Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy - Janice Lynn Page 0,33

returned to earth.

“Thanks. I don’t even know where to begin to repay you for saving me.”

Cole looked uncomfortable at her praise. “We were just doing our job.”

“Well, thanks for doing your job.” Her gaze went back and forth between the three men. “I guess I’ll head home now.”

Because the longer she stood there, the more awkward the moment was becoming, and her shivering was getting worse.

“Which house is yours?”

Sophie pointed down the street. “I, uh, thanks, again. Y’all are my heroes.”

“What are you doing?”

“Baking cookies.” Sophie didn’t turn to look at her sister, just kept doing what she’d been doing prior to Isabelle coming into the kitchen.

“Okay, let me rephrase my question. Why are you baking cookies first thing in the morning?”

“I’m bringing them to the firehall as a thank you for rescuing me the other night,” she admitted, cutting another cookie, tweaking the shape with a fork tine, then placing it onto the buttered cookie sheet.

“For Cole?”

“For Andrew, Ben, Cole, and whomever else is there today.”

Sighing, Isabelle shook her head. “I know what you’re doing.”

“Showing my appreciation?”

“Looking for an excuse to see Cole Aaron is more like it.”

“That’s not why I’m baking cookies. Besides, if that was what I was after, I wouldn’t need an excuse. I’ll see Cole this weekend when our group meets to go over what still needs to be done for the toy drive.”

True. She would see him that weekend. It was also true that she hadn’t seen him since he’d rescued her. For whatever reason, it felt as if weeks had gone by instead of merely a couple of days.

“So, thank him. Send a card. Write a letter to the newspaper editor about how great our fire department is. Email Chief Callahan singing praises about his crew. There’s no need to go there.”

“I can do all those things, too,” Sophie agreed. “But why not do this? They came to rescue me late at night because I was too petrified to climb down by myself. The least I can do is make them cookies.”

Isabelle leaned back against the kitchen counter. “I’m worried about your fascination with Cole.”

“It’s just a thank you, Isabelle.”

“What about the quilt you’re making?” her sister pushed. “You’ve not said anything about it to me, but it’s for him, isn’t it?”

“I make quilts all the time. You know how involved I am with Quilts of Valor.” She played dumb because she didn’t want to argue with her sister. Isabelle meant well. “Besides, I don’t understand what the big deal is about my being nice—especially to someone who deserves my kindness. And yours, too, for that matter.”

Guilt momentarily flashed onto Isabelle’s face, but then she shook it off. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Sophie didn’t want Isabelle to worry, especially when there was no reason to. Cole barely tolerated her company.

Only, when she’d been up in the tree, when they’d been on the ladder, there had been something in his voice, in his eyes, in his touch…something that had probably only existed in her imagination, but oh, how sweet the seemingly impossible moment had been.

“By Cole?” she scoffed, knowing she needed to reassure Isabelle. “The man came up a tree and rescued me. Why would he hurt me?”

“From what I’ve gathered from what little you’ve told me about reading his journal, he has a lot of issues. We both know what the fallout from those type of issues can lead to. Dating him wouldn’t be smart of you.”

“I’m making the man cookies, not dating him,” she reminded, placing another cookie on the sheet pan.

“Do you want to date him?”

Sophie chose that moment to turn to put the pan into the oven before carefully turning back to her sister’s intense blue gaze.

“I feel badly for him. He’s a good person. He went through a lot, lives in a town where he only knows a few people and is obviously working hard in an honorable profession in his civilian life. Not to mention, he’s making a choice to give back by helping with things like the toy drive. It’s what we both wish Dad had been able to do.”

All true, and probably why she was so invested in Cole.

Especially after reading his journal and knowing he fought the same mental battles her father had.

“Besides, I need to drop off his Santa suit, too,” she reminded. “There’s no way I can charge the fire department for the alterations after they rescued me.”

“Someone here to see you, Aaron.”

Again? Cole straightened from where he’d been bent