She shivered. “Not today.”
“Then come on,” Jared said, urging her across the street by touching her back once again. She felt small and delicate, as if the north wind would pick her up and blow her to Wyoming if she wasn’t weighted down by a blanket-wrapped child. What was Will thinking by inviting this woman and her baby to Graystone? His brother would have a lot of questions to answer.
ANYONE WOULD KNOW THEY were brothers without having to ask, Melanie decided. Will and his older brother shared the same broad shoulders and dark hair, identical stubborn chins and skin color. Will’s eyes were brown, not Jared’s unusual shade of dark green. His face was narrower, his expression more relaxed, but their hair waved in similar patterns across their foreheads and both brothers walked as if they knew exactly where they were going, all of the time.
She would have enjoyed the walk to Jared Stone’s truck if she hadn’t been worried about Beth feeling the fierce wind that pushed at them from behind. Melanie didn’t mind the wind that much. Fresh air had been in short supply on the train. She noticed that Will’s brother adjusted his long strides so she could keep up with him, even though she was already walking as fast as she could without breaking into a jog.
He settled her and Beth into the passenger seat of an oversize truck, then went around to the driver’s side and proceeded to figure out how to install the baby’s car seat into the back section of the truck. “It’s a long ride” was all the man said. “Do you want to put, ah, her in the seat before we get started?”
“Yes. Thanks.”
He was around to her side of the truck almost instantly and helped her get down. She felt awkward and old and close to tears by the time she settled Beth into the seat, the straps adjusted over her tiny body. Luckily her daughter liked to ride and would sleep for a while. A long while, Melanie hoped. Jared Stone hadn’t been expecting a baby and wasn’t prepared for Beth’s fussing.
“All set?” His voice was a low rumble behind her, reminding Melanie that she needed to climb back into the truck once again. She needed to stop fretting, too.
“Yes,” she assured him. Things will work out, Will had promised Saturday afternoon when he helped her onto the train. Quit worrying. “Everything’s fine.”
“I guess you’ve never been to Montana before?” His question was polite, but his attention was on starting the truck and checking the rearview mirror before he backed out of the parking space.
“No. Will warned me that it would be cold.” And private, too. She rubbed the condensation from the side window and saw some of Havre before Jared drove the truck onto a main road. And then there wasn’t much to see except snow-coated grasslands and an occasional house. She unfastened her seat belt so she could check to see that Beth was breathing. Sure enough, the baby slept without a care in the world, her cheeks pink and her little lips pursed as if she dreamt of being fed.
“What else did he tell you?”
“He said your mother likes Christmas.” He said that I would be able to hide. And heal. And pretend that the huge black hole that was now my life would be invisible.
He chuckled. “Likes Christmas? That’s an understatement. Our mother is Santa Claus, Martha Stewart and Bing Crosby rolled into one.”
“Why Bing Crosby?”
“She sings along to his Christmas CDs while she cooks. Right now she’s decorating the guest room for you.”
“I hope she’s not going to any trouble.” She had made Will promise that her visit wouldn’t inconvenience his family.
“Don’t worry. She’s been having a great time since we got a satellite dish. Mom discovered the decorating and design channels and has been fixing up the house ever since.”
She heard laughter in his voice, and affection. “I’m sorry Will didn’t tell any of you that I was bringing a baby. I just assumed he’d said something before he invited us.”
“My mother is used to surprises from Will.” He turned on the defroster, then stepped on the gas pedal to pass a large van. Melanie looked out the window and rested her head against the back of the seat. It would be so easy to close her eyes and be lulled to sleep. In an attempt to be polite, she tried to stay awake. The oncoming cars had their headlights on now that the sky had grown darker. She looked at her watch. Four o’clock. More than twenty-four hours since she and Beth had boarded the train at Union Station. Her cousin Dylan would be having a fit, but she would have to understand that a Christmas with the family wasn’t something she was ready for. Not yet.
“We’re going to be on the road for about two and a half hours,” Jared said, breaking the silence. “Maybe more, because I think we’ll stay on the main highway and then pick up Highway 200 at Great Falls.”
“All right.” She had no idea what he was talking about.
“We’ll stop there for coffee and, uh, anything else you need for the baby.” He glanced toward Melanie and surprised her with the serious expression on his face. “Do you think she’s okay back there?”
“She’s sleeping,” she assured him. “She likes to ride.”
“Good thing,” he murmured. “See that sky? We’re going to get some more snow, and soon.”
Melanie looked out the window and craned her neck upward to see dark gray clouds and approaching darkness. “We won’t get stuck, will we?”
“No. We’ll be home in time for a late supper. Unless you want to stop and get something on the road. I should have asked if you were hungry.”
“I’m fine,” she said, though it had been hours since breakfast. Beth had been fussy most of the afternoon and there had been no time to eat the sandwich another traveler had purchased for her in the dining car.
“If you change your mind, just say so.” He switched on the radio and a woman with a country twang sang about love in the afternoon. Jared hurried to turn it off. “Sorry,” he said. “I forgot about waking the baby. What’s her name?”
“Beth. And the music won’t bother her.” At least the song had filled the truck and substituted for conversation.
She didn’t mind the silence.
JENNA LOOKED AT HER WATCH, then at the clock on the wall above the refrigerator. Jared should have their guest by now. They should be on their way home, but she’d been switching back and forth between the Carol Duvall show and the Weather Channel and now she was worried. She’d no interest in rubberstamping faux wallpaper when another storm was predicted and neither son was home safe and sound.
“They’ll be fine. No one’s more dependable than Jared,” Uncle Joe declared, reading her mind as he entered the large kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. He paused before putting the carafe back into place. “You want some, honey?”
“No, thanks. I’ve got enough jitters as it is.” But she gave the old man a smile she hoped was reassuring. He was the last remaining member of her side of the family and, at eighty-two, Uncle Joe was proud of his longevity and his skill with cards. He’d arrived the week before Thanksgiving and, declaring he was lonesome, moved into the enormous ranch house “until the New Year,” he’d declared. “Or until you kick me out.” He knew Jenna would never do such a thing, but it was a little joke between them. Uncle Joe liked his little jokes.
“You’ve got no reason to be nervous, honey. Christmas around here is always one hell of an occasion, thanks to you.” Uncle Joe pulled out a chair and sat down at the long worktable that had been at the ranch for four generations. “And Will was only in Washington for six weeks. He couldn’t get serious about no young woman, not that fast.”
“I don’t know about that.” She would fix a cup of herbal tea, Jenna decided. “My sons have big hearts, though Jared tries