C.J. Carmichael - Big Sky Christmas

“Tell me. Do you think Jackson’s doing okay?” Winnie had her eyes on him as she asked this. While he was listening to Corb talk, he was watching Bobby. What was he was thinking? She’d noticed how moved he’d been when he’d met her son earlier. Was it the likeness to Brock that got to him?

Laurel sighed. “Corb’s worried about him. We hoped moving to Silver Creek Ranch and working for Maddie Turner might help. But he seems as withdrawn and sad as ever.”

“Did you see how choked up he got when he met Bobby?”

“Yes. But so was Corb. And Olive can’t take her eyes off him, either.”

“I’m a little worried that people are going to expect Bobby to be exactly like his father as he grows up.”

Laurel nodded thoughtfully. “I see what you mean. I hate to say it, but maybe you’re right to keep a little distance between your son and Coffee Creek Ranch.”

And by Coffee Creek Ranch, they both knew she meant Olive.

* * *

WHEN THE EVENING was over, Jackson volunteered to load Bobby’s gifts into Winnie’s car. He wasn’t looking for opportunities to be alone with Winnie, but Laurel and Corb had left five minutes earlier when Stephanie started fussing for her nighttime bottle. And he couldn’t leave Winnie to manage alone.

The babies had managed to make quite a mess and it took him a couple of trips to get everything in the trunk. By then Olive had said her farewells and Winnie had her son strapped into his seat. By the angle of Bobby’s head, Jackson suspected the little guy was already asleep.

Winnie was wearing a red coat that looked great with her dark, wavy hair. The night was clear, the air cold and crisp. Already the tip of Winnie’s nose was turning pink.

She waited until he’d emptied the last of the packages, then closed the trunk. “What a lot of loot. And it’s still six weeks until Christmas.”

“She’ll spoil him then, too,” Jackson predicted.

“God, I hope not. I don’t think I have enough room for all of this, let alone more.”

“Maybe I should build in a storage unit in the new bedroom?”

“What an awesome idea.”

He went to open the driver’s-side door for her, but she didn’t get in. Instead she surprised him by placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m glad you were at the dinner tonight. I wasn’t sure you would be.”

“I didn’t want to be,” he admitted. “Corb pretty much twisted my arm.”

“Was it because of Olive that you didn’t want to come? Or me?”

“A little of both.”

“Ouch. Brutally honest, aren’t you?”

“I didn’t say that to hurt your feelings.”

“Oh. So it was a compliment, then?”

“Damn it, Winnie. It’s complicated.” She couldn’t know how hard this was for him. If only he could see her the way he saw Laurel, Cassidy or even B.J.’s new wife, Savannah. They were all beautiful women, too.

But only Winnie set his blood on fire.

And it was so, so wrong. It had been wrong when Brock was alive. And it was just as wrong now that he was gone.

“I’ll come by the café tomorrow afternoon to start work on the new bedroom.”

“Are you sure? If seeing me is such a chore, maybe I should hire someone else to do the work.”

“Hire? I wasn’t asking you to pay me.” He sighed. Somehow this conversation had gone completely sideways. “Brock would want me to do this. For the baby. For you. So please let me build you the extra bedroom, Win.”

She looked at him as if there was something missing, something she wanted but couldn’t find.

He was relieved when she finally turned away.

“Okay, Jackson. I won’t say no. You can start the work whenever you want. And I promise to stay out of your way.”

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