A couple minutes later, Jack returned to the dining room. He paused in the doorway, looked at Palmer and me, pressed his hand over his heart, and nearly swooned.
“I’m in love,” he declared.
“Jack, you just met my mom,” I replied, determined to talk sense into him. One look at the way his eyes had glazed over told me he wasn’t ready to listen. Whatever it was about my mother that had entranced him remained a mystery. I could tell she was flustered at Jack’s attention.
Jack sat down across from us, crossed his arms on the table, and leaned forward to whisper, “The minute I set eyes on your mother, I felt this thing happen in my gut, like the flu bug hit me worse than any sickness I’ve ever had, worse than the bubonic plague.”
His love analogy could use a little work. No woman wanted to be compared to a pandemic.
“Did you see what happened to me? It was like I got hit with a sledgehammer.”
Again, his expression of love needed a tad bit more finesse.
“Your reaction to Gina was hard to miss,” Palmer told him, understating the obvious.
“I know. My tongue wouldn’t work and all I could do was stare. I couldn’t even touch my food! Even now I can’t believe that Gina isn’t a heavenly being, and that she’s actually a human.”
“What on earth prompted you to sniff her neck?”
Jack had the good grace to look embarrassed. “She forgave me like the angel she is.”
“Take my advice and don’t try it a second time,” I warned him. I knew my mom wouldn’t put up with that for long.
Leaning forward, Jack lowered his voice, as if his next words were of great importance. “Josie, I’ve got to know, and please be honest.”
Palmer and I shared a concerned look. Know what?
“Do I have a chance with your mother?” If he leaned any farther over the table, he’d have his face in the salad bowl. He eyes implored me to give him hope.
Not knowing what to tell him, I silently sought Palmer’s help. He knew Jack far better than I did. “I…”
Palmer held up his hand, stopping me. “Can you give Josie and me a minute to discuss this?” he asked his friend.
Jack glanced from Palmer to me and then back again before he agreed.
“In private,” Palmer clarified.
“In private,” Jack echoed. He pushed back the chair, moved into the living room, and paced in front of the Christmas tree. He reminded me of an expectant father awaiting the birth of his first child.
“What should I tell him?” I asked Palmer, not wanting to hurt or discourage Jack. At the same time, I wanted him to realize his behavior had likely worked against him as far as my mother was concerned. Jack was great, but as much as I cared about him, I couldn’t imagine my mother with someone like Jack. Mom was a city girl, even more than I was.
“Maybe you should talk to your mother, ask her,” Palmer advised.
“Good idea.” The only logical one. Besides, I should be helping my mother with making coffee. She’d gone into the kitchen and I’d intended to follow her. I would have if Jack hadn’t practically tripped over a chair in his eagerness to be of help.
“You go in with your mother,” Palmer suggested, “and I’ll do what I can to reason this out with Jack.”
We each left the table.
I found Mom leaning her hip against the countertop, tapping her index finger against her lips while deep in thought. She didn’t seem to notice that I’d entered the kitchen. Again, I wondered if there was something or perhaps someone that Mom wasn’t telling me about. My suspicions were raised when I’d asked her about her trip to Leavenworth. Her responses had been vague, and she’d quickly changed the subject, which was unlike her. She always loved telling me about her adventures after coming home from a trip. It all felt odd to me. I’d wanted to get to the bottom of what was happening, but there hadn’t been a chance.
“It appears you have an admirer in Jack,” I said. Mom stood next to the coffeepot, which had just finished brewing. Two cups and saucers, plus two mugs, sat in front of it.
“He seems sincere,” she said, smiling. “I don’t mind telling you that your friend is a little odd.”
“Jack’s sincere—I promise you that, all right—although Palmer and I are hard pressed to explain his behavior.” I wasn’t sure how to read her. We’d always been open and honest with each other…or had been. “Jack asked if he had a chance with you; I don’t know what to tell him.”
“He lives in Alaska,” Mom declared. “And not just Alaska, but in Ponder. How far did you say this town was from any hint of civilization?”
“A few hours. It’s a nice little town, and after a while you hardly notice the lack of amenities.” The more time I spent away from Ponder, the more I missed the easy life there. The more I missed Palmer.
“Josie, honestly, I just met this man, and even if…He’s a dear, don’t misunderstand me. I’m flattered by his attention, but really, can you honestly see me living anywhere but here? Jack and I obviously live in two very different worlds.”
I agreed with her. “Don’t worry, Palmer is talking to him now, hoping to let Jack down easy.”
“He’s very sweet.”
Sweet wasn’t exactly the word I’d use. I certainly wasn’t going to tell my mother that Jack felt like he’d been hit with a virus the minute he set eyes on her.
“Let me help you with the coffee,” I said, reaching for the glass pot. Knowing how both Jack and Palmer liked theirs served, I doctored each one. I was about to suggest we serve dessert, although I didn’t think anyone was close to being ready. Depending on Jack, it might be a good idea to make an early night of it.
Admittedly, I was disappointed at how this dinner had gone. Palmer and I hadn’t had a moment to ourselves yet.
Mom and I carried the coffee into the living room, where Jack and Palmer sat waiting. Jack was on the sofa, leaning forward, his head in his hands. Hearing us, he looked up, and when he saw Mom, he released a low moan like he was in pain.
“Gina,” he whispered.
You’d think a ghost had just drifted into the room, not my mom.
“Here’s some coffee,” Mom said, setting his mug down on a coaster on the coffee table. “Would anyone like to listen to Christmas music?”
Jack nodded. Once again, words appeared to have escaped him.
Mom reached for the remote and then turned on the music to a low but discernible volume.
Palmer stood next to the fireplace where our stockings were hung. My grandma Warren had knit mine when I was ten. Mom had hers from when she was little, too.
Palmer took the mug out of my hand and I sat in the chair closest to the Christmas tree.
Flirting with danger, Mom sat on the sofa next to Jack and gently sipped her coffee. I watched her closely and noticed slight changes in her. Mom wasn’t the demure type, but she acted that way now, as though she wasn’t sure how to act around a man who was so obviously taken with her.
Jack didn’t touch his coffee. We were back to the deer-in-the-headlights look from him. I waved my hand in front of his face.
I glanced at Palmer, who didn’t seem to know how to break the spell Jack had fallen into, either.
“I’ve shared with Mom how much I love Ponder,” I said, hoping to start the conversation.
“Yes, and I was telling my daughter that I couldn’t imagine living in such a desolate location—or her, for that matter.”
I could almost feel Palmer stiffen and shoot a look my way, clearly wanting to defend the home that he loved back in Alaska. I stopped him with a smile that assured him I would see to that myself.
“I was telling Mom,” I continued, “how I grew accustomed to the isolation. There’s a peacefulness and a beauty that I haven’t found anywhere else. The town is tiny, I know, but the friends I made are t
he type who will last a lifetime. We rely on each other, help each other. You’re right, Mom, it is nothing like Seattle or any big city, but it has its own character and its own appeal. I miss Ponder more than I ever thought I would.” More accurately, I missed Palmer, but missing Ponder was no exaggeration on my part. I noticed Palmer’s body language relax after I spoke.
“I like Seattle just fine,” Jack said, looking directly at my mother. “Don’t suppose you happen to know what the job prospects are like here for a hunting and fishing guide?”
“I don’t,” Mom told him.
“Never did any other kind of work, but I can whittle.”
“You whittle, Jack?” I asked. The man was full of surprises.
“I do. Carved plenty of bear figurines over the years. I could set up a table at that market place you took me to and sell figurines…that is, if I had reason to live in Seattle.”
“I thought crowds bothered you,” Palmer reminded him.
“Gotta admit they do,” Jack said, “but there’s adjustments a man needs to make for a woman who’s captured his heart—especially if she refuses to live in Alaska.”
I gestured toward Palmer, letting him know I agreed with Jack. I couldn’t have said it any better myself. Not that I expected Palmer to move to Seattle.
Moving closer to me, Palmer sat on the arm of my chair. “I tend to agree.”
“You do?” I whispered, my heart reacting in a crazed fashion.
“I’ve been looking at property in Fairbanks. It’s close enough to drive there in fifteen to twenty minutes and far enough outside of town not to feel the world crowding in on us.” He reached for my hand and gripped it with his own, intertwining our fingers.
I looked up and blinked at him, my eyes filled with warmth and love. If we were alone I would have reached up and kissed him.
“You been to Alaska?” Jack asked Mom.
“No, sorry to say, I never visited, although I’ve heard a lot of things about how beautiful it is, especially where those cruise ships go. Have you ever been on a cruise, Jack?”
Palmer coughed, sounding like he was close to losing a lung. Like him, no way could I picture Jack on a cruise ship.
Mom looked with concern at Palmer. “You okay?”
“Fine,” he muttered, eyes watering as he blinked hard.
Jack set his mug aside. “I’m going to ask you something, Gina, and I need the truth.”
He sounded serious. I was afraid of where this conversation was headed. Palmer must have shared my concern, because his hand tightened around mine.
Jack turned sideways to look directly at my mother. “I need to know, Gina, do you have a love interest?”
Startled, Mom swallowed hard, and I could tell the question troubled her. She blinked several times and sent a guilty look my way, confirming that I had reason for my suspicions. There was someone in my mother’s life. Someone important. Her face said it all.
When she didn’t answer, I prompted her. “Mom? You don’t need to worry if you’ve met someone who interests you.”
“You mean me?” Jack asked, hopeful.
“I have a friend,” she admitted reluctantly, breaking eye contact with me. “A male friend.”
“That’s wonderful,” I assured her.
“Craig and I have been seeing each other for a few months now.”
“Craig?” Jack repeated in a devastated cry.
“Have I met him?” I didn’t remember ever meeting anyone with that name.
“We were in Leavenworth together,” Mom countered. “I know this is a shock to you. I wanted to tell you, I really did. I don’t know why I held back…I guess I was afraid you’d disapprove.”
“Mom, I would never do that.”
“I’ve never been with anyone like Craig. Falling in love scares me. I was afraid to tell you, for fear it would all fall apart.”
“Craig beat me out?” Jack wailed and buried his face in his hands.
“Honey, can we talk about this later?” Mom pleaded, just as the doorbell rang.
“Are you expecting anyone?” I asked her. A startled look flashed across her face as she stood to answer the door.
The three of us watched as Mom hesitantly crossed the room. When she opened the door, I saw an attractive, tall man with a full head of white hair on the other side. The two of them were whispering heatedly.
I could hear only part of the conversation.
“Now is not a good time,” Mom insisted.
“You always say that. Gina, if you don’t want me to meet your daughter…”
I couldn’t hear the rest of the exchange.
Finally, Mom opened the door to allow the man to enter.
“Everyone, Josie, I’d like to introduce you to my…friend, Dr. Craig Hunt.”
“Friend?” Craig whispered to my mom, his white brows arching with the question.
Jack released another wild cry of despair and fell against the back of the sofa.
Craig looked at Jack. “Do you need medical attention?” he asked.
“No, my friend’s perfectly fine,” Palmer said, sitting down next to Jack. “Give him a bit of time to recover and he’ll be good as new.”
The physician didn’t appear convinced.
Mom was keeping a close eye on my reaction. I left my chair and came over to hug her and then stuck out my hand to Dr. Hunt. “I’m Josie, Gina’s daughter, and I can’t tell you how pleased I am to meet you…at last.”
Craig Hunt grinned, and we impulsively hugged. I was happy for my mother and hoped she would be happy for me when I explained that I’d had a change of plans in my own life.
CHAPTER 16
Palmer
Our dinner with Josie and her mother hadn’t gone the way I’d wanted it to. Jack’s behavior was bad enough, followed by the unexpected introduction of Gina Avery’s male friend.
The doctor’s arrival had come as a surprise to us all. Although I hated to leave, I needed to get Jack out of the house before he made a bigger fool of himself, even if it meant missing the dessert Josie had made for us. It did my heart good to see that she didn’t want me to go; I was reluctant, too.
Before leaving, I arranged to meet her the following day to talk about our future. I loved her, but I’d had enough of this big-city life to last me for another two years.
Jack was beside himself, suffering with the loss of the supposed love of his life. His words, not mine. I’d had to talk him down once we got to the hotel, which wasn’t easy. He seemed determined to win Gina’s heart until I calmly explained that it looked like she’d already given it to another.
I’d told Josie I’d stay in Seattle for Christmas, but considering all that had happened, I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. Josie seemed intent on finding a new job in town, which implied she wasn’t ready to make a commitment to us. I’d already mentioned the property I planned to purchase outside of Fairbanks with the hope she’d view that as a compromise. If matters didn’t go as planned when we talked, and every indication told me she wasn’t ready to leave Seattle, then I would rebook my ticket back to Alaska earlier instead of later. The tranquility of Ponder had never called to me louder or clearer. Seattle had way too many people and too much drama for me.
Josie had suggested we meet at a restaurant close to the hotel, which suited me. Jack hadn’t left his hotel room since we’d returned from dinner at Josie’s. I’d tried talking sense into him, but he’d spent the remainder of the night bemoaning his great loss until I couldn’t take listening to him any longer and headed back to my own room.
Now I sat waiting in the restaurant Josie had recommended, reviewing in my mind all that I wanted to say to her. I arrived early and was able to get a booth, thinking that would give us more privacy than a table in the middle of a crowded restaurant. Josie arrived exactly on time. The ins
tant I saw her walk in the door, I felt my heart squeeze with longing. I desperately wanted her in my life. After everything that had happened in the last couple days, I wasn’t sure if it would ever come to be.
The hostess escorted Josie to the booth. She smiled and slid into the bench across from me.
After she removed her coat and gloves, she looked over and smiled. Immediately I felt better.
“Everything okay at home?” I asked.
She released a soft sigh. “Yes. Mom and I were finally able to talk. She’s so in love with Craig, and for the little bit of time the three of us were together, I could see he feels the same way about her. I don’t know why she wasn’t comfortable enough to tell me about him. He’s a widower, and he and Mom have a lot in common. I’m sincerely happy for her.”
“So you like him?”
“I do. He apologized to me for showing up uninvited. He didn’t know Mom had invited you and Jack to dinner. He’d come to meet me. It had frustrated him that she was keeping him a secret from me. Apparently, it had caused a rift between them. Mom had promised to introduce us when I first arrived back from Ponder but kept putting him off with one excuse after another until he took matters into his own hands.
“After you and Jack left, he apologized for barging in,” Josie continued. “Mom had mentioned that I’d quit my job. He assumed I’d be at the house, and he was right. What he didn’t expect was to walk into the middle of our dinner party.”
“Jack’s behavior didn’t help matters any.”
“The way he carried on was crazy. How is he today?”
Resisting the urge to laugh was almost impossible. “Last night he claimed that your mother was the love of his life and he will forever grieve the loss.”
“Poor guy.”
“He hasn’t come out of his room, but don’t worry, he had room service deliver his breakfast. From what I understand, it took two people to bring up his order.”
The cheerful server stopped by with a list of specials for the day and took our drink order. Frankly, I didn’t have much of an appetite. Josie didn’t appear to have one, either. We each chose a salad.
Alaskan Holiday Page 14
