On Christmas Hill (8 page)

The champagne was chilling, the dessert
was out on the table, but I couldn’t find the glasses anywhere. I
opened another cabinet only to be disappointed. You’d think that
after a week, I would be able to find something as simple as
glasses.

“
I give up. Where are they?”
I looked over at Nate, who was busy putting dishes in the
sink.

“
Told you, you’d never
guess.” Nate smirked. He was lucky I thought he was sexy even when
he smirked. Heat ran over my body as I remembered just how sexy he
really was. Especially without his clothes.

“
Yeah, yeah. You win.” I
narrowed my eyes at him as I crossed the room. “Now spill or you’ll
get it.”

“
I like the sound of that.”
His voice sent a shiver down my spine, but I wasn’t going to be
distracted.

“
That’s what you think.” I
launched myself across the kitchen and dug my fingers into his
sides. By sheer luck I had found out that he was ticklish the other
night and I planned on using that information to my
advantage.

“
Not. Fair.” Nate gasped.
Instead of trying to escape, he pulled me to him and pinned my arms
to my side. “Remember, I know some of your secrets, too.” His nose
and mouth skimmed over my hair to the spot just below my ear. My
breath caught when he scraped his teeth over the sensitive skin. I
wiggled against him and he chuckled as he slid his hands up and
under the back of my shirt. His lips trailed kisses along my jaw
before finding my mouth. As his breath mingled with mine, his
fingers toyed with the clasp of my bra.

“
We can’t.” I pulled back
and pressed a kiss to his swollen lips. “They could come back in
any minute. We’re supposed to be getting dessert ready.”

“
They’re throwing snowballs
at each other.” Nate’s strong hands kept me pinned to his chest.
“We’ve got time.”

“
Uh-uh. Not risking it.”
Standing on my tiptoes I kissed his nose. “Taylor would kill us.
He’s already had to explain why your clothes were in my
bathroom.”

“
Fine.” Nate sighed. “Only
for the children.”

“
The children.” I laughed as
I moved back to the kitchen island. “Now, where are the champagne
glasses? We have to toast to ring in the New Year.”

Nate opened the cabinet above the
refrigerator and pulled down five glasses. “The kiddos can have
milk.”

“
They’ll love that.” I
craned my neck so I could look out the window to where Jilly and
Matt were ganging up on Taylor. Remy was barking loudly as he
chased them through the snow. “What happened to their
mom?”

“
She left.” Nate’s voice
dropped. “Not long after Jilly was born. They were married really
young and apparently Meghan couldn’t handle being a
mom.”

“
What?” I shook my head.
“Does she see them? Visit at all?”

“
As far as I know he hasn’t
heard from her since he signed the divorce papers. He said he
thinks she’s in California, but that’s all he knows.” Nate came to
stand next to me and looked out at the family playing in the snow.
“I don’t get how you could leave your kids. I know sometimes people
grow and change, but your kids? No. That’s not an
option.”

I leaned my head against his shoulder.
He had told me about his parents and how he’d been on his own by
the time he was five. It broke my heart to know he hadn’t had the
family he deserved, but I also knew that it had shaped him into the
caring man he was today. He loved Taylor’s kids like they were his
own.

And then there was Taylor. Businessman
turned carpenter, sexy as sin, and one of the best fathers I’d ever
known. It was obvious that he and Nate were very close. He deserved
someone who would love him and his kids more than life itself. It
would have to be someone special, someone deserving. Someone who
would appreciate the magic of Christmas Hill and Silver
Town…

“
Oh!” I covered my mouth and
looked up at Nate.

“
What?” He smiled and raised
an eyebrow.

“
I have an idea.” Leaning
close to him, I whispered in his ear, not wanting to ruin the
magic. I knew my Christmas wish for next year.

Nate picked me up and sat me on the
counter so that we were eye level. “Molly, you’re
perfect.”

“
I have my moments.” I
pretended to brush dirt off my shoulder. “Do you think it will
work?”

“
I have no doubts.” Nate put
a hand on either side of my waist. “Beautiful, brilliant, and a
heart of gold. I’m a lucky man.”

“
You keep saying things like
that and you’re going to get really lucky.” I laughed at his
hopeful expression.

“
Gorgeous.” He kissed me
once.

“
Talented.” He kissed me
again.

“
Sexy.” This time the kiss
was longer, slower. “Really sexy.”

“
Keep going.” I ran my hands
over his chest as he chuckled.

“
I love you, Molly.” His
brown eyes seared into mine, open and honest.

My heart jack hammered in my chest. How
had this happened? How had I gotten so incredibly lucky? It was
fast, so fast. And yet, I knew it was right. Knew that I would
never find someone like Nate. “I love you, Nate.”

“
Good.” When his lips
pressed to mine I didn’t stop him. Nothing in the world could have
made me happier in that moment.

“
Eww!” The back door slammed
open and a rosy-cheeked Matt stood glaring at us. “That’s
nasty.”

Nate looked into my eyes and we both
laughed. He pulled me off of the counter and turned to look at
Matt. “Nasty, huh?”

“
Totally gross.” Matt
shivered.

“
Gross?” I stalked toward
him. “I’ll show you gross!”

Matt’s eyes widened just before he
turned to run out the door. As soon as I was outside I grabbed some
snow and launched it at his head. Jilly squealed in delight before
running over to help me. Nate wasn’t far behind, throwing snowballs
at anyone and everyone. Even I wasn’t safe from his aim.

The sound of the kids laughter filled
the night air, the stars twinkled overhead, and the reindeer
watched us from a safe distance. Nate hollered while Remy pulled at
his pants leg and Matt shoved snow under his shirt. I took a moment
to breathe in the cold air and watch my new family. My heart was
lighter than it had been in years.

I was home.

Acknowledgements

I will keep this short, since it’s a
short story. Thank you to my family for supporting me in what I do.
Thank you to my early readers, Sarah Ross, Elizabeth Hunter,
Courtney, and Becki. You guys are always there for me. Thank you to
Julie Titus for always answering my call for help with
formatting.

Thank you to the bloggers that have
helped spread the word about On Christmas Hill and my other books.
You guys make my job possible.

And of course, thank you to all of my
readers. You guys are always willing to hang on for the ride when
my muse takes me somewhere new. That will always mean the world to
me.

No matter what or how you celebrate, I
wish you all a season full of magic and happiness.

About the Author

Nichole Chase is a
daydreamer.

No, really, just ask any of the math
teachers that had the misfortune of seeing her name appear on their
class schedule.

For years she has had story lines and
characters begging for attention, but she resolutely pushed them
aside to focus on more normal (read, boring) jobs. Well, no longer.
She is currently heeding the voices in her head and frantically
writing their stories. Nichole resides in South Georgia with her
husband, energetic daughter, Sulcata tortoise, one super hero dog,
and two cats.

When not devouring novels by the
dozens, you may find her writing, painting, crafting, or chasing
her daughter around the house while making monster
noises.

Nichole is the author of the Amazon
Best Seller, The Dark Betrayal Trilogy, Flukes, and the upcoming
novel, Suddenly Royal. If you would like to find out more about
Nichole and her books, check out her website and sign up for her
newsletter.

www.NicholeChase.com