“Megan, honey, move your dolls and car back behind the counter.” Anika pointed at the toys she’d nearly tripped over on her way to unbox the Christmas tree.
“Okay, Mommy, in a minute,” Megan answered, and then continued talking to her dolls.
It was nine o’clock and Kenworth’s was officially closed. Anika was tired but she still had to straighten the changing rooms and count out her till. Megan should’ve been in bed an hour ago, but since her little tantrum she’d been good-natured about playing in the cupboards and shelves behind the counter.
Anika stooped and ripped the packing tape off the box. The artificial tree burst from its confines like a Jack-in-the-box, startling her. She sucked in a breath and put a hand over her heart. There were dozens of branches with color-tipped ends. She couldn’t see the trunk though it must be in there somewhere. The tree was squished and flat. It would take a degree in engineering to figure this thing out.
“Stupid Christmas tree,” she muttered. If it weren’t for Megan, she’d skip Christmas altogether. The holiday was a slap in the face to someone like Anika— a divorced, single mom with a deadbeat ex. She hadn’t been able to locate Jimmy after he’d been released from jail the last time, but she was tired of hiding from him. When she moved to Echo Ridge a year ago, she decided a fresh start would be the best solution to her problems. The sleepy little New York town had been full of promises and hope, but after losing her job two months ago when Megan was hospitalized with pneumonia, everything had changed. Although the state had helped pay for Megan’s treatment, Anika had fallen farther and farther behind.
Her chest tightened when she thought about what was around the next corner. This job was temporary, and Anika had run out of options. If she didn’t find something soon, she’d be evicted from her one bedroom apartment.
She pulled the tree trunk upright and began putting together the sections of the tree. It took much longer than it should have with bits of the white flock crumbling and sticking to her clothes. One of the branches refused to straighten, the end was all twisted and it took her nearly ten minutes to smooth out the kinks. Anika grumbled to herself about the fake tree and its apparent mission to annoy her by not snapping together correctly. She fiddled with the pre-lit strands that had to be connected in several places. There were three different cords to test the lights, but she couldn’t get them all to work together. The box said the lights were supposed to twinkle, but Anika couldn’t even get more than one strand to turn on at a time. She grumbled and stepped back— on Megan’s dolls. Anika’s foot turned, she gasped, and fell forward into the tree with a shriek.
Before she could react to the fake evergreen needles poking her in the face, strong hands pulled her back from the mass of lights and cords.
“Are you hurt?”
Anika blinked and looked up at the man who had spoken. Her mouth opened and closed, and she shook her head. If Enrique Iglesias had come to her rescue then she was definitely going to thank the blasted Christmas tree. She rubbed a hand over her face and saw that he wasn’t Enrique, but with the shadow of scruff along his chin and his slightly mussed black hair against caramel skin, he could be Enrique’s younger brother. Anika shook her head. She was gawking, and hadn’t answered his question. “I’m not sure,” she said.
“Let’s get you away from this tree. I don’t think it likes you.” He cupped his hand under her forearm, carefully lifting her off the ground.
Anika winced when she put weight on her foot. “Ouch. I kind of twisted my ankle.”
“Sit down right here and I can take a look at it.” His dark hair matched his chocolate brown eyes and Anika found herself wondering again if Enrique did have a younger brother.
He helped her sit, leaning next to the wood paneling of her checkout station. He crouched down and held out his hand. “I’m Carlos Rodriguez. I’m a volunteer fireman, so I have some medical training. Mind if I take a look?” He had a Spanish accent, not heavy, but alluring, and Anika listened to him appreciatively.
“Oh, it’s just my ankle. I’m sure it’ll be fine in a few minutes.” Anika winced again when she moved her toes. “My name’s Anika Fletcher.” She held out her hand and Carlos shook it, his grip firm, yet gentle at the same time. Anika tore her eyes away from him and reached down to examine her ankle. It didn’t appear to be swelling, but every tendon around the bone ached. Maybe she should have him look at it. “Ugh, this is just what I didn’t need tonight.” She leaned over and massaged the tender side of her ankle. It wouldn’t cost her anything to have him look at it. “Okay, maybe I’d better have you look.” She moved back so that Carlos could see her ankle.
He leaned over and gently pulled her pant leg up. His fingers were warm, and he pressed lightly around her ankle. Anika’s heart sped up— it was hard to ignore the flutter in her stomach as he carefully examined her foot. He looked over at her and smiled. “There might be a little swelling later, but it’s a good sign that it’s not turning colors. You need to ice it and wrap it to stabilize the area.”
Anika let out the breath she’d been holding when he released her foot. “Okay, thanks for your help. I was trying to get that dang tree figured out. It definitely doesn’t like me and the feeling is mutual.”
Carlos walked over to the tree, now standing almost ten feet tall, and shifted a few branches. Then he crouched down by the electrical outlet. “You know, this could be considered a fire hazard.”
Anika straightened and leaned forward to look at the surge protector. Had she plugged in too many cords? She scrunched her nose counting the four cords snaking from the tree to the power source. “I didn’t think that was too many.” She looked over at him.
Carlos grinned. He was teasing her! And his smile made those dark eyes light up— the ones that were looking at her with appreciation.
Anika smiled, started to lean forward, but then she pulled back abruptly. “Thanks for your help. I’d better get back to work.” She gave her head a little shake, reminding herself that all men were off limits no matter how closely they were related to Enrique Iglesias.
“The store’s closed. Aren’t you about finished?” Carlos glanced around the empty department store.
Anika followed his gaze to the flickering light above the toys and strollers in the back of the store. Beyond that light in the back offices, Cecilia was probably still hard at work, and Anika couldn’t afford to be caught sitting around. “Yes, I’m just putting in some overtime to get this tree set up.”
Carlos crouched next to the tree and fiddled with the cords. “This must be new. I don’t remember seeing a tree set up in this department last year.” When Anika gave him a curious look, he explained. “I’ve done a lot of the remodeling in this store over the past few years.” Carlos thumbed behind him. “I’m finishing up some shelves over in the children’s section this week.”
“Oh, I noticed those. They look really nice,” Anika said. She forced herself to turn her gaze from Carlos’s muscular shoulders to the remodeling of the children’s section. There were three rows of new shelves against the wall, the light oak wood spanning a length of about five feet. She could imagine how nice it would be to display different items.
“Thanks,” Carlos’s voice was muffled. “Now, let’s see if that works.”
He flipped the switch and the tree lit up with twinkling white lights.
“You fixed it,” Anika said. She hopped closer to the tree and touched one of the white lights. “Thank you.”
Carlos chuckled. “Glad I could help.” He straightened the tree and turned to Anika. “How’s your ankle?”
“It’s a little tender, but I think it will be fine.” Anika held herself carefully so as not to put too much weight on her foot. Her curiosity motor was spinning rapidly over the fireman who’d just saved her and the Christmas tree. The way he stood there with that bit of coarse stubble lining his jaw made her want to reach out and touch it. No, wait. She clenched her hands into fists. She most certainly did not want to touch hi
m, or any man for that matter.
This was Kenworth’s and she was an employee, she needed to focus. She wiped her hand over her mouth, straightened her shoulders and said, “Thanks again for your help. I’d better finish up now.”
“How much work do you have left tonight? I’ll probably be here for another hour.” Carlos smiled at her and she could almost see the wheels in his mind turning. He looked like he was on the verge of asking her out. She didn’t have time for this.
“Well, I’m hoping to be finished soon because my daughter—” Anika stopped talking and turned toward the cash register. “Megan!” She hadn’t heard a sound from her daughter for the past several minutes while she was caught up ogling forbidden territory.
Anika scrambled around the counter. Megan wasn’t there. She looked up and met Carlos’s gaze, his eyes searched hers, and she could see her panic mirrored there for an instant.
“Your daughter?” he came around the corner and scanned the floor littered with Megan’s toys.
“She was right here playing. She’s four, with brown hair and blue eyes— looks just like me. I’ll check the break room.” Anika moved to pass Carlos, but he stopped her, putting a hand on her arm.
“Wait, what’s that?” he pointed to the corner of a pink and white polka-dotted blanket hanging out of the cupboard under the register—Megan’s blanket.
Anika’s breath caught in her throat and her heart double-timed, pounding against her rib cage. She crouched and opened the cupboard. The breath whooshed out of her when she saw Megan curled up with her blanket, sleeping in the cramped space among rolls of receipt paper, sacks, and cloth shopping bags. Anika sat back on the floor and squeezed her eyes shut. “Thank goodness.”
She felt a hand on her back and looked over to see Carlos crouching next to her. “She’s cute. That’s quite a hiding place.”
“My word, that scared me to death. I’m so glad you saw her blanket. Thank you.” Anika moved to stand, but her ankle didn’t cooperate and she stumbled into Carlos.
His arms moved around her, quickly righting her and then letting her go. “Do you need help getting her to your car? I don’t mind carrying her.”
Anika opened her mouth to say no, but with her ankle she’d have to accept his help. Her mind was still a few seconds behind, feeling the strength of his arms as he caught her, the solid muscles of his body holding her upright. Focus, Anika! She glanced at the clock. It was already past ten, she was exhausted. “I guess I’ll finish the tree tomorrow night. Are you sure you don’t mind carrying her?”
Carlos grinned. “Not at all. A fireman is trained to complete his rescues.”
“Well, you’ve saved me twice tonight,” Anika replied. She was gushing, and thanking this guy way too much. He was just being polite. She needed to get a grip and quit smiling at him. But every time she smiled, he would smile back and it made her stomach do a little flip that she was sure meant trouble.
“It’s my pleasure. Do you think she’ll wake up when I lift her?” he crouched next to Megan’s sleeping form.
“I would be very surprised. She sleeps like a rock. Her name’s Megan.” Anika said. “Let me just grab my things here.”
“You might want to turn off the tree for the night. Cecilia warned me not to overload the circuits. I guess the electrical wiring in this building is pretty old.”
Anika nodded and flipped off the lights. She watched as Carlos gently knelt next to her daughter and lifted Megan into his arms. The child sighed and pulled her blanket tighter. Carlos held her tenderly and smiled, lifting his eyes to meet Anika’s. The way he held her so carefully did something dangerous to Anika’s heart. It was like the moment a match slides across the side of the box igniting an explosion of heat that pops and sizzles. And she couldn’t afford to play with fire.
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Acknowledgments
“I keep making plans for my life, but there’s always some plot twist I didn’t expect, so I’m trying to roll with it.” I fully agree with Liza! I wrote this book three months after breaking my back in a diving accident that required major surgery and fusion of five vertebrae. I stood the entire time I wrote this novel because my loving husband found me a standing desk platform and then helped me brainstorm the story. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to write this book, but through lots of prayer and tons of help from my family, I reached my goal.
I want to thank my wonderful writing friends. I have been blessed to be part of a wonderful writing community for over a decade and the friendship and support they give me is amazing. I especially want to thank Janet Halling for offering to beta read my next novel when I was in a place where no words would come. Her support and encouragement helped me during some very low times.
Big thanks to my beta readers and editors, Janet Halling, Cathy Jeppsen, Jenna Roundy, Tyler H., and Tim Jolley.
Family is the ultimate gift and I feel so blessed to have mine! My children are an incredible source of inspiration, noise, laughter, and love. I love you and how you cheer me on when I’m writing. Thanks to my husband, Tyler, for encouraging me to write and believing in me—it was so fun to outline this story together.
I am grateful for my loving Heavenly Father who has helped me grow so much in this past year while carrying me through my trials. All goodness comes from God, and I’m thankful for the knowledge I have that helps me make sense of my own life story.
I wrote this book for many reasons and the most important is you, dear reader, because I am just like you—a reader at heart. Thank you for choosing to read my book and for your continued support of my creative works. I hope that we can enjoy many more stories together in the future!
~Rachelle
About the Author
Photo by Erin Summerill
Rachelle writes mystery/suspense, clean romance, and women’s fiction. She is the mother of a large family and she solves the case of the missing shoe on a daily basis. She enjoys raising chickens, laughing with her family, and traveling with her husband. She graduated cum laude from Utah State University with a degree in psychology and a minor in music.
Rachelle is the award-winning author of over twenty books, including The Soldier’s Bride (a Kindle Scout Selection), the Rone award winner for mystery, River Whispers, Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things, Hawaiian Masquerade, and the Echo Ridge Romance series. Her novella, “Silver Cascade Secrets,” was included in the Rone Award–winning Timeless Romance Anthology, Fall Collection.
Join Rachelle’s VIP mailing list to learn more about upcoming books and get your free book at www.rachellechristensen.com.
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