Jane's Gift Read online

  “Some other time, Mom.” She bent, pressed a quick kiss to her mother’s soft cheek. “I appreciate your concern. Love you.”

  “You want me to drive you home?” Her brother looked a little lost, as if he didn’t want to be left alone with Mom, but Jane shook her head.

  “No, it’s okay. The walk will do us good. ’Bye.”

  She went into the living room and gathered her little family, donning coats and putting on shoes in a flurry. Panic clawed at her, making her anxious, needy to get the heck out of her parents’ suddenly oppressive house. She fled out the front door, slamming it behind her with a loud bang. She grabbed the stroller from the front porch and stuffed Sophia into the seat.

  “Are you okay?” Lexi asked as she followed down the front walk.

  “I just needed fresh air.” Jane breathed deeply, the cool clean mountain air filling her lungs, clearing her head. She smiled down at Lexi. “I feel much better already.”

  Lexi’s dark brows crinkled. “What happened? Did Grandma make you mad?”

  Jane realized her daughter was far too perceptive for her age. Most likely because of all she’d had to deal with in her short life. And Jane hated that. She wanted to give Lexi back her innocence, keep her safe and protected from all the horror in life.

  She had a feeling it was too late.

  “Nothing happened and Grandma is fine. Don’t worry about it,” Jane answered, keeping her tone light as she started to push the stroller down the sidewalk. “Want to go to the store?”

  All three of them got excited, talking animatedly about what they were going to buy once they got there, and Jane half listened to their chatter, enjoying the sound of their high-pitched voices. How happy they were with the simple pleasure of going shopping, with the possibility of getting candy or a pack of gum.

  Life was okay, Jane realized as they walked along the old, cracked sidewalk. She stepped over a bump, wanted to laugh a little at the rattling she gave Sophia, but her daughter didn’t seem to mind. Little giggles came from the front of the stroller.

  Jane slowed her pace, took in her surroundings. She needed to live in the here and now, not delve into the past or worry about the future. Stephen had taken care of his family with a considerable insurance policy, but the majority of that had already been spent on her medical care. Insurance hadn’t covered everything, unfortunately.

  But she didn’t need a lot of money to live, not right now. And she had her family. Even though her mother drove her crazy, she meant well. The holidays were coming up, Jane’s favorite time of year, and though last year’s Christmas season had been a quiet, somber time, especially because she’d still been physically recovering as well as an emotional wreck, she vowed not to have that happen again this year.

  They needed to make new memories, she and the children. Start fun traditions and celebrate the beauty of the season. She hadn’t ever been one to decorate for Thanksgiving but she promised herself she would this year. Making homemade turkeys out of little handprints and filling vases with twigs and leaves would be a start.

  Yes, she was going to make things magical this year. Her children deserved it.

  Her left knee ached, but she ignored it. Her physical therapist had told her that exercise would do her good, and she was following his instructions.

  The local grocery store sat just ahead, part of a short strip mall that housed the bakery, a small ice-cream store, and a tiny, cluttered gift shop just for tourists.

  “What’s going on over there?” Logan asked, pointing his chubby fingers at the wide parking lot that sat in front of the strip of stores.

  Jane noticed white tents and strings of colorful balloons streaming above them. Small clusters of people walked about the two rows of tents, and she swore she heard the faint sounds of a band playing in the distance.

  “I smell popcorn,” Lexi said and Sophia clapped her hands, repeating the word.

  “It must be a little fair or something,” Jane said as they approached the parking lot.

  She hadn’t noticed them setting it up earlier when she’d gone to her parents’ place, but Mac had picked up her and the children, buckling the two oldest in the backseat while Jane clutched Sophia in her lap for the short mile drive. They’d been too busy chatting for her to pay attention.

  “Can we walk through it, Mama?” Lexi asked, tugging on Jane’s sleeve.

  “Can we get popcorn?” Logan shouted, running off ahead of them.

  “Logan!” Jane picked up the pace, trying to keep up with her son, but he was too fast and she was hindered by the stroller and the bumpy sidewalk, not to mention her still sluggish muscles. “Slow down!”

  “I’ll get him,” Lexi said, taking off after her younger brother. She was fast and caught up to him with ease, clutching at his chubby hand as she gave him a stern lecture about running away.

  Like a little mama, Jane thought with a shake of her head. And Logan actually listened to his sister, too. At least they were on the same side of the street as the store and not across the road. Jane followed the children into the parking lot and caught a quick glimpse of the shiny red fire engine that stood at the other end of the white tents.

  Her heart kicked over itself and she exhaled slowly. Was he here? Mac had told her he was the only fire captain stationed in Lone Pine Lake for the winter.

  Lexi caught sight of the engine as well. “Do you think Captain Nelson is here?”

  “Probably,” Jane said with a nod. She smoothed a quick hand over her hair, wishing she wasn’t so self-conscious in a crowd. Lots of people milled about the booths filled with various arts, crafts, and other wares for sale. She didn’t want to attract their attention or feel their stares.

  “Can we go see him?” Lexi asked.

  “Let’s get to the end of the row and see if he’s there, okay?” Jane took her time, careful not to run down to Captain Nelson—she needed a few minutes to gather her thoughts and come up with something to say first. She really shouldn’t feel this way—excited to see him, curious what he might say. She had no business being interested in a man so soon after her husband’s death. Or so she told herself.

  It didn’t take long to check out all of the booths, since there weren’t that many and what they had available held little interest for her three busy bees. They flitted from one booth to the next, only lingering around the man who sold freshly made kettle corn. She bought a bag, unable to resist, and she grabbed two handfuls, setting the little pile into the cup holder on the stroller handle before passing the bag to Lexi.

  Logan finally caught sight of the fire engine. “Can I go, Mama?”

  When she nodded, he took off yet again, his little legs taking him as fast as they could pump. Lexi followed, her dark hair streaming behind her, the bag of kettle corn clutched in her right hand. A tall, familiar shape stood in front of the truck and she knew without a doubt it was Christian Nelson.

  Logan shouting “Captain!” at the top of his lungs also gave it away.

  “Hey,” Christian said when he spotted her, his voice easy and relaxed, Logan’s body wrapped around his legs. He ruffled Logan’s light brown hair with a large hand and Jane’s gaze dropped to it.

  He had big hands, capable hands. They looked strong, as if they could do anything, but she also knew they were gentle. She’d witnessed how carefully he’d handled her children. He was kind, patient.

  She found that wildly attractive. And she found her reaction just the slightest bit disturbing.

  “Hi,” Jane said in greeting. Why couldn’t she come up with something a little cleverer to say? Instead, she just stood there like a dolt, her fingers clutched around the stroller handle so tight she white-knuckled it.

  “Out for a stroll?” He lifted a dark brow at her, gave a chuckle when Logan pushed away from him and ran to the engine.

  “We were just coming from my parents’ house. I needed to stop by the store before we head back home.” The wind ruffled a lock of dark hair across his forehead.

&nb
sp; “You live close by?” He crossed his arms in front of his chest, emphasizing his sheer size.

  “Down the road a little bit.” She waved her hand in the general direction of her brother’s house.

  “Wow, so you live on the lake? I bet the view’s amazing.” He looked impressed.

  “It’s my brother Patrick’s place. He’s letting us stay there until…” Until what?

  She honestly couldn’t finish her sentence. She had no future plans, couldn’t imagine leaving at the moment, six months from now, even a year down the road. She’d never even discussed with Patrick how long they’d be staying there. She’d simply sold the house she shared with Stephen, hired movers to pack up most of her furniture and put it in storage, and came to Lone Pine Lake. “Until I get back on my feet,” she finished.

  “Nice. I met Patrick once; Mac introduced us. He’s a good guy.”

  “He’s the best.” She’d always admired her big brother. He and his wife had been her strength, her rock while going through her recovery.

  “Captain Nelson, can I go on the engine?” Lexi asked, using her most polite voice. She stood in front of him looking just like a little lady, her eyes beguiling.

  And Jane figured Captain Nelson was as big a sucker as anyone else because he knelt in front of Lexi and flashed a dazzling smile. “Absolutely. Get your brother and take him, too. Tell Chip, the firefighter standing over there, to let you get in the cab—because I said so.”

  Lexi’s face brightened and she looked ready to bolt, but Jane stopped her. “Tell Captain Nelson thank you.”

  “Thank you, Captain Nelson!” And she was gone, grabbing Logan before they both approached the young firefighter who stood in front of the driver’s side of the truck.

  “You’re welcome,” he said as he brought himself back up to his full height, his gaze locked on Jane’s face. “And you can call me Chris.”

  Heady warmth washed over her at the expression he wore, the careful way he watched her. She forgot that her children were yelling at her from the front of the cab—“Look at me, Mama!”—and forgot that Sophia was rocking back and forth in her stroller demanding more popcorn.

  “Mooom-meee!” Jane startled at the sound of Lexi yelling at her, and she turned to see her two children with their heads poking out of the open window of the engine, Chip the firefighter standing just below them on the ground. “Hi!”

  Jane returned Lexi’s frantic wave, then shrugged at Chris. “They can be kind of demanding, huh?”

  “I’ll say. But they sure are cute.” He still watched them. “Seems like they’re not as worried about fire anymore, huh?”

  “You helped a lot—thank you. And I talked to them that night, after the visit. Showed them the Smokey Bear comic book you gave me.” She couldn’t admit to Chris her new suspicion, that she was the one with the irrational fear, not them. “We even had Mac over last night and he showed them how to light a fire. The kids roasted marshmallows.”

  “I bet they loved that.”

  “They did. Made s’mores and everything.”

  His gaze met hers yet again and he breathed deeply, as if for courage or…something. Nerves warred within her stomach and she wondered if she was overreacting.

  Of course she was overreacting. Whatever attraction she felt between the two of them was surely one-sided on her part.

  And it wasn’t as if she would act on it.

  “What are you doing Friday night?”

  Her eyes went wide, much like Lexi’s had earlier, and she swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. Maybe it hadn’t been so one-sided after all?

  “This upcoming Friday?” Her voice squeaked and she winced.

  “Yeah.” Chris nodded, glanced about as if making sure no one could overhear him. “I wanted to know if you’d like to come to the spaghetti feed at the rec hall.”

  She widened her eyes, surprise filling her. “They still do that?”

  Chris chuckled, the sound making her spine shiver and settling warm and low in her belly. He had a nice laugh and it came easily, as if he did it often, and she smiled in response. “They do. It’s our first fund-raiser for the holiday toy drive. The dinner is the kickoff.”

  “Oh, I remember. I’ve been to a few of those before.”

  “Sure you have, being a local and all.” That easy smile was back, as if he gained confidence by getting the awkward stuff out of the way. “So what do you say? You and the kids want to go?”

  She knew he was only doing this to be nice. Because she was the lonely, scarred widow back in town and her children had instantly liked him. So he was being polite by extending an invitation.

  “My treat,” he added.

  “Oh, I can pay the donation fee,” she offered. It was usually no more than ten dollars per person and she knew it contributed to the toy drive. No child should celebrate Christmas empty-handed.

  “I asked you to go, Jane,” he murmured, and she thrilled at the sound of her name on his lips. “Let me pay for you and the kids.”

  A slow smile curved her mouth and something like hope, warm, illuminating, began to flicker inside her. “All right, then—I accept your invitation.”

  …

  Her smile sent what felt like a million zings straight through him and his heart beat extra hard, as if he’d just run a marathon at a sprint.

  Since she’d left the fire station last week, he’d thought of her. She came to him in his dreams. Hot, fevered dreams and even sweet, pleasant ones in which Jane watched him, with her pretty green eyes, as if he hung the moon. As if her world started and ended with him in it.

  He knew what triggered that feeling, those particular dreams. He’d hung out at Mac’s house a few nights ago to watch the football game. He’d never noticed it before, but one shelf of a bookcase in the living room was cluttered with framed photos of various family members. When Mac had been in the kitchen grabbing more beer, Chris checked out those photos, searching for a glimpse of Jane before the accident.

  And he’d found it. A family portrait with the children at her feet, Sophia just a baby in her arms and her husband standing by her side. His arm was looped around her shoulders and there was a big smile on her face as she stared up at her husband as if she saw no one else.

  That photo had given him a slight pang, even though he knew he had no right to feel jealous seeing Jane happy with another man. Her husband. Her dead husband.

  But the adoring expression on her face in that photograph had stayed with him ever since.

  Mac had eventually caught him looking, and Chris brushed it off by turning it around on him, giving Mac grief for all the family photos. Mac had blamed his mom for leaving them there and they let the conversation go, much to Chris’s relief.

  He didn’t want to admit to Mac that he had a slight thing for his older sister. A thing he didn’t really understand, yet one he considered exploring, despite his reluctance to pursue any sort of relationship with a woman. Especially one who was a widow with kids…

  Yeah. He’d lost his mind completely.

  Not knowing how she’d react to his attention and afraid she might turn him down if he asked her out on a bona fide date, he went the chicken route, inviting her to the spaghetti feed of all things. With the safe cover of her children in attendance, too.

  And she’d said yes. She still stood in front of him, in fact, pushing Sophia’s stroller back and forth as if to soothe her while she watched her children play in the cab of the fire engine. She had on yet another bulky sweater today, this one an oversize navy blue cardigan over a simple white T-shirt and jeans. Her hair was a little wavy, curling around her face in a flattering manner that made her look even younger than she really was. Certainly not old enough to be a mom of three rambunctious kids and with a heavy, weary world upon her shoulders.

  “Do you want to meet at the hall on Friday? What time does it start?” she asked.

  He grimaced, hadn’t even thought that far ahead. “It starts at six, but I have to be there at f
our to help set up. I’m practically in charge of it this year.” Roped into it because of his position, but he actually enjoyed helping out, and there was nothing better than seeing the pure joy on the kids’ faces when they received all those toys for Christmas.

  “I don’t mind meeting you there. I understand you have to work.” The expression on her face said just that, too.

  Past women in his life had resented his job taking up so much of his time, especially during the summer. Hearing Jane say she understood was refreshing.

  “It’s a wonderful thing, what you’re doing,” she continued. “I can’t imagine not having the resources to make my children’s Christmas special.”

  “I know; it’s tough. I’ve helped out before with delivering the presents, and there’s nothing better than seeing those little faces light up when they see what we brought them. It’s the best feeling,” he admitted.

  “I bet it is.” She smiled and took a hesitant step closer to him, close enough that he could smell her sweet, delectable scent. “It’s so great of you to volunteer like that. You’re such a nice guy.”

  Chris wanted to groan out loud. Great. So she thought he was nice. Which was fine, really, since he wasn’t interested in the pretty widow. Well, there was that chemistry thing they had going on, but he didn’t even know her, had only talked to her now twice. Still, there was this pull, this inexplicable need to learn more about her. He hoped he wasn’t playing with fire—he had enough of that in his daily life.

  Yet Chris had a feeling the widow Jane was worth a few burns.

  Chapter Three

  “Do you need any help getting out of the car, Jane?”

  She rolled her eyes at Mindy and grabbed the door handle. “I think I can manage.”

  Her big sister called after her as Jane slid out of her seat, “Hey, I’m just trying to be nice.”

  Mindy was always trying to be nice. She was the nice sister, the good sister. The one who could do anything and everything and it always turned out perfectly. Jane had developed a love-hate relationship with her when they were kids, but they had been growing closer ever since Jane moved back to Lone Pine Lake. And she was finding out life wasn’t as perfect as Mindy had always made it out to be.