Kay was startled into letting out a little giggle. “You made a joke!”

His lips pulled up just slightly at the edges. “It happens. Occasionally.”

She could hardly believe it. It had to be the holiday spirit because she’d never seen Eli like this. Her eyes drifted up and she saw the sprig of mistletoe hanging over the doorjamb. He followed her gaze and his smile disappeared. Then his eyes dropped to her mouth.

Everything inside her softened. She wasn’t sure if it was wishful thinking or if the mistletoe was actually having some effect, but in that moment, she closed her eyes and made a wish. Kiss me. She wanted it more than her next breath.

A second later, there was the soft brush of skin on skin as his lips whispered against hers.

Her eyes popped open and she sucked in a desperate breath before his mouth settled on hers again. His lips were warm and soft and perfect. Instinct, or perhaps it was just pure shock, was the only thing that allowed her to kiss him back. Her hand trailed up the incredibly tight muscles in his chest and settled against his cheek. When he pulled her closer, she melted against him, boneless. If he hadn’t held her so tightly, she probably would have melted into a puddle at his feet.

It was way too soon when he pulled back and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

“Merry Christmas, Kay.”

Then he turned and left her clinging to the doorjamb for support.

*   *   *   *   *

ELI HAD ALMOST made it out of the house when he heard someone calling his name. Jackson stomped down the back steps, pulling his coat on over his sweater.

“Hey, hold up.” Jackson nodded at the barn where Eli was headed. “Are you going to get more wood?”

“Yeah. I noticed we were getting low.” His shoulders sagged. As long as it wasn’t Kay, he could deal with it. It had taken all he had to leave her with just a kiss. But he would never want to embarrass her.

“I’m glad I caught you alone. I wanted to talk to you.”

They fell into step walking toward the barn, the newly fallen snow crunching under their boots.

“About?” Eli prompted.

Jackson shrugged, but he looked so uncomfortable that Eli suddenly knew the answer. He wasn’t naive enough to think that no one in his family had noticed him kissing Kay under the mistletoe. In a family of busybodies, it was impossible to do anything without attracting attention.

“It’s about Kay, isn’t it?”

Jackson turned to him then. “This is going to sound weird, but I wanted to ask what your intentions are.”

Eli let out a guffaw. “My intentions? Who are you, her daddy?”

Jackson chuckled along with him. “I know it sounds strange, but she doesn’t have a lot of friends. Ridley and I have both grown really fond of her over the last year. She’s a nice girl. I just don’t want to see her get hurt. Even unintentionally. Or get pushed into anything she can’t handle.” Jackson narrowed his eyes.

Ahhh. That’s what this was really about. His brother was referring to Eli’s varied and experimental sexual background.

Eli wished he could tell his little brother not to worry, that he had absolutely zero interest in Kay and wouldn’t hurt her. But he’d done enough lying to his family. There were so many things they didn’t know about him. So many horrible things he’d done in his past. He couldn’t face it if they ever learned the truth about him.

Or if Kay did either.

She looked at him like he was her knight in shining armor. For one magical moment, he’d been selfish and taken what she offered. It had truly been selfish, too because he knew if she ever found out the truth about him she wouldn’t want him anywhere near her.

“Kay is a sweet girl and I like her a lot, but she’s too young for me. I’m just sticking close to keep her safe.” Eli almost choked over the words. But it was Christmas. It was time he thought about what was best for her. Best for them all.

“If anyone’s a danger to her, it’s you,” Eli continued. “You guys spend a lot of time alone together. She looks up to you and that could easily turn into something else. She’s been taken advantage of before. She needs to know someone will help her for the right reasons.”

Jackson watched him for a long moment. “Oh hell, it’s already too late.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You already care about her,” Jackson stated accusingly.

Eli stopped walking. “I told you, I’m just looking out for her. It’s nothing.”

“You wouldn’t say that if you could see your face when you talk about her.” Jackson clapped Eli on the shoulder so hard it almost knocked the wind from him. “I take back everything I just said. Instead I’ll say good luck.”

Eli held open the door to the barn where his parents kept their stash of firewood. “I don’t need luck. But I do need your help with something.”

*   *   *   *   *

KAY LOOKED UP anxiously when the back door opened. After Eli had left, she’d agonized over every little thing she’d done. Had she been too forward? Maybe she shouldn’t have been so obvious, staring at the mistletoe. They’d just gotten on good footing, and maybe he’d felt obligated to kiss her.

He probably hadn’t wanted to hurt her feelings.

She watched as Jackson stepped across the threshold. Then he closed the door behind him and headed straight for her. Her heart sank. Eli hadn’t come back and Jackson had the carefully detached look she’d come to recognize as his bad news face.