Mistletoe Rescue (Mistletoe Kisses)

Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

H olly gave herself one more glance in the mirror. It had been a year since she had gotten this dressed up. Ugh. Not that she wanted to think about that time. She was so done carrying the burden of what her sister and family had done to her.

She grabbed her phone to check if she had missed any messages from Kathy or Zack while getting ready. The only one came from an unknown number. What if it was from her family? What if it was from someone at the hospital? Holly didn’t have the phone numbers of everyone who worked there.

With trepidation, she opened the message.

Dad

We know we messed up but hope you will let us talk to you. Expect to be there in a couple of hours. Love, Dad.

Of course. It was just like them to assume she would, first, be here. What if she was still commuting to Price? But, second, they expected her to drop everything to accommodate them. Their presumption was so typical. The anger festering inside over the year since that disastrous night flooded through Holly, making her head hurt.

And her heart. Twelve months ago, she had thought herself part of a loving and supportive family. Why did they have to intrude in her life now , just when she was finally feeling normal? Cared for. Wanted . And, this time, for real.

Not the lie they had lived.

Frustrated, Holly woke her phone and read the message again. All of them. Her stomach turned sour. Did that mean they were bringing Brett with them? She covered her mouth, afraid she might throw up. No. She’d had all she could take from them and wouldn’t let them spoil this evening. Zack’s special night.

Holly paced her apartment, stopping occasionally to look out the window. The snow was coming down hard now. Would they have to cancel the evening’s events? Canyondale was on a mostly flat plateau above the river, but some of the outlying areas were at higher elevations. If it was this heavy here, how bad would it be for those people?

They rarely got much snow, so Canyondale didn’t have a need for a lot of snow removal equipment. One blessing was that a state highway ran through the town, so the state plowed it. But if this was a widespread storm, there might be too many roads for the existing equipment to handle. And they had to plow the road to Price too. Once again, Holly was so glad she wasn’t making that commute anymore.

At the sound of Zack’s apartment door opening, she dashed to her own. He’d barely tapped when she jerked it open and pulled him inside. With the door closed behind her, he leaned forward to give her a cold kiss.

“Your lips are nice and warm.” He grinned, pulling her closer.

“It doesn’t bode well if yours can freeze just walking from your place to mine.” She wrapped her arms around his waist.

“But you can fix that.” Zack moved in, his brows raised, but waited for a sign from her before kissing her again.

So Holly lifted on her tiptoes, and he pressed his mouth to hers. In the loveliness of his embrace and the way his touch brought her alive, she let herself forget about unwanted visitors.

His eyes hooded, and his breathing quick, Zack finally pulled back. He settled his forehead on hers. “I’ve used up all your lip gloss. Sorry. Not sorry.”

“At least it’s not lipstick.” Holly would have liked to keep kissing, but if they didn’t hurry, they would be late.

He straightened, lifted her coat from the hook by the door, and held the garment for her to slide into. “I see you have snow boots on.”

“And my dress shoes are in a bag.” She pointed to the door. “I’ve lived in snow country a long time.” Holly frowned. She didn’t want to think of that. Or them . “Do you think it’ll be safe to go out tonight?”

“Let’s hope so. Everyone’s put in so much work to make this happen. I’d hate for us to lose it because of a freak snowstorm.”

Zack straightened her coat and fastened the top button before kissing her again. “We’d better leave before I change my mind.”

Holly gave a soft laugh. “You definitely wouldn’t want to explain why you didn’t attend.”

Once they were in the truck and driving to the community center, with Christmas music playing softly, Zack asked, “Have you heard any more from your brother?”

“Not from Jason, but I got a text from my dad. Can you believe it? They’re on their way here. Tonight. And in this terrible storm! How stupid is that? And presumptuous!”

Holly went into the same rant she’d had with herself earlier, and Zack just let her vent. He made no judgments nor offered any advice, just nodded quietly and let her get it all off her chest. It was so nice having a boyfriend who had older sisters to train him.

Once Holly had finished, she sighed. Turning to look at him, she said, “Thank you for listening. It felt so good to say it. I refuse to think about them anymore tonight.”

“Are you still feeling okay about this?” Zack moved his pointer finger from him to her and back to him again.

Fear crept in. “You mean us?” Holly asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“I can see you doubting again. Don’t you even go there,” Zack chided, shaking his head. “It ticks me off that people who were supposed to love you unconditionally have messed with your trust so badly. Yes, I’m talking about us . Because I’m falling in love with you, Holly.” At her gasp, he winced, clearly regretting the sudden confession, but he pressed on, his words rushing out, “I’m not sorry I said it, just that I said it now. I’m probably going too fast and the last thing I want to do is to overwhelm you. Put pressure on you. But… it’s out there now, and I won’t take it back.”

The earlier sense of being wanted swelled in Holly’s heart, making her eyes sting and a knot grow in her throat so much she couldn’t speak. She put a hand on his leg, blinking to keep the tears from falling. They would smear her makeup.

“I didn’t ruin it?” Zack finally asked, wishing he could take his hand from the wheel again to hold hers, but the road had gotten so slick he didn’t dare.

“No.” Holly’s voice came out rough, and she cleared her throat, saying it stronger. “No, you haven’t ruined it. I think I’m falling in love with you too.”

Dang. What a stupid time for them to be confessing their feelings while driving in a truck in the middle of a blizzard. Zack wanted to take her in his arms and tell her how he’d realized that all these years, he had been waiting for her. Not that he’d understood it then. But these last few months, with her back in his life, he knew for sure.

Instead, they sat in his stupid pickup, inching along an unplowed side street through several inches of snow.

“I’m going to have to put on the chains,” he said, slowly pulling his truck to the side of the road. He didn’t want to go too close to the sidewalk for fear of getting stuck.

“You have chains?”

“Eagle Scout here.”

“Always prepared. Do you need me to help?”

“No. I’ve done this before.” Not often, but his father had made sure all his children knew how to change tires and put on chains.

Zack left the truck running, so it didn’t get too cold inside. As he set out the chains, he couldn’t believe how much snow had accumulated. It wouldn’t last long because they’d had a warm spell a few days before the latest freeze. With the chains draped over the wheels, he fastened the connection.

He hopped back into the truck and slowly drove forward about fifty feet before jumping out again to recheck the tension. Pleased that he had remembered correctly, he returned to the cab.

“Will anyone even be there?” Holly asked when they were moving again.

“Some will. If worse comes to worst, as long as the power doesn’t go out, we could stay there until the weather clears.”

“A slumber party?” Holly asked, her mood lightening. “And if the caterer made it there, we’ll have plenty of food.”

“Too bad we didn’t bring PJs,” he said, getting into the silliness, since it distracted him from their precarious situation and made her give a nervous laugh.

A few minutes later, Holly said, “Oh, there it is, and there are people there. Well done, Zack. I’m impressed.”

“Thanks, though I guess we’ll see how long everyone stays.”

He pulled into a parking place, grateful someone with a plow on the front of a truck had cleared snow from the spaces closest to the building. As fast as the snow continued to fall, they would need to do it again, though.

“Let me get your door.” Zack made his way around the truck, careful of the icy patches.

“Yikes,” Holly cried, slipping and grabbing his arm, the bag with her dress shoes flopping against her. “I’m glad I wore my boots.”

He winced when a gust of wind blew her skirt around. “Your legs must be freezing.”

“Yay for heavy tights,” she replied, a shiver in her voice. “It could be worse.”

Kathy and McKenzie were waiting in the doorway and opened it for them.

“Are they going to cancel?” Zack asked, stamping his boots. His slacks were soaking. It wouldn’t be comfortable sitting in them through dinner.

“Not so far,” McKenzie said, surprising them with two towels. “I think they want to do the honors and eat before sending everyone home.”

“Store your boots and coats in there.” Kathy pointed to a large walk-in coat closet. “Now that you guys have arrived, I think the mayor will want to start.”

Once they had hung up their coats and changed their shoes, Zack took her hand, embarrassed by how his shook. “I forgot to mention my parents called to say they’re stuck in Price, so they can’t make it. Please promise you’ll stay by me. I hate this public recognition stuff, especially since all I did was get shot.”

In a flash, Holly placed gentle fingers over his mouth. “Really? All you did was get shot. We both know better. McKenzie told me what happened that night, so don’t you even go there,” she said with disgust. “And now we’re going in there together, and you’re going to accept recognition for being that guy , the one who has the guts to stand between the public and danger.”

The intensity in her eyes—for him —made Zack’s chest seem to swell enough to burst. He pulled Holly’s hand away and kissed her.

“Oh my heck, you two,” McKenzie said and laughed. “Will you hurry?”

“Let’s do this.” Zack took Holly’s hand, and they strode together into the large room.