Three Nights before Christmas (21 page)

They fell asleep without a word. But when they woke up, they were still wrapped in each other’s arms, ready to face the day all over again.

Separately but together.

‡

T
he train inspector
jumped out of Lucinda’s cab as soon as the engineer had pulled her safely into the annex and set the brake. Austin and Gabriel climbed down from where they’d been shoveling coal from the tender into the firebox under the watchful eye of engineer, a steam-train aficionado from a railway museum in Missoula. Their faces were streaked with coal dust, accentuating the giddy brightness in their eyes. That was the only clue Lacey had about the test run they’d just been on. Standing off to the side, where they’d watched Lucinda chug out of the station and disappear up the mountain pass before reappearing an hour later, Lacey and Molly held their breaths and gripped each other’s hands while waiting for the inspector’s verdict.

“Well, folks,” the man said. “This baby’s ready to roll.”

Lacey and Molly practically collapsed against each other.

Relief
. Oh, God… bone-melting relief. She could barely stay standing. Molly seemed to feel the same. All they could do was hug.

Austin’s strong hand stroked over Lacey’s shoulder, and she immediately turned to launch herself into his open arms. He whooped and spun her around, making her laugh as an incredible rush of endorphins raced through her.

“We did it,” Austin said. “Holy shit, we did it.”

And with just one day to spare. Santa’s Wonderland would open tomorrow, and one of its main attractions was ready.

Lacey’s eyes burned, and she buried her face in the crook of Austin’s neck. “Thank you,” she whispered.

He stopped spinning and held her closer. “For what?”

“Including me.” The words didn’t cost her as much pride as they once would have.

They came from a place deep in her soul, one that used to feel so weak and vulnerable when exposed to daylight. But Austin had been slowly drawing it out of her. She couldn’t quite let it roam free yet, but she could take it out for baby steps.

“You have to be kidding,” he said, his voice oddly husky. “It was a desperate move by a desperate man, but it ended up being a stroke of brilliance. Thank
you
for pulling through for me.”

Any time
. She couldn’t get the words out beyond her swollen throat, but she so badly wanted to say them. This man—the one she’d thought had taken so much away from her—had given her far more in return. She couldn’t comprehend it all.

Before she knew what was happening, Austin had lowered her feet to the ground and Lacey was smothered in a much more feminine embrace. Molly squeezed her hard and rocked her back and forth. Three weeks ago, the move would’ve triggered panic. Now Lacey felt only a twinge of discomfort before she squeezed Molly back.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Molly cried. “You’re my hero, you know that?”

Lacey was startled by the sob that burst out of her, and she clasped her hand over her mouth. She couldn’t speak. All she could do was shake her head in denial.

Molly gripped her shoulders hard, as if she wanted her message to sink in through Lacey’s skin. “Yes, you are. First Gabriel, then Austin, and now you. You’re all my heroes, and I can’t ever thank you enough.”

Jaw trembling as she tried to bite back her emotions, Lacey just jerked her head in a single nod, dropping her gaze to the cement floor. As if he knew how overwhelmed she was, Austin drew her away and put his arm around her shoulder, giving her a safe place to hide against his side. “We have a lot to do before tomorrow, but I think we need to celebrate. Fortunately, I happen to know the world’s best hot-chocolate brewer.” He nudged Lacey with his hip.

Being good at hot chocolate.
That
she was more than happy to claim. She cleared her throat. “That’s me. I’ll go get started.”

“I’ll come with you,” Molly said.

The offer didn’t seem like an intrusion. In fact, Lacey was grateful for the company. She hadn’t known Molly well in high school, but in the hour that they’d waited for the train to come back they hadn’t run out of things to talk about. Lacey had heard all about Josh’s accident and how it had brought Molly and Gabriel together. The love in Molly’s voice as she’d talked about her guys hit a tender spot in Lacey’s heart, one she’d ignored for a long time.

She wanted that. She wanted to trust someone with everything that was sacred to her. She wanted to share her agonies as well as her triumphs. And she wanted that love to spill over into a family she created, nurtured, and protected.

She and Molly left the annex and trudged through the snow toward the station house. They shed their winter outerwear and wet boots in the mudroom and walked into the kitchen. Lacey took a couple bars of dark chocolate—her secret weapon—out of the cupboard and a carton of whole milk from the fridge before heading to the stove.

“Ooh,” Molly said, “this looks decadent.”

“It’s my guilty pleasure—though I never feel guilty about it, if I’m totally honest. This is how my Grammy Gallagher used to make it, and the woman was a genius in the kitchen. She also weighed over two hundred pounds, but the weight just looked like happiness to me. She was the warmest, most loving person I’ve ever met, and she showered me and my brother with love through food.”

“She sounds amazing.”

“She was. She died when I was nineteen, and I still miss her. Especially at Christmas.” She didn’t know why she was admitting such personal things, but Molly had such a gentle air about her that Lacey found herself opening up more. It seemed like the kind of fresh, raw winter morning that inspired such confidences. “When I was a kid, we used to have big family Christmases. All four grandparents, my parents, aunts and uncles, cousins, my brother and me. All of us gathered at our house, since my parents made everything festive for the tree farm. This year, I was really hoping for something similar. It’s been so long.”

She kept her gaze on the milky chocolate she carefully stirred on the stove. If she turned her attention away for even a moment, it might burn or curdle.

“Your family’s not around anymore?” Molly asked softly.

Lacey shrugged. “My grandparents are all gone. The uncles and aunts and cousins all have families of their own—and I haven’t heard from them in years anyway. They might as well be strangers. My dad has really bad arthritis, so he and Mom moved to Florida, and it’s agony for him to be in cold weather or to sit on a plane, so I understand why they can’t come up. My brother’s around, but… well, things are a bit strained right now.”

Molly came to stand close to her, propping her butt against the kitchen counter. “I know how lonely Christmas can feel without family. After Greg told me that marriage and fatherhood cramped his style, I wanted to make sure the holidays were all the more special for Josh. But then I lost my parents and brother in a short time—”

Lacey gasped. “Your brother? I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize.”

Nodding, her eyes shining, Molly said, “In Afghanistan. It’s…it’s still hard to talk about. My only comfort is knowing Gabriel was right there with him, holding him when he passed away.”

Abandoning the hot chocolate for a second—because some things were more important than burnt chocolate—Lacey gave Molly a hug. “I’m so, so sorry. I remember watching him play football in high school. I thought he was really hot.”

Molly chuckled and wiped her eyes. “All my friends thought that, too. I was such a shy girl, I think half of them only hung out with me to get glimpses of Scott.”

Turning back to her brew, Lacey stirred until the chocolate had completely melted into the warm milk, then she immediately removed the pot from the heat and ladled hot chocolate into mugs.

“Last year Josh was in rehab in Colorado, and he was staying with Greg, so I had the world’s most awkward Christmas with my ex and his new wife—who apparently doesn’t cramp his style.”

Lacey’s lips twisted. “I always thought he was a massive dick.” She gasped and covered her mouth, horror filling her. “Oh, God, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

But Molly was laughing through her tears. “Why not? He was. Still is. Probably always will be.”

“I know, but believe me, I’ve chosen wrong’uns before—one biggie—and I get so annoyed when people point out that they could see what a douchebag he was. Makes me wonder how blind and stupid I really was.”

Criminally stupid
.

She bit her lower lip. The words bounced around in her head. Weirdly, they no longer sounded like Austin’s voice carrying across an otherwise silent courtroom. They sounded like her own.

Stop it
, she told whatever impulse was trying to shove her back into an emotional prison.

“I know what you mean,” Molly said, taking two of the mugs from the counter and leaving Lacey with the other two. “But somehow it feels different when it comes from someone who knows what that kind of embarrassment feels like. Plus, finally finding the right man helps heal all kinds of humiliations.” A silly grin stole over her face. “I can’t wait to spend this Christmas with Gabriel. It’s going to be magic.”

The right man.

Magic.

Could she dare to hope?

Lacey picked up the mugs of fragrant chocolate and was about to lead Molly back to the mudroom when the door opened and Austin walked in, still bundled in his winter gear and coal-streaked cheeks. His gaze cut across to her, something horrible and guilty in them arresting her in her path. Her fingers tightened around the handles.

“We need to talk,” he said.

“What is it?” She could barely get the words out.

He glanced at Molly, but she skirted around him quickly, saying, “We’ll drink this in the annex and get going. See you guys tomorrow.”

Then she disappeared into the mudroom and, a minute later, out the door. Austin crossed the kitchen and took the mugs from Lacey, setting them on the counter before leading her into the living room and encouraging her to sit on the couch. He sat down hard next to her.

“Austin…” Genuine fear rushed through her. This was a sensible man, a man who’d seen a lot of shit and had pretty good judgment about what mattered and what wasn’t worth getting upset about. It took a lot to rattle him, but something clearly had. “Is it a problem with Lucinda?”

“No.” He took a deep breath, and his hands clenched into fists on his thighs. “The D.A. just called. He wants me to testify.”

*

All the color
drained from Lacey’s face, and Austin’s gut clenched tighter than his fists. He’d figured the call would come, but deep down he’d hoped for more time to build a foundation with her before their past threatened their future.

Lacey’s throat flexed, but she bravely held his gaze. He gave her the same respect in return. “What did you tell him?”

“It wasn’t exactly a request, Lace. It’s part of my job. I have to do it.” Figuring out what to say was a different matter. Emotions intertwined with evidence in disconcerting ways. He’d been trained to separate the two, but thanks to his growing intimacies with Lacey there was no way he could unravel them.

Her shoulders straightened, and she wiped all signs of vulnerability from her face. She morphed into the Lacey she’d been on Thanksgiving when he’d found her in the forest, the day after her parole. The woman who’d seen him as the enemy and done all she could to protect herself.

Her lack of expression made him feel sick.

And so did the question he had to ask. “How did you get involved in the trafficking ring?”

“Am I under caution?”

His throat seized up. “No.”

“Arrest?”

“Hell, no. Lacey, I’m asking for myself.” He reached for her hand, but she yanked hers back before he could make contact.

“You’ll still have to share anything I say with the D.A., won’t you?”

He nodded, and agony flashed through her eyes before she blinked it away.

“I told you everything three years ago. You can read your notes and get the full story.” She pushed herself off the couch and rounded the coffee table, heading toward the hallway.