Christmas in Eternity Springs (34 page)

Jax loaded the last of the Thanksgiving dishes into the dishwasher, then filled the sink to tackle the pots and pans.

“Where are the dishtowels?” Brian Hardcastle asked.

“Underneath the coffeepot. Third drawer down.”

Since Linda had prepared their Thanksgiving feast, she was taking a well-earned after-dinner nap. Nicholas was sitting in the living room perusing the pet finder Web site and dreaming of getting his heart's desire.

Jax gazed out the window toward dark and empty Baby Bear.
One of us might as well get our heart's desire.

Standing beside him with a white flour-sack dishtowel in hand, Brian noted the path of Jax's gaze
.
“Nicholas expects her to come home sometime today.”

“Yeah. She left a sign on the door to her shop saying she'd be open tomorrow.”

“So what did you do to screw things up with her?”

Jax gave Brian a sidelong look. “Nicholas must have been saying a lot.”

“No. I have keen powers of observation. Following our first visit to Eternity Springs, I predicted that you'd be engaged to marry her by the end of the year.”

“Yeah, well, I'm going to have to dig myself out of a pretty deep hole to prove you right.”

Brian went still for a minute, then he nodded. “So she is what you want. I thought so. It's difficult for me to think of another woman filling Lara's role of mother, but he needs someone. I liked her. She seems like a lovely young woman.”

“She's wonderful.” Jax realized that Brian Hardcastle had just given him his blessing. He also realized that receiving it meant more to him than he ever would have imagined. “I just hope I'll get the chance to make things right with her.”

“I have faith in you. You're a hardheaded SOB, Lancaster. You'll get the job done.”

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, Jax kept a close watch on Baby Bear. He had a lot he wanted to say to Claire Branham, and he didn't care what it took, she was going to listen to him.

Jax would be the first to admit that he'd acted like an ass when she'd shared her news at Silver Eden. Under the circumstances, he could understand why she hadn't wanted to make the return trip to Eternity Springs with him. Sometimes a person needed time to work off their mad. Heaven knows he'd needed time to process the information she'd thrown at him. A little time apart can be an effective tool to be used to repair a relationship.

But enough was enough. She'd dodged him long enough.

He needed to talk to Claire. He had apologies to make, explanations to share, and questions to ask. He had a game plan to put into motion.

If only he could get the woman to sit still long enough to listen.

Events of the past few weeks had proved one thing. Claire was definitely a runner. It shouldn't have come as a surprise. Hadn't she told him she'd been running away from home when she met Celeste at that little town in Texas? She'd run from him at Silver Eden. She'd run from him by leaving Mama Bear. She'd run on this mystery Thanksgiving trip.

Jax recognized that instincts were difficult to ignore, so his intention, his challenge, was to convince her to change direction, to run toward him, toward love, rather than away from it.

If he ever managed to pin her down long enough to talk to him again, that is. The woman was as slippery as an eel.

He watched for her arrival all afternoon and into the evening. When her car finally drove past Mama Bear shortly before ten
P.M.
, he breathed a sigh of relief.
She's back.

He briefly considered marching over there now, but better sense prevailed. Who knew how long she'd been traveling today? She might be exhausted. The confrontation could wait one more day.

Besides, it made sense strategically to wait until tomorrow to approach her. After all, Deck the Halls Friday was right up Miss Christmas's alley. She'd be in a good mood tomorrow, full of Christmas cheer. The timing was actually working out quite nice.

Jax went to bed with a lighter heart than he'd had in days.

*   *   *

Claire awoke to her cell phone sounding Jax's ring tone of “You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” She glared at her phone, then pulled the covers over her head and told herself to go back to sleep. This was not how she wanted to start her day.

She didn't want to talk to Jax. She didn't want to see him. She didn't want to think about him.

She lay in bed, hiding beneath the covers. He called twice more during the next ten minutes. She didn't answer. When her phone rang for the fourth time that morning, it took her a moment to recognize the different ringtone—“I Hate Everything About You” by Three Days Grace. Her day went from bad to worse before it even started.

Not Jax this time. Landon.

She let that call go to voicemail, too. She
might
work up her courage to listen to it later, but probably not. She wasn't up to dealing with Landon today.

Today was Deck the Halls Friday. She had to put on her big-girl panties and go to town and be nice. Be happy. Be Miss Christmas.

“Bah, humbug.”

She threw off her covers and rolled out of bed, groaning a little due to muscles sore from three days of skiing. She took a long, hot shower and decided to call the Angel's Rest spa and book a massage.

An hour later, wearing a red ski jacket, a green wool scarf, and a knit cap with antler ears to complete her ensemble, she pasted on a smile that apparently passed as real and accepted the townspeople's kudos for her efforts toward making their new decorations possible. As president of the Chamber of Commerce, Celeste heaped such praise upon Claire that under other circumstances, she'd have basked in the glory.

However, Jax's constant presence and steady stare had her anxious as Frosty on a summer afternoon.

She'd tangibly felt his gaze during the entire Deck the Halls kickoff gathering in Davenport Park. She'd tried her best to pretend he wasn't there, but the man was impossible to ignore. She felt as if she were under siege. When the mayor assigned volunteers into decorating teams of three, she'd closed her eyes and prayed she wouldn't be paired with him.

Fate had been kind to her. She ended up on Chase and Lori Timberlake's team and got to hear about their travels in Tibet on their rafting-trip honeymoon. Claire had been so relieved to escape Jax Lancaster's undivided attention that she actually enjoyed herself while hanging lights and garlands and red all-weather bows along Cottonwood.

Her tension returned when Three Days Grace sounded from her cell phone again. What was so freaking important that Landon wouldn't leave her alone?

“If you'd listen to one of the twelve voice mails he's already left, you probably would discover the answer,” she muttered as she slipped her key into the lock at Forever Christmas and opened the door for what she expected to be her biggest sales day ever.

She traded her jacket and cap for her usual Forever Christmas apron. In the twenty minutes she had to herself before opening the shop, she added mulling spices to apple cider in an electric beverage urn, which she switched on to heat. Soon the aromas of apples, cinnamon, and clove drifted through the shop.

She should probably restock her cider supply, she decided as she removed the day's cash from her bank envelope and added it to her register drawer. When Liz came in for her shift, Claire would send her over to the Trading Post for some. Liz Bernhardt was one of two part-time workers Claire had hired to help her from now until Christmas. Both of her new employees were high school seniors saving for college, and they'd impressed her with their enthusiasm. She hoped they'd be as dependable as their resumes led her to expect.

Claire restocked the ornaments on her depleted Doghouse tree and carried the empty boxes out to the trash dumpster in the alley behind the shop. She turned on the music and moved about the shop, switching on light fixtures, Christmas tree lights, and the Christmas village display. She added more peppermints to her giveaway bowl and decided everything was ready for the opening. Everything but her, that is.

She checked her watch. Ten minutes. She had ten minutes of freedom to scowl and be cranky and fight back tears. She wished she'd never come to Eternity Springs. She wished she'd never gone to the hot springs to soak her sore shoulder that night in July. She totally wished she hadn't moved to Three Bears Valley and fallen in love with the cabins, the man, and his son.

She had to talk to him. She realized that. Eternity Springs was too small to avoid him much longer. Besides, despite his ridiculous overreaction upon learning the news … she missed him.

Maybe she should listen to one of Jax's voice mails. Maybe just one. The last one?

Her finger shook just a little as she hit the voice-mail icon on her phone. “Hey, Claire. I miss you. Can we talk?”

Oh, Jax.

A rap on her front door interrupted her musings and demanded her attention. Liz had arrived for work. Claire worked up a smile and let her in. “Before you take your coat off, I need you to run to the Trading Post for me.”

“Okay,” the teenager said.

Claire gave her a list and money from petty cash. “When you return, come in the back door—it's open. Leave the groceries in the storeroom, and you'll see a couple aprons hanging on hooks. Wear one of them, and you can hang your jacket there.”

“Yes, ma'am. I'll be right back.” Liz beamed a smile and added, “I can't tell you how excited I am about having this job. It's like I get to have Christmas every day.”

Claire smiled and sent Liz on her way. Alone in the shop once more, she repeated, “Bah, humbug.”

When the Rudolph cuckoo clock sounded the hour, Claire flipped her sign from
CLOSED
to
OPEN
and prepared to get Christmasy. Three shoppers arrived immediately. She sold ornaments and lights, two Christmas village collectibles, and an angel tree topper in the first five minutes.

Claire had anticipated a busy day.

Catastrophic caught her by surprise.

She never expected Landon Perryman to slither into Forever Christmas with Jax Lancaster right behind him.

 

Chapter Twenty-one

You've done dumber things in your life. It's just been a while.

—CLAIRE

Jax didn't want to confront Claire while she was at work. If she'd answer his calls or one of his knocks, he wouldn't have to do it. But she wouldn't, so he would. This nonsense had gone on long enough.

He headed toward Forever Christmas armed with a sincere, ready-to-grovel apology and a heartfelt declaration of love. While he hoped he'd arrive to find a lull between customers, he was prepared to state his case in public. He wouldn't risk her running again before he had a chance to talk to her.

He sighed inwardly when he realized that the tourist in front of him was headed for the shop, too.
Oh, well, an audience it is.

Bells jingled on the door as Jax followed the man into the shop. He scanned the room for Claire, and immediately realized something was terribly wrong.

She spared Jax barely a glance, her focus fixed on the tourist. She'd gone as pale as the snow on the ground of her Christmas village.

“Hello, Claire,” said the stranger.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded. “I don't want you here. Go away.”

“If you'd answered my phone calls, this visit wouldn't have been necessary. You didn't, so it is.”

“Landon, you need to leave right now.”

Landon. The lawyer. The Lying Lizard guy. Quadruple L. Jax's gaze skimmed the store looking for other shoppers as he stepped forward to join Claire, setting his mouth into a grim line. Thankfully, Forever Christmas appeared to be empty of shoppers at the moment. Claire wouldn't want observers for this exchange.

“I'm not leaving until you hear me out, Claire. This is something you can't refuse or ignore. You've been invited to read at a White House holiday party! It's December nineteenth, and they need our answer by this afternoon.”

“No.”

“Claire, the party is for sick children. The invitation is from the First Lady herself! You can't say no to this!”

“Yes I can. I am.”

“I already told them yes!”

Claire twisted her head to look at Jax. Her eyes had gone wild and round like a reindeer caught in the headlights. “Make him leave, Jax. Please?”

Jax stepped forward, planted his feet wide apart, and folded his arms. “The lady has asked you to go.”

“And I will. As soon as she tells me she'll make the appearance.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an airline ticket folder. “It's the White House, Claire. All the arrangements have been made. You fly out of Denver on the eighteenth and return on the twentieth.”

“Okay,” Claire snapped. “Okay. Just go. You have to go now.”

The lawyer nodded once, then turned to go. He was halfway to the door when, her voice filled with despair, Claire asked, “Why?”

“Because Starlina is every little girl's fantasy and you are her creator.”

As Landon exited the shop, a group of seven women entered. Jax recognized the members of the Eternity Springs Garden Club and knew them as the biggest gossips in town. Thank goodness they arrived after Landon's big announcement or the news would be all over town in minutes.

Jax stood at an angle that allowed him to see into the storeroom. As the garden club entered through the front door, he saw Liz step inside through the back. She set down a grocery sack and swapped her jacket for a Forever Christmas apron.

“Hello, Claire, dear.” Janice Peterson, the grande dame of the gossips, swept forward. “I want to be one of the first to tell you how lovely all the decorations look. You are a treasure for our town. Just a treasure. I predict that merchants this year will double their usual sales. Walking around town has surely put me into the Christmas spirit like never before. I'm just…”—she clicked her fingers—“spending, spending, spending.