Chapter 9

NINE

ANDY

“W hat are you doing?” My dog, Sammy, was sitting right in front of the TV. It looked like he was watching the show. “Are you a fan, too?” Sammy hopped up and ran over to me. “Should we go for a quick walk before I leave?”

Usually, when I said “walk,” his ears would perk up, and he would jump up and down. Not today, though. Instead, my dog actually ran down the hall and into my bedroom.

“What is this craziness?” I followed him into the bedroom. “You always go for a walk.” Sammy was snuggled on the bed with his head down. “Wow, is it too cold for a walk?” He did run out and pee in record time for the morning potty break.

I kissed the top of his head and finished getting ready.

A small part of me would’ve loved to join Sammy and not decorate downtown today, but a bigger part of me was excited to spend the day with Willow.

Several women had tried to get my attention at the pub, but I had worked hard to avoid all female contact. I wasn’t ready. After spending twelve years with one woman, the thought of dating someone else made me want to hide deep under the covers, just like Sammy.

Until I met Willow.

She was different.

We talked, laughed, and enjoyed each other’s company. No expectations were needed.

It took me ten minutes to drive into town. It snowed last night and was much colder today. If my hands were numb yesterday, I could only imagine how bad they would be today.

I noticed Willow getting out of her car as I pulled into a parking spot. “Good morning.” I quickly rolled my window down to get her attention.

“Andy.” She flashed the biggest smile. “Good morning.” She held up a bag. “I have a surprise for you.”

“A surprise for me?” I hit the lock button for my vehicle.

“It was a spur-of-the-moment purchase.” She handed me the bag. “You’ll understand when you see it.”

“Okay.” I opened the bag and laughed. “I was just thinking about how cold my hands would be today.” I held up the gloves.

“Not anymore.” She wiggled her fingers. “They’re the best. Try them on.”

I slid one on. “Wait, is that fur inside?”

“Yes.” She clapped her hands together. “And the outside is waterproof.”

“Where did you find them?” I rubbed my hands together.

“I looked online, but the delivery time was two days. I knew we needed them today, so I popped into the hardware store to see if they had any.” She smiled. “They had just received the shipment a couple of days ago and already need to order more.”

“Wow, now you definitely have to join me for dinner next week.” I winked. “It will be my way of saying thank you.”

“Will there be hot chocolate at the end of dinner?”

“Of course.”

“Then, yes, it’s a date.” She paused. “I mean, yes, I can’t wait to join you.”

“For our date.” I smiled and glanced behind Willow. “Mackinac is running toward us.”

“Oh.” She turned around. Under her breath, she whispered, “I wonder if she saw us last night?”

“My guess is no.” I stepped closer to Willow and kept my voice low. “She popped into the bar half an hour after we saw her and acted like nothing happened.”

“Oh.” Willow’s eyes widened, but she cleared her throat and tried to act normal for Mack.

“Good morning, you two.” Mack typed something on her phone and then dropped her arm. “Just like I thought, we have about half the lights up. You still okay with fighting with every strand?”

“Are they that tangled?” Willow laughed.

“Pretty much.” Mack rolled her eyes. “I didn’t help with taking the decorations down last year. Whoever did it quickly wound them up and threw them in a box.”

“I’m okay with putting up lights.” I held up my gloved hands. “I won’t be fighting the cold today.”

“Oh, did you find those awesome new gloves at the hardware store, too?” Mack held up her hands. “I grabbed a pair right before they closed yesterday.” We talked about the gloves for about five minutes. “Okay, time to focus. Lights.” She slowly walked backward and pointed in the direction of the shed. “Shed’s open, lights are in a box. Keep your voice down when the cursing happens, and yes, it will happen.” She waved and ran off in the opposite direction.

We made our way over to the shed. I grabbed a couple of strands of lights and turned around to face Willow. I didn’t realize she was so close. We were now face to face and only a breath apart. “Um.”

“Hi.” She smiled.

Something happened. My body reacted. Emotions I had not felt in a while.

“Hi.” My first instinct was to ignore the feelings. Then, I lifted my hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear; so much for ignoring shit.

We stood locked in place. Silent.

“Are they…” Mack was in the doorway.

“Here.” Willow stepped back and reached down to grab a strand. “Yup.”

“And they are tangled.” I laughed and grabbed the other half of the strand that was tangled around several lights. “Whoever put the lights away last year should be banned from receiving Christmas gifts this year.”

“I will let Eddie and Jackson know.” She winked and sprinted off in the opposite direction.

“The firefighters?” Willow sounded shocked. “If anyone deserves presents, it’s them.”

“She was joking.” I started the painstaking task of untangling every single strand. Taking care of them now made more sense and would make putting them up flow quicker. “I think.”

“I hope.” Willow tugged at a strand lying in the box under several layers. “We might be here for a while.

“There has to be an easier way.” On impulse, I dumped everything out of the box.

“Oh, that makes sense.” She bent down and pulled a little too hard at a strand of lights. Her body jerked forward, and I reached out my hands to catch her before her face met the pavement. “Shit.” She wrapped her hands around my biceps.

Again, we were in an awkward position, and again, my body reacted. Without thinking, I wrapped my fingers around her neck and pulled her closer.

“Willow,” I whispered and kissed her.

I thought I would regret my decision, but I didn’t.

“Andy.” She dropped to her knees and placed her hands flat on my chest.

“I hope that was okay?” I brushed my fingers down the side of her face.

“I hope that wasn’t it.” She smiled and slid her hands up my chest to wrap them around my neck.

“Of course not.” I chuckled and leaned in to kiss her again. This time, we took the kiss deeper. Right as our tongues touched, someone whistled.

“I thought Mack said you were putting up lights?” Eddie was standing in the doorway of the shed. Willow jerked, and her body fell back into its sitting position on the pavement. I tried to stop her fall and fell forward onto her. “Whoa, easy now.” Eddie bent down to help me up.

“Hey.” I reached out to help Willow to get up. “I thought you were banned from decorating the town?”

“Banned? Really?” Eddie tucked his hands into his pants pockets. “Mack said, and I quote, if I don’t help untangle the lights, I will be banned.”

“She gave you one more shot.” Willow grabbed the lights and attempted to untangle them. “I think Andy and I have it under control. It may get a little crazy with another set of hands.”

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely.” Willow nodded.

I nodded in agreement. I didn’t say anything because my head was still spinning from our kiss. Suddenly, putting lights up in the cold didn’t sound so bad.