Jane's Gift (Lone Pine Lake 1)

“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.

“So Marty’s not coming home for the weekend?” Jane opened the passenger door and slid her children out of the middle seat of her sister’s SUV. Mindy’s two kids sat in the back.