Page 2 of Soldier’s Christmas Crush (Trinity Falls: Home for Christmas #4)

Jensen grew up strong and tall, with a deep laugh and twinkling eyes.

And by the time she was a teen herself, Willow had developed a helpless crush on her brother’s handsome best friend.

The fiery jealousy she had felt seeing him in his tux along with her brother and their dates on prom night had stayed with her for years.

Looking back, she was pretty sure Jensen must have known. She’d been too innocent not to be obvious.

Her brother had certainly noticed. He finally stopped inviting her along on their adventures, and started closing the door on her whenever Jensen was over.

Eventually, the boys graduated and moved on, both choosing to pursue military service, as so many of the football players had done under the advisement of their coach, who had served in the Army himself as a young man.

Then, during spring break of her senior year of college, they had all been home at the same time. Axel Williams threw a party at his aunt and uncle’s place, and she’d been curled up on the sofa by the fireplace when Jensen came in, flushed from chopping wood.

“Senior year, huh?” Jensen asked. “What’s next for you?”

Willow had tried bringing up the idea of joining the military as a nurse with her brother twice already, and he refused to even talk about it. Get a job at a hospital or a doctor’s office, he told her, shaking his head. You don’t need to join up.

But here was Jensen Webb, his gray eyes lit up with gentle curiosity, ready to listen to her, like always.

She opened up to him, and instead of shutting her down like Ransom had, he sat with her and asked some good questions.

Her answers launched a serious conversation about the Army that went on for almost an hour, and ended with both of them bent over her phone, scrolling through all the options she might have.

When she got home that night, she told everyone all about her amazing conversation and her final decision to serve. Mom had been pleased for her. But Ransom was so upset that he stopped speaking to Willow for days, and nothing had been the same between them since.

And as far as she knew, he still wasn’t talking to Jensen Webb.

We’re all home for good now, she reminded herself as she drove past snowy fields and farmhouses. We’re going to work this out.

She adored her big brother, and she knew how close he and Jensen had been. The three of them had nothing but time now to smooth over the rough patch. She would find a way to make things right, no matter how much time it took.

She was just crossing over the bridge on Route One, and almost back to Trinity Falls when the car began to splutter and stall.

“ No ,” she murmured. “ No, no, no… ”

But the battery light popped on, and the spluttering quieted just as the radio faded out.

She managed to pull safely onto the half-shoulder, bumping a little on the mound of plowed snow just in time for the engine to die completely.

Gray clouds were darkening in the sky, and with the battery dead, her flashers weren’t going to work.

This could cause a serious accident.

She hopped out of the car to find the flares she was pretty sure were in the back, and call a tow truck.

Within seconds, she felt frozen through. The wind up on the bridge was harsh and cold. It whipped her long, dark hair into her face, and by the time she got it out of her eyes, she could see a red pickup truck pulling up behind her, lights flashing.

She had a moment to be nervous, but then reminded herself that she was in Trinity Falls. Folks stopped to help each other here, not to take advantage.

A large, familiar form hopped out of the truck and began striding toward her, and her heart forgot how to beat.

Can that actually be him?

But of course it was. She would know Jensen Webb anywhere. He had a beard now, but it only seemed to set off his gray eyes even more. A sense of relief settled over Willow as he approached, just like when she was a kid, and she felt her shoulders go down a tiny bit in relief.

“Willow?” he said suddenly, stopping in his tracks.

“Hey, Jensen,” she replied, suddenly feeling like she was twelve again, scribbling his name in her diary surrounded by puffy hearts .

“What happened?” he asked, his eyes moving to the car.

Suddenly, the weight of her brother’s anger landed on her again and she felt guilty for being so happy to see his best friend.

“I think my battery went,” she said. “Radio turned down, and it just sort of spluttered and died.”

“That’s a bad alternator,” Jensen said right away, his deep voice calm and certain. “Come sit in my truck while we call the shop.”

“Uh, okay,” she reluctantly agreed.

With Willow’s luck, the next person to drive past would be her brother and he’d be convinced Jensen was trying to lead her into more bad decisions . But there was no point arguing, because the wind seemed to be going through her coat and directly into her bones.

Jensen jogged ahead and opened the passenger door for her.

“Here you go,” he said.

“Oh,” she said, noticing the toddler in the backseat, who was looking at her with interest.

“This is Henry,” he told her. “Henry, this is my friend, Willow.”

My friend Willow, she thought to herself with satisfaction. Not my best friend’s little sister, Willow.

But it only reminded her that the two men weren’t speaking anymore, and the satisfaction turned back into guilt.

“Hi, buddy,” she said to the little boy, who was taking her in with gray eyes just like his father’s .

He blinked at her, wrapping his little fist around the brown teddy bear on his lap.

“Give me a sec,” Jensen said, closing her door and then getting on the phone.

She watched him pacing and talking for a second, then glanced back at Henry.

“Your daddy will be right back,” she told him.

He looked a little worried, but maybe that was just how toddlers looked. Willow didn’t have a lot of experience with kids, since she had always been the youngest.

This one looked like he’d rather be with his dad, but it was probably best that he was staying with her in the nice warm truck, even if he didn’t know her yet.

“That’s a very nice bear,” she tried.

He still didn’t respond, and his bottom lip quivered a little. What was she going to do if he started crying?

“Knock, knock,” Willow said in desperation.

Henry’s eyes flickered to hers with interest, but he didn’t make a peep.

“ Who’s there? ” she asked herself. “Bear.”

He smiled at that.

“ Bear who? ” she asked. “Bear with me, I’m not done telling jokes. Knock, knock.”

He was really watching her now.

“ Who’s there? ” she asked. “Tank. Tank who? You’re welcome. Knock, knock.”

Dimples appeared on his little cheeks. She didn’t think he really understood the jokes, but he clearly liked that she was being silly.

“ Who’s there? ” she asked herself enthusiastically .

He leaned forward a little, like he was trying to figure out what she was going to do next.

“Hatch,” she replied. “ Hatch who? Bless you.”

Henry’s little face broke into a smile and his gray eyes danced along with it, just like his daddy’s.

“Hey, there,” Jensen said, opening his door and sliding into the truck beside her. “Ryan’s coming up from the shop with the tow truck. He’ll be here in about two minutes—he was on his way back from Providence Road anyway.”

“Oh, that’s great,” Willow said, relieved.

Henry made a happy squeaking sound. When she turned back to him, he was smiling and waving his bear at her.

“Oh-ho, someone made a new friend while I was gone,” Jensen said, his deep voice filling the truck.

“Well, I already met you, Henry,” Willow said. “What is your bear’s name?”

But Henry closed his mouth tight, as if to tell her he wasn’t ready to talk with her yet.

“That’s Dusty,” Jensen said. “He’s Henry’s favorite.”

Henry pulled Dusty close to his chest, as if to demonstrate how much he loved his stuffed friend.

“Nice to meet you, Dusty,” Willow said.

Neither Dusty nor Henry had any reply, but the toddler grinned at her.

“Oh, here we go,” Jensen said, his eyes on the rearview mirror.

By the time she looked up, the tow truck from the local shop was already pulling past them.

“Do you have your keys?” Jensen asked her .

“Sure,” she said, getting ready to get out.

“Nah, stay put,” he told her. “I’ll just say hi to him.”

She handed off her keys and then watched as Jensen popped her trunk and pulled out her two shopping bags.

Ryan had slipped out of the tow truck, and he was smiling as he looked on. Willow was pretty sure he was laughing at her tiny Christmas tree. Jensen shook his head at the other man, then put her bags in his truck before going back for the tree.

Before long, the two of them got the old station wagon hooked up together and Ryan drove off toward town with it.

Jensen turned back to the truck, and heaven help her, Willow couldn’t help noticing how gorgeous he looked with the wind ruffling his dark hair.

“That’s a lot of pies you’ve got there,” he teased as he got back into the truck. “You must be pretty hungry.”

She laughed, grateful for the distraction from her earlier thought, and maybe just a little ashamed that he’d seen her stash of goodies.

“Well, they’re not all for me,” she told him.

“Of course not,” he said as he pulled back onto the road. “You’re a chocolate cupcake girl.”

How did he remember such a silly thing?