A Forever Christmas(47)

Releasing the hatchet, Gabe swept her into his arms and kissed her hard.

He was surprised by the force of the kiss that met him. Angel had not only returned his kiss, she damn well matched it.

Gabe could feel his body firing up, and for one dizzying moment he thought of giving in and making love with her right here, in the middle of the forest.

The next moment, the absurdity of the thought hit him. He was an adult, a representative of the law, for heaven’s sake, not some sex-starved adolescent with his first girlfriend.

Drawing away, he laughed softly at himself, shaking his head. When had he reverted back to his adolescence? He might not have been the most clear thinking of men, but he’d always been aware of what he was doing, aware of how things might look to someone else. Recklessness was not part of his nature.

Until now.

Taking in a breath, he framed her face as he looked into it. Even such a small, innocent action stirred his heart.

“We keep going like this, we’re going to wind up with hypothermia,” he warned.

Taking in a deep breath, she waited until she released it again and had steadied herself just a little. Angel nodded as she glanced down at the ground. “Might make for an interesting snow angel—if there was snow on the ground,” she commented.

“Speaking of which.” Gabe pointed up to the sky with an amused laugh. As if on cue, the lightest of flurries had begun to descend. “Just how did you do that?” he teased.

Her eyes crinkled. “Wishful thinking.”

He picked up the hatchet again. “Well, wish for it to continue being light until I finish cutting down your tree.”

“Our tree,” she corrected since it was going into his house and he was providing the elbow grease used to cut it down.

He took another swing, cutting away a little more of the trunk. “Our tree,” he amended agreeably.

And, heaven help him, he really liked the sound of that. Liked the sound of the word our. This after he’d sworn off having anything to do with the so-called “softer” sex, other than serving and protecting them in his capacity as deputy sheriff.

Without firing so much as a single shot, this petite, vibrant woman had managed to capture him and take him prisoner.

The tree came down after a few more swings of his hatchet. Though he told her he could handle it, Angel insisted on helping him bind up the tree and, together, they got it up on the roof of his vehicle. He was surprised at how strong she turned out to be.

Gabe strapped the Scotch pine down as securely as he could and then they drove back to his house. He was careful to drive slowly, going at a speed that a lame turtle might have thought to be embarrassing. But it was necessary; otherwise, the wind might have wound up knocking off the tree or even taking his roof with it.

Consequently, it was pitch-black by the time they reached his house.

Easing the tree down from the roof, they then carried their prize into the house with Gabe doing his best to take on the brunt of the weight without letting her realize it.

Once they got the unwieldy tree inside, he thought about just leaving it lying on its side where it was, in the hallway. Tomorrow was plenty of time to place the tree upright in the stand that Angel had surprised him with.

But one look at Angel’s face and he knew that waiting until tomorrow wasn’t going to be an option. She was already moving around the living room, trying to decide where best to place the tree in order to show it off to its maximum advantage.

“Christmas trees don’t have a ‘maximum advantage,’” he told her, doing his best to hide his amusement. In a way, it was like watching a child preparing for Christmas for the first time.

He supposed, in a way, Angel actually was.

“Sure they do,” Angel insisted. “Unlike fake ones, real Christmas trees are not the same from all angles.” She lowered her voice a little, as if sharing a confidence with him. “Our tree has a couple of barren spots.”

It was getting harder and harder not to laugh, but he didn’t want her thinking he was laughing at her. “If you say so.”

She looked at him, surprised. “Didn’t you notice them?”

“Nope,” he admitted freely. “I was too busy being completely dazzled by the angel standing beside me, issuing orders.”

She shook her head. Now he was just pulling her leg. “Very funny.”

She started to go to the kitchen to get some water for the base of the tree after they finally got it into the stand. Catching her by the elbow as she went by, Gabe pulled her into his arms.