One Snowy Night Before Christmas by Pamela Fryer Page B

stepped past her, inviting himself in. “You took the key
out of the flower pot.”
    “Of course I did.” She couldn’t believe he’d looked. Had he been
planning to let himself in?
    “I…um,” he stepped inside and glanced around. When he turned
back to her, the forlorn expression in his brow made her heart skip a beat. “I
made a huge mistake, Jessie.”
    She stayed where she was, the front door wide open, crisp
cold swirling around her legs.
    “I broke it off with Elaine.”
    “Oh my God, Mike, why?” Jessie said instead of the smart
remark hovering on the tip of her tongue. Mike looked so woeful she felt a
twinge of pity for him.
    “I realized my first mistake was breaking it off with you.
You were just so adamant about Christmas it got me scared, when what had me
freaked out was really marriage. I wasn’t ready then, but I’m ready now. Just
not with Elaine…”
    She stared at him, unable to believe what she was hearing. Her
anger ratcheted up, notch by notch, landing at level red.
    “…with you.” He stepped closer, reaching out to slip his
hands around her waist in that way he used to do that made her feel delicate
and girly.
    “Don’t.” She held up her hands.  “No.”
    He stopped, the realization he’d made a mistake clear on his
face. Did he think he could just waltz back into her life and step back into
place exactly where he left off?
    “Can we just talk about this? Come inside and close the
door, please.”
    “No,” she repeated, still too stunned to say more. Too
stunned to even think more.
    “Everything all right, Jessie?” Tom appeared at the foot of
the stairs.
    Mike whirled around. “He’s still here?”
    “Yes, Tom is still here.”
    Tom’s gaze flicked from Mike to her and back again. “I’m
leaving tonight,” he said. He turned and went to the kitchen counter where the
phone was kept. Jessie had seen him drop the rental car agency’s business card
there earlier.
    “Mike…” She hesitated as he turned to face her. “You can
still patch things up with Elaine if you go right now.”
    He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “I don’t want to be
with her. I want you, Jessie.”
    She swallowed, mortified. “Please, don’t do this.” She
wasn’t foolish enough to think he’d suddenly, magically fallen back in love
with her. This was just Mike getting cold feet again .
    With a final glance back over his shoulder at Tom, who stood
with his back to them, Mike stepped through the front door. She followed him
out onto the landing, pulling the door mostly closed.
    “Jessie…”
    “Go, now. Fix this with her now, before you lose your
chance.”
    He hesitated and opened his mouth, but she didn’t let him
speak.
    “Good luck, Mike,” she said quickly, and slipped back
inside.
    Tom turned around at the sound of the door closing and
watched her cross the room toward him. His eyes were knowing, searching. She
stood beside him at the kitchen counter.
    “Uh, hello. My car broke down in Welcome and I need a rental
to get home in time for Christmas. McPherson’s Auto Repair told me you might
have available cars.”
    Jessie heard a voice buzzing through the other end of the
line.
    “Okay, that would be fine. Can you deliver?”
    “Don’t go,” Jessie said. Her heart was beating so fast the
words were a mere breath.
    Tom’s eyes went wide. She’d surprised him. Hell, she’d
surprised herself.
    “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
    He jerked the phone back to his ear. “Can I call back
tomorrow? Thank you.”
    He hung up the phone and touched her forearm. “Are you
okay?”
    “I will be.” She mustered a smile. “After you cook me
dinner.”
    A long moment passed in which neither of them spoke.
    “You heard that,” Jessie finally said.
    “Most of it.” He shrugged, more of a cringe, as though he
knew he’d been caught doing something wrong. “It was hard for you, I know.”
    She glanced away. It hadn’t been, actually. Maybe it was
because Tom was