Chapter 1
The air surrounding Yvette Wright alternated between comfortable and refreshing, the crisp winter wind sliding over her shoulders every time someone opened the door at the Buns and Roses coffee shop. The last sip of her caramel macchiato lingered on her tongue, sweet yet refreshing. Christmas carols floated on the air, along with the scent of gingerbread and pumpkin spice. In fact, sitting in the coffee shop should have meant blissful perfection.
Nope. Yvette was vibrating so hard that if the chair under her hadn’t been absolutely level, she would’ve rocked a hole in the wooden floor by now.
For the fifth time in under five minutes, she dug the key chain out of her pocket, staring at the small Christmas ornament in her fingers. The shiny golden key on the loop offered no clues whatsoever. The circle of cardboard next to it had begun to fray at the edges because she’d handled it so much since its unexpected arrival in the mail two weeks ago. The note on the circle asked her to be where she was right now.
December 1, Buns and Roses, 12 p.m.
The decorative part of the key chain was a tiny Christmas tree. Small, fake jewels nestled in its branches like a pretend string of lights. It was cute—and appealed to her at a core level.
“I swear, you’re part magpie.”
Her mother’s voice echoed in Yvette’s mind, a solid memory. The mocking words had always been accompanied by a shake of her head and a click of her tongue.
Yvette’s family often complained she was unreasonably attracted to shiny things.
Yet it wasn’t the actual key chain making her squirm as if she were a two-year-old during an unending church service. It was very much the thought of who had sent the gift.
Alex Thorne. Cowboy at a local ranch, volunteer firefighter coordinator in Heart Falls, and official pain in her butt. Or at least he had been before leaving town months ago, vanishing to his family’s farm.
“Keys to the kingdom?” One of Yvette’s best friends, Madison Zhao, dropped into the chair opposite her. Her auburn hair lay in two braids over her shoulders, her pale skin flushed from her time in the cold. The green ribbons tied to the ends of her braids were nearly lost amongst the bright and shiny objects sewn all over the tacky red sweater she wore.
Laughing out loud might be rude, but the response was pretty instinctive. Yvette pulled herself together quickly as she blinked at her friend. “Ryan already wrangled you into having to wear that monstrosity?”
Tricking each other into wearing the gaudy sweater was a holiday tradition between Madison and her husband, and it appeared that even though Madison was now nearly eight months pregnant, some things would never change. “Ryan informed me he’d finally had time to hang the curtains in the baby’s room, so I went to check. He had put them up, but also draped this over the curtain rod.” She flicked a finger at a fuzzy snowman attached to her left shoulder. “I’m happy he got the ritual rolling so soon, though, because I have such wonderfully evil plans for this year. It’ll be his turn to model our famous attire soon enough.”
The door to Buns and Roses opened again, and this time, one well-built cowboy slipped in with the cold winter air.
Alex. Worn jeans, a sheepskin-lined jean jacket. Dark-brown cowboy hat on his head, and well-worn leather boots on his feet. The whole cowboy uniform that fit him so well.
After him being gone for most of the year, Yvette expected to discover some change in his appearance. Nope. Same strong jawline, same dark-brown eyes that turned intently in her direction, as if he’d sensed before even opening the door exactly where to find her. His skin was a tanned tone that suggested Mediterranean heritage, his dark hair a bit too long to be considered a military cut.
He headed straight for her as if on a mission.
Madison noticed immediately. She blinked at Yvette in surprise. “Oops. Sorry. Didn’t know I was interrupting something.”
“You’re not,” Yvette protested, but Madison shot to her feet so quickly, she wavered.
Before Yvette could move, Alex was there, wrapping an arm around Madison’s shoulders and steadying her until she caught her balance.
She offered a smile. “Thanks. Welcome back.”
“You’re welcome. It’s good to be home.” Alex’s grin widened as his gaze dipped over her. “You’re looking well. The sweater suits you. And the bump.”
A snort of laughter escaped Madison. She shook a finger at him. “You just wait. You will see Ryan wearing this very soon, and it will suit him too, even without a bump.”
“Sounds good. I’m back on shift at the fire hall starting tomorrow. If you ever need a hand pulling a fast one…” Alex offered with a wink.
Madison grinned. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She turned to Yvette and waggled her fingers. “Catch up with you tomorrow. I just stopped to pick up my to-go order of chocolate and fat. Have fun.”
Like a whirlwind, Yvette’s friend vanished. Which meant the wall of safety she offered vanished as well when Alex pulled out the chair beside Yvette and lowered himself into it.
Those dark eyes drifted over her. She knew the instant he spotted the key ring tucked in her fingers.
His smile widened the slightest bit before he met her gaze again. “Thanks for meeting me.”
“Sure.”
Suddenly, she didn’t know what to do with her hands. Or where to look.
What nonsense. She was a grown woman meeting a man in a public place. She needed to solve a mystery of sorts. Ergo, there was no reason to act like a shy teenager.
Yvette deliberately lifted her gaze and met his square on. “Did you want a coffee?”
“I’ll grab it.” He flicked a finger at her cup. “Refill?”
“No, thanks.”
He was gone before she could ask any more questions.
Yvette distracted herself by glancing around the coffee shop. She exchanged nods with people she’d come to know while working as a veterinarian in Heart Falls over the past two years. She swirled her coffee impatiently. Otherwise, she simply waited.
When Alex returned to the table with his coffee, he also carried a paper bag and a plate covered with cinnamon buns, gingersnaps, and carrot cake. Two of each.
He pushed the tray of treats toward her. “I figured if I asked what you wanted for lunch you’d say nothing. But I’m hungry, and I know you like these. Or if you’re interested in real food, there’re BLTs in here.” He shook the bag.
Yvette had to admit his first impulse had been right. Him buying her lunch seemed odd. While she’d been intrigued enough to show up after receiving his strange message, she didn’t really consider this a date.
“You certainly know how to make a person curious.” Before diving in, though, she needed to ask. “How are your parents?”
Alex sat back, a contented expression crossing his face. “Good. Really good, considering they’re both in their late seventies and had major surgery. Dad’s hip replacement went without a hitch. Glenda had a bit more trouble with her knee surgery, but she’s gotten over it. They’re both mobile and smart enough to know to behave.”
“It was good they had you there to help.” The gossip chain had swept through Heart Falls only hours after Alex had packed up and returned home.
He shrugged. “I was lucky to have a boss who let me go on a moment’s notice and to still have a job to come back to.” Amusement kicked up a notch. “I figured the only way to keep my parents from overdoing it was to sit on them for the first few months. And my sister and her family weren’t in any position to help. So I did.”
An act of kindness that had floated into Yvette’s thoughts far too often, for so many reasons.
None of which had to do with here and now, though. She held up the key chain, letting it dangle from one finger as she spoke. “Want to explain?”
“You know those Advent calendars? The ones where you open a spot every day until Christmas?”
Her brain raced to catch up as she eyed the key. “Those are usually made of cardboard and hide bits of chocolate or different kinds of teas.”
“Or wine bottles, or jam, but they were all too one-tone for my purposes.”
Which wasn’t an answer. She swung the key.
Alex leaned forward, all kidding pushed aside as a very serious, very intent expression replaced it. “I made you a calendar. Every day, you unlock one drawer. Sometimes you’ll get to enjoy what’s inside on your own, sometimes I want to experience it with you. By the time we hit Christmas, you and I will know each other a lot better. We’ll have worked through the bullshit between us, some of which I caused during the past couple of years by acting like a goofy preteen experiencing my first hormone rush.”
Yvette pushed aside the bit where he said he’d made her a calendar and focused on the part that was the most confusing.
They’d butted heads in the past, that much was true. Even with their disagreements, though, she could honestly say she thought he was a decent person. So was she. It wasn’t as if they were archenemies or something that desperately needed fixing. They were oil and water.
So what?
“Why?” Her question seemed to floor him. “I mean, good that you don’t want us to fight or get on each other’s nerves anymore. That doesn’t require you to give me a present.”
“Think of it as a charming way for us to become friends. To start dating.”
There it was. The point where this suddenly turned very odd. Yvette curled her fingers around the key chain, the solid ridges digging into her palm, warm against her skin.
Alex Thorne wanted to date her.
She met his gaze. The man had never seemed the stalker type. “You’re not going to pretend that you’re in love with me or some such nonsense, are you?”
“Of course not.” He stilled. “Although, I should probably admit that I’m pretty sure that I could fall in love with you. That’s why I think we need to do this.”
She stared at him. Her mouth had to be hanging open.
Unperturbed, he continued, “I know a couple who, the instant they met, he knew they belonged together. It took three years of battling it out before they both admitted it, but still, it was true. They’ve been a couple for nearly sixty years.”
Yvette’s ears rang. What on earth could she possibly say? “Um. Congrats to them?”
“I’m not kidding,” he insisted. “If I can shortcut three years to one month and save us both a lot of emotional turmoil, it seems like a good idea.”
Oh, sweet summer child. “You plan to give me one gift a day until Christmas and, magically, that’s going to make the fact we spent nearly two years arguing about everything go away? Alex, we have nothing in common.”
“Now you’re just being ridiculous,” he complained.
Yvette raised a brow. “Not a good way to convince an already-slightly-pissed-off-at-you woman to agree to your hairbrained idea. Just saying.”
“Okay, you’re right. Although I want to point out we both have jobs that involve ranches and/or animals, which means there’s at least some common ground between us. We’re not complete opposites.”
Which was one reason she was still sitting there, listening to this outrageous idea.
She’d been around Alex plenty at Silver Stone ranch. Had even worked beside him, and he’d been wonderful with the animals. Caring, careful, yet just the right amount of firm—
A man animals trusted wasn’t all bad.
Although…goats? Not the best judge of character, since they themselves were assholes.
She unwrapped her fingers from the key and laid it on the table between them.
“Agree to this, and I promise we will only go as far and fast as you’re comfortable. If you ever want more than I’m giving, you just have to ask.” Alex met her gaze. “But you need to give dating me a serious try.”
She’d been softening, God help her, until his last comment got her back up. “You’re exasperating.”
“Yes.” He grinned. “Is it a deal?”
“Maybe.” She couldn’t believe she’d just said that. “You really think we’re fated mates or something?”
“The fuck? Hell, no. Not unless you’re secretly turning into a furry creature on a regular basis.” His amused expression didn’t waver. “And yes, I know what you’re talking about. My sister goes through those books like popcorn. Has a whole collection. When I ran out of reading material this past year, I read them too. They’re fun and sexy as hell, but if I were able to turn into anything, it would be an eagle or an osprey. Not enough bird-shifter books out there, in my opinion. Guess women don’t think cuddling up with someone who gets feathery is hot.”
Now Yvette had to fight her own amusement, because she’d actually had that discussion with her girls’ night out group before.
Amusement meant she was close to caving. She was interested in him, even when he’d been all sorts of a bad idea.
Her thoughts from earlier that day, earlier that week, returned.
She was lonely.
On the friend front, she was good, but she didn’t have anyone intimate in her life. She’d had boyfriends before. Even dated a few times during the past year, but each time she’d either called it off in the middle of the first date or he had. Lots of friends, nada on the more.
The why that was? She had some suspicions, but actually admitting it, even to herself, was another matter.
Was spending time with Alex really that bad of an idea?
“Okay.” She lifted her chin and met his gaze firmly. “As long as you promise that if it’s not working for you, however many days there are to go, you call it off. No harm, no foul.”
“If you promise the same. Although—we need to clarify one thing.” His expression turned sheepish. “Me being me, and you being you. Arguing, shouting or otherwise being mad at each other for a day or two is not grounds to cancel.”
She didn’t ask why. “Yeah, well, since you said this was your attempt to shove through three years of bullshit in one month, I hope you’re prepared for the high-volume conversations we’re sure to enjoy.”
His grin was back. “Bring it. Because that also means at some point, when you’re ready, we’ll have the equivalent of three years of make-up sex to enjoy as well.”
Oh, dear Lord.
**
Alex couldn’t stop staring.
While he was doing his best to seem nonchalant about the whole situation, inside he was shaking in his boots. The nervousness would’ve made him cranky if it weren’t for the fact that he’d been dealing with a wide range of emotions every single time Yvette drifted into his mind for pretty much the past year.
First, he’d been annoyed. Felt challenged. Admitting lustful thoughts arose every time he was around her might have been a simple answer, but he didn’t want to give in to something simple. Physical attraction was all good and fine, but unless it was one of the rare one-night stands he’d enjoyed when younger, Alex had reached the point where he liked to be friends with the women he took to bed.
Which is why last December, he’d been flabbergasted to finally realize a possible reason for why Yvette was so fascinating. Why, no matter how much they seemed to be two sticks of kindling irritating each other, he couldn’t stay away.
Alex wasn’t about to completely go off the deep end and say it was fate, but there were stranger things in the world. Heck, one of his best friends insisted that with his first wife, it had been love at first sight.
“I’ll be right back.” Yvette rose from the table suddenly.
Alex rose to his feet as she did, curious when she came back with a to-go container and began packing away the treats he’d bought.
She offered him a smile before leaning forward and lowering her voice slightly. “This place is going to get a whole lot busier over the next little while. I don’t want to explain what we’re doing until we’re sure what we’re doing.”
“We’re dating,” he said firmly, but he was careful to keep his volume down.
“Yes, fine. But what we’re doing first is going to my house where we will eat five million calories and open the day-one calendar thingy.”
Alex took the container of treats from her, pressed the key chain back into her hand, then grabbed the sandwich bag. “I’ll follow you to your house.”
By the time he’d backed his truck up, she was waiting for him on the front porch of a of small cabin adjacent to the Heart Falls veterinary clinic.
At some point in the past, the building had started out as a dovetail-joined log shed. Over the years, the owners of the veterinary clinic had renovated and expanded until it was now a one-bedroom cabin heated by a wood-burning stove. Living there meant Yvette did the nighttime checks on the animals staying over at the clinic.
She looked at home standing at the top of the stairs, her well-faded Wranglers tucked into black cowboy boots that had been polished many times. The cold air had turned her pale cheeks red, and her dark hair stuck out from beneath the ear flaps on her woolen cap.
He supposed she had what people called a button nose. Yvette was cute and friendly. Most of the time she wore a smile, and everyone and anyone around her seemed content to spend time by her side.
He was such a sick bastard that what he liked the most, though, was when she got a flash of fire in her eyes. Her light-brown irises were beautiful, so light that there was a golden glow to them. Like spun amber or sunlight shining through the tips of wheat shafts. When she was mad, they all but snapped as if she had the power to light him on fire.
Yvette angry was a sight to behold.
But so was this. Curiosity was written all over her face as she joined him. He dropped the tailgate of the truck and climbed into the bed. He undid the straps holding his creation in place and slid the blanket-wrapped object forward until he could reach it from the ground.
“That’s bigger than a bread box,” Yvette said.
“It’s a writing desk that’s been in my family for a long time.” Alex jumped down from the back of the truck. “Any ideas where you want me to put it?”
“This might be a problem.” Yvette turned on her heel and headed inside.
He paused to grab their lunch bag and treats then followed her in the door. The place was warm, embers glowing behind the glass-fronted stove.
Beyond that, there wasn’t a spare inch of wall space anywhere in the room. Yvette had bookcases and side tables and knickknack shelves everywhere. He’d known she liked trinkets, but this was spectacular.
Alex wanted to start at one end and work his way around, poking into every nook and cranny. Hopefully over this month, he’d get a chance to do a bit of that.
Right now he glanced toward the door at the end of the open room opposite the kitchen counter and table. “Bedroom?”
A snort escaped her. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth as she lifted her laughing gaze to his. “Sorry. You’re going a little fast for me there, Tiger.”
It was his turn to snicker. “I mean, do you have more room in your bedroom?”
“Oh.” Yvette shook her head. “Not really.”
She shrugged her way out of her winter coat, revealing a long-sleeve shirt that clung to her sweet curves. Alex admitted to himself he was very much looking forward to getting to explore her bedroom.
Problem-solving first. Because if she wasn’t opening his present, they weren’t working on becoming friends. If they weren’t becoming friends, they would never get to the becoming-a-couple part of this arrangement.
He dropped the food on the table then tilted his head toward the front door. “On the front porch works. It’ll be protected from the weather, and it’s probably better than putting it too close to the stove.”
“I promise I won’t burn it down,” Yvette said.
He balanced the desk on his shoulder and brought it up the stairs a moment later. “I was thinking about some of the items I hid in here. They’ll do better outside than near something hot.”
“Oh, that’s a hint.” Yvette helped him manhandle the bureau into position behind the two Adirondack chairs she had faced west toward the mountains. “You have meltable things in the drawers. Which makes me think chocolate.”
Alex unwrapped the thick wool blanket he had wrapped around to save the wood from wear and tear. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”
He stepped back, checking immediately for Yvette’s reaction.
He’d seen the writing desk a million times over the years before he’d begun work on it two weeks ago. In that short time, he—with his dad’s help—had pretty much left the back and upper sections alone but replaced and installed a number of locks on the drawer fronts. It wasn’t fancy, with no elaborate scrollwork or gold filigree. It was a solid working-man’s household item that Alex hoped now held a bit of magic.
Yvette’s eyes widened, and her mouth opened slightly. Her gaze dipped over the rows of small, square drawers on the top of either side then lingered on the far larger ones near the base. She stepped forward to run a finger over the top section in the middle that was covered by a curved, rolltop writing desk door.
“Alex. This is beautiful.” She met his gaze. “The desk has obviously been around for a long time. Are you sure you want to give it to me?”
“Yes.” If he had any doubts, the expression on her face would’ve wiped them away. She’d looked as if she’d won the lottery.
She stood silently before nodding firmly and turning with a smile. “Okay. No promises except to keep an open mind.”
An alarm sounded from his watch.
Alex swore softly as he checked his messages before smiling sheepishly. “That’s my warning. When I sent you the note, I didn’t know what my work schedule would be. My shift at Silver Stone begins in half an hour. But I can wait while you open the first door.”
“Oh. Right.” Yvette pulled the key chain from her pocket and stepped toward the bureau. She paused then glanced over her shoulder. “Please tell me I don’t have to randomly guess which drawer to open.”
“Check your key,” he suggested. “Then look at the drawers a little closer.”
She glanced at her hand, turning the key chain over. Then she dropped to her heels, running her fingers over the front of the wooden drawers. “Oh, you’re tricky.”
She traced the outline of a Christmas tree on one of the smallest drawers, inserted the key in the lock, and opened it.
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