Page 6 of Mountain Man Santa

Roxy’s large cinnamon-colored eyes round some more. “Wait a second. Was this like a little innocent peck or a full-on makeout session?”

“Well,” I say, looking up to my right as I search for the right answer. “I stopped him before he took off my bra.”

She covers her mouth with her hand. “Oh my God.”

My cheeks flush. “Yeah.”

“Wow.”

“And the worst of it is, I loved every minute of it, and I can’t stop thinking about it. But then the most horrible thing happened today.” My voice cracks at the end.

“What?”

“My brothers were in town, and they decided to show up at the restaurant for breakfast and to meet the boss I can’t stop talking about.”

“Okay,” Roxy says, knitting her brows.

“And they took one look at him and asked how much prison time he’d done and where.”

Roxy frowns. “Really?”

“Yeah, and to my horror, Jerry said seventy months—that’s nearly six years—in Eastern Penitentiary. Even worse, Jerry Lee’s not his real name, and he has ties to the Polish mafia in New York City…at least his family does.”

“Wow,” Roxy says. “How long ago did he get out?”

“Four years ago,” I answer.

“And what was he convicted of?”

“Second-degree manslaughter. Apparently, he beat an opponent to death during an unsanctioned fight.”

“Yikes… And here, all this time, I had my money on the fact he was a famous football player in hiding.”

“That’s all you can say?” I ask, my heart breaking all over again as I retell the story.

“Well, we are talking second-degree manslaughter, not murder. What’s the deal with the name Jerry Lee?”

I shake my head. “His other name is Polish, and I can’t begin to pronounce it. That’s why he says he goes by Jerry Lee because no one can say or spell the real version in Hollister.”

Roxy nods. “That doesn’t shock me one bit. Roxy’s my English name, but you couldn’t begin to pronounce my real one.”

Her words surprise me. So does her calm demeanor. “You have another name, Roxy?”

“Of course,” she says with a laugh.

We sit in silence for a long moment. Finally, I observe, “You don’t really seem freaked out by any of this.”

She shrugs. “Stacey, I grew up on a reservation. Do you have any idea what the crime rate’s like there? Besides, Jerry’s one of the nicest, sweetest guys I know. You can’t hold his past over him, especially when he’s worked so hard to turn over a new leaf. Unless you think he’s still involved in the mafia or illegal activities?”

“No, he made it clear to my brothers that his family,nothim, had the mafia connections. But I don’t know what to think.I mean, here I was really, really digging the guy. Now, though, everything I know about him is in question.”

“So what happened after you found out? Did you work the rest of your shift? Did you and Jerry talk about it or anything?”

I nod. “There wasn’t time to talk, and honestly, I was too mad. But he did send me home with a ton of tiramisu and an apology note.”

“Jerry’s tiramisu is the best. Do you think you can forgive him and move on?”

I frown.

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