Just Perfect (21 page)

“How about this? I need to take the snowmobile and check on one of our cabins in the backcountry. Want to go with me?”

“Snowmobiling?”

“Without any stupid stunts like Paul and Ted pulled. We can pack some food, build a fire, and play snowbound pioneers. You know, pretend we’re caught in a blizzard, crawl beneath some blankets, and share body heat.”

“Ooh, wait.” She brightened with an idea of her own. “Can we play lonely widow who finds a wounded mountainman stranded in the high country instead?”

“Do I get to wake up in your bed with both of us naked because you’re wanning my body?”

“Absolutely.”

“You’re on.”

“Okay.” The elevator opened. “Now I have to go. Really.”

“Hang on.” With one hand holding the elevator doors open, he moved as if to brush something from her nose.

“What?” She held still, wondering what it was.

Rather than a light brush of his finger, he rubbed his whole gloved hand over her face, then studied her. “Nope, didn’t help.”

Sputtering, she shook her head, then glared at him. “What was that for?”

He grinned. “Just trying to erase the ‘Oh boy, I just had sex’ look.”

After a smirk, she gave him a quick kiss. “Trust me, Alec, you have no room to talk.”

Smiling, he stepped back and let the doors close, then stood a while, grinning like a fool.

Later that evening, after the rest of the family finally had gone to bed, Christine opened up her laptop to e-mail Maddy and Amy.

Subject:
I’m in love
!

Message:
Not big love with a capital L, but Alec Hunter is so much FUN
!

She’d already told them yesterday that he was very much employed so she went on to tell them all about their wild first date.

Always have a contingency plan.

—
How
to Hove a
Perfect life

“Hey, Hunter, where’s Chris?” Jeff asked nearly a week later as they stood in the truck bay of the fire station. “I thought she was going to help with this project.”

“She is,” Alec assured, even though he’d been wondering the same thing for the past hour. Several volunteers, along with a few spouses and kids, had arrived that morning to decorate his truck for the Winterfest Parade. Since the avalanche rescue, Chris seemed as much a part of the team as the others, hanging out at the pub and planning their entry in the parade. The volunteers had welcomed her into the fold, treating her with the same teasing and camaraderie they all shared. “She’s probably still rounding up some last-minute items on that list your wife gave her.”

“I hope she scores on the wig.” Brian laughed as he and Kreiger worked in the bed of the truck to erect a fake ship’s mast. “I can’t wait to see the lieutenant here sporting long curls.”

“Watch it, guppy,” Kreiger warned. “I haven’t committed to anything.”

“Oh, man, ya gotta do it,” Brian whined over the banging of hammers and the buzz of a saw. “This is the best float idea we’ve ever had. We’ll stomp everyone for the most kick-butt entry.”

“Absolutely,” Alec said as he and Jeff carried the ship’s bow the team had just finished making to the front of the truck. Search and rescue was sure to outdo all the rest in the ongoing war for the coveted title of Best Entry from the Chamber of Commerce, along with bragging rights for a solid year.

“We’ve got the firefighters beat by a mile.” Jeff sneered in the direction of the yard where the competition was converting the fire engine—affectionately known as Big Red—into a giant Santa’s sleigh.

“Santa’s sleigh,” Brian scoffed. “Talk about no originality. Okay, so their truck is ten times bigger. So they have a louder siren and more lights. So they win more applause every year. This year, we have imagination on our side.”

“You got it, kid,” Jeff agreed as he and Alec worked to attach the bow to the grill guard. “Thanks to Alec’s girlfriend.”

Alec smiled with pride as he remembered the day they’d settled on a theme. Inspired by Alec’s nickname, Christine had suggested
Christmas in Nev-erland
. The team had loved it and launched into an all-out effort to pull it off.

Now here they were, down to the wire, and no sign of Christine.

While the others continued to extol the ingenuity of their float to the discordant noise of construction, Alec’s mind drifted to the question that had plagued him constantly for the past few days: how to talk her into moving to Colorado. After the stupid blunder of blurting out a marriage proposal, he’d been too nervous to bring up the less intimidating topic of her moving. He had only one week left, though, before she headed back to Texas.

Should he bring the subject up right away so she’d have time to get used to the idea? Or should he wait, and ask her with some big, romantic gesture after they’d had more time together? How did he know? He’d never cared about a woman enough to contemplate something this terrifying.

Just thinking about a possible rejection had nausea roiling in his stomach. What if she laughed again and thought he was joking? He’d known her for barely two weeks. How could he convince her he was serious?

What he needed was some solid advice. He glanced at Jeff. The two of them were crouched down on their boot heels, out of earshot from most of the other workers. He cleared his throat. “So, um, Jeff, you’re married. Can I ask you something?”

“As long as it’s not a question about women.”

“Well, actually, it is.”

“Wait, I need to hear this.” Kreiger folded his forearms on the roof of the cab, staring down at them. “Men giving men advice about women is always amusing. Like the blind leading the blind.”

Alec glowered at him. “Okay, Kreiger, since you’re so wise about everything, maybe you can help.”

“I doubt it,” Kreiger said. “But fire away, boy.”

Alec steadied his nerves with a breath. “First, I guess I should mention I’m serious about Chris—”

“Naw!” Kreiger feigned shock. “None of us would have figured that one out. Hey, troops!” He turned to the group building an island on the trailer. “News flash. This just in. Hunter has a thing for the doc.”

That won a round of laughs.

“Would you hold it down!” Alec shot a look over his shoulder to be sure Christine hadn’t just walked in.

“So what do you need to know?” Jeff shifted to give his four-year-old daughter more room to help. Actually, Colleen wasn’t much help, but she was cute as heck while getting in the way.

“Like this, Daddy?” Colleen scrunched her face as she twisted wire.

“Exactly, baby.” Jeff beamed at her.

“Okay, well, here’s the deal.” Alec struggled for the right way to phrase his dilemma. “I want to talk Chris into moving here, but every time I start to bring it up, my brain freezes and I break out in a cold sweat.”

“I know the feeling.” Jeff widened his eyes at some memory.

“Well, so… ?” Alec forced the words out. “How do you work up to something like that? You know, asking a woman something really…
big
?”

Brian’s red head popped up over the roof of the truck where he joined Kreiger staring down at them. “You’re going to ask Doctor Dish to marry you? First Will, now you? This is like mass desertion.”

“No, jeez,” Alec lied. “I’ve only known her two weeks. I’m not going to propose. I’m just going to ask her to move here.”

“Sometimes two weeks is all it takes,” Jeff said. “Isn’t that right, Linda?”

“Hmm, what?” His wife’s voice came from the trailer.

Oh great
, Alec thought,
let’s get everyone in on this conversation
.

Jeff raised his voice. “How long did it take for us to know it was the real deal?”

“Well, let’s see,” Linda answered. “I fell in lust when you showed up at my office to fix my corrupted hard drive. It wasn’t love, though, until you actually did it.”

Deciding a woman’s take might not be a bad idea, Alec shifted sideways so he could see Jeff’s wife. “We’re being serious here, Linda.”

“So am I.” She shrugged as she crinkled cellophane to simulate water. “Men think it’s the macho stuff that impresses women. Trust me, though, when my hard drive crashes, I want a man who can get me up and running. Well, the fact that Jeff is a computer nerd with a rock-climber’s body doesn’t hurt either.”

Jeff leaned closer to Alec and wiggled his brows. “Which also gets her ‘up and running.’ ”

“What was that?” Linda narrowed her eyes in her husband’s direction.

“Nothing!” Jeff claimed, all innocence.

Alec stood. “You know, as fascinating as all this is, it’s not helping me. Anyone have an idea for how I can convince Chris to move here?”

Several of the men and women offered suggestions, from bringing it up on the slopes, since Chris liked skiing, to Brian suggesting Alec give her great sex, then ask her to move. That earned the kid a cuff on the head from Kreiger and an admonishment about children being present.

“Russo’s,” Jeff finally said, cutting through the chatter.

“What?” Alec frowned.

“Take her to Russo’s.” Jeff lifted his daughter to his hip. “It’s quiet, private, and has great atmosphere. Ply her with good food and a nice bottle of wine. Then point out the view, which is killer from there, and say, ‘Now, wouldn’t you love to live here?’ ”

Alec snorted. “Like I can afford Russo’s”

Jeff cocked a brow. “Do you want this woman to move here or not?”

Before Alec could answer, Christine burst into the bay from the main part of the fire station, her arms loaded down with costumes. She looked flushed and out of breath. “Guess what?”

Alec flashed a warning look at everyone before going to greet her. “There you are. We were beginning to think you’d forgotten about us.”

“Hey, Chris!” the others all greeted her.

She deposited the colorful bundle of clothes on a bench, then gave him a quick kiss. Excitement shone in her eyes. “I have some fabulous news.”

“What?” He smiled, thinking anything that made her this happy had to be good.

“My dad called Ken Hutchens this morning, the CEO of St. James Hospital, to wish him a merry

Christmas. Whew, I can’t catch my breath.“ She worked at removing her gloves. ”Apparently, on my dad’s recommendation from a few days ago, Ken’s been asking around about me.“

“Oh?” His smile froze. He could think of only one reason for why a hospital CEO would ask around about a soon-to-be certified trauma specialist.

She got her parka unzipped. “Apparently the people at Breckenridge Hospital, where I served my residency, were very generous with their praise.”

“Oh?” he said. This was not good.

“St. James has an opening in the ER and…” She clasped her hands together below her chin. “Ken Hutchens said he’d like to talk with my head hunter about a contract if I’m interested!” With a shriek, she flung herself against him.

“Wow!” He staggered back a step as the impact of her body and the news hit him. Dazed, he wrapped his arms around her. “That’s… great.”

“It’s more than great.” Stepping back, she held her arms out and twirled about like a little girl. “It’s the best Christmas gift ever!”

“Better than a Barbie Dream House?” Colleen asked. “That’s what Santa Claus is bringing me. My daddy promised.”