Tiny Bites

by Stacy Claflin

  Chad held the rabbit close.

  Are you still alive, Macy? Will you find a way back to us today? We could use a Christmas miracle.

  He glanced around the room until tears blurred his vision. Being in there was too much. He put the rabbit back where he found it.

  Cuddles. Its name was Cuddles.

  The tears flooded his eyes and poured out. How could a stupid stuffed animal reduce him to tears? He wiped his face, but they only seemed to fall faster.

  Chad had to get out of Macy's bedroom. That was the problem. There was a reason he avoided it. He hurried down to the kitchen, poured himself a cup of coffee, and grabbed a carton of milk from the fridge. It didn't smell right. He put it to his nose and gagged.

  "Merry Christmas," he whispered.

  Chad poured the milk down the drain. It came out in little clumps. His stomach turned. There had to be something else he could put in the mug. He really wasn't in the mood for black coffee. Not this morning.

  The fridge didn't have a lot, but he did see some peppermint flavored creamer near the back. He hated that sickeningly sweet stuff, but maybe if he only used a little, it wouldn't be too bad. He checked the expiration date and poured some in.

  Once the coffee was tolerable—he found himself obsessing over the stupidest things these days—he went to his office and checked his blog comments. At least he could go someplace where people appreciated him.

  He sipped the minty coffee as he read and responded to comments.

  Something sounded from upstairs. Chad checked the time. Two hours had just gone by. He finished the cold coffee and went back to this blog. He wasn't in the mood to see anyone. Wishing anyone a Merry Christmas would be nothing short of a joke. Plus, it would hurt too much to think of holidays gone by. He just couldn't do it.

  The noise sounded again. It sounded like a knock at the front door.

  Who would visit them at this hour on Christmas morning? Couldn't people leave them alone for one day? Just because they had a missing child didn't mean they wanted visitors constantly. The meals were nice, but so was space.

  Grumbling, he got up from his chair and made his way to the front door. From the sounds of the quiet house, everyone else was still sleeping.

  Chad closed an eye, looked out the peephole, and then swore under his breath. He ran his hands through his hair and opened the door. He made sure it was unlocked and stepped outside, closing it behind him.

  "What the hell are you doing here, Lydia?" He narrowed his eyes at the pretty brunette.

  "Is that any way to speak on Christmas?" She handed him a green tin full of candy canes. "I brought this for your family."

  "Lydia…"

  "I just wanted to see how you're holding up."

  He leaned against the wall and lowered his voice. "How many times do I have to tell you we're through?"

  She frowned and ignored his words. "Are you okay? Have you been sleeping? You look like you could use a friend."

  Chad snorted. "Friend. Right."

  "Isn't Alyssa taking care of you?" Lydia asked, her eyes widening.

  "She can't even take care of herself. We're in survival mode here. In case you hadn't noticed."

  "Sounds like you need to talk. Want to go for a walk?" She reached for his hand.

  "With you?" Chad's brows came together. "No. You should go home. Spend Christmas with Dean. Take back your candy canes."

  "You honestly think Dean would be home for Christmas? You know my life better than that. And keep the candy. I'm sure Alex will eat them if you don't." She held his gaze for a minute. Had it been anyone else, it would have been incredibly awkward.

  "Lydia," he whispered, "I really need you to move on. We can't do this anymore."

  She reached for his cheek, but Chad moved aside. "You were so much happier when you were with—"

  The door opened behind Chad. He jumped, guilt searing through him.

  Alyssa poked her head out. "What's going on? Oh, hi, Lydia."

  Lydia smiled. "Merry Christmas. I just brought you guys a little something."

  Chad held up the tin.

  "Thanks," Alyssa said, sounding confused.

  "I'll get going so you guys can have your Christmas." Lydia turned around and walked away.

  Chad braced himself. It was only a matter of time until Alyssa grew suspicious. If she wasn't already. Lydia had been one of the most "helpful" neighbors during the whole ordeal. Certainly the most affectionate.

  "Come inside," she told Chad. "It's so cold out there."

  He came in and set the candy canes down on the coffee table in the front room.

  "What are we going to do about today?" Alyssa pulled her robe tighter around herself.

  Chad shrugged. "Alex said he doesn't want to celebrate without Macy."

  "But we have to do something. Make it somewhat normal for him." Her wide eyes begged him to come up with a brilliant solution.

  Unfortunately, he had nothing. They hadn't even put up a tree or wrapped any presents.

  Parents of the year.

  Husband of the year.

  "Come on, Chad. Can't you think of something?"

  "What do you want me to do? Dress up like Santa and pass out presents?"

  Alyssa glared at him. "You don't have to be sarcastic. I have some presents in the closet that I picked up over the year. Nothing major, but maybe we should wrap them up. I got a coat for Macy. We can give that to Zoey. Macy's not going to…" Her eyes shone with tears and her mouth trembled.

  Chad's chest constricted, making it hard to breathe. Standing there, looking so helpless, she reminded him of their high school days. Not the woman he'd been fighting with for so many years now.

  They stared at each other, and after only a few moments, it felt uncomfortable. He stepped forward, stiff like a robot, and wrapped his arms around her. His wife was equally rigid in his embrace. Finally, she relaxed and started sobbing.

  He rubbed her back, more to avoid being a jerk than anything else. It seemed like he should say something, but nothing came to mind—nothing that he actually meant.

  Alyssa's tears soaked through his shirt, and he could feel his heart soften a little for the woman he'd once loved. Sure, they were working on their marriage, but there was only so much progress they could make when they were both falling apart. He didn't resent her anymore. That was progress, right?

  "Okay," he whispered. "Let's wrap your presents."

  "Just for the kids?" She looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy.

  Part of him longed to make everything better for her. He swallowed. "Probably should. I wouldn't have anything to wrap for you. I don't want you to be the only one not opening anything."

  "I don't mind. The kids—"

  "Wait," Chad interrupted. "I do have something for you."

  "You do? You bought me something?" She stared at him.

  "Yeah, it was one of those 'Christmas in July' promos. I stumbled upon something I thought you'd like."

  Alyssa leaned her head against him and wrapped her arms around him. "I don't know what to say."

  He cleared his throat. "Why don't you get the presents? I'll find the Christmas wrapping. I think it's in the downstairs closet."

  "Thanks." She took his hand and squeezed it before heading upstairs.

  "Sure." He watched her until she was out of sight and couldn't help wondering what would become of them. Whether or not Macy ever returned, they needed to find a new normal. Not just for Alex, but for themselves, also.

  Chad went downstairs, past his office, to the catch-all closet. He found the holiday gift wrap jammed in the back. There were so many rolls, but he grabbed only two. It wasn't like they were going to be filling the empty space underneath the nonexistent tree.

  When he got up to the bedroom, Alyssa had put some bags on their bed.

  "I thought you said a few presents." He almost laughed. Almost.

  One corner of her mouth twitched. She shrugged. "You know me."

  Chad dropped the
wrapping paper on the bed. "We'd better get started. Anything I shouldn't see?"

  Alyssa shook her head. "I didn't bring yours out." She went to her nightstand and brought out a pair of scissors and some tape. "I'll wrap, and you tape?"

  Just like old times. They'd had so many happy times wrapping gifts together for the kids.

  It was nice to do something normal again.

  Before long, they had a small pile of presents for Alex and Zoey. Then Chad stepped into the bathroom while Alyssa wrapped his gift. When she finished, they traded places and he wrapped hers. Chad took extra care wrapping the cashmere sweater. It reminded him of one she'd worn on their first date—and at the same time, it made him feel old to realize those styles were coming back again. Somehow the sweater gave him hope. Of what exactly, he didn't know. But for something.

  Once everything was wrapped, they each carried a pile and went into the hall.

  Alex stepped out at the same time, his hair sticking out in twenty different directions. He rubbed his eyes. "What's going on?"

  "Merry Christmas," Alyssa said.

  He arched a brow. "We're actually doing something?"

  "Yeah. Go get Zoey. We'll meet you guys downstairs."

  "Okay…" Alex spun around and went into his room.

  Chad and Alyssa went downstairs to where they usually had a Christmas tree. While she organized the presents on the floor, Chad slid on his shoes, went outside and found a lone sprig of pine resting on the snow. It must have just fallen from a tree. He picked it up, dusted the snow from it, and went inside.

  Alyssa gave him a funny look, but didn't say anything. He went to the kitchen and put it in a shot glass before taking it back to the presents. He placed it next to the gifts.

  Footsteps sounded behind them.

  "Nice tree," Alex said.

  "There weren't any lots open this morning," Chad said, assuming that to be the truth.

  Alyssa turned and looked at both kids. "It's not ideal, but you guys deserve some kind of Christmas."

  Alex frowned. "It's not the same."

  "No, it's not." Alyssa shook her head. "But we all know Macy would want us to celebrate."

  "Yeah." Alex swallowed and looked away. "I guess."

  Zoey took his hand. She looked at Alyssa and Chad. "Thanks."

  "Let's get started." Alyssa handed both kids a present.

  Chad glanced around, feeling his heart warming a bit more. It might be the worst Christmas they would ever have, but at least it was better than the days leading up to it.

  Things might not ever return to normal, but at least they had the hope of getting better from where they were at. Hope of crawling out of their pit of despair.

  Maybe even making it through the nightmare.

  A needle fell from the 'tree.'

  Chad was struck with the fragility of life.

  Perhaps it was time to rethink his hopefulness.

  The Seaside Hunters

  You're about to read some short stories from the Seaside Hunter series…

  If you enjoy these short stories, you'll love the books! (And coming soon—as of the time of this publication—will be more Hunter books about their cousins. The first side series will be the Bayside Hunters.)

  Seaside Surprises

  Work hard. Play often. Love unconditionally.

  Tiffany Saunders is on the run. When she winds up stranded in a seaside town, she wants nothing more than to forget her horrific past and kept moving. But a chance meeting with a handsome local changes everything.

  Jake Hunter has some deep emotional scars and is trying to cope with running the family business. The last thing he wants is a relationship—until a mysterious brunette walks into his store and complicates it all.

  Tiffany prefers to keep the painful memories of the past where they belong—in her rear view mirror. But dark secrets cannot stay hidden forever. Just as the walls around Tiffany's heart start to come down, the past catches up with her. Will true love be able to conquer all?

  Seaside Heartbeats

  Sometimes love shows up when you least expect it.

  After years of hard work, architect Lana Summers just wants a relaxing vacation in the beach town of Kittle Falls. Instead, she suffers unexpected heart problems, and finds herself in the office of a gorgeous cardiologist—who only makes her heart work harder.

  Brayden Hunter left his successful cardiology practice in Dallas to be closer to his aging parents. Focused on building a health care clinic in his hometown, he doesn't want any distractions. However, the beautiful Lana is one he can't seem to avoid.

  As their attraction grows, they stumble upon a 160-year-old mystery. Brayden catches her adventurous spirit as they chase after answers, and he can't help falling for her. But can he convince her to stay in the small beach town and with him?

  Seaside Dances

  Dream big. Dance often. Love completely.

  Zachary Hunter is no stranger to rejection. After multiple failed efforts to get his novel published in New York, he's counting on a trip home to turn his luck around.

  Jasmine Blackwell has big dreams. She hopes her internship as a dance instructor in Kittle Falls will be the stepping stone she needs to achieve her lifelong goals.

  After a chance meeting, neither Zachary nor Jasmine can deny their attraction. They fear their aspirations are too big to let a relationship tie them down. Can they have both love and the careers of their dreams?

  Seaside Kisses

  People change, but some feelings last forever.

  Rafael Hunter never thought he'd return to Kittle Falls, but life gave him no other choice. Los Angeles chewed him up, spit him out, and sent him back to square one.

  Amara Fowler has lived in the small beach town her entire life. She's overcome her shyness to grow into the woman she always knew she could be, but she never forgot her secret crush. When the alluring Rafael returns, he can't help but stir in her a whirlwind of old feelings.

  They've both changed so much. Has life kept them incompatible or has it molded them into a matching set?

  Seaside Christmas

  He can't stand her. She thinks he's crazy. Will their feelings stay etched in permanent ink?

  Cruz Hunter has always stuck out in his small hometown. Now that he's covered in tattoos, the residents peg him as even more of an outcast. It seems like the whole world is against his dream of opening a local tattoo parlor.

  When he finally finds the perfect place for his new business, Cruz discovers a pastor and his daughter have already bought it. The only thing more irritating than the change in his plan is Talia, a beautiful and feisty argument in a dress. Cruz would like nothing more than to have her out of his life and his mind, but for some reason, she's the only thing he can think about.

  If Cruz and Talia can stop arguing long enough, opposites may do much more than attract.

  Coming in 2016…

  Seaside Beginnings

  Chapter One

  Dawn's heart raced. Her long brown hair flew behind her and the wind whipped her in the face. She turned to Susan. "Shouldn't you slow it down?"

  "What? You want me to go faster?" Susan turned up the radio, blaring the Carpenters' latest song.

  Dawn's head jerked back as Susan sped up the convertible. She readjusted herself and laughed at her roommate. It was hard not to be happy. Everyone seemed to be happy these days. The war was finally over. They were really giving peace a chance.

  Susan raised one hand from the steering wheel and sang—shouted was more accurate—along with the radio. Sometimes Dawn had to wonder about her friend. Dawn loved excitement as much as anyone else, but Susan… she was in a class all of her own. And that was part of what made life fun, if not a little dangerous at times. It was only a matter of time until she got another speeding ticket.

  Today was not that day. They made it to Kittle Falls without seeing any flashing lights. Susan took a different road from the one that would take them to their neighborhood.

  Dawn tu
rned down the music. "Where are you going?"

  "I don't feel like going home yet. Want to hit the beach?"

  "My parents are expecting me."

  "Oh, come on. We just graduated college—we can do what we want."

  "I'm not even wearing my bathing suit."

  Susan lifted her sunglasses and arched a brow. "What's going on?"

  Dawn's face heated. She didn't want to admit to why she was so eager to get home. More than anything, she wanted to run down the street and see if Robert was home yet.

  Susan studied her face. "A guy? In Kittle Falls? Wait. Is that the mystery person you've been writing letters to all year?"

  "Maybe."

  "Why won't you tell me who he is?" Susan pulled into the parking lot at the beach. Tourist season had already started, and it was packed.

  "If it works out, I will."

  "Well, Mom says there's a disco tonight. See if he wants to go."

  Dawn thought about it. "Okay, but I want to get settled in at home first."

  Susan shoved her. "You can be so boring sometimes. There's nowhere to park, anyway." She pulled out of the lot, tires squealing.

  "You're going to get pulled over by the Kittle Falls police."

  "That might not be so bad." Susan sighed dramatically.

  "You want a ticket?"

  "Harvey joined the force." Susan's face broke into a wide smile. "He can pull me over any day."

  Dawn laughed. "I could see you turning that around into a date."

  "You know me too well. So, you want to meet up at the disco?"

  "Sure. But you'll have to call me with the details."

  "Oh, it's probably at the community center by the beach. Around seven or eight. Nothing ever changes in this town." Susan rolled her eyes and then turned up the Beatles. She pulled in front of Dawn's house and stopped the car.