A Very Lusty Christmas (2 page)

“This is such a beautiful tree.” Chloe reached a hand out and gently touched one ornament, a delicate gold filigree angel, sending it spinning. “I’ll bet each piece here has story to tell.”

“They all do.” Kate’s eyes rested upon the tiny golden angel Chloe had caressed. Her arms spread as if in benediction, the tiny angel’s delicate wings glistened in the muted lights of the room.

In the evening, when the tree’s colored lights were turned on, the angel would sparkle red and blue, green and yellow. A draft would send her twirling, and she would make the colors dance on the branches, and on the other ornaments around her.

“That angel was a gift to me from my husbands, to mark our wedding and our first Christmas together.” She looked at the young women gathered around her. “It wasn’t a wedding gift, but a token of commemoration. You see, it was wartime, and we were all very mindful of that fact, and of the sacrifices taking place all around us. So many Benedict, Kendall, and Jessop cousins were overseas, fighting. Gerald and Patrick had been in the thick of things themselves, even before the United States declared war.”

“All my Gran had ever told me about them was that they’d been pursuit pilots for the RAF—the Royal Air Force,” Penelope said.

“The RAF? That’s England, right? How did that work? They were Americans, weren’t they?” Carrie eschewed the use of a chair, instead lowering herself down onto the rug, sitting yoga-style close to the sofa. Jillian joined her, gracefully slipping to her knees before changing position so that she sat with her legs outstretched.

Kate hid her grin at the familiar maneuver and instead focused on the conversation. “Yes, of course, on all counts. But when war erupted in Europe a couple of years before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the British sent out an SOS asking for pilots. Gerald and Patrick had both loved to fly—they were airmail pilots, and barnstormers before the war.”

“I’ve heard that term, ‘barnstormer,’ but never really understood it,” Chloe said.

“Oh, it was all the rage, beginning when my men were still boys. They’d grown up hearing of the derring-do of pilots who would perform aerial maneuvers, many in ‘flying circuses.’” Kate grinned. “Of course, their mother, Madeline, wouldn’t hear of them joining any kind of traveling troupe. But they learned to fly, and worked, saving their money until they could buy a plane of their own.” Kate chuckled. “Grandmother Sarah thought it would be good for them to use their passion, and the plane they’d purchased, to go out and make their living. And so they did. They formed a company, and offered rides to the curious. And they bid on, and won, an airmail contract here in Texas.”

“Is that how you met them?” Carrie asked.

“Oh, no, we met because of the war—well, in a roundabout sort of way. Actually, I didn’t know it at the time, but those two aviators saw
me
before I ever knew they, or a town called Lusty, even existed.” Kate couldn’t resist the laughter that bubbled up from the memory. “I’d noticed
them
, and asked about them, and I thought I’d been clever and discreet. I never imagined they’d done the same, and more.” She grinned at the women gathered around. “Believe it or not, I have Grandmother Sarah to thank for everything.”

“Now
that
sounds rather familiar,” Penelope said. Her eyes lit up when she smiled, and sometimes, like right now, she looked so much like Eloise, her grandmother and Kate’s late good friend.

“Does it?” Kate could keep a poker face with the best of them.

“Mmhmm,” Ginny said. “It does indeed. Imagine, a family matriarch lending her hand at matchmaking.”

“Well, perhaps Karma does insist on having its due from time to time.” Kate sat back and waited. Her granddaughters were a curious lot, and she knew she wouldn’t have to wait long.

“You can’t leave it at that,” Chloe said.

“Will you please tell us how you met your husbands?” Ginny asked. “I’ve rarely heard you speak of them. Unless the telling will sadden you.”

“No, darling, I have only happy thoughts when it comes to my men. And, do you know, I think I’d like to do just that—tell you about them. Tell you
our
story.” She’d already begun writing her own journal, of course. Not so much because she wanted to leave any great legacy behind, as both Sarah Benedict and Amanda Jessop-Kendall had done. She simply thought that her experiences had been unique, and in the writing, she’d felt herself oh, so close to her beloved husbands once more.

“In 1942 I was a nurse. I’d enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps and in the summer of that year, I was stationed at Walter Reed Hospital,” Kate began. “If I was off duty on a Saturday night, I would go to the USO dances in Arlington. There weren’t all that many women in attendance at these social events. Aside from the fact I loved to dance, our boys—the soldiers and sailors on leave—deserved to have a bit of fun.”

Her gaze focused on the tiny angel. Music, far away and so very familiar, traveled the distance between the past and the present, and Kate surrendered to the memory…

Early August, 1942

The familiar strains of Glenn Miller’s “Pennsylvania 6-5000” floated out the door of the USO dance hall as she stepped outside. The band playing tonight seemed to be doing a pretty good job of it, Kate thought, of keeping the place jumping. She’d listened to the Glenn Miller Orchestra in person once, on a trip to New York City with her parents. This local group of musicians hadn’t missed a single note. She’d make a point of complimenting Trudy on finding them when she saw her friend in the morning.

The balmy summer air caressed her face, teasing the few strawberry-blonde strands that had escaped her ruthless attempts at taming them. She closed her eyes and lifted her face, enjoying the freshness, letting the slight breeze dry the sweat on her brow and refresh her energy.

She’d danced nearly every dance for the last hour, as she usually did, never turning down a single request. Even the most junior PFC knew that Lieutenant Wesley would be pleased to trip the light fantastic.

It’s the least I can do for our brave boys
.

As a member of the Army Nurse Corps, Kate served her country proudly. So many returning soldiers, wounded and broken, passed through the wards at Walter Reed General Hospital, where Kate had been a nurse for the past several months.

Her heart broke for the ones who’d lost an arm or a leg, or more. Some were determined to live their lives regardless, and those brave men she cheered on.

Some seemed as if they’d given up. She shook her head now, recalling her own arrogance when she’d first put on her nursing whites. The initial few months of duty had found her disdainful of those who would surrender their spirit just because they’d been wounded.

If she could, she would go back to the child she had been then and give herself a good swift kick in the ass. She liked to think she’d become a kinder, gentler soul since then. She’d learned she couldn’t judge anyone. War truly was hell, as General Sherman had pointed out nearly a century before. It could bring out the best and yes, the worst, in people.

Kate thought she would strive to expect the former, even as she acknowledged the existence of the latter.

The door behind her opened and for just a moment the music, light, and scent of cigarette smoke from inside the hall stole her darkness and her solitude.

“It’s a good crowd tonight.”

Kate immediately snapped to attention and saluted the two majors who’d just come outside. She’d seen these two before, always in each others’ company. She’d inquired, discreetly, but only to assuage her rampant nosiness. She’d learned they were brothers from a well-heeled family in Texas, and that they were aviators. Trudy, who organized the social events and had a penchant for gossip, had informed her they were stationed temporarily in Washington, attending meetings at the War Department and likely to be shipped out again soon.

I didn’t ask about them because they’re the most handsome men I’ve ever seen. Of course not.
Kate supposed she really ought to do something about this new habit she’d developed of lying to herself.

“At ease, Lieutenant. This is hardly a time to stand on protocol.”

Kate felt her eyes widen and quickly got herself under control. She’d never heard of an officer as high in rank as major
not demanding his full due of protocol. Especially when the lower-ranked officer was a woman.

She hoped she kept her thoughts from showing on her face. “Thank you, sir.” Despite the officer’s words, she snapped off her salute, and slipped into the stance known as parade rest. Just something about these two Texans made everything inside her feel all jitter-buggy. Although she considered herself a nurse first, she never let herself forget that she was also an officer in the United States Army.

The men exchanged a look, and Kate thought they might very well be communicating with each other without speaking a single word.

The second major said, “I suppose my brother should have told you to relax, instead of giving you the order to stand at ease.” Then he grinned. “I wonder what your response would have been if he had.” He looked at the other man. “Does the army have a patented response to the suggestion to relax?”

“How the hell should I know? I may be older than you by a couple of years, but that doesn’t make me the wise old man of the mountain.”

“No, just a wiseacre in general.”

Kate felt her right eyebrow go up and couldn’t summon the will to stop it. She said, “I didn’t realize the USO was allowing their comedians to attend dances in officers’ uniforms.”

The first major laughed, a hearty, booming sound that seemed to surprise and please his brother. “Well, out of uniform, wouldn’t they be nekkid?” he asked. Then his mouth settled into an almost-grin, and Kate felt her stomach do an actual little clutch, as if an entire squadron of butterflies had just taken flight inside her.

“Are you always quite so crass when speaking with ladies…
sir
?”

“I figured that being a nurse, there likely wasn’t much you hadn’t seen or heard already, Lieutenant. And before you let that red-haired temper overrule your better angels, no, I don’t think that makes you any less a lady,
ma’am
.”

The other major just shook his head. “I’m afraid there really is no hope for Gerald. Our mother and grandmothers have tried very hard to make a gentleman of him, but to no avail.”

“I’m not at all certain that it’s a
gentle
man the lady needs,” Gerald said.

Oh, my
. Here was proof of her mother’s charge that she was a bit of a hoyden at heart. Any other well-bred Virginia lady might take offense at such off-color innuendos. Kate just felt her entire body become tingly and excited.

It didn’t matter that she felt drawn to these men, nor did it matter one whit that she understood, by their flirting, that they were attracted to her.

What mattered were the circumstances. They were majors, she was a lieutenant, and there were lines that were not supposed to be crossed.

“If you gentlemen will excuse me…”

Gerald reached out and touched her, just a light stroke of his hand against hers. “Please don’t go. I apologize if I’ve offended you. My name, by the way, is Gerald Benedict. This is my brother, Patrick. We’re from Texas.”

Kate failed at keeping a smile off her face. “I’m not offended, Major Benedict. I’m simply not looking for romance at this time.”

Gerald Benedict shrugged, and then had the audacity to take her left hand in his. “I’m not certain that romance is the right name for what you bring to…mind, sweetheart.”

“I thought all well-bred young ladies were intent on finding romance and making good marriages.” Patrick Benedict reached out and captured her right hand.

Good Lord, what is happening here?
Kate had rarely allowed herself the intimacy of permitting a man to hold her hand. Right now
two
men were each holding one of her hands, and she was just standing there and letting it happen.

Her heart beat so fast and so hard she could barely string together a coherent thought. It took every bit of will to bear down and extinguish all the…well, all the
lusty
thoughts and feelings that were coursing through her.

“So my mother keeps telling me. To hear her talk, I’m practically on the shelf. And while I may someday get married, at the moment there is so much more important work for me to do.”

“Fair enough,” Patrick said. “But would you be so kind as to tell us your name, angel?”

“Lieutenant Wesley.” When both men continued to just stare at her, waiting, she relented. “Katherine.”

“Kate. It suits you.” Patrick raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. Then he rubbed his thumb over where his lips had touched. “It’s been an absolute pleasure meeting you, Kate.” He released her hand and grinned.

She tried to tug her hand away from Gerald but met resistance. When she glared at him, he had the nerve to chuckle. “By God, I’ll bet you’re a hot one. Juicy and spicy and hot as hell.”

“A shame you’ll never know.” Kate continued to try to pull herself away from his grasp but he proved to be very strong. Strong and yet gentle, because despite his hold on her hand, he wasn’t hurting her.