Meet Me Under the Mistletoe Read Free Page A

tossed it to him. “Need help putting that on? No offense, but you seem a little feeble there, buddy.”
    “I’ll manage. You two go on, and I’ll be there in a second.” His right shoulder felt like it had a knife lodged in there. Jake ground his teeth in a concerted effort not to reveal his pain as he shrugged into the jacket.
    “We’ll get the car all warm and toasty for you. See you in a minute.” Dylan saluted and followed Julia outside.
    Jake grabbed his thermal gloves and stepped onto the front porch, closing the door behind him.
    “Still don’t lock your door, I see.”
    The woman’s voice—coming from the far corner of the porch—immobilized him. Nicole . Her timing was unfortunate as ever, and her tone didn’t sound the least bit nervous or apologetic considering the way she’d left him without so much as a personal good-bye. A few of the Christmas bulbs had gone out since Dylan and Julia’s arrival, leaving his former girlfriend in the shadows. Narrowing the distance between them, she stepped so close he caught a whiff of her familiar scent and felt the warmth radiating from her.
    Jake turned, the muscles in his jaws flexing. He forced a calm into his voice he didn’t feel. “Hey, Nicole. What brings you back to Starlight?”
    “You.” Her eyes focused on him. “Merry Christmas, Jake.”
     
     
     
     

3
     
    Thirty minutes later, Julia shifted from one foot to the other as she waited outside Regency Hall. Burrowing her chin in the turtleneck, she stretched the fabric over her mouth and nose and then hugged her arms across her mid-section. Even for early December, the temperatures felt uncommonly cold tonight.
    “Aunt Julia!”
    She glanced up at the fire engine where her curly-haired, oldest nephew—the spitting image of Dylan at age seven—waved to her from the jump seat. His gap-toothed, infectious grin never failed to warm her heart.
    Jake clamped a big hand on Tyler’s shoulder, and Julia’s pulse hopscotched as he beckoned to her. “Come on up for the abbreviated tour. It’s balmy inside.”
    She smiled as she lowered the turtleneck. “OK, but only for a minute.” Accepting Jake’s hand, Julia hopped onto the steps and climbed aboard.
    “Watch this, Aunt Julia. It’s awesome.”
    Jake pulled on a full face mask and demonstrated how his voice sounded while wearing the apparatus. As Tyler asked him a few questions, Julia heard the door of Regency Hall open and glimpsed a small group of parents and children gathering by the door. Quickly removing the mask, Jake grinned. “That was a private performance for Tyler’s benefit,” he said. “It can frighten the girls.”
    “Scaredy cats,” Tyler mumbled, rolling his eyes.
    “Remember, girls grow up to be firefighters, too, Ty.” When Jake’s smile grew wider, it revealed a small dimple in his right cheek, adding to his growing appeal. “At least your Aunt Julia didn’t run away screaming.”
    “That’s ‘cause she’s a nurse. She’s brave, too, like you and Dad.”
    “You’re right,” Jake said. “It takes a very special person to be a nurse.”
    Hearing the excited voices of children approaching the engine, Julia scrambled down to the sidewalk. For the next few minutes, she exchanged small talk with one of the mothers and half listened as Jake explained firefighter basics. She smiled as the children—two girls and three boys—took turns sitting behind the wheel in Sergeant Sinclair’s seat as they pretended to steer the truck. Julia loved the pride on Tyler’s face at the mention of Dylan’s name, and she laughed when they made siren noises, none louder than Captain Marston.
    “What kind of gas mileage do you get with this engine?” one of the dads called to Jake.
    “Only about four miles to the gallon, but this baby packs a tank that holds more than five hundred gallons of water.” Humor infused Jake’s voice as he patted the side of the red engine. “Plus, Betsy can fly like the wind when called