Holiday Homecoming. Jean C. Gordon

only pray that coming back might help put her on a calmer path, too.

      Natalie tensed as Connor left the group and walked to the piano. She looked furtively for someone, anyone else, heading her way.

      “Thanks again, Nat,” he said, slipping into the familiar nickname only her family and friends in Paradox Lake used. “See you next week.” He raised his hand in farewell as he walked past her and the piano.

      “I’ll be here.” She released a pent-up breath and her anxiety about having to deal with him one-on-one flowed out with it. His short, politely distanced words were exactly what she wanted from him. So why did she feel a little more empty with each step he took away from her?

      * * *

      “So, what’s with you and the piano player?” Jared accosted Connor as he headed toward the utility room to let Drew know that the choir was done.

      “I can help with that one.” His other brother, Josh, seemed to appear from the shadows. “Natalie was Connor’s first love.”

      The mocking tone Josh put on the last two words ignited a spark of anger. “Where’d you come from?” Connor asked, forcing himself to ignore the taunt. This was Josh, after all. The man who’d never dated a woman long enough to have any feelings for her.

      “I stopped by to help Drew and the kids with the settings. He gave me the key to give to you to lock up.” Josh handed him a key ring. “Now, back to the beauteous Natalie Delacroix...”

      Natalie was beautiful, and Josh was no longer mocking. Still, Connor had a childish urge to demand Josh “take that back,” the kind of demand that had resulted in more than one teenage brother brawl.

      “I think the lady dumped our baby bro their last year of college,” Josh said.

      “Something like that,” Connor mumbled, glad that Josh didn’t know the full story. Even though the two of them were close, Josh had a reckless streak that had stopped Connor from telling him beforehand that he was going to ask Nat to marry him, despite Connor having been certain at the time that she’d say “yes.” That move had saved him from the embarrassment of having to share being shot down.

      “You guys still on for helping me with the cottage Saturday morning?” Josh asked.

      For once, Josh’s habit of making things all about him didn’t bother Connor.

      “We’ll be there,” Jared said. “Brendon can’t wait. I got him his own scaled-down tool belt.”

      Connor admired the way his oldest brother had bonded with his stepson and went out of his way to be a father to him in a way their father had never been to them.

      “Connor?”

      “Sure, as long as nothing more pressing comes up.” Connor couldn’t think of any reason right now that he wouldn’t be able to help Josh work on the decrepit lakeside cottage he’d bought to fix up and sell. He was being contrary. Josh had a way of bringing the worst out in him.

      His brother frowned.

      “Like an emergency with one of my parishioners.”

      “Right. See you Saturday.” Josh left.

      “I’m going to do a walk around to make sure everything is turned off before I lock up,” Connor said to Jared. “Catch you at Josh’s Saturday.”

      “You can’t get rid of me that easy,” Jared said. “I need a lift home. I told Becca if she finished earlier than we did to go ahead home, and I’d get a ride from you.”

      “Pretty sure of yourself.”

      “Yeah.”

      Connor tossed his car keys at his brother. “Make yourself useful and go run the heater so the car’s warm when I get out.”

      A couple of minutes later, Connor joined Jared. He put the car in Reverse to pull out of the parking space.

      “Natalie Delacroix,” Jared said out of nowhere. “I knew I recognized her.”

      Connor hit the brakes harder than necessary and skidded on the icy parking lot. Recognized her from where? She would have been eleven when Jared left Paradox Lake for the motocross circuit.

      “When I was racing in the Midwest, she was a reporter on one of the local stations,” Jared said.

      Connor shrugged and put the car in Drive. “She had a mentor her senior year who was an anchor at one of the Chicago affiliate stations. He was a guest instructor at Syracuse. She’d talked about him helping her get a job when she graduated.”

      “No, this was a smaller, local station. But I’m sure it was her.”

      “Maybe. After we broke up, I didn’t keep track of her. It was part of my ‘get Natalie out of my system’ program.”

      “That bad?” Jared asked.

      “That bad.” Connor considered telling him about his proposal, but thought again.

      Jared nodded and went quiet for a couple of minutes. “Kirk Sheldon. Was that her mentor?”

      “Sounds right.” Connor knew it was right.

      “You can take this for what it’s worth. I only know what I read on the ‘People’ page of a suburban Chicago newspaper.”

      Connor glanced sideways at his brother. Jared looked like he was weighing whether to continue. “Since when do you read gossip pages?” he asked to fill the lull.

      Jared glared at him. “Since my publicist suggested it. The page had a story about me that she’d wanted to make sure I read as a lesson in what I shouldn’t be doing.”

      Connor snorted. “You’re going to tell me there was a story about Natalie, too?”

      “Do you want to hear this or not?”

      He wanted to put his hands over his ears and shout no. “Go ahead,” he said.

      “It was before I caught her on TV that time. I didn’t connect the two until now.”

      “I don’t need background. Just the details.” And the fewer, the better.

      “The news anchor was estranged from his wife, an overseas correspondent, and apparently dating Natalie.”

      Natalie and her professor? Connor clenched his jaw. She’d gone on about Kirk this and Kirk that. He’d thought it was her usual chatter. Had she been two-timing him? The man had to be fifteen years older than them. He gripped the steering wheel until his hands hurt.

      “I know the paper blew it all out of proportion. They always do.” Jared stopped again. “To cut to the chase, the news anchor and his wife reunited and he publicly apologized for his indiscretions. Natalie was his latest. He stopped just short of naming names, but the writer insinuated that he was involved with Natalie. The story covered the reconciliation. ‘Local anchor breaks love triangle and reconciles with wife,’ or some such garbage. Natalie was collateral damage.”

      Poor Natalie. Despite his fresh hurt that she might have been interested in Kirk before they’d broken up, he wasn’t going to judge. Only God could do that.

      “I can’t tell you what to do,” Jared said. “But I’d take care.”

      Connor got the implied “concerning Natalie.”

      “Much as I hated the bad press I got when I was on the motocross circuit, parts of it were true. And the reputation I got from those stories hurt Becca. Your contract is up for renewal at the end of the year. Some of the members of the congregation are still warming up to your being Jerry Donnelly’s kid. And I know how much serving here means to you. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

      “I’m a big boy. I can handle my own life.” Connor yanked the steering wheel to turn into Jared’s driveway and brought the car to an abrupt stop.

      “See