A Christmas Blessing by Sherryl Woods

adrenaline had long since worn off. She had already cleaned up the remains of the supper they’d barely touched, washed the dishes and put them away. For the past five minutes she’d been standing at the backdoor, peering into the contrasting world of impenetrable black and brilliant white.
    She thought she could see Luke’s shadow in the truck and wondered for a moment if he had a bottle stashed there. That array she’d found in his cupboard had worried her. She had never known him to take more than a social drink or two before, had never seen him as on-his-butt drunk as he’d been the night before when she’d arrived.
    When at last he climbed out of the truck and headed for the house, she watched his progress with a critical eye. He didn’t seem to be staggering, no more so than anyone would be in the deep snow. Shivering at the blast of frigid air, she nonetheless planted herself squarely in the middle of the open doorway, so he couldn’t pass by without her getting a whiff of his breath.
    “Everything okay?” she called as he neared.
    “Fine. Get back inside before you freeze.”
    Jessie didn’t budge. “You took so long I got worried.”
    He brushed past her, bringing the fresh scent of snow and the tingle of icy air into the house with him. There was no telltale trace of liquor mingling with the crisp winter aromas. She sighed with relief as she closed the door tightly against the night.
    “Couldn’t find the phone,” he announced as he plunked her bags in the middle of the floor. “I’m always forgetting it someplace or another. It’ll turn up.”
    Jessie regarded him suspiciously. His tone seemed a little too hearty. “What about a CB? You must have one and I know your folks do.”
    “Mine’s on the fritz. Haven’t seen any reason to get it fixed since I got the phone.”
    He was deliberately avoiding her gaze. “Luke?” she began quizzically.
    He glanced her way for the briefest of seconds. “What?”
    Jessie debated calling him on what she suspected were a series of lies, then chastised herself for being far too suspicious. What possible motive would he have for lying? There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he wanted her gone just as badly as she wanted to go. Getting him to the dinner table hadn’t been easy. Getting him to stay there had been impossible. He’d seized the first excuse he could to escape. Obviously he wasn’t anxious to close the gap that had formed between them when Erik had died on this very ranch.
    Last night’s emergency and Luke’s gentle, caring response to it had been an aberration brought on by extraordinary circumstances. Now they were back to the status quo. She couldn’t help the vague feeling of disappointment that stole through her.
    Finally she shook her head. “Nothing. I’ll take my things to the bedroom.” She glanced at him. “Or would you rather I take them to one of the guest suites upstairs?”
    Luke seemed unduly angered by the question. “I can take them and you’ll stay in the room you’re in now.”
    “But there’s no reason for me to put you out of your own room, when there are bedrooms galore upstairs.” Left unspoken was the fact that every time she thought about having delivered her baby not simply in Luke’s house, but in his bed, an odd sensation stirred in the pit of her stomach. It was a sensation that wouldn’t bear too close a scrutiny.
    Luke’s jaw took on the stubborn set that was a family trait. Erik had been equally bullheaded, his chin perpetually at the same defiant tilt. Yet Erik had been easily swayed, easily reasoned with. Luke, to the contrary, was no pushover.
    “Jessie, you’ll stay downstairs for as long as you’re here,” he insisted. “You won’t have to climb stairs.”
    “But I’ll be in your way,” she protested.
    His gaze settled on her. “You won’t be in my way,” he said with soft emphasis. “This is the way I want it.”
    She retreated from the argument she clearly had no way of