6

His eyes roamed around the large living space. Christmas lights and garland decked the Sawyer’s living area, while their ten-foot tree stood as the focal point of the party. Heather loved the décor, only teasing others, saying it was too much.

Allen’s shrugged his shoulders. “I am, but this is a lot of Christmas decorations.”

“You like Christmas right? You have to since you’re here.”

“It’s okay.”

Heather’s jaw dropped. “Okay? This town goes all out for the holidays, especially Christmas.”

“I just don’t go overboard when it comes to decorating.”

“What do you do?”

“Call a few family members and say ‘Merry Christmas.’” His jaw slackened. “Not too many fond memories.”

“Heather!” Morgan Sawyer pulled her into a tight hug. “I’m so glad you came!” She rocked her back and forth before releasing her.

“Merry Christmas,” Heather said.

Morgan took her hand and faced Allen. Giving him a smile, she kissed his cheek. “I’m going to steal Heather away. Do you mind Allen?”

“Well, I—”

Morgan waved away his response. “You’ll see her again. It’s a small town remember.” She led Heather towards the kitchen area.

***

Allen straightened his bow tie, listening to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in the background. He couldn’t bring up his ex-wife. More importantly, he wouldn’t share something so personal with a woman he just met. Crystal loved Christmas, decking their house from top to bottom in decorations. Garland, an eight-foot tree, Christmas cookies, and too many presents to count.

Swallowing the lump in the back of his throat, Allen laced his fingers back and forth, no longer feeling the platinum ring. He had stashed it away in his top-shelf closet. Though it was gone, it somehow became part of his hand. If only he had… A slap on his back startled his thoughts.

“Where have you been?” Desmond asked.

“Here, obviously,” Allen said.

“What’s with the face?”

“What do you mean?”

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with that woman I saw you talking to. She’s beautiful. That’s Sonia’s older sister, Heather.”

“Who’s Sonia?”

“Morgan’s best friend. You need to get out of that house of yours and meet new people.” Desmond rubbed his hands together. “So tonight is a big step. I’m glad you showed up.”

“You just like the parties.”

“It's a community. That’s what Maple Meadow’s all about.?

??

He shook his head at his cousin, as he stared after Heather once more.

“Care to share?” his cousin asked.

Allen blinked. “What? It’s uh… nice party.”

“I think you have a thing for Heather.”

“I just met the woman.”

“You didn’t look that way with Elise.”

Allen recalled the double date he agreed to with Morgan and Desmond three weeks after moving to Maple Meadow. He only did it to appease his cousin’s girlfriend. Morgan meddled but her heart was in the right place. No wonder Desmond loved her. They were made for each other.

“Elise was still in love with her ex-boyfriend,” Allen said.

“Yeah, that wasn’t good. Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“What about Portia?”

Allen shrugged. “Man, she’s cool, but I don’t think I want to go that route.”

“I keep telling Morgan to leave it alone, so you’re welcome.”

“Thanks.”

Desmond twisted his mouth into a grin. “Still, man. If you think you—”

Allen rubbed at his eyebrow. “Can I enjoy myself without you snooping?”

Desmond nodded though his grin gave him away. “Sure thing. I’ll let you enjoy the party. I’m going to ask Morgan to dance.”

With his cousin no longer in his ear, Allen’s eyes skimmed the room. He recognized a few familiar faces from church and the coffee shop. Still, he couldn’t say he felt comfortable walking up to strangers. He could turn in early. He didn’t have to stay for the entire party. Moving towards the front door so no one would spot him, he noticed Heather talking to another man.

Pain in his jaw resulted from clenched teeth. Allen grabbed his own coat. He barely knew the woman, so why should he care if another man paid her attention?

“I’ll think about it, Terrance,” Heather said.

“I’ll see you at work tomorrow. I can’t wait to partner our classes for the fitness boot camp,” Terrance said.

Allen secured his gloves over his long fingers.

“I can’t either, but remember nothing too crazy on your part,” Heather said.

Terrance added, “Same goes for you. I admire a career woman, but you’re tough.”

Career woman? Allen bit his bottom lip. There was nothing wrong with a woman having ambition, but his ex-wife —

“Are you sneaking out?” Heather asked.

Allen looked around and noticed he and Heather were the only ones in the foyer. “Um… yeah.”

She gestured to the living room. “You didn’t want to dance?”

He shook his head. “No thanks. I have an early morning.”

She raised an arched eyebrow. “What do you do?”

“Physical therapist. Look I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s okay. It’s not like I dictated my social security number.”

He chuckled. “I wouldn’t steal that, anyway.”

“An honest man.” She brushed past him and he caught a whiff of her perfume. Was that lilac he smelled? “I can appreciate that.”

When Heather grabbed her own coat, Allen hurried in front of her to open the door for her.

Her eyes widened. “And a gentleman. You’re really trying to impress me, aren't you?”

He couldn’t hide his smile. “You sure keep a man on his toes.”

“Don’t like it?” she asked.

He stared into her coal eyes. “I don’t know yet.”

Heather grabbed the railing of the porch steps. Allen took care noticing the ice and extended his hand to her and she took it. As they descended and walked towards the sidewalk, he released his grip.

“What made you decide on physical therapy?” she asked.

He tucked his hands in his pockets. “My grandfather. He had a stroke when I was a kid and I remember coming to visit and his therapist was there helping him. I wanted to help people too. You?”

“Well… I chose fitness because I’ve always loved being in shape. My mom struggled when she was my age and after having kids, it was hard for her to find a program that worked. I became a Pilates instructor.”

“Pi-what?”

Heather’s eyebrows shot up. “Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of Pilates?”

Allen laughed at his own joke. “I have.”

Catching onto his teasing, she rolled her eyes despite her gleaming smile. Stopping mid-stride they both stared at the star-sprinkled night sky. A few clouds formed because of the report of snow, but Allen enjoyed the silence with Heather.

She wrapped her arms around herself. “I love nights like this.”

“How come?”

She faced him. “They’re peaceful.”

Allen’s body went still. Heather’s pupils dilated. He needed to go home. Her furtive gazes made his insides melt like butter. She was as beautiful as the purple flush of dawn. Meeting her eyes with his, he sensed a shifting feeling near his heart.

“Is there a reason you’re staring?” she asked.

Allen’s lips parted to answer, but he lowered his gaze as his ears felt impossibly hot. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.”

His eyes met hers once more, and she smiled. “I almost didn’t come tonight.”

Heather raised an eyebrow. “Glad you did?”

He rubbed the back of his head. “You don’t hold back.”

“Get to know me and you’ll get used to it.”

“So you think I’ll stick around to find out?”

Her lips curved into a grin. “You don’t look like the type that scares easily.”

“What type do I look like?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’ll let you know. I barely know you.”

He chuckled. “You can read people though?”

She walked over to the other side of the walkway. “I won’t say I’m an expert, but I try to be discerning.”

“So these discerning skills, have you been right usually?”

Her face slackened. “I wish but we all make mistakes.”

Mistakes? Someone well acquainted with those, he had a list of them he wished he could take back.

“Heather!” a young woman’s voice called out. “Did you seriously leave? You forgot your scarf.”

Heather pivoted to face the woman talking to her. “You know you could have driven yourself.” She gave him one last smile before she hurried to retrieve her scarf.

“Heather! Are you alright?” the woman exclaimed.

Allen blinked. Heather was writhing on the ground clutching her leg.

Chapter 5

Heather bit her bottom lip as pain shot through her knee. How did she lose her footing? She saw the ice, so why wasn’t she more careful? She expelled a grunt at the exertion. Panic spread through her like wildfire.

Did she break something? No, the pain would’ve been ten times worse. Instead, she rehearsed in her mind it wasn’t as bad as it seemed, but her shuddering breaths only escaped from her lips.

Sonia stooped beside her. “Oh no, sis. Are you okay?” Her sister angled her body towards the house. “Help! Help!”

“Sonia, don’t wake the whole neighborhood. I’m sure I’m okay.” If only her brain believed that lie. Clenching her teeth, she winced from the throbbing in her knee.

“Will you let me take a look at it?”

She looked up to see Allen. His forehead furrowed, and he took off his gloves. She bobbed her head. She didn’t have time to argue. Something was seriously wrong. Placing his hands on top of hers, she released her grip and allowed him to inspect her knee ignoring her urge flinch.

“Can you bend it still?” he asked.

Her eyes watered, but she carefully bent her knee. “Yeah, I can.”

“Good, so you didn’t tear anything.”

“Oh my goodness what happened?” Heather raised her gaze to find Mrs. Sawyer in her coat and hat. A few more townspeople gathered, incl

uding Terrance who hurried to her side.

“Heather what happened?” he asked.

“I slipped on the ice,” she replied. Squeezing her eyes shut, she refused to look as Allen continued to test her limits with her leg. Finally, she slapped his hand away. “Okay enough. What’s wrong?”

“I think it’s a sprain. We need to get you to a doctor to run some tests to see how severe it is,” Allen said.

“I’ll take you,” Terrance offered. “Can you stand?”

With Terrance behind her and Allen beside her, both men helped her to her feet.

“You’re not putting my sister in that monster truck of yours, Terrance,” Sonia argued.

“Is she going to be okay?” Morgan asked as her eyebrows etched together.

“I’ll be fine,” Heather said. Settled on her right foot, she tested her weight on her left. Her eyebrows shot up. Definitely couldn’t walk on it. “Not okay!”

“I’ve got you,” Allen said as he scooped Heather into his arms.

“It really hurts,” she whimpered in his ear. Digging her fingers into Allen’s back, she held back her cry.

Allen looked over at Sonia. “You’re her sister, right?”

Heather lifted her head. “Yes. Sonia this is Allen.”

Allen asked Sonia, “Can you follow us in Heather’s car?”

Heather noticed her sister raised an eyebrow. “It’s okay, Sonia. He’s new in town.”

Sonia agreed. “Okay, sure.”

“I’m coming too,” Terrance said, with a hint of jealousy in his voice.

“Should we move the party to Dr. Boyer’s office?” someone joked.

“Not now Spencer,” Mrs. Sawyer interjected.

Allen carried Heather to his truck as her sister tagged along behind them.

“I can get in the car myself,” Heather said.

“Funny,” Sonia replied. “I saw your face when you stood up. You need help.”

Rolling her eyes at her sister, Heather stood carefully on her right foot after Allen had Sonia open his backseat door. Despite the shooting pain in her leg, she caught a whiff of his clean manly scent. It had to be the reason she rushed to Sonia for her scarf.

The way he licked his full lips made her breath catch in her throat. She had to get away and go home. Much to her dismay, her body went one way and her leg went another. Now trapped in Allen’s arms, he steadied her on her one foot.

“Is this okay? Can you sit?” he asked, his eyes full of concern.

“Uh huh,” she said but avoided eye contact.

With her clasping his forearms, Allen lifted and helped her settle into the backseat. Scooting backwards, Heather adjusted until her back touched the opposite door. This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t afford to have a sprained knee.

She wanted to adjust her dress but the pain in her knee had more precedence. Pressing her face against the leather in the backseat, she hid her face from Allen. When she heard the engine rumble, he pulled off the street.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

“Not now, please.” She gritted her teeth.

“Anything else I can do?” Did he sound worried?

Heather exhaled. “You could distract me.”

“How’s that?”

“Play some music. Sing a song. Tell a joke. I don’t know, just do something!” She didn’t mean to sound snippy but could anyone blame her when she felt like someone had stabbed her knee.

“Okay… a joke.” Allen cleared his throat.

“Don’t grow a longer beard thinking about one. Turn some music on.”

He did, but it was not the Christmas music she was expecting. Instead, she heard… was that Motown? Heather turned her head, but his eyes met hers in the rearview.