Bring Me Home for Christmas (Virgin River #16)(44)

“What’s your pleasure?” he asked.

“Diet cola?” she asked. “Denny’s coming for lunch. I’ll wait for him before ordering.”

“You got it,” he said. When he put the cola in front of her, he tilted his head slightly, looked a little perplexed, and said, “What’s different about you today? Something’s different.”

“Gosh, I don’t know,” she said. She ran a hand through her blond hair. “I didn’t do anything differently.”

He shook his head slightly. “No, something’s different, I just can’t… Ah! I know what it is! You’re in love, that’s what it is!”

She flushed.

Jack chuckled and gave the bar a wipe. “I’m teasing you. Denny stopped by the bar on his way out to Jillian’s farm and he was grinning so damn big, I wouldn’t let him off the hook till he told me what made him so happy. He said all it took was getting rid of his pals to get you two talking and it looked like maybe you could patch up any old differences and put your relationship back together. Got one over on you, didn’t I?”

She couldn’t help but smile at him. “You should be ashamed of yourself!” she said. “Weren’t you afraid you might embarrass me?”

“Nah. My opinion of Denny is that a girl couldn’t possibly do better. He’s the salt of the earth. Very much admired around here.”

“He fits in,” she translated.

“Denny’s special. But it doesn’t take so much to fit in, Becca. People around here are pretty easy most of the time. Good neighbors, that’s all.”

“It’s more than that, I think. Is it just that you don’t get all that many visitors? Because everyone seems so welcoming. Eager to help each other.”

“Oh, not everyone. We have our bad apples, just like any other town. We cut ’em a wide berth. But for the ones who want to get along, just about everyone’s willing to go the extra mile. Most people are here for one of three reasons—either they grew up here and it never occurred to them to leave or they came here for a specific career like ranching, farming, maybe logging or government jobs like forestry or search-and-rescue. The rest seem to be a little like me—I just wanted to get out of the rat race. I was looking for good hunting and fishing and needed a way to make a living while I was doing that. Getting married and having a family never figured in my plans.” He tilted his head and winked at her. “Good thing I can keep an open mind.”

“Good thing,” she said.

“There’s an old saying around the mountains—if you last three years, you’ll never leave.”

“Why is that?”

Jack leaned on the bar. “It’s not always an easy life. We’re isolated here. It’s a real pain just to get supplies, and if we have an emergency, we’d better be prepared to handle it. It’s not a rich place, by any means—the average income is pretty low. And nature has a heavy hand here—hard winters, forest fires, floods when the snowpack melts.”

“What’s so good about it?” she asked.

“Look around. Especially at night—look up. We have a pretty big sky. Lots more stars than in San Diego. The landscape is rich in natural resources and beauty. And we grow everything a little bigger. Even the marijuana.”

“I heard about that,” she said with a laugh.

“Virgin River isn’t too accommodating to the growers. We like life as uncomplicated as possible.”

The comment left Becca thinking about the complications in her life. She’d never been happier, but the issues were still there—no job, little money with an apartment in San Diego and the rent due, the love of her life living hundreds of miles away. And while he said he loved her, she knew he loved this town, too. In this town, he finally found what he’d always been looking for.

“A cloud just passed over you,” Jack said.

“I think it was that word—uncomplicated. I have a broken ankle, no job to go home to and Denny lives here, while I live so far away….”

“Since those are things you can’t do anything about today, try to enjoy the things that are going right,” Jack said.

At that moment, the thing she enjoyed most about her present circumstances walked in the door. He dragged off his hat and as his eyes lit on her, he began to beam. You’re right, she thought. And as he took the seat beside her, he dropped a possessive kiss on her cheek and grabbed her hand.

“Lunch?” Jack asked.

“Two,” he said. “Thanks. What is it today?”

“Pulled-pork sandwiches. I’ll get ’em. And then I’ll leave you two alone.”

Eleven

After lunch, Denny drove Becca down the street and carried her up the steep stairs, while she held on to the crutches. She could have stayed at Preacher’s house and even napped there, but she chose instead to be out of the way for at least a couple of hours. And Denny was thrilled to get her alone in that little one-room apartment over the garage. He barely had the door closed before he pulled the crutches out of her grip, whirled her around and had her on the bed, his lips hot on hers. He rolled with her until he was lying beside her, snuggling her close. They didn’t even have their jackets off before his breathing was coming hard and raspy.

“Don’t you have to work?” she asked in a breathless whisper.