"And?"

Rebecca rolled her eyes. "We made mad, pa.s.sionate love. All right? Can we drop this now?"

Holly was surprised. "The first night you went over to his house?"

"It was an accident."

Jill sat up. "Honey, there are no accidents."

Rebecca smiled. "You're right. I seduced him. Although he denies it. He says he was the one doing the seducing."

"They all do," Sandy said. "It's better to let them think that. At least they've all grown up. You should have been here in high school. They were dangerous heartbreakers then. No female was safe."

"Did your heart get broken?" Holly asked.

"Not really. Jordan and I went out for a while, but we didn't have chemistry, so we ended up being friends. Good thing for all of us. It would have been so awkward to face him as my brother-in-law if we'd gone at it hot and heavy in the back of his car."

At first Holly didn't recognize the tight feeling inside her belly. Then she realized it was annoyance. She didn't want any of these women to have a past with Jordan. It was illogical and unfair, but it was how she felt.

Then Sandy's smile faded. "All teasing aside, I think we're very lucky women. The Haynes brothers, including Austin, are about the best men I've ever met."

"You're right," Elizabeth said. "I never thought I'd be willing to risk caring about anyone again. Travis taught me differently."

"I agree," Jill said, then sniffed. "But can we please not talk about this. I'm pregnant, and it doesn't take very much to make me cry."

Sandy leaned over the sofa and took her hand. "Don't cry. We'll tell funny stories instead."

Holly reached for the carafe of coffee. It was empty. "I'll go get some more," she said, and stood up.

"I'll help," Rebecca said, and followed her.

When they were in the kitchen, Rebecca shut the door. "I don't mean to intrude. I just wanted to make sure that you're all right. This is new to you, and sometimes the teasing can be a little overwhelming. For what it's worth, if we didn't like you, we wouldn't be telling these wild stories."

Holly felt her eyes tear, and she didn't have the excuse of being pregnant. "Thank you for that. All this is very different for me, but I like having everyone here. You're all so nice and you barely know me."

Rebecca touched her arm lightly. "We heard good things about you. Jordan has talked to his brothers and to Austin. Word gets out. Jordan mentioned your mom died a couple of years ago and you're all alone. We're happy to share our holidays with you."

"Thanks."

Rebecca leaned against the counter. "Austin and Jordan are a lot alike. They're both loners."

"I don't understand. Everyone says that to me, but Jordan's not a loner. He's friendly and open. He's got a great sense of humor. Sometimes I feel as if you're talking about someone else."

Rebecca's delicate eyebrows rose slightly. "Interesting. You're seeing a side of him he keeps hidden from most people. I wonder what that means."

"Nothing," Holly said quickly.

"You know what they say about people who protest too much."

"We're just friends." She ignored the image of the evening she'd spent in his bed. Nothing had happened, she reminded herself. They had both been fully dressed. Well, she didn't have her shirt and bra on, but aside from that...

He'd touched her, though. Touched her in the most intimate way a man can touch a woman. And he'd made her feel wonderful things. He'd shown her the possibilities.

"Why isn't Jordan married?" Holly asked.

Rebecca reached for the pot of brewed coffee and began to pour it into the carafe. "Probably because he doesn't date."

"How could he not? He's so good-looking and fun. There must be women crawling all over him."

"Maybe, but he manages to ignore most of them." Rebecca looked at her. "You're the first woman I've seen him with since I moved to Glenwood, and that's been nearly four years."

Holly couldn't take in that thought. It didn't make sense. "Jordan holds a lot of himself inside. He doesn't open up easily or share what he's thinking."

"I agree with that," Holly said. Jordan rarely talked about personal things. She didn't have a clue as to what he was thinking about her, or their situation.

"The Haynes brothers don't make it easy," Rebecca continued, "but they're worth the trouble. Just one warning. Once you fall in love, there's no getting over it."

Holly took a step back. "You don't have to worry about me. I'm not going to fall in love with Jordan. I know I'm not his type."

Rebecca picked up the full carafe. "Of course you're his type. But that's not what's at issue. As for not falling in love, we don't always get a choice. I'll go ahead and take this back to the living room."

Holly stayed in the kitchen for a few more minutes. Love? The concept startled her. She'd never thought of her feelings in that context. She didn't love Jordan. She barely knew the man. But the word had a nice ring to it. Love. She would like to love someone and have him love her back. But that required trust, and she'd been let down too many times.

She shook her head. Everything was too confusing. This time last month she'd been living a solitary, albeit happy, life. It had been just her and Mistletoe. Her business had been growing steadily, and she was content. Now her life was upside down. Still, she wouldn't trade it away for anything. Looking at the world from a new point of view showed her things she'd never seen before.

She glanced at the clock and saw it was nearly two-thirty. Then she hurried back to the living room. She hoped the men and children didn't return too quickly. She wanted to spend some time with her new friends.

The crowd returned a little after seven. They'd called at five to say they were stopping for dinner. The "hunt" had been successful, but everyone was hungry. The women had ordered pizza and continued the fun until the cars had pulled up in front of the house.

They grabbed coats and walked onto the porch. Holly saw the small trailer was now filled with several cut trees. Children circled the cars, calling out for their fathers to make sure they put each tree on the correct car.

Jordan headed for the stairs. Holly could see he was limping.

"Are you all right?" she asked as she hurried to the edge of the porch.

He looked up. The light by the door illuminated his face. There were shadows under his eyes and lines of strain around his mouth. "I'm tired," he said.

"You're hurting." She tucked her arm under his and helped him inside. He collapsed on one of the sofas.

When she would have settled next to him, he waved her away. "Go be social," he said. "I'll be fine here. Oh, and make sure Kyle brings in the tree."

Holly hesitated, not wanting to leave him alone but knowing she should see everyone off. Reluctantly she returned to the porch. Elizabeth pulled her to one side.

"I have a favor to ask," the woman said. "May I bring over several presents? They're for the children. I'm afraid they're going to find them. I know it will be okay with Jordan, but I don't want him to be responsible for them. Men don't remember things like bringing presents back in time for Christmas morning."

"Sure," Holly said. "There are plenty of closets here. Do you want me to wrap them?"