Read Online Eggnog and Candy Canes: A Blueberry Springs Christmas Novella by Jean Oram - Free Book Online Page A

reluctantly. Now she felt like a big baby. He was trying to help and she was afraid to face change.
    “Nursing isn’t really that bad,” she said.
    “I didn’t mean to scare you off.”
    “You didn’t scare me off.” Was this man a mind reader? Holy moly. She scooted out from under his arm. “And for your information, you don’t determine me or my life.”
    “You should do this, Katie.” He’d taken her slipping away to his advantage and faced her, grasping her arms. “You have what it takes.”
    “From what I’ve heard, I’m a good nurse, too.”
    “But does it still do it for you? Does it make you want to get out of bed each morning? Is it all you think about? Can you hardly wait to dive into each and every day? Do you lose yourself in it?”
    “What about you? I thought your big dream was administration?”
    He let go. “Beth told me I’d miss my patients, and she was right. I do.” His expression clouded. “I’ve made many mistakes in my life, but you won’t know if this is your real dream unless you chase it. What if there is something better out there for you?”
    “Look, I’ve given it a lot of thought. It won’t work, okay? It was only Mom’s eggnog talking.” Katie crossed her arms and backed down the hallway. “So let’s drop it. It never happened.”
    “It wasn’t the eggnog.”
    “You don’t know squat.” Katie hurried away, ticked that Nash was pursuing her.
    “I know plenty and I know you aren’t happy.” He snagged her arm, turning her to him, his free hand at her jaw. He tipped her head up, his eyes serious. It was just like in her romance novels.
    She got it now. To have someone care enough to chase you down when you were upset. To not care if you got mad at them, because they needed to see you. To understand you. To show that you weren’t alone.
    Too bad it was Nash. A man who would be leaving in less than twenty-four hours.
    “You need things your life isn’t giving you, Katie.” He lowered his mouth to hers and she sagged against him, knowing he could give her so many things. So many things.
    But so many problems, too.
    She pushed him away.
    “What do you want from me, Nash? Am I just your new pet project?”
    “No, Katie. You are the woman I’ve always needed.”
    Okay, she was going to swoon. He’d better be ready to catch her, because it was happening in three, two, one…
    No, she was not going to swoon. He was totally the wrong guy, even though he was perfect in so many ways.
    All the ways in which he wasn’t perfect? He was trying to take over her life, as he had with Beth. He was leaving town tomorrow. He was Beth’s ex. Katie’s brother’s arch rival. Her own nemesis. And he was a controlling perfectionist.
    In other words, he was Nash.
    She launched herself at him, banging him against the wall of the hospital hallway, her lips moving in a flurry over his warm skin. He lifted her up—man, he was strong—and turned so her spine was against the wall, her butt riding the narrow railing that ran along the corridor. His back was warm under her hands and his buttocks were a most excellent blend of firm and soft. Her body was tingling and she never wanted to let go.
    “Well now,” said a familiar voice, and Katie fell off the railing as Nash stepped back in surprise. She crashed against him, cheeks burning.
    “Mary Alice,” she croaked. “There’s a blizzard out there.”
    The woman harrumphed, sending her large bosom lifting under her black snowmobile suit. “Give me some credit, kid.” She brushed the skin near Katie’s mouth. “You have some of Nash’s tonsils on your cheek.”
    He laughed and Katie sent him a glare.
    “Mary Alice.” Nash gave the woman a hug.
    Nash hugging Mary Alice? Okay, something was definitely up. Mary Alice and her sister, Liz, had practically run him out of town when he’d been chasing Beth. And when, weeks after the broken engagement and failed wedding, he’d gone back to the city, the sisters had all but