“Jack Wellman,” he answered, reaching out and shaking Matt’s hand, before they started making their way along the path toward the inn.
Peeking over his shoulder, Jack grinned as Nick followed Emma into the cabin.
“Hey, Jack, since you’re a friend of Emma’s, what are you doing for dinner tonight?” Matt asked, as they made their way into the parking lot. “I’m on my way to dinner with Mom and Dad, and you’re welcome to come along.”
“Sure. I’d like that,” Jack answered.
“Maybe you want to come out with me for a couple of beers afterwards?”
“That would be great. It wouldn’t hurt for me to get to know some people here in town since I’ll be working with Nick here in town.”
“Where’s that going to be?” Matt asked, unlocking his truck remotely.
“Northwest Property Management,” Jack answered, opening the passenger door after hearing the beep.
“Well, hell. You must know Rand? He’s an old buddy of mine,” Matt murmured, stepping behind into the truck behind the wheel.
“He and Nick are my best friends,” Jack answered as Matt revved up the engine, backing out from the parking space.
“I’m a crew boss at Callahan Construction. We worked on your building,” Matt observed. “I take it you’re living in one of the apartments we just finished up?”
“I am,” Jack said. “Nick and I were really impressed.”
“Good to hear. I love the place myself,” Matt confessed, grinning.
* * *
He’d really enjoyed himself tonight, Jack had to admit. If Nick ended up getting together with Emma, Jack had a feeling he’d be spending a lot of nights alone if he didn’t make an effort to find friends.
Plus, it was good for business to be out and about. Even though Nick had never for a moment considered it business, he’d made a great impression today as Santa, which was a step in the right direction when it came to acquiring real estate contacts. Even if people weren’t actually interested in buying a home, they would be sure to recommend the company to friends.
Matt had a couple younger sisters, one who seemed to have developed a crush on Jack pretty quickly. He had no idea why, but Matt had told him at the bar that both of his high school age sisters considered him hot, and the thought had scared him shitless, even though he didn’t have a problem discouraging women his own age.
Matt had laughed, giving him a pat on the back later at the bar. “Don’t worry, they do it all the time. They’re at that age.”
Jack had grimaced, slugging down more of his beer before being introducing to several of Matt’s friends. There were all about the same age, although many of the guys had different interests.
And wives and girlfriends had been included, Jack was surprise to realize. Most of the guys were out with their significant other.
Matt seemed to know what he was thinking before he said it. “It’s kind of a long-standing tradition with those of us who are friends here in town. At least once a month, we all pitch in a few bucks to send all the kids to the local rec center with a couple sitters so we can all get together for a few hours. There’s always one or two of us delegated as a designated driver. Our boss, Mike Callahan and his wife came up with the idea of the rec center ten years ago and donated a huge amount of time and money to have it built.”
“That’s nice,” Jack murmured.
Matt cleared his throat, staring at his beer bottle intently. “Can I ask you a question?”
Jack shrugged. “Sure.”
“This friend of yours – did you say Nick was his name?”
Ah, Jack realized, the guy was still in love with Emma. “He’ll be good for her Matt. I promise his intentions are honorable.”
Matt sighed deeply, giving Jack a wry smile. “That’s good to hear, although at the same time it’s not.”
“You’re still in love with her?”
“I am. But then again, so is just about every guy in town. I was really hoping it would work out between the two of us.”
Jack nodded, becoming thoughtful. “I liked Emma right away and knew from the moment we met that she and Nick were right for each other. It’s crazy, I know. But deep down, Nick is pretty vulnerable, but he’s also trusting and one of the most decent persons I’ve ever known.”
“Kind of like Emma?”
“Exactly like Emma.”
“Good,” Matt answered, raising his beer. “Cheers.”
Tapping his bottle against Matt’s, Jack slugged down his beer as well.
Chapter Fourteen
When Jack arrived back to his apartment a few hours later, he started to realize just how lonely he actually was.
Nick still hadn’t returned home, and now there was snow in the forecast for later that night, so Jack would just lay on the couch with the television and wait to see if he made it home anytime soon. If not, he supposed he’d better give Nick a call. Nick wasn’t exactly a great driver, even in the best of conditions, and Jack figured he’d be distracted tonight, with his relationship developing with Emma.
Just for the heck of it, Jack opened his laptop after turning on the TV and settling on the couch. He might as well visit the dealership next week after Christmas and pick up the vehicle Rand had arranged for him to drive. Nick would have to drive him to the neighboring town of Rice Lake, but it supposedly it was only about a forty-minute drive.
Well what do you know, Jack thought, seeing an email had arrived from Janelle.
Apparently, she’d spent a few days in Germany before she’d left for her mission,
