For My Own: A Contemporary Christmas Anthology

by Alison Packard, Shari Mikels, Kinley Baker

  That same fuzzy hood flipped back away from her face, though, and the rain hit her with great force. Except it wasn’t just rain.

  “Freezing rain. Crap.”

  She heard the door open behind her.

  “Rach? You okay?”

  “Stop. This is freezing rain. The steps are solid ice.”

  “Hang on. I’ll be right back.”

  She tried getting up, but slipped.

  Kevin hadn’t been gone but a few seconds when she heard the door open. She tried getting to her feet again, but her body ached and it felt like she’d twisted her ankle. She didn’t think it was sprained, but it did hurt.

  Strong arms wrapped around her back and under her legs.

  “I’ve got you.”

  “What about—”

  “I put a salt and slag mix on the steps. See? Put your arms around my neck and hang on.”

  “No! What about your arm?”

  “I’ll be fine. You’re probably hurt worse than I am right now.”

  She doubted it, but wasn’t going to argue. Looping her arms around the back of his neck and tucking her face against the side of his neck, she breathed him in deeply, something she’d wanted to do for too long. This would just add to her nighttime fantasies. Who was she kidding? Her daytime fantasies too. His chest and arms created a blanket of warmth around her, his hands hot through the icy wetness of her jeans.

  He successfully carried her up the steps to his porch, but he didn’t put her down. He kicked open his front door and kept going.

  “Put me down. You’re probably damaging your arm.”

  “Hush.”

  The word came out more tenderly than she’d ever heard from him, and it did funny things to her insides. A nice distraction from all the bumps and bruises her body was forming. Still, he was the one who’d lost his job because of the condition his arm was in.

  “But—”

  * * *

  “I’m not doing anything to it.” Kevin didn’t care whether he was injuring his arm further or not. All that mattered at that moment was holding her, getting to carry her. He breathed in the scent of her shampoo, at least he was assuming it was her shampoo. She always smelled like berries, and he loved it. He’d even taken to adding berries to his breakfast. Freaking sick puppy mooning over someone he couldn’t have and had no business even thinking about.

  Kevin set her down on the hearth by his fireplace. “Here, I’ll get the fire going better to warm you up, and then we can get those wet clothes off of you.”

  He froze. No, he would not think about getting her out of her clothes. Although there was no way he could let her sit there shivering in her current clothes. This was not what he needed to try retaining any kind of grip on his sanity.

  “You don’t happen to have an extra pair of clothes in your car that I can get, do you?”

  He watched her shake her head slowly, her face just as red as his felt. But this was Tim’s little sister...younger sister, there was no way she could be thinking about him that way.

  There was so much about this he was going to regret. So very much.

  He bent down to pick her up again.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Taking you to my bedroom so you can get changed in there.” He didn’t think it was possible for her to turn any redder than she already was, but she proved him wrong. Was she thinking along the lines he was? This was so not good. Not good at all.

  He carried her back to his bedroom and set her on the bench at the end of his bed. Without looking at her, he went to his chest of drawers and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt.

  He wasn’t thinking about what she’d look like in his clothes. Nope, he wasn’t.

  There were parts of his body that didn’t believe him.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her give a quick full-body shudder and she wrapped her arms around her legs. Damn cold weather. They were called the boys of summer for a reason. He liked the warmth. He was betting Rachel was wishing for the heat of summer right now too.

  “Here you go.” She looked up at him, but otherwise didn’t move. “You okay?”

  “Everything’s starting to hurt.”

  This wasn’t the Rachel who’d just given him the what-for. This one had him worried. “Maybe your muscles are freezing up. The heat from the fire will help and I’ll make you some more hot chocolate.”

  “Can you help me get my shoes off?”

  He bent in front of her and began unlacing them. They were soaked through, making her socks wet as well. He rolled those off and noticed the slight swelling on her left ankle. It wasn’t huge yet, but she’d definitely injured it.

  “I’ll get an elastic bandage for this, and we’ll wrap it.

  Her jeans were cold from her not only sitting on the ground, but being stuck there getting rained on until he could get her back inside.

  “Your coat is wet too. That can’t be helping you try to get warm.” He un-tucked one of her arms from around her leg and rolled off her glove. He repeated the action with her other glove, then slowly slipped her coat from around her.

  “You want me to run a bath for you? Nice hot water to soothe the soreness?” His brain had not given his mouth permission to ask that out loud. He was an idiot, but her eyes lit up at the suggestion.

  “I don’t want you to go to any more trouble than you already have.”

  “It’s no trouble at all. It’ll help you warm up.” He’d just be in the other room overheating while picturing her in his tub. Nothing he couldn’t take care of on his own later anyway.

  She gave a small nod and he hurried to start the water. He grabbed a clean towel and washcloth out of the cabinet and set them on the edge of the tub. When he came back out, she was still sitting on the bench shivering.

  “Do you need my help getting in there?”

  She shook her head. “I got it. Thank you. For everything.”

  “I’m just sorry you got so banged up.”

  “I’ll be fine. I’m already feeling a little stronger now that the initial shock has worn off.” Good. If he had to argue with her to get her blood flowing with energy, he’d do just that. And would completely ignore other ways he could work to get her blood pumping.

  “I’ll have hot chocolate and a roaring fire going for you when you get out.”

  Chapter Four

  Rachel’s entire body ached. The ankle was bad enough, but the general body soreness was just as bothersome. Her back twinged like it was on the edge of a spasm. She’d had that happen to her once before, and that was not what she needed right now. Not when she needed to keep her wits about her.

  Holy crap, she was in Kevin’s bedroom. Ohmigod.

  Not only that, she was getting ready to take her clothes off in his bathroom. His bathroom. And soak in his tub. Ohmigod, his tub. Had he soaked sore muscles in the tub before?

  She gave herself a mental slap. The sound of the running water helped give her the focus she needed. Control. She had it in spades.

  Glancing around the room, she took in a few more details than she’d been able to see from the doorway during her tour of the house. The room was masculine, but not overly so.

  Limping into the bathroom, Rachel was stunned by the view that greeted her. Granite speckled with brown and black flecks made up the sinks, the shower, and the walls surrounding the black tub. A light taupe made up the floor tiles and matching walls. She’d sort of expected the modern kitchen. After all, the man loved to eat and his mama had made sure all her boys knew how to cook and take care of themselves enough they’d never starve or rely on a woman to take care of them. But the bathroom? No way. She’d expected upgrades, but not high-end...everything.

  The tub continued filling with water, so she slowly pulled the rest of her clothes off and dropped them all to the floor. After turning off the water with merely a touch, she held on to the edge of the tub and carefully climbed in. The heat, combined with the pressure on her ankle, made her hiss out a breath.<
br />
  She sank into the water and— Oh holy crap. She was in Kevin’s tub, naked. Where he himself had probably been naked before. Her gaze darted around. The tub was definitely big enough for two people. Her eyes drooped as one of her fantasies took root. Kevin naked, in the tub, with her, and—Oh God. She hadn’t locked the bathroom door. In fact, she hadn’t even closed it completely. Had he closed the bedroom door when he left? Yes, she thought so. But he wouldn’t have locked it. Which meant he could come in at any minute, fully expecting her to have closed the bathroom door. What had she been thinking? Oh, that’s right. She hadn’t been.

  No time for indulging fantasies when she had no clue how long it might be before he came back in.

  Using the washcloth and bar of soap he’d left within her reach, she quickly got rid of as much dirt and grittiness that had seeped through her clothes as she could. She took a couple minutes to allow the heat to relax her back muscles, before convincing her body it would be safe for her to now reach the shampoo bottle that was sitting just out of her immediate grasp.

  Success.

  She poured a little in her hand and sniffed it. This was Kevin’s defining scent. His shampoo gave him the masculine scent she always loved about him.

  Mmmm, yummy. The reminder of Kevin and how naked she was in his bathtub had her quickly shampooing the dirt and mud from her hair, and using the handheld shower sprayer to rinse everything away.

  The hot bath had done wonders for her body and her spirits, even if her ankle looked like it was more swollen. Sitting on the edge of the tub, she dried off, slipped on the sweatshirt and wrapped the towel around her hair.

  She pulled the sweatpants on until the ends finally revealed her feet and stood to fix the waist. With the drawstring as tight as she could make it, she knotted the extra string and rolled the waist down until it finally fit snugly around her hips. When she dropped the hem of the sweatshirt, it fell to below midthigh. She’d known there was a height difference between them, but this was ridiculous.

  She didn’t see any socks when she looked around, and wondered briefly if she should try looking for some in his bedroom. Discarding that thought quickly, she glanced around the bathroom one last time to see what she needed to clean up. Her wet clothes were on the floor, but when she bent down to get them, her back told her she was done. Later, when she was feeling better, she’d get embarrassed about having to leave her clothes on the floor for Kevin to pick up. Right now, she didn’t care.

  She opened the bedroom door and limped her way back out to the great room. While she’d been in the bathroom, he’d pushed the couch closer to the hearth, where the fire was now roaring, moved the coffee table out of the way and had set two coasters on the hearth for what she assumed was the hot chocolate and most likely his coffee.

  After making her way between the couch and the bricks, she lowered herself to the cushions, leaned against the couch arm and turned so her back was to the back of the couch. She removed her earrings, placing them on the table, then laid her head down against her arm and stared into the flames.

  This wasn’t exactly how she’d pictured being able to spend more time with Kevin. Not having to deal with general achiness would make her head clearer, but that wasn’t happening this afternoon.

  “There you are. I’ve got the hot chocolate ready for you, but first I want to get that ankle wrapped.” In his hand he was holding a pair of socks and the elastic bandage he’d promised.

  He rolled one sock onto her right foot and then quickly and efficiently wrapped her left ankle, following up the job with the other sock. She sighed with contentment at the feel of being taken care of. She was so used to taking care of her students, she never really let others take care of her.

  Her ex-husband hadn’t bothered trying once they were married. She’d fallen for David because he reminded her of Kevin. It was wrong of her, but when she’d figured out the real reason she’d thought she loved her ex, she’d stuck with it anyway and tried to love him for him. What she hadn’t realized was, in the everyday areas that mattered—the acts-of-kindness areas—David was nothing like Kevin. And the biggest betrayal of all, in the relationship areas, David was exactly like Kevin.

  “You ready for your second mug of hot chocolate for the day?”

  “Definitely.” All thoughts of her ex and the traits he and Kevin had in common got pushed far away.

  “You’re going to be wired from all this caffeine.”

  “Please. Chocolate might have some caffeine in it but not nearly as much as your coffee habit.”

  “You keep thinking that.”

  Arg. How could one man go from taking care of her to annoying her in less than an hour? She didn’t get it.

  He returned with a steaming mug of hot chocolate. He’d even put whipped cream on top. He was a walking, talking contradiction. Maybe she could encourage the nice behavior.

  “You’re really good at this. The whole taking-care-of-an-injured-person thing.”

  “Practice from having to take care of myself and watching how the trainers worked with the other guys.”

  “Handy knowledge.”

  He grunted in acknowledgment.

  “I’m sorry I had to leave my clothes in the middle of your bathroom floor.”

  “No problem. I’ll toss them in the wash for you and get them dried, ready for you to wear again.”

  She felt like she was in a dream world, all warm and fuzzy, snuggled in his clothes. Her fantasies were going to run rampant through her head from now on, as if they hadn’t already tried taking over her every waking thought when she wasn’t teaching.

  “I’m going to put a pillow between your feet so your left ankle is elevated. Let me know if that bothers you any.”

  The pillow wasn’t huge, but enough to raise her ankle higher than her heart. “It’s fine. Thanks.”

  He nodded. “I’ll turn on the TV for a while so you can relax.”

  She nodded and thought about telling him he didn’t need to do that, because she was already warming up with the fire, his clothes and the delicious hot chocolate, but then thought better of it. The TV would give him a buffer, and that might be what he needed right now.

  She’d just finish her drink and rest her head while listening to the basketball game he’d turned on. That was her last thought before sleep overtook her.

  * * *

  Kevin walked back in from the kitchen with his own mug of hot chocolate to find Rachel fast asleep on his couch, her breathing even and relaxed. Seeing her eyebrows furrowed as she frowned in her sleep, he walked closer to her and ran his hand along her forehead and brow. The lines smoothed out and she shifted, resting her head completely against his hand.

  She was who he wanted. Period. Big brothers be damned.

  Over the past several months or so, any thought toward pursuing her had always been seen as a future thing. A very far-into-the-future thing. Even if he could’ve overcome possibly losing his best friend over a relationship with Rachel, he never wanted to take her out on the road with him. He saw what the other guys went through when dealing with unhappy wives. He didn’t want that for her. He could also never ask her to leave her job. She was too good at teaching and loved it too much for him to ever ask that of her.

  Now, he didn’t have a job. And even though he didn’t financially need one, he liked staying busy. He liked working, keeping his mind busy and his body in shape. But how could he ask her to be in a relationship with him when he wasn’t working? He couldn’t. He wanted to work. He needed to work.

  But the big-brother thing was the kicker. He knew once Tim found out, Kevin was in for a major ass kicking. The unspoken rule about staying away from Rachel had become a spoken rule in high school when one of their buddies had gone after another friend’s sister. Tim had made it clear in no uncertain terms that Rachel was forever off-limits. As Kevin had moved up in the professional ranks and had had his pick of girls, that point was driven home even more every time he and Tim went out looking for a good
time.

  Going out picking up women had stopped with Rachel’s divorce. His anger at her ex and his protectiveness toward her brought home all the feelings he’d buried deep down.

  If she came close to giving him any encouragement, he’d jump on it and do whatever he could to try to be the man she wanted and needed.

  When she shifted again, he removed his hand from her face and began putting up the Christmas decorations she’d chided him about. Rachel was injured and his pity party was through. There were a few things he needed to find out first, and then he’d figure out if he had a chance with her.

  Chapter Five

  “Hey, sleepyhead.”

  “Mmmm. Hey.”

  “Are you feeling better?”

  She stretched her legs and arms and moved her head and neck around. “I’m still sore, but yes, I think I am feeling better.”

  “You want anything to eat or drink?”

  She took stock of how her stomach was feeling, trying to decide if she could handle some food. “I don’t think so, not yet.”

  “Are you up for a board game or card game?”

  “What about—” She stopped and looked out the window. “Holy cow. It’s snowing?”

  “Yeah, it’s been snowing for a while. You’ve been asleep for a few hours.”

  That explained the crick in her neck. “Wow. It’s so pretty. I love the first snow of the season. Before we remember what it means to have to shovel the white stuff or look at the dirty snow along the roadsides.”

  “I’m going to have to get a snowplow for the front of my truck if it snows more often up here on the mountain than it does in town.”

  “Yeah...” Rachel turned back to look at him, and the expression on his face stopped her train of thought dead in its tracks.

  She was still dreaming. That’s what this was. There was no way Kevin Ganlin was looking at her with what she could only describe as a look of hunger. Especially not with the towel she’d wrapped around her hair half hanging off her head, and her hair in a tangled mess.