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  That Josie had time to play tour guide surprised me. I had the impression she worked a lot of hours. I vaguely remembered the server mentioning Josie was the first to arrive at the restaurant and the last to leave.

  “Guess what else?” Jack asked, breaking into my thoughts.

  “Jack, please, don’t play these games with me. If you have information, just give it to me, will you?” I was impatient, and more than a little jealous that it was Jack, not me, who had been able to spend what sounded like an unlimited amount of time with Josie.

  “Josie quit her job. Walked out in the middle of the shift the very night we were there.” Jack chuckled, obviously finding the entire situation amusing. “She told Chef Anton she could no longer work for him. Between you, me, and the totem pole, I think he was putting all kinds of pressure on her, and some of it didn’t have to do with her work in the kitchen.”

  Funny she hadn’t mentioned that to me later that same night, which left me to wonder if there was a reason she’d omitted the news. I guessed it was because she feared what I’d do if I found out that he’d harassed her. For Josie to quit in the middle of a shift spoke volumes. A dozen scenarios flashed through my mind, none of them good. I hadn’t liked the look of Anton the minute I’d read his bio. I’d had a bad feeling from the start but feared my judgment had been clouded by my jealousy.

  “Do you know what happened?” I asked between clenched teeth. “Did that chef try anything with her? Because if he did…I swear, Jack, I don’t know that I can let that go.”

  “Don’t go ballistic on me. All Josie would say about the chef was that he was a major jerk. I asked, but she didn’t give me details. I could tell that she didn’t want to talk about it.”

  I needed to find out why, and if Josie wouldn’t tell me, then I’d pay the chef a visit myself and the two of us would talk, man to man.

  All at once I realized what it might mean for us if Josie was no longer working at the restaurant. Hope swelled inside my chest like a water-soaked sponge. Perhaps she’d changed her mind and was reconsidering my proposal. It became impossible to remain sitting, and I sprang to my feet. I needed to see her, talk to her, convince her that we could make our lives together work.

  “Her mom invited us to dinner tomorrow night,” Jack continued, unaware of my excitement. “I’m looking forward to meeting her. She’s been at work and I haven’t had a chance yet. You’re coming, aren’t you?”

  “Sure, I’d like that.” I was impatient to get a read on Josie, to make sure she was okay, and to find out what quitting her job would mean for her, for us.

  Whatever had happened, I needed to play by the book, remembering my talk with Drew and his advice. He’d suggested that I not propose again until I could be sure Josie would accept. The signs were good, but I didn’t want to get ahead of myself.

  “You ready to eat?” Jack asked.

  I looked at the time. It was no surprise that Jack was thinking about his stomach. “It’s not even five o’clock yet.” Because I was on East Coast time, I was willing to consider an early dinner—early for the West Coast, that is.

  “I found this great fish-and-chips place on the waterfront. Lots of tourists there, but the food is worth the wait.”

  “You know how I feel about crowds,” I reminded him.

  “Not fond of them myself.”

  “Do you know what Josie’s doing tonight?” I wanted to see her. She knew I was due back today, but not when I was supposed to land in Seattle. I’d held this vision in my mind of her waiting at the hotel for me.

  “She’s got a previous engagement.”

  “What?” I burst out. “She’s going out on a date?”

  “Not a date—evening plans with some gal pals. That’s what she called them. Some silly-sounding Christmas sock exchange she does every year. She didn’t think she’d be able to do it, but now that she isn’t working, she’s able to go. You didn’t answer my question,” Jack reminded me. “You ready for dinner or not? It’s been hours since I last ate. I was hoping the line for the fish-and-chips place wouldn’t be long this time of the day.”

  I lost my appetite with the news I wouldn’t get to see Josie. Sitting alone in the hotel room didn’t appeal to me, either.

  “I’ll meet you in the lobby,” I said, riding a roller coaster of emotions.

  Hanging up the phone, I made sure I had my key card and headed down the long hallway toward the elevator.

  Once in the lobby I paced restlessly, waiting for Jack.

  Then, from the other side of the lobby, I heard someone call my name.

  I turned toward the voice and saw Josie. Right away she sprinted across the open space toward me and all but launched herself into my arms. I was caught off guard, and she nearly knocked me off my feet. Anyone watching might suspect it’d been months since I’d last seen her instead of only a few days. I held her against me, closed my eyes, and breathed in the scent of vanilla and strawberries in her hair.

  “That was the longest day and a half of my life,” she whispered, almost as if she hadn’t wanted me to hear her admit it.

  I would have kissed her if half the lobby hadn’t taken an interest in our reunion. “You missed me?” I asked.

  “Every single second,” she confessed with a soft sigh.

  The disappointment I’d felt earlier left me. She’d been thinking about me while I was away with the same anticipation I’d felt on the other side of the country.

  “What are you doing here? I thought you had plans this evening.”

  “I do. With my three best friends. I haven’t seen them in months and I wasn’t sure what time you’d be back. Jack couldn’t remember, and I’ve been in desperate need of girl time.”

  I did my best to hide my frustration. It was selfish of me to want her all to myself. She hadn’t seen her friends in months, and I couldn’t begrudge her this evening, despite my own need to be with her.

  “What brought you here to the hotel?”

  “I was going to leave a card for you at the front desk, but then I saw you and, well, I had to let you know.” Her eyes were wide and inquiring.

  “Let me know what?” I asked. She’d lost me somewhere between the hug and the reason for her being here.

  “How crazy I am about you and how miserable and lonely I’ve been without you.” Her eyes were warm and sincere. “We had such little time to talk when you first arrived, and you were so quiet. It wasn’t until later that I realized that you’d been that way ever since Thanksgiving. It felt like everything changed. When I called, you were too busy to talk for more than a few minutes. Your text messages were short and to the point, too, nothing like they had been earlier. When I asked, you said it was because of the commission. Then you were here in Seattle and you seemed distant and distracted. It’s something more, isn’t it?”

  I could try to hide my insecurities, but at the same time I knew Josie deserved the truth. I held her gaze and told her what was on my mind. “I saw the photo you posted on Facebook with you and Chef Anton,” I admitted, holding her loosely and breathing into her hair. Showing weakness went against every instinct I had, but Josie deserved the truth. “I was jealous and afraid I was losing you the way I always feared I would.”

  “Oh Palmer, if only you knew.”

  I believed I had a good idea of what had happened. “Jack says you quit your job. What did that man do to you, Josie?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing. Everything. It’s a story for another time.”

  “Josie!” Jack shouted with surprise, joining us. “Didn’t think we’d see you tonight.”

  “I’m only here for a few minutes. I stopped by to leave a card for Palmer to welcome him back and found him in the lobby.”

  “What’s the card for?” Jack asked.

  “Oh, I forgot to give it to him. It’s an invite to dinner tomorro
w night.”

  “What is your mom cooking?”

  Leave it to Jack to be worried about his next meal.

  “It’s one of her specialties. Don’t worry, you’ll like it.”

  Personally, I couldn’t imagine Jack taking a dislike to anything homemade.

  Josie’s eyes reconnected with mine. She smiled, and I swear I could have dropped to one knee and proposed on the spot. She radiated happiness; seeing her was everything.

  “Mom is looking forward to meeting you both,” Josie said, having trouble keeping her eyes off me.

  “Thank her for the invite,” I said.

  “I will.” She looked at the time and her shoulders deflated. “I need to go or I’ll be late for the party. My friends have been after me to get together ever since I got back from Alaska. I can’t disappoint them, although…”

  I could see her struggling, torn between spending time with her gal pals and wanting to be with me.

  “Go,” I urged. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Yes, go and have a great time,” Jack insisted. “You deserve a bit of fun, and it is the holiday season. You don’t need to worry about the restaurant or Chef Anton ever again.”

  I noticed the way Josie stiffened at the mention of the chef’s name, which made me more determined than ever to find out what the other man had done to upset my girl.

  Even though Josie was in a rush, I had to know. Placing my hands on both her shoulders, I asked, “Tell me, Josie, what’s the real reason you quit?”

  She shook her head and avoided eye contact. “It’s water under the bridge. I don’t want to talk about it, okay?”

  I wanted to shout, “No, it isn’t okay!” but I could tell this was a subject she preferred to avoid. I would have to let it go. For now. “Just answer me one thing: Did the chef try anything with you personally?”

  “If you mean anything that made me…uncomfortable, then not really. You were right to suspect he wanted to…date me.”

  Date. That was a delicate way of saying what I knew she meant.

  I’d known it all along. I certainly wasn’t surprised to learn he’d been pressuring Josie. She was beautiful, funny, and smart…I could go on and on. Working side by side with Josie, Chef Anton would have found it impossible not to be attracted to her. I couldn’t fault him for that. Although, if the chef had tried anything unwanted, then he and I would need to have a discussion.

  “Did he pressure you?”

  “A little.”

  “Why do I think you’re downplaying what happened?” I asked her.

  “Palmer, please, drop it. That was only a small part of the overall problem. As soon as he fully understood I wasn’t interested, he left me alone.”

  Relieved, I walked Josie outside to the front of the hotel. “Can I see you tomorrow?” I asked.

  She bit into her lip, looking torn. “I’ve got two job interviews scheduled. I’m sorry, Palmer. I’d really like to spend time with you, but I need another job, and the sooner the better. I’ll see you tomorrow night. All the rest of my time is free through Christmas, I promise.”

  My heart sank. If Josie was on a job search, then that told me she wouldn’t be returning with me to Ponder. I swallowed down my disappointment, discouraged but unwilling to show it.

  “It’s fine, Josie, don’t worry.”

  She impulsively hugged me before scurrying off down a busy Seattle sidewalk, getting lost in the crowd.

  Jack joined me. “She’s something special, isn’t she?”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. A businessman rushing past bumped into me and caused me to stumble. “Let’s get out of here,” I said. “All these people are making me feel claustrophobic.” If this was what it was like every day in the city, I didn’t know how I would last until Christmas. Ponder had never called out my name louder than it was right at that moment, in spite of having the woman of my dreams here in the big city.

  “Don’t know where all these folks come from,” Jack complained.

  “Me neither,” I agreed, uncomfortable and longing for home. I’d already had enough of people and airports and Christmas in the city.

  “I bet the majority have never even tasted the finer things in life, like caribou meat.”

  “Probably not,” I agreed, grinning.

  “They do have good fish-and-chips here, though. I’m ready to eat. What’s the holdup?”

  I grinned, put my arm around his shoulders, and walked with him down to the Seattle waterfront.

  * * *

  —

  The following evening, we took a cab to the address Josie had given Jack for dinner with her mother. The house was in a quiet neighborhood with an amazing view of the city lights. Lots of the families had Christmas lights on their homes, along the rooflines, on porch decks, and around tree trunks. Decorated Christmas trees were visible in the large living room windows. A couple of the yards had big blow-up holiday figures on their front lawns. All this outdoor decorating didn’t make a lot of sense to me. In Ponder we had nature giving us displays all through the holiday season, with a multitude of stars randomly tossed like bright dust across the night sky, punctuated by the aurora borealis.

  Jack rang the doorbell while I held on to the bouquet of flowers Jack and I had purchased at Pike Place Market earlier that afternoon. The day had been long and mindless. I’d filled the time walking along the waterfront. Jack and I had gone into the IMAX theater and toured the market. All the while I’d wondered if Josie had gotten either of the jobs she’d interviewed for, and what that would mean for us if she did.

  Josie answered the door and greeted us with a huge grin. “You’re right on time.”

  She should know by now that Jack had never been late for a meal in his entire life.

  As we entered the cozy, warm living room, a middle-aged woman stepped out of the kitchen. She wore an apron decorated with holly berries tied around her waist, over dark pants and a red sweater. I was struck by the family resemblance and knew without an introduction that this was Josie’s mother.

  “Mom,” Josie said to her mother, while moving to stand next to me. She wrapped her arm around mine. “This is Palmer and Jack, my friends from Ponder. Palmer and Jack, this is my mom, Gina Avery.”

  “I’m pleased to meet you,” I said to Gina, and handed her the flowers we had bought at Pike Place.

  “How thoughtful,” she said, accepting the bouquet. “Thank you, Palmer.”

  “Thank you for the dinner invite,” I said.

  Jack hadn’t said a word. I looked over and saw that he stood completely immobile. His eyes were wide and focused solely on Josie’s mother.

  “Jack,” I said under my breath. “This is Josie’s mother.”

  He continued to stare until I elbowed him in the ribs.

  Jack stumbled forward as though in a trance. “Hello,” he said, in a voice I didn’t recognize.

  Josie looked at me, curious about what had happened to Jack. I couldn’t explain it myself.

  “Someone should have warned me,” Jack whispered.

  I wasn’t sure he was talking to me. Warned him of what?

  CHAPTER 15

  Josie

  Something had happened to Jack. He couldn’t stop staring at my mother. He hardly touched his meal, and that certainly wasn’t like him. The man was all about food. Palmer sat next to me at the table. We exchanged more than one troubled look, because Jack obviously wasn’t himself.

  “Dinner was delicious,” Palmer mentioned when we’d finished the Guinness potpie. It was one of Mom’s specialties and a family favorite.

  “You outdid yourself, Mom.” I added my own compliments, as she knew how important this evening was to me and had pulled out all the stops. I’d prepared baked Alaska for dessert, knowing Palmer would enjoy my choice.

  “I’m glad you enjoy
ed the meal,” Mom told Palmer, and looked across the table at Jack. “You ate very little, Jack. Would you like me to fix you something else?”

  Transfixed, Jack shook his head.

  “You’re sure?”

  Jack hadn’t said more than a few words since he walked in the door. I had no idea what had come over him.

  Mom started to get up from the table and Jack fairly flew out of his seat and raced over to where she sat to pull out her chair.

  My mother graciously smiled up at him. “Thank you, Jack.” She sent an inquisitive glance at me and I shrugged, not knowing what to tell her.

  What happened next shocked me even more. Standing behind her, he leaned over and sniffed her neck.

  “Jack!” Palmer cried. “What in the love of heaven are you doing?”

  Mom frowned, not knowing what to think of Jack’s behavior.

  “You’re smelling me,” Mom said, twisting around to look at Jack.

  Jack’s eyes pleaded for forgiveness. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I wanted to know if you had a human scent. I can’t believe you’re real.”

  “Real? Jack, buddy, what’s come over you?” Palmer asked gently.

  Jack’s face, or what I could see of it outside of his beard, had turned a deepening shade of red. “Your mother looks like an angel.”

  Mom blushed. “I can assure you I’m not.” She reached for her plate to carry it into the kitchen, but Jack wouldn’t allow it. He grabbed it out of her hand and then took his own plate and followed behind Mom like a lost puppy.

  “What’s with Jack?” I asked Palmer. It was just the two of us at the table now, and he looked as perplexed as I did.

  “This is crazy,” Palmer agreed. “I’ve never seen him like this.”

  “Are you sure? You’ve known him for years. It’s like he’s walking around in a fog.”