The Christmas Plan - Samantha Chase Page 0,18

with a cloth covered basket. Handing it to Aspen, she said, “I did make you some muffins. There are cinnamon swirl and chocolate chip in here. I figured you’d like a variety.” She smiled up at Aspen and for some reason, it made her feel overly emotional.

“Thank you,” she whispered, accepting the basket. “That was incredibly thoughtful of you. You didn’t need to do all of this.” Her voice trembled and she felt her eyes sting with unshed tears. Her own family never made this big of a deal over her when she went to visit, and it was crazy how much this meant to her.

Rather than say anything, Mrs. Andrews hugged her before wishing her a good night.

Alone in the kitchen, Aspen wondered where Gabe had gone off to. She wanted to say goodnight to him as well, but…he was probably still talking to his father about options for the video.

With nothing left to do, she took her basket and walked out the back door and across the yard. Once inside the tiny house, she put the basket down on the small kitchen counter and sighed.

“Are you regretting coming to Silver Bell Falls with me?”

With a gasp, Aspen turned and saw Gabe sitting on the small sofa in the corner. “How long have you been out here?”

He shrugged. “Just a few minutes. Dad and I moved your stuff over for you. I figured you might appreciate not having to lug all this stuff across the yard.”

“It’s not that much…”

But it was.

He stood and grinned at her. “All the unpacking is up to you, though.” Glancing over her shoulder, she knew the instant he spotted the basket. “What’s in there?”

“Muffins,” she said coyly. “For me.”

His dark eyes went a little wide. “And you’re not going to share?”

“Well…I was told that it’s every man for himself for breakfast tomorrow so…I’ll share in the morning.”

“But…”

“You can’t possibly be hungry, Gabe!” she said with a laugh. “That dinner was huge and then all the dessert…I mean, if I’m not hungry, you can’t be hungry.”

Even though he shook his head, he was laughing with her. “I don’t really think that logic works, but…”

This was exactly what she needed right now. A time to laugh with her best friend before being left alone for the night in a strange place.

“You bring the coffee in the morning and we’ll share the muffins. What do you say?”

“I say that’s the best idea because my mother is a beast on a holiday morning. She yells at us to stay out of her way and then yells at us for not helping, so…if I’m out here with you, I’ll miss at least some of the yelling.” He paused and looked around. “I know I said you were on your own to unpack, but if you’d like some help…”

But she waved him off. “Nah. I’ve got it. It would probably be too tight in here for both of us trying to figure out where it’s all going to go.”

Gabe let out a long breath, raking a hand through his hair. “If you’d feel better, you can take my room and I’ll stay out here.”

And before she could help it, she was hugging him. “You are very sweet but this is going to be just fine. I’m going to bask in the silence because once I move back in with my parents, I highly doubt I’ll get any.”

“Aspen…”

It wasn’t something she wanted to talk about tonight. There was a lot of unpacking to do and she was desperate to change into her pajamas and crawl into bed.

Playfully, she gave him a gentle shove toward the door. “Go. I need to get going on all of this so I can get to sleep before midnight. I can’t even believe my eyes are still open right now.”

“I know what you mean,” he said, but he still looked a little hesitant to leave. “If I help, you can get it done faster.”

“Gabriel Andrews, go!” Another little shove. “I’m going to be fine.”

Fortunately, this time he didn’t argue. Instead, he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her forehead and said goodnight.

Once he was gone, Aspen leaned against the kitchen cabinets and immediately decided she could unpack tomorrow because…the bed was calling her name.

Four

By Sunday night, Aspen had a whole new perspective on her time in Silver Bell Falls.

The town was amazing. It was definitely small, and it was a little like stepping back in time because there were no malls or big shopping