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The next day seemed to be normal, like everything was natural. Yet, Jenna couldn’t help but beam with happiness when she watched the man, who’d said he loved her, and her wonderful, handsome son hanging new baubles on the Christmas tree. As promised Lance came, ‘just to say hi.’ His words, not hers. It was so cute, so romantic and so poignant. He cared enough to show up like he said he would and stayed, so he could help her boy fix the mess he made.
“This looks almost identical to the one I broke yesterday.” Jayden held up the new fairy ornament that Lance brought. “But the color is a bit different.”
“It was the best I could find.” Lance hung a silver ball on the tree. A few were smashed when Jayden swiped the fairy off the tree. “But I found something pretty cool. And I think it deserves a place of honor on the tree.”
“What is it?”
“It’s not new. Actually, it belongs to me.” Lance took out a box from the bag and opened it.
When he took out the sculpture of Kermit the frog, Jenna laughed and Jayden snorted. “I’ve never seen that on any Christmas tree ever before,” she said.
“In my house, all of us were allowed one special ornament that we could hang on the tree. And I always put Kermit. This same one. He’s been with me since I was boy.” Lance glanced longingly at it. “If you don’t want me to put it up that would be okay.”
She wanted to ask if he’d decorated a tree with Lisa. Were they celebrating Christmas? But Jenna didn’t have the heart to ruin such a special moment.
Jayden wrinkled his nose. “Why Kermit?”
“He’s wise and chirpy. And I just plain like the color.”
Shaking his head at the possible mental deficiency in the man he’d thought was too good for such behavior, Jayden took the ornament from his hand. “Fine. You can have it.”
As he hung Kermit on the tree, Lance winked at Jenna.
It became obvious that he was trying to charm her son. And with one swift move, he actually became a member of their house. If you had your own ornament up on the tree, you were basically a part of the family. “If you guys are done, dinner is ready,” she announced.
“Oh! Pumpkin pie!” Jayden yelled as he raced for the table.
In anticipation of Christmas, Jenna made roast beef and pumpkin pie. Since usually, there was only the two of them at Christmas, she often started making special dinners a week earlier to get the feel of Christmas. But until this year, she’d never truly succeeded.
Lance’s presence became enough to make this holiday super fun and exhilarating.
“Wash your hands,” she ordered. Then much to her amusement, both men ended up at the kitchen sink. Jayden graciously stepped aside to allow Lance to wash first.
“Pie after dinner,” she told Jayden as he eyed the pumpkin pie cooling on the rack.
“Mom, I’ve a basketball game tomorrow.”
“I know, baby. It’s marked on my calendar. I’ll be there.” Did he know how much juggling she had to do to take off a few hours before time? Of course, he didn’t. The struggles of a single parent were lost on a child.
“What time does the game start?” Lance asked.
“Four o’clock,” Jayden answered.
“Maybe we could practice some after dinner. I was on the high school basketball team. Even got a scholarship for a college, but then Seth and I got selected for the army and our lives changed.”
“Was it hard to be in the army?”
Lance took the bread and broke it into two. “It was hard, yes. But it was also exciting to serve our country. We took pride in it, but yes, the life took its toll. Being away from family, away from our homeland, wasn’t easy.”
Jenna took her place and they said grace. She served them roast beef and potatoes. “Jayden has been asked to write an essay on a career that he would like to choose and he’s still trying to figure out what he would like to do.”
“Ah! That’s a big choice. Of course, you could just make up something now and change your mind later,” he offered.
“Lance!” she rebuked, her lips twitching in a smile. “He should really spend his time thinking about his options. It’s good to decide from now on.”
“Yeah, well. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do until after I got selected in the army. Just did it with a lark for Seth. He applied, so I thought I should too. Even if something went wrong over there, at least I would have a friend with me to laugh over it.”
Jayden grinned. His eyes twinkled with merriment. “That’s a good reason.”
Jenna shook her head. It wasn’t the message she wanted her son to get, but then maybe she was too tough on him. He could probably use a laugh. “Jayden likes sciences.”
“You could be a doctor,” Lance suggested.
“Or a scientist,” Jayden countered.
“Ah...Yes. Have you conducted any experiments?”
“I blew up a can one day in the back yard,” he announced proudly. Leaning forward, he whispered, “I was grounded for two weeks. The neighbors called the police. They thought it was a bomb.”
Lance nodded with a smile. “No one understands genius, Jayden.”
Jenna poured juice for them. Amused as she was by the conversation, she also felt a little perturbed by how normal it seemed. This is what her life should’ve been like. It wasn’t impossibly difficult to raise a child on her own, but being with someone who cared enough to show interest made everything much easier and bearable. Lance was the perfect addition to their family. Once the thought popped into her head, it scared her to the core of her being.
With such ease, he slipped into their lives as if he belonged there all along. Jayden accepted him. She accepted him.
What about him? Although, he appeared keen to maintain a long-term relationship, would he get bored after a while and leave? If he did, Jayden would be devastated and she would be heartbroken. Now, that he was a part of her life, she couldn’t imagine it without him. Jenna shook her head at the morbid thought. Why would he leave? Once his separation became final, he would be able to spend more time with them.
The thought just reminded her...she needed to talk to Lance about Lisa. The guilt of how she was taking up the space that Lisa needed nagged at her on a daily basis. He might be sure his marriage was over, but she would like to know the reasons why he felt that way. What went wrong? Maybe comfort and easy camaraderie were missing since he’d been gone for long stretches of time; even she’d picked up on that.
“Mom, may I have some more potatoes?” Jayden broke into her thoughts.
She passed them to him. “Sure, darling. Lance, would you like a second helping?”
“No, thanks. I’m okay. And I think a slice of that pie has my name written on it.”
“Sure, why not.”
She was about to get up but he stood. “Let me get that.” He brought the pie over and sliced it. “I can bake a mean chocolate fudge cake. It’s my grandmother’s recipe, passed down from mother to daughter, but since my mom didn’t have a daughter, she decided that all her sons needed to learn it, so that they could pass it on to their daughters, should they have any.”
“Do you have any children?” asked Jayden as he shoveled potatoes in his mouth.
A strange light flickered Lance’s eyes. “No, I don’t.”
Picking up her plate and his, Jenna took it over to the sink. She rinsed them and set them in the dishwasher as he served the pie. Did he want kids? Sure, they weren’t even officially going out, but they both knew it was only for a short time. Sooner or later, they would end up in bed together. Even though her mind refused to deal with what would happen there—it had been far too long since she took a man to bed—she worried about their future. Lance might want different things than her. She already felt stretched far beyond her capability with one child. It might be impossible to consider having another kid.
“Hey, come back. The pie awaits you.” Holding her hand, he led her to the table. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She needed to stop borrowing trouble. The man was barely in her life and she kept worrying about matters that might not arise for years. She gazed at his face while he ate the pie and Jenna just knew this was meant to be. She knew it deep down in her bones. With Lance, her life just fell into that perfect slot she’d forgotten existed.
Losing him would kill her.
Flabbergasted by her thoughts, she remained quiet. How the hell did she get to this state so fast? Life was spinning out of control ever since he entered it. The real problem was she didn’t know how to deal with the changes that were piling up.
Once dinner was over, she began to clear the table.
“Why don’t you take a break, Jenna? Jayden and I can handle it.”
“Oh yeah, I can clean the table and you can wash,” Jayden offered.
“Good call, young man! Next time, we’ll switch.”
“Ugh.” Jayden wrinkled his brow. “I don’t like washing dishes.”
“A man must know how to clean up after himself, so that he never has to grovel in front of a woman,” Lance told him as she slowly backed out of the kitchen. “And if we’re done in record time, I’ll show you some cool basketball moves.”
Their easy camaraderie shook her to the core, but in a good way. Lance sure knew how to talk to her son. Jenna sat on the couch and picked up a newspaper. It had been a long while since she got a few precious minutes to herself. If Lance wasn’t here, she would be hanging out with Jayden until it was time for bed. Then, when he slept, she would collapse herself, exhausted.
About an hour later, they tromped in. “Mom, Lance showed me some really cool moves.” Jayden’s face was lit with excitement. “I’m going to show them to my friends' tomorrow.”
“When does his Christmas break start?” Lance asked.
“Twenty-third of December.” She stood. “Jayden, upstairs, into the shower, and then on to bed. I’ll come in a while to check in on you.”
“Bye, Lance. Good night!” Jayden said, the basketball tucked under his arm. “See you.”
“See you.” Lance swiped a hand through his hair, then he turned to Jenna. “I think the same rules should apply to me. Shower and bed. Come here, give me a kiss and I’ll be off.”
She walked over, her entranced gaze on his face. No man should look this good after he spent the past thirty minutes playing with her son. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being nice to Jayden. I didn’t realize until you stepped in how much he missed a male influence in his life.” She wrung her hands. “But we have to be careful, Lance. He seems to like you and if you stepped away, he—might get hurt.”
“I’m not stepping away.” Lance drew her in his arms. “Whether you want to believe it or not, I’m here to stay. For good. Forever. I want this life with you. And I’m going to do my damn best to make you both happy.”
Should she dare to believe him?
When his mouth brushed over hers, Jenna forgot all other thoughts. The worry and the fear boiling in the pit of her stomach vanished while she was swept into the currents of desire. His mouth seemed as sweet and demanding as she remembered—a slow and steady dance that transported her to another world where it was just him and her. Blood ran through her veins like liquid red-hot need. Her heart kicked into a high gear as his tongue mingled with hers. He crushed his lips to hers while his hand settled at the nape of her neck. His need seemed to be as urgent as hers. On another day, she might have been afraid of the overwhelming desire that gripped her, but right now, she quite enjoyed it.
When they broke apart, it took her a long minute to get her breath back. When her vision cleared, he was grinning at her.
“That was just a preview. Can’t wait to show you the full picture.”
She could imagine his naked, hard body. It was sure to be a magnificent sight. She could see their entwined bodies. His hands pressed against her curves while he made sweet love to her. Heat and need...the raw need to be possessed careened through her veins. Jenna sucked in a breath as the images flashed across her mind. Embarrassment flooded through her. “Off you go.”
He kissed her on the cheek. “Bye, my sweet, sweet Jenna.”
She watched him stroll out of the house, his coat wrapped around his body while the cold wind blew around him.
For a moment, his gaze lingered on a tree limb swinging as a wild gust hit it. The nest sitting atop remained secure.
She thought he stared at it, but she couldn’t be sure.
He got into the car and drove off.
Jenna closed the door. For a moment, she leaned against it, her mind occupied by the man who just rocked her with his kiss. With Lance, life seemed perfect. She would never find another man like him. Lance wasn’t the kind of man who would hurt her. Her confidence in him was rock solid.
He wouldn’t cause her any pain—ever.