“Where’s Gary?”

  He laughed into my neck. “I just fed him.”

  “He likes to sleep with me,” I said into the pillow.

  “He’ll find us. Just rest.”

  “‘kay,” I mumbled and cuddled back into his warmth.

  I should’ve moved.

  I should’ve done a lot of things, but I didn’t.

  Chapter 18

  Rachel

  I Didn’t Steal Your Truck

  Moving the bench seat on an old truck was harder than it looked. I wasn’t a weakling—okay, I’d lost quite a bit of weight during my time in the city, but I’d been back long enough to start filling out my clothes again. And I’d built back muscle from all of my walking on the property.

  However, I was way too far away from the orchard to hoof it.

  I could have awakened Clay. Actually, I should have, especially since I couldn’t reach the damn pedals on his truck, but I needed a time out.

  Last night had been…a lot.

  Like way more than a lot. Three in the morning had been even more, when I’d climbed onto him and we’d had a fast and furious round three. Well, two-and-a-half, I guess. What did oral sex count as? Regardless, I needed time to think.

  I was pretty sure he wouldn’t miss me for a few hours, at the very least. I hadn’t set up my new phone yet. That was a future Rachel problem. I did have my flip phone.

  And I had a traitorous cat who’d cuddled up to Clay this morning, sleeping on his delicious back.

  I wasn’t jealous.

  Mostly.

  I rocked, bearing down on my feet. Finally, the lever moved and the seat flew forward six inches. A few more tries and I could actually reach the pedals. Not that I knew where I was exactly, but I’d lived in Turnbull long enough to know I could figure it out.

  I was nearly positive we hadn’t left the town limits to reach his mansion.

  I looked up at the gleaming windows in the watery early morning light. “Definitely not a cabin,” I muttered and turned the engine over.

  In this instance, the sheer massive size of his house worked in my favor. His bedroom was at the back and I could make a getaway. Not a real getaway. He’d find me. He could even call me and I’d come get him. Probably.

  Maybe I should have left a note.

  We definitely needed to figure out some parameters here. I was playing sleepover at his house for the long weekend, and here I was, sneaking out like a teenager. Didn’t stop me from easing my way down his driveway to the winding private road.

  The morning was beautiful. The snow from the night before hadn’t really stuck. It just had lasted long enough to dust all the trees and trails that surrounded his property. The road was clear, thank goodness. I was okay with winter driving, but I was used to borrowing my aunt’s perfectly reasonable station wagon.

  Not this behemoth.

  But I made it to the main road unscathed—Clay’s truck too—and I took a chance, turning right. About a mile down the road, I realized I was heading away from Turnbull and turned around.

  I’d dressed for a chilly day and hoped Jim and Mary had coffee in the barn. Mary had been working on her wreaths in there every chance she got.

  She’d added some kissing balls to the pricing sheet as well. I was hoping to take some pictures for the reminder email I was sending out today.

  I probably should have brought the phone with me to activate it, dammit. Especially since he’d gotten me the newest version of the iPhone, which was quite an upgrade over the point and shoot camera I’d stashed in the CocoaBus.

  I passed a Dunkin’ and decided to chance the drive-thru. I only scraped the call box a little bit when I made the wide turn. I leaned out to check the side view mirror. You could barely see the scratch.

  After a touch up with some of my crafter’s acrylic paint, he’d be none the wiser.

  Three minutes later, I was heading toward the Christmas Tree Farm with a hot coffee and a Boston Cream donut. With a boost of caffeine and sugar, I felt more ready for the day.

  A large order of cocoa was waiting beside the bus when I pulled in. I took up two parking spots to be safe and hopped out of his truck.

  Jim came out and did a double-take when he saw me.

  “Borrowed the boss’s truck,” I said nonchalantly.

  “Hmm.”

  I shrugged. “He’ll be here later. Did we get the milk order in?”

  Jim stared at me a bit longer before answering. Lucky for me, he wasn’t much for talking. I’d have more of an issue with Mary later. Jim might not speak to me much, but married couples talked.

  “Yeah, we have it in that new fancy fridge you put in the barn.”

  “Oh, great. It’s way easier to refill the bus from the barn than to go all the way out to the lodge.”

  “Don’t listen to his grumbles,” Mary said from behind him. “He likes stashing beer in that fridge.”

  Jim folded his arms over his massive chest, the thermal plaid shirt stretching at the seams. “I didn’t say it was a bad idea, just that we had a fancy new fridge.”

  Mary came up beside him and hooked her hand through his tightly folded arms to pull his arm down. He didn’t budge, but he did let her dangle from his arms for a second before breaking down to kiss her square on the mouth. “Got work.”

  “You’ve always got work,” she sassed back.

  “I brought those hand warmers for your gloves. I put them on your station,” he said over his shoulder before he disappeared into the rows of trees the crew was preparing for this weekend.

  “Such a grump.”

  “But he brought you hand warmers.”

  Mary’s cheeks pinked. “Yeah, he’s a good man.” She tucked a lock of her chin-length hair behind her ear then pulled her hat down. “It’s cold in that barn with the bay doors open. But let me show you what I’ve done.”

  She started for the barn and suddenly stopped. “Is Clay here?”

  Stealing his truck was not my finest moment. Now there were far too many questions. “I borrowed it.”

  Mary linked her arm through mine. “Oh, do tell.”

  “What’s to tell?” Now my cheeks were pink. There was no way I was telling her any of…that. Nope.

  “Evidently, there’s a lot to tell.” Her gray eyes sparkled. “How long has that been going on?”

  “Nothing is going on.”

  “Right. Who else gave you that scruff burn?”

  I slapped my hand on my neck.

  “See, I knew it. No hickey, by the way.”

  I blew out a breath. “It’s not a thing. We’re just…having fun.”

  “Is that what the kids call it these days?”

  “Shut up. You’re like two years older than me.”

  “Married for eleven. I don’t know what the dating scene is like. I met Jim and I was done for.”

  “Well, I can see why. He’s so big and sturdy.”

  “Yeah, well, my folks didn’t see it that way at first. Just saw a big black man dating their white daughter.”

  “Oh, no. I’m sorry. Most people aren’t that way anymore.” I leaned against her a little as we trudged our way to the barn.

  “Small town, they sure are. But they came around. Especially when they figured out how amazing he is. Jim’s dad Joe and my mom swap recipes now. She’s got a whole new world of food. Pretty sure that she’d leave my dad for Joe in a hot second.”

  “I’ve had Joe’s mac and cheese. I can see why.”

  “Right?” She steered me into the barn with a happy laugh.

  I stalled in the doorway. “Oh, Mary.”

  The barn was chock full of wreaths and kissing balls. They hung on two different racks. One was lit up with battery powered lights. I moved closer and saw that she hid the battery pack in a spray of pine cones and a bright red bow.

  “These are amazing.” I wrapped my hand around the cool black pipe. “What’s this?”

  “Isn’t that great? Justin built them for me. I was using an old clothing rack I found in the barn, but it kept falling over.”

  “Yeah, these are too heavy.” The pipes reminded me of the industrial style shelves that were all the rave in the city. He’d pieced it together just like a clothing rack, only now it had huge wheels that would support the weight and could be wheeled out to be looked at while people were in line for hot chocolate.

  “This is perfect. Can you fill it up and I’ll come back and take some pictures of all of these?”

  “Yeah? I wasn’t sure. I didn’t ask you about it before.”

  “No, no. I’m not the boss around here.”

  “Please. You’re more of a boss than any of us.”

  I definitely was not. My chest tightened at the thought, but I pushed it aside. “Besides, you did great. You didn’t need my help at all.”

  “Well, thanks. I wouldn’t have thought to do any of this if you hadn’t pushed me to make extra wreaths.”

  “And they’re lovely. Besides, Clay mentioned to me that you did a few last year.”

  “Yeah, just a few.”

  “And they sold out.”

  “Of course. I did like twenty. Hardly anything.”

  “And now people expect it. And they also get kissing balls. Besides, you’re the one who thought to add lights. People are more than happy to pay for that. You’ll see.” I dug into my bag and pulled out my notebook. “In fact, I think we should order more batteries and lights before they’re all sold out for the holidays.”

  “You think?”

  “I know.” I scribbled in the notebook I kept on me at all times. And right about now, I’d be using my stupid iPhone. Damn that man for knowing exactly what was needed.

  And I honestly did too.

  But just the thought of being tethered to a phone again made my heart start to race. I didn’t need to be like I was. I could have boundaries.

  I would have boundaries.

  I held my pen harder when my fingers shook a little. “Okay. I’m going to go check in the order I see waiting by the bus.”

  “CocoaBus,” she reminded me.

  “The CocoaBus, yes.”

  “Wait until you see what Justin did.”

  “He’s been busy.”

  “He keeps coming back here with a new idea. This one was for lights for the whole lot.”

  I frowned. They’d come in and put up poles for that already.

  She nudged me forward. “Go look.”

  “Fine, fine.” I laughed and hurried out into the lot. The barn was on the edge of the space we’d cleared for customers. I made a mental checklist about sweeping out the pine needles.

  It was a losing game, but for the first outing of the new and improved Christmas Tree Farm, I wanted it to look perfect. There was a cutting station with three stumps already set up to make fresh cuts. Waterproof drill boxes were set up at each station.

  As I wandered farther into the rows of trees, I noticed the color-coded tags. Different kinds of trees were at different price points. Then it went on a sliding scale up and down for size.

  The new hybrids were simply named Townes’ Trees and were set up in their own quadrant.

  I smiled at the name.

  Clay didn’t even use his own name on the trees.

  I frowned. What was Clay’s last name? How could I know his body so well and not even know his last name?

  I tapped the pen on my notebook, but was distracted by the network of lights above me.

  Mary came up beside me. “What do you think?”

  “When did they do this? I was just here last night.”

  “You know those Manning boys. Up at the crack of dark.”

  “It’s incredible.” I stumbled a little on the uneven ground since I wasn’t paying attention to my feet. There had to be thousands of bulbs overhead.

  They’d doubled up on the posts to make a grid of lights that would light up the whole night. Which was especially helpful since full dark was well before five in the evening this time of year.

  I heard the pop of gravel on tires and turned to see Ransom’s big black SUV pull in and park.

  So, I wouldn’t be getting much time to myself after all. I stuffed my notebook in my bag and headed for the parking lot. Mary walked with me and waved at Clay.

  “I didn’t think you were coming in until tonight.”

  Clay smiled tightly at Mary. “I couldn’t stay away.”

  He was wearing dark-washed jeans and his trusty boots. He’d traded his usual leather jacket for a sturdy canvas jacket in dark green. With his dark hair and almost beard, he looked a little dangerous.

  All my girl parts lit up again. Most notably, the still sore places between my legs.

  Mary looked from me to him and back again. “Uh-huh. I bet.”

  His nostrils flared a little before he smoothed his features to focus on Mary. “The place looks great. You guys have been working overtime.”

  Mary nodded toward me. “She’s been working double time. But we’ll be ready for tomorrow. I’m going to work on getting that stock ready for your photos, Rach.”

  “Thanks.” I didn’t take my eyes off Clay. He was glowering down at me and the tingling in inappropriate places changed to throbbing. What was wrong with me?

  “Right. Okay, then. I’ll be in the barn.”

  “I’ll see you in a few,” I said without looking at her.

  “No rush.”

  Before she was halfway across the parking lot, Clay was standing right in front of me. A little too close, actually.

  I tried to step back and he gripped my hip. “You stole my truck.”

  “Borrowed.”

  “Stole.” His hold firmed, the tips of his fingers digging into the side of my ass.

  I swallowed down a groan. I kinda liked this seething side of Clay. That probably meant I had even more issues than I’d come to Happy Acres with, but I was running with it.

  “I had to get some work done.”

  “You could have woken me up.”

  “You were starfished across the bed. I didn’t really have any room anyway.”

  I wasn’t going to add in the part about how he’d pinned me to the bed with that stupidly delicious arm and I hadn’t minded it at all. In fact, I was pretty sure it was the best sleep I’d gotten in a year.

  A muscle flexed in his cheek. “I woke alone.” He dragged me against him.

  I looked around, but there was no one watching us. I peered over his shoulder, but I couldn’t see Ransom through the SUV’s tinted windows.

  “Clay, we’re not doing this.”

  “Doing what?” His thigh slid between mine.

  “This.” I blew out a quick breath, unnerved by the flush racing over my skin. It was all too much. First, last night and now here where people could see us? “Not at the tree farm. I don’t want people talking about us.”

  His jaw clenched enough that his molars had to be grinding together. But he stared down at me for a beat before he removed his hand from my ass and stepped back.

  He dug into his jacket pocket and emerged with my brand new phone. “Keep this on you at least.”

  I twisted my fingers together, cracking my knuckles before I reached for it. “This isn’t going to be my leash, you know.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of controlling you—at least not like that.”

  His voice had gone low and smoky. Holy crap. Okay, we’d have to revisit that later.

  Maybe.

  Probably.

  I took a step back. “I have to go do some…stuff.”

  He raised an eyebrow and an almost smirk tugged at his lips. I narrowed my eyes at him and the smirk slid into a smile. “I have to run an errand.”

  “Oh.” I jammed my hands into my vest pockets. “I was going to show you around.”

  “I’ll be back in a bit. I’ll pick up food for everyone too.”

  I’d had a donut, but lunch sounded good. “Something hot?”

  “You got it.” He backed up then came forward again. “Do you need my truck?”

  “Not right now.”

  He tugged on my zipper, pulling it up higher. His knuckles drifted along the three layers covering my breast and it still felt as if he’d directly caressed my skin, damn him. “Keys?”

  “Oh, right.” I tugged them out of my pocket and held them up. “Good luck with the seat.”

  He snatched them with a roll of his eyes. “Thanks for the warning.”

  “I’m just figuring out how much I like the use of all those muscles… Wouldn’t want you to pull something.”

  He gritted his teeth again, but this time was for a whole different reason. He pitched his voice low. “I really want to kiss you right now.”

  “Later.”

  “Bet on it.”

  And just like that, I thought of those elf striped thigh-highs and my cheeks warmed. His eyes darkened and he stomped backward, his head tipped back. “Evil.”

  Clearly, he’d thought about them too.

  I was smiling as I headed to the CocoaBus. Doing inventory didn’t seem so bad right now.

  Chapter 19

  Clay

  First Look

  “So, she steals your truck and now we’re going to get scrawny trees?” Ransom asked as he hopped into my truck.

  “Shut up.”

  A rare smile spread across his face. “Interesting morning we’re having.”

  “You can go back to the city, you know?”

  “Nah. I have to make sure you don’t do something extra dumb. Where are we going anyway?”

  “The barn.”

  He gave me some serious side-eye. “Why did you bring them all the way over there?”

  “Beckett let me use one of the apple wagons until I could tow them over to the goat farm.”

  “Pardon?”

  “Goat—”

  He held up a hand. “I heard you, even if my brain hurts. First of all, there are goat farms around here?”

  “Goat cheese, man.”

  “Not my favorite thing to cook with.”