Never Say Never by Tina Leonard

thinking about how pushy her words sounded. If Dustin didn’t want decorations scattered around, it wasn’t any of her business. She couldn’t blame him for not wanting to celebrate a season that wouldn’t include his wife. Her gaze fell and she wished she could take her words back.
    Dustin stared at her. After a moment he laid down the cake knife, obviously deep in thought. Clearing his throat, he finally said, “If you want to put up a Christmas tree, go ahead. I’m sure you’ll understand that my enthusiasm is about nil for the holidays, but I’m not such a jerk that I can’t see how excited Joey is about Christmas.”
    Jill reached out to put a tentative hand on Dustin’s forearm. Once again, warmth spread through her, but she forced away the thought that she might be attracted to Dustin. She simply wasn’t ready for it—nor for the possibility of rejection. “You’re sure you don’t mind?”
    They stood there like that for a minute, her hand on him and Dustin gazing into her eyes. He seemed to be thinking about something other than her question as he looked down at her.
    Then he said, “If I minded, I would have said so.” The moment broken, Jill turned away, feeling a bit shaky. “Great,” she murmured. He didn’t reply, so Jill slowly turned her back and walked away from where he was standing to poke her head out into the hall. “Eunice! Joey! Time for cake!”
    Joey’s whoop was audible in the kitchen. Jill turned back to the table, only to find Dustin standing still, staring at her intently. The child came speeding into the kitchen, launching himself into his place at the table and only barely remembering to wait until everyone could be seated before he dug into the dessert. Dustin’s gaze roved from Jill to Joey, where it lingered just a moment, then he sat down next to the child.
    Jill seated herself next to Eunice and picked up a fork to eat, wondering what she’d said to put that enigmatic expression on the handsome rancher’s face. And did it bode bad or good for her?
     
     
    Jill was pleased with the Christmas tree she’d purchased late last night. After she’d put Joey to bed and made certain Holly had her last bottle, she asked Eunice’s permission to run into town to shop. Joey had been thrilled to discover the tree, which Jill had placed on the coffee table in the parlor, just where his little hands could reach to place the tiny ornaments she’d bought. The tree itself was green and a bit shaggy with its plastic branches, but at about eighteen inches tall, just right for a child.
    Now he was carefully pulling the cheap silver and gold plastic balls from their box, and laboriously placing hangers on them. Jill smiled, and realizing the boy would be busy for a while, decided to go upstairs and check on Holly.
    The baby was just starting to stir. Jill picked her up, wrapping her pink blanket tightly around the infant as she held her to her breast for warmth. Holly smacked her tiny Cupid’s-bow-shaped lips and seemed to think about opening her eyes before apparently deciding that she was comfortable laying her head on Jill for the moment.
    “Sweet baby,” Jill murmured. “Are you going to give me enough time to warm your bottle before you start yelling this time? I’ll feed you in the parlor and you can watch Joey decorate our tree. It’s going to be beautiful, though you might not mention that to Mr. Dustin since he doesn’t seem to think too highly of them right now.”
    Holly stayed quiet as Jill walked down the stairs with her. Quickly peeping in to see that Joey was still industriously inserting hangers in the ornaments, she went on to the kitchen and pulled a pan out to fill with water. Through the window, she could see Dustin walking along the fence where the cattle were.
    Dustin’s tall physique moved with laconic grace as he walked toward the house, studying his cattle. It was cold outside, as Texas was having one of its coldest winters in recent times, but