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He still didn’t understand why he was so willing to let that go when it came to Jane. She should scare the hell out of him.

The thought of never seeing her again scared the hell out of him more.

Now with a grudging heart and a weak and achy body, he’d gone to Jane’s house to pick up her and the kids. Questions had run through his mind repeatedly. Why are you doing this? What are you gaining? Her daughter hates you, Jane only wants to be friends, so why all the torture?

But then Jane had opened the door, pretty and fresh in jeans and a bulky, soft pink hooded sweatshirt. Her dark hair a smooth curve that framed her face, her smile bright, the children gathered at her feet.

Well, the two youngest were. Lexi was nowhere in sight.

“Hey. Are you ready to go?” He tried to keep the weariness out of his voice but knew he wasn’t successful by the look of concern on her face.

“The kids have been ready since last night.” She smiled and it sent an arrow straight to his heart. “So have I. But are you? You don’t look so good.”

Chris shrugged. At least he wasn’t puking any longer. “I covered for Eric and worked the last thirty-six hours. He got sick.” No need to mention he did, too. She’d send him home for sure. “We were pretty busy.”

Her delicate brows drew down. She looked disappointed—and was that concern? “Should we get together some other time? Since you’re not feeling well?”

“Nah, I’m good. I’ll be all right. I don’t want to let the kids down. Or you. ” He tried to smile but even his face felt tired. His bones were weary, his head hurt—and he rarely got headaches.

But a promise was a promise and he didn’t want to let this little family down.

“You’re so sweet.” Her gaze softened. “Better watch out or I might take advantage of you.”

Well, wasn’t that comment loaded with all sorts of potential? He stood straighter, told himself to snap out of his funk. He had a flirtatious Jane on his hands and he needed to be on his game.

“So where’s Alexis?”

Her green eyes went a shade darker and she cleared her throat. “She’s still at my parents’ house. She didn’t want to leave her cousins.”

“Oh, okay.” Lexi probably couldn’t tolerate the idea of spending any amount of time with him.

“They leave later this afternoon and she wanted to get in some last-minute playtime first.”

“It’s cool.” He smiled at Logan and Sophia and earned shy smiles in return. “We’ll have a good time, right, guys?”

“Yeah!” they both shouted enthusiastically.

Chris helped Jane load up the kids in the backseat of his truck and then they were off, headed up the mountain to a grove he’d heard about from a coworker. It was pretty common for most local residents to purchase a tree permit; he’d gone ahead and bought his even though he didn’t plan on having a Christmas tree. Really, what was the point? He worked long hours and spent most of his time off these days either outdoors, vegging on the couch, or in bed.

Man, when had his social life taken such a dive?

“Look, snow!” Logan rapped his knuckles against the window.

“I wonder when we’ll get more snowfall,” Jane murmured as she stared out the passenger side window. “I love when it’s fresh during the holidays. Makes everything so cozy.”

He had a feeling she’d make him feel pretty damn cozy. “I think we’re getting snow next. Right now we’re only a few hundred feet above Lone Pine Lake, and that rain we had last night was pretty slushy.” Hence the sketchy road conditions. “Car accidents kept us busy last night.”

“Oh, that’s terrible.” Jane turned to look at him, concern in her eyes. “No wonder you’re so tired.”

“Yeah.” He didn’t feel like mentioning Audrey’s call. Or his illness. Damn, he hoped he wasn’t contagious. “People, especially out-of-towners, don’t know how to drive on the windy roads in bad weather.”

“Neither do locals sometimes.” She smiled. “I’d be slipping and sliding all over the place. I’m not used to driving in this kind of weather.”

He returned the smile, tried his best to pay attention to exactly where he was going, looking for a full-enough grove where’d they have their pick of trees. He put the truck in four-wheel drive and the kids cheered and laughed with every bump he drove over. It made him smile.

Once he found a good spot, he parked and the kids spilled out, their little booted feet crunching and sinking over the new snow. The rapidly moving clouds cast dark shadows upon the grove one second and then showcased the bright sun the next. Another storm was coming in, and coming in fast. They needed to get moving and find a tree so they could beat the brunt of it.

Jane set about on her search, casting a critical eye at every tree she came upon. Chris watched with amusement at the serious way she wrapped her hand around a tree and shook it, or how she brushed her small hand over the branches, fingering the pine needles.


Tags: Karen Erickson Lone Pine Lake Romance