It wasn’t often that Charlie rose from bed the first time her alarm went off. She had a three snooze limit built into her daily schedule, but delaying twenty-one minutes meant she’d have to wait that much longer to see Trig. And twenty-one minutes might as well have been a lifetime.

She tossed off the quilt and hung her legs over the edge of the bed. Had it only been two days since she’d met him? Why was it that some people felt like a comfortable sweater right away and others were like wet, itchy wool?

She pushed off the mattress and landed on the hardwood floor. She padded to the bathroom where she turned on the shower. On the other side of the wall she could hear Trig sing. It was a nice melodic sound that filled the air. He had no idea she could hear him, and she might never tell. Then again…

She lathered herself up as she listened to his rendition of “White Christmas.” He changed the words to ‘I’m dreaming of a white Christmas where I get my wishes of more Charlie kisses’. How could she not fall a little in love with him?

She’d rushed through her morning routine only to find herself stumped at what to wear. She hadn’t come to Aspen Cove looking for anything but redemption. Redemption didn’t require nice clothes. She rummaged through her suitcase and picked the most attractive of her unattractive choices. She was stuck with cable knit sweaters and worn jeans, but at least she’d be comfortable.

A look in the mirror showed dark circles under her eyes which she could only blame Trig for since she’d stayed up way too late thinking about his kisses and what he meant when he asked about being more than friends.

She raced from her room to the kitchen were she heard voices and found Cannon and Trig leaning over a list.

“I’ll stop by and get the gear from Bowie if you can rummage up some dogs and buns,” Trig said. He looked up at Charlie. While he didn’t say anything, the light in his eyes and his smile said it all. He was happy to see her. “You ready to get those pancakes?” He walked forward, but she didn’t miss the hitch in his step.

“You okay?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t baby me, Charlie. I’ll let you know if I’m not all right.”

She shrugged and left him standing there. “I’ll drive since you don’t have a car.” When she opened the door, she saw his Mustang sitting in the driveway.

He brushed past her. “I’ll drive because I do have a car, and the roads are clear for now.”

“You’re a stubborn man.” She walked to the passenger side and reached for the handle.

“Wait up. I open the door for my dates.” He rushed to her side.

“It’s a good thing,” she replied, “because I don’t kiss or date men with bad manners.”

He opened the door and helped her inside, then he bent over and covered her mouth with his. It was a deep sensual kiss that made her want to exit the car and drag him into her room.

“God, I love your lips.” He pulled back and licked the moisture from his.

She couldn’t help herself when she broke out into song and repeated his lyrics only this time she added his name. “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas where I get my wishes for more Trig kisses.”

He laughed. “I hate thin walls.” He turned the key, and the growl of eight cylinders roared to life. She had to admit there was something sexy about men and muscle cars. Less than five minutes later, they were walking into Maisey’s diner. It had been years since she’d seen the woman.

“Charlie Parker, is that you?” Maisey rushed to fold her into a hug. “I’d recognize you anywhere.” She pinched Charlie’s cheek and squealed. “Who’s your man?”

Charlie looked at Trig. How was she supposed to introduce him? “Hey, Maisey. Oh he’s—”

“Trig Whatley ma’am,” he said while he gave her a gentle handshake. “Charlie trades kisses for pancakes. I’m here to pay up.”

She didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or punch him. So she did both. “A girl’s got to eat.”

Maisey pointed to a back booth and walked away to put in their pancake order.

“You owe me a lot of pancakes, mister.” She sat on one side of the booth expecting him to take the other but he slid in next to her. The heat of their touching thighs stirred a hunger that pancakes would never quench.

His hand came to rest on her thigh under the table. “You owe me more kisses. I want hundreds of them.”

She decided to mess with him. “I don’t like pancakes quite that much.”

He reached for the napkin holder, which forced him into her space. He turned to her with the whisper of his heated breath next to her ear. “But you like my kisses.”

She pressed her lips to his. “Better than pancakes.”

He sat back and placed a napkin in front of each of them. “How were you going to explain me to Maisey?”

He sat back and lifted a brow.

“I haven’t quite figured out what you and I are yet, so I had no idea.”

Maisey arrived with two cups swinging from one hand a pot of coffee from the other. “Pancakes are almost up.” The bell above the door rang and in walked a young brunette.

Charlie couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Oh my God, that’s—”

Maisey turned her head and smiled. “My future daughter-in-law.”

“Dalton is engaged to Indigo?”

Maisey waved the woman over. “Samantha”—she pointed to Charlie and Trig—“this is Doc Parker’s daughter, Charlie, and her pancake pimping partner.”

A look of knowing came over the pop star’s face. “Hey, Charlie, your father is the best. I’m so sorry he was injured fighting my cabin fire.” She turned to Trig. “Pancake pimp?”

Trig blushed a little. “What can I say? Charlie drives a hard bargain.”

Charlie ignored Trig’s jest. All the pieces finally came together. Agatha had only said that her father had been hurt in a fire that burned down Dalton’s girlfriend’s cabin. Leave it to a senior citizen to leave out the good stuff like Samantha was Indigo and Dalton was her man.

“You built the Guild Center and the new fire department, didn’t you?” The longer she stayed in Aspen Cove the more smoothly the pieces fit together.

“I just put up the money, which was the least I could do after the people here made me one of their own.”

“Aspen Cove is like that. They take care of each other. And…everyone belongs.”

Samantha nodded. “It’s great meeting you both.” And she was gone.

Charlie turned to Trig and whispered excitedly. “Oh my God, that was Indigo.”

He shrugged. “I got nothing.”

She elbowed him. “She’s like the biggest thing since…I don’t know since…”

“Sliced bread?” Trig asked.

Maisey poured them each a cup of coffee and pulled creamers from her pocket. “Here she’s just Samantha.” The bell above the door rang again, and a waft of chilly air followed a small crowd into the restaurant. They stomped the snow off their boots and greeted Maisey by name. She pointed them to a table on the other side of the restaurant and hurried off to get their menus.

Charlie sipped her coffee. “So much has changed, and so much is the same.”

Trig’s hand gave her thigh a soft squeeze. “I think it’s great that the town is getting a rebirth. Everything changes.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Any plans for the rest of the day?”

She hadn’t considered anything past pancakes and kisses. “I think I’m going to drive by my old house and then go visit my mom at the cemetery before it gets too cold. You?”

“I need to pick up the fishing supplies after I drop you off. Then I’m going to trek across the ice, drill a hole in it, drop a hook, and try to catch a fish all the while trying to not freeze my nut sack off. I’ll have an awful undercooked hotdog while I listen to the guys boast about the last fish they didn’t catch. All the while, I’ll think about you. I’ll probably stare at the sky and wish we were back on the deck. I’ll regret saying yes to ice fishing when I’d rather be warm in bed with you.”

A quiver ran through her body and it had nothing to do with his talk about ice. “That’s bold talk. Who says I’d invite you to my bed?”

His hand moved way up her thigh until it sat nearly at her heat. “Your body says what your lips refuse to utter.”

She prayed the longing she felt in her body didn’t show on her face. “That I’d rather be in your bed so I wasn’t stuck lying in the wet spot?”

She loved the way his jaw fell slack and his eyes grew wide. “It’s a date. Christmas Eve. My bed.”

“Deal.” She was shocked at how easy everything was with Trig. She imagined a man who nearly lost his life didn’t have much time or need for pretenses. And maybe after wasting the last ten years of her life, she was determined to do things differently. “What should I bring for this sleepover?”

Trig’s lips lifted into a sly grin. “Oh, sweetheart, don’t show up intent on getting sleep. That’s not part of the plan.”

The warmth of his words washed over her and settled between her thighs. She was certain he could feel the molten heat burning between her legs.

“You’re making me—”

“Hot?”

“Here you go, kids. And yes, they’re hot.” Maisey winked at Charlie. “Although I imagine that’s not what you were talking about by the blush on your cheeks.” She walked away mumbling something about youth being wasted on the young.

Trig took a bite of his pancakes and moaned. He forked a bite and offered it to Charlie.

“I’ve got my own,” she said.

He touched the syrupy bite to her lips. “Let me feed your hunger. Let me satisfy your needs.”

She melted into the booth. “I’m counting on you to do both. Up for the task?”

He took her hand and laid it on his lap. Beneath her fingers she felt just how up he was.

They finished their breakfasts. Charlie got out of the car at the bed and breakfast with a promise to watch Clovis. Trig pulled away, and all she could think about was how long the next twenty-fours hours would be.

Charlie climbed into her Jeep and drove straight for the cemetery. She walked through the snow to her mother’s granite tombstone and kneeled before the carved heart. There were five words she had to say. She traced over her mother’s name and said, “I love you.” She kissed her fingers and touched the cold headstone. “I’m sorry.”

There were no more tears to spill. She’d cried a river over the loss of her mother. Tears her mother would have hated because all Phyllis Parker wanted was for her daughter to live, love, and laugh.

While she stood there, the clouds parted and the sun warmed her cheeks for a mere minute, and somehow, it felt like it was a message from her mother to her that all that was broken would mend.

Charlie left the cemetery feeling free. If her mother had been alive, she would have told her to live each day to the fullest. A full life didn’t mean to stay in a job with a pervy boss or beat herself up for past mistakes. Charlie had a future and, while she didn’t know what that future would look like, she had a feeling that for now, it would include Trig.