{ 10 }
Poinsettias rose in pyramid at the florists, making her smile. It would be too much to call the day sunny, but downtown Kaslo was dry, and if she looked up she could see blue sky instead of the heavy gray clouds she’d become inured to.
A weak sun was doing its best to shine and the people of Kaslo seemed to have all come out to enjoy the window of good weather. Erin bought one of the poinsettias on impulse. She had no holiday decoration, hadn’t seen the need for any, but it was December 20 and there was no reason why she shouldn’t put a little Christmas cheer into her cottage.
The world seemed altogether a brighter place. She’d let herself have a little holiday fling with a truly sexy man while she was far from home.
She was heading to the grocery store to stock up on the few things she needed-–including beer in case Jared should drop by--when a familiar voice said, “Erin, how nice.”
Trish, Jared’s mother, veered from where she was about to enter the town’s only hair stylist and walked over. “Isn’t it nice to see the sunshine? For once I can get my hair done without needing an umbrella to get home.”
“It’s a beautiful day,” Erin agreed.
“I wanted to check and make sure you’re not a vegetarian or anything.”
Erin tried not to let her surprise show. “A vegetarian? No.”
“Oh, good. So you eat turkey and all the trimmings?”
“Um…”
“For goodness’ sake,” Trish grabbed her arm. “Jared did ask you, didn’t he? Christmas Dinner. It’s at my house. There won’t be too many of us--just family--but it will give you a chance to meet everybody.”
“Oh, I hadn’t…”
She was interrupted by a woman’s voice calling from the salon doorway. “Trish? You coming in or standing outside gabbing all day?”
“Oh, Lord. I better get going. They get real busy this time of year.”
She pulled Erin in for an impromptu hug. “It’s so nice to see Jared happy again. And did he tell you about Sadie’s newest Christmas list? So cute.”
When Erin continued to stare at her blankly she pulled a piece of lined paper out of her purse and handed it to her. And then she was gone.
Erin stood as rigid and still as one of the town’s lamp poles as a feeling of growing panic began to swamp her.
What had she done?
She raced home feeling her good mood and sense of wellbeing drain.
As they entered the cottage, the dog ran in a circle, jumped on one of his toys, tail wagging, then looked at her, begging her with his mischievous eyes to play with him. Usually, he always made her smile, but today his eager unconditional love only made her feel worse. She had no business getting attached to a dog.
A foolish, no-name dog that didn’t even belong to her.
She tried to settle to work and snapped one of the delicate pieces. She walked the dog. Came back.
Finally, she called Jared.
“Hey there, gorgeous,” he said into the phone, his voice all warm and sexy and intimate.
Even as the foolish, sentimental part of her responded, the woman she’d become through hard experience took over. “Hi, Jared. I really need to see you.”
“Sure.” He immediately sounded concerned. “Is everything all right?”
“I—I want to talk to you.”
“Okay. I’ll get Mom to watch Sadie. I’ll be there right after work.”
“Thank you.”
He was there by three. “I couldn’t concentrate,” he said as he came in and took her by the shoulders, looking down into her face. “I quit work early.” He looked seriously worried. “Did I hurt you in some way?”
She wanted nothing more than to fall into his arms but she had to be strong. “No, of course not. The other night was wonderful.”
“I thought so too. It’s just been so long for me, I thought maybe I was too eager or something.”
He gave the dog the attention he’d been demanding and then flopped down on the couch. She resisted the urge to curl up beside him and, instead, took the chair facing.
“Was it your first time since your wife?” she asked softly.
“Pretty close. But no. I hooked up with one of my colleagues in Seattle a few times.” He shrugged. “She was going through a divorce. I was grieving. It helped. Some.”
She thought of that picture she’d seen on Sadie’s dressing table. Her family. Jared’s love for his wife and daughter had shown through.
“First time for you since all that happened last year?”
She nodded.
“Shakes you up a little.” He suddenly grinned at her. “But we can work on that. I’m not going anywhere.”
“But I am,” she said. “This is only temporary for me. I’m going home.”
His bright expression dimmed. “Okay. I know that. But you’re not going this week are you?”
She bit her lip. “I spent an hour on the Internet in the library searching flights. I can still get home to my family for Christmas.”
“I see.” He put his hands on his knees and gripped. “Will you be back?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“This is pretty sudden.”
He was such a good man, trying his best to rebuild his life, she supposed she at least owed him honesty. “Your mom invited me for Christmas dinner.”
“Yeah, she told me she wanted you to come.” He looked baffled as though he couldn’t imagine how the invitation was related to her sudden need to leave.
“She said it was going to be ‘just family’.”
“I think she meant there won’t be fifty people there.” He shook his head. Reached for her hand. “Erin, what’s going on?”
She didn’t want to feel the seductive warmth of his palm encasing hers. Didn’t want to acknowledge how easily she could fall. She pulled her hand away before he could wrap himself around the rest of her. “She told me about Sadie’s newest Christmas list.”
“Sadie makes a dozen lists. What’s the big deal? She’s a little kid. She’s excited about Santa.”
“Haven’t you seen it?”
“I don’t know. Depends on what’s freaking you out. You know about the puppy. Is sparkly nail polish an environmental disaster? Are dolls too anti-feminist for you?”
“No, Jared. The item that causes me the problem is that she’s now added another item to the list.
A New Mommy.