“God, Mom, you look amazing. Seriously.”
She laughed and blushed. “You’re sweet. Get in here before we let all the cold inside.”
He stepped inside. She shut the door and pulled him into a hug. Her arms were tight around his back, and her breasts pressed soft and full against his chest. The hug felt comfortable and familiar, yet a jolt of electricity shot straight through Mark to his cock. She smelled faintly of vanilla and mint. He breathed her in.
When she finally let go, she kissed his cheek.
“I’m sorry I made you come out in this,” she said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
“You didn’t make me do anything. I should’ve been here a week ago.” Mark glanced out the window at the thickening flakes. “Let me get started before it really starts coming down.”
Mark set the ladder up, climbed, brushed the leaves and pine needles off the chimney cap, and tightened a couple of loose screws. When he leaned over the flue to check it, a sharp cold wind cut across the roof. He finished his work and came down the ladder. He was glad to be back on solid ground. His hands and jacket sleeves were dusted with soot.
Inside, Mark knelt at the hearth. He shoveled last year’s cold ash into the metal bucket, and he worked the damper until it moved smoothly. A light layer of gray dust settled on his shirt and jeans.
Linda was waiting with a mug of coffee. He took it and leaned against the counter.
She smiled and tilted her head. “Standing there all dirty like that, you look so much like your dad it hurts. You’ve got the same shoulders. And you hold your mouth the same way when you’re concentrating.”
Mark gave a quiet laugh. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should. He was handsome as hell.” She sighed. “And Lord, that man was good with his hands. Mmmm, I do miss him.”
Mark raised an eyebrow, “Are we still talking about chimneys?”
Linda laughed. “A woman gets used to having someone around who knows how to take care of things,” she said, holding his gaze. “All kinds of things,” she said with a wink.
She reached for his empty mug and turned to the sink to rinse it out. Mark’s eyes dropped instantly to her ass. It was round and full. The denim stretched tight across both heavy cheeks. He pictured stepping up behind her, and imagined sliding his hands over those perfect curves and pulling her ass back against him.
He blinked hard and shook it off. “I’m gonna bring in a good stack of wood before this gets any worse.”
Outside, the flakes had turned big and heavy. He made six fast trips out to the wood pile and back in and then a seventh. By the last one the wind was howling, and the snow blasted sideways. He shouldered the back door shut against a gust of wind and dropped the final armload of wood by the hearth. He stood catching his breath.
Linda glanced out the window and then at the weather app on her phone.
“Mark,” she said, “the storm that was supposed to hold off until tonight is here now. The roads are already closing.”
Mark brushed snow from his hair and looked out the window. The backyard had vanished behind a wall of white.