Sleigh Bell Sweethearts. Teri Wilson

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СКАЧАТЬ It just couldn’t. “I’m going to do the only thing I can do. I’m going to pray. Harder than I’ve ever prayed before.”

      * * *

      Alec stomped the snow from his work boots on the welcome mat and glanced at the modest sign above the shop door. Aurora Community Church Thrift Store. He wasn’t so sure about the church part of the equation. He hadn’t set foot in a church in years. Not since Camille had broken off their engagement.

      But this was a store, not a church. And he needed a good pair of work gloves. This seemed as good a place as any, so he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

      The instant he set foot in the crowded little store, an all-too-familiar, all-too-chipper voice rang out. “Welcome! How can I help you?”

      Zoey.

      She was everywhere all of a sudden. Just how small was this town? “Hi there, boss.”

      “Alec. Oh.” In the split second before she composed herself, she didn’t look any happier to see him than he was to see her. Before he could blink, she pasted a smile on her face. Ever the cheery princess.

      Alec couldn’t imagine how exhausting it must be to project such a bouncy, happy image to the world at all times. Just thinking about it made his head hurt. “You work here?”

      “Sort of.” She cast a glance over her shoulder, where a couple of other women stood behind a worktable, pretending not to listen if their not-so-subtle grins were any indication. One of them looked familiar.

      Alec waved at them. “Ladies.”

      They waved back, and he realized that the younger of the two was the woman who’d accompanied Zoey to the ranch earlier.

      He turned his attention back to Zoey. “So you ‘sort of’ work here? What exactly does that mean?”

      “I’m a volunteer.”

      He rolled his eyes. “Of course you are.”

      “What’s wrong with volunteering?” Her eyes flashed—a telltale crack in her perfect, bubbly composure. She looked even prettier when she was flustered, he noted.

      Then he reminded himself he shouldn’t be noticing such things. “I never said there was anything wrong with it. It just seems like the type of thing you’d do, that’s all.”

      She crossed her willowy arms, clearly an effort to physically hold her anger at bay. Alec couldn’t help but wonder what she’d be like if she let it all out. “Why are you so insistent on pigeonholing me? I told you I’m not what you think.”

      His gaze swept her up and down, from her bouncy princess hair to the pompoms dangling from the ties of her snow boots. “Clearly not.”

      Color rose to her cheeks. She looked like the Tooth Fairy on the verge of a murderous rampage. “Why are you so mean? I should fire you. Again. You can’t be the only man around here who knows about reindeer.”

      “I’ll be happy to move on as soon as you say the word...and pay me the money you owe me, of course.” Alec lifted an expectant brow.

      He should cut her some slack. She’d obviously had a rough day. But there was something fun about rattling her. And Alec hadn’t had much fun in his life.

      “Is there an actual reason you stopped by, or was it purely to antagonize me?” she asked, refusing to take his bait.

      He was beginning to suspect she didn’t have the money. And if she didn’t, then he’d indeed misjudged her.

      I’m not your average heiress.

      For some crazy reason, those words made him smile. “I need some work gloves.”

      “Right this way.” She spun on her heel, moving through the crowded shelves of the thrift store with the energy of an arctic hare.

      Alec followed, studiously averting his gaze from the sway of her slender hips. No good could come from forming an appreciation for her figure.

      His eyes flitted to her tiny waist.

      Too late.

      “Here we go.” She stopped at a shelf located near the back of the shop. “Men’s work gloves. We have three pairs to choose from. Take your pick.”

      He chose the tan-colored ones in the middle, the least worn-looking pair, and slid them on. “These look good. How much?”

      “Um. Two dollars, I think.” Zoey frowned all of a sudden. And if Alec wasn’t mistaken, there was a slight tremor in her perfectly pink bottom lip.

      He’d made her cry. Great. “Look, I’m sorry about before. I was just giving you a hard time. I think it’s nice that you volunteer here. Very sweet. Really.”

      She blinked up at him with those sea-green eyes of hers, and Alec felt like the biggest jerk this side of the Lower 48. “It’s not that. It’s the gloves....” She gestured toward the work gloves.

      Who grew emotional over a pair of gloves?

      He stared down at them. “Do they look that awful on me?”

      She laughed, and the sound hit Alec’s chest with a zing that was equal parts pleasure and pain. “No. It’s just that they belonged to Gus.”

      The memory of finding Gus’s lifeless body half-covered in snow hit Alec hard and fast. He closed his eyes, as if that could erase the image from his mind. As if anything could.

      He breathed in and out, in and out, and opened his eyes. “Sorry. I didn’t realize.”

      He began to pull them off, but before he could, Zoey’s hands closed over his. “No. You keep them. You should have them. After all, you tried to save him.”

      His gaze moved from the odd sight of their interlocked hands to her face, where he found her looking at him as if he were some kind of superhero. No one had ever looked at him quite like that before.

      He wanted to tell her to stop. He actually preferred it when she looked at him with disdain. He hadn’t done anything special or admirable. Ever. From day one, his life had been a mess. He wasn’t her superhero. Hers or anyone’s.

      But the words wouldn’t come. It was a struggle to simply say “thank you,” press a couple of dollar bills into her hand and walk away.

      * * *

      Snow brushed against Alec’s kneecaps as he walked the perimeter of the ranch the next morning, checking, double-checking and triple-checking the fence. Nearly a foot of fresh powder had fallen the night before, covering the farm in a blanket of dazzling white. Alec couldn’t deny it was rather pretty, even when his toes grew numb and he lost sight of his feet.

      Palmer had decided to give them all a break and spend the night at home where he belonged. He’d been one of the first deer to show up for breakfast, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, seemingly oblivious to the trouble he’d caused the day before. But Alec knew better than to trust the naughty reindeer. He could practically see the wheels turning behind Palmer’s dark, almond-shaped eyes. He СКАЧАТЬ