Page 21 of Soldier’s Christmas Crush (Trinity Falls: Home for Christmas #4)
JENSEN
J ensen looked around his home studio and couldn’t help but smile.
He’d started working from home with a decent microphone, camera, and laptop back when he first moved out here.
But after his recent bit of success, he now had a pro-level mic, and he had just finished adding soundproofing panels to the walls.
His desk was currently covered in scripts and his phone had started buzzing the moment he turned it back on after recording his last spot.
The respectable amount of work he’d been getting up until this point hadn’t prepared him for the flood of offers he was getting now. Jensen had never been so busy since going into freelancing. And he’d never felt so good about it.
Maybe things weren’t going to work out with Willow, but after just one date, her good influence seemed to be coloring every aspect of his life.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and wasn’t surprised to see fourteen notifications from his agent, Sadie. Most were emails with offers attached.
He even had a silly single dad meme in his text chain with Ransom. The two of them had been dropping the other a line here and there since they bumped into each other at the library.
Jensen had been keeping it light for now, but he was planning to have a heart-to-heart with his friend on Christmas when they got together in person.
And as nice as the work offers and messages were, he couldn’t help feeling disappointed that there wasn’t anything from Willow.
He pushed those thoughts aside and opened his text chain with Sadie.
Sadie
amazing work on the paper company ad
and the folks at the community center are over the moon about the free spot you did for them
He smiled again, and felt warmth spread in his chest as he tapped out a response.
glad they’re all happy
Sadie
are you still committed to doing more pro bono slots?
When Willow told Jensen he had a gift, and that he’d brought his friends and neighbors a moment of happiness, his whole feeling about doing voiceover work had turned around completely.
And as soon as his perspective changed, his imagination took over.
He had taken most of the pay from the Co-op Grocer’s slot and used it to buy the new microphone and the soundproofing he’d installed in the office. It was an investment, but it meant that he wouldn’t have to go to the radio station to record, and that made a world of difference.
He had also let Sadie know to start sending him bookings.
She knew his goal was to earn a comfortable living for himself and Henry, and maybe give something back as well by offering his work for free to non-profits in the community.
Amazingly, she had agreed to coordinate the non-profit work without taking a fee herself.
of course, a free slot for every paid booking
Sadie
well, then, we have a waitlist, sweetheart
i emailed it to you but my guess is that you’ll jump on the trinity falls community food drive and the homecoming heroes center once you get paid for the next two gigs
i’ll do all the non-profits now, just send them over
There was a pause, and he worried that maybe she was rethinking helping out with so many free spots.
Sadie
you’re a good kid, you know that?
and you’re a good agent
i’ve got to pick up henry in an hour
i’ll do as many as i can before then
He turned his phone off again, then slid it into his pocket, and opened up his email. Just as Sadie said, there were half a dozen requests from local non-profits for him to do taglines for their holiday messages.
Most of the taglines were absolutely ridiculous. But he smiled as he read them, knowing they would grab attention for good causes, and hopefully give his neighbors a well-deserved chuckle. And when he thought about it like that, he didn’t feel embarrassed about being a little silly anymore.
Thank you for this, Willow…
And of course she would be the one to open his mind to the power of a little silliness. She had used her own sense of humor to get through to both of the Webb boys.
Henry was so interested in knock-knock jokes now that he was sure to be talking more in his eagerness to tell a joke himself. Jensen had already heard the boy murmuring nah-nah to himself and then chuckling over the monitor after he put him down for his nap once or twice this week.
Willow had shone her light on the two of them for such a short time, and even that had been enough to help them both blossom .
Don’t think about it, he told himself sternly. She doesn’t want to talk to you.
He’d sent her a couple of messages, but at this point he knew he had to give her space, as much as it hurt.
And the truth was that he was committed to making things right with Ransom, and talking with him honestly about his feelings for Willow before even thinking about asking her out again. Her avoiding him just made it easier not to fall into temptation.
He lost himself in the next couple of taglines, recording each one a few different ways before cleaning them up a bit and sending them along to Sadie.
The time melted away, and before long it was time to head over to his mom and dad’s to pick up Henry.
“Smells like snow out there,” Dad said as Jensen came in the front door of the big cedar shake house.
“Sure does,” Jensen agreed, giving his dad a quick wave before heading back to the kitchen, where Mom had the radio playing.
“This is Ho-ho-Hope Holiday and we’re telling our listeners to get ready for some snow,” the deejay announced. “So, here’s Bing Crosby, hoping all your Christmases are white, and that you don’t get caught out in the storm.”
“That’s right,” Mom said, looking up from the peppermint cookies she was rolling out. Henry sat in his highchair watching her work while he rolled a bit of dough in his own little fists. “You can feel it on the air out there. Do you have plenty of groceries at home? ”
“We’ll be fine, Ma,” Jensen assured her.
“Sounds like a no ,” his mother chuckled. “Not to worry, your dad went to the store today. He’s got a couple of bags in the garage fridge for you to take with you.”
“You guys don’t have to do that,” Jensen said.
“Well, I guess you’ve been pretty busy,” Mom said, looking like she was trying not to smile.
“Go on,” he told her. “Say it.”
“Orange you glad we have juice?” she sang out in pure delight.
He had to laugh right along with her.
“I have been busy,” he told her. “Thanks to Willow.”
“Really?” Mom asked, fixing her eyes on the cookie dough, as if he might not be able to read how interested she was if she didn’t make eye contact.
“She helped me realize that it’s kind of nice to make people laugh,” he said. “I don’t mind lending my voice to a good cause. And what could be better than giving my family something to smile about?”
“That’s a lovely way to look at it,” Mom said, glancing up at him. “And she’s a lovely girl.”
That was an opening to talk about his feelings if there ever was one. But Jensen was determined to keep his thoughts to himself until he made things right with Ransom and with Willow. So he kept his mouth shut and grabbed a cloth to wipe down his sticky boy.
“ Dah,” Henry said happily when he plucked him out of the highchair, making Jensen’s heart surge with joy at the word.
Henry’s voice sounded a little rougher than usual, but Jensen didn’t think too much of it. He’d probably just eaten a little too much dough.
“He’s been a little sniffly,” Mom said, as if she’d had the same thought. “It’s probably a little cold. Just keep an eye on him.”
“We’ve been going to the library group,” Jensen said, nodding. “I know a couple of kids over there seemed like they had a little something.”
“That’s always the way in the wintertime,” Mom said, nodding. “Sure you two don’t want to stay for supper? It’s nothing fancy, just hot dogs and baked beans, but your dad spiced it up with that nice barbecue sauce you like.”
“Sounds amazing,” Jensen sighed. “But we’d better get home. I’ve got a couple of things to get done if the snow’s coming again.”
“Well, stay warm,” Mom said, wiping her hands on her apron and giving him a quick squeeze as she kissed the top of Henry’s head. “And take care of my favorite little guy.”
On the way out, they ran into his dad pre-salting the porch steps.
“I threw some groceries in the back,” Dad told him, gesturing toward his truck. “Get ‘em inside when you get home.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Jensen told him.
But his father only scowled and waved him off, not wanting a lot of fanfare for a good deed done, as usual.
Jensen got Henry settled in his car seat and started the truck up. And by the time he got down the drive and out to the road, flurries were already swirling down. They were just a minute or two from home, but he put on the radio anyway, figuring Henry would enjoy it.
“What do you think of that?” he asked when one of the most exciting parts of The Nutcracker score came on.
Henry started to chuckle, but it turned into a cough. The frosty air probably wasn’t great for his cold.
“Sorry, buddy,” Jensen told him. “We’ll be home soon, and we can cuddle up under a warm blanket.”
An hour later, they were at home, curled up under a blanket with an animated Christmas movie on the television to keep Henry from running around.
But he was still coughing, and the sound of it had become harsher.
Jensen had called his cousin, Kellan, who was the town doctor. But he kept getting his voicemail. He figured Kellan must be out on a real emergency.
He had also sent a text to Willow without expecting an answer, just asking if she could talk to him about Henry’s cough.
He wasn’t sure if she had any experience with pediatrics, but she was a nurse, after all, so she definitely knew better than he did.
But of course she had ignored all his messages this week, so he was pretty sure she wasn’t even going to see this one.
As he sat with his eyes on his son, trying to figure out what to do, Henry began a real coughing fit. Nearly every breath seemed to make him cough more.