Christmas in Texas. Rebecca Winters

are you going?”

      He didn’t answer, strolling down the hall. She heard the front door open, and Seagal’s voice cheerily greeting someone. Then the door closed and he made it back to his chair.

      “Apple pie,” Seagal announced. “Courtesy of Mrs. Blankenship. Guess Doc told his wife you were in need of something sweet.”

      “Is there a reason the doorbell isn’t ringing?” Capri asked.

      “I disconnected it,” Seagal said, obviously pleased with himself. “You need to rest. I didn’t want you waking up when my cop buddies drop by.”

      This was one of the problems they’d never been able to overcome. “There’s that disconnect you were talking about,” Capri said. “That man-woman disconnect.”

      “Well,” Seagal said, “it’s going to be a long couple of months. You might as well make like a bear and hibernate back here under that lacy comforter.” He looked longingly at the bed.

      She slid the phone under her pillow so he wouldn’t decide to commandeer that, as well. “Go away, Seagal.”

      A snore caught her attention. Just like the old days, Seagal had dropped off like a tired baby. Even snoring he looked handsome, and she thought about tossing another pillow at him.

      She wished he was sleeping in her bed, as he once had. Most nights they’d barely moved, completely curled in each other’s arms.

      It could not be.

      She closed her eyes, relaxing now that Seagal wasn’t watching her. As long as he was sleeping, he wasn’t in her business.

      That was good. It was what she wanted. She didn’t want to start feeling close to Seagal again, not now.

      She might be in bed on doctor’s orders, but she wasn’t going to hand her heart to her husband again—even if it was terribly hard not to remember that once upon a time he’d meant everything to her.

      * * *

      “AT LEAST you’re not lonely,” Kelly said, grinning at Capri as she put a beautiful Christmas-themed bouquet of flowers on the dresser in Capri’s room. “If you think about it, matters could be a lot worse. I would love to have a hunky man hanging out in my bedroom.”

      Capri looked at her highly energetic friend. “I still say you only have to ask Jack and you’d probably get your wish.”

      Kelly sat down in the chair Seagal had dragged into the room yesterday, making himself at home in her room between visits and calls from his buddies and her friends who continuously dropped off food. He hadn’t yet let anybody past the front door.

      “I think Jack’s got his eyes on someone else.”

      Capri looked at her friend. Kelly’s hair was pulled up on top of her head in a flaming-red knot of bouncy fun. Dangling Christmas ornaments hung from her ears, shiny red-striped balls that screamed festive. Capri did not feel festive. “Jack never dated much. Who do you think it is?”

      “I think Daisy Donovan.” Kelly’s face grew downcast, a counterpoint to the happy ornaments bobbing at her cheeks. “I saw them hanging out at the burger joint last night.”

      Capri wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think Jack would date a woman that Seagal was once very serious about.”

      “Serious until he fell for you,” Kelly reminded her.

      Capri always felt pain at the mention of Daisy. “What happened was that they dated for a year. It got too serious, and Daisy decided she wanted to date other people. I jumped on the chance to ask Seagal out.” She shrugged. “We went out, and I’m not ashamed to say we had a very good time. I wasn’t trying to steal him from Daisy, but I wasn’t about to leave him in the pond if she’d decided to cast him back.”

      “Point being, he fell for you.” Kelly grinned. “You’re lying in this bed because he’s crazy about you.”

      “That’s the thing,” Capri said, “I’ve always felt like I did steal him from Daisy. And I think Seagal secretly was still in love with her, but she kept dating Ryder Holland, and so there I was.”

      “Yes,” Kelly said, “there you were. Warm and willing. Always a smart woman. Valedictorian of our class for a reason.”

      Capri moved restlessly, pulling her sheets over her huge stomach. The babies kicked and she put a hand on them to try to calm them. They stayed active almost all the time now, trying to claim space, she supposed. “They would have gotten back together if I hadn’t jumped on Seagal.”

      “So?” Kelly laughed. “If is the biggest, most dramatic word in the English language. Anytime you hear someone say if, hang on. There’s a story coming.”

      “It’s true. Not that I feel guilty about it. I just feel that I never had Seagal in the first place.”

      “Because you didn’t date that long before he led you to the altar.” Kelly nodded. “Everybody was amazed at how quick Seagal was to jump to say ‘I do.’”

      “And then he said ‘I don’t.’” Capri frowned, remembering. “We didn’t think things through before we got married.”

      Kelly leaned back in the toile chair, wagging a finger at Capri. “He’s a man of action. You’re the thinker in the relationship. You want to plan everything to death. Just for once in your life you let yourself get swept, and now you want to overthink it. You’re going to have to accept that Seagal’s approach to dating was how you won a very handsome husband. And now you’re having his twins. Nothing like sweet babies to make a man love a woman even more.”

      She wasn’t sure love was what guided Seagal. “He’s been an absolute general ever since he got back in the house. If he hadn’t needed to make a run, you wouldn’t even be allowed in here.”

      “I bribed him.” Kelly grinned. “I told him I wanted to spend time with Jack. So here I am.”

      “Jack isn’t here.”

      “Jack’s skulking around somewhere. He’s your bodyguard, for the moment.” Kelly waved a languid hand. “Lying low, protecting his best friend’s girl.”

      “This is ridiculous. Nothing’s going to happen to me!” Capri leaned back against the pillows, annoyed. “I don’t appreciate Seagal taking over my life like this. He’s going to hear about it, too.” If she had to lock him out to convince him that no one was coming in and no one was going out—and that included him—that was what she was going to do. “Go find Jack. Drag him off for some alone time. Get him out of my bushes or out of my driveway. Seduce him, if necessary. Please, for my sake.”

      Kelly considered this advice. “If I lure Jack away, Seagal will never allow me to be his stand-in to help you. It was everything I could do to convince him that you’d be fine with me sitting with you.”

      “Help me up. I’ll tell Jack there’s fresh apple pie in the kitchen. Then the two of you can at least sit in the kitchen and chitchat instead of you wilting at my bedside. How do you expect to lure him away from Daisy if you’re not setting your lures out?”

      “I don’t know,” Kelly said, “I’m not much for baiting. Lie down!” She glanced at the door, then got up. “I’ll go see if I can find Jack, if you promise not to move. I’ll only be gone five minutes.”

      Capri warily settled back against the pillows. “If you find him, stay gone as long as you want. Nothing can happen to me while I’m lying in bed, for heaven’s sake. Don’t make me regret trusting you on this mission. I need relief from Seagal in my life.”

      Kelly shot out of the room to find Jack. Capri grabbed the phone from under her pillow and dialed her husband. “Seagal. It’s Capri.”

      “What’s wrong? Is everything all right? I can be home in five minutes—”

      She