Fueling Her Fire Read Online Free PDF Page A

Christmas movies and drinking cocoa—same
thing we do every year. I’m not missing that. Call the other guy, he might do
it. He ain’t married and I don’t think he has family around here.”
    Kip smiled. Small towns, everybody knows your business. “You
mean Dalton Run Reclamation?”
    “Yeah, that’s the one. Call him. Otherwise you’re going to
need to find somewhere else to stay tonight, I’m afraid.”
    Thanking him, she reluctantly hung up the phone. Although
she guessed there was some dollar amount that would be enough to drag Al away
from his cocoa and Christmas movies, she wasn’t going to try to find out what
it was. It sounded like the reclamation guy might be a little more “available”
around family holidays. She dialed that number.
    “Merry Christmas,” answered a deep, male voice, without much
Christmas cheer behind it. Doesn’t anyone answer their business phone like a
business around here? She felt like she was calling people’s houses, but
then realized she probably was. Firewood sales were most likely a side business
for anyone involved.
    “Merry Christmas!” she answered, again trying to sound
lovely and desperate at the same time. She launched into her story.
    “You do realize it’s Christmas Eve, right?”
    She closed her eyes, her hopes sinking. “I do.”
    “And you know what time it is?”
    “Yes. I’m so sorry to ask you, but it really was an
oversight on my part and now I’m in a real bind. I’ll pay you whatever ‘holiday
rate’ you think is appropriate for your trouble.” She bit her lip and rose up
on her tiptoes in anticipation, praying he’d say yes, willing him to.
    “It was an oversight on your part? Oh, well in that
case…” He laughed warmly and deeply and she couldn’t help but appreciate the
manly sound of it. She considered herself a rather independent woman, but there
was something about a strong, hard-working man coming to her rescue when she
was alone and in need. She couldn’t help it—it made her feel better. She
decided she liked the wood guy.
    “You must be from out of town,” he said.
    “Yes,” she said, thinking it was strange that he could tell.
She wondered if it was because she’d forgotten to ensure she had a proper
firewood supply during a snowstorm on Christmas Eve, or because she’d used the
word “oversight” in a sentence.
    But she sensed his good humor meant he was warming up to the
idea. She implored further, adding a flirtatious quality to her voice. “So will
you come and help me? Please? I’ll make it worth your time!”
    He was single, she remembered Al mentioning, and alone—like
she was—on Christmas Eve. And she did have a bottle of wine and a warm
fire…until she ran out of wood, that is. She found herself growing excited at
the prospect of Mr. Dalton Run Reclamation coming to visit her on that snowy
night. She lost herself for a moment in a lumberjack fantasy…
    “I don’t know,” he said, his voice was hesitant, but Kip
sensed an edge of playfulness. She pounced.
    “I’ll pay you double the cost of a normal delivery. Think of
it as a Christmas bonus!”
    He sighed, “Well, I guess I have to—I won’t sleep well
tonight knowing you’re out there in the woods by yourself without anything to
keep you warm… ” Now she was sure he was flirting with her too. She smiled into
the phone, looking down at her socked feet. She wriggled her toes on the
kitchen linoleum. Her problem was going to be solved and, as a bonus, maybe the
firewood guy would be handsome and lonely.
    They agreed on a price and he made a plan. “I was just
heading out to some friends’ house for dinner—I’ll have to skip it now. Let me
swing by their house and drop off some presents and then I’ll load up the truck
and be on my way. If I hurry, I can get the wood stacked with the last bits of
light and be in bed before Santa comes.”
    Maybe you won’t have to go far… Jumping into bed with
a complete stranger was not normally