“Hi, Jess.”
Jess paused with the pizza halfway to her mouth. “Hi, Molly.” She said it cautiously, as if she wasn’t sure if what was happening was real or not.
Her gaze skittered to Tyler and then away again.
He felt a knot of anxiety in his stomach because this was obviously one of her classmates.
Jess shifted awkwardly. “This is my dad.”
“Hi, Mr. O’Neil. Are these your dogs?” Molly squatted down, giggling as Ash put both paws on her legs and tried to lick her face. Her hat ended up on the snow, closely followed by Molly.
“Ash! Down. Sit. Sorry.” Jess was mortified. “I’m still teaching him manners. He’s a slow learner. He’s a Siberian husky, so really he wants to run the whole time. It’s in the genes. I’m teaching him to pull a sled.”
“He’s gorgeous. I really want a turn on the sled but the line goes on forever.” Molly picked herself up, brushed the snow from her jacket and ruffled Ash’s fur.
“I’m taking Ash over there for some training after Christmas. You could come if you like. Dana might take us out if she isn’t too busy.” Jess said it casually, as if she wasn’t bothered either way, and Tyler held his breath because he knew how bothered she was.
“Really? That would be wicked awesome. Thanks. Do you have my number?”
They swapped numbers, talked a bit about school and how anything that wasn’t skiing was a total waste of a life and then Molly shrugged.
“Have you seen the ice sculpture? Want to come and take a look? You could bring your dogs.”
Jess looked at her and then at Tyler, who nodded.
“Go ahead.”
She smiled at him, and he smiled back because he understood. He, of all people, knew how important friendship was. How it felt to have someone you could trust.
He watched the two girls sprint across the snow, hair flying, the dogs bounding next to them.
Thinking of friendship made him think of Brenna, and this time when he searched the crowd he saw her, standing a little apart from everyone else as they waited for the fireworks.
He strolled across, resisting the urge to flatten her to the nearest tree and kiss her until she couldn’t see straight. “This party is a success.”
“Yes.” Her cheeks were pink from the cold, and she had her hands wrapped around a cup of hot mulled cider. “Did I see Jess with a friend from school?”
“You did. Her name is Molly, and they’ve gone to take a closer look at the ice sculpture.”
“I’m so pleased. Hopefully, that’s a step in the right direction.” She took a sip of her drink. “How was your meeting with Janet?”
“Good. I’m never quite sure what’s going on in her head, but I’ve never known her to be so reasonable. Whatever you said to her must have made an impression.”
“Maybe it was time for both of us to move on.”
Something about the way she said that caught his attention.
He couldn’t stop looking at her—at the sooty sweep of her eyelashes and those tiny freckles that dusted the bridge of her nose like the footprints of a butterfly. Her hair, dark and shiny like polished oak, peeped out from beneath her favorite blue hat. “I haven’t had a chance to thank you for taking Jess skiing and for decorating the house. That was generous of you. I was expecting her to be stressed out, but the two of you were having fun.”
“I enjoyed myself. I’ve never decorated for Christmas before.”
The need to be alone with her overwhelmed his sense of duty to his family. “Let’s go back to the house.”
It was a moment before she answered, and when she did, her voice was so soft he could barely hear her. “I can’t.”
“Everyone is watching the fireworks, and Jess is with her friend. No one will miss us.”
“That isn’t why.” She took a deep breath and turned to look at him, her gaze disturbingly direct. “I need to ask you something.”