by Debbie Mason
Madison smiled at Grace then rolled her eyes when Nell McBride, Gage’s great-aunt, sauntered over with her best friends, Ted and Fred, in tow. “Here we go.” Madison sighed.
Gage, standing behind his wife, grinned. “You’d better give me Jack Junior.”
Madison handed him off to her husband and took a seat, rubbing the barely noticeable baby bump beneath her floral sundress. “I’m sitting, okay?”
Ted pulled out a chair, and Fred plunked Madison’s pink-sandaled feet on it. “Now, you stay put, girlie,” Nell ordered.
The three of them shared a couple of their memories of Jack before moving off to join their friends at a large table near the jukebox.
“Gage, you have to talk to them. I can’t take five more months of this,” Madison complained.
Her husband leaned over and kissed her. “I’ll give it my best shot, honey. But the three of them are almost as stubborn as you are when you set your mind on something.”
“Hey, I’m not stubborn.”
Gage snorted. “Come on, buddy,” he said to Jack Junior, “let’s go play some air hockey.”
Grace felt a sharp twinge of longing. In the beginning, she and Jack had been as head over heels in love as Gage and Madison. She wondered if she’d ever have that again. The thought made her feel horribly disloyal. But who was she trying to kid? The citizens of Christmas, especially Jill, would never forgive her if she moved on with someone else. And it wasn’t as if she’d leave town. Her father’s military career had taken them all over the world, and Christmas was the only place that had ever felt like home.
“I’ll be right back,” Jill said.
Madison pulled out a chair. “Come sit with me.”
“How are you feeling?” Grace asked as she took a seat.
“Not you, too. I’m fine.” Madison looked at her closely. “But you’re not. Do you wanna talk about it?”
“We had a minicatastrophe at the bakery. There was a leak in the apartment and part of the ceiling came down. Sawyer’s… What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Grace arched a brow.
Madison grimaced. “It’s Gage. He’s worried Sawyer—”
She was right. They’d never allow her to move on. “We’re friends, that’s all.”
“Forget I said anything. And don’t worry about the leak. Your insurance will cover the damage. Plus, I have an idea that’s going to make us rich.” Grace’s skepticism must’ve shown, because Madison said, “I’m serious. I’ve been thinking about all those letters. We’re going to create a story about a Sugar Plum Fairy being the one who granted their wishes. We’ll sell T-shirts, and books, and wands… Anything we can think of, we can sell.”
Grace could almost see the dollar signs flashing in her business partner’s blue eyes. She didn’t want to be a downer, but she had to ask, “Umm, won’t there be an issue with copyright? There’s a Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker.”
“The Sugar Plum Cake Fairy, then. My friend Vivi can write the stories. Can you do the illustrations?”
Grace nodded. As a little girl, she’d loved to draw, but had stopped the day her sister died. It wasn’t until Grace started working on the designs for her cakes that she rediscovered the joy, the deep sense of satisfaction she got from drawing.
“Fantastic. I’m so excited about this, aren’t you?”
“Yes, it’s a great idea.” Anything that had the potential to increase the bottom line was welcome news to Grace. She just didn’t know where she’d find the time to do everything, but it was exactly what she needed right now. The perfect way for her to move on with her life.
Madison glanced at the door and reached for her hand. “Okay, just breathe.”
“What…” She followed Madison’s gaze and swallowed, hard.
Jill followed behind their friends—the twins Holly and Hailey and Sophia and her sister-in-law Autumn—with a life-size cutout of Jack tucked beneath her arm.
A warm hand gently squeezed Grace’s shoulder. Brandi, one of Sawyer’s waitresses and another of Grace’s friends, set a drink in front of her. “This’ll help. It’s a Hero. Sawyer named it after Jack.”
“Thanks, Brandi,” Grace murmured, wrapping her fingers around the cold, frosted glass.
“What do you think?” Jill asked, setting up the cardboard likeness beside Grace as the other women took their seats around the table. They placed their orders with Brandi while commenting on the lifelike Jack in his desert camouflage fatigues and Kevlar vest, a helmet tucked under his arm, his sexy grin flashing perfect white teeth in his deeply tanned face.
“There’s nothing hotter than a man in uniform. And Jack Flaherty was—” Autumn, the owner of Sugar and Spice, the woman who made Grace’s chocolate sugar plums, quickly corrected herself. “—is hands down the hottest man I’ve ever seen.”
He was. And looking at him now, Grace felt the same heart-stopping punch of attraction she did on the night he strode into the Washington ballroom to receive his Medal of Honor.
Sophia, owner of the high-end clothing store Naughty and Nice, pointed at Jack and in her heavily accented voice said, “Yes, and he is coming home with me tonight.”
“Grace?” Jill said, looking hurt.
She took her sister-in-law’s hand “It was a great idea, Jill. It’s like he’s here with us.”
Jill smiled, her eyes bright. Brandi came back with their drinks, and they lifted their glasses. “To Jack.”
Everyone in the bar followed suit, and then, one after another, they stood to share their stories about Jack and their prayers for his safe return. By the time they were finished, Grace had downed two Heroes.
Jill clapped her hands. “Okay, time for cake.”
They cleared the table and placed the cake in front of Grace. She stood, relieved that her emotional torture would soon be over. Gage, with Jack Junior in his arms, took his place beside Madison.
Sawyer came up behind Grace and whispered, “Hang in there. Not much longer.”
Before she could turn to ask how it went at the apartment, Jack Junior yelled, “Da, Da.” And put his arms out.
Grace’s breath seized in her chest.
Several people said, “Aw,” while her friends quietly sniffed. “He’ll be home soon, buddy,” Jill said, swiping at her eyes.
Grace wheezed out a relieved breath. Thank God, no one seemed to realize he’d meant Sawyer.
But Sawyer did. “How about that root beer float I promised you, buddy?” He went to take Jack Junior from Gage, who gave him a hard look before passing him over. Of course Gage would notice, Grace thought miserably.
“Me want beer.”
Everyone laughed as Sawyer carried her son to the bar. After they sang “Happy Birthday” to Jack, Grace cut the cake while Jill handed out the pieces.
She reached across Grace, bumping into her. “Sorry,” she said when Grace stumbled.
The knife jerked and hit the house, toppling it over, revealing the chocolate sugar plum underneath.
“Hey, no fair, it’s supposed to be hidden in the cake,” someone grumbled.
Grace sucked in a panicked breath and dove for the sugar plum. Jill beat her to it.
Her sister-in-law laughed. “Finally, I got a sugar plum.”
As Jill opened it, Grace wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Jill’s laughter ended on a choked sob. “How could you? How could you give up on him?” she said, her voice a strangled whisper.
“Jill, let me explain,” Grace called after her sister-in-law, who strode for the door.
From behind the bar came a shrill whistle. “Everyone quiet,” Sawyer yelled, directing their attention to the flat screen behind the bar where a newscaster announced breaking news. Sawyer turned up the volume. “We have just received unconfirmed reports that the four crew members of the Black Hawk that went down in the mountains of Afghanistan seventeen months ago have been recovered… alive.”
Chapter Two
From where he sat beh
ind his desk, the doctor made a nervous sound in his throat when Chief Warrant Officer Jackson Flaherty unfolded his large frame from the chair opposite him. “Chief Flaherty, if you’d be patient a bit longer, I’ll—”
“With all due respect, Doc, I ran out of patience two days ago.” Jack winked, rapping his knuckles on the dark polished wood. “There’s a steak calling my name and a gorgeous woman waiting for me, so I’ll be on my way. If I have any problems, I’ll be in touch.”
The doctor looked like he’d swallowed his tongue. His bald head bobbed a couple of times before he recovered his voice. “I realize after your experience you’re anxious to get on with your life, Chief Flaherty, but there are some things you need to know.”
Experience? Interesting choice of word to describe over a year in captivity, Jack thought, but let it go. He was due some serious R and R and had already lost several days being debriefed, poked, prodded, and analyzed. It was standard procedure, but there were other things he wanted to be doing—like Maria DeMarco, the reporter they had been sent in to rescue when the RPG—rocket-propelled grenade—brought down his Black Hawk seventeen months ago.
The beautiful, voluptuous brunette was exactly the type of woman Jack was attracted to. Smart and aggressive, she was an adrenaline junkie like he was, and more importantly, she wasn’t looking for a ring on her finger. During their captivity, with an attentive audience, they’d had little opportunity to do more than talk and steal a kiss or two. And even though they’d had the freedom and privacy to do a whole lot more while they were on the run, all they’d managed was one very hot, very steamy make-out session.
He planned to rectify that now.
Jack headed for the door. “Thanks, Doc, I’m sure I’ll figure it out.” Learning the blow he’d taken to his head in the crash had stolen the last four years of his life had taken some getting used to. But what no one seemed to understand was that Jack felt lucky just to be alive and back in the good old U.S. of A. There were a lot of guys who’d lost far more than he had.
“Wait, you can’t go. Your sister’s on her way. She should be here shortly.”
Jack stopped in his tracks and swung his gaze to the doctor. “What do you mean, my sister’s on her way?” Jill hadn’t mentioned coming to Virginia. He’d told her that, once things were squared away on his end, he’d head to Colorado. But now that he thought about it, she had sounded like she was holding something back during their conversation. At the time, he’d put it down to shock at his return.
Avoiding Jack’s gaze, the man shuffled the papers on his desk and cleared his throat. “Under the circumstances, I thought it best for a family member to be present when—”
The cell phone Jack had been given pinged. He held up a finger, cutting off the doctor’s explanation, and read Maria’s text. Once he finished, Jack narrowed his eyes at the man who was putting a serious crimp in his plans. “Thanks to you, Doc, I’m going to have one unhappy woman on my hands.” Hot-tempered and dramatic, Maria’s reaction to this latest delay in their one-on-one time would no doubt be over-the-top. Her intensity was a little unnerving at times, but his hope that she’d bring some of that passion into the bedroom outweighed the discomfort.
“You don’t know the half of it,” the doctor murmured.
Before Jack could question the man’s odd remark, another text popped on the screen. He swallowed a frustrated oath. Maria was on the base. He shouldn’t be surprised. The woman was also tenacious and enterprising. Two traits he admired, but not necessarily when they were applied to him.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” he said, opening the door to step into the corridor.
“Jack,” Maria called, her white do-me shoes clicking on the shiny tile floor as she strutted toward him wearing a body-hugging white dress that showed off her cleavage and a whole lot of bronzed skin. He doubted it was only her impressive journalistic creds that got her past security.
“Hey, I thought we agreed I’d give you a call when I was finished up here, and we’d meet back at the hotel,” he said, unable to keep the frustration from his voice.
Pulling her lush red lips into a playful pout, she stepped into his space, bringing with her the appetizing scent of vanilla musk. “I got tired of waiting. I thought you’d be happy to see me.” She walked her fingers down his chest. “I love a man in uniform, but I’m really looking forward to seeing you out of yours.”
He grimaced and wrapped his hand around her fingers before they walked any lower. “About that, I’m going to have to take a rain check. My sister’s due to arrive any minute now. I want to spend some time with her.”
She stared at him. “You can’t be serious.” Then, with a calculating look in her dark eyes, she wound her arms around his neck, rubbing against him like a cat in heat. “Come on, Jack, we’ve been waiting so long to be alone. You can spend time with your sister tomorrow.”
With the loss of his memory, Jack didn’t know exactly how long it’d been since he had a woman in his bed. At that moment, his body was reacting like a teenager who was about to get laid for the first time. But no matter how much he wanted to indulge in a few rounds of hot, sweaty monkey sex, he wouldn’t blow off his sister. It’d been the two of them against the world for as long as he could remember.
A silver-haired officer making his way down the hall aimed a censorious look in their direction. Jack went to remove Maria’s arms from his neck. “This isn’t the place for this. Why don’t I call you—” Before he could finish, she stretched up and fitted her lips over his. He lost all train of thought with the feel of her hot, sensual mouth on his, her voluptuous curves pressed against him. Her tongue was halfway down his throat when the short hairs at the back of his neck stood at attention. The electrical buzz was his internal warning system and had saved his ass in the past. Oddly enough, the damn thing went off that night in the desert when he and Maria were about to make love and stopped him from going any further. The last thing he’d wanted to do was put his men at risk because he couldn’t keep his zipper zipped.
Just as he was about to pull back, he heard a soft gasp from behind him. A sharply uttered “Soldier” brought him swiftly to attention. He extricated himself from Maria and turned to face their audience.
His sister, a shocked expression on her face, gaped at him. Jack saluted the grim-faced older man standing beside her. After what he’d survived, Jack figured the general needed to cut him some slack. Jill recovered and ran into his open arms. “Jack,” she cried, burying her face in his chest.
He held her tight. His little sister had been the only person he’d been worried about when he was stuck half a world away. She was the reason he never gave in or gave up.
She eased back, but didn’t let him go. “I can’t believe you’re here. I almost didn’t recognize you.” She half laughed, half cried, touching his beard.
He’d wondered at her initial reaction. But he supposed with the beard and long hair, he did look different. “You’ve changed, too. Older than I remember.” He teased, making a joke of his memory loss. He wanted Jill to know he was okay with it, didn’t want her worrying about him.
Maria nudged him, arching a dark brow.
Right. “Jill, this is Maria DeMarco. Maria, my sister, Jill.”
His sister’s gaze narrowed when Maria placed a possessive hand on Jack’s arm. With a curt nod, Jill stepped back.
Jack frowned, confused by her reaction. Before he had a chance to fill the uncomfortable silence, the general intervened. “Ms. DeMarco, I think it’s time for you to leave.”
What the hell was going on? First his sister and now the general. Granted, given where they were, the kiss was inappropriate, but their rudeness was uncalled for. “Sir, that’s not your call to make.”
“You don’t know how wrong you are, son. Jill, take your brother into Dr. Peters’s office. Ms. DeMarco.” He reached for Maria.
Dark eyes flashing from the general to Jack, Maria jerked her arm away. “What’s going on?”
His s
ister tugged on Jack’s sleeve. “Let General Garrison deal with Ms. DeMarco.”
“What’s gotten into you, Jill? No one’s going to deal with Maria. She’s with me and—”
Garrison got in his face. Thick-necked and barrel-chested, the older man wasn’t as tall as Jack, but he had about forty years’ worth of practice intimidating soldiers. Jack wasn’t intimidated. He was pissed. And he wasn’t about to stand around and let them treat Maria like crap. “Come on, let’s go.” Taking her hand, he sidestepped the general.
“No, Jack,” his sister called after him, “you can’t do this. You can’t do this to Grace.”
Jack froze on the spot, slowly turning to face his sister. “What did you just say?”
Garrison put an arm around Jill’s shoulders and held Jack’s gaze. “You’re married. You have a wife and son. Peters was worried how you’d take the news and wanted to wait until we were here to support you.”
“Bullshit.” But even as he spat out the word, he knew they had no reason to lie.
“You’re married to my daughter, Grace. Your son’s name is Jack Junior.” There was both pity and anger in the general’s voice.
Nervously biting her bottom lip, Jill pulled two pictures from her purse. She held them out to him.
With his heart beating in his chest at the speed of machine gun fire, Jack left Maria’s side and took the photos from Jill. The willowy blonde in the wedding dress looked like her name, a classic, delicate beauty. He stood beside her in his uniform, gazing down at her with a soft, loving expression on his face. And all he could think was why the hell had he done it? Years ago he’d made a promise to himself never to marry. What was it about this woman that had made him break that vow? He’d seen firsthand what being married to a military man did to a woman. And the military was his life, always would be.
He felt his sister’s gaze upon him and looked at her in stunned disbelief. She gave him a watery smile. “You loved her.”