Santa Wore Combat Boots (3 page)

“You’re not an idiot. Besides, this can’t be any worse than the time you made that apple pie for the church bake sale and forgot the sugar.” He smiled and she froze with the trash sack hovering over the plastic can.

She had been pregnant with Sarah at the time and blamed her forgetfulness on hormones. She’d been so embarrassed when Father Charlie purchased the sour dessert. She and Larry vowed never to tell anyone it was hers. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember sharing that story with Jake. Then again, she felt so comfortable talking to him, she very well could have told him, and probably did. With a satisfied nod, she dropped the trash into the can and closed the lid.

“Listen, you can borrow my phone book if you don’t find the numbers you need.” He motioned back toward his house.

“I’ll take another look inside first. I’m sure it’s there somewhere.”

“Do you mind me asking who you’re looking up? Maybe I know the number.”

She opened her mouth to tell him, but then the curtain came down to stop her. Would he really understand? He didn’t know anything about Larry except what she told him over the years. Jake continued to be a neighbor and a friend and she didn’t want to risk losing that. Her lips twitched in thought and she took a deep breath before answering carefully.

“I’ve been looking into some different agencies, that’s all.”

“Agencies? For what? Are you looking for a nanny or some kind of help with the kids?”

“No, no, not that kind. I mean, well...promise you won’t laugh?” She gazed up at him from under her lashes, and the concern she saw etched across his face told her all she needed to know. Jake would understand, and maybe he could even help her.

“I promise. Before you tell me, why don’t we go inside?” Jake ushered her toward her back door. “You’re going to catch your death.”

“Funny you should mention that,” she chuckled and leaned into him a little as they passed through the door into the kitchen. A hint of spice and something oddly familiar tickled her nose. She wasn’t sure if it was Jake or his sweater, but the scent comforted her. He closed the door with a whoosh of cold air and Emma noticed a pair of fluffy white feathers cascade delicately toward the floor.

Where on earth had those come from?

“So what’s going on?” Jake asked, pulling her from her puzzling thoughts.

“My crazy cat seems to be catching birds at the feeder again.” Emma’s eyes watched the feathers land next to the table.

“No¸ what’s really going on?” Jake’s green eyes became serious when he stopped her from picking up the feathers. Heat spread up her arm again and she moved away from his touch, not sure what to make of the feeling.

“You’re going to think I’m crazy, but I’m looking for a legitimate medium to help me contact Larry.”

“You are?” Strange, but he didn’t look as shocked as she thought he would.

“So far I haven’t had any luck. I went to see Madame Zelda over in Lewis County, but she was as phony as a three-dollar bill. And now I can’t find the list with the remaining names on it. Without that list, I’m afraid I’m losing my only chance.”

“First off, I don’t think you’re crazy.”

“Really?” Emma motioned toward the small oak table and they sat down.

“Of course not. What I do think is you need to find a healthy way of dealing with this.”

“Don’t lecture me on death and grieving. I’ve heard it all over the years from the women at the Post 518 Bereavement Group. I’m through grieving and I’m ready to start living.” She hoped she sounded convincing.

“Then what exactly do you want the medium for? They can’t bring him back.”

“I know.” Emma sighed, suddenly wondering if telling Jake had been such a good idea. “But they can connect me to his spirit and I can be with him whenever I want.” She hesitated when he didn’t say anything and added, “See, you do think this is crazy.”

“No more crazy than the time you and Traci attempted a three-legged race on skates.”

“How did you know that?” she shot him a questioning look.

“You told me about it last summer, don’t you remember?”

“No. As a matter of fact, I don’t think we’ve ever talked about that, or the pie.” She wrinkled her face, trying to access the deep recesses of her own memory.

“Oh, come on, we must have.” He leaned back in the chair. “How else would I know something like that about you?”

“I don’t know, Jake Nicklaus.” She pursed her lips and tapped them with the tip of her index finger. “I’m beginning to wonder if you don’t have some secret power.”

“Why do you say that?” He crossed his arms over his broad chest, his face registering amusement.

“Because...you’re always around right when I need you, you’re always doing such thoughtful things for me and the kids. And come to think of it, I don’t really know that much about you.”

“What do you want to know?” He raised his brows in a relaxed fashion.

“Where do you come from?” Emma thought she would start with something simple.

“Just outside of Pittsburgh. That’s where I grew up, anyway.” He was so carefree when he spoke, but he wasn’t giving her any detail.

“Family still there?” Over all the years he never mentioned his family. She figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.

“No. Never really had one. I moved around a lot.” He dropped his eyes to the bare table between them.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” She raised her gaze to her flowered wall boarder, feeling as though she were prying.

“Don’t be. I’ve had a pretty interesting life.” He paused for a moment and then added, “Glad to be where I am right now.” He placed his palms on the table in confirmation.

“Oh.” She felt her face flush. Damn that wine.

“I meant here, in Martin’s Landing.” He corrected himself.

“Right, of course.” Well, she could now add foolish to her growing list of feelings.

“Do you have plans for the weekend?” he asked, and she was thankful he’d changed the subject before she asked anything else that would embarrass her.

“Sunday dinner with my family, but that’s about it. What about you?” She wasn’t sure why she was asking.

“I’m pulling a double down at the fire station. One of the guys wanted the weekend off to do some shopping with his wife. Have you finished yours yet?”

“Heaven’s no. I’m not really sure what I’m doing for the kids. The cold weather hit early this year and I had to turn the heat on. My bill is atrocious. I think it will be a pretty lean Christmas this year.”

“It’s not about the gifts you know.”

“I know. But I love to see the
kids
faces light up when they unwrap their presents. This is when I miss Larry the most.”

“I’m sure you do.”

“Which is why I need the medium. I want to be able to go to him whenever I feel this way, and even when I don’t. Larry and I had a connection, Jake. I don’t want to be without it.”

“You’re not, Emma. He’ll always be with you.”

“Memories?” She laughed. “Of course. But I want him back, I want to see him. I want him to tell me it’s all going to be okay like he used to.”

Emma watched as Jake stood and rounded the table. There was a different look about him she had never seen before. She was scared for a moment, but when he took her hands and that all too familiar warmth started, she relaxed a little. He pulled her to her feet and their eyes met as he spoke.

“You don’t have to worry about a thing. I’m going to tell you, Emma Turner, it’s all going to be okay. I promise I’ll always have your back.”

She sucked in her breath over those words. A flash of bright light glowed in Jake’s eyes, and Emma swore she saw Larry. She suddenly felt safe. A new hope filled her. Not only would everything be all right, but she had found her medium.

CHAPTER THREE

Emma couldn’t believe her good fortune as she cleaned the breakfast dishes. All these years the person she needed had lived right next door. Could Jake Nicklaus be the miracle she’d been searching for? She folded the towel over the oven door. While she wasn’t quite sure about the miracle yet, for the first time in a very long time she felt ready to take that leap of faith to find out.

When the doorbell rang, Sarah jumped out of her chair to get it. “It’s Jake, Mommy.”

“Mr. Nicklaus,” Emma corrected with a smile. “Good morning,” she said as she opened the door.

“Good morning, girls.” Jake winked down at Sarah, and she practically glowed over being included. “I just wanted to drop off the phone book I promised you.” He held out the thick volume.

“Thanks, Jake, but I thought about what you said and I’ve decided I don’t need it.” She lifted her chin a notch at his cocked brow.

“How come you get to call Mr. Nicklaus, Jake, and I have to call him Mr. Nicklaus?” Sarah piped in from Emma’s hip.

“
Shh
, Sarah, go back and finish your breakfast.” Emma gave her daughter a nudge toward the kitchen. Jake laughed when the stubborn girl didn’t move, even with Emma’s warning voice, “Sarah...”

“How come?” Sarah insisted.

“It’s a grown-up thing, peanut, but you can call me Jake if you want to. Now you’d better finish your breakfast before it gets cold.”

Emma clamped her mouth shut to keep it from dropping open. Larry had always called Sarah peanut, and that was one thing Emma knew for sure she’d never shared with Jake. Never.

“Thanks, Jake!” Sarah spouted, then pointed up by his shoulder. “
Oooh
, look, more feathers!” She caught them in her hand and examined them like they were gold. “Where did they come from?”

“I swear that darn cat is crazy. He’s probably been out hunting all morning, and he’d better not bring his present in the house this time.” Emma scanned the porch behind Jake.

“Silly Mommy, Jingles is over by the fireplace,” Sarah said and skipped toward the kitchen holding tight to her treasures.

“So I guess he’s innocent?” Jake glanced at the cat.

“For now.” Emma glared toward the plump tiger cat curled up on the stack of wood. “I’m so sorry. I seem to keep forgetting my manners. Would you like to come in for some coffee?”

“I appreciate the offer, but I have to get to the fire station. Which by the way, I spoke to my Chief last night and you can have the community hall.”

“What’s he going to charge?”

“A dinner plate and some pie. Apparently, he says you make the best coconut cream pie in the county.”

“That’s only because it’s my mother’s recipe, and he and his wife used to play cards with my parents every Saturday night.”

“You do realize you now have to make the pie. If you don’t, it’s my head on the chopping block.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make the stupid pie,” Emma grumbled with a teasing tone to her voice. Her mother’s recipe truly was the best around.

“Oh, and he’ll let you in the morning of the dinner if you want to decorate,” Jake said on his way out the door.

“Decorate? All I have to do is put down some plastic table runners and maybe a few centerpieces from last year.”

“That’s it?”

“It isn’t a competition, you know. People are just coming for the food, and the dinner is Monday night. That doesn’t give me much time.”

“But it’s Christmas,” Jake interjected.

“Not my favorite holiday, remember? It will be fine, and no one will starve, I promise. Thanks again for finding the community hall, and I will have the pie ready and waiting for Paul.” Emma put her hand on the door knob, not wanting to discuss the holiday or the dinner any longer.

“Sometimes you have to give things a chance. If you don’t need the phone book, then maybe it’s time you give the dinner a chance, too.” Jake gave her a salute and walked off the porch.

Emma watched him climb up into his pickup truck and drive down the street. The salute had to be pure coincidence. Then why was her gut insisting it had something to do with Larry?

***

“You still here?” Jake asked from inside his truck. Looking into the rearview mirror, he saw the faint reflection of the Major in the back seat.

“She needs you,” the voice said.

“I think I’m getting through. She seemed, I don’t know, open somehow since last night.”

“My little peanut, Sarah, has taken quite a liking to you.”

“She’s something else, that one. You’re a very lucky man.” Jake felt a longing inside his heart for a family like Larry’s. After all of this time, he certainly felt connected, but they weren’t his. And as much as he wanted them to be, they couldn’t.

“It’s time for you to move forward,” Larry sounded insistent.

“What do you mean? You know yourself Emma can’t be pushed into anything. You heard her. She’s put aside the crazy notion of seeing a medium. Maybe now I can work on her with Christmas.”

“There’s not much time, and it’s not just Emma. I want the children to have a memorable Christmas. Emma barely even decorates anymore.”

“I noticed. I’m working on it, Major. I’m not sure what more I can do.”

“You know what you want to do. Be there for her and the kids. I trust you to do what you need to, to ensure their happiness.”

Jake pulled over into a vacant lot just as Larry’s spirit vanished. So his old comrade was giving him permission to do what he needed. The feelings in his heart could no longer be denied as he took this as a sign from above.

Emma and the kids needed him as much as he needed them. And with the spirit of Christmas alive in his own heart, he would show her and teach her to feel again. Without another thought, he placed a call to Paul at the station and turned the truck around. Emma was about to get her first lesson in what the spirit of Christmas was really about.

Ten minutes later he was ringing Emma’s doorbell. Sarah once again beat her to the door. Her smile was big and bright as she looked up at him.

“Hi, Jake!” she said and looked behind to see if her mother had heard.

“Well hello, Sarah. Where is your mom?”

“Upstairs with Ben. He ate a marker again.” Sarah let Jake into the house and went back to sit in front of the television, leaving him with a smirk on his face.

“Sarah, was that the doorbell?” Emma appeared at the top of the stairs with Ben on her hip and reminisces of green marker on his chin, a sight Jake could never get too tired of seeing. “Oh, Jake, this is a surprise. Did something happen? My goodness, you just left.”

“The kids want to see Santa, right?”

“Well, yes...” she said with caution as she made her way down the stairs.

“Then get your coat and let’s go.”

“Ho-Ho,” Ben chimed with his fingers in his mouth.

“That’s right, buddy, what do you say, Emma?”

“I thought you were working a double shift at the fire station?”

“I called in a favor, it’s no problem. Chief agreed as long as I stayed on call.” He paused and spread his arms wide. “Well?”

“I’m not so sure.” Emma set Ben down and he toddled toward the living room.

“What’s not to be sure about? We’ll have fun.”

“We’re going to see Santa?” Sara raced in from the other room. “Really? Jake, are we?”

“That’s up to your mom.” Jake raised pleading eyes to Emma’s and the worried expression he’d seen moments before became replaced by what looked like curiosity.

“All right, I guess we can,” she said, her smile more for the kids’ benefit. Sarah screamed and jumped. “
Shh
...Sarah, calm down. Go get your coat and boots.” The little sprite flew out of the room. “And get your brother’s too,” Emma called after her.

“Don’t look so skeptical. We’re going to have fun.” Jake reassured.

“I’m just not sure about going to the base to see Santa.”

“Who says we have to go to the base? They always have a Santa set up at the park. It’s a nice morning, we can go there.”

Jake watched as Emma studied him for a moment. Her face held no emotion and he wasn’t quite sure she was going to give in. Sarah and Ben rushed from the mud room with their coats and boots and Emma caved.

“The park it is.”

They drove into town in Jake’s truck. Ben took a short nap and Sarah jabbered about what she was going to ask Santa for. Emma stayed quiet in the front, leaving Jake wondering if she would be okay doing all of this.

“I can take you home if you’re really not ready. It’s no big deal,” he said quietly so Sarah wouldn’t hear. Emma snapped her head away from the window and looked at him. He sensed a determination about her that hadn’t been there before.

“No, this is fine. The children need this. Don’t worry about me.”

“But I do worry, Emma. I want you to enjoy yourself. The kids will be okay. I want to make sure you are.”

The same energy that passed between them the other night hit full force, only this time, they weren’t even touching. Jake watched the recognition spark in her eyes. He wanted more than anything to be her rock as Larry had been, and he was willing to move at Emma’s pace to get there.

“That means a lot, Jake, thank you.”

They followed the plowed path to the gazebo in the park, decorated with colorful lights and signs of Christmas. A line had started forming so they joined in. Sarah commented on every holiday character she saw milling about the park, passing out sweet treats, hot chocolate and coffee for the adults.

“Oh no!” Sarah exclaimed, looking franticly toward her mother.

“What’s the matter?” Emma bent down to look into her daughter’s eyes already filling with tears. Jake stayed quiet, not sure what to think of the little girl’s excitement, and decided to keep an eye on Ben who continued to sit like an angel bundled in the sled.

“I can’t see Santa now. If I do, then he will know. Mommy we have to wait and come back again. I can’t talk to him, I can’t.” The tears fell freely and tugged at Jake’s heart in a way he never imagined.

“Sarah, you aren’t making sense.” Emma shrugged at Jake and he returned the gesture.

“Who will know?” he asked.

“Santa!” Sarah all but wailed, and wiped at her nose with the back of her mitten. “I can’t tell him what I want for Christmas.”

“Why is that?” Jake knelt in front of her, curious as to the cause of all the drama.

“Because we’re not ready, Jake. Our house isn’t ready for Santa. How can I tell him what I want, when we don’t have a tree or decorations or anything!” Without warning, Sarah lunged forward and buried her head against his shoulder. He patted her on the back, awkwardly at first but the harder she cried, the easier he found it to just hug her tight and comfort her.

“It’s okay,” he mouthed to Emma when she stepped forward. He leaned back just enough to look into Sarah’s bright blue eyes. “Well, we can’t let that happen, now can we?” he soothed. Sarah shook her head and sniffed. “I think you should stay in line with your brother and tell Santa what you’d like for Christmas. There’s still plenty of time to decorate.”

“There is?” Sarah sniffed again and turned glistening eyes toward Emma.

“Yes,” Jake said not waiting for Emma to answer. When he did look up, Emma’s eyes softened and he thought she might cry, too. He nodded in understanding, and she chewed her quivering lip with a confirming nod of her own.

As if not to be left out, Ben suddenly chimed in, “Dad-
dy
!”

Emma’s mouth opened and her eyes grew wide. Her gaze flew from the bundled toddler back to Jake. She scooped him up from the sled with a nervous laugh, hiding her flaming cheeks behind his hooded head.

“No, silly, that is not your daddy.” As she cradled him on her hip she said to Jake, “I’m sorry. I don’t know where that came from. He’s never said that before. He didn’t even know--”

“Don’t worry, it’s all right.” He consoled.

Sarah beamed up at him and reached to take his hand as the line moved forward. “I know,” she said, then cupped her hand to whisper so her mother wouldn’t hear, “the soldier told me so.”

“What?” Jake looked around but saw no one in uniform.

“He told me everything would be all right, just like you. And I believe him.”

“You do?” Again, he scanned the perimeter as only a trained soldier would.

“Yes. These are his.”

In her other hand, she
held two fluffy white feathers.

***

“Would you like to stay for lunch? I make a mean chicken soup,” Emma said to Jake as she hung up the kids’ coats and hats. “Thank you for such a lovely morning. I can tell the kids enjoyed themselves.” Emma motioned him to join her in the doorway, admitting to herself she did not want the day to end.

And Jake had everything to do with it.

With the exception of Ben’s little outburst, the visit to see Santa had been a nice relief from all of the holiday shoppers and planning of the Post 518 holiday dinner. To be out of the house and watching her children have fun was so refreshing. Emma knew if Jake hadn’t come back, she would have moped around the house all day and maybe made a few phone calls.