“Did you forget about that?” he asked.
She honestly had. Suddenly, her memory was cast back to summers down at the lake. Ransom would always carry his boom box down with Jensen, and the two of them would dance and try to impress girls. As far as Willow was concerned, her brother looked ridiculous. But Jensen could really move.
The memory of how handsome he’d been in his tux, heading out to dance with some other girl on prom night hit her again, and she felt her cheeks heat.
“Oh, youdoremember,” he teased, pulling her in.
She laughed again, and Henry clung to her as Jensen held them close to his chest, moving them to the musicwith a sure confidence that made her melt as much now as it had back at the lake.
And through all the laughter and dancing and breakfast-making, Willow couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like if all of this was somehow her life.
Could every day really be like this?
19
JENSEN
Jensen stood on his own front porch that evening, shovel in hand, looking out at the snowy fields around the house.
The storm was finally letting up, and while snow was definitely still falling, it was coming down gently now, lacy flakes floating down, instead of the relentless onslaught that had been slanting past the windows all day.
Maybe we’ll be dug out by Christmas,Jensen told himself.
If he didn’t have plans to talk to Ransom, it probably wouldn’t have mattered to him so much that he’d try to dig them out before the snow had even finished falling.
As it was, he’d been out here for almost two hours and he’d barely been able to clear a narrow path to his truck and Willow’s car, sweep the snow off them, and shovel enough of the driveway for them to get out.
At least this way when the plow finally came through, he’d only have to clean the snow that had fallen startingnow. He leaned the shovel against the porch railing, then took one last look over the snowy countryside before turning back to the house. Warm light glowed in the living room windows as the Christmas tree twinkled festively.
He’d stuck his head in earlier to check on Henry, but he and Willow were doing just fine. She had made them a nest under the tree with couch cushions and blankets, and she had been reading picture books with him in there basically since he got up from his afternoon nap.
Thankfully, the cough seemed to have let up almost completely. Henry was still a little low energy, but mostly he was happy. And Jensen could hardly blame him. How could anyone be unhappy when they had Willow’s undivided attention?
He kicked the snow off his boots and slipped in the front door. The whole house smelled incredible, the scent of the tree mixing with the chicken soup they had started in the slow cooker earlier. He left his boots on the mat and hung his coat up on one of the hooks.
Once he was back in the warmth of the house, Jensen realized he was probably a mess. In spite of the cold weather, he’d worked up a real sweat moving all that snow, and he was pretty sure his hair was plastered to his head and he probably smelled awful.
“Hi,” Willow said softly from the nest by the Christmas tree as he entered the room.
The soft lights made her cheeks glow, and the sweet expression on her face told him she didn’t think he looked terrible at all.
“Are you two okay if I take a quick shower?” he asked.
“Of course,” she told him, waving him on. “Take your time. We’re having fun.”
He nodded to her and jogged up the stairs, forcing himself to stop thinking about going straight back down to kiss her.
We have to talk to her brother.
He showered as quickly as he could, then pulled on a fresh pair of jeans and a flannel, again resisting the urge to dress in a way Willow might like.
It’s not a date. We’re snowed in.
On his way back downstairs, he heard Henry laughing.
“Oh,no,” Willow wailed in mock dismay. “Myhouse.”
“What’s going on down here?” Jensen asked, stepping back into the living room to see that the two of them were now playing with wooden blocks.
