Snowbound with the Santas (Forbidden Fantasies)

21. Rayne

21

RAYNE

A day after my too-honest conversation with Frankie on the roof, I stand in the lounge with my arms stretched above my head, holding the tail end of the snowflake Christmas lights.

“Okay,” Nick grunts from the far corner. “Try it now?”

Frankie has his hands buried in a compartment in the wall and at Nick’s request, he does something I can’t see and the lights flare into life.

“Yay!” I cheer with a wide smile. We spent all day yesterday shoveling snow and defrosting the generator. Now that everything is back and working, hooking up these lights became the priority. And it was worth it.

We had already secured multi-colored lights to the ceiling, and I wove tinsel around the door. These last snowflake lights were too big for anything other than draping around the corners of the room, and whatever magic Frankie worked behind the wall has turned this dreary room into a twinkling wonderland.

“It’s working?” Frankie pokes his head back out and beams when he glances upward. “Excellent.”

“Rayne, can you secure that corner with the hook? I think that should be enough to keep these up,” Nick says, passing me a small hooked peg.

“You got it, Boss,” I tease. Then, I focus on pushing the peg into the wood and sliding the hook around the wire for the lights.

Keeping busy has been my goal. I almost poured my heart out to Frankie and I’m not even sure why. The way he asked coupled with how at peace and separate from myself I felt watching that sunrise… I would have kept talking and spilled my darkest secret.

And everything would be ruined.

Frankie said there was nothing so bad that it couldn’t be fixed, but I knew the truth. And I didn’t want to look into those gorgeous eyes and see the disgust when he realized he’d slept with a murderer.

So I’ve been keeping busy, avoiding Frankie’s eye and praying he doesn’t tell the others what I revealed to him. I don’t need all three of them looking at me with the same pain and understanding in their eyes.

Then again, Frankie, Nick, and Archer are so close that maybe it’s second nature for them to share everything. This brings me extra relief that I didn’t tell Frankie the whole truth. If I had, each of them would look at me with disgust, and I know in my heart that if that were to ever happen, I’d just walk right out into the snow and let Mother Nature take me.

“Alright, I have good news and eh news,” Archer declares as he enters the room.

“Hit me,” Nick says.

“The good news is that I was able to get in touch with Mountain Rescue. Rayne, they’ve been in touch with your mother and let her know that you are safe and well.”

“Did she say anything?” I ask cautiously.

Archer shakes his head. “Nothing that they passed on to me.”

Nick shoots me a sympathetic look. “What’s the eh news?”

“We can head back down to the ski lodge,” Archer says, and my heart sinks down low in my gut. “But only when the snow clears from the trails.”

“How long will that take?” I ask, stepping down from my stool and rolling my shoulders to ease the ache that built from their being above my head for so long.

“Unsure,” Archer replies. “A couple of days, maybe a week or more. We have to wait for them to call, but they’ll keep an eye on the depth and will radio us when it’s safe enough.”

“I’m sorry, Rayne.” Nick turns to face me. “You’ll be with us for a little longer, but it sounds like we might get you back home in time for Christmas Day.”

I force a smile, struggling to unravel how sad that makes me feel. It’s like a giant gap opened up in my stomach and my heart fell right into it.

I don’t want to go back. I want to stay here.

I could break the radio, but ultimately, I don’t have the heart to do it. The small bursts of signal we get have Nick glued to the radio talking to his daughter, and I can’t take that away from him. That’s much more important than my desire to stay.

“But just in case!” Frankie speaks up suddenly and claps his hands together. “We don’t know how long it will take for the snow level to reach a safe depth, and there’s one important thing we’re still missing.”

All attention switches to Frankie. He spreads his arms wide and lifts his brow, expecting someone to jump in with the answer. When no one does, he sighs dramatically and points at a vacant corner of the room.

“The Christmas tree!”

It doesn’t take long for everyone to get dressed up to head out into the snow. I’m definitely bundled up tighter than they are, and despite my protests over how they might freeze—especially Archer who wears a shirt similar to what he was wearing the first time I saw him—I’m ignored.

“Trust. We’ll be fine,” Nick says with an axe in his hand as we trudge through the forest just behind the cabin. “We’re used to cutting down the trees for firewood, so we know how to be effective and keep warm.”

“You wouldn’t have this problem with a fake tree, though,” Frankie points out from ahead of us. He also carries an axe and winks at me when we lock eyes. “Fake is best sometimes.”

“Idiot,” Archer mutters from the front of the line. “For a forest ranger, you have some weird ideals.”

“Okay, listen. Fake is much more practical. There’s no bugs, for one. No pine needles on the floor.” Frankie laughs loudly. “You telling me you like vacuuming?”

“Natural smells better,” Nick counters.

“You can get a fragranced tree,” Frankie points out.

“Natural looks better?” I offer. In truth, I’ve never had a natural tree and my mom quickly gave up on the task of us decorating a tree together. Now, she buys from professionals who make a living decorating fake trees so it’s a guess that natural looks better.

“Rayne’s right. Nothing beats au naturale.”

“Hater,” Frankie scoffs. “Okay, think about it this way. A fake tree you only decorate once. Then you can wrap the entire thing up in bags or some shit and store it so the next year, you just have to cut off the bags.”

“Ain’t no way.” Nick laughs heartily. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am!” Frankie kicks up some snow as he walks. “I saw it online. Amazing time saver.”

“So, where do you store a fully decorated plastic-wrapped tree for a year?” Archer asks, rocking his axe back and forth in his hand.

“Fuck knows.” Frankie grins. “I can’t be the brains all the time.”

“Sure, but decorating is the best part,” Nick says.

“See, I agree,” I say, picking my way over a fallen log. “Getting to see all the decorations and tinsel come to life. Choosing where to put the robin.”

“I’m with Rayne. I can’t wait to decorate a tree with Freida,” Nick says.

“Okay, fine,” Frankie groans, kicking up some more snow toward Nick. “But you can do that with a fake tree and you can get one in Freida’s favorite color.”

“Spray paint,” Archer snaps. “If you want to be cheesy.”

“It’s Christmas. Of course it’s cheesy.” Frankie laughs. “Plus, as a forest ranger it’s my job to save the trees, not chop them down for aesthetic.”

Archer comes to a stop near a tree that’s just a branch or two taller than he is. “Go on, then,” he says to Frankie. “How much are the mega-corporations paying you to push the fake tree agenda?”

“Oh, nothing.” Frankie snorts. “Pissing you off is priceless, though.”

“Asshole!” Archer yells, and Frankie quickly dodges a ball of snow that flies in his direction, then he turns to me with a small smile. “You like this tree?”

Suddenly, all attention is on me as they wait for my answer. They really walked all the way out here for a tree that I’ll like so they can bring it back and give me a Christmas. Fuck. I never want to leave.

“I love it.” I smile widely.

“Okay, stay back.” Nick guides me back a few steps, then approaches the tree with Archer and Frankie on either side. It’s a thick, very bushy tree. With a few strong shakes, they shake all the snow free from the tree and reveal a gorgeous deep green fir. I picture it covered in ornaments and tinsel, and my chest squeezes with excitement.

Keeping back as requested, I watch in awe as they start to cut the tree down. They work in tandem with one another, swinging axes in a perfect rhythm, and I suddenly understand why they came out without their thick coats. The bulkiness would get in the way and they’re clearly working up a sweat.

I lean back against the nearest tree and bite my lip, drinking up the sexy sight. Nick grips his axe so tightly that the veins on his forearm pop up. He swings wide, causing his perfect ass to pop out slightly. Frankie tosses his head back and grins while Archer remains as stoic as ever. His patterned shirt flies open, and I catch a glimpse of his gorgeous abs when the fabric rides up.

It’s shameful objectification and I do it without guilt. Watching three hunky men tear down a tree is a sexy sight I thought only existed in movies. Now it’s right here in front of me, and by the time the tree creaks and collapses down onto the snow, my thighs ache from how tightly I’ve pressed them together.

“Alright,” Archer pants, and he slings his axe up onto his shoulder. “Let’s get this beauty home.”

It doesn’t take long to carry the tree home, and I take their axes from them to free up their hands. The fake versus real tree debate ends when Frankie slips in the snow and ends up with a face full of pine needles. I laugh so hard I have to focus on not wetting myself, especially when Archer ends up the same way when it comes to getting the tree in through the door.

An hour later, the new tree stands proudly in the corner dressed in silver, blue, and pink tinsel and covered in as many lights as I could cram on. This, coupled with the lights on the ceiling, the tinsel around the door, and the paper decorations Nick found to hang on the walls, this place is really embracing its festivities.

“Ooh, what about this?” Frankie holds up a reindeer against the door. “I can make this fit here.”

“I like it!” I smile brightly.

“And this?” Nick steps up close to me and holds out his hand. Resting in his palm is a small robin. “Is there a place for him?”

The robin is almost featherless with age, but I spot the name tag on its leg: Freida . Whether this was a gift that was never collected or an heirloom passed down, I can’t be sure, but I take it gently.

“Of course there is,” I say softly, and I place the robin amid the branches right next to some sparkling holly. “How’s that?”

“Beautiful,” Nick murmurs.

I look back at him and he’s staring at me. His eyes sparkle with the reflection of all the lights, and my heart surges up into my throat when he places one hand on my waist.

“Thank you,” I whisper. “For the tree.”

“Of course.” Nick leans up and presses a firm, warm kiss to my lips as he pulls me close to his body. My eyes flutter closed and my mind finds peace amid the affection. “Merry Christmas.”

When our kiss breaks, I open my eyes and Frankie is next to us. He takes one of my hands in his and pulls me a little closer so I lean away from Nick. He leans down and kisses me hard, sending a flurry of excited tingles through my body. He leans back and beams so brightly at me with that gorgeous, lopsided smile of his.

“I hope the tree can make up for what you might be missing at the lodge,” he says, and there’s a warmth in his eyes that almost reignites my guilt.

The only thing that stops it is Archer’s fingers grazing my jaw. I turn to him on the other side of Nick, and when Archer kisses me, all thoughts of the ski lodge flee my mind. He kisses me sweetly with his tongue teasing over the seam of my lips. My eyes remain closed even as he pulls away, and I soak up the bliss of being held in Nick’s arms.

Suddenly, Christmas music fills the air, and I open my eyes. Archer is over by the old CD player, and he bobs slightly in time to the music pouring from the speakers.

I’ve spent countless days and weeks surrounded by Christmas parties, galas, balls, and events hosted by my mother, and none of them hold a candle to this.

This is Christmas. And I love it more than I can put into words.

Here, I feel like me.

And I’m going to make this last as long as I can.