A Little Christmas Jingle (22 page)

She stood there awkwardly.

“Why were you crying?” He asked. “Did I make you cry?”

“No. The carolers—”

“Were my idea.”

“They were lovely. I'm just melancholy this holiday. Normally I have this huge routine and—”

“Open the card.”

“You're keeping Hallmark in business,” Kat quipped, trying for a bravado she didn't feel. He was larger than life, standing there in fitted Levi's and a deep burgundy, chamois flannel long-sleeved shirt. “Why are you doing this?”

“What?” he asked.

“Being so nice to me. I was a jerk. I called off our deal. Yet you kept up your end. I'm a heel.” Tears threatened.

“Open the card,” Jack urged.

So Kat stuck her finger under the flap and gave a little cry as the paper sliced across the pad, giving her a paper cut. “Oh! Ow.” She pulled back her finger and stuck it in her mouth.

“Let me see.” Jack gently took her hand and tenderly examined her finger. “Let's put a bandage on it. Do you have any?”

“Bathroom.”

He led her into the small space, where he washed her hand in the sink, dried it, and then expertly applied a small adhesive bandage, which wrapped all around her finger. Her body quivered from the intimacy of his actions. She'd missed his touch.
Missed him
.

He guided her back into the living room, sat her on the couch. “Love
Die Hard
. We should watch it sometime,” he told her, retrieving the envelope that had cut her. He removed the card and handed it over. “Here.”

This card was vertical like the first one, and like the other two, it was also white. A beautiful embossed angel decorated the front, complete with golden wings and a silvery halo. Kat opened the card, and as she did, a green bone-shaped dog tag fell into her lap. “Leave it,” Jack said, so she did, and instead read the words on the card: “Joy. Joy. Joy. Wishing You Endless Joy.”

He hadn't signed this one, but simply written “I'm sorry.”

She glanced up to find him staring at her intently. “Me, too.”

He sat down and drew her into his arms. “I botched things.”

“No, I did.”

“You are perfect.”

“Hardly. I left you high and dry.”

“It was the jolt I needed.”

“Then why didn't you answer my messages?”

“I wanted to give us time to think. To have a break. To be able to make a fresh start. One not based in lies.”

“Jack.”

“Shh,” he told her, placing a finger on her lips. She loved his touch. “New year. New start. Until then, it's Christmas. So ask me what we're going to do.”

Her heart soared. “Okay, I'll bite. What are we doing?”

“Attending my mom's Christmas Eve open house.”

Part of her deflated. “I'm not up for company and you no longer need a fake date.”

“No, I don't. I confessed everything to my family. The only thing I need is you. Just you.”

She reached into her lap, pulled out the dog tag. It read simply “Jingle.” Even though Jingle wouldn't wear a collar for a long time, the small gesture touched her. “Why me?”

“Because I love you.”

His words brought tears to her eyes, and she turned the dog tag over, memorizing the etching as a way to keep her composure. Part of her so wanted to believe him! But the practical part couldn't let go yet. Couldn't risk. “This is sweet. I'll hang it on his cage. Thank you. Thanks for all of this.”

“Oh Kat, you're welcome. I wanted your holiday to be special. I promised you that, and I want to make your dreams come true. Please give us another chance.”

“Jack …” Her heart overflowed as did her tears. He hugged her closer.

“Shh. No more tears. From here on out, it's going to be fine. So come with me tonight. It's a huge party that ends when everyone leaves for midnight mass, and I want you there not because it's a deal, but because I can't imagine being there without you. I want you in my life.”

She leaned into him, needing the physical connection they'd always shared. “We can't skip it?”

He moved back. “I'm not allowed to take you to bed.”

“What?”

“Mom's rules. She says I'm to woo you since I've failed to do that. I want to do things right, Kat. I want to fix my terrible track record.”

Wooing sounded wonderful. Sincerity and love—she could read both on Jack's face. She fingered her clothes. It would take her only five minutes to change. He played his ace. “Besides, my sister dropped me off. My car was boxed in. I need a ride back.”

“Oh Jack.” She sighed, realizing his mother was one smart customer. “Really?”

He grinned, spread his hands out on his legs. “Mom's idea. I'm new at this wooing. So please? If you're really opposed, you can just throw me out the car door. But it's Christmas Eve and Bruce Willis can wait.”

True. However … “I always watch for Alan Rickman.”

Jack smiled, and it tugged her heartstrings. “He does make a good villain.”

“Snape, Sheriff of Nottingham. Yep. But I like him as Colonel Brandon, too.”

He tilted his head, exposing a line of five-o'clock shadow. “I don't know who that is.”

She laughed. “You mean your sister didn't make you watch
Pride and Prejudice
?”

He shuddered. “No. My man card didn't punch that one.”

“Promise to watch it with me.”

“If I do, will you come? You'll have your car. You can leave any time.”

She considered her options. Pippa was curled up on Jack's coat, napping away. Ty lay on the floor near the heat register, belly stretched toward the sky. Jack had gone through all this trouble. And she loved Christmas. Being alone was not appealing. “If it gets your mom off your back, I can go for a little while,” she capitulated. “Let me go get ready.”

“Great.” Jack waited until Kat had disappeared into her bedroom to send a group message: “Ten minutes.”

Then he relocated Pippa and put on his coat, and soon he and Kat were on their way. He had more wooing to do.

#

“Kat!” Joyce greeted as soon as she and Jack stepped into the crowded house. “I'm so glad you came.”

“Thank you for inviting me.”

“Of course. Now Jack, put her coat on the bed and get her something to drink.”

“Yes ma'am,” Jack replied.

Kat had to admit she enjoyed the party. No one mentioned her and Jack's troubles, as if there was a prearranged force field around the topic. Instead, people asked about her shelter, inquired after Jingle, and discussed how Kat liked being a vet. She met Mike, Jack's partner, and his wife, Suze, and she liked them both.

Hours passed quickly, and suddenly it was eleven thirty and people were leaving, heading to mass at Our Lady of Sorrows. “Let's skip mass,” she told Jack. “My plan was to go in the morning.”

“How about I follow you home?” Jack wrapped her coat around her as she slid her arms inside. They stepped out into a world of softly falling flakes. It would be a white Christmas after all.

She drove the ten-minute journey slowly; the roads passable if traveled carefully. Jack parked in her driveway and waited as she closed the garage door.

Then as they walked through the back gate, she stopped short. She'd installed a lot of Christmas lights, but now there were more. Thousands more. Spiral Christmas trees lined her sidewalk with waves of small twinkling lights draped between. The effect was a magical fairy walk. “Did you do this?”

“How could I? I was with you.”

“Jack. This must have cost a fortune.”

“I want you happy, Kat. I want this to be your best Christmas ever.”

“You keep making me cry. This is why you had to get me out of the house.”

“Partially,” Jack replied. “There's more though.” He handed her another card.

“Jack.”

“Doesn't a greeting card say it best?”

As they stood in her well-lit, magical backyard, Kat slid her non-injured finger underneath. This card was white like the rest but with a green-embossed wreath. The green words inside read “A wish for peace and happiness at Christmas and throughout the New Year.”

Underneath Jack had written, “and all the years after that. For I love you Kat, and we're going to make this work.”

The last term of endearment hit her hard. A warm, fuzzy feeling blossomed and she didn't even feel the gentle snowfall. Hope bloomed. Jack had given her Christmas magic. Mister-I'm-Not-a-Fan-of-Christmas had sent her a magical ticket, given a gift to the dog she'd saved, serenaded her with carolers, and made sure she hadn't been alone when she'd been feeling down. He'd restored her faith, revived her spirit.

“Let me tell you how this is going to go,” he said. “I love you. I've only known you a short time, but my mother says you know your soul mate. Cecily insists that you simply know, and for the first time, I can say with absolute certainty that I do.

“I've waited my whole life to find you, and I'm not going to let you go. Not again. I made a mistake not telling you how my feelings had changed. Now I stand here and hope you somehow, someday will love me back.”

If hearts could overflow, hers was. “Oh Jack.” She reached for him. “I already do.”

“Then I'm the luckiest guy in the world.”

He brought his lips down to hers, kissing her under the softly falling Christmas snow for what seemed like sweet eternity. Down the road church chimes counted off midnight. His lips left hers. “Merry Christmas, Kat.”

“Merry Christmas, Jack.” She leaned back, secure in his arms, and put her hand out to catch the falling snow. “I love white Christmases.”

“And I love you. I promise you will always know how much.”

“That'll be the best present of all.”

“Better than this?” He pulled a small red box out from his pocket, flipped it open. Inside nestled a beautiful Christmas-themed ring with red, green, and white stones. “When I saw this, I thought of you.”

“It's a beautiful.” Her exhale vaporized in the cold.

“It's a promise ring. I promise you I'm serious about us. Serious about our future. I love you, Kat.”

“I love you, too. I'm so happy. Does it get better than this?”

“I promise it will.”

“Then let's go inside.” She held out her hand. Waited.

“My mom said—”

Kat laughed, grabbed his hand, and tugged him to her. She kissed him hard, until she'd stolen his breath away. “On this I'm overruling your mother. After all, you're mine now.”

“I like the sound of that.”

“Me, too.”

So Jack let her pull him along, under the canopy of twinkling lights, to their first of many Christmases.

One year later

The Missouri Botanical Garden was a plethora of lights, its annual holiday garden glow in full swing. Thousands of lights adorned some of the garden's most famous exhibits, like the Climatron, the Kaeser Memorial Maze, and the Tower Grove House.

Monsanto Hall had been set aglow as well, venue for the annual Pet Rescue gala.

“… so ladies and gentlemen, Detective Jack Donovan,” Jeff Ellis introduced.

“You'll be fine,” Kat whispered, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Jack stood up and walked to the podium. At his heels trotted the real guest of honor, Jingle. The dog had made great strides. Since February, Jack and Kat had been teaching him simple commands. In mid-March, they'd become Jingle's foster parents. They'd officially adopted him the day after Thanksgiving, one year to the day he'd been found.

Jack leaned down and patted Jingle on the head. He adjusted the bow around the dog's neck. Jingle sat quietly next to the podium, the camera projecting his image on the big screen.

Jack began his speech, outlining Jingle's care. The screen displayed a slideshow of pictures, from the horrific beginning through the laser treatments to a shot of Jingle curled up with Pippa. As the show ended, the screen shot again went live.

“Because of the task force, Jingle has his forever home. But it took the work of people like you, donors and Animal Cruelty Task Force partners. It also involved one special person.” Jack looked at the table where his parents, Kat's parents, Matt and Sharon, and Brian and Cecily sat with Kat.

The slide behind him changed, and he saw Kat frown as she read the words that said, “Kat, say this.” But she trusted Jack and followed the directions, calling her pet. “Jingle. Come.”

Unleashed when Jack had adjusted his collar, Jingle gave one bark and trotted over to his beloved mistress. As he sat before her, Kat noticed the little something shiny Jack had attached to the red and green tartan Christmas bow tied to his collar, a bow that hid some of the scars he'd always have.

The screen read “Kat, will you marry me?” but the podium was empty as Jack had moved to kneel at Kat's side. Trembling fingers undid the ring. “Kat, I love you. Will you marry me?” he asked.

“Yes. Oh yes.”

Stronger fingers slid the solitaire on her finger. The camera zoomed in, and Jack and Kat were broadcast to everyone in the hall. Jingle barked again.

“Saints be praised,” Jack's mother Joyce said as everyone in the hall clapped.

“I love you, Kat,” Jack whispered as they stood and Jack held up her hand for all to see.

“And I love you.”

The band began to play, and people moved around them, toward the dance floor. Jingle barked. “Shall we get him out of here?” Jack asked.

“Absolutely,” Kat answered, as Jingle, sensing his advantage, wrapped the leash around her ankles, pressing Kat into the man she loved. She laughed and gave Jack a kiss filled with the promise of all the nights to come. “I want you alone anyway.”