“She needs to do the final draft.”
Faith glanced up from her work. Her eyes were wide with the joke. “Clara?”
“She had the same reaction.” Then he smiled as he leanedback. The room smelled of her. He wondered if she knew. “She’s a bright kid, Faith.”
“Sometimes uncomfortably so.”
“You’re lucky.”
“I know.” With quick skillful movements, she pushed the stuffing into place.
“Kids love you no matter what, don’t they?”
“No.” She looked at him again. “You have to earn it.” With needle and thread she began to secure the seams.
“You know, she was out on her feet, but she insisted on stopping at the tree to count the presents. She tells me she had this feeling there’s going to be one more.”
“I’m afraid she’s doomed to disappointment. Her list looked like an army requisition. I had to draw the line.” Putting down the thread, she picked up her paintbrush. “My parents already spoil her.”
“They still live in town?”
“Mmm-hmm.” She’d already gotten a sense of the doll’s personality as she’d worked with it. Now, she began to paint it on. “They mumble about Florida from time to time, but I don’t know if they’ll ever go. It’s Clara. They just adore her. You might go by and see them, Jason. You know my mother was always fond of you.”
He examined a slinky red dress no bigger than his palm. “Your father wasn’t.”
She grinned at that. “He just didn’t quite trust you.” She sent him a quick, saucy smile. “What father would have?”
“He had good reason.” As he walked toward her, he saw the doll she held. “I’ll be damned.” Charmed, he took it, holding it under the light. What had been a misshapen pile of rags was now a plump, sassy doll. Exaggerated lashes spiked out from wide eyes. Curls had been sewn back into place so that they fell teasingly over the brow. It was soft, friendlyand pretty as a picture. Even a full grown man could recognize what would make a small girl smile.
She felt a ridiculous sense of accomplishment at seeing him smile at her work. “You approve?”
“I’m impressed. How much do you sell something like this for?”
“This one’s not for sale.” Faith set it in a large box at the back of the room. “There are about a dozen little girls in town whose families can’t afford much of a Christmas. There are boys, too, of course, but Jake over at the five-and-dime and I worked a deal a few years back. On Christmas Eve, a box is left on the doorstep. The girls get a doll, the boys a truck or a ball or whatever.”
He should have known. It was so typical of her, so much what she was. “Santa lives.”
She turned to smile at him. “He does in Quiet Valley.”
It was the smile that did it. It was so open, so familiar. Jason closed the distance between them before either of them realized it.
“What about you? Do you get what you want for Christmas?”
“I have everything I need.”
“Everything?” His hands cupped her face. “Aren’t you the one who used to dream? Who always believed in wishes?”
“I’ve grown up. Jason, you should go now.”
“I don’t believe that. I don’t believe you’ve stopped dreaming, Faith. Just being with you makes me start again.”
“Jason.” She pressed her hands to his chest, knowing she had to stop what could never be finished. “You know we can’t always have what we want. You’ll leave in a few days. You can walk away and go on to a hundred other things, a hundred other places.”
“What does that have to do with right now? It’s always right now, Faith.” He drew his hands through her hair sothat pins scattered. Rich warm sable tumbled over his fingers. He’d always loved the feel of it, the smell of it. “You’re the only one,” he murmured. “You’ve always been the only one.”
She closed her eyes before he could draw her close. “You’ll go. I have to stay here. Once before I stood and watched you walk away. I don’t think I can bear it if I let you in again. Can’t you understand?”
“I don’t know. I know I understand I want you so much more now than I ever did. I’m not sure you can keep me out, Faith.” But he backed away, for both of them. “Not for long anyway. You said before I didn’t have a right to all the answers. Maybe that’s true. But I need one.”
