The Mistletoe Affair

They drove in silence.

By the time they reached Grace's, the rain had stopped completely. He pulled into the driveway.

“Thank you for going to the dance. I'd like to try and explain better the reasons I stopped back there.” Before he could apologize or get her to see his side, she darted from the car and rushed with dignity away from him, her back straight, her chin up and quivering.

* * * *

“Look at you,” Paul said, snatching a barrette that dangled from her hair. “Your lips are swollen, your hair's a fright and your dress looks like you slept in it.” He shook his head. “I tried to warn you about Jared. He's not respectable. His mother never married his father. Maybe his fiancee found out he's a bastard.'

She felt lightheaded. “Even if that were true, it wouldn't make any difference. He doesn't deserve a label like that.'

“No. But women who walk out on their husband's do.'

“What?'

Paul's face was flooded red, but he drew a deep breath, as if restraining himself. “Matt needs a father, Katherine,” he said softly. But the softness was like a down pillow, weighing on her heart, smothering her. “We have to get married again, or he'll never be okay.'

“Don't bet on it,” she said between clinched teeth.

“Give us a chance to be a family again.” When he moved closer, she smelled liquor on his breath. Pushing against his chest, she shoved him toward an ottoman. He lost his balance and fell back onto the carpet.

Her hands fisted at her hips. “After Christmas, you can still see Matt, but I never want to lay eyes on you again.” She turned and ran up the stairs.

Twenty minutes later, she was still crying. She realized her tears weren't because of Paul's disgusting accusations that made her feel like a slut. They were for the humiliation of offering herself to Jared and being rejected because of her inexperience. She remembered her timid, maidenly responses, which must have seemed awkward and laughable to Jared, and felt ashamed that she'd reached out to a sophisticated man like him.

She dressed for bed, padded barefoot to the curtains and stared through the fogged window. A shape moved underneath the oak tree. She froze, thinking of a few nights ago, when Jared had come to visit her. Was it Jared?

Straining to see, she rubbed the condensation off the windowpane with her fingers. She hoped to pick out a tall, broad-shouldered man in flannel and denim and was shocked to find an elderly couple, dressed in silk and cotton, in a passionate embrace beneath an oak tree. She blinked, trying to clear her vision.

Her mother and Thomas Hughes stood under the lamplight. He kissed her and tried to hold her, but her mother struggled and sobbed. She broke away and ran toward the house.

Why was her mother crying?

Chapter Eleven

“It's me again, Grace,” Jared said into the phone, shaking his head wearily as he waited. He glanced at the dull stain on the ceiling of his living room, wondering idly how it got there. “You have no one to blame, but yourself,” he muttered under his breath.

He should have gone after Katherine last night instead of waiting until Sunday morning to see her, but he hadn't known what to say. He wasn't a forever guy and he didn't want to lead her to believe something false. He'd stopped when all systems said go because he hadn't wanted to hurt her, yet he'd ended up hurting her anyway.

“I'm sorry, Jared,” Grace said. “Katherine still doesn't want to talk to you. Hold on, I'm going to another room.” He waited several minutes before he heard her pick up again. “I don't know what you did, but if you look as bad as she does this morning, both of you would be better off shot. She still plans to go to the candlelight service tonight. Try talking to her then,” she said softly.

He listened to the finality of the click.

Talk to her about what? The truth. He closed his eyes. He could see Paul asking him, ‘What are you offering Katherine?’ Jared didn't want to hurt her.

“Yahoo, Jared, you in there?” a male voice yelled.

Taking another swig of coffee, Jared glanced up to find Thomas Hughes fully dressed for church and standing in the middle of his kitchen.

“Did you know you left your front door wide open?” Moving nearer, Thomas stopped and took a long, hard look at him.

Jared could imagine what he must look like. He hadn't slept two seconds all night and here he sat, barefoot, still wearing his dress shirt and pants from the dance-along with a hundred wrinkles.

“That must have been some party. You look like something the cats buried.'

He felt like it, too.

Running his hand through his hair, he shook his head with a humorless smile. His gaze fell on the dark circles under Thomas's eyes. “You don't look so hot yourself. There's a fresh pot of coffee on the counter and a box of powdered doughnuts. Make yourself at home.'

Thomas poured himself a cup, moved to the table and sat down in a chair across from him.

“What's up?” Jared asked, gulping the brew and fighting to stay awake.

Thomas sipped and averted his eyes. “You're young, but you've got a lot more experience with women than I have. I need your help.'

Jared shook his head. He'd grown to hate that word ‘experience'. “I'm no expert.'

“You are compared to me.” Thomas glanced at him. “I love Grace and we got along fine, until her daughter came home. After that, everything seemed to change. Last night, Grace said she didn't want to see me again because Katherine doesn't approve.'

Jared frowned. That didn't sound like Katherine, but he had never known Grace to lie. She might omit, or stretch the truth bigger than a football stadium, but not tell an outright lie.

“Will you talk to Katherine at the candlelight service tonight and see if you can get her to change her mind?” He straightened his tie. “Be sure and tell her my intentions toward her mother are honorable. I want to marry Grace.'

Honorable! Katherine deserves someone whose intentions are honorable, too.

Jared raised his brows. “Why don't you do it yourself?'

Thomas squirmed like the chair had suddenly burst into flames. “Oh, I can't do that. I promised Grace I wouldn't try and get Katherine to change her mind.'

Jared chuckled. “Isn't that what you're doing?'

Thomas grinned. “Not directly. Being an attorney, I'm sure you can appreciate the subtle difference.'

Jared nodded at his friend. “Okay, I'll do it.'

What's one more problem to solve? Jared thought. Besides, it gave him a good reason to see Katherine. He would talk to her about Thomas and Grace. Afterwards, he would tell her the whole truth about why he wouldn't make love to her last night. She would agree with him that they shouldn't take that next step. They should remain friends. He never wanted to lose her friendship or Matt's.

Thomas pumped Jared's hand up and down like he was drilling for oil. “Thanks. You can be the best man at our wedding.'

* * * *

Katherine looked in the mirror and applied a thin coat of concealer. The soft lighting of the seven o'clock candlelight service would hide some of the puffiness around her eyes. With her magic applicator wand, she rubbed a hint of sage on her eyelids to disguise the rest. The color matched her silk suit. She nervously fingered the embroidery trim outlining her jacket as she stepped into her heels.