Page 52 of Stella's Christmas Rescue
“More than that, her brother-in-law has been staying with her since he left.”
I shake my head. “That doesn’t mean they slept together?—"
“Terry and Barry Carmelo are identical twins,” Katie points out.
Stella’s eyes go wide. She grimaces, “Well, at least the child has a real good chance of looking like they belong in the family.”
“I’ll say.” Katie laughs. “Oh, FYI, Sheriff Brinks is on a hunting trip through January 5th. He told me he was going to call everyone or put it in the church bulletin, but that telling me was faster. Since I haven’t seen you at the diner for a few days, Jordan, I didn’t get a chance to tell you. Well, it was nice meeting you, Miss Collins.”
“Please, call me Stella.”
Katie grins at her. “Stella, I’m glad to know Jordan has something good keeping him busy these days. Merry Christmas, you two.”
I smile at her. “Merry Christmas.”
We watch her walk away, and Stella asks, “So, how long were you two sleeping together, before I came along?”
I choke on nothing, before I can say the words, “We never slept together, Stella.”
She grins. “But you wanted to.”
How the hell does she know? “I was…I was working up to it,” I admit.
“She’s pretty, Jordan. Seems sweet, too, if not a bit of a gossip. How come you never sealed the deal?”
“That’s a good question. Did you see they have paper towels on sale?”
Stella laughs. “It’s okay to talk to me about other women. I promise. Whatever happened between you two is in the past, right?”
“Ancient history.”
“Then, why is it a big deal to tell me about her? I’m just curious.”
“This…feels like a trap.”
She giggles. “I swear to God, I’m not trying to trap you. I just want to know what went wrong, so I don’t do whatever she did.”
“What makes you think it was her fault?”
She beams up at me and says, “Because you’re wonderful. So, I have to assume it was her.”
I sigh. “Honestly, Stella, it just didn’t happen. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. She’s a good woman. We had our regular flirts, but never we went out. I was close to asking her, but then you came along, and my interests…changed.”
She looks amused. “I’m glad they changed.”
“Me too.” When we go to the checkout, I notice her foot taps when she’s in line. “You okay?”
“I hate lines,” she says. “Not that I’m in a rush, but lines always make me feel like I’m stuck. And being stuck is…not good for me. Makes me feel like a sitting duck.”
“Oh, okay. Do you want me to pay? You can wait in the car. With the doors locked.”
“No, no. I’d rather be with you.” Her eyes dart around to the other people in the store.
“If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t seen anyone in here that I don’t know.”
She smiles. “Thank you. Thatdoeshelp.”
We make it out of the store in one piece, despite the crowd’s best efforts. At the truck, as we load up groceries in the bed, a shadow creeps up from behind. I turn and find Alex. “Oh, hey, man.” I shake his hand.
