he went.
Ella watched him go, her lips tingling from the kiss. In four hours, they could make their escape and return to his place until family dinnertime tomorrow. She couldn’t wait to be alone with him again. Turning to head for the shack that housed the concessions and cash register, Ella found her mother and aunt watching her.
“What?” she asked them.
“You,” Hannah said. “Kissing Gavin Guthrie in public all of a sudden.”
“It’s certainly not all of a sudden.” Ella stepped into the small wooden structure, where the scent of chocolate and cider mixed with the pervasive fragrance of Christmas coming from the thousands of trees on the property. Ella loved it here. She always had.
“Is that right?” Hannah asked.
“Uh-huh,” Ella said.
“You approve of this?” Hannah asked her sister.
“Hardly matters if I do,” Molly said. “Ella is a grown woman who knows her own heart. But for what it’s worth, I think the world of Gavin, just like I thought the world of his brother.”
“He sure is easy on the eyes,” Hannah said, making them all laugh.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Ella said with a dirty wink.
“Oh my ears!” Hannah said, covering them while Ella laughed again. “On that note, I’m outta here since my relief has arrived.” She kissed Ella’s cheek. “I’m happy for you, Ella. I hope it works out for you two.”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
“I’ll talk to you this week,” Hannah said to Molly.