Santa and the Snow Witch

by Linda Winstead Jones

  Chapter 7

  Mike and Cindy weren’t happy about taking over the store full time for a couple of days, but they agreed. Especially after Luke explained what was going on. A little extra work in exchange for the location of the Franklin Star seemed more than fair to everyone involved.

  At five minutes ‘til eleven, Luke pulled into Jordan’s driveway, parking behind her white compact car as he had last night. Huh. A few things had changed. Last night there had not been a wreath on her front door, and there had been no Christmas tree in the window. Today her blue house was decorated for the season.

  Maybe she hadn’t been able to sleep, either.

  He hadn’t suffered such a restless night in a long time. Lying in bed last night he’d heard every sound, from near and far. A whoop from the woods behind his house. There was no way to tell if that call came from Clint or their newest shifter, Nelson. Around three, a pack of dogs had started barking. Those sounds seemed to come from Silas’s place, but he couldn’t be sure. The town vet tried to keep the wild dogs from the area corralled but wasn’t always successful.

  Unlucky for Luke, last night had been a full moon. Milhouses everywhere celebrated by howling at the moon.

  Not every family in town had thrived the way Harry’s had. None of his sons had moved away; none wished to be normal, to live without their particular kind of magic.

  Luke’s house was located a short distance from the river, instead of in one of the Mystic Springs’ neighborhoods. Wildlife, natural and unnatural, roamed the woods there. Creatures of all kinds were drawn to the river. He knew damn well it hadn’t been any of those noises that kept him awake. They were all normal sounds, so normal he usually didn’t notice them at all. It had been Jordan that kept him awake. That kiss. Unfinished business.

  Jordan didn’t wait for him to collect her, but left her house and headed straight for the passenger side of the truck. She smiled as she approached, and something inside him tightened. Today he wasn’t fast enough; she opened her own door and jumped inside.

  She smiled, as if they were friends and nothing more. With her long pale hair pulled into a ponytail, her jeans well-worn, and her sleeveless white shirt already stained with a few drops of coral paint, she looked ready to get to work.

  “Ginger hasn’t even picked a color yet,” he said, like an idiot.

  Jordan shrugged. “If she picks a color quickly, we can run back to your place, mix it up, and get started painting this afternoon.” She turned her head and her eyes met his. “Best to get this over with, yes?”

  “Sure.” He didn’t want to get this over with. He wanted to spend today and tomorrow and the next day with Jordan. It didn’t matter if they passed the time painting, sharing a meal, or decorating a blackmailer’s apartment. He wanted whatever this was, whatever he felt with her, to be given a chance to grow, and for that to happen they needed to be together. Somehow he had to yank Jordan out of her comfort zone.

  If he was honest with himself, more than anything else he wanted her to end up in his bed. His bed, her bed, the cot in the back room at the store… anywhere would do. Tonight would not be too soon.

  Perhaps thinking they could get started painting today had been optimistic, on her part. Ginger could not choose a color from the samples Luke had brought her. She had her two best friends beside her, and they were not shy about expressing their opinions. Helen immediately recommended a pale lavender. Ramona thought Ginger should choose a bolder color. Perhaps red.

  Jordan was almost certain Ginger already knew damn well which color she was going to pick and was just stringing everyone along.

  The three ladies stopped for lunch, going downstairs and leaving Luke and Jordan alone for a while. They wouldn’t be gone long, but she was glad of the break from their chatter. Spending as much time alone as she did, she’d become accustomed to silence, to the absence of voice. Luke remained focused on the light over the stove. The cover over the bulb was a bit tricky, but was nothing he couldn’t handle. Jordan had nothing to do but watch him as she absentmindedly rifled through a box of Christmas decorations. Watching Luke was not a chore. Not at all.

  Last night she’d dreamed of being bold, of taking chances. By the light of day, she felt herself retreating into herself as she too often did.

  If she continued to retreat, she was going to disappear.

  “I think she’s leaning toward the peachy sand,” she said to Luke’s back. His ass did fill out those jeans nicely, she noted. To herself, of course. She’d never dare to tell him or anyone else that he had a great butt.

  He continued to fiddle with the light, and eventually the cover came off in his hand. As he looked up into the fixture itself he mumbled, “That’s a good color.”

  “Your grandmother wants moonlit lavender.”

  “Nana would paint the world purple if she could.” He stopped, turned, smiled. “There’s not much she likes better than one of Ivy’s to-go boxes of sweets. She likes the purple box almost as much as she likes what’s inside.”

  Luke didn’t immediately get back to work, but kept his eyes on her for a long moment. He had great dark eyes, a mixture of brown and green. It was odd, she didn’t normally remember anyone’s eye color, but she’d looked into Luke’s eyes, and that shade of hazel was memorable. He was memorable.

  “I have more leftovers,” she said. “Tonight we can go back to my place…”

  “No,” he said sharply. “You’ve fed me two nights in a row.”

  Wow, he’d shot that down pretty fast. She’d really thought he was attracted to her, the way she was attracted to him. She’d been so sure there was something between them.

  And then he added, “My place, when we’re done here.”

  That lightened her mood considerably. “Do you have leftovers?” she asked.

  “I have crackers and cheese, and half a six-pack of beer. I don’t have nosy neighbors who are likely to stop by and interrupt.”

  “Crackers and cheese it is,” Jordan said, her mouth going dry.

  Luke got back to work as if he hadn’t just rocked her world with the offer of crackers and cheese and no interruptions.

  Ginger and her pals brought a couple of to-go boxes from the downstairs dining room. Light over the stove fixed — it had been nothing more than a burned-out bulb under a difficult light cover — Luke sat at the small table beside Jordan and they ate. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas, a soft roll.

  His Nana smiled and said they needed their strength for the days to come.

  Luke hoped she was right about that. He hadn’t been lying when he’d told Jordan he didn’t have much in the way of food in his house. He could cook, but at the moment he was running low on pretty much everything. Still, he had no desire to be interrupted by the Franklin sisters, and if his truck was parked in Jordan’s driveway Ivy and Eve were likely to show up again.

  Those two had never been able to mind their own business. Usually he didn’t care, but this time the business was his.

  The three older ladies continued to hold paint samples up to the wall and debate the pros and cons of each one. Much to Helen Benedict’s disappointment, the lavender was discarded as inappropriate. She didn’t care that it clashed with everything Ginger owned. The darker colors were set aside. They’d make the room seem too small, the ladies decided.

  They ended up with three shades as possibilities. A warm pale green, a soft sandy color, and a petal pink.

  After much debate, they decided on the green.

  It was too late to get the paint mixed and get back here before the sun set. He’d like to have some natural light for the job. But they could prepare a bit. After eating they carefully placed painter’s tape around the windows, the crown molding and the baseboards. He’d mix up the paint in the morning, get back here earlier than he had today, and knock out this small room in no time. Then Ginger would tell him where the star was. He couldn’t make everything right with the world, but he’d do what he could for Mystic Springs.

 
As he and Jordan walked to his truck, a blast of cool air pushed Luke’s hair back. There was a dampness in the air that chilled him to the bone. Jordan seemed unaffected, even though her arms were uncovered.

  Once they were inside the truck, he turned to her. “Coming back to my place?”

  She nodded, then added, “I’ve been thinking about cheese and crackers all afternoon.”

  “The crackers are stale,” he confessed.

  “I don’t care.” Jordan leaned across the seat and kissed him then. It was a gentle kiss, warm and quick and wonderful.

  Was it possible the woman he’d been looking for all his life had been right under his nose all along?

  Chapter 8

  She’d never seen Luke’s house before. That was no surprise, since it was on the outskirts of town. His brothers both lived in traditional houses located right off Main Street, but Luke had built this more isolated place years ago.

  Empty houses everywhere, perfectly good homes cheap and plentiful, and he’d built this one.

  She couldn’t see it well. Sunset came early this time of year, and dark was falling quickly. A light by the front door shone brightly, giving her an idea of the place. It was a simple house, or appeared to be from the outside; one story with a couple of very large windows facing the front. His view from those windows would be of a narrow road, his pickup, and trees. Lots and lots of trees. He had no neighbors, at least no one close.

  Maybe he got enough of Mystic Springs six days a week at his store. Unlike her, Luke had always been involved with town politics, the association of downtown business owners, and his customers. Unlike her, he had actual friends. In addition to his brothers, he’d been known to fish or watch a football game with Clint and Silas. There were probably other activities she knew nothing about. It’s not like she went out of her way to know his business. People talked when they were in her ice cream shop, and she couldn’t help but hear.

  Susan Tisdale had been trying to get Luke to serve on the town council, but he always declined. Too bad. He’d be good at it. He was probably good at everything he took on.

  He hopped down and came over to open her door for her, and she let him. Mainly because she wanted him to help her down, to touch her, to take her hand in his and put his other hand on her waist. He did all those things. He even held her in place and kissed her, more thoroughly than she’d kissed him in the truck before they’d left the EGG.

  She wanted him, so much. More than she’d ever wanted anyone or anything. She’d been not much more than a child when she’d married, and there hadn’t been a man in her life since she’d been widowed. This moment was her choice. Luke was her choice.

  “I need you,” she said as he took his mouth from hers.

  “I wish I could see it,” he whispered. “All day long…”

  “Don’t overthink, Benedict,” she teased. “Take my word for it.”

  He unlocked the front door and showed her in. The main room was large, sparsely but nicely furnished, with a huge fireplace against the far wall and an open kitchen to the left. Luke didn’t take the time to show her around, he simply held her hand and walked toward a hallway to the right of the living room. Down that narrow hall was a bathroom, a spare bedroom, and at the very end a door to the master bedroom with an attached bath.

  His bedroom was huge.

  The bed had been made, though not well. On one side of the room stood a tall bookcase filled top to bottom with paperbacks and hardbacks; to the other side, a big television was mounted on the wall. The window here, which faced the back of the house, was as large as the ones on the front.

  Jordan recognized that this bedroom was a refuge, a place to hide at the end of a long day. In his own way, Luke had been secluded, as she had.

  She should have a shower, fix her hair, maybe put on a little lip gloss. But she didn’t want to wait. If she waited, she might chicken out, change her mind, run. If she did, she’d regret it for the rest of her life.

  Again, she said the words that meant more than Luke would ever know. “I need you.”

  While they kissed, he unbuttoned her shirt and pushed it off her shoulders. She pushed his t-shirt up and over his head. Her bra was next, flicked open and tossed aside. She wasn’t shy about going for the snap and zipper on his jeans.

  When they were both half-dressed, Luke placed his hands over hers and stilled. Then he left her to make a quick trip to the bathroom, where he made a bit of noise opening and closing drawers. That sounded like a closet door. He grumbled, once.

  She knew what he was looking for, what she should’ve thought of before they got even this far. It was kind of sweet that he didn’t have condoms in a convenient bedside drawer, that he couldn’t go straight to them in his own bathroom.

  Maybe he’d been waiting for her, the same way she’d been waiting for him. Why had they taken so long?

  When he returned to the bedroom, he had two wrapped condoms in one hand. He tossed them to the bedside table before picking up where they’d left off.

  Her hands went back to the zipper of his jeans; he went for hers. They undressed one another at a pace that fell somewhere between frantic and leisurely. She wanted his pants off now, but she also wanted the moment to last. She wanted to see him entirely naked, but she also wanted to savor every inch, to touch every angle of his surprisingly hard body.

  Luke pulled back the covers and lowered her to the bed, then he reached for the condoms, grabbing one blindly. At least one of them was thinking clearly. She wasn’t sure she could’ve stopped on her own.

  He joined her in the bed, stroked her, took his time arousing her as if they had all the time in the world. Maybe they did, but it didn’t feel that way. Jordan wrapped her body around his. She was naked, ready, desperate. She’d never been desperate for a man before, not like this. While he kissed her neck in a particularly sensitive place, there beneath her ear, she took him in her hand, stroked, guided him to her and into her because she could not wait any more.

  Having him inside her was a relief, an ending and a beginning, and it was right. That was her last thought before the only thing in her head was the way she felt where he touched her, the way she craved more and more and more, and then release crashed over her and she cried out in relief and joy and anguish that it was over.

  Luke came with her. He drove deep, and then again. He was a part of her in a way she had never expected any man to be.

  He was warm; she was warm. He rolled onto his side but did not release her.

  “That was amazing,” she said.

  “It was,” he agreed.

  “I’m really glad you don’t have any nosy neighbors,” she teased, coming up on one elbow to look down at him.

  “Me, too.”

  She shivered, and snuggled, and whispered into Luke’s shoulder. “Hold me. I’m cold.”

  Luke left Jordan sleeping, made his way into the kitchen and made coffee, his movements in this morning ritual slow and automatic. It was too early in the morning for him to be awake, but there would be no going back to sleep, not today.

  Jordan Teague Carter. Damn. He’d had a thing for her for a while now, he admitted it — to himself at least — but he’d never expected this. He’d never expected her to come to him this way.

  Would she stay, or was he nothing more than a convenient way to scratch an itch?

  He wanted what his parents had found, and there had been a couple of times he’d thought he’d found it. Love, yes, but more than that. A connection that went soul deep. Someone who was truly his other half. It had never worked out, not for him. Mike had found it. Travis was working on it. But the Benedict middle son had always felt as if he were floundering when it came to women.

  He felt Jordan before he saw her, turned to see her padding toward him on bare feet, wearing one of his flannel shirts and nothing else. She smiled, then eyed the coffee pot almost as longingly as she’d eyed him last night.

  “It’s barely 5 a.m.,” she said. “I didn’t know you were s
uch an early bird.”

  “I’m not, usually,” he admitted.

  “Was I snoring?” she asked with a smile, as she walked into his arms.

  “Just a little,” he teased.

  He didn’t tell her that it had been a very long time since he’d shared a bed with a woman for longer than was necessary. He didn’t tell her no woman had ever spent the night in his bed, in his home.

  She went up on her toes and kissed him. It was the kind of kiss that started out slow and easy and then quickly turned into something more.

  He was the one who pulled away. “I don’t have any condoms left.” They’d started out the evening with two, which he’d figured would be more than enough. When it came to Jordan he could never get enough.

  “I expect you to remedy that today,” she said, and then she left him for the coffee pot. She had no trouble locating the mugs, since they were in a cabinet just above the brewer.

  If he went to the grocery store and bought what they needed, everyone in town would know what was going on. “I can drive to Eufaula…”

  Jordan turned, coffee mug in hand, and looked him in the eye. “Don’t bother. I don’t care who knows we’re sleeping together. I’ll go to the grocery store with you and help you pick out the biggest pack of condoms they have. I’ll even tell them we don’t need a bag, and I’ll walk down the sidewalk with that gigantic box of condoms in my hand…”

  Luke laughed. “Okay, I get it. Suddenly you’re not shy.”

  She took a sip of coffee; her smile faded. “I’ve waited a long time for you, Luke. I don’t have the time or the inclination to be shy about you.”

  He took the mug from her hands and set it on the counter, so he could kiss her again. When the kiss ended, he rested his forehead against hers. “I’ve waited a long time for you, too.”

  Chapter 9

  Jordan wouldn’t say she loved to paint, but she didn’t mind the chore, either. There was something beautiful about a fresh coat of paint on a wall that needed it. Nothing was wrong with Ginger’s off-white walls, they weren’t stained or damaged, but the pale green color she’d chosen made the whole room seem fresher and brighter.