Page 16 of I'll Carry You

She gritted her teeth. Their conversation had quickly gone south—and she’d felt strangely jovial after he’d kissed her. Why did she have this inexplicable reaction to him? She wasn’t normally like this. Especially not with strangers. She replayed her words. She must have sounded so judgmental. “I’m sorry,” she breathed, releasing a sigh. “I’m not exactly having the best last few days. My son . . . he’s been getting into trouble in preschool, and they kicked him out.”

Jason glanced back at the empty car seat. “What is he chain-smoking and cutting class?” He laughed. “Didn’t you say he’s three?”

The laughter thawed the tension between them. The mental image of Colby doing those things made her grin. “No.” She shook her head. “He’s pinching other kids.”

“Wow, they set that bar real low these days, don’t they?” Jason shifted in his seat and stretched his long legs out. He sobered somewhat. “I don’t know much about kids or preschools, but I’m sure that can’t be easy.”

“It sucks.” She pulled into a space in front of the nursing home. “But it’s fine.” She swallowed, her throat feeling tight. “Truthfully, I can’t really afford the school, anyway. Childcare is crazy expensive. But my friend Lindsay was his teacher, so at least I knew he was with someone I trusted.” Why was she pouring her heart out to him now? “Sorry. More than you asked for. I talk too much. I’ll be right back.” She turned the car off and opened the door.

Jason got out, setting his hands on the top of the car. He looked across it toward her. “Why don’t you let me carry those in for you?”

“Okay.” She tried to regain her composure, feeling rattled. Not that this was anywhere close to a date, but she hadn’t spent much time one-on-one with a man she considered especially sexy for a while. And Jason intrigued her.

Jason helped her get the boxes out of the trunk. “So what’s your story?” She studied his face. “What brings you all the way from Chicago to Brandywood?”

“Some family business.” He gave her a polite smile. “And I heard about some fantastic cabins in the mountains I had to visit.”

She grinned. If he was wealthy, Redding Cabins were probably unimpressive to him. “They are world-famous. We specialize in the cold shower for men clearly not in need of one.” She regretted the comment immediately, her palms breaking out in a sweat. Shehadto stop commenting on his sex life.

His azure-blue gaze showed a mixture of amusement and shock. “That’s the last time I’m making a service call when I know you’re at the desk.”

“Good. I’m there Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. I’ll be able to get much better beauty rest if I know I can turn the front desk phone off.” They reached the brightly lit front entrance to the nursing home, and she held the glass front door for him.

“Fortunately for you, I’m only here for a week or two. And if I can wrap up my family business before then, I’ll be gone even sooner.” He gave her a jaunty smile.

Just passing through then. No one interesting ever stayed.

“Hi, Victor,” Jen greeted the security guard at the front desk. She tilted her head toward Jason. “He’s with me. Just dropping food off in the kitchen.”

The security guard gave her a nod. “Always good to see you, Miss Jen. Go on back.”

Jason followed a few steps behind her as she went through the familiar maze of hallways. As she turned a corner, she nearly ran into Bertie Hillsbury on her walker. Bertie gave her a hug, her bony arms tight around her neck. She smelled like rose-scented lotion. “Jen! Oh, I missed you, honey! When you bringing that baby in to see us again?”

“As soon as I have a chance. He’s been busy drawing Christmas cards for you and all the ladies.”

Bertie sized up Jason. “Well, looky here. You brought me a new boyfriend, did you?” She gave Jason a big wink. “Just my type.” She posed, showing off her nightgown. “I’m ready for our date, sweetheart. Where you taking me tonight?”

“Flying you to Paris,” Jason said smoothly, without missing a beat. “Plane’s out back.”

“Ohhhh.” Bertie squeezed his forearm. “Oh . . . nice, strong muscles. I like this one, Jen.” Her guffaw seemed to bounce off the floral wallpaper as she continued down the hall, the walker squeaking with each step.

Jen continued forward. Something about watching Jason with Bertie was oddly endearing. And he probably had the money to fly a date to Paris. If he made her that offer...stop it, Jen.

She shouldn’t be thinking about this random stranger this way. Her pace increased. Jason caught up with her. “Don’t leave me behind in this place.” He glanced over his shoulder at the direction Bertie had gone. “I have a feeling I’ll fill my date book for the year a bit too quickly.”

She gave him a wary glance. “When you go making promises of Paris, no wonder.” They reached the kitchen, and she flipped the light on. Two large commercial refrigerators hummed on the other side. “Put the boxes right in here.” She held the door open to one of them.

Jason offloaded them and wiped his hands on his jeans. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.” She closed the fridge door. “I usually let the director know I’ve dropped the food off. But that should only take another minute.” She leaned her hip into the fridge. “See? Just the delivery girl. I don’t buy the food. Bunny does. I can barely take credit for most of this.”

“Doesn’t mean you’re not a do-gooder.” Jason glanced around the kitchen. She followed his gaze. The area was clean but cold and metallic. The kitchen here always made her a little sad. It was functional, of course, but held none of the warmth of a home. Instead, it served only as a place to prepare food.

“I always wonder about the kitchens these people left behind,” Jen mused. She gathered her hair back into a ponytail. “Seems heartbreaking to never think about making another family dinner again, doesn’t it?”

An odd expression crossed his face. Then he answered, “Yeah, sure does.” Not a trace of conviction sounded in his voice.

They went back in the direction they’d come, silence between them. She didn’t know much about him—or how he felt about family—and how he’d reacted made her think he might not be too close to his family. She should have been more sensitive. As they climbed back into the car, the awkwardness grew. She gave him a tense smile and drove. “Hey, so, back in the town with theA Christmas Caroland all—”

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