On a Snowy Night: The Christmas Basket\The Snow Bride (28 page)

J
enna was up and dressed before dawn. She dreaded leaving Snowbound. Her short time here had been the best adventure of her life, which was exactly the reason she'd left Fulton Industries. In this brief period, she'd come to consider Addy, Palmer, Pete and Jake friends. Reid, too—only she'd made such a fool of herself with him, the only sensible option was to escape as quickly as possible.

She had coffee brewed by the time Reid woke. He sat up on the sofa and stared at her as if he couldn't remember who she was.

“Coffee's ready,” she said.

“Thanks.” He rubbed his eyes and made a growling sound that a few days earlier would have irritated her.

“How long have you been up?” he asked.

“Not long.” She brought him a steaming mug.

Reid sipped the hot coffee. “Did you sleep well?”

She hadn't, but vanity insisted he not know that. “Fine. How about you?”

“All right, I guess.”

“You can have your own bed tonight.”

“Right.” But he didn't sound too pleased and for that matter, she wasn't either.

“The snow's stopped,” she informed him, making conversation and unable to think of anything else.

He nodded. “I figured it would.”

Jenna set her empty mug in the sink and carried her suitcase out to the living room. “I'm ready anytime you are.”

“Why the hurry?” he asked with a frown.

“I—no reason.”

“Good. If you don't have any objections I'd like to linger over my morning coffee.”

Jenna murmured a response, then returned to the kitchen and sat at the table. She felt Reid studying her, which made her self-conscious. Her emotions were more confused than they'd ever been in her life.

A knock at the door startled her. Reid answered it, his blanket draped around him. Addy stood on the other side, wearing a wide grin. “Jim and Lucy just landed.”

Reid turned to ask Jenna, “Do you still want to meet my sister?”

“Sure.” Jenna looked away. “I don't suppose an extra hour or so would matter.”

Reid turned back to Addy. “Tell Lucy I'll be bringing Jenna by in about ten minutes.”

“Okay,” Addy said and leaned around Reid to find Jenna. “I already told Lucy all about you and how she should try to talk you into staying. We sure did enjoy having you.”

“Thank you, Addy,” she said and she meant it. “Thank you for everything.”

“I'll go tell Lucy,” Addy said and was off.

Reid disappeared into the bathroom and reappeared a few minutes later, completely dressed. His expression was somber and cheerless as he reached for his coat. Jenna
looked around the cabin one last time before Reid opened the door.

The world outside was a pristine, sparkling white and so lovely that Jenna paused for a moment to take it all in. The landscape stretched endlessly around them, punctuated by only a few stunted but sturdy trees now flocked with snow.

Addy and Palmer had been busy shoveling a pathway between the two houses, which touched Jenna's heart. No sooner were they out the door than Lucy stepped outside to meet them.

Reid's sister was short, with long dark hair and eyes that flashed with welcome and warmth. She held out both arms.

“You must be Jenna,” she said, giving her a hug. “I couldn't believe it when Jim told me what Reid had done.” She admonished Reid with a scolding look that grew into a smile. “Shame on you, big brother, but thank you for bringing me a friend.”

“I'm afraid I'm flying Jenna out this morning,” Reid informed her briskly.

“Not before we've had a chance to chat,” Lucy insisted, ushering Jenna inside. Although the cabins were relatively similar in size, the difference between Jim's and Reid's was striking. Whereas Reid's place was utilitarian and almost stark, Lucy had turned hers into a real home, with feminine touches everywhere.

“I've already made tea,” Lucy said, leading Jenna into the kitchen. “Now, tell me, are you completely disgusted with Alaska? I'm going to give Reid hell for doing such a crazy thing—kidnapping you! Rest assured he's never done anything like this before.”

“Lucy, honestly, it wasn't so bad. He was planning to have me stay with you, but then you were gone and there wasn't much he could do but take me home with him. Addy and Palmer did their best to make me feel welcome and last night Reid and I had everyone over for dinner.”

“Those guys are such scoundrels! They manipulated you into cooking for them?”

“Yes, but I enjoyed it. I lost the cribbage game to Reid, so I agreed to do the cooking.”

“That Reid. I don't suppose he told you he's a champion cribbage player?”

“Actually, it was fine. We had a wonderful evening.”

“Knowing Addy and Palmer, they probably danced your feet off.”

“I didn't mind,” Jenna said. “We all had a great time.”

“What about Reid? I certainly hope my brother was a gentleman.”

Jenna looked down at the kitchen table with its colorful woven mats. “Reid was…wonderful.”

Lucy sat across from her. “
How
wonderful?” she asked in a low voice.

Jenna didn't answer right away. “Well, you can imagine how I felt at first. I was furious.”

“And rightly so.”

“Then the storm hit, and there was nothing to do but make the best of it. He…wasn't so bad once I got to know him.”

“My brother isn't someone who freely shares a lot about himself.”

Jenna nodded. She barely knew Lucy, but she desperately needed a friend she could confide in. “Oh, Lucy, I'm afraid I made a complete fool of myself.”

Her declaration was met with silence, a comforting pat on the hand and a question. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

“Oh…this is almost too embarrassing.”

Lucy jumped to her feet, fists on her hips. “Reid didn't seduce you, did he?”

“No, no! It was nothing like that, but we did…kiss, and then later Pete told me that Reid flies down to Fairbanks to visit a woman and I assumed—”

“I can imagine what you assumed.”

“Well, then I was jealous and silly and I confronted him as if it were my business, which it isn't. He could have six women stashed away, but it's none of my concern.”

“He doesn't. If you're talking about Susan Webster, I can assure you she's just a friend of ours. There's no romantic relationship with her or anyone else. If there was, I'd know about it.”

“If he's so private about his affairs, how would you?”

“He's my brother and if his heart was involved, he'd either leave to be with the woman in question or—more likely—find a way to convince her to join him here. Jim did. I would never have considered living in such an isolated location. Jim offered to move to Fairbanks, but I knew how much he cares about his job. Still, I didn't arrive with the best attitude.” She paused, meeting Jenna's eyes. “Over the last year I've come to love it in Snowbound.”

Jenna could understand that. In this brief time, she'd grown to appreciate Reid and the tiny tundra community.

“Addy, Palmer and the rest treat me like a queen,” Lucy continued. “Now that I'm pregnant, they're more protective than ever. I can only imagine how spoiled this baby's going to be with five honorary uncles.”

Jenna smiled. “They want me to stay, too.”

“I know. If I thought I could convince you, I'd certainly try.”

It was now or never and Jenna had to ask. “Will you tell me about Dalton Gray?”

Lucy looked down, but not before Jenna saw the flash of pain in her eyes. “It's probably better if I don't.”

“Why?”

Lucy sighed audibly. “You've got to form your own opinion of Dalton and you can't do that until you meet him for yourself.”

Jenna had expected a scathing report on the other man. But Lucy refused to say one ugly word about him, despite her obvious distress. “You're right. I should at least meet him.”

Lucy nodded. “You're an intelligent woman. You can come to your own conclusions—but be cautious. Dalton can seem very persuasive. That's all I'm going to say.”

“Now,” Jenna said, eager to learn more about Lucy, “How did you meet Jim?”

The sweetest smile lit her face. “Reid thinks he introduced us, but we actually met before that. I was living in Fairbanks and was at the library with a friend. Arlene caught sight of Jim and said he looked more interesting than any book we were likely to find.”

Jenna smiled.

“He did, too, but when it came to meeting decent men, I didn't have much of a track record.”

“I don't either,” Jenna muttered.

“Well, anyway, I urged Arlene to go ahead and talk to him, but she'd just met this really wonderful guy and wasn't interested.”

“So you went up and introduced yourself?” Jenna would never have had the courage, but she was sure that was what Lucy must've done.

“No,” Lucy said, shaking her head. “I couldn't, although I wanted to in the worst way.”

“Jim came up and introduced himself?”

“No.” Lucy giggled. “I told Arlene that if I was supposed to meet him, then I would. I believe that things happen for a reason, I really do. Anyway, Arlene and I left the library. She had her bike and I drove, but when I went out to the car, the engine wouldn't start.”

“And Jim rescued you?”

“I wish. No, some other guy did as Jim walked blindly past me. Of course, I imagined he was on his way to meet a girl. I could see it all in my mind, which made me feel
like a fool after he was gone. I'd let a golden opportunity slip through my fingers and wanted to kick myself.”

“But you did meet him eventually.” That much was obvious.

“Yes, but it was weeks later. I kept thinking about him. I didn't know his name so I thought of him as ‘the guy from the library.' I made countless trips back, hoping I'd run into him and of course I didn't, because I was trying to
make
it happen.”

Jenna supposed she was doing something similar with this Alaskan adventure—trying to shape her future…and perhaps trying too hard. But her seat on the flight from Seattle had been beside Reid's, so maybe things did happen for a reason, as Lucy said. Granted, she'd wasted all those years being infatuated with Brad Fulton, but that was behind her now.

“Then I got angry with myself for not having the courage to talk to Jim when I'd had the chance,” Lucy went on. “Here I was, pining after a guy I'd never even met. But I'd had that glimpse of him and felt—I don't know how to explain what I felt.”

“A sense of connection?” Jenna suggested.

“Yes. I did, Jenna, I really did, and then…nothing. I didn't see him anywhere. I didn't dare tell anyone, because it sounded like I'd lost my mind. I gave up. It seems crazy now when I think about it, but I sort of figured I was never going to find the right guy.”

Jenna nodded, feeling much the same way. She was falling for Reid, although any hope of a relationship seemed unrealistic. And Dalton—well, she'd certainly learned enough about him, all of it bad.

“Go on,” she told Lucy.

“Then one day,” Lucy continued, “I was grocery shopping. I was outside in the parking lot when Jim drove past me in his car. I nearly dropped everything. He was in a ve
hicle that identified him as an Alaska Park Ranger. When he saw me, he stopped, put the truck in Reverse and drove back to where I stood. He rolled down his window and just looked at me.”

“No!” Jenna burst out delightedly.

“I swear it's true. Then he grinned the biggest grin I'd ever seen and said he knew he'd eventually find me.”

“Find you? You mean he'd been looking for you, too?”

“Yes! Oh, Jenna, it was the most magical, wonderful moment of my life.”

“He remembered you from the library?”

“Yes, and he was furious with himself for not talking to me then. He had a second chance when he left the library and saw the other guy helping me with my car. He told me in the parking lot that he'd already let two chances go by and wasn't going to lose a third opportunity, which was why he stopped.”

“You started dating then?”

“Yes, but we knew we were meant to be together. That was the scary part. Jim had just gotten stationed in Snowbound, and that was where Reid was. My brother had told me he wanted me to meet his friend, and I'd made all kinds of excuses. But Reid didn't pressure me, and besides, Jim hadn't been all that interested in meeting me, either.”

“You mean to say that all along it was Jim he wanted you to meet?”

Lucy nodded. “It didn't take us long to figure that out, and then we decided we should just go along with Reid's plan to introduce us and let him think he was responsible for getting the two of us together.”