In the Spirit of...Christmas and A Very Special Delivery: In the Spirit of...Christmas / A Very Special Delivery

“What about your parents?” Jesse asked, coming right back to the conversation.

“Like Kim, they want me to come to them. Right now they’re in Korea, so that wasn’t possible this year.”

“You wouldn’t leave the trees anyway.”

“I might sometime if I could find the right person to run the place for a couple of days.”

He chewed thoughtfully, swallowed and took a drink of tea before saying, “I would have done it this year if you’d said something.”

Lindsey’s insides filled, not with the sumptuous Thanksgiving meal, but with the pleasure of knowing Jesse meant exactly what he’d said. She mulled over the statement as she watched him eat with hearty male abandon.

“I never would have considered asking you.”

Fork in hand, he stiffened. His silver eyes frosted over. “You don’t trust me to do a good job?”

“Of course, I trust you.” Almost too much, given how little she knew about him. “I only meant that leaving you to do all the work while I vacationed would be a huge imposition.”

His tense jaw relaxed. “Oh.”

He studied the rapidly disappearing food on his plate, some thought process that Lindsey couldn’t read running amok inside his head.

A vague unease put a damper on Lindsey’s celebratory mood. Why had Jesse reacted so oddly?

She bit into the tart cranberry-and-sage-flavored dressing, pondering. Had she offended him? Or was the problem deeper than that?

Jade, who’d been busily doing damage to the ear of corn, stopped long enough to take a huge helping of turkey.

“You won’t eat that,” Jesse said, reaching for the meat.

Jade slid the plate out of his reach. “It’s for Sushi. She’s hungry and lonely. She might be crying.”

Lindsey couldn’t believe her ears. Jade worried about the dog without any encouragement from the adults? Was this the break she’d been praying for?

Jesse seemed to recognize the moment, too, for he tossed down his napkin and said, “Can’t have Sushi crying.” Chunk of dark meat in hand, he pushed back from his chair. “Let’s take her this.”