Jane's Gift (Lone Pine Lake 1)

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.