See Jane Fall (38 page)

Erik twisted his neck around to get a better
look at his daughter’s face. “Heidi.”

“Heya, Heidi,” Lars whispered, touching her
tiny hand. “You did good, little brother.”

Erik raised his eyes, not about to be
distracted by pleasantries. “So…
Jane,
huh? I just about fell
over when I heard you were bringing a girl.”

“She’s not a girl, not like one of the park
girls.”

Jenny glanced over at Kat and Jane flanking
Paul on the picnic bench, and she rolled her eyes at her brothers.
“Please, no stories about park girls today. I highly doubt Kat and
Jane would appreciate hearing about your wildcatting days,
boys.”

Sam winked at Lars from over Jenny’s
shoulder, grinning. “Someday you two are going to have to tell
me
all about it, though.”

“Sam Kelley, do not encourage them.”

Sam pressed his lips to Jenny’s neck. “Leave
’em alone, woman.”

“So…” Erik prompted, rolling his eyes at his
sister and shaking his head in disgust. Erik had lived in close
proximity to Jenny and Sam for a while after they were first
married, and told Lars many tales of Jenny and Sam not being able
to keep their hands off each other. While Erik found this
incredibly gross, Lars, who was more laid back, just sort of
shrugged.
Good for Jenny-girl. That’s what marriage should be
like. That’s what I’d want mine to be like.
He glanced up at
Jane again then shrugged off his premature thoughts.

“So what? She came in last weekend with a
magazine crew. Assistant to Samara Amaya, who also happens to be
her cousin.”

Jenny raised her eyebrows, impressed.
“
The
Samara Amaya….is
your
Jane’s cousin.”

“Yup. Anyway, me and Jane hit it off from
the start. Her cousin’s a total bi—” He looked at Jenny and for a
moment it was like looking at his mother. He chose a different
word. “Well, she’s a rhymes-with-stitch, and Jane quit her job
yesterday. So…”

Sam interjected. “Jane quit her job?”

Lars nodded. “Yeah. I haven’t asked her yet,
but I want—I want her to stay.”

Erik’s mouth dropped open. “Seems kind of
quick.”

Lars’s eyes connected with Jenny’s and she
tilted her head the way all the Lindstroms did, covering one of
Sam’s hands with one of hers and smiling gently at Lars because she
understood, because she knew.

“Shut up, Erik,” she said, tender eyes only
for Lars. “It happens when it happens. The rest is out of your
hands. You know that.”

Jane and Kat had moved to the white-painted
porch and Jane was holding baby Dagmar on the swing, chatting with
Kat, who sat on her left, with Maggie on her right. Lars watched as
she leaned down and brushed her lips on the sleeping baby’s
forehead then turned to Kat, smiling at something she said. It was
as though she’d been part of his life, his family, forever. She fit
in every bit as well as he’d hoped she would, and his longing for
her to stay doubled, tripled, multiplied to such a degree, he
started to wonder—in a very real way—how he would handle his
disappointment if she wouldn’t stay, and how in the world he’d ever
get over her.

“It happened, Jen,” he whispered, his
yearning heart full of love, laced with worry. “It already
happened.”

***

“She’s going to be hungry in a little bit.
You don’t mind holding her a little longer, Jane?” asked Kat, who
wanted to go inside to warm up a couple of bottles.

“Not at all!” sighed Jane, who was finding
she loved the warm weight of the baby in her arms, which sort of
surprised her, since she’d spent almost no time around children in
her life. Actually, it was probably being surrounded by a
family—people of all ages from Mr. Lindstrom to baby Dagmar—that
felt so poignant, so inclusive, so good.

Kat winked at Jane and Maggie then headed
inside, followed swiftly by Erik, who—in Jane’s opinion—handed
Heidi off to his father rather quickly and suddenly to join his
wife.

As the screen door clanked shut behind Erik,
Jane turned to Maggie and grinned. “Well,” said Maggie, laughter in
her voice and wide green eyes merry. “I guess we can figure out
what’s goin’ on in there!”

“Probably the same thing that was going on
at Nils’s place all weekend,” said Jane, peeking up at her friend
with a sassy smile.

“Och! You’re so fresh, Janie!”

“Am I right or am I right?”

“Can you keep a secret?” asked Maggie, eyes
dancing.

“Yes! Of course!”

She forgot she was holding the baby for a
moment and lurched closer to Maggie. Dagmar shifted in her sleep,
one eye fluttering open as Jane held her breath. Thankfully, she
settled back into sleep.

“Of course!” Jane whispered.

“Well, so can I,” answered Maggie with a
chuckle.

Jane looked over at Nils, who sat beside his
father on the picnic bench, across from Lars and Paul. Jenny and
Sam hovered by the edge of the table, all of them laughing at
something Mr. Lindstrom had just shared. Lars was taller and
blonder than Nils, a little less stocky and more athletic. He
looked up at her suddenly, his face brightening just for her, his
smile changing just slightly from familial to sexy, as he bit his
bottom lip. Jane’s heart fluttered as she turned back to
Maggie.

“Looks like I wasn’t the only one.” Maggie
grinned at her teasingly, but her voice was serious and warm when
she continued. “He looks happy. So do you.”

“It’s still new,” said Jane quietly.

“All of that business with your cousin?”

“He refused her.”

“Did he, now?”

“He did.”

Dagmar shifted slightly in her arms, and
Jane transferred the baby to her shoulder, briefly wondering how
much time she had before the baby started wailing for her bottle.
She rubbed the infant’s back instinctively, hoping to give Kat and
Erik a few more minutes together.

“Your Aunt Lily…” started Jane, and then
thought better of her question. She’d only known Lars for a week.
He wasn’t going to ask her to stay in Gardiner. That would be
crazy. Staying would be crazy too, even if he asked. You didn’t
meet someone and fall in love with them and decide to stay with
them over the course of a week, did you? Of course not. Crazy.

“Mmmm?”

“I’ve been thinking about her.”

“What’ve you been thinkin’, then?”

“That she was very brave. But she moved here
for an adventure.”

“Not a man,” said Maggie perceptively.

Jane turned to look at her. “Would it be
crazy?”

Maggie shrugged. “Sometimes you have to take
a chance on crazy. Maybe crazy could be the best decision you ever
made. Maybe crazy would change the course of your life.”

“Like your Aunt Lily coming here,” said
Jane.

“Aye. And me too. You’d be surprised, Jane,
by the decisions I’ve made.”

“Like what?”

Maggie glanced at Nils again, then sighed
and shook her head. “We’re talkin’ about you.”

“It should be impossible for me to care
about him this much in such a short amount of time.”

“Bollocks,” said Maggie. “Nothin’ is
impossible when it comes to love.”

They both looked over at the Lindstroms as
they broke into another round of laughter.

“Do you know how Jenny met Sam?” asked
Maggie.

Jane shook her head no.

“They met and fell in love over a long
weekend. But Sam was from Chicago and Jenny from here. Worlds
apart. They tried to stay away from each other. They couldn’t.”

“Couldn’t?”

“They were meant to be, Jane. Once you know
it, it’s no good to fight it.” Maggie looked over at Nils again.
“Not if you belong to someone. Not if you’re sure.”

“Why won’t you tell me about you and Nils?”
Jane asked, as Dagmar finally let out a howl for her bottle.

“That’s a story for another time. Och,
Janie, it’s a book all in itself. And nothin’ close to what I was
expectin’.”

Kat suddenly appeared at the screen door,
hair mussed and cheeks flushed, Erik close behind holding two
bottles and looking very satisfied. Jane stood up, handing the baby
to her mother amidst a flurry of embarrassed thanks. Jane watched
Erik peck his wife on the cheek with a knowing smile before heading
down the stairs to give his father the other bottle.

Babies sleeping and howling, siblings
laughing, friends and family on a swing or around a picnic table.
Everything about the Lindstroms’ version of family was foreign to
Jane, and everything about it felt more right, more perfect, than
anything else she’d ever known. Crazy was sounding better and
better.

***

Maggie had agreed to loan Jane a dress for
the christening, so she left with Maggie after lunch, and Lars
promised to pick her up in half an hour.

“Stay and visit with your family,” she
encouraged him, her heart leaping as he stared into her eyes with
hunger.

“No chance, Minx. Thirty minutes.”

A shiver had run down her spine with the
unspoken promise in his words and as she exited the Prairie Dawn
half an hour later with a dress draped over her arm, all coherent
thoughts dissolved into a pool of lust. Leaning against his truck
in cowboy boots, jeans, a t-shirt and cowboy hat, Jane couldn’t
have conjured a more perfect-looking man with witchcraft. And just
looking at him made every sensible thought she ever had in her
entire life fly out the proverbial window. He flicked the brim of
his hat and grinned at her.

“Ma’am.”

“Who? Me?”

“Ain’t nobody else here.” He looked her up
and down lazily before meeting her eyes again. “And weeeell, I’m
new to this here town. I was hoping to meet someone who could…show
me around.”

Jane widened her eyes innocently then batted
her lashes, pressing her free palm to her chest.

“I’m not sure I can help you, Mister. I’m
new here myself.”

“Aw. I bet your husband wouldn’t like it
anyhow, you takin’ up with a newcomer like me.”

She held up her hand, wiggling her fingers.
“Oh, no! I’m not married.”

“My lucky day!”

“Maybe I have a boyfriend.”

“Well, then he’s a fool to let you out of
his sight.”

“Huh! You think I’m the type of gal who’d
ride off into the sunset with any old cowboy who caught my eye?”
She tilted her head to the side, biting her index finger gently
between her front teeth.

He missed a beat in the conversation
distracted by her finger in her mouth. As he licked his lips, she
saw his pupils dilate a little.

“Caught your eye, huh?”

“Could be.”

“I’m not any old cowboy.”

“Is that right?”

He stepped forward, putting his hands on her
hips and leaning down to position his lips on the sensitive skin
behind her ear. His warm breath made her eyes close and her knees
turn to jelly. He nipped the soft pillow of her earlobe and she
shuddered before he whispered low, “That’s right.”

After a second, she realized that he had
leaned back and she was standing there like a dope with her eyes
closed. She opened them to his grinning face.

“So, what’re you up to now?” he drawled,
darkened eyes still managing a twinkle.

“Haven’t got a plan right this minute,
Cowboy. You got any ideas?”

She flicked her glance to right below his
waist, then back up to his eyes, a smile playing on the edges of
her upturned lips.

“Oh,” he answered, his voice low and sexy,
“I’ve got one. Pretty big one.”

“Maybe you can…
fill me in
at my
motel?”

“Damn, Jane,” he said, grinning, as he
opened her door and helped her into the truck.
“Just…
damn
.”

***

An hour later they lay tangled together in
Jane’s bed, the late-afternoon sun casting her motel room in a
warm, honey glow. For Lars, who had never been in love, he could
barely remember what his life had looked like before Jane had
walked into it a week ago. More, he couldn’t bear to think about
what it would look like without her in it.

“You going back for dinner?” Jane
murmured.

“Promised I would. Come with me?”

Jane’s cheek rested on the soft blond hair
of his chest, and he felt her take a deep breath before shaking her
head back and forth on his chest.

“I’ll be there tomorrow. You should have
some time with them on your own. Without me. Anyway, I think I’ll
go to Sara’s. I need to start packing her up for Monday.”

“
Sara’s
? You don’t work for her
anymore.”

“I wish it were that simple,” Jane
sighed.

“It’s pretty simple, Jane. You quit.”

“Yes, but, I can’t just—I mean, I can’t
not
pack her up.”

“Why not? Last I checked, she’s an adult.”
His words didn’t sound casual because he couldn’t keep the edge out
of his voice.

“She’s also my family. I can soften the blow
of quitting by helping her pack up.”

“Well, I hope you don’t expect her to thank
you for it.”

“Hey,” she leaned up on his chest, looking
in his eyes. “What’s your stake in this?”

“My
stake
?”

“Yeah. You’re giving me a hard time. I mean,
why do you care if I pack up Sara or not?”

“I care about
you
. I don’t like
seeing you pushed around.”

“Which is why it’s smarter for me to do it
today while she’s gone.”

“Which is why it would be smarter for you
not to do it at all.”

“Okaaaay. Coming on a little strong here,
Lars.”

“Strong? She treats you terrible, but you’re
going back to—”

“I never said I was going back. I’m just
packing her up.”

“You say
packing her up
…but, it’s
like a gateway drug—”

“A
gateway
dr—”

“—next thing you’ll be getting her water.
After that she’ll get you to go to the airport with her, and
suddenly you’ll be sitting next to her on the plane, writing her
e-mails and taking her calls and—”