Sara in Montana - A Christmas Wish (7 page)

Sara sat on the bed for several minutes trying to process all that had transpired that day. What was it about Trent that made it seem like she had known him for years? She’d just met him. Sara had dated guys for months before kissing them, and she had never kissed them the way she just kissed Trent. The same could be said for the personal information she had shared with him. He knew more about her than friends who had known her since before college.

Sara had never believed in the notion of love at first sight. And while she wasn’t ready to call what she was feeling for Trent - love, it was definitely more involved than anything she believed she felt for David.

She thought back to several months ago when she had stayed up late and watched one of the sappy Lifetime movies. They had been celebrating Christmas in July and running, sappy, romantic Christmas movies the entire week. As she watched the movie, she had felt a yearning desire to have her own family to care about and share Christmas with. Was that why she had been so easily duped by David? Had she tricked herself into thinking she was in love with him in an effort to make her dreams of a family this Christmas come true?

Shaking her head, she decided it really didn’t matter. What was done was done and she had done everything she could to correct the biggest mistake of her 27 year old life. With Trent’s help, David Patterson would soon be a distant memory.

****

“Dinner was delicious, Jane.”

Jane beamed at the praise coming from the young lady seated across from her at the table. Jane had watched with avid interest as Trent and his guest interacted during dinner. They couldn’t keep their eyes off each other. Trent had a look in his eyes when he gazed at Sara that Jane had never seen before. He was smitten with her. There was no other explanation.

And Sara, she gazed in adoration at Trent and blushed as he teased her throughout dinner. Things were about to get very interesting. Jane mentally rubbed her hands together and vowed to assist the Christmas spirit in seeing these two brought together.

“Don’t mention it. I’m glad to hear you’re feeling better after your nap.” Jane smiled at Sara across the table and was rewarded with one in return.

Jane got up to start removing the dishes and Sara moved to help her. The phone rang and Trent went to answer it. During the time Trent was on the phone, Jane and Sara managed to clear the dishes away and load the dishwasher. Jane then put water on for tea and invited Sara to sit with her at the bar in the kitchen.

“So, Trent tells me you have a sister living in San Diego?”

Sara nodded, “My younger sister. She lives there with her young daughter. She moved there after I graduated from college and fell in love with a soldier. Unfortunately, his unit was attacked during his first tour in Iraq and he didn’t make it. She found out she was pregnant with my niece two weeks after the funeral.”

Jane was instantly transported back to the funeral of her own husband. She still flinched every time she thought about the rifle guard salute and the sound of the guns firing. “I’m so sorry for her loss. I’ve been there, and it takes a while to get over losing someone like that.”

Sara nodded. “I tried to get her to move back to San Francisco after the funeral, but she had just started working at a local performing arts center. I remember her telling me that if she gave that up as well, she would have nothing left. In a weird way, I understood what she meant and helped her find off-base housing and stayed with her for six weeks after Daniella was born.”

“Jane smiled and asked, “Is Daniella your niece?”

Sara smiled as she thought of her niece and nodded. “Yes, she was born on December 23rd four years ago. My sister says she’s the best Christmas present she’s ever gotten.”

“That is so sweet.” Jane smiled and tried not to be jealous of a woman she had never even met. She had always dreamed of having a family, one or two kids running around making her life hectic, and maybe a dog who loved to run along the beach and chase the waves. Realizing that she had just slipped into her own fantasyland, she gave herself a mental shake and returned to the present.

Jane smiled, “I’ve always wanted to live on the beach. What branch did your brother-in-law serve in?”

“He’s was in the Navy, a member of a Seal Team – sorry, but I can’t remember which one.”

Jane patted her hand, “That’s okay. My husband was a Marine.”

Sara placed her hand atop Jane’s and said, “Trent told me about your husband. I’m very sorry for your loss.”

Jane nodded, “That seems like a lifetime ago. It’s been nearly 15 years now. Wow, I feel really old,” she chuckled.

Sara shook her head, “You’re not old. You don’t look at day over 35.”

Jane smiled, “I’ll actually be 37 on December 29
th
.  I’m almost 10 years older than you.”

“That’s not old in today’s world. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.” Sara was quiet for a moment and then asked, “If you want to live by the ocean, why are you living in Montana? Trust me when I tell you that they don’t have mountains and snow in southern California ... just sunny days and beaches full of sand.”

Jane was thoughtful as she looked at Sara, “I guess it was easier to stay here. After my husband was killed, Trent’s parents offered me a place to live and treated me like part of the family. When they decided to travel, they tried to convince me to go with them, but I didn’t want to travel around the world feeling like a third wheel.”

Sara just nodded and let her continue. “I often dream of moving away from the mountains and starting again, but I don’t have any friends outside of Castle Peaks and I’m not the best social butterfly. I wouldn’t want to move to a strange place and still feel like a stranger living there six months later.”

Sara could understand that train of thought. “What about just visiting some places for say, a week at a time? You could play tourist. I hear it’s much easier to get to know people if you have the mindset of a tourist.”

Jane smiled at her and decided Trent needed to keep Sara around. She was not only good for Trent, she made Jane smile and feel more alive than she had felt in a long time. “You know, for a young’un, you actually make a lot of sense. Maybe I’ll treat myself to a vacation for my birthday. I could leave right after Christmas and go someplace sunny and warm – a place with an ocean and no snow.” Jane rubbed her hands together as plans began to take form in her mind. “You know, I think I’ll do it.”

Chapter 8

“Do what?” Trent asked as he came back into the kitchen.

Jane looked at Trent and gave him a big grin. “I’m going on a vacation for my birthday this year.”

Trent raised his eyebrows at this information. Since coming to live in Castle Peaks, Jane had never left the town by herself. Giving her a smile of encouragement, he asked, “You are? Where are you going and why do I get the feeling that I’m not invited?”

Jane faltered for a moment in her happiness, why couldn’t Trent join her? And his new little friend as well. “I didn’t say you couldn’t join me, in fact, I think you should plan on it.” Jane didn’t want to seem ungrateful for everything Trent and his family had done for her in the past, but whether he wanted to go with her or not, she needed to start living
her
life again.
 

“Okay, where exactly are we going?”
Trent secretly gave Jane a thumb’s up for taking the initiative and deciding to move forward with her life.

“I don’t know yet. Someplace warm with lots of sunshine, beaches, surfers, and no snow. Absolutely no snow!” Jane hated the tremendous amounts of snow that fell each winter.

“Based upon the amount of snow that’s coming down right now, I would be fully on board with someplace warm. If it keeps coming down like this, we’ll have at least a foot by morning.”

“A foot of snow?” asked Sara with excitement in her voice. She had never spent much time outside of California, and had been thrilled to see the snow on the mountains as she drove north. Bending over and using her hand to measure approximately 12 inches off the floor, she looked back up at Trent and Jane with a question evident on her face.

Seeing her confusion and lack of belief, Jane smiled and nodded her head when Trent reached over and raised her hand several more inches off the floor. “12 inches, if not more. We normally get several feet of snow between Thanksgiving and Christmas around here. Trust me when I say, by New Year’s, we’ll all be tired of shoveling the stuff and ready for spring.” Trent grinned as he watched his words register. She had probably never seen snow before she started this journey. She was in for the shock of her life come morning.

Sara shook her head as she looked back and forth between Trent and Jane. Several feet of snow? Where would they put it?  Could one even shovel that much snow? She was definitely not in sunny California anymore.

Sobering, Trent asked her to come in to the living room with him for a few minutes so he could update her on his recent conversation with his friends from the FBI. Somehow, he needed to find out how much more information she had and tell her what he had found out, all without scaring the daylights out of her.  He was not looking forward to this conversation.

Entering the living room, Sara stopped and took in the natural stone fireplace which dominated the far corner. There was a wooden mantel, decorated with pine boughs, candles, and figurines of Santa Claus. Standing majestically alongside was the most beautiful Christmas tree Sara had ever seen. She absolutely loved Christmas, and decorating the tree was one of her favorite activities. Most years she couldn’t even wait until after Thanksgiving, but rather started putting up her tree and other decorations around mid November. Her sister had given her a hard time when they still lived together, but had also been more than willing to join in and get started on celebrating the season.

The tree had been decorated with ornaments which appeared to have all been handmade. Pinecones had been turned into whimsical creatures, while glass balls glittered in the twinkling lights of the tree. A beautiful plaid tree skirt completed the look.

Sensing Trent right behind her, she stepped into the room and was assailed by the smell of cinnamon and pine. Breathing cautiously, she closed her eyes for a moment and just enjoyed before heading toward the couches arranged in front of the massive fireplace.

After making sure she was seated comfortably, Trent took the chair opposite hers and sat on the edge of it, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees. He wasn’t quite sure how to deliver his news, and finally decided just to say it straight out and then deal with any aftermath there might be.

“So that was your friend from the FBI on the phone, just now?” Sara asked.

Trent nodded. “It was. He checked into the names David Patterson and Trevor Ward. Nothing concrete came up on David Patterson. His background information doesn’t seem to go back very far. His name’s only been on their radar for a little over five years.”

“What do you mean when you say ‘on their radar’ for only five years? He turns 35 next month,” Sara commented.

“What my friend told me was that David Patterson seems to have been a do-gooder up until about five years ago. Not even a traffic ticket. Then, all of a sudden his name starts showing up in conversations and in information deep-cover personnel provided.” Trent watched Sara as he delivered this news, liking the confusion he witnessed crossing her face. His friends at the FBI had cautioned him about sharing too much information with her, just in case she was more involved than she was letting on.

Unable to sit still any longer, Sara carefully pushed herself off of the overstuffed couch and approached the fireplace, pacing back and forth while she tried to make sense of what was going on.

Trent watched her silently, giving her plenty of time to assimilate what he had already told her before delivering the rest of his news. “Sara, when did you first meet David Patterson?”

Sara stopped her pacing and turned to face Trent. “Well, I worked for him for almost a year before I ever personally met him. I worked for a small import business that wasn’t doing very well. When the owner decided to retire, David’s company bought him out and combined us with his larger company. He kept the three of us on staff and gave us all nice raises, but we were told he was traveling out of the country and his assistant took care of all of the details.” Now that she thought about it, that whole time had been confusing and she had often wondered how one purchased a company and hired employees they had never met or seen.