Christmas in Eternity Springs (17 page)

It didn't take long for them to get Claire settled into Mama Bear. He attempted to insist that she take the master suite, but she flat-out refused to do it, showing a stubborn side of her personality Jax hadn't seen before.

It only attracted him more.

At two
P.M.
, they received word of an official announcement from the sheriff's department that an arrest had been made. The man in custody had a Denver address and a trunk full of money and empty cans of gasoline. The townspeople breathed a collective sigh of relief and life returned to normal, with the dismissal of schoolchildren to occur at the usual time.

Jax followed Claire back to town, then honked good-bye when she turned toward Forever Christmas while he drove on to the school. He worried how his son might take the news of evil having touched Eternity Springs, but his concerns disappeared when Nicholas climbed into their truck bubbling with excitement.

“Did you hear what happened, Dad? We had a bank robber! They locked up all the doors and wouldn't let us go out to recess. We got to play dodge ball in the gym!”

They still played dodge ball in the school here? It had been forbidden at the boy's last school. Labeled too dangerous. “I know about the bank robber, yes. Did you hear about the fire at Miss Claire's house?”

Nicholas's eyes went wide and round. “No! Is Tinsel all right?”

“Yes, Tinsel is fine. But don't you think you should have asked about Claire first?”

Nicholas's gaze grew stricken. “Is
she
hurt?”

Jax inwardly cursed.
Ham-handed there, Lancaster.
“No. She's okay.”

Quickly, he told his son the news that he figured would distract him. “Distracted” wasn't close to being the right word for Nicholas's response at the news that he'd be sharing a house with Tinsel for a little while. He bubbled, he giggled, he clapped his hands and asked about a million questions. Why did the house have such a superstupid name? Where would the puppy sleep? Could he feed her? Take her on walks? Maybe she'd be lonely during the day. Wouldn't she be lonely? They didn't want her to be lonely. “We should get a dog, Daddy.”

We should get a dog, Daddy.
Jax recalled the little boy who'd screamed in terror when unexpectedly coming upon some woman's leashed purse pet at a sidewalk café during Jax's last visit home prior to his discharge. Nicholas had been scared clear to the marrow by a Maltipoo. A Maltipoo!

“What kind of dog?”

“A golden retriever like Captain.”

Captain was Chase Timberlake's dog, that magical mutt who, with the help of the Rocking L summer camp and Chase and Lori in particular, had healed the part of Nicholas's damaged psyche that had sent him into tremors at even near proximity to a seven-pound dog.

Now, the boy was asking for a dog of his own. Damned if Jax's eyes didn't tear up at the thought. “Tell you what, hot rod. Let's see how we like living with a dog, and if everything's cool, we'll talk to Dr. Lori.”

“Really? I can have a puppy of my own? Really?”

“We might want to get one who's out of the puppy stage. They're a lot easier to care for.”

“That's okay. I'd like any dog. He doesn't have to be a golden or a collie. I'd rather have a boy dog, but a girl would be okay, too.”

“If we decide to get a dog, I'm sure we can find a boy dog.”

“I've decided, Daddy.”

“And I said we are going to wait and see. Now, enough about a dog. Since we've been a bachelor household, we haven't worried too much about niceties. That's gonna change. We'll be living with a lady for a few weeks, and they're particular about such things. So, there's gonna be a few rules. I expect you to follow them, matey, or I'll make you walk the plank.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

They discussed important matters like hanging up towels, raising and lowering the toilet seat, putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher, and managing a belch and fart in polite company.

“James didn't put the toilet seat down,” Nicholas confided. “I remember Mom yelling at him about it.”

Jax glanced at his son. He rarely spoke about his mother or his stepfather. The fact he did today in such a matter-of-fact manner served to bolster Jax's confidence that bringing the boy to Eternity Springs had been a good decision.

“It was one of her pet peeves. Most women feel the same way. Do yourself a favor and get in the habit now and save yourself a world of grief when you grow up.”

They returned to the Elkhorn Lodge and packed up their gear, then made a quick stop at the lumberyard to pick up a few supplies for their new digs. “Wow!” Nicholas exclaimed upon catching his first look at Three Bears Valley. “That house is all burned up!”

“Yep.”

“That robber was a bad man.”

“Yes, he certainly was.”

Flatly, Nicholas announced, “He didn't belong in Eternity Springs.”

“You are exactly right about that, son.”

Jax pulled his truck to a stop in front of Mama Bear and Nicholas scrambled out of his seat and was halfway up the front porch steps before Jax managed to follow. The boy burst inside calling, “Miss Claire? Miss Claire? Can I play with Tinsel?”

Upon entering the house, Jax followed his nose and a delicious aroma to the kitchen. Claire had chocolate chip cookies still warm from the oven and glasses of milk waiting for them. Cookies and milk.
I'll be damned.

Jax decided he liked playing Santa Claus to her Miss Christmas.

*   *   *

As the days passed, they settled into a routine. Claire drove Nicholas to school in the mornings on her way to Forever Christmas. Jax worked at Three Bears Valley until mid-afternoon when he went to town to do errands before picking Nicholas up at the end of the school day. He stopped in at Forever Christmas most days to lure her beneath the mistletoe for a few minutes, since he seldom found the opportunity to do so at Mama Bear—despite the fact that he'd tacked up numerous sprigs of the stuff at appropriate spaces around the house. He and Claire traded nights cooking dinner and cleaning up afterward, then for Jax it was homework supervision, bath, and bedtime. Some nights stretched out longer than others because he was reading the last book of the Harry Potter series to Nicholas, and he often got caught up in the story and read longer than he'd intended.

Only twice during that first week did they find time at the end of the day to share a glass of wine, a little conversation, and some mistletoe time. To his surprise, Jax discovered that he enjoyed the slow pace of the seduction.

Because that's what it had been. A slow, sensual seduction the likes of which he hadn't enjoyed in a very long time.

Then on Wednesday of their second week at Three Bears, an excited Nicholas climbed into the truck after school and presented Jax with an interesting opportunity. “Guess what, Dad? Galen invited me for a sleepover at his house after the birthday party on Friday. Can I go? Please?”

A sleepover at the Cicero house on date night! Yes!
“That might be doable. I need to speak with Dr. Rose or Cicero first and make sure it's okay.”

“Can you call them right now, please?”

“When we get home.”

Home. For the first time since leaving the navy, he felt like he actually had one. Complete with waiting woman. Emphasis on the waiting.

Friday night. If Nicholas wasn't teasing him, if the stars finally aligned and nobody got a stomach bug or had a Christmas crisis or accidentally cut off his leg while using a Skilsaw, Friday night just might see the end of his drought and the dance that up to this point had been his mistletoe fling.

Back at the Three Bears, he'd just hung up the phone from speaking to Rose Cicero when a Jeep entered the valley and drove toward the cabins. Outside playing with Tinsel, Nicholas turned toward the sound. “It's Mr. Chase. Look, Dad, it's Mr. Chase! I wonder if he has Captain with him? Maybe Captain and Tinsel would like to play. What do you think, Dad? Would that be all right? Would Miss Claire let Tinsel play with Captain?”

“I imagine it's fine as long as the puppy doesn't appear to be afraid of Captain.”

“She won't be. I know it. She's a great dog.”

When Chase opened his door and a golden retriever hopped out, Nicholas cheered in delight. “Captain! Look, Dad. It's Captain. He likes her. See? Mr. Chase, is it okay if Tinsel plays with Captain?”

“Sure.” Chase strode over to where Nicholas wrestled with the two dogs. He ruffled Nicholas's hair and said, “Howya doin', Tadpole?”

“Great! Tinsel is staying at my new house until my dad gets Baby Bear fixed and I get to play with her every day. I'll get to play with her even when Miss Claire goes back to Baby Bear. Isn't that awesome?”

“Totally awesome.” He hunkered down beside Nicholas and petted the puppy. “So, this is the famous Tinsel. She is cute, isn't she?”

“She's famous?” Nicholas asked, his eyes going round with wonder.

“In Eternity Springs, she is. After all, your dad went into a—” Chase caught sight of the slicing motion Jax made across his throat and finished. “Long story about how cute she is when I saw him at the lumberyard the other day. Dr. Lori sent some puppy treats with me for her. They're in the backseat of my Jeep. Want to go get them?”

“Sure.”

Chase rose and sauntered on toward Jax, who checked his watch. Ten to five. Close enough. “Want a beer, Timberlake?”

“With every fiber of my being, thank you.”

Jax made a quick trip inside to the refrigerator, then rejoined Chase, who said, “Today was final tuxedo-fitting day and Cam and Devin had an issue with theirs. I thought my veterinarian bride might take a gun and shoot a dog.”

“Let me guess. The infamous Mortimer was up to his old tricks? What'd he do? Eat a bow tie?”

“No. Cummerbund. I am grateful for the wonderful women I have in my life, but I have to tell you, weddings are not for the faint of heart.”

Neither were divorces. Under the circumstances, with Chase's wedding a little over a week away, Jax kept that reality to himself. He tossed a beer toward Chase. “Truer words. So, what brings you out our way?”

Chase caught the can, popped the top, and took a long sip before answering Jax's question. “My blushing bride and I were talking about Tadpole today, and she made a suggestion.” He glanced over to make certain that Nicholas couldn't hear him when he said, “No pressure here, because we have other arrangements made already, but Lori thought that if you and Claire were amenable, we'd ask Nicholas if he'd like to dog-sit for us while we're on our honeymoon.”

Jax glanced toward his son, who stood throwing a stick for Captain to fetch. Nicholas's expression was lit up like a tree in Forever Christmas. “I'll have to speak with Claire—”

“Lori already did. She thinks it's a great idea.”

“In that case, I think it's a great idea, too. He'll be thrilled.” Plus, it would give Jax a chance to evaluate how the boy would manage the responsibility of having a dog were Jax to decide to give the go-ahead to get one for the boy. Since Claire acted as caretaker for Tinsel, Nicholas had all the fun without the responsibility. With a dog of his own, that would need to change. “Why don't you go ask him?”

Jax sat on the front porch steps and sipped his beer as he watched Chase Timberlake's long-legged saunter toward his son. While the two played together with the two dogs for a few minutes, Jax reflected on the blessing the former jet-setter had been in the Lancasters' lives. Last summer when Nicholas arrived at the Rocking L summer camp, he'd been a fearful shell of the boy he was today. Much of that transformation was due to the man playing with the boy now. Chase had not only taught the boy to swim, he'd accomplished the first breakthrough in Nicholas's recovery from the traumatic events of his mother's death.

I owe him more than I'll ever be able to repay.

Jax's gaze slid down his son's figure and focused on his ankle where vicious scars served as evidence of his son's horror.

Nicholas's excited cheer diverted Jax from the dark direction of his thoughts, and he watched with a glad heart as the boy's joy exploded like a skyrocket on the Fourth of July. If the Hardcastles could see him now, they couldn't deny that Jax's decision to bring his son to Eternity Springs had been the right one.

“Dad! Dad! Guess what? You gotta say yes, Dad. Please say yes!”

He gave his lecture about responsibility and care and then said yes. Much happiness abounded in Three Bears Valley.

He relayed the details of the moment with Claire later that evening when they shared a glass of excellent wine after he put Nicholas to bed. “Chase and Lori are good people. I didn't know everything Chase had been through when I met him last summer, but I heard the story from Shannon when I grabbed a burger for lunch at Murphy's one day last week. It's no wonder Nicholas bonded with him. They both lived through a really horrific experience.”

Claire swirled the wine in her glass. “I know that Nicholas survived a car accident that killed his mother. Yesterday when he stripped off his soccer cleats and socks after showing me his new peewee uniform, I noticed the scars on his legs. Is that from the accident? Or did something else happen to him?”

Jax rubbed the back of his neck. He rarely spoke of the event that had caused such grief for so many people, and even when he did, he only relayed the basic facts. Facts couldn't convey the horror, and he'd never told anyone the entire story.

To his surprise, he found he wanted to tell Claire.

He swallowed hard, licked his lips, and began. “For me, it all started on Christmas Eve. According to our custody agreement, I had Nicholas every other Christmas. My ex had him for Christmas the first year following our divorce. It was my turn.”