Chapter 19 #2
He lifted it up. “Could you get the door for me, please?”
She felt kind of sick.
Then Blue went and made everything worse by leaping back onto the cat tree.
“Blue, no!” Nelson called out. He set the kitten’s toy on the ground, reached in, and pulled him off the contraption. And then he gently petted him before finally placing him in her arms.
Blue didn’t try to leap away, but he was very far from relaxing contentedly against her.
Actually, the cat was staring at her. Blue mewed quietly.
“Oh, Blue.” She wouldn’t have thought it was possible, but she was sure Blue was now looking at her with disappointment. Jenna felt even worse. She had taken away the kitten’s toy and he was sad.
When Blue mewed one more time before turning his head away from her, reality set in.
She had gotten so intent on making sure that she kept her pride, Jenna realized, that she was ignoring all the signs in front of her.
Nelson was a good friend and had gone out of his way to give her a gift.
It wasn’t all that different from the times she’d spent the morning making a pie or cake for a friend and stopped by unannounced.
If someone had refused her gift, saying it wasn’t appropriate—or worse, that she should’ve waited to be invited over—she would’ve been hurt.
She was being churlish and rude. Why, she was worse than . . . than . . . than the Grinch at Christmas!
Feeling as if she was going to forever regret it if she didn’t make things better, Jenna rushed over to Nelson’s side. “Put this thing down. I’m keeping it.”
“Jenna, stop. I promise, it’s okay.”
She reached out and grabbed hold of his arm. “Nee. You stop. I was wrong. Please, put it down.”
“All right.” Bending, Nelson put it on the floor at his feet. When he straightened, he seemed to gather his thoughts and then said, “Jenna, listen, I feel really stupid. You are—”
“I am being foolish and ungrateful. Would you please accept my apology?”
“You don’t have anything to apologize for.”
“We know that’s not true. Thank you for bringing this cat tree for Blue. He’s going to love it, and I know Katie will too. It was very kind of you to think of us.”
“Your words are sweet but unnecessary.”
“I disagree.”
She stared at him. Noticed that there was a new tension in his shoulders.
He was upset about this. She knew that he was heaping everything that had gone wrong on his own shoulders, which wasn’t right at all.
“Nelson, even though this is going to make all the wives in the world no doubt cringe, I have to tell you that sometimes women get in a snit for no reason.”
His hazel eyes brightened. “Is that right?”
“Oh, for sure and for certain.” She waved a hand, as if she were an expert on hormones and marital relations. “Sometimes we say and do things that make no sense. Why, I used to even lie to Jimmy from time to time.”
“You lied?” His lips twitched.
She lifted her chin. “I did indeed. Every now and then I would tell him I was fine when he and I both knew I wasn’t.”
“I see.”
“Do you? Because he rarely did. You are going to have your hands full when you go about learning the ways of wives and women one day.”
“One day?”
“Oh, yes. When you finally take a bride.” She smiled, though she was starting to not like the idea of Nelson fussing over another woman. Of him lifting another girl out of his truck and twirling her around.
No, she didn’t like that idea at all.
“At least I’ll know who to come to for advice,” he teased. “It seems you will have all the answers.”
“I will. Why, I might even have to ask the bishop for a cell phone so you can put me on speed dial.” She smiled, though she still was trying to fight off her unwanted burst of jealousy.
He chuckled. “You, Jenna, are something else.”
When she smiled up at him, something new exploded in the air between them.
Was it an awareness? Or was it something more like tension?
No, this was something better. Sweeter. Her mouth went dry as a burst of longing filled her heart.
She felt a little bit warm. A little bit unsteady—as if everything she knew and thought was slowly sliding away.
And in its place was simply Nelson. Before she knew it, she was leaning toward him.
Gathering herself together, she stopped just in time.
“Come here, Jenna,” he murmured.
As if she had no control over her body, Jenna stepped closer. He moved toward her too, until there was nothing left between them. And then, just as if they did this all the time, he pulled her toward him.
She lifted her hands around his neck. He wrapped his hands around her waist. And then pulled her close.
He was hugging her. A sweet, loving, protective, warm hug. The kind she hadn’t experienced since Jimmy died. Unable to stop herself, she rested her head on his chest. Felt one of his hands flatten against the center of her back.
Holding her securely.
And then she was pretty sure that he pressed his lips against her temple.
She closed her eyes, lost in the moment. She was surrounded by Nelson’s clean, masculine scent. It was almost as if nothing and no one could get to her. No stress, no strangers, no worries. All she could feel was comfort.
She hoped this moment would last forever.
And it might have . . . if the door hadn’t opened.