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"It's okay," Gabe said. He had to remind himself that she meant to do no harm, but still it was that time of year and every little thing got to him. As he drove down the deserted interstate, the colorful lights that trimmed the homes along the hill shined brightly in the falling snow, adding a festive touch to the wintery night, the lights from the Christmas trees inside the houses, lighting up the windows and only darkening his mood. Would he ever feel the same way again? Would he ever start to find joy in the holidays? He looked over at the redhead sitting in the other seat. She was filled with the holiday spirit right up to her pointed elf ears and he was a full-on scrooge. But he had let himself become that way years ago and he needed to change his ways before it was too late. And maybe she was just the woman to do that for him.
Who was he kidding; he'd been living in a small town for five years and had yet to start dating, and he doubted the first woman he rescued from the side of the road would be interested in him. But then again, she had made that comment about the handcuffs... She was a lot younger than him anyways, he was a good twelve or thirteen years older than her and as enticing as that sounded, hooking up with a younger woman, he would be better suited with someone closer to his own age. He turned his attention back to the snow-covered road. "I'm divorced. She severed all ties to me when I signed the papers. She moved on with her life and I did the same with mine."
Holly was quiet for a while. If she had to guess, he had no children, otherwise he would still be in contact with his ex, or maybe that was the reason for the divorce, he couldn't father any children. There you go again, Holly, jumping to conclusions, she said to herself, just let the poor man be, he obviously doesn't want to talk about it. She looked out the side window at the colorful Christmas lights on the houses that were nestled into the hillside, illuminating the darkness of the snowy night. It had always been her favorite time of year even if she had been confined to a hospital bed for the holiday a couple times in her childhood. She never let being sick as a child dampen her spirits, when in fact, given a second chance at life only made her enjoy the holidays more.
She looked over at him in the darkness. She had a sinking feeling that whatever it was that was bothering him, had put him in this surly mood, had to have happened around this time of year. And here she was, dressed up as festive as could be, having him drive her to the hospital to hand out Christmas presents, and she knew it was bothering him. Once she got to the hospital, she would find a hotel for the night and find her own way home tomorrow morning. "You can just drop me off at the hospital, I'll be fine."
The lights of Riverton shined brightly in the distance as the utility crested the top of the hill and Gabe eased off the accelerator, flipping on the turn signal to take the first exit as he steered that direction, relying on the reflectors mounted to the guard rails to mark the road. He rolled to a stop at the intersection, turning on the red light and driving down the deserted snow-packed road towards the hospital. There were a few shallow tracks left behind from the last vehicle that had taken the same route and Gabe maneuvered the Explorer into the same path, following the tracks down the road but instead of turning into the apartment complex, he cut a new set of tracks in the fresh fallen snow, rolling up to the intersection and turning on the green arrow, driving up the road that led around the hospital. "No can do. It's my duty to see that you get there safely and that means driving you home, too. My shift was over at seven."
She looked out the side window so he couldn't see her smile. He had been off duty ever since they got on the interstate, taking time out of his night to do this one small gesture for her, a stranger, on Christmas Eve, even if he didn't have the holiday spirit bubbling inside him. She knew she was going to have to make it up to him somehow, even if she never saw him again after tonight. But how? Free haircuts for the rest of his life? Even the smallest token of her gratitude wouldn't be enough. She would have to think about it later because the lights of the hospital lit up the darkness of the night, the colorful lights in the bare trees along the front of the building and along the road illuminating their way as he turned onto the road that circled around behind the hospital and drove up the hill to the main entrance.
Gabe didn't bother parking in the parking lot with the rest of the visitors, the police utility allowed him to park along the curb in the yellow zone, so he pulled up under the covered visitor's entrance that was closed off in the evening, leaving plenty of room for any ambulances that had to come in through the emergency department. He shut the vehicle off, grabbed his baseball cap from the dashboard and climbed out, shutting the door behind him. He walked around the front of the Explorer just as she was sliding out of the passenger's seat before he even had a chance to open the door for her.
So instead, he popped open the back door and took the oversized bag out of the back seat and fisted his hand around the top of the bag, walking along beside her to the emergency entrance that was open at night, the double doors whooshing open as they got closer, a rush of hot air instantly warming them before the second set of doors opened. He didn't want to admit that he didn't know his way around the hospital, his visits usually entailed bringing someone into the emergency room for treatment or questioning the doctors and nurses about a victim, but never anywhere beyond there, so he fell into step beside Holly and let her lead the way to pediatrics, his footsteps heavy yet silent on the floor.
"You really didn't have to do this, come along with me," Holly said as she stopped at the elevator and pushed the up arrow, stepping inside when the doors opened. She leaned her hips against the rail as Gabe stepped in behind her, automatically leaning against the rail on the other side of the car, setting the bag down on the floor between them. She pushed the button for the fourth floor and looked up at him in the bright florescent lights of the elevator as the door slid shut.
She finally got her wish when he looked across the expanse of the car at her and she suddenly felt her breath catch in her throat and her heart slam against her ribcage. The edge of his navy-blue baseball cap rested just above his wide brow, giving her a clear, unobstructed view of his face. He was, in fact, the most handsome man she had ever seen, his strong, chiseled jaw led down to a square chin with a small, sexier than hell cleft, his nose was almost perfect except for the telltale knot on the bridge from being broken in the past, but it was his eyes that did her in, made her go weak in the knees.
His eyes were the most beautiful shade of blue she had ever seen, so bright and brilliant that she had to reach behind herself to grab hold of the rail in fear of slipping to the floor. How could someone who had everything going for him in the looks department still be single? She had to drag her gaze away from his before she melted into a puddle at his feet. He was going to be her downfall if she didn't regain her composure. She drew in a deep breath and slowly let it back out, but that didn't help in the least, she caught the lingering scent of his aftershave, and he smelled so good.
Gabe tugged off his insulated leather gloves and tucked them into the pockets of his jacket. He looked at her across the narrow expanse of the elevator car, the light illuminating her ginger red hair that curled down around her shoulders in soft waves, curls that he wanted to wrap around his fingers and tug her head back as he- His train of thought instantly derailed when she looked at him and he felt his heart lurch in his chest. He had seen redheads with hazel eyes and ones with brown eyes but never had he seen a woman, let alone a redhead with green eyes that were such as intense color as hers. They were the same shade as a glass bottle when held up to the light, a pure shade of green that was untouched by any other color, eyes that were hypnotic all on their own. There was just something about that combination, the red hair and green eyes, which got his blood coursing through his body faster than it should be.
Was it starting to get hot and stuffy inside the elevator, or was it just him? Whatever it was, being this close to her had an effect on him that he hadn't felt in a long time. He swallowed hard, trying to focus his gaze on anything other than her, because suddenly, he didn't trust his own self anymore. When the car lurched to a stop on the fourth floor and the door slid open, he let out the breath that he didn't even know he had been holding. He felt his voice crack when he spoke, "I don't mind, I didn't have any plans for the rest of the night."
Holly smiled and pushed away from the railing as Gabe picked up the velveteen bag, following her out of the elevator car and down the corridor to the waiting area outside the two wards that took up most of the floor, the sign on the wall indicating which direction the numbered rooms were. She stopped at the chairs that lined the wall facing the windows and dropped her purse down on one of the chairs, sitting down in the other one. She tugged off her gloves as she looked out the window at the snow that was falling in the courtyard between the outside walls.
The flakes were starting to get bigger with no sign of stopping anytime soon and she was starting to feel guilty about agreeing to let him drive her to the hospital, but she shrugged the feeling off. She stuffed her gloves in the pockets of her parka. "The children's ward is down the hall on the right, you can come in if you want," she said, pulling two green elf shoes complete with white faux fur trim and bells on the ends of the upturned pointed toes out of her purse. She unzipped first one boot and then the other, pulling them off and tugging on the other shoes in their place, wiggling her toes so the bells jingled. She looked up at Gabe who was just standing there, watching her. "Or you can wait here." She stood up and unzipped her parka, shucking it off and tossing it down on the chair over her purse.
Gabe just about lost it right then and there. He was all fine and dandy with watching her walk in front of him, it gave him a chance to admire the length of her slender legs encased in the green leggings, all fine and dandy when she pulled off her leather boots and knee-high socks, revealing toenails that were painted an icy shade of blue with silver glitter on them, cute little painted toes that matched her manicured nails. All fine and dandy when she tugged on the little elf shoes with the silver bells on the ends that would have looked downright silly any other time, all fine and dandy with everything else, he lost it when she stood up, unzipped and pulled off her parka, revealing the rest of her elf costume.
He swallowed hard, feeling his Adam's apple bob in his throat. She had curves that could only be defined as illegal, and the clinging fabric of the costume only added to the illicitness. The faux fur edged scoop neck of the short dress revealed her glitter-dusted chest and the generous size of her large breasts that were confined to her lacy red bra, the edge of it peeking over the furry neckline only momentarily before she reached up and straightened it, tugging it higher and hiding her undergarment from his and everyone else's view. His gaze lingered there for a little too long, at her chest sparkling from the overhead lights, only a hint of her cleavage showing, just the swell of the tops of her breasts, but it was more than enough to get the blood coursing through the veins of any sex deprived man.
His gaze traveled down to the slenderness of her waist, the flair of her hips hidden by the short, full fur-trimmed skirt, lingering on the curve of her shapely buttocks when the bottom of her skirt rode up as she bent down to pick up her boots and set them on the chair. The children would only see a cute little elf, he saw a woman that had a body that could stop traffic. Gabe ran a hand over his face, hoping the expression on his face didn't match the lust-filled thoughts that were running rampant in his brain. "I can't go in there. I'm going to go find a cup of coffee or something," he said, quickly looking the other direction.
"Okay," Holly said, picking up her belongings in one hand and the bag of presents in the other. She hoped she could hide the disappointment in her voice, it wasn't like she expected him to hand out the presents with her, driving her to the hospital was more than enough. And with the way that he was trying to avoid the pediatric ward tugged at her in more ways than one. Or was it her? She shrugged the thought off and tipped her head back, looking up at him, feeling her breath catch in her throat once again when she caught the sudden blatant look of sexual hunger on his face.
Maybe it was her and she didn't have time to stick around to find out, nor was the hospital even the place to act upon those feelings even if there were empty rooms with beds in them. She pivoted on her heel and walked down the hall towards the children's ward. "It shouldn't take me more than an hour," she said over her shoulder as she left him standing there. She needed to distance herself from him because if he looked at her like that for any longer, she was going to do something that she would regret in the morning.
When she spun around on her foot, the short skirt on her green dress flared out and Gabe caught an eyeful, yet fleeting one, of the taut twin round globes of her ass. He swore under his breath as she walked away, a curse or a prayer he didn't know which, watching as the short skirt swished around her legging-encased thighs and playing hell with his sanity. Five years was a long time to go without the touch of a woman and suddenly he realized that he didn't want any other woman, he wanted her, and he just went and totally blew his chances when he should've just swallowed his damn anxieties for the night and followed her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The cafeteria was located on the bottom floor of the hospital and Gabe pushed the down button on the panel between the two elevators and waited for the car to slowly make its way up to the fourth floor. After watching Holly walk away, his gaze lingering on her hips and thighs a little longer than it should have, he needed a cup of ice water instead of a cup of coffee, preferably poured over his head or down the front of his duty trousers. She stirred up feelings inside him that he hadn't felt in a long time. Yes, she was a good twelve to thirteen years younger than him, but he was still a man, a man that hadn't been with a woman since his wife divorced him. And he doubted that after this night, after he safely got her back home, he would never see her again.
He might as well just get himself a cup of coffee and read the outdated magazines in the waiting area, he couldn't bring himself to go down the hall to the children's ward, couldn't face their tiny happy faces on Christmas Eve when the memory of that night still tormented him, couldn't admit his own personal demons to her.
The doors slid open and looked back down the hall towards the pediatric unit. It was his own fears that were keeping him from walking down there, the memory of not being able to see his daughter's face on Christmas morning when she opened all her presents, the pain that he had felt when she had died on this very day five years ago. It was that pain that was keeping him from moving on with his life, keeping him from finding joy in the holidays ever again. He never got to see his daughter, never got to tell her how much he loved her before she had died, and he regretted that day every waking moment of his life. And she was gone, never to come back.
He drew in a deep breath and let it back out, thinking about the past, thinking about the present and especially thinking about the future. He had spent too much time in the past, letting the death of his daughter control his life, letting it drag him deeper into a depression on the holidays. He didn't know if it was fate that had brought Holly into his life on this very evening or if it was something else, but he did know that everything happened for a reason, some of those things he could control and some of those things he couldn't, and yet, here he was, a grown man of forty, unable to face his own fears. And that was stopping tonight. He stepped away from the elevator and walked down the corridor to find Holly.
Gabe stepped further into the ward and swiped a candy cane from the jar sitting on the counter at the nurse's station, tearing off the cellophane wrapping with his teeth as he stayed out of sight the best that he could, he didn't want the children to see him in his police uniform. He stuck the long end of the candy cane in his mouth and leaned his shoulder against the wall, crossing his arms over his broad chest as he watched Holly from a safe distance. She had already handed out all the presents to the children and she was sitting on the floor, as they were entertaining her with the gifts she had brought. She really was something to behold.
He didn't know of anyone as humble, as extraordinary as her that would unselfishly spend their Christmas Eve bringing joy to hospitalized children instead of worrying about the stress of the holiday, panicking that nothing was going right and freaking out over the tiniest of things. And that only made him admire her that much more. When she raised her head and looked down the hall his direction, slowly smiling at him, he felt his heart skip a beat. He never got to see the excitement on his daughter's face that morning but this, right here, right now, was exactly what he needed, to see the joy on these children's faces, on Holly's face, to know that he was still alive inside. He watched her for a little while longer, and checking the time on his watch, he tapped it when she looked back up at him and she got to her feet, saying her good-byes.
He pulled the candy cane out of his mouth and tossed it into the nearby trash can, straightening to his full height as Holly got closer to him, unconsciously jamming his hands into the pockets of his trousers. "The snow is getting deeper and we need to get going if I'm going to get you home safely," he said, his gaze taking in every inch of her again from the tips of her shoes to the tips of her cute elf ears, watching the sway of her hips as she walked, the skirt swishing around her thighs, his gaze lingering a little too long on her breasts, watching their slight bounce as she walked. She had the biggest, most infectious smile on her face, which only made him want to smile too but he couldn't, and he was pretty sure that it had everything to do with her thoughtful gift-giving to all the children, that she was so filled with joy that she just couldn't contain it all and she had to just keep spreading the happiness. And for that, she was absolutely amazing. Coming to her rescue may have been the best thing he ever could have done. "And you look very ecstatic," he said, not missing the little spring in her step as she walked towards him.
Holly was surprised to see him standing in the ward when she looked up from where she was sitting with the children and almost tripped over her own feet when she saw him casually leaning against the wall when she walked down the hallway to the nurse's station to collect her belongings. She didn't know what caused him to change his mind, just moments ago he was ditching her to go get a cup of coffee and now here he was back again. She doubted that he was starting to get the holiday spirit; he had been so distant with her on the ride over, more so when she mentioned that she was going to cheer up the sick kids. Something was bothering him, something that he kept locked up inside himself, and with his job, it could be just about anything. But what? She wasn't going to question him; it obviously was too painful.
