A Christmas Blessing

absentminded, not about anything that mattered. The observation was just another of Harlan’s inconsequential put-downs, uttered without thought to their accumulated cutting nature. She’d practically bitten her lower lip raw listening to him do the same thing to Erik. If she had thought it would help, she would have told him to stop, but she had known the order had to come from Erik.
“Well, it doesn’t matter now,” Harlan said. “Now that we know where to find you, I’ll have my pilot pick you up in an hour. There’s a landing strip not far from Luke’s. He should be able to get you there.”
“No,” Jessie said at once.
“Beg pardon?” Harlan said, sounding shocked by her unexpected display of defiance.
“Jessie, darling, you must be anxious to be away from there,” Mary protested. “We know how difficult it was for you to see Luke after what happened to Erik. Please, let Harlan send for you. We want you here with us and we can’t wait to see the baby. You should be with family now.”
“Luke is family,” she reminded them.
“Yes, but…well, under the circumstances, you must be under a terrible strain there.”
“No,” Jessie insisted. She took a deep breath and prepared to manufacture an excuse that not even strong-willed Harlan Adams could debate. “The baby has no business being dragged around in weather like this, not for a few more days anyway. By then the roads will be clear and I can drive the rest of the way.”
“Oh, dear,” Mary promptly murmured. “She is okay, isn’t she?”
“She’s just fine, but she’s a newborn and it’s freezing outside. I’ll feel better about bundling her up and taking her out in a few days, I’m sure.”
“Well, of course, you must do what you think is best for the baby,” Mary conceded eventually, but there was no mistaking her disappointment.
“Nonsense,” Harlan said, heading down the single track his mind had chosen with dogged determination. “I’ll send a doctor along in the plane to check her out. The baby ought to be seen by a professional as soon as possible, anyway. I’m sure Luke did his best, but he’s not a physician. Don’t worry about a thing, Jessica. I’ll have Doc Winchell at Luke’s before nightfall. Then you can all come back together. We’ll have you here in time for the party Mary has planned. It’ll be a celebration to end all celebrations.”
“But, Harlan, it’s Christmas,” Jessie argued. “You can’t expect the doctor or the pilot to disrupt their plans with their families to make a trip like that.”
“Of course I can,” Harlan countered with the assurance of a man used to having his commands obeyed. “You just be ready. I’ll call back when they’re on their way. Put Lucas on.”
Defeated, Jessie sighed. “I’ll see if I can find him.”
She took the phone she deeply regretted answering down the hall to Luke’s office. She tapped on the door, then opened it. He was leaning back in his leather chair, staring out the window. There was something so lonely, so lost in his expression that her heart ached. If only he would let her into his life, then neither of them would be alone again.
“Luke, your parents are on the line,” she said and held out the phone.
He searched her face for a moment, his expression unreadable. Finally, he took the phone and spoke to his father.
“She’s fine, Daddy. The baby’s fine. I’m sure it’s not the way Jessie would have preferred to deliver her baby, but there were no complications. She came through like a real trooper. She was back on her feet in no time. And the baby’s a little angel.”
He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “No, Daddy, I’m sure Jessie hasn’t been overdoing it. She knows her own strength.” His expression hardened and his gaze cut to Jessie again. “No, she didn’t mention that you were sending Doc Winchell. I’m sure she’ll be relieved. Right. We’ll be expecting him.”
Most of Harlan’s side of the conversation had been muffled, but Jessie heard him asking then if Luke intended to come to White Pines with her.
“No,” Luke said brusquely. “I told Mother before that I have things to do here.” His expression remained perfectly blank as he listened to whatever his father said next. Finally he said, “Yes, Merry Christmas to all of you, too. Give my best to Jordan and Cody.”
He hung up the phone and turned back to the window. “Shouldn’t you be packing?” he inquired quietly.
Tears welled up in Jessie’s eyes. She hadn’t expected him to be so stubborn. For some reason, she had thought when the time came, he would realize that he belonged at White Pines for the holidays every bit as much as she did. More so, in fact.
“I’m not leaving you here,” she insisted.
He turned to confront her. “You don’t have a choice. Harlan’s taken it out of your hands. I told you that was exactly what would happen if you called him. It’s for the best, anyway. It’s time you were going.”
“I didn’t call. They called here.” Jessie lost patience with the whole blasted macho clan of Adams men. “Oh, forget it. You can’t bully me, any more than your father can. If I want to stay here, I’ll stay here.”
He regarded her evenly. “Even if I tell you that I want you to go?”
“Even then,” she said, her chin tilted high.
“Why would you insist on staying someplace you aren’t wanted?”
“Because I don’t believe you don’t want me here. I think you want me here too much,” she retorted.
“You’re dreaming, if you believe that,” he said coldly.
Jessie’s resolve almost wavered in the face of his stubborn, harsh refusal to admit his real feelings. “I guess that’s the difference between us, then. I believe in you. I believe in us. You don’t.”
“That’s a significant difference, wouldn’t you say?”
“It’s only significant if you want it to be.”
“I do.”
A tear spilled over and tracked down her cheek. “Damn you, Luke Adams.”
“You’re too late, Jessie,” he told her grimly. “I