A Holiday To Remember

by Jillian Hart

  She skirted the corner of the coffee table to sit down next to Mia. The plans spread out in front of them were amazing. Such detailed and careful work. The hours it must have taken him to do this. When had he found the time?

  “Sorry, we’re out of hot chocolate.” He set a tray on the table beside the cookies. “But we do have a good choice of tea.”

  “You do. Thank you.” Debra felt awkward as she forced herself to lean forward to inspect the boxes of tea he’d slid onto the tray beside three bright red mugs. The hot water sent curls of steam into the air. Debra reached for one of the tea boxes. “There’s peppermint, Mia.”

  Instead of commenting on her favorite herbal tea, Mia paused for a moment and frowned as she did when she was thinking hard. As if coming to some conclusion she came to life and bounced off the couch cushion. “Jonah, you have to sit over here next to my mom. See? I can sit in the chair!”

  Debra coughed once in surprise. The box of tea bags tumbled from her fingers and hit the table. What was Mia up to? It was impossible to read anything but excitement in her merry brown eyes. Her face was one big smile as she slipped around the table and dropped into the chair, blocking Jonah from doing so.

  Jonah stood frozen with apparent surprise. “Don’t you want to sit next to your mom?”

  “Nope, I do that all the time.” Breezily, Mia grabbed a green-frosted cookie.

  Debra felt the shock start to slip away and she could plainly see how uncomfortable Jonah looked as his gaze studied the empty couch cushion beside her—the only other place to sit in the room. He didn’t move any closer toward her. Mia was the one always talking about signs, but Debra had to admit this was a sign. Poor Jonah.

  She decided to come to his rescue. “Mia, come back next to me. We can look at the wood samples together instead of passing them back and forth.”

  “I don’t mind.” Jonah spoke up, although it was hard to tell exactly what he was thinking. He bent to grab a white-frosted cookie before he eased onto the corner of the couch—as far away from her as he could physically get.

  Yes, that was a definite sign. The trouble was that she couldn’t help noticing how fine he looked in spite of his obvious behavior. The slate-gray shirt he wore was exactly the right color to bring out the golden strands in his dark eyes.

  Not that she should be noticing that. Of course not. Debra scooted over a tad to give him—and herself—more room.

  “Let me know what you like, Miss Mia.” Jonah got straight to business by hauling out a length of wood from the box. The girl squinted at it carefully, debating the cherrywood as the carpenter presented her with a sample of red oak.

  Debra set a peppermint tea bag in Mia’s cup to steep before she did her own. She bit her bottom lip to keep from asking Jonah about why he had ducked out of the tree-lighting ceremony. Why had a former marine chosen to give up fighting for the greater good for being a carpenter?

  The answers weren’t her business, but that didn’t stop her from wondering.

  Through the rest of the meeting, she was careful to keep her gaze only on Mia and the wood samples she was very seriously considering. Mia was her heart, her life, her everything.

  Debra took a sip of tea, chose a white-frosted cookie and forced every other thought from her heart.

  When Mia beamed with happiness at the end of their meeting, Jonah breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t realized how tense he’d been, but talking about his work and seeing how happy he’d made the kid already was the gold star at the end of his day. He was grateful to rise from the couch, for his elbow was in dangerously close proximity to the lovely Debra’s. Close proximity to her brought out all kinds of feelings—both of longing and regret.

  He rubbed the back of his tight neck with the heel of one hand. “Since I have your approval, Miss Mia, I’ll get started on your headboard tonight. I’ll aim to have the bed finished before you leave. How’s that?”

  “Stupendous!” The girl clasped her hands together, the perfect image of childhood joy. “Mom, isn’t that fab?”

  “Sure, it is.” Debra had been quiet through their meeting, so when she finally spoke he was aware of every rise and dip of her gentle voice. She gathered the empty cups and set them on the tray. “What did you forget to say to Jonah?”

  “I didn’t forget, Mom. I’m just too happy to get the words out.”

  Jonah turned away as Debra spoke with her daughter. He retreated swiftly to the copier with the finalized furniture plans. It had been tough to stay all business, but he had succeeded this far. He wouldn’t fail now. Once a marine, always a marine. He didn’t know the meaning of the word quit.

  He only had a few more minutes to keep his feelings under control. He could do it, right?

  Right. He set the plans in the copier tray and hit Print. As the copier whirred and clicked and sucked in the original pages, he tried not to listen to the conversation between mom and daughter, but their voices lifted above the drone of the machine.

  “C’mon, Mom, you gotta come with us tonight. If you don’t come with me, how are you going to be saved?”

  “Not that again?”

  “I promised Grandmother Millie I wouldn’t give up until you were.”

  “Maybe I’m a hopeless case.”

  “You keep saying it, but I don’t believe it for a single minute.”

  Jonah’s gaze flicked to the window and Debra’s reflection. She kept a no-nonsense demeanor, but he wasn’t fooled. He caught the twinkle of merriment softening the contours of her lovely face, saw the corners of her mouth threatening to turn into a grin.

  She was the kind of woman a man would like to go through life with. Jonah punched the power button off, realizing he’d done the one thing he’d promised himself he wouldn’t do. He’d crossed the line he’d drawn and now he was no longer thinking of Debra Watson as a customer and his boss’s sister.

  Way to go, man. He gathered up the copied pages and went in search of an envelope. While he went through the drawers of the desk in the corner and tried not to bump into the Christmas tree nestled up against it, he tried to refocus his thoughts. Business. Customer. Boss’s sister.

  It wasn’t helping. He could hear the soft pad of her boots against the tile, the rustle as she moved to the workshop door and the tinkle of the ceramic mugs telling him that she was carrying the loaded tray from the room to the employee break room, where the sink was.

  Mia’s skipping gait stopped at the doorway, telling him he wasn’t alone. He found an envelope in the bottom drawer and slid the pages into it.

  “Here you go.” He held them out for her to take. “I’ll do my very best job for you.”

  “Thank you, Jonah. I really mean that. Not just because it’s polite, but because you sure are nice. Uncle Ben talks about you all the time.”

  “No wonder my ears have been burning.” Jonah kept his voice low, because he knew it would carry in the empty workshop and Debra might overhear. “Your uncle Ben is a good guy. We’ve been friends for a long time, a lot longer than he’s been my boss, you know.”

  “Yeah. That’s what he says.” She hugged the envelope to her, scrunching her face in serious thought. “Are you coming to church tonight? Olivia’s got practice for the Christmas pageant and I get to come watch.”

  “No, sorry. I’ve got this very important furniture order to get to work on.”

  “Mine, right?”

  “Yep.”

  Cute kid. He could see Debra in her. Not just in their similar shades of brown hair and their strikingly cinnamon-brown eyes, but in her innate regal manner. Debra was doing a fine job raising her—apparently alone. That made him wonder about her life. Was she dating anyone?

  Not your business, Fraser. He mentally scolded himself to no avail. Apparently he didn’t seem able to stop thinking about Debra—and admiring her.

  “You aren’t gonna do anything but work tonight?” Mia persisted. “Not even to eat? Or anything fun?”

  He chuckled. “And why are you so conce
rned about me, little lady?”

  “Because you’re so nice and I really appreciate you working me into your schedule. My mom says you’re in demand and I should appreciate it. And I do. So, you won’t work all the time, right?”

  She was a compassionate one, this one. He wanted to reassure her—he worked long hours and into the night often because he could not sleep. Not because he had too much work to do. “I’ll work for a bit more this afternoon. Then Ross is coming over to pick up the crib. After that I’ll probably mosey over to the bookstore down the way. Pick out a good book to start reading tonight.”

  “Ah, that sounds good.” Mia nodded her approval. “I love to read and my mom does, too. She reads all the time. Do you?”

  “I read a lot.”

  “Good! That’s very, very good.”

  “You’d best run along. Your mom is waiting.” He noticed Debra the instant she stepped back into his sight, already wearing her coat and holding Mia’s folded neatly over the crook of her arm.

  Lovely. She was absolutely lovely and he shouldn’t be noticing. This was business, remember? He spun around and held open the door. “You two ladies have a good weekend. Debra, I’ll give you a call when I have the bed made and ready for Miss Mia’s final inspection.”

  Debra looked a little puzzled—and distant—as she handed Mia her coat. “That would be fine. I guess this is goodbye for now.”

  “Yes.” He knew it had to be. He didn’t figure on seeing her again—other than for business. Sweet longing filled him, but he didn’t have the right. Old guilt weighed down his spirit. He stepped aside so the mother and daughter could pass on by. “Goodbye.”

  That word stuck like sadness in his chest. He thought he hid it well. Debra followed Mia out of the door and into the blinding sunlight reflecting off the snow.

  He didn’t feel the icy wind or notice the second vehicle parked in the customer lot. Every cell in his brain seemed focused with pinpoint accuracy on the woman who was gently joking with her daughter.

  “Jonah. Hey, Jonah.” Ross’s voice surprised him. He was coming up the walkway. “It’s not like you to stare off into space.”

  “Got things on my mind.” Jonah shrugged, unwilling to say exactly what those things might be. He held up a hand to wave, trying to appear casual, as Debra and Mia drove away.

  “I think I can see just what things those might be.” Ross smiled.

  “You didn’t hear that from me. That’s how rumors get started. Come on in. I’ve got the crib ready to go. I’ll help you load it.”

  “Sure.”

  The workshop had always been his escape, but not now. The memory of Debra being here troubled him. He went straight to the crib. “You look like you’ve been putting in long hours. How’s the investigation coming along?”

  “Slow. Tedious. Methodical.” Ross crouched down on one side of the little cradle. “You wouldn’t happen to remember a woman named Wendy Kates?”

  “Doesn’t ring any bells.” Jonah took the other side of the crib. The two men lifted the cradle together. Jonah went through his mind again, sifting the name through his memories. Nothing. “I can ask around if you want. See what I can find.”

  “I want to keep this hush-hush.” Ross grimaced. “The last time I went digging up information on this woman, Kelly’s brakes were tampered with.”

  “I caught you on the news a while back.” Jonah backed against the door, paused and hit the bar handle with his elbow. Cold air snaked down the back of his neck as he pushed through the doorway. Ross had made a statement to the local reporters that he’d find the man responsible for Kelly’s accident and the damages to the Tiny Blessings Adoption Agency. “You look more determined than you did then.”

  “I won’t let any more harm come to my family. I have to stop whoever is doing this.”

  Jonah eased his side of the cradle into the back of Ross’s vehicle. “You might want to get ahold of my mom. She knows everyone and everything. She’s been plugged into this community since she married Dad. She might be able to help you and she knows how to keep a confidence.”

  “I’d appreciate that.” Ross eased his end in and then wrapped an old blanket around the flawless woodwork. “I’ve hit a dead end. It’s as if this woman I’m looking for came out of nowhere. All I can find is her hospital records.”

  “Take care of your family. You have a precious blessing in them. If you need any help, you know where to find me.” Jonah wanted only good things for Ross and his family. “I’m pretty ticked at this guy, too. I’m real fond of Kelly and that baby of yours.”

  “I know you are. I appreciate it.” Ross pulled his keys from his pocket. “I’ll give your mom a call. See what she knows. By the way, Kelly is going to love this cradle. Thanks, man.”

  “Not a problem.”

  As Jonah watched his friend head off, driving home to a wife and child, he tried not to wish for the same blessings of his own.

  Jonah’s words followed Ross Van Zandt home. Take care of your family. You have a precious blessing in them. If you need any help, you know where to find me.

  Protective rage blurred Ross’s vision as he pulled into the garage and cut the engine. He had been working long days tracking as many of the pieces of Wendy Kates’s life as he could. She was the key to the puzzle.

  That poor woman. Ross shook his head as he withdrew the keys from the ignition. He’d found out little information about her since he’d discovered her files among the latest batch of the falsified adoption records found in the Harcourt mansion. He knew that she’d given birth to a baby girl and that trail was cold. He did not know what happened to the infant. Wendy had died during delivery; the cause of death had been blunt-force trauma.

  Weeks of work had led him nowhere. The same questions remained. Who was Wendy Kates? Who was the prominent family member Barnaby Harcourt had been blackmailing to keep quiet about her illegitimate baby? The initials L.M. showed up in the hospital records. That led to more questions. L.M. The name of the man who was being blackmailed? Or the initials of the unnamed father of Wendy’s baby?

  Whoever that man was, it wasn’t a stretch to believe he’d been responsible for Wendy’s fatal injury. A man who could kill a pregnant woman—Ross’s fists tightened on the steering wheel until his knuckles were white. A man like that was pure evil. He had to be stopped before—

  “Ross?” Kelly must have heard him drive up. She cradled a stretching Cameron. They were both safe and happy. That’s what mattered. “Ross, you look exhausted. I worry about you. You’re working so hard.”

  “I have to. I’ve got no other choice.” Ross opened the door and kissed his wife tenderly and then his son on his downy head. They were safe for right now, but what if danger struck again? What if he lost them?

  On his life, he vowed to protect them.

  Chapter Six

  The day’s end brought tiny crystalline flakes of snow falling from a charcoal sky. Debra hesitated on the cleared walkway outside the adorable little bookshop and took the time to feel the delicate snow brush her face. The cool thrill and fresh scent of it made her feel younger, as if the heavy burden of all her responsibilities could tumble to the ground at her feet, too.

  Somehow she felt lighter as she walked toward the little glass door under the blue awning. An overhead bell chimed when she crossed the threshold, welcoming her in.

  What a charming place, she thought as she began unbuttoning her coat. It was a small independently owned store. It felt personal and cozy, the way a lot of bookstores used to feel in the days before the larger chains. One of the front bay window displays held a collection of Christmas gift suggestions and books handpicked by the owner, according to the little calligraphy note card with the special sales price beneath each displayed book. This was all supervised by an orange tiger-striped cat. Sam, according to the tag on his collar, looked as if he were curled up for a nap but opened his eyes just enough to give her an appraising look.

  “Hello, there,” she said to the
cat, itching to brush her fingers across the silken fur. “Do I meet with your approval?”

  The cat didn’t seem impressed with her and went back to sleep. Debra sighed just a little and moved on, not wanting to disturb the feline. She wished she was at home enough hours in a day to have a fuzzy kitten of her own. Maybe after she had Mia in the college of her choice—okay, her family’s choice—there would be time enough to slow down her life. Work less. Have a few little dreams of her own. Maybe a shop like this. A cuddly cat in the window. Time to read the books her company—and other houses—published.

  One day, she promised herself, but since she’d been saying that to herself for the last thirteen years, she had a real fear that imagined future just might always be out of her reach. Just a dream, nothing more.

  “Can I help you?”

  Lost in thought, Debra whirled around to see a smiling, matronly lady at the front counter. She wore dark rimmed glasses. Her silver hair was pulled back in a black hair band. A gold name tag on her red angora sweater said Pamela. When she smiled, she could have been Mrs. Claus.

  Debra liked her on sight. “Yes, I need to be pointed in the right direction. I’m looking for your devotional section.”

  “Straight back, dear. Here, let me show you.” Pamela skirted the corner of the counter. “I haven’t seen you in my shop before. Are you here in town visiting family?”

  “I am.” It felt good to say that, for Ben and his family felt as if they were already part of hers. “It must be wonderful to own a little shop like this.”

  “Wonderful, yes. It’s been one of the joys of my life.” There was no mistaking the honest affection in her voice. “My Albert and I ran this place together. That is, before his health problems.”

  Debra remembered how hard it had been to see her mother in pain and so very ill. “I’m sorry to hear that.”