A Thrill of Hope

by Marie Higgins

  So then why are you still kissing him, Holly?

  The voice of reason inside of her conscious finally broke to the surface, helping her to ignore all of the butterflies dancing inside of her chest, and the warm tingling sensations scattering throughout her.

  Shaking her head, she pulled away from him. “No,” she said with a cracked voice. “I’m not who you think I am.”

  The man blinked a few times as he stared down at her. He was so tall. The top of her head probably reached his chin.

  “Katie?” he asked.

  This was the second time in her life she’d been kissed by a man who made her toes curl, in this very room, and he called out the wrong name. If this happened to her again, she was going to burn this place down herself.

  She licked her suddenly dry lips. The separation from his mouth disturbed her greatly. She felt as if her lips were meant to be connected with his. “No, I’m not Katie. I’m Holly.” She cleared her throat again. “Holly Kidman.”

  The man stumbled back as if he’d touched something scorching hot. He shook his head, clearly not believing she wasn’t this Katie woman.

  “You are Georgia’s daughter?”

  Her heart bounced slightly. “You know my mom?”

  As he slowly moved toward the door, his gaze skimmed over her. She wasn’t sure how much he could see, since she couldn’t see him very well. She knew he had dark hair, a trimmed goatee that looked like he’d gone two or three days without a shave. He also looked mighty good in his coat, and he smelled heavenly, too.

  Too bad he was taken. Whoever Katie was, she was one lucky woman.

  When he reached the wall, he patted his hand along the wall until he found the light switch. He flipped it up.

  “I’ve already tried it,” she told him. “The bulb has burned out.” She motioned her head toward the shelves. “I had hoped to find another light bulb in here.”

  “What... are you doing here?”

  “Mom wanted me to come and check the props to make sure they were all here. Apparently, she’d asked someone else, but she didn’t know if they had checked the room or not.” She laughed lightly. “If you knew my mom very well, you’d know she’s a little OCD when it comes to Christmas – anything to do with Christmas, actually. I think she’s obsessed.”

  “With Christmas?”

  “Yeah. She named her daughters Holly, Ivy, and Noelle. That right there should tell you how much she loves the holiday.”

  “I do know your mom well.” Clearing his throat, he stepped closer. “I’m Rafe Montgomery.”

  His name rocked through her like an atomic blast. Dizziness swam in her head. Memories of their first kiss resurfaced again, making the humiliation that much worse. Old grudges were resurrected, and the anger she hadn’t been able to get rid of from that horrible day, returned.

  “Oh, my.... No! This can’t be right.” This must be some kind of joke. Why was fate doing this to her? Again! “Is this room cursed or something?”

  His chest shook with light laughter. “Yeah, I’m having a hard time believing it, too.” He ran his fingers through his hair.

  The room began to close in around her, so she pushed past him and hurried out into the hall. She stopped under the light and took in deep breaths, and exhaled them slowly. Her head spun, and her stomach churned. This must be a bad dream. There’s no way the worst moment of her life could be repeated, and with the same guy, no less.

  Without saying a word, he walked out of the room and into the light. Finally, she could see him clearly. In a way, he resembled the quarterback she remembered when she was twelve years old, but he’d matured so much that she didn’t see the panicked boy who had run after his girlfriend moments after he’d kissed her.

  Not only did he have a muscular body, but Rafe’s hair was darker, and his goatee – that still looked like he hadn’t shaved for a couple of days – made him so handsome. Strange, but staring at him now, he could be a totally different man. He looked like his father, but thankfully, she didn’t see Steve in Rafe at all. Then again, she’d blocked Steve from her mind, so she couldn’t remember what he’d looked like.

  She tore her attention away from his body and looked at his face. He must have had the same idea she’d had, because he was checking her out, too. Her cheeks grew warm, especially when his expression didn’t look repulsed at all. One corner of his mouth lifted in a half-grin. Why did she think it was adorable? She quickly shook the betraying thought out of her head.

  “You definitely don’t look like the little freckled-faced girl that I remember,” he said, finally.

  “And you don’t look anything like I remember, either.”

  He grinned widely, and nodded. “I tried really hard to grow out of my lanky, quarterback body that I had in high school.”

  “Well, it worked. You’re definitely not lanky.” Once she’d said it, she wanted to bury herself in a hole. Why had she spoken her thoughts aloud? She fidgeted, wringing her hands against her middle.

  “Hey,” he stepped closer, reaching out his hand, but then quickly withdrawing it, “I’m sorry for mistaking you for my girlfriend.”

  She released an uncomfortable laugh. “Yeah, it happens all the time.” She flipped her hand. “Men think I’m someone else, so they take me in their arms and ravish me with earth-shaking kisses.” She shrugged. “I swear, it happens at least once a week.” Shut up, Holly! You’re rambling on about nothing.

  He chuckled. “I’m quite sure it does happen to you. After all, you’re a very pretty woman.”

  Her cheeks burned. Why was he lying to her like that? Trying to cover up for the mistaken identity, perhaps? But once again, he didn’t look embarrassed at all. He actually looked sincere. Why couldn’t she feel that way?

  “Thank you.” She cleared her throat and turned toward the prop room. “Well, I guess I’ll go back in there to try and find a light bulb.”

  “No, don’t worry about it. Tell your mom I’m sorry that I haven’t checked the room sooner, but I’ll definitely look in on it after the storm.”

  Her eyes widened. “She asked you to check on the props?”

  “Guilty.” He held up his hands in surrender. “I’ve just been so busy with the ranch and getting it ready for winter, it slipped my mind. That’s why I came here tonight, because I was going to be in town for a few minutes.”

  “Oh, okay. I’ll let her know what happened.” After she said it she quickly shook her head. “I won’t tell her about the kiss, just about the room having no light.”

  He laughed again, harder this time. Inwardly, she grumbled. Once again, she spoke before thinking. Why did she feel so awkward around him? Was it because he’d been her first kiss? And sadly enough, after this kiss a few minutes ago, she could count him as her only great kiss. Stop thinking about that, Holly!

  “You can tell your mom whatever you want.” He winked. “She’ll think it’s funny, I’m sure of it.”

  He took a step toward the door, but then stopped. “Do you want me to walk you out to your car? There’s not a lot of light outside right now.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to turn him down, but she decided it might be a good thing to have someone look after her, even if it was for a few minutes. “Sure. Let me grab my coat.”

  She hurried back into the room and lifted her coat off one of the boxes. As she left the room, she slipped her arms into her black coat and zipped it up.

  As she walked alongside Rafe, no words passed between them. The silence was too uncomfortable for her, especially since her lips still tingled and heat continued to flow through her from their intimate embrace. They reached the door, and he moved ahead of her so that he could open the door first. She gave him a shy smile and walked outside. What a gentleman! She hadn’t met any guys like this in California.

  “That’s my mom’s car over there.” She pointed to the charcoal Chevy Impala. “Rafe, it was really nice seeing you again.” She took two steps toward her car, but he touched her arm, stopping
her.

  “How long are you going to be in town?”

  She shrugged. “Mom fell and broke her leg yesterday. I’m sure she’ll want me all through the holidays to help her.”

  Concern appeared on his handsome face. “She broke her leg? Why didn’t she call me? I would have come to help her.”

  “You’re too kind, but she’s fine now.”

  “So, you think you’ll be here until the first of the New Year?”

  “Yes.” Until January 2nd, anyway.

  “We’ll have to get together and have lunch or something.”

  A date? Was he asking her out on a date? Nah! Why would he do that when he had a girlfriend? Either that or Holly was making a bigger deal out of it. “Yes, that sounds good.”

  “Okay, then.” He smiled and stepped toward the Silverado truck. “I’ll catch you later.”

  Snowflakes drifted from the sky as they both climbed in their separate vehicles. Confusion filled Holly. Why was he acting so strangely? Hadn’t their kiss from all of those years ago embarrassed him? How about the one today? Shouldn’t he feel guilty for kissing another woman when he had a girlfriend? Maybe Holly was the only injured party, just as she’d been fourteen years ago. Tonight, Rafe had acted like nothing had happened. Apparently, time hadn’t changed that aspect of him.

  Well, she couldn’t dismiss it from her mind as easily as he had. That night had haunted her for quite a while. Years, in fact. In her school class, Steve and his friends had spread rumors that she and Rafe were making out in the prop room. She’d been teased by the girls, and tormented by the guys. Most of the guys in her school thought she’d turned into the type of girl who went around making out with anyone. It wasn’t until she graduated high school and went to college in Denver, when she finally found a guy who hadn’t heard the rumors about her.

  Anger filled her as she started the car. Rafe might be able to just shrug and let the memory fade from his mind, but she couldn’t. And she definitely couldn’t go out to lunch with him as he’d suggested. If townspeople saw them together, she knew the rumors would start up again. She wouldn’t do anything to make that happen, even if she had to snub Rafe every time she saw him in town.

  January 2nd couldn’t get here soon enough.

  RAFE HATED TO FEEL embarrassed, which was why he tried not to let it bother him. Being the middle child in his family, he had two older brothers who tried to get the best of him, and three younger brothers who tried to make Rafe look bad. Although he was the quarterback in high school, he was far from being the most popular and sought-after boy in school. He could never measure up to his athletic older brothers.

  Guilt crept into his chest as he drove out of town on his way toward the ranch after getting groceries from the store. Thankfully, he didn’t stay in the store for very long, because the snow was piling on the ground quickly.

  Maybe he should have apologized to Holly a lot better than he had for kissing her. Funny thing was, he wasn’t sorry for kissing her. He’d enjoyed it almost too much. Why he hadn’t noticed right away that the woman kissing him wasn’t Katie? But while they were in each other’s arms with their lips locked and bodies pressed together, all he could think about was how nice it felt kissing her. He’d even thought about how comfortable she felt in his arms. Perfect, in fact. So then why hadn’t he thought that way about Katie before?

  Was he feeling guilty for kissing Holly, or not thinking about Katie?

  The snow fell faster, making him turn up the windshield wipers a little higher. The town was far enough behind him, which meant he was about halfway to the ranch. He hoped Luca had made it home by now. There was no way Rafe wanted to be out in this storm trying to find his cousin.

  He slowed his speed down as he tried to concentrate on the road. As he rounded a bend, red blinking lights down the little slope away from the road caught his attention. It looked as if a car had spun off the road and got stuck in a snowdrift. Although he didn’t want to stop, he couldn’t leave the person stranded, either.

  He stopped his truck and quickly jumped out. Shielding the snow from his face, he walked closer to the car. Snow had lightly covered it, but he could still see the make and model. Why did the Chevy Impala look familiar?

  His heart dropped and he rushed down the slope, sliding most of the way. He stomped through on the slippery earth until he reached her door. He knocked on the window.

  “Holly! It’s me, Rafe.”

  The window rolled down and she poked her face out. Relief shone on her pale expression.

  “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

  “No, just my pride. But I’m stuck.” She held up her cell. “And I’m not getting any reception.”

  “You won’t. Not in this storm.” He yanked open her door and held out his hand. “I’ll take you to the ranch. We’re closer to the ranch than we are to your house.”

  Nodding, Holly took hold of his gloved hand. Rafe assisted her up the slope and to his truck. He opened the passenger’s side door and helped her inside before moving around to the driver’s side and climbing in. He was able to see her better now. A goose-egg, the size of a quarter, reddened on her forehead, standing out like Rudolph’s red nose. Her face was devoid of color, except for the red spot and her rosy lips.

  He reached over and held her hand. “Are you all right? What happened?”

  She shrugged, and her gaze darted around the inside of the truck. “I was heading home, but I slid off the road and into a ditch. I guess I’m not used to driving in snow storms anymore.”

  Gently, he ran the pad of his thumb across the lump on her forehead. She flinched and lifted her fingers to touch the injury.

  “I guess I hit my head on the steering wheel,” she said in a soft voice.

  “I’ll get you to the ranch and you can put some ice on it.”

  He turned in his seat and drove back onto the road. Although the snow made it difficult to see the road, he could drive this way in his sleep. He’d driven in many snow storms before, and he’d always reached his destination in one piece.

  She moved, and he swung his attention toward her. She pulled out her cell from her coat pocket and dialed a number. She held it up to her ear, and a second later, she grumbled and hung up.

  “I’m getting no service at all.”

  He chuckled, looking back toward the road. “No, you wouldn’t. Not here.”

  “I need to let my mom know what happened so she’s not worried.”

  “I’m sure you’ll get more service at the ranch. If not, I’ll let you use my cell. I have great service.”

  “Thanks,” she said as her gaze dropped to her lap. Her fingers toyed with the zipper on her coat.

  “I’m just glad I noticed you stranded. I’d hate for you to have to stay in your car during this storm.”

  “Yeah, that doesn’t sound very exciting for me.”

  “No, it wouldn’t be. The temperature is going to drop into the teens tonight.”

  She was silent as he finished the drive to the ranch. Although he really didn’t know her well, it struck him as odd that she seemed so quiet and shy. Unless... Was she still embarrassed about the accidental kiss in the prop room?

  He tried not to grin. Whether Holly wanted to admit it or not, she had participated, even if only for a few seconds. Her lips had softened and she kissed him back. Thoroughly. Her body had relaxed in his arms. Because she hadn’t slapped his face or yelled at him afterwards, which told him she enjoyed it, just as he had.

  A phrase she’d said popped into his mind. Right after he realized she wasn’t Katie, and he and Holly had started talking, she had referred to his kiss as earth-shaking. The grin he tried not to show stretched across his face. Oh, yeah, she definitely liked kissing him.

  “So, um... How are your parents?” she asked.

  His heart twisted. He missed them so much. “Dad died four months ago, and Mom died about eighteen months before that.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry.” She touched his arm, and then qu
ickly withdrew. “I didn’t know.”

  “Yeah, don’t worry about it. Things are for the best. Mom had cancer, and Dad died after having a heart attack.”

  “Oh, that’s just terrible.”

  “But they’re much better now.” Frowning, he nodded. “It’s reassuring for me to know they are in Heaven together.”

  “Yes, I’m sure they are.”

  He reached the ranch and parked the truck inside the three-car garage. Both Blake’s and Luca’s trucks were here, too. Thankfully, his younger cousin had made it home.

  As Rafe climbed down from the truck, Holly had started to get out. He hurried to her side and helped her.

  “You don’t have to keep helping me,” she said in a harsh tone. “I’m not an invalid.”

  “I know you’re not, but I’m helping you because you received a nasty bang to the head. You could possibly have a concussion.”

  He slipped his hand around her upper arm, but she pulled away.

  “Really, Rafe. I’m fine. I just have a headache.”

  He held up his hands in surrender. “Fine, but let’s go in the house so I can take a better look at that bump.”

  She tilted her head and arched a judgmental eyebrow at him. “Oh, and are you going to give me a physical, too?” She rolled her eyes. “Should I call you Doctor Rafe now?”

  He didn’t like the sarcastic tone in which she used, but he tried to rationalize. After all, she was stuck at his ranch while her car was in the ditch, and she did have a headache. Anyone would be a little grumpy under those circumstances.

  “Technically,” he walked ahead of her and opened the door leading into the house, “I do have a medical degree, so I guess perhaps you could call me doctor.”

  “Oh, you’re funny.” She snickered as she moved past him. “And why aren’t you wearing your stethoscope?”

  He entered the house behind her, closing the door. “You don’t believe me? Do you want to see my certificates?”