A Companion for Christmas
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Lee Tobin McClain
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17
HarlequinChapter One
Kelly Walsh carried her last box of supplies into the big river house and then kicked the door shut behind her, blocking out the December cold. She stomped the snow off her boots and shook it from her hat, then set the box on the wood block table and rubbed her cold hands together. “We’ll unload the boxes and then turn on the fireplace,” she assured her dog, Pokey.
The greyhound was shivering despite her red fleece jacket. She looked up at Kelly with trusting brown eyes.
“Okay, okay. We’ll do the fireplace first.” Kelly patted the dog’s head and then led the way to the living room, checked the thermostat for the furnace, and turned it up. She knelt on the chilly wooden floor and studied the gas fireplace, then switched it on. Immediately, warmth radiated outward. Pokey leaned against her, wagging her tail.
“Who’s a good dog?” Kelly put an arm around Pokey. Trained to give comfort to schoolkids and nursing home residents, the therapy dog wasn’t a personal service dog. She and Kelly worked as a team to help others. Still, the sensitive greyhound often gave comfort to Kelly as well. No doubt Pokey had sensed her anxiety about their temporary new home.
Through the tall front windows, the sky glowed deep pink, edged with gold and purple. Kelly had intended to move in well before dark, but her first graders had been wild today, and she’d spent extra time cleaning up her classroom and adjusting her lesson plans to account for the kids’ pre-holiday excitement.
“Lie down, I’ll be right back.” She pointed to the braided rug in front of the fire and then trotted up the stairs. Time for flannels and a hoodie and some fuzzy slippers. Being all the way out here in the woods, away from her usual small-town neighbors, she could dress for total comfort and not worry about anyone dropping by.
The air upstairs was colder, so as soon as she’d changed, Kelly hurried back downstairs. She checked on Pokey, who was snoring delicately. Good. Kelly would unpack her kitchen boxes first.
Putting away supplies for her Christmas baking project—flour and sugar and spices—comforted her. She’d made the right choice, housesitting for the rest of December in a place with a huge kitchen. The extra money she made from her baking side hustle would help to get her overly generous parents out of their financial hole.
Also, planning for the homey activity of baking soothed worries she’d barely acknowledged in herself. She’d do fine here. After all, it wasn’t like she was in Antarctica. She was still in Pennsylvania, very near the small town where she’d grown up. Her parents lived just two miles away, as did most of her friends.
Until today, she’d lived in the garage apartment at her parents’ house. Which had been fine when she’d been a happily engaged woman planning a Christmas wedding. It made sense to save on rent.
Once the engagement had ended earlier this fall, she’d started to think that a twenty-nine-year-old woman basically living with her parents seemed a little pathetic. Not to mention the fact that her parents needed to rent out the apartment to a paying tenant. She knew it, even if they denied it. And they’d stubbornly refused to let her pay them rent.
It wasn’t even her first broken engagement, but her second. The first engagement had been short-lived, lasting only a couple of months just after college, but this second one had been serious. She’d thought it was the real thing.
The troubling part was that when the relationship ended, she hadn’t even been crushed. Embarrassed, yes, but also relieved.
Which showed how much she knew. She’d gotten over Danny so quickly. How could she have thought a marriage between them would work?
Given her history, no way was she up for a third try. Hence, she’d embarked on a plan to become independent, a happy single. First up was house-sitting, then, as soon as she could swing it financially, a little place of her own.
A car door slammed outside.
Kelly jumped and pressed a hand to her pounding heart. She wasn’t expecting company. She backed into the living room and knelt beside Pokey, who’d lifted her head and was looking toward the back door.
“You could at least stand up!” she whispered to the dog. Greyhounds weren’t known for their guarding abilities.
She heard another car door, then a deep male voice.
Her heart pounded harder, and she grabbed her phone. Should she call 911 or her dad?
Pokey gave a little bark and advanced toward the back door.
Even gentle Pokey was braver than she was. She needed to get a grip. It was probably a lost pizza delivery guy.
If that was the case, then she’d look like a fool and word would spark through the small-town gossip wire. Kelly Walsh got scared housesitting and called the cops.
It would be another reason for her parents to tell her to come back home, for her friends to advise against living alone. She needed to be strong, independent, and brave. She grabbed the decorative fireplace iron and advanced to the doorway into the kitchen.
A key sounded in the door, and then it opened, and a large, jacketed man burst in, half turned to the side as if he was hiding something behind him. He shook snow out of his hair, his eyes scanning the room, and he spotted her in the doorway instantly.
Was he hiding a gun? She raised the fire iron. “I’m calling the—”
“Get out. No squatters—”
Recognition dawned. They both went silent and stared at each other. Beside her, Pokey whined.
She let her makeshift weapon clatter to the floor. “What are you doing here?” she burst out, beating him to the question. Seriously, Alec Wilkins, her older sister’s high school boyfriend, had just shown up, unexpected and uninvited, in her temporary home?
He was still a handsome guy, worth noticing if you were interested in dating and relationships.
But she wasn’t. And you could never get him, her critical inner voice said. You couldn’t even keep Danny as a fiancé.
“Kelly?” His face broke into a slightly confused smile. “I guess you’re not some squatter, but what are you doing here?”
Kelly opened her mouth and then closed it, too full of her own questions to answer his.
“Daddy?” came a small voice.
Alec shifted, and she saw he was holding a young child, had been concealing her behind him. The little girl was blond, whereas Alec had dark hair, but they shared the same gray-blue eyes.
Alec had a child?
“This is Daddy’s old friend, Miss Kelly,” he said, stroking the child’s hair. “This is my daughter, Zinnia,” he said to Kelly.
The little girl, who appeared to be about three, looked at Kelly briefly and then snuggled closer into Alec’s chest. “Cold,” she said.
At which point Kelly realized she was leaving a man and child freezing at her doorstep, not to mention the fact that the open door behind them was letting in icy air. “Come in, let’s get you both warm. I have a fire going.” She gestured toward the living room and then sidled around Alec to shut the door behind the pair. Up close, she saw the day-old stubble on his cheeks and the tired circles beneath his eyes.
She led the way into the living room and looked back. Alec was toeing off his own shoes, and then he knelt and unzipped Zinnia’s coat and pulled off her little pink boots. He carried the child into the living room and headed for the fire.
He set her down, kneeling and keeping an arm around her.
Kelly’s dog came closer, obviously drawn to both the strangers and the warm fire.
“Hi, doggy,” Zinnia said, reaching toward Pokey.
Alec pulled her hand back and frowned.
“Pokey’s gentle,” Kelly assured him. “She’s actually a therapy dog, so she’s used to kids.”
“You’re sure?”
“I wouldn’t take her to preschools if I wasn’t.”
“Okay. Pet her on the neck, like this, sweetie.” Alec reached out and gently scratched Pokey’s neck and chest.
Zinnia sank to her knees and rubbed Pokey’s neck, and soon the big dog lay down, panting a smile.
Alec looked up at Kelly. “So, you first. Why are you here?”
“I’m housesitting for the month of December,” she explained. “The Baldwins are doing an extended Christmas thing in Bali.”
He frowned. “John gave me a key a couple of years ago. Said I could stay here when I was in town. I’ve done it several times before.”
“Oh, right. I guess I’d heard that. You didn’t check with them before coming?”
“I didn’t. Usually I do, but they’re hard to reach. And...things got a little busy.”
“Where’s Zinnia’s mom?” Kelly asked. Then, realizing the question sounded blunt, she waved a hand. “Sorry. Not my business.”
While they were talking, Zinnia had come over and leaned against her father’s leg. “Mommy went to heaven,” she said now, and then stuck her thumb in her mouth.
Oh, no. Kelly wanted to reach down and scoop the little girl up into her arms. “I’m sorry,” she said, looking at Alec with concern.
He nodded. “She’s been gone six months.” He was studying the child. “Zinnia doesn’t always remember.”
“I ’member.” Zinnia’s forehead wrinkled. “I ’member Mommy.”
Kelly’s heart ached for the little girl, but there was nothing she could say, no way to fix the situation. To judge from Alec’s expression, he felt the same helplessness.
Had he been married to Zinnia’s mom? Regardless, he had to be grieving her loss.
Wind whistled around the old house, and tapping sounded against the windows, like stones being thrown. “I wonder if that’s sleet,” Kelly said, looking in that direction.
“Probably. I heard while driving in that there’s to be a wintry mix tonight.”
“Yeah. My favorite.”
Zinnia yawned and lay down by the fire, her head on Pokey.
“Is that okay?” Alec asked. “The pup won’t mind?”
Kelly nodded. “Pokey’s the most easygoing dog around. That’s why she’s such a great therapy dog.” Kelly could tell she was about to go babbling on and on and forced herself to stop. She needed to focus on this situation of them both wanting to stay in the same house and figure out what to do.
It was difficult, though, when his piercing blue eyes seemed to look into her soul. Or maybe he was just staring at her outfit, because...rats. She was wearing the ugliest clothes in the state of Pennsylvania. She looked down at her hoodie. Was that...yes. Daffy Duck. Her cheeks heated.
“We’d better figure out what to do,” he said, frowning as he pulled out his phone. “I’ll see if I can find a hotel for the night.”
The wind was still howling. Could she send a tired-looking man and a young child out into this weather?
“It’s a huge house. I guess... Do you want to stay tonight and figure it all out tomorrow?”
The question hung in the air as Alec followed Kelly into the kitchen. Kelly Walsh. Warm, friendly and wholesome. The girl who’d befriended the outcast kids and collected canned goods for hungry families and sung in the church choir.
The exact opposite of her sister. And the last person in the world he wanted to see, let alone stay with.
Did he want to stay tonight? Well, yeah, on one level, he did. It was warm and cozy inside, cold and snowy outside, and Zinnia was exhausted.
When he’d dreamed of home while serving his country in the Middle East, he’d dreamed of a place like this. When he’d learned he was a father and that his ex-girlfriend was sliding into drug dependency, he’d imagined getting full custody of his daughter and raising her in a home like this.
The horrible thing that had happened six months ago, and the challenges of learning to be a full-time single dad, had pushed all fantasies about a Norman Rockwell household out of his mind. Suddenly, tonight, they were coming back.
But would three-year-old Zinnia notice the slight resemblance between Kelly and her mother? Would Kelly realize that Zinnia looked like Chelsea?
And even if that didn’t happen, could he live with himself if he didn’t tell Kelly the truth?
He’d changed so much since the single night of drunken romance that had resulted in Zinnia’s conception. He’d been on leave, and Chelsea had been lonely, and they’d hooked up for a brief reprise of their high school relationship.
After that, his life had taken a different turn. He’d stopped drinking and partying and he’d become a Christian. Chelsea had gone in a totally different direction.
He was too tired to stop the racing thoughts in his head. He gripped the doorjamb to make sure he stayed upright.
“I think you’d better sit down.” Kelly pulled out a kitchen chair and waved him toward it.
He glanced back into the living room. Zinnia still lay with her head on Pokey, eyes closed, breathing regularly. The dog seemed to be sleeping, too.
He took the chair Kelly had indicated, and she put a cup of fragrant hot chocolate in front of him. “Sorry it’s from a pod,” she said. “I’m just moving in, so I don’t have the supplies for homemade.”
He took a sip of hot chocolate. “Thank you. This is fantastic.”
She sat down across from him with a mug of her own steaming beverage. “How long have you been driving? From where?”
“Phoenix.” He stretched his tight shoulders and rolled his neck from side to side. “We did stop at an army buddy’s place in Missouri, so it wasn’t straight through.” Alec’s friend and his wife had graciously offered to take care of Zinnia for a few hours so he could sleep and she could play with their toddler and toys and dog. But she’d been needy, out of sorts with all the changes in her life. As dusk fell, her crying had awakened him, and he’d realized he just needed to push through to Holiday Point, driving through the night when she was more likely to sleep.
“Still, we’re a long way from Missouri. You need to stay tonight. When did you last eat?”
He frowned, thinking back over the blurry hours of driving. “We got fast food at lunchtime today. Again, not ideal, but...”
“Fast food French fries can cure a lot of problems,” she said, and smiled. Instantly, she went from cute to beautiful.
Yes, her mouth was too wide and her figure too curvy for a modeling career like Chelsea’s. Her hair was pulled back in a casual ponytail, with unruly strands escaping around her face. She lacked her sister’s high cheekbones, classic model slenderness and perfect hair.
Yet he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Couldn’t control the way his mouth went dry and his heart rate hiked up. Could barely keep himself from leaning closer. “Thanks for not judging,” he said finally, to break the silence.
“I have some homemade mac and cheese, courtesy of my mom.” She walked over to a cooler and pulled out a big glass container. “Want me to heat some up? Does Zinnia have any allergies?”
He shook his head. “No, but I think she’s out for the night. And you don’t have to make food for me. We have some stuff in the car.”
She was already scooping mac and cheese onto a plate. “There’s way too much here for me to eat myself. I don’t know if you remember my mom, but to her, food is love.”
And that apple didn’t fall far from the tree, he thought, watching Kelly bustle around the kitchen. She was obviously at home there, and she seemed glad to interrupt her evening to prepare food for unexpected guests. Soon, there was a steaming plate in front of him.
“How are your folks doing?” he asked between bites.
“They’re okay. Dad’s working for the county now. Mom got laid off.” She held up a hand as if to stop him from asking the next logical question. “I don’t know if you heard...” She paused and drew a deep breath. “Chelsea passed away in June.”
His heart thumped extra hard. “I did hear. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“I’m mostly sorry for Mom and Dad. This has been incredibly hard on them. Chelsea cut off contact. We hadn’t heard from her for years, until we learned she’d died.”
“That must be hard.” Guilt washed over him. Could he have talked Chelsea into reestablishing those family ties?
“It is hard. I hate what she did to them, and to other people in this town.”
That was what Chelsea had meant when she’d told him not to reveal that she was Zinnia’s mom. She hadn’t wanted Zinnia to be tarred with the same brush she had been.
“You’re planning on staying in Holiday Point?” she asked, taking his empty dish to the sink.
“I hope so. If I can find work and a place to stay. It’s a good place to raise a child.”
“It is,” she said. “Just...don’t play up the fact that you dated Chelsea once and you’ll be fine. Some people are still bitter toward her.”
“Right. Sure.” Her words pushed him out of the relaxed state he’d started to get into, what with the warm house and the food and her friendliness.
He had to be careful. He couldn’t let the secret out.
He didn’t want to cause pain to the Walshes, who’d always been kind to him. And he didn’t want to break his promise to Chelsea.
Most of all, he didn’t want Chelsea’s reputation to taint her daughter. Zinnia deserved a fresh start, and he would try his best to give it to her.
Which meant keeping his distance from Chelsea’s family and especially her sweet sister. Starting tomorrow.
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