A Family Christmas. Carrie Alexander

ripe with questions.

      “The sequel, Passionate Embrace, wasn’t quite as good,” Tess finally said with a laugh in her voice.

      “You women.” Evan had to grin. “All that romance gives you barmy ideas.”

      “Sure, blame us if it makes you feel better.” Tess was petite, with short coppery hair and a warm personality—the kind of person who was a pillar of the community, with her penchant for running charity tag sales and Scrabble tournaments. “Got something besides romance on your mind, Evan?”

      He shrugged. What the hell. In for a penny…

      “Don’t read anything into this,” he said.

      The librarian made an agreeable sound that he didn’t believe for a second.

      “But…”

      Tess made an impatient gesture. “C’mon. Out with it, man.”

      He gave in. “Tell me about Wild Rose.”

      CHAPTER THREE

      TESS FROWNED INSTEAD of continuing to tease him. “Like what?”

      “How she got her name, for starters.”

      “She’s had it forever, it seems. I couldn’t say.”

      “You could say. If you wanted to. She’s about your age, right? You must have gone to school together.”

      “She was a grade behind me.”

      “It’s a small school system. I’m sure you knew her.”

      “Yes, but we didn’t hang out. Rose was…”

      “Wild?”

      Tess shook her head. “Not then. I mean, when we were younger. Maybe a little—she grew up with two older brothers. It wasn’t until later that…” She shrugged.

      “So you do know how and when she got the nickname.”

      “Evan, why don’t you just go by what she is now? I’ve been the subject of town gossip myself, so I’m not that eager to repeat tales about another person. Especially when it’s old talk. And who knows what’s truth and what’s exaggeration?”

      “I’m not looking for reasons to condemn the woman, I promise.”

      “Then why?”

      “You saw Lucy with her. She really came out of her shell. So I was thinking I could hire Rose to give Luce drawing lessons. But there’s the woman’s reputation to consider.” And the reason she continued to lurk at his practices and games. Unless…

      What if Rose had a crush on him?

      Heat crawled up his neck. He wasn’t so conceited he thought every woman was after him. But it had been known to happen. After Krissa had died and a decent interval had passed, a number of single ladies had approached him with casseroles and come-ons, both as subtle hints and open-ended invitations. The principal’s secretary had mooned over him for months until he’d spelled out his disinterest. Even though she was going out with one of the bus drivers, she still gave him the occasional lingering glance. And there were some of the high-school girls, who were far too bold.

      “Do you think—” The question stuck in his throat. He couldn’t ask Tess. She might think he was condescending to Rose, especially after he’d been nosing around her reputation.

      “It’s a great idea!” Tess leaned over the checkout desk and gave his arm a squeeze. “From what I just saw, art lessons will really make Lucy blossom. And they might be good for Rose as well.” Tess smiled like a pixie, lifting her brows a little.

      “Don’t get any ideas,” he warned. I’m already having enough for both of us.

      She batted her lashes. “Like what?”

      “I only have a professional interest.”

      “Aw, that’s no fun.” Tess’s mouth straightened. “Rose could use a friend.”

      “Doesn’t she have any? How about you?”

      “I try. I chat her up as much as I can and I’ve invited her places and encouraged her to come to community events. But she’s not very interested. And then, there’s her mother.” Tess leaned forward with her palms on the desk. “She has a sick mother at home.”

      “And Rose takes care of her on her own?” Evan adjusted his thinking on the woman one more time. Apparently Rose wasn’t out partying with the rough crowd who bought their liquor at the Buck Stop.

      Tess nodded. “Rose came back to Alouette for her father’s funeral. I guess it was, hmm, maybe two years ago already.”

      Around the time of Krissa’s illness, Evan thought. No wonder he hadn’t noticed.

      “Her mother’s health was deteriorating and she couldn’t handle the family business on her own,” Tess continued. “So Rose stayed in town.”

      The family business. Evan thought of the quaint but run-down cottages off Blackbear Road. He hadn’t realized they were still operational. Couldn’t be turning much of a profit. “No other family members offered to help?”

      “Her brothers didn’t return for the funeral. Bad blood, there, I hear. One of them went off to join the Army years ago and the other’s in prison.”

      Evan’s alert flag went up. “Prison?”

      Tess scrunched her nose, as if she’d said too much. “Held up a liquor store at gunpoint. Don’t judge Rose by that, okay?”

      “Hard not to,” he murmured.

      The librarian straightened and struck a scolding tone. “Look at her actions—judge those. She runs the rental cabins, she takes care of her mother, she works late hours at the Buck Stop. I’d say Rose is practically a saint.”

      Evan grinned. “Go ahead. Shake your finger at me. I can tell you want to.”

      With a muffled snort, Tess wagged an index finger under his nose. “Don’t make me laugh when I’m lecturing you.”

      “Oh, I’m listening, Marian.” Whenever Tess got too librarian-ish, he used the nickname on her.

      “You’d better. Rose deserves a break.”

      “Yeah,” he said, but he was thinking that it didn’t have to come from him. Arranging the drawing lessons would lead to getting involved, to some degree, and he had already decided not to go down that path.

      “In a small town like this, where people have known each other forever, it’s not easy for someone like Rose to make a fresh start. But with you…” Tess cocked her head. “You have the ability to see her as she is, not through the filter of her past mistakes.”

      “You’re not going to fill me in, are you?”

      Tess hesitated. “I can tell you some of it. Do you promise to be fair?”

      He gave her a look. She should know him well enough by now.

      “All right,” she conceded. “You’re as good a judge of character as anyone I know.”

      “Except when it came to Connor.” Evan had bristled when he’d first met Tess’s fiancé, but then even she had suspected the man of skullduggery.

      Tess rolled her eyes. “Pah. That was a territorial pissing contest. Metaphorically, of course.”

      Evan laughed. “Well, you know men—we’re animals. Connor had to prove himself before I trusted him with you.”

      “You think Rose hasn’t proved herself?”

      “Questions remain.” The lurking, primarily. The rest was his own curiosity.

      Tess walked to the doorway to the children’s room, checking on Lucy’s progress.