Secret Santa (3 page)

“Do you think it'll last long?” She asked,
her tone worried. There was something magical about snow, a
holdover from childhood when the fresh white blanket signalled
hours of fun building snowmen or in snowball fights. As an adult
the magic dimmed a little, worries about needing to get to work and
whether the heating would pack in during a cold snap intruding.

“I'm not sure, I hope not.”

He pulled the car over into a field gateway
which appeared to the left, trying to pull the big vehicle off the
road and out of harm’s way. It just fit, filling the space
available. Which shouldn't be a problem, Jo didn't think any farmer
would out and need to get into his field in all this.

He pulled the handbrake up with a short
movement and leaned forwards, his arms on the steering wheel as he
tried to gauge the snowfall in the headlights. Falling thick and
fast, it was almost a vertical sheet of white. “I hate to say this
but we might be stuck in here for a while.”

Jo shivered. An automatic response. She had
her coat with her but that was all. How cold would it get? She knew
without asking that Drew wouldn't be able to keep the engine
running. After all they didn’t know how long they were going to be
stuck here. Far better to save fuel so they could get moving once
the weather cleared.

She squinted out the window, trying to see
through the snow. The black of the night and the white of the snow
rendered the world outside monochrome. Next to her Drew scowled at
his mobile phone. “Typical, no signal either.”

She nodded, not surprised. The signal around
Newbolton with some networks was dicey at best, non-existent at
worst. “Ok, we should get comfortable I guess. I don't suppose
you've got camping kit hiding out in the boot have you?”

Of all the responses that was one Drew hadn't
been expecting. He let go of the breath he hadn't realised he'd
been holding. Oddly a sense of pride filled him. He should have
known she wouldn't throw a fit. His Jo was too practical for that.
A frown crossed his brow. When had she become
his
Jo?

“I’m afraid not, I wasn't expecting to be on
an Arctic expedition tonight...” No, with any luck tonight would be
heading to action of the more romantic type. He didn't think Jo was
the sort to leap into bed on the first date but, at the least, he
had hoped to get a goodnight kiss.

He wouldn't be sleeping anyway, the memory of
their first kiss had been going around and around in his mind since
yesterday. A memory he wanted to relive, the need to taste her
again fast becoming an all consuming obsession. “... I think I have
a blanket in the boot though. We could use that.”

“Sounds like a plan.” She cast a speculative
glance at the back seat as she removed her shoes, kicking off the
strappy heels. Before Drew could say anything her slender hand used
his shoulder for support as she clambered between the seats. He
turned his head, biting back a groan as the delectable curve of her
hip and ass filled his line of sight. Blood pooled in his lower
body, need for her hitting him hard again. Christ, if she carried
on like this, he wasn't going to survive ten minutes, much less a
couple of hours as they waited for the storm to abate.

The sound of the seat folding down behind him
had Drew turning. Jo was half buried in the boot, leaning over the
folded seat to root around for the picnic blanket.

“Aha! We're in luck, it's a fleece one. They
hold more heat in!” Jo crowed in triumph as she backed up, dragging
the tartan blanket with her.

“Huh, what?” Drew asked, realising she'd
spoken, quickly dragging his eyes from where they were latched onto
her luscious rear. She caught him though, just before he looked
away, a flush settling over her cheeks.

“Fleece blanket, keeps more heat in,” Jo
replied, not looking at him. Had she seen what she thought she'd
seen? Had he been checking her out? No, he couldn’t have been. Men
like him didn't check out prettily plump nurses like her. He was
the sort of man who went after the skinny blonde types, which she
wasn't. She wasn't even the skinny brunette type, she knew that.
James had left her with no illusions about her figure.

So quite why Drew had asked her out she had
no idea. Perhaps a case of temporary insanity but she'd enjoy it
whilst it lasted. A fairytale for Christmas. She nibbled her lip as
she shook the blanket out. Big enough to cover the whole of the
seat, they'd be nice and toasty even with the engine off.

“Hmmm, you should come back here as well.
Best if we... uhm… if we share our body heat, don't you think? Less
chance of hypothermia?”

Sharing body heat.
Hell, she was going
to be the death of him. Turned away from her, Drew closed his eyes
and prayed for God to give him strength as he turned the engine
off. He wanted to share a lot more than just body heat, a hell of a
lot more. But seducing her on the back seat of his car like some
hormone driven teenager wasn't on the agenda, no matter what the
temptation.

“Uhm yeah, we should. Move over, I'm coming
through,” He told her as he twisted in his seat. He wasn't a small
man so it required some interesting contortions for him to get
through the gap between the front seats. But no way was he
venturing outside. No matter how quick he moved, he'd get soaked
and they'd lose the heat out of the car. He grumbled as he got
stuck halfway.
Why the hell did they make these things so damn
small?

Finally he made it, slithering through the
gap more due to gravity than any sense of grace and landing in the
back seat with a thud. She slid a sideways glance at him, a smile
in her dark eyes. “Not an escape artist then?”

“Not exactly, I always got caught trying to
sneak out as a kid. Never quite developed the knack.“ He chuckled,
tucking the blanket around them and lifting his arm, offering the
spot underneath. Giving her the choice rather than assuming he had
permission to touch her. She swallowed, an unreadable expression in
her siren's eyes for a moment. After a long moment she nodded and
settled against him with a sigh.

He closed his eyes, once again feeling a warm
fuzzy feeling in his chest at her trust in him. He tightened his
arm around her, liking the feel of her nestled close to his body.
She felt right there, as though they'd been made for each
other.

Her perfume, an unexpected exotic fragrance
he wouldn't have figured her for, rose from her warm skin to tease
his senses. Drew leaned his head against the back of the seat and
wondered how the hell he was going to survive the next few
hours.

In the end he didn't have to wait that long.
They'd settled into comfortable silence, Jo dozing on his chest,
when a tap at the window surprised him.

“Wha... who is that? Did you manage to call
help?” Jo asked, startled out of sleep by the sharp noise against
the window pane. She sat up, pushing her hair out of her eyes as
she peered at the figure the other side of the glass.

Drew rolled the window down, wincing a little
at the blast of icy air. “Hello?”

“You daft buggars'll freeze if you're
planning on stayin' in there all night.” The muffled form accused,
leaning forwards until the craggy face hidden in the layers
appeared. A local farmer if his clothing and general appearance was
anything to go by. “The big 'ouse is over the back there. You'll
'ave to trek over the field but there's the barn loft you're
welcome to until morning. It's nay much but it's got a heater at
least.”

Presented with the offer of a warm room it
took them less than a minute to get ready to follow the farmer. Jo
shivered as she stepped out of the car, her coat wrapped close
around her. The chill fingers of the wind sliced through the thin
trousers and icy water soaked through her strappy heels as soon as
she put her feet on the ground.

The farmer grumbled something about 'suitable
clothing' but Jo ignored him, feeling comforted as soon as Drew
climbed out the car. His large, broad shouldered figure behind her
the chill wind down. She smiled her thanks over her shoulder, and
paused, her breath stolen away.

With the heavy black coat swathing his body,
the wind ruffling his hair and his face half in shadow he looked
dangerous. Every inch the pirate or highwayman she’d always
imagined the heroes in her favourite historical novels to look. She
shivered as he looked at her, his eyes dark for a moment, as though
he could see straight into her soul. See the longing and need
there.

He frowned in concern, noting the fine
shivers she couldn’t control. “We’d best get moving before my wife
freezes out here,” he told the farmer as he locked up, pocketing
the keys and taking Jo’s arm.

She opened her mouth to say she could walk on
her own, thank you very much, when her feet started to slide from
under her. With a gasp she clung to Drew’s arm to keep her balance,
her ire over the wife comment forgotten.

“Ye wants to be careful,” the farmer called
over the whistling wind. “Gonna be slippy under foot. Got a good
frost going before this lot started to fall. Roads’ll be death
traps in the morning.”

“Hold onto me,” Drew cautioned in an
undertone as they followed the heavily wrapped figure of the
farmer. Survival wasn’t an option if they got lost in this, dressed
as they were. It would be suicide. Jo hurried along as fast as she
could, ignoring the biting cold in her feet.
Oh, what had
persuaded her to wear the heels?
They were beautiful but also
as impractical as a chocolate fire guard and not up to trudging
through snow covered fields. She should have worn walking boots
instead.

“The next time I go out with you, remind me
to pack hiking gear,” she grumbled, the two of them slipping and
sliding as they hurried after the farmer. Until, finally, the
looming figure of buildings became visible ahead.

Jo breathed a sigh of relief as they reached
the gate, smiling at their unusual rescuer. She’d always thought of
angels as beautiful celestial creatures. Right now though, her
vision had changed to include a hunched over, near geriatric and
wizened old man.

“Thank you so much for this,” Jo said as he
opened the door to an impromptu barn conversion. A total DIY job,
the bottom level still had straw and… other suspect stains on the
concrete floor.

“Ye’re welcome. Room’s up the stairs.
Heater’s an old calor one but it works.” He said, stamping his feet
to tramp the snow off and pointed to a flight of steps clinging to
the side of the wall. “Used to be the farm managers place so
there’s a bog an’ a wash room, the sofa’s a bed settee thing. Basic
but clean and better than you two young ‘uns freezing to death out
in yer car.”

“Indeed and thank you for coming out to find
us, much appreciated. And for the use of the room.” Drew said, his
deep voice sincere as he held his hand out to shake the older
man’s.

“Nay problem, you’d best get your missus
settled in and warmed up though. Before she catches her death in
them shoes,” The old farmer pointed out as he released Drew’s hand.
“I’ll see what the old bat has on the stove and bring sommat over
for you two to eat in a wee while,”

The old farmer turned and walked out the
door, leaving them standing alone in the cavernous barn looking at
each other. Drew's lips quirked and he broke into a chuckle.

“Ok, this wasn't what I had in mind when I
asked you out to dinner but...” he extended his arm in a courtly
gesture, “... shall we milady?”

Jo felt an answering grin cross her face. “Of
course My Lord, I would be delighted.” She placed her hand on his
arm as they headed for the stairs. Fortunately they were sturdier
than their first appearance and before long Drew pushed open the
door to the small room.

“Oh this isn't too bad,” Jo breathed as they
stepped into a neat little room. It's origins as an office were
plain to see. A battered desk sat in the corner with an equally
battered chair beside it. She stepped further into the room,
heading over to the couch to investigate. As promised it was a
bed-settee, an older model with some heavy looking springs.

She removed the cushions, casting a glance
over her shoulder. Drew advanced on the heater with the look of a
man facing a man-eating lion. “Sure you don't want a whip and a
chair, just in case?” She asked, a teasing note in her voice.

“Rawr.” He winked at her as he turned it on,
waiting for a few seconds before he turned the dial to full. The
distinctive click and 'whoosh' of the gas lighting told her that
however old and battered it looked, it was in good working order.
Jo relaxed a little. At least they wouldn't burn the guy's barn
down after he’d been kind enough to give them shelter.

She managed to wrestle the bed-settee out to
its extended position, locking the bed into place before looking
around for some sort of bedding. A fully stocked linen closet was
out of the question but a search of the cupboards turned up some
blankets. She shook them out over the mattress. With the one they'd
brought from the car and the heater, they'd be quite snug.

Drew turned from the fire, stripping his
thick coat off and noticing the fine shivers that running through
her slender figure.

“Here, sit down and let me check your feet.
They must be frozen in those,” He insisted, stopping her fussing
around with the bed. An act he suspected she was using to forget
she was alone in a room with him, a room which had a bed.

Yes! There is a God!
Drew clamped down
on the very male thought as he put a hand on her shoulder, making
her sit down on the bed.

“I'm fine, honestly-”

“Ssssh, you know the dangers of frostbite as
well as I do Jo, let me check.” He gave her a firm look, the sort
he used when he didn't want arguments. Her lips compressed a little
and he wasn't sure whether she was irritated or suppressing a
smile. The twinkle in her eyes made him suspect the latter.