Holiday Homecoming. Jillian Hart

of his Rolex “—9:07 at night?”

      “Working.”

      “Yeah? I remembered you were studious in high school. What did the valedictorian of Valley High grow up to be?”

      “An advertising executive.”

      “Well done. You live in Seattle?”

      “I do. Not a hard guess, since the flight originated there. You, too?”

      “Nope, just up checking out a job offer.” Less comfortable talking about that, he hauled his feet in from the aisle and sat up straight. Too late to change the subject. It wasn’t pretty Kristin McKaslin’s fault his life was messed up.

      Okay, it wasn’t a mess yet, but it wasn’t the fit he wanted, either. He’d become a successful doctor. It just didn’t feel right to him. And after the breakup with Francine—

      “Wow, a job offer.” Kristin was even prettier when she smiled. “Who in their right mind would hire you?”

      “Right. I’m suspicious of their offer right up front.” They’d been good people, that’s what. Professional, smart, with a good, positive focus. Not at all like the profit-oriented outfit he was stuck with in Scottsdale. “What kind of dudes are they, if they want me to join up with ’em?”

      “Smart ones. Are you gonna go for it?”

      A loaded question, but his problems weren’t Kristin’s, so he’d leave out the personal stuff. “Not sure about what I’m gonna do. I’m looking for a change. I have a great practice, but Phoenix is a little hot for me in the summers. Still, I suppose that’s why air-conditioning was invented.”

      “Your practice? Oh, wait. I remember something about you getting into medical school long ago. Knowing you, that couldn’t be true.”

      “Hard to believe they actually took a no-account like me.”

      “For a jock, you weren’t too dumb. Guess how hard I had to study to beat your GPA?”

      “Hard? Good, cuz I worked my toes off and I couldn’t get half as many one hundred percents as you did.”

      She sparkled, but not in the way of women who realized he was a single man and a doctor. No, she was quiet class, all the way from her polished brown loafers to the carefully folded neck of her sort-of-brown turtleneck. Warm, though, not stuffy.

      Her voice was soft elegance. “What kind of doctor are you?”

      “An orthopedic surgeon.”

      “Sure, you have the ego for it.”

      “Hey, I don’t deserve that. Okay, maybe I do. But I like helping people. Fixing their blown-out knees and torn ankles. What about you? An advertising exec, huh? Does that mean you’re a big shot in the advertising world?”

      “Yeah, right. I make sure the agency runs without a hitch. It’s a good job but not very glamorous.”

      “I can see you, diligent and kind and handling everything just right.”

      “Same old Ryan, charming and full of it. Some things never change.”

      “Don’t they? Back in school you were too high and mighty for me.”

      “High and mighty?”

      “One of the perfect McKaslin girls.”

      “Perfect, my foot! Good grief, I’m a mess. A walking disaster.”

      “Yeah, uh-huh. You sure look like it.” He rolled his eyes to emphasize his point. Ryan didn’t think there could be a nicer family of women on the planet.

      Part of the McKaslin genes, he figured. With Kristin, there was no mistaking her girl-next-door freshness, even in her power suit.

      What kind of executive did she make? One who said please and thank-you, was his guess, and it clashed with the ice-princess high-end designer jacket, sweater and slacks she wore.

      Maybe he’d lived in a big city for too long. Whoa—that thought was something his mom would say. Not for the first time tonight he wished he’d paid for his mom to come down for Thanksgiving. Montana came with too many lessons learned. Lessons that haunted him to this day.

      “It’s weird seeing you like this. On the same plane heading home.” It blew his mind, that’s what, because he didn’t believe in coincidences. All things happened for a reason.

      “I haven’t seen you since, what, high school?”

      “When I left for college, I left for good. I keep trying to lure Mom to Phoenix, but she won’t do it. She calls every Sunday afternoon, after church. To make sure I’ve gone to worship like a good son.”

      “Good. You need someone to keep you in line. I’ve lost track of nearly everyone. It’s weird how in school we had all the time in the world, our future ahead of us, and now that we’re in the middle of those futures, there’s no time at all.”

      “Exactly. Now I put in long hours. I’ve got no time.”

      “What? You’re a doctor. Why are you working long days? Don’t you people golf on Tuesdays and Fridays?”

      “Some do. I have school loans to make good on, and the balance is higher than most people’s mortgages.”

      “Ouch. I’m glad I worked my way through school.”

      He crooked a doubtful eyebrow. “Worked? Didn’t you get the only four-year scholarship in our graduating class?”

      “Yeah, but that was for tuition. I had a part-time job in the university library on the weekends, and I worked during the summers.”

      “I was volunteering in clinics and did a year in the Peace Corps so I had a better shot at med school.”

      “I’ve heard medical school isn’t all that competitive.”

      That made him laugh. “Yeah. I spent a year in the Dominican Republic assisting a physician. That year did more to make a man of me than anything. I hope it made me a much better doctor.”

      “I can’t imagine you’re a bad one. Arrogant, maybe.”

      “Hey!” He laughed with her. He liked her, he couldn’t help it. But seeing her reminded him of a time in his life that was complicated. “It’s good to see you. I’m glad you’re doing well.”

      “You, too.” Kristin closed the laptop and focused her full attention on Ryan Sanders. Dr. Ryan Sanders. That was going to take some getting used to. She could still see the spirited young boy inside the responsible man.

      Not that she was interested. So she’d noticed that his left hand was suntanned and ringless. He’d made the effort of renewing their acquaintance. He’d been so complimentary and friendly. Why was she even thinking in this direction?

      Doom. Disaster. She’d never wanted a relationship. She would never lean on a man. She was fine all by herself, even if that got lonely sometimes.

      “Here comes the beverage cart. I’d better get back to my seat now or I’ll be trapped here.” He rose, all six feet plus of him, filling the aisle. “Maybe I’ll see you around town?”

      “Maybe. If I see you on the sidewalk, I won’t run in the opposite direction.”

      “Deal. I’ll try not to run into a store and hide from ya.”

      And he was gone, ambling down the aisle.

      Ryan Sanders. He filled her thoughts as she opened the three-ring binder and flipped up the laptop’s screen. Imagine that, running into him. Had she even heard much about Ryan over the years?

      No, just comments from Mom now and then on how Mary’s son had straightened out his life. Finally. And how Mary was lonely for him.

      Wasn’t loneliness an integral part of life? Troubled, Kristin tried to