A Christmas Blessing

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 winning. It was his house. She’d stay where he wanted her. “I’ll be going to my room, then.”
Before she could reach for her bags, Luke shot her a warning look, then picked them up and preceded her down the hall. Inside the room with its dark wood and masculine decor, he deposited the suitcases, then whirled to leave, practically colliding with her in his haste. Jessie’s hands immediately went out to steady herself, landing on his chest. Luke jerked as if he’d been brushed by a branding iron. Their gazes clashed, then caught.
“Sorry,” she murmured, pulling her hands away.
“Are you okay?”
“You just startled me when you turned around so fast. I stumbled a bit, that’s all.”
Luke shook his head ruefully. “I’m not used to having to watch out for other people underfoot. It’s one of the habits that comes from living alone. Well, not alone exactly. Consuela’s here, but she’s used to dodging me. To hear her tell it, I’ve got all the grace of a bull in a china shop. Did I tell you she went to visit her family in Mexico?”
Listening to him, Jessie couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Lucas, you’re babbling,” she teased. “Are you nervous for some reason?”
“Nervous?” he repeated the word as if he were testing it. “What would I have to be nervous about?”
“That’s what I was wondering. It’s not as if we’re strangers.” Jessie blushed despite herself. “Especially after last night.”
A dull red flush crept up Luke’s neck. “Maybe it would be best if we didn’t talk too much about last night.”
“But what you did for me…” She tried to think of the right words to express her gratitude.
“I did what anybody would have under the circumstances.”
“That’s not true. Luke, if you hadn’t been here, if you hadn’t been who you are…”
“Who I am? You mean Erik’s brother,” he said on an odd, flat note.
“No,” she said emphatically. “I mean the kind of man you are, completely unflappable, gentle, competent.” She trembled when she thought of the tragedy his presence and his calm, quick actions had averted. “My God, Luke, you delivered my daughter, and if you were even half as terrified as I was, you never let on to me.”
“Try three or four times as terrified,” he corrected. “I just talked a good game.”
Jessie reached up and rested her hand against his stubbled cheek, felt a faint shudder whisper through him, saw his eyes darken. “Don’t joke,” she chided. “I’m serious. I’m trying to thank you properly for what you did, for bringing my baby safely into the world. I’ll never forget it.”
“There’s no need for thanks,” he said, brushing aside her gratitude.
“There is,” she insisted, trying to think of an adequate way