Christmas Angel

by Regina Duke

  Laura smiled. “Do we need to go into the office today?”

  “I do,” said Jed. “Don’t worry, I have four-wheel-drive and snow tires. But I want Austin to stay home. I don’t want him in and out of this cold. Would you do me a huge favor and stay with him? You can charge me for it on your consulting bill.”

  “Sure. How long will you be gone?”

  “It’s Christmas Eve. I just need to man the phones for the first three or four hours, in case any clients call with last minute worker requests. Then I’ll be back.” He hesitated, as if deciding whether or not to ask his next question.

  Laura picked up on it right away. “What?” she asked.

  “I was just wondering if you’d like to stay another night. If your car couldn’t get you home last night, it’s sure not going to do it this afternoon.”

  “Actually, I’d love to, but I don’t have any extra clothes.”

  “If this doesn’t sound too morbid, I kept a few boxes of my wife’s clothes.”

  “If you can stand for me to wear them, and if they fit, I could borrow a pair of jeans or something.”

  Jed seemed relieved. “Great. I was building up the courage to donate them to Goodwill.”

  “We’ll pretend you did and I went shopping there and found some really cute bargains,” said Laura brightly.

  “Austin is still asleep. I’m going to shower and dress. But first I’ll bring out a box of clothes.” He still seemed unsure.

  Laura touched his arm. “To me, they’re clothes. If they still mean more than that to you, I’ll keep wearing my party dress.”

  “No, it’s not that. I’m just amazed at how wonderful you are. Staying here with Austin. Making my coffee. It really feels like Christmas with you here.”

  Laura smiled. “It feels like Christmas to me, too. And I have a great idea for this evening. You go, do what you have to do at the office, and I’ll fill you in when you get back.”

  After Jed dressed and had a second cup of coffee, Laura discovered that she and his late wife were very similar in size. If anything, Laura was a bit thinner and a bit shorter. But other than that, it was easy for her to select a pair of jeans to wear. She even found a long-sleeved tee shirt, mint green, with a dancing cartoon Christmas tree on the front.

  She made a fresh pot of coffee, then tiptoed down the hall to check on Austin. He was still sound asleep. His cheeks were flushed, but his forehead and blond curls were no longer damp. As she turned to go, she heard him murmur in his sleep.

  “Mommy?”

  Laura’s heart lurched. She tiptoed back to his bedside. No, he was still sleeping soundly. She retreated, but paused in front of the framed wedding ring and the photo of Austin’s mother. Laura had never met the woman, but she felt a surge of gratitude toward her for bringing little Austin into the world.

  That darned biological clock was ticking so loudly, she could barely hear herself think. She shook her head ruefully and returned to the living room.

  After an hour of flipping through cable channels, she heard Austin calling out.

  “Dad?”

  Laura scurried down the hall. “Daddy’s at work for a few hours, but I’m still here. Are you feeling any better?”

  “A little.” He rubbed his eyes with his fists. “Cartoons?”

  “Sure. What’s Christmas Eve without cartoons? Do you feel up to sitting in the living room? I’ve got a blanket on the sofa and I’ll make you anything you want for breakfast.”

  A glint of mischief appeared as Austin asked, “Anything?”

  Laura grinned. He was definitely feeling better. “I said it, so I have to keep my word. What do you want?”

  Austin threw off his covers and got out of bed. He was wearing super hero pajamas with feet, bright blue. But his lingering fever was evident in his slow pace. “Cookies.”

  “Well, okay.” Laura knew she was in trouble. “Anything else?”

  “Waffles!”

  “Let’s go check the freezer.”

  “No, homemade. You can cook, right?”

  “Why, yes, I can,” said Laura. The last trip she’d made to her sister’s house had been a crash course in cooking for nieces and nephews. “If you can find the waffle iron, I can cook.”

  Austin squealed with delight and ran to the kitchen.

  By the time Jed returned from the office, it was clear that they were having waffles for lunch, as well. Laura had prepared enough batter to feed six. That was the recipe she’d learned from her sister.

  Jed put on a long face, but it was easy to see he was pretending. “Waffles? Really? Homemade waffles? I see it all now. You’re trying to lure my son away from me with your perfect homemade waffles and your butter and your syrup. You’re a waffle siren.”

  Laura burst out laughing.

  Austin said, “I don’t hear no siren.”

  Now Jed was laughing, too. When he could catch his breath, he said, “This is so great. Austin, did you have waffles for breakfast, too?”

  “No, I had a cookie while Laura mixed the batter.”

  “Oh, good,” said Jed. “A sugar-loaded Christmas Eve.”

  Laura made an eek face. “I’m sorry.”

  Jed waved a hand. “I’m just teasing. He gets cookies for breakfast every holiday. Not great parenting, but you’d be amazed how all the sugary goodies magically change to fruit overnight once Christmas day is over.”

  Austin sounded like a world-weary veteran. “Yeah. I have to eat cookies while I can. No more until Valentine’s Day.” He pronounced it “Balentimes.”

  Laura said, “I see. In that case, have another cookie, little man.”

  Jed grinned, shaking his head in surrender. “I can see, Laura Snow, that you are a worthy adversary.”

  “Was it busy at the office?”

  “The first two hours were a one-man circus. Big department store, three people called in sick, not many temps want to work Christmas Eve, especially with two feet of snow on the ground and more coming down. I finally rounded up some people for them. That young woman who was so eager to work? Well, she’s working again, and I think the department store may offer her a full-time position. The HR person said she would look most favorably on people willing to work for her today.”

  “That’s great.” Laura got up from the table. “Guess I’d better clean up my mess.”

  Jed rose as well. “I’ll help. In fact, I’ll wash up lunch if you’ll get the popcorn ready.”

  “Popcorn?”

  Austin mumbled around a mouthful of cookie, “For the tree.”

  Jed explained. “We always leave stringing the popcorn garland for Christmas Eve because one has to stay busy while waiting for Santa.”

  “Austin uses a needle and thread?” Laura was impressed.

  “No, we modified that routine. Needles are sharp, right, buddy?”

  Austin nodded wisely.

  “Daddy cuts out paper strips and Austin glues them into a chain garland. And then, we paste popcorn to the chain. Messy but satisfying.”

  “Pure genius,” said Laura with respect.

  The afternoon flew by. She and Jed found only a few private moments, but Laura was having so much fun with their Christmas preparations, she didn’t mind at all. At bedtime, she expected the usual childhood protests from Austin, but instead he came running out of his bedroom in reindeer slippers and bright red jammies with a cartoon reindeer on the front. They were three inches too short and a bit snug around the middle.

  Jed was settling on the couch with a story book. “Hey, buddy. Those are kind of old, aren’t they?”

  “These are my mommy jammies,” said Austin. “I promised I would wear them tonight.”

  Jed’s brow furrowed, but he kept it light. “Okay. If that’s what you want. Let’s have a story before bed.”

  Laura brightened. “Oh, that reminds me. I have an idea.” She wondered if she should mention it in front of Austin before clearing it with Jed. But too late now.

  Jed said, “Out with it.
”

  “I thought it would be great fun to sleep under the Christmas tree tonight.”

  Jed’s eyes widened.

  Austin squealed, “Yes! Yes! Please, Daddy?”

  Jed’s gaze shot left and right.

  Laura turned her head and looked at him sideways. “Pretty please? I always dreamed of doing that as a child.”

  Jed’s expression melted. “In that case, it sounds like a great idea. Austin, before we read our story, go get your blankets and your pillow and get settled, all right?”

  Austin ran down the hall.

  Jed lifted his hands and whispered, “How am I supposed to get the gifts under the tree?”

  Laura whispered back, “Carry him to bed after he falls asleep, of course.”

  Jed chuckled, shaking his head. “I hope your nieces and nephews appreciate you.”

  Laura grinned.

  Jed read three stories, and Laura played Christmas music on her iPhone. Jed retrieved pillows and comforters, and they lay down, fully dressed, on either side of a very sleepy but still excited Austin.

  “How’s your Christmas going so far, buddy?”

  Austin snuggled against his dad. “Awesome.”

  “Oh, yeah? Even though Santa couldn’t bring what you wanted?”

  “Oh, Dad. You’re so silly.”

  “I am? Why?”

  Austin’s eyes were drooping shut and his voice was very faint as he reached out with a reindeer slipper and nudged Laura’s knee. “Santa gave me exactly what I asked for.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Valentine’s Day

  Ginger dragged herself out of the office and wondered how much more she could take. Maybe she should do what Laura had done, go look for a temp position to tide her over. After all, Ginger had supplied the address for Angel Temps. Perhaps it was time to drive over there herself. Conditions at work had become unbearable. The replacement hired to fill Laura’s job was a man with no concept of the term sexual harassment. She made a mental note to file an official complaint the next morning.

  Her phone was ringing in her bag. She groaned and thought about ignoring it. But maybe, just maybe, her boyfriend Carlos would call. She dug it out and was pleasantly surprised to see Laura Snow’s number on the screen.

  “Laura! How are you? I miss you so much.”

  “I miss you, too, Ginger.”

  “How goes the job hunt? Are you still temping?”

  “I guess you could call it that. But things are about to get permanent.”

  “Fantastic! I’m considering a visit to that temp agency myself. Things at work are horrible.”

  “You should come on by. Jed is a marvel at finding work for people.”

  Ginger frowned in confusion. “You make it sound like you’re still there.”

  “I am,” said Laura brightly. “In fact, I have my consulting office here, and I am the official tech person at Angel Temps. We’re starting up a series of Saturday computer classes for people who want to expand their knowledge and comfort zones with their computers.”

  “Oh, I could really use a class like that. Can I sign up? And maybe while I’m there, I can talk to Mr. Angel about where the jobs are. Our snake of a boss hired a creep to fill your position, and I’m ready to take complaints to human resources. And you know what happens when you raise a stink with personnel. Everyone figures you’ll be the next one out the door.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Yes, you should come by, and I’d love to have you in the class. But that’s not really why I called.”

  Ginger managed to get into her car without dropping her phone. “Oh? What’s up?”

  “I’m calling to ask you to be my maid of honor.”

  Ginger shrieked with excitement.

  Two of her office mates walked by and cast sympathetic looks in her direction.

  Ginger realized they must think she was screaming with rage. She laughed, and answered Laura.

  “I would love to be your maid of honor! Who’s the lucky man?”

  “Jedediah Angel.”

  “Well, I guess your job security won’t be an issue from now on.”

  “He asked me to marry him today.”

  “Valentine’s Day. How romantic.” Ginger sighed dreamily into the phone. “You are so lucky. When’s the wedding? June?”

  “No. We decided to do something a little non-traditional. Jed has a darling little boy named Austin. And since we started dating because of Austin’s Christmas wish, we decided to get married on May second. That’s Austin’s birthday.”

  “Oh, gosh, most kids wouldn’t be thrilled to have their birthday upstaged. As a new stepmom, do you think that’s wise?”

  “Don’t worry. Austin insisted. He even volunteered to let us use his birthday cake as our wedding cake.”

  Ginger couldn’t stop smiling. “I have a feeling there’s a lot more to this story than you’ve told me so far. Are you home or at work?”

  “We’re still at the office. We’ve extended our hours a few days a week to reach out to shift workers. Why don’t you swing by and I’ll tell you all about it.”

  ****

  Laura hung up the phone and turned just as Jed opened his arms for an embrace.

  “Did she say yes?”

  Laura nodded. “She’s thrilled for us. And I think she wants to meet Austin.” She ruffled the boy’s hair. “Hey. Is that your second or third piece of Valentine candy?”

  Austin laughed and started to shove a whole piece in his mouth.

  “Oh, no.” Jed let go of Laura.

  Laura held her hand in front of Austin’s chin. “Out with it, young man,” she said with mock sternness. “We don’t want to miss movie night for another trip to the ER, do we?”

  Austin spit the gooey candy into her hand. “Sorry.”

  Laura winked at him. “If you promise to eat very carefully and take little bites, you can pick out two replacement chocolates.”

  “Yay!” Austin ran to the giant heart-shaped box and began examining the possibilities.

  Jed smiled warmly. “You’re amazing with him.”

  “My sister is a great mother. Maybe something rubbed off.”

  Austin had chosen his chocolates and headed toward the classroom where Bridget was diligently coloring.

  Laura said, “Why don’t you draw a picture for my friend Ginger? She’s coming to meet you.”

  “Okay,” said Austin. “Soon as I finish my letter to Santa.”

  Jed and Laura exchanged glances.

  “Son, it’s a long time until Christmas. Why start so early?”

  “Now that I know he really reads my letters,” said Austin with five-year-old logic, “I want to give him a head start on my next present.” He led the way into the classroom and set his chocolates on the table. With great care, he lifted the letter he’d been working on. In the middle was a chubby brown circle with two long loops in front and a long brown line out the back.

  “Uh-oh,” said Laura.

  Jed squinted at the drawing. “Very Picasso-esque,” he murmured. “What does it represent?”

  Laura took the letter gently from Austin and read aloud. “Dear Santa, thanks for my new mommy. Next year I want a puppy!”

  *Thank you for reading Christmas Angel. If you enjoyed this novella, please take a moment to leave a review at your favorite online retailer.*

  If you’d like to read more of Regina’s books:

  Colorado Billionaires Boxed Set

  The Wedding Venture

  The Wedding Hazard

  The Wedding Wager

  Calin's Cowboy

  The Woof in the Wedding Plans (a novella)

  North Rim Delight

  Trickster and Other Stories

  Loving the Sensitive Dog (as Linda White)

  Sir Darby: Another Sensitive Dog (as Linda White)

  About the Author

  USA Today Bestselling Author Regina Duke writes sweet romance, cozy mystery, and paranormal. She lives in the High Desert with her three dogs,
and when she’s not writing, she’s playing the piano and enjoying her friends.

  Learn more at http://www.reginaduke.com.

  For fiction, please visit her at www.ReginaDuke.com. And for non-fiction, www.LindaLouWrites.com.