Page 16 of Soldier’s Christmas Crush (Trinity Falls: Home for Christmas #4)

WILLOW

T he beginning of the week passed slowly for Willow, but she was grateful for the chance to calm down about this thing with Jensen before it actually happened.

She did manage to get over to Ransom’s house with cookies, and though they only hung out for a minute or two before he had to take the kids out, it felt more like old times already.

Maybe Ransom could handle this—Jensen and me…

But of course there was no Willow and Jensen.

The more she thought about it, the more she tried to remind herself that she was an old friend.

Even if the gentle caress and kiss on top of the head made her heart flutter, it might have been a sweet gesture toward a woman he thought of like a younger sister.

She was old enough to know better than to jump to conclusions. She shouldn’t think of it as a date unless he made it crystal clear.

Going to dinner sure sounds like a date …

She had wondered if he would text her again and maybe give her some context. But her phone stayed frustratingly silent, and she managed not to text him beyond the yes, sounds great , she had sent back the night he asked.

And maybe it was better not to know if it was a date or not. It was probably not a bad idea to share a private meal, and see if the pull she felt might lead to something real and lasting before she risked the tenuous peace she had made with Ransom over nothing.

When Wednesday night finally arrived, she pulled out her favorite long, wool skirt and a soft sweater to go on top. She brushed her hair until it shone, and even though she didn’t normally wear makeup, she smoothed on a little shiny lip gloss before pulling on a pair of pretty brown leather boots.

Her phone buzzed right at seven and she grabbed it, hoping it wasn’t a last-minute cancellation.

Jensen Webb

i’m coming up

didn’t want to startle you

She could only smile at his good manners. As a matter of fact, if she were standing in her kitchen after dark and a face unexpectedly appeared in the glass top of the door, she would probably scream her head off.

A moment later, there was a gentle knock, and then there was Jensen Webb standing at the door, looking more handsome than ever.

She opened the door and took him in for a second. He was so tall and so handsome with his dark hair and that close-cropped beard—he really did look like a movie star.

“Hi,” she said, feeling suddenly breathless.

“Hey,” he replied. “You look beautiful.”

“I’ll just grab my coat,” she managed before jogging off to get it while willing herself not to blush.

You look beautiful.

It was a date for sure. She tried to fight back the big, silly smile that was spreading across her face as she grabbed her coat and headed back to the kitchen with it.

“Let me get that for you,” Jensen said, holding his hands out.

She handed it over and let him slide her coat over her arms. He smoothed his big hands over her shoulders once he was finished, and she felt like she was going to swoon.

“Ready?” he asked her.

She nodded, and he opened the door and let her lead the way down the fire escape.

His truck was waiting out front, and she knew enough to wait for him to get the door for her, as he liked to do. When he opened her door, he offered her his hand. She didn’t really need it, but she took it anyway, feeling a little tingle of happiness shoot right through her at the gentle touch.

When they were both in the truck and buckled in, he started the engine and pulled away from the house.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“I thought maybe we’d go to Nana’s,” he said.

“Amazing,” she sighed, smiling and leaning back in her seat .

Nana’s was a small, family-owned restaurant in Springton Valley, with delicious, old-fashioned food.

Nana’s son, Charles, ran a tiny brewery on the premises where he always had two tanks going.

One was a micro-brewed soda or lager of his own invention, and the other was the family’s famous homemade root beer.

Willow had been obsessed with that root beer as a child, and it sounded amazing right now.

“Bottomless root beer,” Jensen said with a fond smile.

“You remembered,” she said, wondering if there was anything about her that he didn’t remember.

When her family had brought Jensen along on their outings, he and Ransom were usually talking non-stop about sports or school projects. She hadn’t thought he was paying any attention to what she chose to drink.

“Of course I remember,” he told her. “You were such a tiny little thing. You had my total respect for how many root beers you could put away.”

“I never managed to eat my dinner,” she said, smiling and shaking her head at the memory.

“Your mom didn’t seem to mind,” he said with a smile.

“She was surprisingly cool about it,” Willow agreed. “Although it was bottomless, and you know my mom loves a good deal.”

“Or maybe she was impressed with you too,” Jensen teased her. “Does Nana’s sound good for tonight?”

“It sounds amazing,” she told him.

He nodded, looking pleased, and they drove on in friendly silence for a while.

Nana’s was an interesting choice. It was just far enough out of Trinity Falls, and just small enough that they were unlikely to bump into anyone they knew. But the possibility was there.

She felt a little burst of pride that Jensen didn’t mind being seen out with her, followed by a flicker of guilt. She had the same reason he did for not wanting to be seen.

Don’t overthink it, she told herself. Ransom won’t be there, and he’s the one you’re worried about.

The flicker of guilt burst into a real flame, but she did her best to put it out. If the interest budding with Jensen was something real, then her brother would have to understand. They were all adults, after all.

A little voice whispered in the back of her mind that Ransom might never see her as an adult, but she decided to ignore it. People grew and changed. If she could, then her brother could too.

At last, Jensen pulled off Route One and onto a long, winding driveway that took them back to a sweet, stone cottage surrounded by tall trees, with a wooden sign out front that simply said: Nana’s.

As a child, Willow had never thought anything about it.

But with some perspective, she realized how sweet the place was.

Nana herself had come to Pennsylvania from down South as a young girl.

Willow wondered now if maybe she had opened her small restaurant because she missed driving down a different narrow lane to another small country house for an old-fashioned meal with her own Nana.

Jensen opened her door for her and took her hand again as she hopped down onto the light crust of snow. This time, he didn’t let go as they walked up the steps to the front door.

“Welcome home,” Nana said, opening the door for them and giving her signature greeting. “May I take your coats?”

“Hi, Nana,” Willow said, admiring the older woman’s still-elegant posture as she and Jensen removed their coats and let Nana put them on the hooks by the door.

Nana wore her silver hair in a bun, as usual. And she had a pretty apron with a pattern of gingerbread men on over her denim dress.

“Your fella called ahead, Willow,” Nana said, winking at Jensen. “So I’ve got a nice table for you out on the porch.”

The cottage had a center hall where the bathrooms were located.

Its entrance was half-blocked by a big bookcase, covered in plants.

To the left of the hall was the kitchen.

To the right, the main dining room spanned from the front to the back of the house, taking up the space where the living room and dining room would have been before it became a restaurant.

On the porch meant in the heated sunroom that ran along the side of the restaurant, just on the other side of the main dining room.

The porch had only two tables, and was lit with a row of mini chandeliers.

It had the prettiest view of the trees on the side of the house, many of which now twinkled with Christmas lights.

It was also private from the rest of the restaurant.

Willow couldn’t decide if it was romantic, or just a smart idea for two people who really didn’t want to run into anyone .

“Oh, that’s so nice,” she said, deciding there was no reason it couldn’t be both. Jensen wanting to protect her relationship with her brother until she could talk to him about everything was romantic.

“Shall I bring you menus?” Nana asked, as she walked them through the main dining room and onto the porch. “Or would you like a family meal?”

The family meal was several courses of homemade goodness, each a surprise, served like you were a guest at Nana’s home.

“ Family meal, ” she and Jensen said at the same time.

Nana gestured to the nicest table at the very back, and Jensen pulled out Willow’s chair for her.

“If memory serves, the young lady will have bottomless root beer,” Nana said with a smile as they took their seats.

“Yes,” Willow said happily. “I was hoping you still had it.”

“Normally, we don’t do it as bottomless these days,” Nana confided. “But we do like to support our troops, so you two drink up.”

“Oh, wow,” Willow said, moved. “Thank you.”

“And what can I bring for you, young man?” Nana asked, turning to Jensen.

“Does Charles have a new experiment on tap?” Jensen asked.

“Vanilla cream soda,” Nana said with a smile. “No beer tonight.”

“Vanilla cream soda sounds great,” Jensen told her. “Thank you.”

“Very good,” she said. “You two get settled, and I’ll be back with your drinks and your meal. And if there’s anything else you need, just give a holler.”

“Thank you, Nana,” Willow said.

They both watched her glide to the kitchen, her back as straight as a ballerina’s.

“How old do you think she is?” Jensen wondered out loud.

“Ageless,” Willow decided.

Jensen chuckled and they both looked around. For the most part, the place looked the same, which was a comfort.

“I wonder if Henry will love the root beer when he’s older,” Willow wondered out loud.