The Best Little Joeville

But with each passing mile, her rosy perfume wrapped around him, tugging at his resolve, reminding him of other needs—need for a family as his younger brother Ryder had found with Savannah and Billy, need of a good woman to share his hopes and dreams, a woman to hold under the mistletoe and kiss for more reasons than tradition.

He passed another ranch with Christmas lights strung around the windows and something tugged at his heartstrings. Maybe it was the hohdays that had turned his mind to mush. Whatever it was, for the first time in thirty-three years, none of it—not Buck, his brothers, Dad, the miles of Malone ranch, the horses—none of it seemed enough.

He could lie to himself all he wanted, but his gut told him something fundamental was missing. And his gut was never wrong.

A gust of wind blew a sheet of snow over the windows and Shane pumped gently on the brakes. “Better sit up and tighten your seat belt.”

Jenny jerked into action next to him as he flicked on the windshield wipers, hoping to find the highway in front of him, but another gust of white blanketed the front end of the Explorer. He pumped harder on the pedal, feeling gravel instead of highway beneath them. They were nearly stopped when he felt the downward slide followed by a solid thunk as the front end burrowed into the embankment. He lunged against his seat belt and saw Jenny do the same. “Are you okay?”

She stared at him with those big brown doe eyes and his heart raced.

“Is it your neck? Your chest?” He unbuckled himself and faced her.

She raised her chin and looked him in the eye. “Was this your first time driving on this stuff or were you just trying to scare the hell out of me?”

He let out a relieved breath and smiled. “Welcome back, Jenny Moon.”

“I’m glad you find this amusing, but how are we going to get out of here.”

He heard the fear in her voice. Without analyzing the wisdom of his actions, he reached over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Now don’t you worry your pretty little head over it. I’ve gotten myself out of far worse scrapes than this one and—”

She stiff-armed him and thrust him away. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I was just trying to comfort you.” Anger danced from her slitted gaze and he couldn’t resist. “Or were you expecting something more?” He grabbed her wrist and saved his face the sting of her palm.

“Y-you arrogant, self-absorbed cowboy.”

He held up both hands and scooted back behind the wheel, his eyes never leaving hers. In spite of her bravado, he noticed she was shaking under her folded arms. “There’s a blanket in the back if you want it.” She didn’t budge so he reached behind him, grabbed it off the seat and deposited it between them. With one hand on the steering wheel, he felt under the seat and found the cellular phone.

“You sure you know how to use one of those things?”

He swallowed another smart-assed response and punched in the preprogrammed number for the ranch. It rang three times before Ryder answered.

“Sorry, bro. Did I wake you up?”

“Are you kidding? Savannah won’t go to bed till Jenny gets here. Are you close?”

“Not really. The roads are getting worse and... well...we’re in a ditch right now.”

“Give me some directions and—”

“Nan. I got a shovel and sand in the back. I can be out of here before you could find us. Just wanted to tell you it might be a couple hours yet.”

There was a pause and he thought they may have lost the connection, then Ryder said. “Savannah’s tugging at my arm. Better put Jenny on the line.”

Shane handed over the receiver. “It’s for you.” He smiled again and she rolled her eyes as she grabbed the instrument.

“Hello?”

“Jenny! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, sweetheart. Shane just ran us off the highway, that’s all.” She scowled at him and turned away. “Men drivers...you know.”

He tapped on the steering wheel and listened another moment before deciding it was time to start digging them out. He flung open the door and jumped out, walking to the front and then the tailgate, assessing the situation. The front wheels were embedded in snow, but the back end was clear. With some work, it should be easy to back out. He opened the hatch to get his gear and heard Jenny still talking to Savannah.

He called up to her. “Might want to save the battery...in case we need it later.”

She didn’t turn around or acknowledge him, but he heard her wrapping up the conversation. “We’ll call back if we have a problem. I promise. But you have to promise me you’ll go to bed.” She paused, then said. “Good. Just crawl in with me in the morning whenever you get moving. We’ll catch up then.”

Jenny fell silent and he thought she was done, then he heard her whisper into the phone. “I love you, too, Savannah. See you in the morning.”

He grabbed the shovel and sand and shut the gate before more cold air could flood the interior.

Just crawl in with me in the morning...

He’d like to just crawl in.... Stupid thought.

He buried the shovel into the snow and went to work, trying to concentrate on the job at hand. But something else bothered him about Jenny’s last words to Savannah. Why did she have to whisper she loved her? It was as though she were embarrassed to own such feelings...even for her best friend. He’d known plenty of men who acted this way, but never a woman.

Finally, he threw sand beneath the wheels and walked back. Jenny was staring out the front window, the blanket tucked under her chin. She looked so small and vulnerable. Her words were always tough, but he would bet his bottom dollar that a warm and loving heart beat beneath that thick facade. A passionate one, too. And whether it was wise or not, he also knew he would be testing her limits before she could run away a second time.

Two

“Yikes!” Jenny pulled her hand away from Savannah’s belly. “Doesn’t that hurt?”

Savannah laughed and rubbed the bulge on her right side. “Nah. It’s getting harder to find a comfortable position for sleep, but it doesn’t hurt.”

Jenny stared at the traveling bump. “What is that, anyway?”

“I think it’s a knee or foot...too small for the head or butt.”

Jenny shivered and snuggled deeper under the comforter. “It reminds me of an alien movie...where some creature has invaded somebody’s body.”

Savannah rolled on her side and continued stroking her belly. “You just wait till it’s your turn. You won’t feel like that at all. I love feeling her move, it’s—”

“Her? Do you know for sure?”

“We could...from the ultrasound...but we decided we wanted to be surprised. I just call it her. We wouldn’t care either way, but with Billy—”

“Ahh, yes, Billy.” She faced her friend and propped her head on an elbow. “How’s he doing? And what does he think about the baby?”

“He gave us a little scare last summer. When we told him he seemed okay with it...maybe a little quiet. But then the next day we couldn’t find him anywhere.”

“He ran away?”

“Not exactly. We found him curled up on top of Maddy’s grave. In all our excitement, we forgot it was the anniversary of his mother’s death. It may take a while, but I hope he knows the baby won’t change how we feel about him.” Savannah rolled onto her back again and locked her hands behind her head. “Still, it might be easier if we had a girl. Billy and Ryder have such a special bond. Sometimes I forget Ryder isn’t his real dad.”

A sweet smile came over her face and Jenny looked away. She was happy her friend had found such a full life—a husband she adored, an adopted son, a baby on the way, a family and environment that provided her with love and warmth and a sense of belonging. Jenny closed her eyes and half listened to her friend’s litany of little family moments as the area around her heart constricted. She should be happy for Savannah...and she was...in part. But another part of her felt jealous and more alone than she had ever felt. Savannah had moved on with her life since leaving Detroit and the cozy little apartment they had once shared. Now she told all her secrets and hopes and fears to Ryder, as well she should....