“Why would any woman look beyond that?”

“Having two kids to feed makes women do all kinds of things. But I’m sure she would have buckled eventually. Anyway, Mom filed for divorce and pinned him down long enough to get the papers signed. After that, he was gone.”

When Jessie shivered, Jack pressed the button and closed the moonroof. He found a switch and clicked on the seat heaters. “Was that hard on her?”

Jessie shrugged. “I’m sure it was. But she quickly replaced him with husband number two, then three. Lately she just shacks up with them long enough until the new wears off, then finds another.”

“That’s cold,” he said.

“It’s the truth. She lives just outside of Fontana, but my sister would rather live with me and Danny than deal with her drama all the time.”

Jack stretched his arm out along the back of the seat. “That’s just smart. No one needs that kind of instability in their life.”

“True.”

“You and your sister are close, then?”

Jessie brushed away a lock of hair that had fallen in her eyes. “Very. What about you and your sister…close?”

“We get along, but I wouldn’t say we’re close. She’s wild, doesn’t want to grow up.”

Jessie laughed. “This from the guy I met coming back from a weekend in Vegas with his buddies, ‘borrowed’ this evening gown and shoes for a near stranger, and sneaked the hotel’s limo to give a girl a ride home. If you’re calling her wild, I think it runs in the family.”

Jack tossed his head back, laughing. He guessed he didn’t exactly look like a choirboy in Jessie’s eyes. “Since you put it that way…”

“Do you see your family during the holidays? I’m guessing you didn’t for Thanksgiving since you’re still here.”

“I try and get home, but it doesn’t always work out. What about you? Did you see your mom on Thanksgiving?”

“Couldn’t avoid it. When Renee Effinger—that’s my mom’s name—invites you, you better go. If you don’t, be prepared for some serious guilt the next time you see her. It didn’t matter that I’d worked the morning before, didn’t matter that none of us like her cooking, you’d better come.”

“I guess that means you’ll be with her over Christmas.”

“Probably. Danny thinks she’s funny. It’s my sister and me that she rubs wrong. Everyone else loves her. Heck, you’d adore her.” Jessie leaned her head forward onto her bent elbow resting on the back of the seat.

“Has she done anything awful?”

“No, not really. She tried her best raising us. Which isn’t easy when there’s only one income. I know that more than anybody does. I think maybe I’m ticked at her for not finding one guy and sticking with him. How hard can that be? Thousands of people manage to stay in a marriage for years and years. Why can’t she?”

Jack felt her sadness and wanted to wipe it clean off her plate. “Thousands of people get divorced, too.”

“I know. I guess I just want to see her settled. Safe.”

“Stability is important to you.” Now he understood her desire for a rich husband. Jessie thought that with money came stability. Hell, his parents’ relationship proved her wrong. There were no guarantees, even when one of the parties was hopelessly in love with the other.

“It is.”

“I understand. I remember waking on Christmas every year, dreaming that my mom was there. She’d tell us about some horrible thing that kept her away and how she wished she had been with us.”

“But she never came.”

Jack shook his head and cleared his throat. “Never.”

Jessie reached over and covered his hand with hers. “Life sucks that way.”

He watched her hand playing with his, liked the feel of it. “Enough of memory lane. What about your future, Jessie…what is your last name?”

“Mann, Jessie Mann.”

“What do you see yourself doing in five years?”

Her face lit up and Jack was glad he changed the subject. “I don’t know. I want to go back to school, like I said, maybe get into some type of event coordinating job.”

“You said something about being a wedding planner.”

“Not that I know anything about weddings. My mom’s marriages at the county clerk’s office don’t count. But yeah, I’d love to help brides with what is supposed to be the happiest day of their lives.” Jessie still rubbed her fingers over his. He wondered if she realized what she was doing.

“You do appreciate how weird that sounds after learning about all your mom’s failed marriages.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t believe in marriage. I mean a real marriage, not the temporary state my mom plays in. I can plan more than weddings. There are anniversary parties, birthdays, corporate events. There’s all kinds of things an event planner puts together.”

“I’ll have to find out what the lady at the hotel did to get her job.”

“I’d love to know.”

“I’ll ask her for you.”

She smiled. “Thanks. What about you, Jack, where do you see yourself in five years?”

Jack turned her palm over and rubbed the inside with his thumb. “I like the hotel business.”

“You want to manage a hotel?”