Christmas Nights(25)

Janie nodded quickly. “He’s fine. He dislocated his shoulder, nothing more. Travis was going to check with Darren and let me know any updates.” She paused, trying to gauge how her mother was doing. The blank expression had disappeared. For that, Janie was profoundly relieved. Each time Randy had tried to weasel his way back into her mother’s life, she’d watched and worried. She’d never doubted her mother didn’t want Randy to return and, in fact, resisted it with all of her might. Yet, she knew what he’d been able to do once upon a time—wear her down and strip her defenses away, along with her joy and vitality. The intellectual knowledge of the facts at hand—that Randy had assaulted a police officer with multiple witnesses present—didn’t allay her initial worry for how it might affect her mother to learn Randy had once again made his way back to Diamond Creek.

Her mother squeezed Janie’s hand firmly. “I’m okay, hon. I was shocked at first because, well, he’s been gone for so long.” She paused for a sip of coffee. “I wish I could say it surprised me he managed to get arrested again, but it doesn’t. Do you know who the woman was?”

Janie shook her head. “No. I was wondering myself. I’m sure Travis can find out.”

Leslie shook her head. “No need. I’ll probably pay a visit to Darren myself.”

The anxiety churning in Janie’s gut eased. The shock of the news had passed, and her mother only seemed stronger. “Okay then. Well, keep me posted. You sure you’re okay?”

“Hon, I’m fine. I really am. Life is what it is. I was always prepared for him to make his way back here. All he’s ever done is bounce back and forth between Fairbanks and Diamond Creek. Stands to reason he’d burn another bridge there and come running. I’m sad to hear he assaulted Charlie, but knowing Charlie’s okay means I can be relieved Randy’s facing more serious charges for once.” Leslie lifted a shoulder in a small shrug. “Only Randy would think assaulting a cop was a good idea.” She straightened her shoulders and took another sip of coffee. With a shake of her head, she looked over at Janie. “Enough of that. Let’s talk about something else. If there’s one thing a few years of therapy taught me, it’s not to dwell on things I can’t do a damn thing about.”

Janie leaned back in her chair and angled her head to the side. “Alright then. Here I was worried about telling you about this.”

Leslie eyed her for a long moment. “Of course you were. Randy tore me down so far, I hardly recognized myself. I don’t like thinking it, but it was probably worse for you because you had to watch it and worry about both of us all the time. I’m okay. I really am. I just hope you listen to what I told you about Travis. Don’t let the past get in the way of a future for you.”

Janie rolled her eyes. “Wow, you’re slick. You spun right onto Travis.”

Leslie’s eyes gleamed. “I sure did. So, tell me about Travis.”

With a shake of her head, Janie humored her mother’s shift in topic. She didn’t have much to offer about Travis, especially since she didn’t quite feel comfortable sharing details about the churning, burning attraction between them.



Travis held tight to the mooring line and turned his face away from the spray of seawater. It was early afternoon and he’d agreed to help Nathan and his brothers get their larger fishing vessel out of the harbor. Normally, he wouldn’t want to be out in the harbor with the snow blowing and wind sending a mist of seawater across the docks. Yet, the reason they were doing this in crappy weather was a leak of unknown origin on the boat. He glanced up toward the boat deck. “Didn’t you say you were coming down now?” he called out in Nathan’s direction.

Nathan leaned over the railing to reply when his hat got blown off. The wind caught it, sending the navy blue hat in a somersault before it dropped with a splash into the water. “Dammit! See where my hat went?” Nathan called down.

“In the drink. You’ll have to let it go. Maybe you’ll be cold enough now to hurry up.”

Travis heard Jared’s laugh from behind. He glanced back to see Jared approaching on the dock. “Nathan’s finally coming off the boat, so you’ll be able to let go of that mooring line soon,” Jared said with a lift of his chin toward where Nathan was climbing down the ladder onto the dock.

Nathan’s feet thumped onto the dock, and Travis released the line holding the boat snug against the dock. Travis glanced back to Jared. “Thought you were meeting us over at the lift?”

“I swapped with Luke. He’s waiting at the lift. I’ll drive the boat over there.”

“Ready to roll,” Nathan said when he reached them. He held up a small set of keys.

With the wind gusting and icy snow pelting, Travis helped them get the boat into the lift and out of the water. They got it set on the massive trailer, but collectively decided to wait to move it to the storage facility on another day when the weather was better. A while later, Travis followed Nathan and Jared into Sally’s. A hot meal and good drinks were in order after a few hours in the wind and snow. Luke had headed home early. Travis leaned back in the booth and slid the menu to the end of the table.

Their waitress grinned. “No food tonight?” she asked.

“Oh, I’m definitely eating. I just don’t need to bother thinking about what I’m getting. I’ll take a burger, medium rare. Add a house draft, and I’m good to go.”

The waitress held his gaze and nodded as she jotted down his order. Moments later, she spun away after she took orders from Nathan and Jared. Sally’s was busy as usual. Inclement weather tended to bring people out of their houses in Alaska, rather than the opposite. Places like Sally’s offered the comfort of warmth and good company on those days.

Dinner passed uneventfully as they chatted casually and chowed down. When their waitress left again after bringing coffees to finish off the evening, Jared caught Travis’s eyes in his sharp green gaze. “Well, I guess Nathan’s right about you.”

“Right about what?” Travis asked after a sip of coffee.

“You and Janie. He says…” Jared paused and nodded in Nathan’s direction. “…you’ve finally met your match in Janie.”

Discomfited by Jared’s apt observation based on nothing as far as Travis could tell, Travis stared back at him. “What makes you say that?”

Nathan chuckled. “Oh, maybe the fact the poor waitress is about to tie herself in knots trying to flirt with you and you’re so oblivious, you haven’t even noticed. Days past, you might not have gone for it, but you were never one to pass up on a little attention.”

Travis was momentarily stunned and then he burst out laughing. “Gotta say, I honestly didn’t notice. I’m not so sure how you get from that to Janie…”

It was Jared’s turn to chuckle. He took a gulp of coffee and shrugged. “What Nathan said. You’re so oblivious, I feel bad for the waitress. If you ask me, it’s about damn time you found someone. Take it from a man who used to be committed to being single, it’s way better the other way around. Plus, Janie rocks.”

Travis took his own gulp of coffee and glanced between Nathan and Jared. At that moment, the waitress in question who’d allegedly been flirting with him returned to their table with the check. When she set it down with a flourish, Travis actually noticed her more than in passing for the first time tonight. She had dark blonde hair tied up in a ponytail high on her head and wide brown eyes. She was tall and leggy, and once upon a time Travis probably would have noticed her. He most certainly would have enjoyed bantering with her because casual banter and flirting was right up his alley. He noticed her gaze lingering on him, her smile focused like a wide ray of light upon him. He managed a smile back, but he seriously didn’t feel a thing and wasn’t the slightest bit interested. All he wondered was whether or not it was too late to text Janie and stop by her place.

After the waitress wandered off, he looked back over at Nathan and Jared. “So how come she wasn’t flirting with you guys?”

Jared rolled his eyes. “Because she knows we’re taken. Good grief, when’s the last time you happened to come to Sally’s? Karen’s been working here for months. She’s waited on Susie and me a few times. You, however, are another matter, and she clearly knows that. But you look about bored to death, so I’m guessing Janie’s it for you.”

A while later, Travis walked into his quiet apartment and flicked a light on. Jared’s comments had stuck with him. A part of him wanted to shrug them off, but most of him knew they were spot on. After he hung his jacket up and kicked his boots off, he walked into the kitchen and filled a glass of water, draining it quickly. He rinsed it and set it in the drying rack, oddly noting that there were no other dishes cluttering his sink—quite unlike Janie’s kitchen, which tended toward clutter, reflecting the comfort of her life with Stella. He fell asleep with the sound of snow pelting against the windows, thoughts of Janie tumbling through his mind.





Chapter 17