A Family Under the Christmas Tree

by Terri Reed

  CHAPTER

  7

  David sat at his desk deep into coding his app. The house was dark except for the dining room light. Rain splattered the windows. The heater had kicked on a little while ago to chase away the chilly air. Snow was predicted for Christmas. David wasn’t optimistic about the chances of that. This part of the state of Washington rarely saw the white stuff, but it wasn’t totally unheard of, just unlikely.

  Troy had fallen asleep a few hours earlier. Though exhausted from his day with Sophie and Riggs, he’d been full of stories about Riggs’s antics and Sophie and all the fun they’d had together. Troy thought the world of Sophie.

  David didn’t blame him. She was pretty special. Troy had been so proud about helping Sophie clean house that guilt crept up David’s spine.

  He’d settle up with Sophie on Friday. He’d cut her a check for her time and then he’d feel better. A nagging voice scratched at his consciousness, saying Sophie might not be pleased. He shoved the thought aside. But wasn’t able to put away the unease itching at him. He’d have to apologize to her. Again.

  He shook his head, trying to stay focused on his work. But Sophie crept into his thoughts every few minutes.

  He blew out a frustrated breath and got up to get a cup of coffee.

  A soft knock at the front door stopped him in his tracks. He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearly midnight. Who would be knocking at this hour?

  He opened the front door to find Sophie standing on the other side, looking drenched from the pouring rain. She was wearing a hooded rain slicker that cast a shadow over her face. Her shoulders were hunched and her arms clutched at her stomach. Concern chomped through him. “Sophie? Is everything okay?”

  “Yes. Grandma and I and Riggs are fine. Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I saw the light on and figured you were still up,” she said with clattering teeth.

  He needed to get her inside and out of the cold fast. “Come in before you freeze.” He stepped back and she entered. If everything was okay, why was she here?

  She shivered as he helped her out of the wet rain slicker. Beneath the slicker she had a silver laptop pressed to her chest. “I was hoping you’d be able to help me. I was uploading my photos from Gran Canaria and my computer wigged out.”

  He led her to the dining room table and took the laptop from her shaking hands. “Here, let me get you a cup of hot coffee or tea. Or hot cocoa. Troy loves hot cocoa.”

  “Do you have any herbal tea?” She followed him into the kitchen. “I don’t want the caffeine this late in the night.” She eyed the half-full pot of coffee in the coffeemaker. “Apparently you do.”

  “Hey, if I’m going to get any work done while the little man sleeps, I need the jolt of energy.” He set a tea kettle to boil and pulled out a tin of gourmet teas. “I think there’s something herbal here. Daniel and Beth sent it to me in one of those gift baskets for Christmas a few years ago.”

  “It’s a nice gift.” She sorted through the teas until she found one she liked.

  “I didn’t appreciate Daniel and Beth the way I should have.” He handed her a mug.

  “I’m sure they knew you loved them.”

  He’d liked to think so, but he hadn’t expressed the way he’d felt very often. He was determined not to make that mistake with Troy.

  He hopped up at the first hint of whistle from the tea kettle, and he grabbed it and poured hot water over the tea bag. He got his coffee. As they went back to the dining room, he asked, “So what wigged out?”

  “The screen. It did this funny squiggly thing, then died. It turned right back on but now I’m scared.”

  “Do you have everything backed up?”

  “Yes. To the cloud, to a thumb drive, and to an external hard drive.”

  He laughed. “Okay. That’s a bit of overkill but at least you don’t have to worry about losing anything.”

  “I can’t afford to lose anything.”

  Spoken like a person who’d had her value questioned. He certainly could appreciate the feeling. He opened the laptop and ran a diagnostic on the software. “This will tell us if it’s a software problem, but it sounds more like a hard drive issue. Maybe a connection came loose in your travels.”

  When the diagnostic finished, he nodded at the results. “Yeah, you’ll need to take this to the computer store. They’ll open it up and check it out.”

  “I can’t use it until then?”

  “You can. As long as it continues to back up, you’ll be fine.”

  “Okay. Thanks. I was freaking out and thought you’d know what to do.” She closed the laptop lid.

  “Can I see your pictures?”

  She paused. “Sure. Do you want to see my official portfolio?” She reopened the laptop. Her fingers flew over the keyboard.

  “Let’s start with that. But I’d also like to see the ones that you hadn’t planned to show the public.”

  She stared at him for a moment. “I don’t usually show those to anyone but my agent.”

  She had the prettiest blue eyes. Sparkly, like gemstones. “There’s a first time for everything.”

  “As long as you know that it takes a lot of shots to get a great one.”

  “I will find them all fascinating, I’m sure.” He pulled two dining room chairs together and sat down.

  She was slower to sit. He could see there was some sort of turmoil going on inside her. Her gaze was troubled. She bit her lip.

  “Relax,” he said. “I’m really interested.” And he was. She saw things in such a unique way. Surely that extended to her photography. He wanted to see what she saw through the lens of her camera.

  “Okay, we’ll start with the official portfolio, though.” She brought up a beautifully designed site, featuring photos broken into categories such as people and places, commercial, fashion, and animals. They clicked through the pictures, starting with people. There were celebrities, brides and grooms. Portraits of interesting faces. Landscapes that took his breath away.

  She’d gone to so many places he’d only read about—jungles, island paradises, and deserts. The commercial tab was full of advertising-type pictures, a few of which he recognized. He was impressed, not only by her talent but also by the breadth of her work.

  The fashion images showed runway models strutting down the catwalk and outdoor scenes, both urban and country, with beautiful women and men wearing designer clothing.

  But it was the images of animals that grabbed his attention. A python in India, coiled and ready to strike. A burro along the razor-thin edge of a cliff in South America. A humpback whale balancing on its tail in the ocean.

  “Those are fabulous.” He couldn’t keep the awe from his voice. “Your family must be so proud of you.” He was proud of her and he’d only just met her. To be so accomplished at such a young age. And the awards some of her photos had garnered were top-notch.

  She made a dismissive noise. “I doubt my family has taken the time to look at my work.”

  Surprise flashed through him. He knew how proud Louise was of her granddaughter. “What? How can that be?”

  “My parents indulged my photography, but my mom wanted me to follow in her footsteps and go into show business. Dad, well, he always compliments my pictures but he gushes over my brothers. Grandma’s the only one who’s been supportive of me.”

  “Louise gave you your first camera, right?”

  “Yes. It was her way of giving me something to do because my brothers wouldn’t let me tag along with them.” She gave a rueful shake of her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to rag on my family. They’re great in their way.”

  “But you don’t feel like your parents and siblings take your work seriously.”

  Her eyes widened. “Exactly. Little Sophie and her camera.”

  He brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen over her cheek. “I like Sophie and her camera.”

  Had he really just said that? By the stunned look in her eyes, yes he had. And he did. He liked her.
And owed her an apology. “Hey, I apologize for overreacting about you cleaning my house.”

  She dropped her gaze. “Why did you?”

  That was a loaded question and one he wasn’t ready to answer. “I didn’t want you to think that was why I agreed to you helping me out with Troy.” He shrugged. “Plus I was a bit embarrassed by how messy we are, er, were.”

  Her lips curved upward, drawing his gaze. “No need to be embarrassed.”

  He lifted his gaze and locked eyes with her. The yearning he saw there reached out to wrap around him. He forced himself to focus his attention back onto the laptop. Best to keep things between them on a friendly, platonic level. “How about showing me the pictures that didn’t make it onto your website now?”

  “Okay.” She clicked through to another file.

  For an hour they looked through photos of exotic, far-off landscapes, glamorous people, and heartbreaking conditions in Third World countries. Several shots were of her with a different child in a different part of the world. “Who took these?”

  “I set a timer.”

  Another image rose of Sophie sitting atop a very large elephant. “Whoa. Where was this taken?”

  “Thailand,” she said with such wistfulness, he guessed she missed being there.

  How tame life here in the Pacific Northwest must seem to her. How boring he must seem. He could never compete with the life she led. Not that he intended to compete. But seeing the reality of her exciting and fast-paced world was reason enough to keep his heart firmly locked behind the walls he’d built over the years.

  It didn’t matter if he was attracted to Sophie and liked her a lot. He couldn’t let her into his heart. He couldn’t let his defenses down. Not now, not ever.

  Thursday afternoon, David sat in a meeting with a team of people from an advertising agency that wanted his company to do an overhaul of their software programs to up the company’s efficiency. As David’s chief financial officer, Ken Larson, and the ad agency’s CFO talked dollars, David’s mind wandered to Sophie.

  When she’d arrived this morning, she’d looked so fresh and pretty in jeans and a green sweater that deepened the color of her eyes to match the inviting waters surrounding the islands in her photographs.

  He’d been hard-pressed to leave. But leave he did. Being around Sophie wasn’t good for him.

  He hadn’t been able to fall asleep after she’d left his house last night. His mind had wanted to play “what if?” What if he and Sophie fell in love? What if Sophie were content to live in Bellevue and help him raise Troy?

  What if he and Troy went with her on her travels? What if he developed his app and could afford to hire someone else to run his company so he could spend all his time with Troy and Sophie?

  But he’d learned as a kid that what-ifs were fantasies that never happen. And letting his mind entertain such ridiculous thoughts wasn’t productive. And being productive was the key to success.

  “We’re in agreement, then,” David heard his CFO say, bringing him back to the moment. Both men turned their attention to their employers. David trusted Ken with the numbers and gave a nod of consent.

  “Yes,” the ad agency owner said. “Mr. Murphy, how quickly will we be able to implement the new software?”

  Looking at his notes, he said, “By March.”

  “Wonderful. I look forward to that day.”

  They shook hands, and David walked the man to the door. “We appreciate you taking a chance on us.”

  “Your company has an excellent reputation, Mr. Murphy.”

  “We do our best,” David replied, pleased by the encouraging words. He and his team had worked hard to get where they were. In an area with more than three hundred software and tech companies competing for business, David’s start-up was gaining traction. To know that others thought well of the company meant a lot to him.

  After the client left, David wrapped up a few other issues with his design team and his production team before heading home. He parked in the garage and entered the quiet, empty house. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he was anxious to see Sophie. Troy, he amended. He was anxious to see his nephew. He hurried to the Griffiths’ without changing clothes.

  Louise answered the door. She had a set of crutches under her arms. “Welcome to the North Pole.”

  Louise’s living room did indeed look like a toy factory, complete with a little elf wearing a Santa hat and a large dog posing as a reindeer. Troy sat on the floor with a tape dispenser in his hands and carefully measured off a piece to hand to Sophie. She sat beside him with a matching Santa hat perched on her bent head. She took the piece of tape and put it on a festively wrapped present in her lap. There were stacks of wrapped gifts alongside a stack of unwrapped toys.

  “What is all of this?” David asked.

  “Toys for the needy,” Troy announced proudly.

  David’s breath seized in his chest. Old memories rushed to the forefront of his mind. Memories of Christmases when he and Daniel were young and a parade of nice people would stop by with prettily wrapped presents to give to the poor little Murphy children. The shame and humiliation of knowing the community pitied them. He could still hear the schoolyard taunts. He shuddered.

  “David? Are you okay?”

  Sophie’s concerned voice broke through the haze that had come over him.

  “Maybe you should sit down,” she suggested. “You look a little green.”

  He did feel as if he might throw up. He sank onto the couch. “You bought a lot of things.”

  “I picked the toys out,” Troy told him with solemn eyes. “They are for kids that don’t have homes or as many toys as I do.”

  David wanted to smile at his nephew’s exuberance but his mouth wouldn’t work. His face felt frozen. He settled for a nod.

  “Troy even offered to give away a few of his own toys,” Sophie said with a pleased smile at Troy.

  David grit his teeth together as bile roiled in his stomach. Feeling Sophie’s assessing gaze, he stayed focused on Troy. “That’s very generous, Troy.”

  The little boy nodded. “My daddy always said that we give to others because God gave us so much.”

  David’s heart spasmed. Daniel, the eternal optimist. “Your daddy was a smart man,” he managed to say around the lump in his throat. “You’re just like him.”

  Troy grinned.

  Sophie rose to place the gift on the pile. “That’s enough for tonight. We’ll finish this tomorrow and drop them off at the church.” She held out her hand to Troy. He set the tape aside and grasped her hand. She hefted him to his feet. “Good job today, kiddo. I sure appreciate your help.”

  “I like helping.” Troy put his hands on his hips and surveyed the toys. “I might need to come over sooner tomorrow than after lunch.”

  “You can come over any time you want,” Sophie said and took him by the shoulders and turned him around. “Why don’t you put on your coat now?”

  Troy didn’t argue. He just ran to where his coat hung on a rack by the front door. Riggs jumped up and chased after, clearly thinking they were playing.

  David stood, meeting Sophie’s curious regard. “You’re good with him.”

  She flashed him a smile. “He’s a great kid.”

  Taking a bracing breath, David nodded. “Daniel and Beth would be very proud of him.” He held Sophie’s gaze a moment longer. Such pretty eyes. She made him want to open up, to think that maybe she’d understand. But he couldn’t. And he didn’t want to see the pity in her eyes when she learned of his background. He broke eye contact and headed for Troy. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

  She followed him to the door and laid a hand on his arm before he stepped outside. “Are you okay?”

  “Of course.” The words were stiff against his tongue.

  “If you want to bring Troy over around ten tomorrow morning, he can have lunch with us.”

  Her generosity touched him. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  He cove
red her hand with his. Her hand was warm and soft and it took everything in him not to pull her closer. “Thank you. I’m sure he’d like that.” He let go and ushered Troy home before he gave in to the attraction tugging at him.

  After dinner and a bath, David sat on Troy’s bed with Troy leaning against his side, his small head resting against his chest. Though David hated to let go of the moment, he closed the fifteenth book he’d read and said, “Okay, buddy. That’s it for tonight. I’m storied out.”

  A sleepy Troy scooted down beneath the covers and laid his head on the pillow. “Will you pray? My daddy used to pray with me at bedtime.”

  David’s heart squeezed tight. This was the first time Troy had made this request. David should have thought of it. Of course Daniel had prayed. He’d always been faithful to God, even when life was spinning out of control.

  David’s faith was more hit or miss. He slid to his knees beside the bed and folded Troy’s tiny hands in his. “Dear Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for our new friends, Louise and Sophie. Thank you for Troy. Please watch over us as we sleep and as we go about our days. Amen.”

  Troy tightened his hold on David’s hand. “Sophie’s pretty, isn’t she, Uncle David?”

  Biting back a smile in the face of Troy’s solemn eyes, David nodded. “Yes. Very pretty.”

  “Do you like her?”

  Wary of where this was going, he replied, “Yes. She’s a very nice lady.”

  Troy nodded, seeming satisfied with the answer.

  “Troy, Sophie’s only in town for a short time to visit her grandma,” he said, needing to make sure his nephew understood that Sophie wasn’t a permanent fixture in their lives. “She’ll be leaving soon.”

  “Leaving? Where will she go?”

  “Far away.”

  Troy’s lip poked out. “Oh. Why?”

  “Her job takes her all over the world.”

  Troy seemed to be digesting the information. Then he asked, “Your job won’t take you all over the world, will it?”

  “No. And if it did I’d take you with me.” He kissed Troy on the forehead. “Good night, buddy.”