Page 18 of The Holiday Gift

Jenna blew out a breath. “I should say no. You’re a guest at the party. I hate to admit it, but I could really use some help for a minute. It’s a two-person job but my assistant has the flu so I’m a little frantic here. Carson will be here to help me as soon as he can, but his flight from San Francisco was delayed because of weather so he’s running about an hour behind.”

Faith found it unbearably sweet that Jenna’s billionaire husband—who commuted back and forth between Silicon Valley and Pine Gulch—was ready to help the wife he adored with a catering job. “I can help you until he gets here. No problem.”

Jenna lifted her head from her task long enough to frown. “Didn’t I see you come in with Chase when I was out replenishing the Parmesan smashed potatoes? I can’t let you just ditch him.”

She glanced at the door where he was now smiling at something Ella said.

“We drove here together, yes,” she answered. “But I’m hoping he’ll be dancing with Curt Baker’s daughter in a moment.”

“Oh. Ella. Jolie just started taking piano lessons from her. She’s a delight.”

“I think she would be great for Chase so I’m trying to give them a chance to get to know each other. Let nature take its course and all.”

Jenna’s busy hands paused in her work and she gave Faith a careful look. “You might want to ask Chase his opinion on that idea,” she said mildly.

“I don’t need to ask him. He’s my best friend. I know what he needs probably better than he knows himself.”

Jenna opened her mouth to answer, then appeared to think better of it.

She was right, Faith told herself. Chase would thank her later; she was almost certain of it.

Chapter 5

Faith was trying to ditch him.

He knew exactly what she was doing as she moved in and out of the kitchen carrying trays of food for Jenna McRaven’s catering company. It wasn’t completely unusual for her to help out behind the scenes, but he knew in this case she was just looking for an excuse to avoid him.

He curled his hands into fists, trying to decide if he was more annoyed or hurt. Either way, he still wanted to punch something.

The woman beside him hummed along with the bluegrass version of “Silver Bells.” Ella Baker had a pretty voice and kind eyes. He felt like a jerk for ignoring her while he glowered after Faith, even though Ella wasn’t the date he had walked in with.

“What were you doing before you came back to Pine Gulch to stay with your father?” he asked.

“I was the music instructor at a residential school for developmentally delayed children in Upstate New York, the same town where you can find the boarding school I attended myself from the age of eight, actually.”

Boarding school? What was the story there? He wouldn’t have taken Curt Baker as the sort of guy to send his kid to boarding school to be raised by someone else most of the year. He couldn’t imagine it—it was hard enough packing Addie off to live with her mother half the time.

“Sounds like you were doing good work.”

“I found it very rewarding. Some of my students have made remarkable progress. Music can be a comfort and a joy, as well as open doors to language and auditory processing skills I wouldn’t have imagined before I started in this field.”

“That sounds interesting.”

She made a face. “To me, anyway. Sorry. I tend to get a little passionate when I talk about my job.”

“I admire that in a person.”

“It’s not all I do, I promise. I did play piano and I sing in a jazz trio on the weekends.”

“That’s great! Maybe you ought to perform at the holiday show yourself.”

She made a face. “I probably would be a little out of place, since it sounds like this is mostly a show featuring children. I’m happy enough behind the scenes.”

The band changed to a slower song, a wistful holiday tune about regret and lost loves.

“Oh, I love this song,” she exclaimed, swaying a little in time to the music.

What was the etiquette here? He had come to the party with a woman who was doing her best to stay away from him. Meanwhile another one was making it clear she wanted to dance.

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