Home for Christmas. Debbie Macomber

and his stomach felt hollow, but he wasn’t in the mood to cook. Had there been time before she left, Jane would have filled the freezer with precooked dinners he could pop into the microwave. When they heard he was a temporary bachelor, Frank and Dovie had dropped off a meal, but that was long gone. The cupboards were full, the refrigerator, too, but nothing seemed easy or appealing. Because he didn’t want to bother with anything more complicated, he reached for a bag of microwave popcorn. That would take the edge off his hunger, he decided. Maybe later he’d feel like putting together a proper meal.

      The scent of popped corn enticed him, but just as he was about to start eating it, the phone rang. Cal grabbed the receiver instantly, thinking it might be Jane.

      “Pattersons’,” he said eagerly.

      “Cal, it’s Annie.”

      Annie. Cal couldn’t squelch the letdown feeling that settled over him. Annie Porter was his wife’s best friend and a woman he liked very much. She’d moved to Promise a few years back and had quickly become part of the community. The town had needed a bookstore and Annie had needed Promise. It wasn’t long before she’d married the local vet. Cal vaguely recalled Jane asking him to phone Annie. He’d forgotten.

      “I just heard about Jane’s dad. What happened? Dovie was in and mentioned that Jane went to stay with her parents—she assumed I knew. I wish someone had told me.”

      “That’s my fault,” Cal said. “I’m sorry, Annie. On the way to the airport, Jane asked me to call…” He let his words drift off.

      “What happened?” Annie asked again, clearly upset. Cal knew she was close to Jane’s parents and considered them a second family.

      Cal told her everything he could and apologized a second time for not contacting her earlier. He hoped Annie would see that the slight hadn’t been intentional; the fact was, he hated to make phone calls. Always had.

      “I can’t imagine why Jane hasn’t called me herself,” she said in a worried voice.

      Cal had assumed she would, too, which only went to show how hectic Jane’s days must be with her parents and the children.

      “Jane will be home in a week,” Cal said, trying to sound hopeful and reassuring—although a week seemed like an eternity. He pushed the thought from his mind and forced himself to focus on their reunion. “Why don’t you give her a call?” he suggested, knowing Annie was going to want more details. “She’d love to hear from you, I’m sure.”

      “I’ll do that.”

      “Great… Well, it’s been good talking to you,” he said, anxious to get off the phone.

      “Before we hang up, I want to ask you about Nicole Nelson.”

      “Who?” Cal had no idea who she was talking about.

      “You don’t know Nicole? She came into the bookstore this afternoon and applied for a job. She put you and the bank down as references.”

      “Nicole Nelson,” he repeated. The name sounded vaguely familiar.

      “I saw you talking to her at the rodeo,” Annie said, obviously surprised that he didn’t remember the other woman.

      “Oh, yeah—her,” he said, finally recalling the incident. Then he realized how he knew Nicole. She’d been a good friend of Jennifer’s. In fact, they’d been roommates at the time he and Jennifer were engaged. “She put my name down as a job reference?” He found that hard to believe.

      “She said she’s known you for a number of years,” Annie added.

      “Really?” To be fair, Cal’s problem hadn’t been with Nicole but with Jennifer, who’d played him for a fool. He’d been too blinded by his first encounter with love to notice the kind of woman she was.

      “Nicole said if I had any questions I should ask you.”

      “It’s been years since I saw her—other than at the rodeo last week.” He did remember talking to her briefly. She’d said something about how good it was to be back in Promise, how nice to see him, that sort of thing. At the time Cal had been distracted. He’d been more interested in watching the rodeo and cheering on his friends than in having a conversation with a woman he’d had trouble recognizing. Besides, Jane was upset with him and appeasing her had been paramount. He’d barely noticed Nicole.

      “Did she list any other personal references?” he asked.

      “No, I told her you and the bank were the only ones I needed,” Annie continued. “So you do remember her?”

      “Sure. It’s just that it was a long time ago.”

      “You went out with her?”

      Leave it to Annie to ask a question like that. “No, with her best friend. We almost got married.” No need to go into details. Jennifer had taught him one of the most valuable lessons of his life. The worth of that experience could be measured in the pain and embarrassment that resulted when she’d callously canceled the wedding. He could’ve lived with her breaking their engagement—but why did she have to wait till they were practically at the altar?

      “I talked with Janice over at Promise First National about her job history,” Annie said, interrupting his thoughts. “She doesn’t have anything negative to say about Nicole, but if you’re uncomfortable giving her a recommendation…”

      “Oh, I’m sure Nicole will do a great job for you.”

      The length of Annie’s hesitation told him he hadn’t been very convincing.

      “Nicole’s fine, really,” he added. He didn’t actually remember that much about her. She always seemed to be there whenever he picked up Jennifer, but he couldn’t say he knew her. Years ago she’d been a sweet kid, but that was the extent of his recollection. He couldn’t dredge up anything that would prevent her from selling books. He’d never heard that she was dishonest or rude to customers, and those were things that would definitely have stuck in his mind. It was difficult enough to attract good employees; Cal didn’t want to be responsible for Annie’s not hiring someone simply because he had negative feelings about that person’s friends.

      “I was thinking of hiring her for the bookstore.”

      “Do,” Cal urged.

      “She seems friendly and helpful.”

      “I’m sure she is,” Cal said, and glanced longingly toward the popcorn.

      “Thanks, Cal, I appreciate the input.”

      “No problem.” He didn’t know what it was about women and the telephone. Even Jane, who had a sensible approach to everything and hated wasting time, could spend hours chatting with her friends. Just thinking about his wife produced a powerful yearning. Nothing seemed right without her.

      “I’ll give Jane a call later,” Annie was saying.

      “Good plan.” He checked his watch, wondering how much longer this would take.

      “Thanks again.”

      “Give Nicole my best,” he said, thinking this was how to signal that he was ready to get off the phone.

      “I will,” Annie promised. “Bye, now.”

      Ah, success. Cal replaced the receiver, then frowned as he attempted to picture Nicole Nelson. Brown hair—or blond? He hadn’t paid much attention to her at the rodeo. And he couldn’t imagine what would bring her back to Promise. Not that she needed to justify the move, at least to him. His one hope was that he didn’t give Annie reason to regret hiring her.

      Mary Ann’s squeal of delight woke Jane from a deep sleep. She rolled over and looked bleary-eyed at the clock radio and gasped. Ten o’clock. She hadn’t slept that late since she was in high school. Tossing aside the covers, she reached for her robe and headed out of the bedroom, yawning as she went.

      “Mom!”