A Forever Christmas(40)

To avoid that, he forced himself to have as little time alone with her as possible. And, with Christmas approaching, he’d come up with the perfect, albeit temporary way to be with Angel, but not alone with Angel.

“Because the tree is usually anywhere between eighteen and twenty feet tall, almost everyone in town turns out to help with the decorating,” he explained, doing his best not to get lost in those upturned, wide blue eyes of hers. “I thought, while you were still here, you might want to join in.”

There wasn’t as much as a fraction of a second’s hesitation. A wide smile curved Angel’s mouth, spreading out, up to her eyes.

“I’d love to!” she declared enthusiastically. Swept up in the moment, she threw her arms around his neck, kissing Gabe.

Angel loved connecting with these people who had taken her in and offered her their friendship. Loved the idea of taking part in what the townspeople regarded as their tradition. Just as she loved working in the diner and listening to snippets of conversations around her.

Angel had taken it upon herself to learn as many of the customers’ names as possible. She’d already learned the names of everyone who worked at Miss Joan’s. Doing so gave her a warm sense of belonging. Something she sensed—without being able to offer herself any real proof—she hadn’t really felt before.

Whether that meant that her “previous” personality was such that she had shied away from people, or that she had lived in isolating circumstances, she didn’t know. All Angel knew—or rather sensed—was that this was different from the life she’d had before.

Different and preferable.

For just a split second, he almost gave in. Almost kissed her the way he so desperately wanted to kiss her. But he knew where that would lead and they both had places to be. And people who would ask questions if they didn’t turn up.

So, digging deep for what might have been just the last of his resolve, he disengaged himself from her arms, gently placing them at her sides.

“All right, then,” Gabe said as cheerfully as he could manage with his heart beating triple-time in his throat. “I’ll stop by the diner around two and we’ll go to the town square together.”

She would have gone anywhere with him, including to the edge of the earth and beyond. But she had a sense of responsibility, especially to the woman who had given her a chance to explore this side of her that had flowered unexpectedly. “But I can’t. I’ll be at the diner, working, at two.”

He shook his head. “Trust me. Nobody will be working at two today—at least, not at their regular jobs.” He paused for a minute to take something out of the hall closet. “Practically everyone will be out in the town square, offering advice and encouragement, while a few poor souls struggle with widgets and a crane, trying to get the tree upright.”

“Great. I’m game,” she told him.

He caught her arm as she started heading for the front door. “Wait.”

“Okay.” A shiver of anticipation danced through her as she turned around. But before she could ask him what she was supposed to be waiting for, he thrust the shopping bag at her.

“I thought you might need this,” he mumbled.

“‘This’?” she repeated uncertainly. Looking into the bag, she was surprised to see what appeared to be a suede sleeve. The sleeve was attached to a jacket. A tan suede jacket with fringes that ran along the length of each sleeve and were also along the bottom of the jacket. She held it up against her. “Gabe?” she questioned uncertainly.

“Temperature’s dropping,” he told her. “Don’t want you turning into an icicle.” Although he couldn’t help thinking there were other ways to keep her warm. Not exactly practical ways, but ways all the same.

“It’s beautiful,” she cried, quickly opening up the buttons.

Angel slipped the jacket on over the sweater she’d been wearing. That, too, had been a gift, but from his sister, Alma. Up to this point, all her clothes had been gifts. Alma and she had turned out to be the same size and on the second day she was here, Alma had come over to Gabe’s house with a large box of clothing she’d told her were just “lying around, gathering dust.” The jeans, pullovers, everything that Alma had given her comprised her entire wardrobe.

Right now, Angel was torn between feeling like an ongoing charity case and very, very blessed. Knowing the spirit that this was intended, she focused only on the latter.