Never Say Never by Tina Leonard Page A

Dustin’s only concession to the weather was a pair of leather work gloves and a tan coat with a lamb’s wool collar. The ice had melted, but Jill couldn’t help thinking she was much happier to be inside where it was warm.
    Holly began squirming and Jill tore her gaze away from where Dustin had gone. “Ready, now, are you?”
    The baby opened her mouth for a pitiful yell. Jill chuckled and pulled the bottle out to test on her arm. Deciding it was fine, she stepped across the hall, talking to the baby as she walked into the parlor. “Can’t you do better than that? Mr. Dustin makes more noise about his supper than you do.”
    It was the truth, but Jill said it teasingly before she realized both Dustin and Eunice were standing outside of the parlor, staring at her.
    “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you’d come in,” Jill hurried to say. Holly let out an earnest shriek for her meal. Dustin’s eyes were dark and deep as he looked at Jill without saying a word. Embarrassed, she quickly sat across from where Joey was working and put the bottle to the baby’s lips. Holly quieted instantly, but Jill’s insides were chaotic. Whatever had possessed her to say such a thing, innocent though it might have been?
    “It’s pretty, isn’t it, Jill?” Joey asked, pointing to the tree.
    “You’re doing a great job,” she replied. Joey had carefully hung all the ornaments, though the silver balls were all together on one side and the gold were bunched together on the other side of the tree. Pride in his accomplishment glowed from Joey’s face and Jill smiled at him, trying not to let her worry show. Her ears were trained in Dustin’s direction, but he and Eunice were speaking so softly she couldn’t tell if they were just exchanging good mornings or whether he was concerned about something. Jill could only hope her off-the-cuff comment to baby Holly wasn’t going to stir up any discomfort between them. They’d only just gotten to the point where Jill was starting to think they might marginally relax around each other.
    “Joey,” she said quietly, “if you open that brown paper bag that’s sitting beside the box the tree came in, you’ll find a bunch of tiny candy canes. You can take them out of the wrapping and hang those next.”
    “Oh, boy!” he said, scurrying to locate the bag. Jill snuggled Holly more securely into her arms, telling herself not to worry. The baby seemed to like this adjustment, so Jill leaned back against the antique, curved-back sofa, forcing herself to quit trying to eavesdrop and pay attention to the bonding moment between her and Joey.
    But she had no sooner allowed the tension to flow out than Dustin seated himself next to her. Instantly, she tried to sit up straight, but he shook his head.
    “At ease.” His voice was gruff.
    Jill lowered her lashes to stare at the floral-patterned carpet. The man wasn’t so obtuse that he didn’t notice how uncomfortable she was. A little warmth stole inside her stomach as she wondered what he was going to say to her.
    But he seemed content to watch Joey slowly unwrap each candy cane, then situate it on a plastic tree bough. “Are you having fun, Joey?” he asked.
    “Yep,” the child answered, too engrossed in his work to pay attention to his father.
    Dustin shot him a wry look, then glanced over at the baby. Holly still held the nipple in her mouth, but it was more of a lazy, relaxed pulling than a frantic suckling to fill her stomach. Jill looked up to find Dustin’s gaze on her now, and a strange feeling shot through her.
    “I hope you didn’t mind my joke,” she said softly.
    “Hm. I’m not sure if I did.”
    Jill didn’t know what to make of this. She couldn’t decide if she was on the hot seat or not. “I was just making conversation with the baby. I wasn’t serious when I said…”
    “That I make a lot of noise about my supper?”
    She wished the sofa could fly and whisk her away from this awkward moment. “I don’t want