Page 26 of Soldier’s Christmas Crush (Trinity Falls: Home for Christmas #4)

JENSEN

J ensen awoke on Christmas Eve morning feeling incredible. Henry had slept peacefully through the night. And though Jensen had been up once or twice himself just to check the monitor, he was glad to know his boy would be feeling better again in time for Christmas.

And Willow is here…

He found himself hopping out of bed and jogging to the window. He wasn’t sure what he was hoping to see.

Part of him couldn’t wait for the snow to stop and the roads to be plowed so he could talk to her brother. And another part of him wished they could be snowed in forever. He couldn’t bear the thought of being away from her, even for long enough to talk to Ransom tomorrow.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her sweet smile and heard her gentle laughter as she played with Henry and talked to him.

She cares about us. Please, let this work out…

But he had learned the hard way that the most important things in life were often not in his control. If he wanted things to turn out as they were meant to, he was going to have to do his best and then let go.

He had texted Ransom this morning and told him he wanted to talk to him about something important tomorrow. Hopefully, they could hole up privately and he could tell the man what was in his heart.

He headed to the bathroom with the monitor, figuring Henry would be up by the time he was out of the shower.

Sure enough, he had just pulled on his jeans when he heard the monitor crackle to life.

Not wanting the little one to wake up alone if he still wasn’t feeling well, Jensen headed down the hall without putting on his shirt.

But when he got to Henry’s room, Willow was already there, standing by the crib, smiling and talking softly with a very happy Henry.

She looked up, and then averted her eyes immediately.

But not before he caught the blush on her cheeks.

He felt a jolt of pleasure at the idea that she liked what she saw.

“Good morning,” he told her, letting his deep voice drawl just a little.

“Good morning,” she said. “I’ve got him if you want to… get dressed.”

But they were both distracted by the sound of an engine out front.

“Let me go see what that is,” Jensen said.

He grabbed his flannel from the bathroom and shrugged it on as he headed downstairs .

It was most likely the county guys with the plows, and that was probably for the best. The sooner the streets were clear, the sooner he could talk to Ransom. He was starting to think he didn’t even want to wait until tomorrow.

He opened the front door with his shirt still half unbuttoned, expecting to see a truck out on the street.

Instead, he saw that the road had already been plowed.

And there was a very familiar truck in the driveway.

Ransom?

Jensen’s best friend in the world stood by his truck, a cardboard drink holder with two coffees in one hand, and a paper bag in the other. Jensen was pretty sure that bag contained two egg sandwiches on hoagie rolls with plenty of ketchup.

Morning specials?

His heart surged with happiness at one more sign that Ransom still remembered the old days.

Maybe this friendship can survive my love for Willow…

But that dream was shattered instantly when he realized his friend was staring at Willow’s car in his driveway. The ancient station wagon was perfectly recognizable under the thin layer of last night’s snow.

“Ransom,” Jensen said softly.

Ransom’s eyes moved to him. He had forgotten until just that moment that he’d never finished buttoning his flannel. But Ransom’s eyes took in every detail.

“What’s going on here?” Ransom asked.

If he had roared or screamed, or even cursed, Jensen might have felt better. But Ransom’s voice was colder than the winter air, and hard as steel.

Jensen knew he could say it wasn’t what it looked like, that Willow was only here for Henry, and that she’d gotten snowed in.

But the truth was, he wanted to put a ring on her finger and have her car in his driveway every night. He wanted this to be what it looked like, as soon as he could make it all happen the right way.

“ This is what you wanted to talk to me about?” Ransom asked. “My baby sister ?”

“Maybe you should come in,” Jensen said, stepping aside.

For a frozen instant, Ransom just stared him down.

Then he was clomping his way to the front door, banging the snow off his boots on the top step and stomping into the house.

Jensen followed after him, saying a silent prayer for Willow and Henry to still be upstairs.

But the two of them were back in their nest by the Christmas tree. Willow had Henry in her lap along with a picture book they weren’t looking at anymore. Both of them gazed up at her unhappy brother with wide eyes.

Jensen breathed a sigh of relief that at least she was back in her own clothes.

“Willow.” The word was anger and defeat all at once, as if Ransom had still somehow hoped he’d come in here and find it wasn’t her car out there after all.

“I came by the other night because Henry was sick, and I got snowed in,” Willow said simply. “Are those morning specials? ”

“If Henry’s sick, why are you calling my baby sister over here in a snowstorm?” Ransom said, turning to Jensen as if Willow hadn’t even spoken or didn’t deserve to be part of the conversation.

“I called her because she’s a really good nurse,” Jensen replied calmly. “And I value her advice.”

Ransom blinked at him for a second, as if he didn’t recognize that description of his sister.

“So you didn’t call her over here to tell her she should join NASA and go on the mission to Mars?” Ransom asked, recovering quickly. “Or maybe just fall for you instead?”

His sarcasm stung almost as much as the fact that he managed to make both possibilities seem equally dangerous and unlikely. And the mention of forgetting their pact hurt even more, since it was just about all Jensen had been thinking about lately.

Jensen turned to Willow. Her blue eyes were pleading, but he couldn’t tell if she was begging him to say something or begging him not to.

All he knew for sure was that he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

He turned to her brother, hoping that what he was about to say wouldn’t be too much, too soon for her to hear. But he was done holding back the truth.

“I love her,” he told Ransom simply.