Leaning forward, I brush my lips against hers. "You don't know how happy it makes me for you to say that, baby."
Over the next couple of hours, Winter and I sit, curled up on the sofa in front of the fireplace while drinking beer and getting to know one another.
"So, that's how you met Nash? You were in the Army together?" she asks.
I nod. "Yep. I couldn't ask for a better friend and business partner than Nash."
Winter nods. "I don't remember a whole lot about Nash since he was in high school when I was in elementary, but growing up in Mistletoe, we all kind of knew each other, and I remember my brother saying he was a good guy."
"How many brothers do you have?" I ask.
"Just the one. Thank god," Winter chuckles. "I love my big brother, but he's very protective of me. Fair warning."
I grin. "I think I can handle your brother."
"I think you can, too," she laughs. "What about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters? What about your parents? Are you all close?"
I blow out a breath. "I don't have any family. I was a foster kid. And I have no siblings either that I know of anyway."
Winter gets a sad look on her face. "That's awful, Tannon. No kid should have to grow up without a family."
I pull Winter closer. "Don't be sad for me, baby. Things worked out eventually. I made my way in life, and I'm proud of the life choices I've made." I shift a little. "Look at it like this. If I had not grown up in the system, then I probably wouldn't have enlisted in the Army where I met Nash. I wouldn't have taken him up on the offer to move to Mistletoe and start a business, and I never would have met you." Winter gives me a sweet smile, and I melt a little inside. "I'd say life has turned out pretty fucking great."
Cupping my cheek, Winter kisses me. "Well, I, for one, am glad you decided to move here."
"Me too, baby." I bury my face into the crook of her neck and breathe in her sweet smell.
"Tell me about your business. How exactly did you get started in what you do?"
I shrug. "I've always liked working with my hands. When I was a teenager, I would go around whatever neighborhood I was living in at the time and ask the neighbors to do odds and end stuff around their homes for money. Sometimes it was just cutting the grass, but there were times when I would fix a broken door hinge, or this old man asked me to repair a broken step on his porch. After fixing it, he asked me if I'd stain it. I didn't know what I was doing, so I used the computer in the library at school to research do-it-yourself projects. I learned early on and loved it. I loved taking something old or plain and turning it into something beautiful. That same summer, the old man had me back to help him put down a new wood floor in his house and also new countertops in his kitchen. That was the summer I turned eighteen. A couple months later, I enlisted."
"And when you got out of the Army, what did you do then?"
"I had a lot of money saved up from over the years, and I used some of it to buy an old fixer-upper. It wasn't anything like this place. It was a little three-bedroom house. I lived there while I fixed it up, then flipped it. I moved on to my next project, bought another place, lived in it for a while, and then sold it when I was finished. I was in my third house when I got the call from Nash. I didn't have any roots in Washington, so I took a chance and moved to Mistletoe. Best fucking decision I ever made."
Winter and I ended up staying up until past three o'clock in the morning. Exhausted from her day, she dozed off while draped across my chest as the two of us lay on the sofa. Here it is, nearly five in the morning, and I'm still awake just watching her sleep. I feel like the lord dropped an angel onto my lap. If I'm dreaming, I don't want it to end.
Soon, my body gives out, and sleep takes me. As I give in, I fall, holding the greatest gift given to me clutched in my grasp.
Winter
"Baby," I feel my body shaking and it pulls me from a peaceful slumber. I moan, then prying my eyes open, I lift my head slightly off of Tannon's bare chest.
"What's wrong?"
From across the room, I hear someone clearing their throat. Because I've listened to the sound a million times in my life, I know who it's coming from. "Good morning, Daddy," I say, and take in Tannon's surprisingly relaxed state.
"We tried calling first. When you didn't answer, your mother got worried." My dad says, followed quickly by my mom.
"It wasn't only me who was worried. The big lug here was just as concerned."
Repositioning myself, I sit up and face my parents, both bundled in thick winter coats. Dad's cowboy hat has a thin dusting of snow coating the brim. I notice his stare is solely fixed on Tannon. My mom gives me a warm smile. "We did knock first, sweetheart."
Privacy was the number one benefit to living in a home of my own, yet here I am, in an awkward situation with my parents and a guy I just met. Maybe giving my dad a spare key to the house wasn't such a great idea after all. "Mom, Dad, this is Tannon." I attempt to stretch out the kink in my neck.
Rising from the couch, Tannon holds out his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Sir." My dad eyes him for a second before giving him a firm handshake.
"You too." Dad clears his throat.
"Why don't I make some coffee?" my mom says, then turns toward the kitchen.
"I'm sorry, Dad." I stand then wrap my arms around his neck. "I didn't mean to worry anyone."
My dad kisses the top of my head as he brings his arms around my body. I breathe him in and close my eyes as I always do. "It's going to take some time getting used to you being on your own." He sighs. "Nevertheless, I will always worry about you being out here alone."
"I wasn't alone, Dad." My words come out as a whisper against his chest, and he chuckles.
"I noticed."
I pull away from him. "You mentioned you called first. Is everything okay?"
"Well, for starters, Greg drove out yesterday to fix your furnace and stated a young man was on your property. By the looks of your friend here, I'm going to assume he was speaking of Tannon. Second, your mother wanted to make sure you are all set for the festivities tonight. She is beyond elated, you have the honor of flipping the switch at the tree lighting tonight."
I've been so busy between the bar and this house, I nearly forgot I was nominated by the city council to light the tree. "I'm more than ready, Dad. Tannon replaced the old furnace yesterday. I can't tell you how good it felt to come home to a warm cozy house after work. He also fixed those broken window panes in the kitchen."
"He did, now?" My father eyes Tannon. "What line of work are you in, Tannon?"
"I'm part owner of T & N Restoration, Sir," Tannon replies, and I realize he's still wearing nothing but his grey sweatpants. My eyes roam down his defined abs, following his happy trail until my gaze lingers for a second on his package. Snap out of it Winter. Your father is standing two feet away, for Christ sake. My eyes snap up to find Tannon's panty-melting smile looking back at me, and my face heats.
"You don't say?" my dad says, just as my mom walks into the living room carrying a tray with four mugs of piping hot coffee. "Carol, Tannon here is one of the owners of that restoration company Richard was telling us about," my dad tells her, and Mom's face lights up.