Winter Read online

  “Aaron, is that you out there in the snow?”

  She felt him back away and the cold touch of air against her skin, but a moment later she was tucked into his side and enjoying Aaron’s warmth as they moved toward the voice.

  “Carter, I knew you’d be open for business.”

  The man standing in the doorway stepped out into the snow and held the door wide open for them. “Come on inside and take a seat anywhere you like.”

  Celeste smiled as she passed by him. “Thank you, Mr. Carter.”

  “Oh,” he laughed, a big and hearty chuckle that filled the room and turned the heads of the half-dozen other people in the room, “it’s just Carter. No ‘mister’ needed.”

  “Mind if we sit up at the counter?” Aaron settled his arm around her and kept his hand on her hip. “I’d like to introduce you to Celeste.”

  The door swung shut with a heavy clank of metal on metal. “Celeste?” Carter looked at her and then swung his gaze back toward Aaron. “The Celeste?”

  Before Aaron could say a word, Carter pulled her away from Aaron and swung her around like a child. It was only then that she realized he was almost as tall and big as Aaron was. Like an oak tree of a man. Just a few moments later she was breathless as she was pulled away from Carter and back into Aaron’s embrace.

  “Whoa!”

  As she was desperately trying to catch her breath and calm the rush of blood through her veins and clogging up her ears she couldn’t exactly hear what was going on between Aaron and Carter, but when she was able to look up at both of them she had to lift a hand to rub at her eyes. She could have sworn… it was almost as if… it couldn’t be that they both had, “teeth!”

  Aaron and Carter turned toward her and the fluorescent lights glowed luridly from large curved fangs!

  Celeste’s whole body, heart and mind collapsed into darkness.

  And in the darkness she heard snippets of sound. Odd collections of grumbles and rumbles and if she was a more fanciful person she might have called them… growls.

  “Celeste? Sweetheart? Wake up.”

  Something touched her cheek and she tried to lift a hand to bat it away, but when that didn’t work, she turned away from the touch. It only worked for a moment before she felt two hands on her cheeks and warmth suffused into her skin.

  “Baby, wake up.”

  Her eyes snapped open at the sound of concern in Aaron’s voice. “What? Oh my-” She sat up like a shot and her hands touched his face, her fingertips pushing at his lips, feeling the edges of his teeth. “Your teeth.” She saw the concern in his eyes as he looked down at her. “They’re normal.”

  Aaron looked over her head and she saw his eyes darken. It must have been another strange rush of… whatever it was that had knocked her flat on her back.

  “Can someone help me up please? I think I’m lightheaded from hunger.” She laughed but neither Aaron or Carter joined in, but Aaron helped her sit up and before she could get her feet under her she was in Aaron’s arms.

  Wrapping her arms around his neck she couldn’t help but laugh. “Whoa there, big guy. I’m sure I can walk to the counter.”

  Aaron looked at her and shook his head. “Not happening.”

  He sat her down in one of the chairs at the counter and sat beside her, his arm wrapped around the back of her chair, with his watchful eyes on her.

  “I’m okay really. My head is clear now. I just had this weird moment. Maybe it was being swung around or something with the altitude up here near the mountains. Don’t let it be said that the folks from the plains are more hale and hearty than those that live at the higher elevations. And I would kill for a big breakfast. I’m hungry like a bear.”

  A loud explosion of sound came from the kitchen, a clatter of metal platters or a door slamming shut on fingers?

  But what she didn’t have to wonder was who was making the noise. Carter’s gruff voice spat out curses like a sailor.

  Setting her hands on the counter, Celeste craned her neck to see into the kitchen. “Is he okay back there?”

  Aaron’s expression was a mix of confusion and worry. “He’ll be fine. He probably stumbled back there.” His hand lifted up to touch the side of her face. “Are you sure you’re okay? Does your head hurt?”

  Blinking, she turned her gaze inward, thinking through a quick checklist to see if she’d managed to hurt herself like an idiot. She shook her head a moment later. “I don’t know what happened, but I didn’t hit my head. I don’t hurt anywhere except my pride. I’m sorry if I embarrassed-”

  He kissed her. One moment she was worried that she’d made a muck of her introduction and the next his lips were smoothing away her worries. It felt like heaven and she was barely able to realize exactly what he was doing. When he sat back and away from her, she realized that her coat was folded back over her chair.

  “Wow,” she heard more than a hint of a giggle in her tone, “if you can take off my coat that quickly… and without me knowing what you were doing… I can’t imagine that it would take more than a few minutes-”

  “To strip you bare?” His eyes burned into hers. “When you say so, that’s exactly what I’ll do.”

  Picking up the napkin from the counter before her, Celeste waved the paper before her face. It gave her no real relief from the heat that he’d called up to her cheeks, but it gave her a chance to take a moment and gather her thoughts.

  Her momentary faint hadn’t done much to deter him from wanting to get her clothes off. And in the heat of the diner she wondered if her cheeks would begin to steam from the realization.

  Aaron leaned in closer and whispered against her ear. “Make no mistake, Celeste. The earth would have to swallow me whole to deter me. And even then,” his voice seemed to crawl along her skin like fingertips, “I’d claw my way out just to be with you.”

  Oh, my…

  Her thoughts sighed inside of her mind.

  Carter sidled up to the counter with a whole tray balanced on his arm. When he reached them, he set the edge of the tray down and started to unload the plates. “I hope you don’t mind, miss. I went ahead and decided to bring over the whole selection of Aaron’s favorites and a few I thought you might enjoy.”

  While she watched with apt curiosity, Carter lifted each plate from the tray and announced each dish. When he was done, the hard countertop was covered in a score of plates. They had the full selection of breakfast meats including a thick juicy steak. A stack of blueberry pancakes and a stack with nuts. Sticky syrups and jams in pristine glass containers. There was even a plate of French toast complete with powdered sugar and berry compote.

  Carter leaned his hip against the counter and folded his big, meaty arms across his chest and she saw that the course hair on his forearms matched the aging ginger hair upon his head and face.

  “I should have asked what kind of eggs you like, Miss. But, I erred on the side of caution with my old friend here and went with a pile of over easy. However, if that’s not your preference-”

  “Oh, goodness,” she breathed and reached out a hand to touch him on the arm, “that’s just fine. Please don’t worry about making anything else. I doubt I’ll be able to make a dent in it.”

  She saw Carter’s hand move to touch hers and then he stopped when Aaron leaned forward against the counter. A low roll of sound seemed to vibrate from Aaron, but before she could grasp exactly what it was, Carter moved his hand away from hers.

  “Now, now,” Carter’s attention was set on Aaron, “I’m not trying to get between you and your woman, Aaron. But,” he cleared his throat, “I am curious about her.” Stepping over to the back counter he picked up the coffee pot and two mugs. “Can’t help it, old man. All these years we’ve heard stories about her. Once word gets around town that you’ve finally brought the missus to Mystic, you better expect a whole slew of curious onlookers.”

  Celeste had a forkful of syrup-soaked pancake almost to her mouth and stopped short. “Missus?”

  Bracing
his elbows on the counter, Carter’s eyes seemed to twinkle with mischief. “Can’t help but say it. You see, I’ve known Aaron for most of my life and when he came back to Mystic throughout the years we spent most of our time begging for bits of information from the grumpy man now sitting beside you.”

  Celeste started to set her fork down, but Aaron caught her elbow and nudged it back.

  “Eat, Celeste. If you faint again, I’m going to carry you everywhere for the rest of the day.”

  She managed a half-hearted glare in his direction before she put the forkful of pancakes in her mouth and started chewing.

  Carter watched their exchange with a smile on his face. “It took us awhile to wear him down to even get your name.”

  She slowed down her movements, turning to look at both Carter and Aaron in turn.

  “We all knew you had to be special,” Carter continued. “When he’d come home, we could tell he was missing someone. Once we got him talking, that was it. He couldn’t stop. Whenever he’d come back to the mountains he’d have a hundred, no… a thousand stories. Julia’s dance recital. Jason’s cub scout badges,” Carter’s laughter was deep and sounded a little more like a secret joke than a real laugh. “And then there were the stories about you. I was almost afraid he was pulling my leg when he said he was finally bringing you to visit. The whole town is going to want to meet you.”

  “Do you think,” Aaron leaned his elbow on the countertop as he looked at Carter, “that you could let her eat her breakfast before you scare her into running away from me?”

  Swallowing the pancakes was the hardest thing she’d ever done and it took a few big gulps of coffee to get it all down into her belly.

  Carter didn’t seem very affected by Aaron’s pointed words. In fact, the ginger-haired man gave her a rather impertinent wink before he crossed the room to bring more coffee to his other customers.

  When she felt Aaron’s hand settled on her upper thigh, Celeste turned to him and smiled. “I’m feeling a little off kilter again.”

  He gave her thigh a squeeze and trailed his thumb across the thick material of her trousers. “I hope you’re not regretting this.”

  She took another sip of her coffee and enjoyed the thick splash of it across her tongue. She set the mug down on the counter and shook her head. “Are you talking about breakfast? Because I am starving. I just didn’t realize I was going to be such a curiosity for the town.” Using her fork, she cut through one of the eggs and pushed the crisp edge of the egg-white through the thick rush of yolk as it spread across the plate. “Should we set up a viewing like a museum,” she wondered aloud. “People can come by the cabin and view me like an exhibit. Maybe it’ll be you who ends up regretting this.”

  “Shows how much you know, Cel.”

  She watched as he reached over and picked an errant blueberry from the plate and dragged it through the syrup pooling against the edge of the pancake.

  “The last thing I’d want is for you to leave here before I convince you.”

  She stared at his fingers, fascinated, as he held out the plump fruit. Swallowing, she managed to form a few words. “Convince me of what?”

  Aaron opened his mouth and she mimicked the gesture, parting her lips.

  The smile that curved up the corners of his mouth was full of satisfaction… almost smug, but oh so sexy. “Convince you to stay… here… with me.” And that’s when he touched the blueberry to the full flesh of her bottom lip and teased it across for a moment until he pressed it between her parted lips and onto her tongue. “I’m going to do everything I can to convince you. I hope you’re ready for that.”

  Celeste swept her tongue over her bottom lip to capture every bit of the syrup that he’d trailed along her lip. She was ready for him to convince her. It wouldn’t take much, she knew, but she was going to enjoy every minute of it.

  Six

  After their late breakfast at the diner, they left the truck there and started walking down Main Street arm in arm, Aaron grumbling every time she shivered from the cold.

  “We should have taken the truck.”

  And every time he grumbled, she’d lean into his side or give him a playful elbow.

  It wasn’t until he’d said it a half dozen times that she turned and shocked him enough that he backed up as she moved toward him, ending up with Aaron’s back against a darkened window of a shop.

  “Look, you’ve got the beard of Papa Smurf, but you’re all over grumpy. If you’re going to keep this up, let’s just go get the truck and go back to the cabin.”

  Aaron’s eyes narrowed at her. “I want to show you the town.”

  “And I want to see the town,” she smiled at him and shook her head. “There’s hardly a soul out on the streets and I’m guessing that a lot of people are staying inside today. You could let the truck crawl down the street and you probably wouldn’t get a complaint.”

  “It’s not the same thing.” He lifted his hands and touched the sides of her face.

  “Your hands,” she stared into his eyes as she leaned into his touch, “they’re so warm.”

  The smile on his face shone with pride first and then shifted into a more predatory look. It didn’t inspire fear in Celeste. No, not Aaron. The look on his face sent shivers along her body that had nothing to do with the cold.

  “Aaron? Aaron Winter is that you?”

  Celeste wanted to groan and lay her forehead on his shoulder, but the happiness in the voice said that they were friends.

  Aaron turned until he had one shoulder against the shop window and the other arm wrapped around her body. She was getting very used to his habit of tucking her in close to his side, touching her all the time.

  So many years she’d wanted it and wished for it, having it was like a warm cup of cocoa, with all the marshmallows she could dream of without having to ask.

  There was a couple walking down the street toward them. They were both smiling from ear to ear, joy evident in their expressions. While it had been the male that had called to Aaron at first, it was the woman who hustled forward with outstretched hands. Apparently, Celeste was the only person in Mystic who needed gloves in the wintertime.

  “You must be Celeste.”

  She took her cue from Aaron. He loosened his arm’s hold around her body and she moved forward with Aaron just a breath behind her, saying without words that he trusted them. “Yes, I’m Celeste, but I don’t-”

  “Come here, you beautiful creature you!”

  Before Celeste could fully understand the way Aaron tensed beside her she was fully engulfed in a hug.

  There were certainly more than enough hugs to go around in Mystic.

  “Now, now, Lynnie-Bee. You’ll want to give her a little room to breathe.”

  Celeste’s eyes closed at the sound of his voice. “Your voice sounds like sorghum syrup. Oh,” her eyes popped open and she looked at the woman who still held her upper arms in her hands, “I hope that wasn’t too awkward.”

  The glint in the other woman’s eyes looked like the stars in the night sky. “I tell him things like that all the time and he tells me it’s just my imagination.” She looked back over her shoulder. “Well now, Samuel. You best remember that Celeste agrees with me and not give me any guff the next time I wrap my arms around you and whisper that in your ear.”

  Samuel’s dark complexion warmed at her words and he sighed, a long, indulgent sound that made all of them smile. “You hear that, Aaron? We best be careful before our women gang up on us.”

  “Before?” Lynnie leaned closer to Celeste and gave her a conspiratory wink. “Why it’s a natural thing for women to come together and set their men straight. We’ll have to come up with a deliciously appropriate punishment since it took this long for Aaron to bring you home with him.” Lynnie leaned back a little and looked at Celeste so intently that Celeste lifted her free arm to rub at her nose and cheeks. “Aren’t you just perfect for him.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  Lynnie acted as if
she hadn’t heard a word, passing her curious gaze over Celeste’s face, her hands over her hair. “All these years I’ve been hearing Aaron moan and groan over you for years and I had this image in my head. Oh, it took years to form up, you know?”

  All Celeste could do was nod vaguely at her. And then shake her head in the same manner. “No, I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

  Turning to Aaron, Lynnie gave him an odd look. “Just how much have you told her?”

  Later, Celeste would wonder what it was that gave her that first odd twinge of feeling in her chest, but at that moment she seemed to notice everything and nothing at once. The pinch between his shoulders. The narrowing of his icy blue eyes.

  And the worry plainly written on his face.

  Why Celeste spoke up was a question as well. “Well, it’s my first full day here, so if there are some traditions and town secrets that Aaron hasn’t explained yet, I’m sure there’ll be time for that later.”

  Samuel set his hand on his wife’s shoulder and gave it an affectionate squeeze. “Come on now, Lynnie. If you talk her ear off today, then there’ll be nothin’ more to talk about when we invite them over for supper.”

  Then, he turned his affable expression in Celeste’s direction. “You take your time getting to know Mystic. There’s a long and storied history in this valley. Why, I can tell you stories about my family. Generation after generation of Fishers have lived within these rock walls. I could tell you hundreds of stories and you’d be begging for more!”

  Lynnie wrapped her arm around his and hugged it tight. “Don’t make me shut your mouth, Samuel.”

  Celeste saw the way his lips clamped shut. As effusive as Samuel was, there was something about the way a woman could convey a wealth of information in the number of syllables she uses to say a name.

  “Ouch.”

  Turning to look back at Celeste, Lynnie grinned. “Caught that, did you?”

  Celeste felt her cheeks heat up. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  Lynnie rolled her eyes. “Oh hush, you apologize for too many things. And most of them,” she looked at Aaron, “I bet aren’t even her fault, hmm?”