Christmas Therapy

“Yeah. I’m okay.”

“Okay now take a few steps forward.”

Heather did as he said, hearing the crunch of snow underneath her ankle boots.

“Feel okay?” Allen never let go of her

hands. “Want to try by yourself?”

Heather nodded and he let go of her hands. She held both arms out and tried to stand straight. So far so good. Meeting Allen’s gaze, her heart palpitated at his smile. Time froze.

Taking another step forward, she felt fine, but Tinsel then ran between her and Allen distracting her. Losing her footing, she flailed her arms to steady herself. Allen caught her in time before she hit the ground. A twinge of pain shot up her leg. She loved Tinsel, but her puppy needed more “heel” commands.

She dug her fingers into Allen’s coat as he held her up. She wouldn’t cry in front of him so she breathed through gritted teeth.

“I got you,” he said. “Take all the time you need.”

“I think I need to go home,” she said.

“Can you walk?” His forehead creased. Was he worried about her? The thought warmed her chest.

“I can try.” He must have seen her pinched expression because the next thing she knew he picked her up. “Allen you don’t—”

“It’s okay. What we don’t want to do is make it worse.” He carried her to his truck. His hands around her made her feel secure. There was no way this man would hurt her—she hoped he wouldn’t.

He couldn’t. He had such a tender heart towards his deceased mother. His willingness to help with the Christmas fair. His patience with her during their sessions.

Would it be wrong to give him a chance? She didn’t have to fall in love with him. She never fell in love. Grabbing her crutch along the way, Heather allowed Allen to help her inside the passenger seat.

“Are you okay? Really?” he asked.

Heather took his hand to reassure him. “I’m okay. I promise.”

He held her hand for a while, his lips parting.

“Allen?” a female voice asked.

He jerked his head towards the source. A woman stood waving at them. He waved back as she continued down the sidewalk.

Heather kept silent until Allen settled into the driver’s seat after retrieving Tinsel. He handed over her puppy and her dog settled into her lap. She loved the little rascal.

“Friend of yours?”

“Sort of,” Allen said as he cranked the engine.

“She must be new in town too. I haven’t seen her before.”

Allen gave a faint smile. “She is. Morgan called and asked if I would double date with her and Desmond. That was Portia Barnes.”

Heather covered her mouth to stifle her giggles. “That’s Morgan for you.”

“Yeah, I asked her not to do that again.”

“You prefer to meet people on your own?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I’d rather not.”

Her body went still. When he didn’t explain, Heather took that as a clue to not ask any more questions.