The Sergeant's Christmas Mission. Joanna Sims

hands on a dish towel, and by the time her hands were dry, she had made a decision. She had made one too many sandwiches, and instead of wrapping it up and putting it into the refrigerator, she wrapped it up in a paper towel and took it out to Shane.

      “I know you said you weren’t hungry.” She held out the sandwich to him, spotting the open beer at his feet. “But I don’t really consider barley and hops a hearty lunch.”

      Shane frowned at her for a split second before he silently took the sandwich. Recon took the opportunity, with his tail wagging, to greet her again. He licked her arm and she found a spot behind his ear that he liked to have scratched.

      “I heard you playing the other night.”

      Shane had eaten half of the sandwich in one giant bite. He was chewing, so he couldn’t answer right away. He swallowed hard, took a swig of beer and then said, “Ginny never minded me playing at night.”

      “Oh. I don’t mind.” She wanted to reassure him. “I...” Rebecca paused, not sure she wanted to share the fact that he had, unknowingly, given her a private concert. “Actually, I sat on the back porch stairs and listened to you.”

      Their eyes met, and she was so taken with the blue of his eyes. Those eyes drew her in and held her suspended for a minute before she could remind herself to look away.

      “I’ve never heard anyone play a guitar like that before.”

      It had been sad and haunting and passionate. Shane played the guitar with all the emotion he couldn’t seem to express in his expression or in his words. In so many ways, perhaps too many ways, Shane reminded her of her beloved father.

      “Then I’ll keep on playing for you.”

      She tucked her hands into her back pocket and shifted her weight onto one hip. “I wanted to talk to you about the new lease.”

      Shane crumpled the paper towel in his hand and she reached out to take it from him instinctively, as she would with Carson or Caleb.

      “I like you, Shane. You seem like good people. You know the house, you take care of the yard and I could really use the extra income right now while I’m settling in and looking for work. So, if you want to stay on, I’ll have the attorney send over the lease.”

      “I want to stay.”

      “Good. Then it’s settled.”

      “Same rent?”

      “Same rent.”

      He stood up, crossed the short distance to her and held out his hand. “I appreciate this, Rebecca.”

      “Of course, the old lease only accommodated for one pet. We’ll have to change that to account for Top.”

      “I’ll pay an additional pet deposit, if you’d like.”

      “No.” She shook her head. “I’m just grateful that you saved her. Any news when she can come home?”

      “Tomorrow.”

      “That soon?”

      He nodded.

      “That’s wonderful, Shane. Caleb is going to be over the moon when he hears. I’m going to warn you now, he’s going to beg you to see her.”

      “He can come see her.”

      “Well, if either of my boys start to wear out their welcome with you, don’t be shy, just tell them the truth and they’ll respect it.”

      He gave her another nod.

      “Well, I’d better get back to work. Those boxes aren’t going to unpack themselves.”

      The last time, she had something to add to the conversation—this time, it was Shane who stopped her from leaving.

      “I forgot the thank you. For the lunch.”

      It wasn’t his words that made her pulse quicken; it was the way he looked at her, like he really saw her. When Shane looked at her, it felt as if he was able to read all of the secrets of her soul. It was unnerving and, if she was being honest with herself, exciting.

      “It was my pleasure, Shane.”

       Chapter Four

      Rebecca was just breaking down the last box in the living room when an unexpected knock on the door made her jump. She dropped the box and walked over to the front door; she looked through the peephole and saw her sister, Kelly, standing on her front porch. They hadn’t spoken to each other for weeks, and they hadn’t seen each other in person since she moved to Bozeman. It was a fact of their strained relationship that just because they lived in the same town didn’t mean that they would spend time together.

      “Hi, Kell.”

      “I called. And sent a slew of texts.”

      Rebecca slipped her phone out of her back pocket and saw that there was a missed call and several text messages from Kelly. “I probably didn’t hear it over the vacuum.”

      Kelly handed her a manila envelope. “Aunt Ginny’s attorney accidentally sent this to me instead of you.”

      Rebecca took the envelope, which had been opened and then resealed with scotch tape. She stepped back, opening the door wider.

      “Do you want to come in?”

      Her sister hesitated, looking at the interior of the house, before she stepped across the threshold. Rebecca shut the door and opened the envelope while she followed her sister into the living room. Copies of Shane’s new lease, with revised stipulations, were inside.

      “Thank you for bringing these over.” She set the envelope of the counter. “Do you want to sit down?”

      Kelly was standing in the living room area, looking around with a disdainful look on her attractive face. Her sister, in her opinion, had managed to snag all of the good genes in the family. She was tall and slender; her hair was thick and wavy and shiny, while Rebecca was in a constant battle with frizz. Their mother, who hadn’t been inclined to get her braces on her teeth, changed her mind with Kelly, and now her sister had perfect straight white teeth. And Kelly always had a sense of style; she always looked put together even if she was wearing jeans. It was the way Kelly wore the clothes, the way she carried herself, that set her apart from most women, especially her older sister.

      “Talk about a time warp.” Kelly didn’t sit down. She held her designer bag, which was hooked on to her arm, next to her body as if she was afraid that something living in the purple shag carpet would grab it and take it back to the abyss.

      “I know.” Rebecca smiled. “When I was a kid, I thought Aunt Ginny’s purple shag carpet was the coolest thing I’d ever seen in my life.”

      “I never thought that.” Kelly checked her phone.

      There was a tense pause between them and then her sister turned toward her, and Rebecca, just by the pinched, superior look on Kelly’s face, braced herself for a sisterly lecture.

      “I assume that those leases mean that you are going to keep Shane as a tenant?”

      It wasn’t a secret that Kelly had been lobbying Aunt Ginny to find a new tenant, and once her sister knew that she was going to live in the house instead of sell, Kelly’s desire to have Shane find a new place to live had transferred to her.

      “What is your beef with Shane?” Rebecca crossed her arms in front of her body. “He was good to Aunt Ginny and, so far, he’s been good to me and the boys.”

      “I don’t have a beef with Shane,” Kelly retorted. “I’ve known him for years. He’s a nice guy.”

      “So? What’s the problem?”

      Kelly sighed in irritation. “You know I don’t like to gossip.”