Jingle-Bell Baby. Линда Гуднайт

She held out her arms. “Give me the princess.”

      Jenna complied, happiness replacing the gloom. She wasn’t alone anymore.

      As the nurse settled the baby and strapped her in, Jenna watched, learning. She wasn’t stupid. She was just inexperienced.

      “All set.” Crystal slammed the back door. Sophie’s little arms jerked upward but before Jenna could rush to soothe her, she’d resettled.

      “Thank you for everything, Crystal.” Jenna slid behind the wheel, uncertainty overtaking her again. What now?

      “You are as welcome as summer.” Crystal, holding the driver’s door open, leaned in, her dark eyes soft with concern. “Honey, are you going to be all by yourself with this new baby? Do you have anyone to help you?”

      “Oh, certainly, I’ll have plenty of—” Jenna lifted a hand to wave off the suggestion that she had no one and then let the hand fall against the warm steering column.

      “No,” she admitted, suddenly needing to talk to this young woman who was kindness personified. “My husband died. I’m alone, looking for a place to start fresh. I thought Sophie and I would be happier somewhere new, away from the memories.” She gave a pathetic little laugh. “So here we are.”

      That much was absolutely true.

      Crystal draped an arm over the top of the car door, all her weight on one hip. “So that explains it. I knew something was not right, but bless your heart, all alone. That’s awful.”

      The woman’s compassion was almost Jenna’s undoing. She fought back a wave of self-pity, and then, angry at herself, she refused to acknowledge the emotion. She’d chosen this route even if things hadn’t gone quite as smoothly as she’d planned. Starting fresh was the best thing for Sophie, no matter how difficult the first few weeks might be. She could do this. She wanted to do this. For her baby girl and even for herself. Alone was better than lonely and utterly dependent, with your life mapped out before you were out of diapers. Now that she had Sophie, she would never be lonely again.

      Stiffening her spine, she said, “Can you direct me to a hotel?”

      After a moment’s consideration, Crystal took a scrap of paper from her uniform pocket and scribbled on it. “There’s a little B and B over on Second Street, not fancy but decent and clean. Terri Wallace runs it. We graduated high school together. Nice gal. Tell her I sent you. I put my phone number on there, too. Call me if I can do anything. Or just to talk. I can always use a new friend.”

      A friend. Crystal couldn’t begin to comprehend how much the offer heartened Jenna.

      “Could I ask one more favor?”

      “Name it.”

      “I need a job.” She swallowed her pride and said the rest. “In a hurry. Do you have any suggestions?”

      The darkly pretty face twisted in thought. “Can’t think of anything right off.”

      Jenna’s hopes fell. She pressed her lips together in dismay. Maybe Saddleback wasn’t the right town. Maybe she should drive on to Austin or even on to Los Angeles, where she and Sophie could get lost in the masses. But she was too tired and shaky from childbirth to drive that far today.

      “Listen,” Crystal was saying. “The county employment office is located here in Saddleback. It might be worth a try.” She rattled off an address. “In a few days, when you’re feeling rested, just drive down Main Street. When you see the boot store—you can’t miss it, there’s an enormous sign out front shaped like a big red cowboy boot—the employment office is right across the street. Shirley McDougal runs the place. Sweet as pie. She knows everyone and everything in Saddleback. Go talk to her. Tell her I sent you.”

      “I don’t know how I’ll ever repay your generosity.”

      Crystal patted her shoulder. “Just take care of Princess Sophie and give me a call when you get settled. We’ll have lunch or something.”

      Still stunned by the kindness of strangers in this Texas town, Jenna could only nod, fighting back the tears that suddenly clogged her throat.

      Crystal stepped back from the car, lifting a hand to wave as Jenna slammed the door, cranked the engine and pulled out of the Saddleback Hospital parking lot.