Page 41 of Chasing Cheer
Ash whistled. “First time? Are you sure about that?”
“Beginner’s luck.” She shook out her hands, feeling the buzz of her watch. She had hardly noticed it during the drive or the hike, but it had been active. “So, why isn’t the lake frozen all the way across?”
“It will be later, probably. I’m hoping we’ll get at least a dusting before next week. Not too much but enough to set the tone for the festivities.”
Holly knew what he meant. The forest was stunning, and it would look magical when the trees were frosted in snow like at the North Pole.
She watched Ash as he looked out over the lake and the forest, suddenly completely taken aback by his presence. She had seen beautiful men before, all over the world. But no one had drawn her eye like he did. Something about Ash, not just his looks, caused a little piece of her to melt inside, like a piece of chocolate when it was stuffed next to a freshly toasted marshmallow.
Holly suddenly had a strong desire to show Ash her home and the northern lights. She let herself daydream about it for half a second then squeezed her eyes shut tightly, realizing it could never happen. Shaking herself, she wished there were snow around that she could sink her toes into to cool her off. Whatever was going on inside her brain needed to send itself back into whatever merry little cabin it had emerged from.
She opened her eyes to see him examining her face.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah. This place is just… really beautiful. It reminds me of home a little bit.”
“Really?”
They stared at each other for several moments. The chocolate began to melt again, and she squeezed her fingernails into her palms. She could sense his interest, and for a second, she thought she could tell him more. Then she took the toasted marshmallow that was plaguing her heart and mentally squashed it.
“Yeah. There’s a lot of forest there too. And it’s so peaceful.” She’d never wanted to open up to a human like that before, but Ash made her feel so comfortable. He had a way of bringing down her carefully crafted walls. It would be safer to change the subject. “But this is really stunning. Do you ever come in the summer?”
“Yep.” Ash tossed another rock across the water. They both watched it skip. “The lake’s good for fishing. It can get pretty busy, believe it or not. We get a lot of fishermen at the house, and many of them hike out here that time of year.”
“That sounds wonderful. I can picture this field full of wildflowers.”
“You’ll have to come back in the summer and see it in person.” He didn’t look for her reaction but instead reached into his backpack for the tin of fruit, cheese, and crackers he’d packed for breakfast.
A traitorous warmth started to creep into Holly’s chest again at the thought of seeing the place in the summer, and she took the second small tin from Ash and tried the grapes first. He poured some steaming liquid from another thermos and offered Holly the lid. She caught the fragrant scent of apples.
“Apple cider?” she asked in surprise then took a sip and savored the sweet but sharp taste.
Ash nodded, his mouth full. “They’re from a local orchard. The people also own a vineyard.”
The two ate a few more bites, watching Comet dash around the lake, then Ash spoke again.
“It's not public knowledge yet, but I’ve been working on partnering with the winery. We’d serve their wine and cider exclusively at the Emerald House and offer tours of the vineyard and orchard for our guests. I was thinking about coming up with some kind of transportation system to take people to the vineyard straight from the House. I’d like to host some themed nights in partnership with them as well. But there are a lot of details to work out. It’s part of the reason I’ve been so busy lately.”
“That sounds amazing, Ash.” Holly set her snack tin down on the log beside her. She thought of his Dream again and was glad he was one of the ones who chose to chase them. “I can see why you’re successful with the Emerald House. You have a big vision for it. It really feels like the center of the community.”
Ash’s face lit up. “That’s great to hear, because that’s been my goal from the start. That’s how my dad and his business partner originally envisioned it too. But we have to adapt with the times, and that means taking risks. I have a lot of other ideas for expansion, as well, but I’m trying to tackle one thing at a time.”
“That seems wise,”
“Part of it’s banking on this Best Small-Town Christmas contest. Even being listed in the top contenders would bring a lot of tourism to our town. I’d be able to justify the additional investment to my lenders. And maybe it could give our local economy a jump start. I just know that if Main Street could be revitalized, the town could really be something special.” Deep passion filled Ash’s voice, and Holly could tell it meant more to him than he was saying.
“Then I guess we’d better make sure this Christmas faire is one to remember.” Her chest tightened. She would do anything she could to make the Christmas faire the best the town had ever seen. To her, the town was already something special.
His eyes rested on hers for several moments before she finally looked away.
“Well, what do you think? Ready to find the perfect tree?”
“Born ready,” Holly replied, grateful to break the tension. Besides, her magic had already helped her zero in on numerous Christmas-tree-ready firs on the hike in.
“I like the confidence, because I’ve spent over an hour deciding before. Did you already see a good one on the way up here?” He slung his backpack over his shoulder and whistled to Comet. “We’ll have to get one close to the truck so that we don’t have to carry it too far.”
They made their way back down the trail, enjoying quiet conversation and watching Comet dash in and out of the trees. Holly tried to savor the time, wondering if she would ever again get to enjoy time like that in nearly magical woods with a human who seemed to be so much like her. When the truck was in sight, Ash pulled out his keys to unlock it.
