ISAAC MACALLISTER'S life revolves around building his business and doing his best to give his daughter Sara a strong sense of family. Over the years he's had to learn how to keep their little family together on his own, but this Christmas Isaac is g...
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Isaac and Jenna rode in the cab of the truck, Sara tucked between them. Or Princess Sara, as she preferred to be known with her tiara and jewels. She had emerged from the bedroom in full princess regalia. Jenna had to hand it to Isaac, he hadn't batted an eyelash—just carried Sara out to the truck so she wouldn't get her fancy shoes stuck in the snow.
Jenna hadn't been sure how she was going to get into the truck herself. She wasn't too steady on her crutches yet, but Isaac had cleared the path so she could get to the truck, and then he'd helped her in.
The feeling of his hands around her waist as he lifted her into the cab shifted her into high gear again. She couldn't resist a deep inhale as she caught a whiff of something vaguely spicy. It was too subtle to be cologne, and he didn't seem the type to wear it anyway. Whatever it was, it was yummy and she wanted more of it.
Calm down, Jenna. You are the boss of your hormones. They are not the boss of you. She stifled a laugh. Yeah right. Who was she kidding?
Sara's squirming in the seat between them quickly brought her back to reality, and it took a lot of her concentration just to keep her leg from knocking on the underside of the dash.
Jenna took in the view as acres and acres of snow-covered trees flew past, interrupted only by the occasional driveway. She was grateful for the distance Sara created by riding between them. If Jenna had made the ride with her side rubbing up against Isaac's, she'd probably spontaneously combust before they reached the town. And she was pretty sure her face was red again. Snatches of their conversation from the last time she'd been in the truck kept jumping into her head.
Distraction. That's what she needed. "How many people live here?"
"About 10,000 in the town and areas around it."
Jenna had spent most of her life bouncing from one town to another as her mom bounced from job, to man, to job across the country. Their location had been dictated by whatever opportunity seemed the most appealing to her mother at that moment. Jenna had hated always changing schools, and was used to being a loner. There wasn't much point in making friends when you knew you were going to have to leave them—often without notice.
They passed the "Welcome to Rivers End" sign. "How did the town get its name?"
"The town is located, quite literally, where the two rivers end. It sits in between Big River and Little River, and they merge before spilling into the ocean not far from here. The big one actually runs right by the Lodge."
Jenna turned her attention back out the window as they drove down the main street. It looked like many of the small towns she had lived in: gas station, grocery store, bakery, hardware store, barber shop. And a restaurant or two. She knew somewhere nearby there would be a school, and the clinic she had been to the other day.
It was the kind of place where people smiled at you when you walked down the street, even if they didn't know you. A place where everyone knew everyone's business.
