Jane's Gift Read online

  “You and Chris? When I found you two in the dining room alone yesterday, it looked kind of serious. And he told me you went to the movies together.”

  “It was nothing. We’re just friends.” Jane even waved her hand for emphasis.

  “That’s exactly what he said.” Mac was quiet for a moment, as were the children.

  As if they were absorbing every single word the adults were saying. “Can’t we talk about this later?” She gave a subtle flick of her head toward the back of the car.

  “Oh. Yeah. No problem.” Mac looked remorseful, and Jane hoped he suffered just a little bit. Much like she’d suffered when he started drilling her.

  “He’ll be there tonight, you know. Santa rides in on the fire engine every single year.”

  “Santa’s going to be there?” Logan’s hopeful little voice sounded from the backseat.

  “He sure is.” Jane turned sideways to talk to him. Tried to ignore the fact that Chris would be there. A heady mixture of nerves and excitement trembled through her. She was going to see him, but she didn’t want to make a big deal about it, not in front of Mac. “And if you’re a good boy, you’ll get to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him what you want.”

  “Yay! I can’t wait to see Santa.” Logan clapped his hands together.

  “What about you, Lexi? Are you going to sit on Santa’s lap?”

  “No. I just want to see my cousins.”

  “They’ve played together for the last two days. She loves the girls,” Jane told Mac, and he nodded.

  “Yeah, and Madison told me something but I don’t want to talk about it.” Lexi sounded stressed. Jane turned, peering into the semi-darkness of the backseat, trying to make out her daughter’s face.

  “What is it?”

  Lexi shrugged. “I told you I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “All right. Maybe we can talk about it later.” Worry filled Jane. She didn’t like to see any of her children upset, and from the sound of it, something was bothering Lexi. Could it be all the talk about Chris? Maybe it wasn’t smart, seeing him while she was with her children.

  But they were such a part of her life, how could she avoid it?

  The drive to the small downtown area of Lone Pine Lake was short, and when they arrived, both the streets and the small parking lots that surrounded the area were packed. Mac finally found a spot, though they’d have to walk a bit.

  Making sure everyone was bundled up against the cold, Jane and her family exited the car and headed toward the giant, unlit tree. A large crowd surrounded it, and Jane noticed a makeshift booth set up to the right of the tree selling hot cocoa and snacks. They found Patrick in line, flagging them down and looking desperate for help. Mac stood with him so they could carry all of the drinks, and Jane went to find Lyssa, Patrick’s wife. It was cold, the coldest night yet, and Jane knew just by the scent in the air that snow was on its way. After growing up there, she knew it was a sense a local just didn’t forget.

  “Jane, there you are! We’re so glad you came.” Lyssa wrapped Jane in her warm, parka-covered embrace, and Jane returned the hug with equal fervor.

  She considered herself lucky that Patrick had married such a nice woman. She’d thought Marty was nice once, too, though lately he’d seemed so distracted. Her heart panged and she hurt for Mindy, wished that she was there with them. She hoped everything would be okay. She knew her sister was strong.

  But was she strong enough to make it through a possible divorce?

  “Lexi is thrilled to be here. She loves spending time with your girls.” To prove her point, Lexi took off with Madison and Emma, the three of them chattering and giggling as they crowded closer to the tree.

  “Ah yes, they get along so well. It’s so nice to see. Too bad we have to leave Sunday.” Lyssa frowned, pulling baby Noah closer to her.

  “You’ll be back for Christmas, though, right?”

  “Yeah, and this time we’re renting a cabin at the resort. The kids are excited. We went on a tour with them earlier.”

  “I’m so sorry to put you out of your house. You could stay with me, of course.” Jane clutched Logan’s and Sophia’s hands when they were jostled by the growing crowd.

  “Don’t worry, the children have enjoyed staying with your parents. And trust me, Patrick and I have had fun staying at the hotel all by ourselves.” Lyssa shot Jane a quick wink. “Every couple needs alone time.”

  “Noah does all right without you?” The baby was only ten months old and from what Jane could tell, a total mama’s boy.

  “He sleeps through the night, thank goodness. He’s my best sleeper out of the bunch. I lay him down in his crib at eight and he wakes up like clockwork at six thirty. And he’s always thrilled to see his grandma in the morning. She indulges his every whim,” Lyssa explained, then kissed Noah on the cheek.

  “Sophia is really close to my mother, too. All of that time she spent living with them when she was so young, you know. For a long time she cried whenever she was with me. She always wanted to be with Mom.” It had broken her heart at first.

  “I remember. She’s doing okay now though, right?”

  Jane nodded, tugged Sophia a little closer to her side. “She’s doing great. They’re all doing great. The adjustment was tough at first, but they love living in the house, playing in the big backyard, and being close to the lake.”

  “I’m so glad. Stay as long as you’d like; we love that you’re all healing there. After everything that happened, Patrick and I, we’re willing to do anything to help you.”

  Jane smiled, too moved to say anything else. Not that she could, considering the town mayor’s voice boomed from the speakers flanking either side of the giant redwood, silencing nearly the entire crowd. He gave the usual general speech, welcoming everyone to the annual tree lighting, thanking the sponsors of the event, encouraging everyone to go buy a round of hot chocolate. Jane didn’t really listen, too distracted by the idea that she could see Chris at any given moment. Was he here yet?

  She tried to push thoughts of him from her mind when Patrick and Mac returned with many cups of hot cocoa to go around. Jane helped pass them out, holding onto one for Sophia and telling her daughter to wait so she wouldn’t burn her lips or tongue on the hot liquid. She blew on Sophia’s cup, took a few sips, and when she scorched her tongue she shook her head. Bad as a kid, even she couldn’t wait.

  “…And we want to thank CAL Fire, specifically Captain Christian Nelson for escorting the jolly man in red himself, Santa Claus!” The crowd erupted in cheers, most of the voices young and high-pitched. Jane’s heart turned over in her chest.

  “But first, we must light the tree. Is everyone ready to count down with me?”

  The mayor started at five and everyone counted along, Jane included, though her heart and head were elsewhere. She kept her eye on the one spot she figured the fire engine would come from, ready to see it appear with the dashing captain behind the wheel.

  Okay, now she was being just plain hokey. Was she pinning all of her fantastical and romantic hopes and dreams on this one man because of his good looks? Stephen had been no slouch in the looks department, but he was nothing like the fire captain.

  Chris went against her normal type. Besides being a handsome man, he was also the hands-on type. Physical, fit, didn’t mind getting a little dirty. The men she’d been attracted to before had been the type more likely to work behind a desk.

  And maybe that was the allure, as well. That he did happen to be so different from her normal type. It didn’t hurt that he was nice to her children. And friends with her brother. He smiled often and with ease, and he seemed so utterly confident in his surroundings…

  She envied him that. She didn’t have that sort of confidence. She never really had.

  “Look, Mommy, it’s the fire engine! And the captain! Wow, Santa’s riding with him. The captain’s so lucky!” Logan squeezed her hand so tight that she grimaced. He jumped up and down, trying to catch a better glimpse of th
e fire engine. Mac caught sight of him and swung him up on his shoulders, allowing Logan a bird’s-eye view of all the action.

  The crowd quickly turned chaotic, kids clamoring to see Santa and their parents forcing their way to the front of the line for the jolly fat man. A small stage had been set up with a giant, throne-like chair. Santa was already perched atop it, waving and ho-ho-ho’ing to beat all.

  “I wanna see him!” Logan shouted down at Jane.

  Mac swung in her direction. “I’ll take him if you take the girls.”

  “Deal.” Jane nodded. She went in search of Lexi.

  “I don’t want to go,” Lexi said when Jane found her, clinging to her older cousin’s side. “I want to stay with Madison.”

  Lyssa nodded her approval to Jane. “Go ahead and bring Sophia. I’ll stay here with them. Patrick is taking everyone else.” They all trooped toward the Santa stage and stood in line alongside the gleaming red and silver engine. Jane trembled in anticipation because surely, Chris hung out in the cab of the truck. She knew she’d catch a glimpse of him somehow.

  “Jane, come on.” Mac yelled over his shoulder and she realized she was lagging behind, dreamy-eyed over a man she shouldn’t be dreamy-eyed over.

  Why not? You’re always there for your children. What about you?

  She ignored the nagging little voice inside her head, focused instead on the excitement she saw on her son’s face, on the way Sophia chanted Santa over and over again. Why Lexi didn’t join them, she wasn’t sure, and she needed to question her further once they got back home.

  “Captain Nelson!” Logan’s screech made Jane’s heart drop to her toes. She couldn’t contain the smile that broke out at his approach.

  “Hey bro,” she heard Mac greet, and the two men clapped each other on the back, as men did. Logan stood between them, set down by Mac a few minutes ago, and he gazed up at Chris with adoring eyes. Chris reached out, ruffled Logan’s hair affectionately.

  Jane’s heart was now firmly back in her chest, since, at the gesture, it had done a flip-flop so grand, she was left breathless. Touched at the easy affection she saw between the three males just ahead of her.

  “Hi, Jane,” Chris said when his warm golden eyes landed upon her, his smile gentle.

  She returned his greeting with a quick smile, her eyes unable to stop from drifting down the length of his body and then back up. Unabashedly checking him out. But he looked oh, so attractive in his uniform and matching navy blue coat.

  “Where’s Lexi?”

  It touched her all over again that he noticed Lexi wasn’t around. “She’s with my brother’s girls over by the tree. They didn’t want to see Santa.”

  “Who doesn’t want to see Santa?” he asked incredulously, which excited Logan all over again.

  “Did you talk to him? Did you tell him you knew me?”

  Chris laughed and knelt so he was on Logan’s level. “I told him about all three of you, plus your mom, and how deserving your family is. He agreed, so watch for an extra load of presents under the tree this year.”

  “I can’t wait to tell him what I want.” Logan started in on his list, which was forever long, and Chris stood, took hold of Logan’s hand as they inched up the line.

  The man had the patience of a saint.

  Patrick, who had been way ahead of them in line, approached with two of his four in tow. “Lyssa told me the girls want Lexi to spend the night. Is that okay?”

  “Well, only if Mom agrees to it.” Which of course, Jane knew she would.

  “Lyssa already called and confirmed it. So if you don’t mind…” Patrick shrugged. “Like one more is going to make a difference.”

  “No, that’s fine. She has clothes over there, so she’s good. Just have her call me in the morning.”

  “Will do. See you all later.” Patrick nodded and then walked away, winding through the thinning crowd.

  The line started to move quickly. When they finally got to the front, Sophia screamed when placed on Santa’s lap, but Logan spent so much time with the poor man, Mac eventually had to drag him away.

  “You have a tree yet?” Chris asked as they stood together watching Logan accept a giant candy cane for himself and his sister from one of Santa’s elf helpers.

  “Not yet. I’m not really sure when I’m going to get one.”

  “Uh huh.” Chris nodded, rocking back on his heels. He didn’t so much as look at her, kept his eyes trained on the kids, who were both tearing into their candy canes. “I have a permit to cut down a tree. You want it?”

  A fresh tree sounded like heaven. In the past, they’d always used an artificial one, since they didn’t shed needles and aggravate Stephen’s allergies. She’d indulged in buying fresh wreaths to hang on the front door…but it hadn’t been the same.

  “Don’t you want the tree for yourself?”

  He shrugged. “I’m not home much. And besides, it’s not like I have much for decorations. I’d rather you take it. The kids want one, right?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Well, then I’ll cut it down for you this weekend.”

  “That would be wonderful,” she said, turning to smile at him.

  “Want to go with me?”

  …

  Chris waited with bated breath for Jane’s answer, hoping like crazy she wouldn’t turn him down.

  On the other hand, he wanted to kick himself across the town square for even asking her such a question. Setting himself up to get rejected yet again was stupid.

  Being around Jane, it was as if he couldn’t help himself. He’d become a glutton for punishment. He’d realized on Thanksgiving night, once he got back at his house—despite her protests, despite his own, maybe he didn’t want to be “just friends.”

  Her attitude that night at Thanksgiving had intrigued him. She’d become flirtatious, funny. Over dessert, her brothers had shared story after story, many of them starring Jane. They’d involved her in their antics and surprisingly, she’d played right along.

  He’d enjoyed the stories. Enjoyed even more watching Jane blush and laugh and try her best to keep her brothers quiet. It didn’t work. And he’d been glad for it.

  “What day are you going?” Her soft voice washed over him, made all sorts of things stand at attention, and he focused on the cold air, the fact that plenty of families and children, Jane’s children, surrounded them. Anything to get his mind out of the gutter.

  “Probably Sunday.”

  “You’re off?”

  “I was off today, but the mayor asked me to drive the engine as a favor. In fact, I need to get it back to the station. They’re engine-less and that’s not supposed to happen.” He paused, studied her carefully, looking for some sort of reaction or emotion on her pretty face.

  She looked frustratingly neutral. He wished he felt the same. But his stomach was tied up in knots, and he swore he was sweating in thirty-degree weather.

  “Lexi’s staying the night at my parents’ house, so I’m thinking I’ll be busy with family tomorrow. But Sunday would definitely work.”

  A twinge of jealousy moved through him and he tried to ignore it. Damn if he didn’t wish for an invitation to hang out with the family again. Even if they weren’t doing anything but sitting around and eating Thanksgiving leftovers, he would’ve enjoyed it.

  Especially if pumpkin pie was involved…oh yes, and Jane.

  “Sounds good. We’ll load up in my truck and take a drive up the mountain. I know the perfect spot, full of trees.”

  “All right.” She didn’t even hesitate, and the vulnerable smile she flashed shot him straight in the heart.

  “Okay. Perfect.” He nodded, shoved his hands in his pockets. Afraid he might grab her and pull her close. “I’ll pick you up at your house, say around one?”

  “I’ll let the kids know. They’ll be thrilled.”

  He had a feeling he was more thrilled than the children could ever be.

  Chapter Nine

  Chris was exhausted,
wiped. He could barely keep his eyes open. But he couldn’t deny he still wanted to see Jane, despite the fact he’d gotten minimal sleep the last couple of nights.

  He’d gone back to the station to drop off the engine Friday only to find Eric sick as a dog, hovering over the toilet. Some sort of nasty stomach bug had his second-in-command fevered and glassy-eyed, so Chris had immediately sent him home and taken over.

  The weekend had been busy. Icy roads brought car accidents, both minor and major, and it didn’t help that there was extra holiday traffic. Get-togethers brought arguments and chaos, which usually resulted in more medical aid calls. He’d gone on quite a few, been first on scene before the ambulance arrived.

  One of them had involved Audrey Daniels and her ex. From the looks of it, Audrey and Pete had gotten into a knock-down, drag-’em-out fight. Both of them showed signs of abuse and the police had called for medical assistance.

  Pete had a bloody nose and a black eye. Apparently Audrey knew how to pack a punch—which was crazy. This had been a woman who’d seriously pursued him last summer, despite the fact she was married. She’d shot him a look last night that he supposed she thought sultry, but it didn’t quite meet the mark, considering she had a bloody and swollen lip.

  Family drama. It always quietly freaked him out. His parents had fought like cats and dogs when he was a kid. Though his father had never raised a hand toward his mom, the yelling and screaming had been ferocious, especially near the end of their marriage.

  Yet another reminder that despite everything, love didn’t usually work. People couldn’t keep it together. Making it worse, he’d caught the stomach bug he sent Eric home for last night.

  Tired, slightly dehydrated, and lying in bed, he thought of Jane. Her marriage looked and sounded ideal, and still it ended in tragedy. There were no guarantees in life; he knew this. So why let your heart get involved only to have it smashed to bits? That had always been his theory, and he’d held fast to it his entire adult life.