A Holiday to Remember by Lynnette Kent Page B

very quickly. I worry about slipping and falling—I’ve got a slight weakness on my left side that makes me less stable if I’m not thinking.” She shrugged. “I’d rather be sitting on a warm beach in the sunshine than feel ice crystals sliding down my back and into my shoes.”
    “You weren’t locked out in the cold, or fall down a long hill? No getting lost in the snowy woods?”
    Fear fluttered in Jayne’s chest. “No. I don’t remember anything like that.” She wasn’t about to confess to this nosy stranger how few memories she had to draw on.
    “So why did you take a job in the mountains?”
    Since coming to Hawkridge School, she’d asked herself that question every autumn and all winter long. “I wanted to do the work here. These troubled girls need the kind of help I’ve been trained to offer.”
    “They look fairly normal and happy to me.”
    Jayne couldn’t help a chuckle as she surveyed the scene. Taryn and Haley were rolling down the hill, standing up at the bottom covered with huge chunks of snow. Then they climbed back up to do it again. Monique and Selena were making a large snowball, presumably the bottom of a snow person to pair with the one Sarah and Beth had already started. In a corner by herself, Yolanda was creating a host of snow angels.
    “I’ve rarely seen all of them in a good mood at the same time,” Jayne said, surprised.
    But even as she said it, the spell of enchantment broke. Monique stomped away from Selena and the lopsided snowball they’d formed, trudging over to join Sarah and Beth, who didn’t appear to welcome her intrusion. Halfway down the hill, Taryn collided with Haley, who sat up crying and rubbing her head.
    “So much for peace on Earth,” Chris muttered, as Jayne started down the steps.
    Halfway down, she wobbled, just a little. Then her feet slipped out from under her.
    Chris launched himself forward and managed to get his hands under her arms just before she fell. With a heave that left his shoulder screaming bloody murder, he hauled her upand back against him. For a few seconds he bore her full weight, and even through the layers of coats and clothes he could feel the curves of her body pressed into his.
    Fuller, he thought. Lush. Mature. Juliet had been a girl when he last held her, still bony, a little awkward. Now, though, she was completely a woman.
    Or else this wasn’t Juliet at all.
    He banished the traitorous thought as she straightened away from him. “Thanks,” she said breathlessly, with a glance over her shoulder. “That would have hurt.”
    “No problem.” Forcing his arms to loosen, he took a deep breath. “You need a handrail on these steps.”
    “The board of directors is at war with the local safety inspector on that very topic.” She hesitated, staring at the steps below them. “Historical integrity versus legal issues. We do have ramps at other doors.”
    Taking her arm, Chris started down slowly, urging her to lean against him slightly. He expected resistance, but this time she gave in without a fight.
    Once on the ground, though, she pulled free and sidestepped down the hill through the deep snow to kneel beside Haley, who was still crying.
    “Are you hurt?” Jayne took off her gloves and wiped the girl’s tear-streaked cheeks with her fingertips. “Can you stand up?”
    With her lower lip stuck out, Haley shook her head.
    “She’s such a baby.” Taryn stood to the side, arms crossed over her chest. “I barely touched her.”
    “She crashed into my head and ran over me.” Despite her “injuries,” Haley struggled to her feet. “On purpose.”
    “Did not. It was an accident.” Taryn’s voice rose in volume.
    The headmistress shuffled through churned up snow to stand between them. “The two of you need to calm down.”
    Her words went unheeded. “You liar,” Haley growled. “You said you were gonna roll over me like a bulldozer.”
    “I am not a liar.” Before the words were finished, Taryn launched