Holly And Mistletoe. Susan Mallery

nice to Louise.”

      She gave a quick wave and disappeared into the hallway. Jordan listened to the sound of her footsteps on the hardwood floor until they faded into silence. Then he was alone.

      It was how he preferred to spend his life. Alone. He was used to the solitude. But for the next few days he was going to have company. Louise. Elizabeth had admonished him to be nice. He grimaced. If she knew the truth, she wouldn’t be so eager to have Louise around. But Elizabeth didn’t know. No one did. He wasn’t sure why he’d been so diligent in guarding Louise’s secret. Probably some useless sense of honor. It didn’t matter that he owed her nothing or that she’d destroyed his family. He couldn’t bring himself to betray her.

      He heard footsteps again, but these weren’t his sister-in-law’s. Louise Carberry entered the room and stared at him. She was of average height with short blond hair and blue eyes. He guessed she had to be in her midforties, although she looked younger. A bright, long-sleeved fuchsia blouse hung loosely over purple pants. Louise dressed as if she were color-blind. She folded her arms over her chest and stared at him. He stared back.

      The moment reminded him of wrestling with the damn cat on the landing. He’d won the battle but lost the war when he’d gone over the side of the balcony and fallen to the hard ground below. His gaze narrowed, and he wondered if he would end this encounter equally battered.

      

      Holly parked her car in front of the large Victorian mansion. It was barely after six in the evening, but already it was dark. The sun set before five in the late fall. She could see the faint outline of the beautiful old house. The peaked roof, the oddly shaped windows.

      Years ago this part of Glenwood had been home to the rich and powerful families who made their fortunes in timber, mining and the railroads. By the Second World War most of them had left the small community for San Francisco or Los Angeles, but their houses remained. Some had been torn down, and some had been converted to offices. A few were being restored.

      Holly stared up at the building and wished she had the money to buy one herself. She would turn the downstairs into a showroom and live upstairs. She smiled. It was a lovely dream but had no basis in reality. Still, her fingers itched to feel the original wood molding and trace the shape of the stained-glass windows above the double-wide front door.

      She opened the car door, collected the pink bakery box, then got out. The early evening was still. Only the faint call of a night bird disturbed the silence. She drew in a deep breath and inhaled the scent of trees and the faint hint of some distant fire. The homey scent reminded her she’d lost her home three days ago. Everything she owned had either been crushed or soaked beyond repair. At least Mistletoe was safe.

      Holly clutched the bakery box firmly and started up the stairs. Store-bought cookies wouldn’t begin to repay the debt she owed Fire Captain Jordan Haynes, but they were the best she could do right now. She didn’t have access to a kitchen. As soon as she could afford to get a new place, she would bake something wonderful.

      She climbed the three stairs leading to the front porch. The wide wooden deck was bare. A single light burned by the front door. It wasn’t difficult to imagine what the porch would look like in the summer with sunlight spilling onto the refinished floor. There would be a swing at one end, by the large window on her right. Maybe a white wrought-iron table-and-chair set at the other end. She could see ladies in long dresses and gentlemen in tall hats. Children would play on the lawn, their laughter a happy background noise to the adults’ polite conversation.

      “You are the most stubborn man it’s ever been my misfortune to know.”

      The loud voice startled Holly, and she jumped back. She stared at the front door. She’d been about to knock, but obviously this wasn’t a good time.

      A low male voice rumbled, answering the woman’s claim, but Holly couldn’t make out the words.

      “If I didn’t care about the rest of your family, I’d leave you here to starve,” the woman continued. “It would serve you right, too. Even my Alfred, God rest his soul, wasn’t this fussy about his food.”

      More male rumbling.

      “Fine. Be insulted. You don’t like anything else about me, why should I be surprised that you resent being compared to a dog? Oh, and Alfred was better looking than you, too.”

      Before Holly could step back, the front door flew open. A woman stood in the doorway and stared at her. “I thought I heard a car pull up.”

      Holly didn’t know what to do. She was poised awkwardly on the porch, with one foot behind her as she tried to make her escape.

      “I…” she said, then paused. “I’ve come to see Captain Haynes, but I’ll come back. This obviously isn’t a good time.”

      The woman grimaced. “There’s never a good time with that one. He’s the most stubborn, pigheaded, difficult man I’ve ever met.” She paused and shook her head. “Why you’d want to see him is beyond me, but you might as well come in. Maybe you can talk some sense into him. Oh, by the way, I’m Louise.”

      She held the door open. Holly forced herself to walk forward. Once in the house, she shifted her weight from foot to foot and stared at her hostess.

      The woman wore a bright yellow long-sleeved shirt tucked into cobalt blue slacks. The silver belt around her trim waist matched the moon-and-star silver earrings she wore. The two women were about the same height, although Holly had come straight from work and still wore two-inch heels.

      “What are you doing now?” a male voice inquired. The tone of the question implied the woman was doing something he wouldn’t like.

      “Answering the door. Quit being such a baby. You don’t want me in the room with you, but you yell at me if I go away. Make up your mind, Jordan.”

      “Who is it?” he asked.

      Louise rolled her eyes. “One of your women.”

      “Oh, no,” Holly said quickly. “I’m not—”

      “Which one?”

      Louise glanced at her. “What’s your name?”

      “Holly, but I’m not—”

      “Holly,” she yelled toward the back of the house.

      Jordan was silent. Holly figured he was trying to place her.

      “I’m not one of Captain Haynes’s women,” she said.

      Louise smiled. “Then that makes you a smart girl. That boy is nothing but a difficult toad.” She shouted the last part of the sentence, aiming the words in the direction of what must be his room. After drawing in a deep breath, she released it slowly. “I’m real sorry I ever agreed to this. He’s going to be the death of me. And Lord knows I’m far too young to die.” She paused and drew her eyebrows together. “Who are you, then?”

      “I’m Holly Garrett.” Holly shifted her package to the other arm and held out her hand. “My apartment was destroyed in that big storm earlier in the week. Captain Haynes went back inside to save my cat.” She shook Louise’s hand. “I’m the reason he was injured. Actually Mistletoe is, but I feel responsible.”

      “Mistletoe?”

      “My cat. She got scared once they were out of the apartment and tried to get away. Captain Haynes managed to hold on to her, but in the process he lost his footing on the balcony and fell over the side. I feel terrible about what happened.”

      Louise’s lips started to twitch. She chuckled for a moment. “Felled by a cat. Serves him right.”

      “I brought cookies,” Holly said, holding out the box. “They’re not much. I couldn’t make them myself. I don’t have a kitchen right now. I wish I did. I really like to cook and bake.”

      “Louise!” Jordan yelled.

      “Wait a minute,” she yelled back, then lowered