Jess headed for his office after they got back from town, feeling a moment of trepidation as he looked at his answering machine.
It was blinking.
He held his breath and checked the screen, exhaling his relief at a Montana area code. Another reprieve. Tapping the Play button, he leaned back in his chair.
A calm, mature voice introduced itself as Helen Peabody, and she wanted to apply for the housekeeper-nanny position. She’d already emailed her resume. She sounded responsible. Kindly. Perfect. Exactly like the type of employee he had been searching for when Abby suddenly appeared at the rehab center with her big blue eyes and sweet laughter.
He found Helen’s email and the attached resume in his inbox. He was just printing it when he heard a knock at his office door.
Abby came into the room and plopped down in one of the club chairs facing his desk. “I have a pretty good idea about what the girls want for Christmas.”
“I’m afraid I do, too.” He pulled the résumé from the printer tray and laid it on the corner of his desk. It fluttered to the floor. “Lindsey.”
“What are you going to do?”
“After she called to say she was coming I tried to make an appointment with my lawyer, but he’s been in Florida most of December dealing with his mother’s estate and property dispersal. I’ll be meeting with him right after Christmas, as well as someone from Montana Social Services.”
“Good decision, Jess. At least then you’ll know where you stand.” Abby rose, bent down to pick up the stray sheet of paper on the floor and put it back on his desk. “I guess I’d better get back to work.”
Her gaze fell on the paper as she turned to go. She did a double take, and then she looked up at him. “Have you found a new ranch hand?”
“They don’t generally show up with resumes, unfortunately.” He cleared his throat. “This one is from someone applying to be a housekeeper. She actually sounds really good.”
“Then you’ll need to make sure she doesn’t get away.” Abby tipped her head and met his gaze squarely. “That’s good news, right?”
He swallowed. “Abby—”
She was already out the door.
* * *
As always, the weather was changeable in this part of Montana during December—ranging from gentle snowfalls to bitter blizzards, with balmy interludes in between.
By Sunday morning another storm had barreled in with sixty-mile-an-hour winds and heavy snow, and both church this morning and the evening children’s Christmas program were cancelled.
The twins were devastated.
“Maura just called, and she has arranged everything with the pastor,” Abby reassured them at bedtime. “You’ll have your children’s program at the Christmas Eve service instead. I still can’t wait to see what you girls are doing.”
Bella nodded firmly. “We promised not to tell.”
“I know, and you are very good at keeping secrets.”
After reading a stack of books, Abby and Betty said their prayers with the girls and kissed them good-night.
“Sleep tight, everyone. I’m heading off to bed,” Betty said.
“And me, too. Pretty soon, anyway.” Abby scooped the puppy from Bella’s bed and went out to sit by the fire with a cup of hot strawberry tea.
The fire and the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree in the corner lit the room with a lovely glow, and the soft instrumental Christmas music in the background filled her with a sense of peace.
In just two nights it would be Christmas Eve.
Dad and Darla were coming over after the church service for a light dinner and the opening of presents, staying overnight; then on Christmas morning everyone would pitch in to make a big Christmas dinner. One big, happy family.
It was what she’d always longed for while growing up as an only child.
Well, she would finally have her big family Christmas, but then she’d soon be on her way. She fingered the folded business letter in her front shirt pocket and took it out. Even after reading it three times, it still gave her a little thrill of excitement...and a dose of melancholy.
At the sound of Jess coming in the back door, she debated slipping off to her room instead of staying to make awkward conversation.
The housekeeper’s resume on his desk had reminded her once again of just how temporary her situation was. It had been all too easy to think of Jess and her together, and with every passing day she’d found more to love about the man he’d become.
But now, with a promising new housekeeper coming for an interview, it would soon be time for Abby to slip away, even if it broke her heart.
Jess came into the living room in his stocking feet, his face reddened from the cold wind and his dark hair tousled by the stocking cap he’d worn.
He sank into the sofa nearest the fireplace, propped his elbows on his thighs and shoved his unruly hair back from his forehead.
“You look tired, Jess. Can I get you some hot cocoa? Coffee?”
Abby started to stand, but he waved her back down. “I’m fine. I just want to warm up awhile.”
“Is the drive clear?”
He nodded. Leaned back against the sofa and closed his eyes. “For now. If the wind picks up, I’ll have to do it all over again tomorrow.”
“It’s hard to believe Christmas is almost here,” she murmured, staring into the fire. “Have you heard from your brothers?”
He rolled his head against the cushion to look at her. “The last time Devlin came home was for Dad’s funeral, and he never comes home for Christmas. He’s always off at some military base or in the Middle East somewhere, though he did email and say he might come back for a while this spring. Tater—uh, Tate—sent an email saying he’d be spending Christmas with his new girlfriend and her family in Cheyenne. Every year it’s a different girlfriend. I think it’s just an excuse not to come home.”
Abby laughed. “Do you still call him Tater to his face?”
“Not often. Only if I’ve been missing our old wrestling matches out on the lawn. But now he’s as tall as me and in better shape, so it’s not as much fun.”
“I still see both of your brothers as gangly, awkward teenagers. Time flies, I guess.” She folded and refolded the letter in her hands. “Did I tell you that I got some news?”
Jess’s dark eyebrows drew together. “Alan?”
“The only news I want from him would be through my lawyer. Yesterday I got a letter from a university out east.”
He sat up straighter and turned toward her. “You were accepted?”
She nodded, trying to generate the excitement and enthusiasm he would expect. “The financial-aid package is pretty sweet. They’re giving me a research assistantship that will cover tuition and insurance, and a medical corporation has awarded me an additional grant that will help with living expenses. I’ll start spring term. But they...uh...suggest that I come out early to find housing and get settled. I couldn’t ask for more.”
Though it would be impossibly far from the people she loved. Yet, a blessing in itself, really. How hard would it be to stay in this area and see Jess with someone else, raising the twins and their own children?
“That’s wonderful. Really wonderful. I’m happy for you, Abby. Truly.” Jess stood up and nodded in her direction, then headed down the hall toward his office and beyond that, his bedroom.
She felt her heart shatter a little more with each step he took.
When she heard his door shut, she turned away to unplug the Christmas tree lights and scatter the remaining embers in the fireplace until they winked out, one by one. Just like her silly hopes and dreams.
What had she expected—a declaration of undying love? A plea that she never leave? That was the stuff of fairy tales, not real life.
And certainly not hers.