High-Caliber Christmas

by B. J Daniels

  “Goodbye, Jace,” she said and closed the door behind him.

  He stood on the step, feeling as if she’d slammed the door on him. Things felt unfinished, but clearly not for Kayley. He swore, realizing that leaving her this time was even more painful than the last.

  As he drove down her road toward the highway, he told himself that after he was gone she’d marry Ty and live happily ever after.

  Somehow that didn’t make him feel any better.

  AFTER A FITFUL NIGHT, Jace woke with a raging headache. He knew he’d messed up going to Kayley’s last night. He hadn’t thought about the consequences. He hadn’t cared. He’d needed her, desperately wanted her. No wonder she’d thrown him out afterward.

  He couldn’t blame her. She knew he hadn’t changed his mind about leaving. What she didn’t know was how much last night with her had affected him. He had lain in bed questioning the decision he’d made twelve years ago, questioning what he was doing with his life, questioning why he had never been able to forget Kayley—even as hard as he’d tried.

  In the wee hours of the morning, he’d finally fallen asleep after barring the doors and slipping his father’s pistol under his pillow. But it hadn’t been Ava Carris who’d filled his dreams. It had been Kayley.

  When the phone rang late the next morning, he’d hoped it was her. But he remembered the way she’d said goodbye last night, closing the door on the two of them for good. He didn’t think she could be much clearer.

  It, of course, wasn’t Kayley but Cade calling to invite him to dinner.

  He jumped at it, glad that Cade had called.

  “Great. See you about six then.”

  He’d fallen back asleep, surprised how exhausted he was from everything that had been going on. At least that’s what he told himself later when he woke late in the afternoon.

  After showering, he wandered downstairs, looking through the house, thinking about what Kayley had said about selling everything for him. Wasn’t there something he wanted to keep?

  He brushed his fingers over his mother’s knickknacks, thought of his great-grandmother’s china used only for special occasions and pulled out the photo albums. Sitting down, he began to go through the snapshots of him as a baby with his mother and father and Uncle Audie.

  His mother had been religiously prompt at getting the photographs into albums. There were dozens of albums. He slowed as he pulled out one that was filled with snapshots of him and Kayley. Had they ever been that young?

  Laughing, he touched his finger to a photo of him and Kayley when they were about nine. They were both dressed in their best Western attire, on the way to a rodeo, as he recalled. They were smiling at the camera, but their eyes were cut toward each other. Had they known even then that they would always love each other?

  Seeing the clock and realizing he was late, Jace quickly put the albums back and got ready to go to dinner. As he drove past Kayley’s he was more pleased than he should have been to see that Ty’s pickup wasn’t parked out front.

  On the way through town, he drove past the row of motels. No sign of Ava’s rented SUV. He breathed a sigh of relief. He had enough on his mind without a crazy woman stalking him.

  Cade and Andi lived in a new house he’d built south of Nelson Reservoir. Jace saw the horse barn before anything else. It was huge. Cade had always loved raising horses. Apparently he’d made quite a business out of it.

  Jace was happy for his friend as he turned into the drive and saw the beautiful home he’d built. The design had stayed true to Montana and was rustic on the outside.

  He and Kayley could have had a place like this, he thought. The thought made his heartache. He’d burned that bridge repeatedly. Even if he changed his mind about everything, he doubted Kayley would ever trust him. She’d asked him what he’d wanted. He thought he’d known. Now, though…

  The inside of the house reflected the Jacksons’ lifestyle. Andi welcomed him warmly and took his coat, inviting him into the kitchen, where Cade was barbecuing on an indoor grill. He handed Jace a beer and told him to pull up a stool.

  “I didn’t know you could cook.”

  His friend laughed. “Andi taught me. Now everything I cook is Tex-Mex.”

  His wife elbowed him good-naturedly in the ribs. “He’s exaggerating, although we do eat our share of peppers and tortillas.”

  The kitchen was warm, painted in yellows and reds. Jace breathed in the wonderful scents coming from the grill and the oven and felt a stab of envy to see how happy his friend was. If he hadn’t known better, he’d have thought Cade had just invited him over to show him what he was missing.

  Just then the front door opened. He felt a gust of cool fall air and an instant later caught Kayley’s wonderful scent as she came into the kitchen.

  Her arms were full. Andi greeted her, taking the bouquet of flowers and a pan of what looked like chocolate cake from her.

  Jace suspected it was his favorite cake. But when Kayley saw him, there was no mistaking her shocked expression. She looked uncomfortable, then narrowed her eyes at Andi, who gave her a grin and a shrug.

  “Kayley,” Jace said, moving over a stool so she could join him.

  She hesitated only a moment before she slid upon a stool next to him. Cade offered her a beer. She took a long pull on it, as if she needed the diversion.

  “Honey, can you help me for a moment?” Andi said and motioned Cade into the other room.

  He turned down the grill, promising to be right back, and followed his wife.

  “I think we’ve been set up,” Jace said.

  “It certainly appears that way,” Kayley said, not looking at him.

  “I suppose we should make the best of it.”

  “I suppose.” She finally looked over at him. He met her blue gaze.

  “Here’s to well-meaning friends,” he said and raised his beer bottle.

  She smiled. “Friends.” And touched her bottle to his.

  Cade and Andi returned, Cade at least looking a little sheepish.

  Dinner was filled with good food, laughter and lots of conversation. Jace couldn’t remember a dinner he’d enjoyed more.

  Kayley seemed so at ease in their company, making him realize this wasn’t her first time in the Jackson home. He felt a strange sense of jealousy. Kayley really had gotten on with her life. Jace felt as if he was still where he’d been twelve years ago.

  After dinner, Cade took him out to see his new horses. “You okay, old buddy?”

  “It’s so strange being back here,” Jace said.

  “Thanks,” his friend joked.

  “No, seriously, I feel so out of it—as if I’ve never belonged here. Other times it feels as if I’ve never left.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?”

  “No, that’s just it. That’s what’s so strange. It isn’t bad. I find myself wishing I never had left.”

  Cade lifted an eyebrow. “But you did leave, and from what I hear, plan on leaving again as soon as possible.”

  “When I first got back, all I could think about was getting out of here. Everything felt as if it was closing in on me.”

  “It was a lot to come home to,” Cade agreed. “Has something changed?”

  Jace shrugged. “I find myself questioning why I left here.”

  His friend stopped to study him. “You sure it isn’t just being around Kayley again? By the way, tonight was Andi’s doing, not mine.”

  “Kayley is part of it, I’ll admit. But it’s more than that. I’ve missed having a friend like you. In my line of work, you don’t get too attached to anyone, any place, anything.”

  “I can’t imagine living like that,” Cade said.

  “It was what I thought I wanted and needed. But now…” He shook his head.

  “What would you do if you stayed?”

  “Ranch.” The word was out, surprising him since he hadn’t given it a thought.

  “You sure this isn’t just a case of nostalgia and in a few days you’re goin
g to wish you were out of here?” Cade sounded worried.

  Jace hadn’t expected his friend to take this attitude. “I thought you’d be excited about the prospect of my staying.”

  “I would be if it is for the right reasons.”

  “And what would those be?” Jace demanded.

  “I don’t know. Do you?”

  Jace swore. “You’re afraid I’m going to hurt Kayley again.”

  “Aren’t you?”

  He wanted to deny it, but look what he’d done just last night. “Thanks for dinner, the beer and the advice.” He turned and went back to the house.

  Andi and Kayley were talking in the living room in front of the fireplace when he walked in.

  “Thanks for a wonderful dinner,” he told Andi. “Kayley, it was great to see you again, but I should get going.”

  Kayley didn’t look surprised that he was leaving.

  He tipped his hat and left, hating that Cade might be right.

  CADE CAME BACK IN THE house just minutes after Jace had driven away.

  Kayley knew the two of them had gotten into some sort of argument from just the way Jace had acted and the look on Cade’s face.

  “Cade,” Andi said, dragging out the word. “What did you do?”

  “Nothing,” he said holding up both hands. “I just had a talk with him.”

  Both Kayley and Andi groaned.

  “Someone had to do it,” Cade said, glancing at Kayley.

  “I’m a big girl, Cade. I can take care of myself,” she said, getting to her feet. “But I do appreciate the thought,” she added with a smile.

  Cade had always been like a big brother to her. She couldn’t be happier for him since he and Andi had gotten together. He’d been through a lot with his first wife dying in a car accident on the day they’d found out she was pregnant with his child.

  Andi had told her tonight that she was expecting. She and Cade had decided not to say anything until now. They’d gotten married last summer south of Old Town Whitehorse at the home of Cade’s brother Carter and sister-in-law, Eve.

  There’d been a rash of babies in Whitehorse. Kayley had felt a tug at her heart when Andi had told her.

  “I should go, too. Thank you so much for inviting me.”

  “Really?” Andi said sheepishly.

  “Really.” She hugged Andi and Cade and, taking her cake pan, left. She fought tears as she drove home. Jace had been his old self at dinner, charming, relaxed, funny and fun. He’d made her miss him all the more.

  At first she’d been upset with her friend for setting her up. But later she’d thanked her. Kayley would have given anything for this evening with her friends and Jace.

  Nothing could spoil it, she thought as she turned down the lane toward home. Not even Jace leaving so abruptly—or Ty’s pickup parked in front of her house.

  JACE STOPPED ON HIS WAY through Whitehorse at the Mint Bar. He didn’t so much want a drink as he didn’t want to go back to that empty house with just him and his thoughts.

  He was nursing a beer when he happened to look in the mirror behind the bar and saw her.

  Ava Carris was sitting in a booth in the shadowy darkness behind him.

  It gave him a start. He’d been so sure she’d left town. Wrong.

  Had she been sitting in that booth when he’d come in? No. That meant she must have followed him. Had she followed him all day?

  He couldn’t be sure. His mind had been on Kayley. He hadn’t even thought to check for a tail. In his line of work it would have been second nature. Just not here in Whitehorse, where he’d felt safe.

  With a curse, he told himself this had to stop. Taking his beer, he stepped over to her table.

  As he approached, she smiled broadly. She looked different, and he realized she wasn’t wearing her usual conservative slacks, top and matching jacket with sensible shoes. A woman who definitely hadn’t looked like a crazed murderer.

  Now, though, she was wearing jeans, a T-shirt and boots. She wore more makeup, and even her hair was a little different. He realized he was getting a glimpse of another Ava.

  “You have to quit following me,” he said, in no mood to mince words.

  She cocked her head at him coyly. “Why don’t you sit down, handsome, and we can talk about it?”

  “I’m serious. I don’t want to see you get in trouble again, Ava.”

  She laughed and slid over in the booth. “Call me Eva.” She patted the seat next to her. “You and I have more in common than you might think.”

  “You have me confused with your husband.”

  Her eyebrow shot up. “Not hardly. John was as dull as dirt.” She laughed, a low laugh that sent a chill through him. “I have a feeling you’re a lot more fun.”

  “Stop. Following. Me. Or I will have to go to the sheriff.”

  “You aren’t really going to have me arrested?”

  He could see that she wasn’t the least bit worried about the sheriff.

  “I’m warning you,” he said and put down his half-full beer. He’d lost all desire for a beer—or this bar. “You don’t realize who you’re dealing with.”

  He turned to leave.

  “Wait.” As he turned back, her entire expression had changed. She looked more like she had the first time he’d seen her. She looked around as if confused, then flushed, tears welling in her eyes.

  “I’m so embarrassed.” She reached for the paper cocktail napkin beneath her drink to wipe at her eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what is wrong with me.”

  He suspected he did, though. “Do you have someone you can talk to?”

  Her eyes widened. “You mean like a psychiatrist?”

  “Or a friend.” He’d almost said relative, but remembered the note she’d left by his bed. He wasn’t about to suggest her sister.

  “I just get confused sometimes, that’s all. I have a number to call when I’m feeling…upset. You don’t have to worry about me anymore. I’m leaving Whitehorse tomorrow. Please forgive me for my behavior. I’m having a difficult time readjusting to life.” She dropped her head. “I’ve been…away.”

  He didn’t know what to say. He felt sorry for her and, at the same time, afraid for her. She seemed so fragile, so close to the edge.

  “Take care of yourself,” he said.

  She looked up and smiled through her tears. “Thank you. You, too.”

  As he left the bar, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that Ava Carris had just warned him again.

  “FUN NIGHT?” TY ASKED as Kayley got out of her pickup. He was sitting in the dark at the edge of her porch but now stepped out where she could see him.

  Not that she needed to see him to know he was angry. Had he heard about her dinner with Andi and Cade? But how could he have known Jace was going to be there, since she hadn’t known herself?

  “What do you want, Ty?” she asked as she went up the steps and opened her front door. The house wasn’t locked. She was thankful he hadn’t let himself in.

  He followed her into the kitchen now, glancing at the three pieces of chocolate cake left in the pan. Kayley had tried to get Andi to keep it, but her friend had said that now that she was pregnant, she would know it was down in the kitchen and get up in the middle of the night and eat all three pieces.

  Kayley thought about offering Ty a piece of cake, but caught herself. She sensed he’d been drinking, and that only added to his foul mood. Better to keep this short.

  Also, it was Jace’s favorite cake. She’d been embarrassed that she’d made it. But she’d been thinking about him, and when Andi had asked her to bring dessert, she’d felt like baking it.

  “I need to know where we stand,” Ty said, pulling out a stool at the breakfast bar.

  “It’s late,” she said, wondering if it was smart to get into this tonight the way she was feeling. She’d already told him where they stood. Nowhere.

  “Too late for you and me?”

  The change in his tone from angry to sad made her soften her wor
ds.

  “Ty, we’ve talked about this. I can’t keep seeing you.”

  “It’s Jace, isn’t it?”

  She said nothing into the silence that followed. “You knew what the score was going in.”

  “Yeah,” he said, pushing himself to his feet. “I knew. But I guess I just kept hoping you’d come to your senses.”

  “I really don’t think we should talk about this tonight.”

  “You were with Jace, weren’t you.” He swore. “Don’t bother to deny it. I can tell by the way you’re acting. Don’t you see what he does to you? The sad thing is that he is going to break your heart all over again. How long are you going to carry a torch for a man who doesn’t want you?”

  “I think you should leave.”

  Ty shoved the stool out of his way. It toppled to the floor, hitting with a loud crack as he stormed out. A moment later the front door slammed.

  Kayley stood listening until she heard his pickup engine rev, the sound dying off down the road. Then she picked up the stool and sat down on it to have a piece of cake before turning in.

  JACE CALLED THE SHERIFF on his way home. He got one of her deputies who promised to swing by the Mint Bar and talk to Ava. It wouldn’t hurt, Jace figured. Maybe it would just get her out of town a little sooner.

  Unlocking the door, he stepped inside and headed for the kitchen. He found the quart of orange juice in the fridge and took a couple of long gulps then threw the rest down the drain. It had a strange aftertaste.

  After climbing the stairs to his bedroom, his leg aching, he remembered that he hadn’t put chairs in front of the doors. He thought about going back down but figured the deputy would be talking to Ava about now. She wasn’t so crazy that she’d come out here tonight. She would know everyone was on to her.

  Still, Jace checked to make sure the pistol was under his pillow. His recent wound was bothering him more than he wanted to admit tonight.

  As he sat down on the edge of the bed, he knew it was the confusion in his mind and heart that was really bothering him. Tonight with Kayley and friends had left him aching for something he’d told himself for years he didn’t want. Whitehorse. This life. Kayley.