Operation Christmas (8 page)

“I won’t forget.”

Grams had hit the nail on the head about lonely. Add in being bored to tears with her life, her job, she couldn’t deny they all added up to reasons why she dragged her leaden body up the stairs to her bedroom. The dreariness could easily be lifted if she gave Jess a chance. Even if they didn’t work out, she’d at least be making a step in the right direction.

She stopped at her wedding picture. The image shone with happiness, the memories so sweet. Oh, the damned headache. She pressed her fingertips into her forehead in a circular motion.

Madeleine took hold of the picture frame and held it tight against her chest while slipping her cell phone from her purse. Standing next to her bed, she saw three messages waited and set the wedding picture on her nightstand. Tiffany:
Call me. I miss you.
Next came four words from her mom:
stew on the stove.
“Ate it.” She opened the next message. This one made her legs go weak.

Her rump hit the bed hard as she gulped back a boatload of emotion.

Jess.

Chapter Six

Madeleine read the message for the third time:
U avail 2morrow after wrk? Need typist for tins.

She lay back on the bed and groaned. Like her dad, Jess had the same adept ability to weasel out favors. He had hit upon a vulnerable spot and her natural desire to help others. In this case, she typed fast. He didn’t. She couldn’t say no outright. Trapped, she knew he’d been listening to her talk to Tamara last Saturday about Operation Christmas. How she wished she had known about the project earlier so she could have been more help. “That’s what Christmas is all about,” her own words rang in her ears.

Rolling to her belly, she texted a quick reply before she could weaken:
Promised Grams shopping or wud.

His reply came within minutes:
Bring her along. Last time I saw her in bakery she offered help.

What? Madeleine’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. How often did Jess stop at the bakery that he chit chatted with Grams? The sneaky scamp pretended she didn’t know him while grilling her about the date. Bottom line, no way did she want Grams involved.

And how well did Jess know her mom and dad? The cookie delivery appeared more suspect by the minute. Well meaning, and certainly supportive, her family had overstepped their bounds if they were matchmaking. This wasn’t a third world country, for Pete’s sake, where parents chose who you dated.

Okay, like Tamara said, Jess would be a fine pick if she was ready to date. But she wasn’t. Period. Discussion over. She blew out a loud sigh.
Fine.
She’d nip this in the bud. Two could play cat and mouse. Tomorrow was Friday. The only day Grams worked in the bakery. Let Jess ask her. Madeleine’s thumbs flew over the text keys:
U hv 2 ask Grams. I promised. Her call.

Jess made another quick reply:
OK.

Laughing out loud, she put her cell on the nightstand and got ready for bed with thoughts of Jess’s persistence. The grin wilted as her gaze slid to the wedding picture on the nightstand. She climbed into bed with the picture against her heart.

Tonight, she would not go to bed alone.

****

Jess spent the whole day anticipating this moment. Now he rolled his shoulders to ease away the kinks caused by his sneaky plan to see Madeleine again. It almost surprised him she showed up. “Sorry your grandmother got sick and couldn’t come. She seemed so eager this morning.”

“She’s not sick. She’s pushing us together. Where’s the list of names? I’ll make the labels.”

Bam
. Shut down in the first minute. Madeleine would test his mettle for sure. His eyes shifted toward the computer on the shipping table and the high wheeled chair his shipping clerk used. “The program’s up on the screen. The list next to it. There’s only twenty names so we should be able to knock it out fast. I’ll pack while you type.”

Not alone in the warehouse, tool and die machines worked away in the background run by a small second shift in the shop. Jess got busy with his part of the project and could see Madeleine’s brow in a deep furrow as she tried to use the labeling system. “Troubles?”

“I’ve never used this system before.”

Jess moved around the large metal table with the remaining cookie tins and a stack of flat boxes he would assemble. He moved up behind her and pointed out the process as he spoke. “That’s all there is to it. Simple once you’ve done it. Try one.”

He could see her chest heaving as she typed and squinted. He should back off and give her some space, but he couldn’t make himself move. Everything about Madeleine drew him close in a need to be near. How he regretted not kissing her Saturday night. Boundaries set by her continual refusal to take their date further made a kiss out of the question. He’d have to wait for the perfect moment and not blow it. When a label spit from the printer, he grinned. “You’re a pro.”

“Can you make more than one label at a time?” She examined the label with a bar code stamped across it and moved a ruler down to the next name.

“There’s probably a way but I’m not sure how. My shipping clerk’s the expert, not I. Guess I’d better find out for next year.” Jess rested a hip against the table as he talked, watching her slender fingers zip across the computer keys with ease. Man, he’d never been able to type numbers that fast even with two hands.

“I’m good now. Thanks.” Madeleine squinted at the screen and went about her task. It left him no choice but to return to his side of the table and pack cookie tins. He held one for a few moments, admiring the angel image. More than once the sight of the angel’s wings spread protectively across the tin sent chills of remembrance down his spine.

“You like it?” she asked without looking up.

“I do. Kinda says more than here’s some cookies.”

“I wish we’d had angel tins when Danny was in Iraq.”

Jess wanted to say as much as he wanted to believe in miracles he doubted the tins held any real protection by a Guardian Angel she seemed to think. He’d seen too much destruction and maiming of innocents. He held the thought to himself. “How long were you married?”

“Three years. I moved in with my parents shortly after he enlisted. Actually, Danny wanted me to live with them while he was gone. So I wouldn’t be alone.”

“He was right. If it weren’t for my sister, I don’t think it would be much fun going home at night.”

“Your sister lives with you?”

“Yep. Her and all her BFF’s. You wouldn’t believe how much girls text.” That got a smile out of Madeleine. “She might dress a little strange, but she’s a good kid. As long as she keeps her grades up and doesn’t get caught up with a bad bunch, I’ll be happy.”

“Where’s your mom?”

“San Francisco. My folks divorced a couple of years after I went into the Corps. Mom wanted Crystal to live with her, but she wouldn’t go. She had just entered high school. Dad’s heart attack came shortly after I returned from Afghanistan. It’s just me and Crystal now.”

“A teenager’s a lot of responsibility for a young guy to handle alone.”

“Sometimes. Mom keeps trying to get her out to California, but she refuses to leave me. I think Crystal thinks I’ll slip into some kind of depression if she goes.”

“Will you?”

“I’ve had some rough moments. It’s not easy adjusting to one arm. Then I think of Tamara. It’s tough to pity yourself when you hang around such a strong woman.” He smiled at the pile of labeled boxes. “I think we’re done here.”

“This is a nice thing you do, Jess.”

“I’m not sure how it started. Walked into your folks’ bakery last year and saw the tins. Shipped forty last year. Seventy-five this. If it gets much bigger next year, I’ll have to recruit outside volunteers. Crystal and her string of friends will be in college.”

When Madeleine locked her fingers together to stretch out her arms, her gaze settled on her coat and purse. Panic set his mind scrambling for some way to keep her from walking out the door. He might not see her again. She’d already pretty much shut him down and there weren’t any excuses left. “Please. Go have a late snack with me. I’ve not eaten dinner and hate eating alone.” He pulled in a breath. “Damn. That sounds pathetic.”

“What about your sister? Is she home alone?”

“Not tonight. My aunt lives near and comes to the house when I’ve got a late night.”

“I’m surprised your sister doesn’t resent being watched so close.”

“Luckily, she likes my aunt. She’s our mom’s twin, but they’re day and night. Mom’s the artsy, independent type and Aunt Bev’s the homebody. She never had kids so she dotes on Crystal. It’s the only reason Mom agreed to leave Crystal behind to finish her senior year here in Illinois. Although Crystal’s stubborn as a mule and still wouldn’t have gone.”

Jess realized he had shared more about his family with her than even Tamara. But Madeleine’s hesitance to see him as anything more than a friend made him work too hard to win her over. And what better way than sharing details of your personal life.

Still, he feared turning her away with his persistence that was beginning to sound like desperation. The thought caught him up short. “Listen. You don’t have to catch a bite with me. I’m sure you’re tired. I’ll nuke something when I get home.”

Madeleine stared at him with those soft brown eyes full of indecision and way too much pain for a woman not thirty. He could relate. Most the time he acted forty; another side effect of the military way of life and war.

“Actually, I’m a little hungry. I came from work.”

“You worked late tonight?” He’d told her to come at seven-thirty to give her time to go home and have a bite to eat and change.

“This is a busy time of year with the books,” was her excuse.

“How about Dickie’s? You mind eating there?”

“That’s fine. I go there for lunch sometimes.”

Jess tamped down the hope soaring in his chest. They got their coats and headed out the warehouse door where her Mini Cooper sat outside the shipping dock across from his car. “How you like the Mini?”

“It’s free. I can’t complain.”

He shut her door and headed for his car at a trot. Sharp frigid air made every muscle bunch inside his coat. Zero last he looked. After three tours of duty in the desert and now two Illinois winters, his blood still hadn’t accepted the switch. He heard her ignition fire off a series of fast clicks at each turn of the key. He pulled in next to her and hopped out. “Battery dead?”

“Battery’s brand new.” She shook her head and hit the ignition again.

He winced. “Stop, Madeleine. You’re not helping it. It sounds like an ignition or fried alternator. Come on. That thing’s not going anywhere tonight.”

“I can’t just leave it here.”

“Sure you can. It’s private property. The cops won’t ticket you.”

“How will I get to work tomorrow?”

“I’ll pick you up. It’s on the way.”

Carpooling hit Jess like a lightning bolt. Suddenly, he felt heart-warming love for the fried Mini. The car might provide the catalyst he needed to finally get to know Madeleine. Gain her trust.

That is if the car needed some extensive repair and sat in a shop for a week or so, a scenario he highly doubted. Which meant he’d better make the most of the moment. They locked up her car after she removed anything she might need the next day.

“It’s cold like January.” Madeleine shivered as she hurried into his truck.

“Minus one.” Jess glanced at the truck’s digital temperature and turned up the heater fan. “I’ll have your car pushed into the warehouse tomorrow. I have a couple of guys who work on their cars in the shipping dock from time to time.” Don’t get too excited here, he told himself.

“You sure?” She stared wistfully at the car as they drove off. “Grams will be upset. She can’t drive anymore but constantly bugs me about taking care of it. She’ll flip with it outside all night.”

“Better the car than you stuck outside tonight.”

“I’m not sure my grandmother would agree.”

Dickie’s, an around-the-clock restaurant, sat at the edge of the industrial park and only ten minutes away.

Madeleine called home as they drove. “Good news,” she informed him and slipped her cell into her purse. “You won’t have to go out of your way in the morning. Mom can drive me to work.”

Jess wondered if he’d ever get a break with this woman. Hell, he would have driven
way
out of his way to spend drive time together and tried not to let disappointment show on his face. “That’s good.”

One bright spot remained.

He had possession of her car.

Chapter Seven

Last night’s plan fell apart in the cold dawn of morning. Madeleine packed her lunch with the phone cradled against her neck. “Mom. I can’t be late. Kurt will go postal.”

“I can’t help it, Madeleine. Maybe you shouldn’t have abandoned your car.”

“It wouldn’t start. What was I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know. Call your dad to jump it.”

“On a new battery? Jess would have jumped the car, but he said it sounded like something else. Why’d you offer to take me to work if it’s an inconvenience? I could have called a friend, but now it’s too late.”