A Christmas Family Wish (2 page)

He swiped a hand over his face and winced. This was going to
be awkward as hell.

Chapter Two

The dark shape of Ian Harper loomed at the bottom of the
stairs. Rachel's breath rushed out in relief. She no longer had to handle this
situation alone.

"Thanks for coming. I really appreciate it."
Rachel stepped back as Ian came up the stairs. He was nothing but a shadow, a
large shadow, taller than she remembered.

"You okay?" he asked as he reached her.

The sound of his voice swept her back to her teens. She
hadn't thought of him for years; she'd purposely wiped him from her mind. Now,
long-forgotten memories flooded back, memories she'd rather forget. She'd had a
massive crush on him and behaved like a ditz around him. She hoped he'd
forgotten.

"Fine." She smiled, even though he couldn't see
her. It had been drilled into her during her flight attendant training—present
a calm demeanor even if you're panicking inside. She pushed open her bedroom
door and ushered him in.

Rachel had found a battery camping lantern in the closet
when she pulled out a bag to pack her clothes. It cast a cold white light over
the room.

Ian took off his hat and swiped a hand over his wet face.
Dark stubble covered his jaw and chin. He was broader than she remembered—he'd
matured and bulked up. He'd changed from boy to man in the eight years since
she saw him last.

"Your dad said the tree fell on your son's room. Is he
okay?"

"I've checked Toby over as best I can. He's not in any
discomfort. He's asleep." Rachel nodded towards the bed.

"Sounds okay, then. Kids usually make a fuss if they're
hurt."

She wondered briefly if he had kids of his own, but the
thought came and went in an instant, supplanted by more pressing problems.

"I've packed my clothes." Rachel lifted her full
bag off the bed. "I was about to start on Toby's things. The trouble is
they're still in his bedroom."

"I can't let you go back in there. It's not safe."

Rachel hauled in a breath and let it go slowly. She knew
that. It would be crazy to risk getting hurt for a few clothes. She would have
to buy some more and worry about the cost later. "Okay."

Toby stirred, whimpering in his sleep. Rachel sat on the
edge of the bed and peeled the covers away from her son's face. He blinked blue
eyes up at her, so like her own. "Mummy, when can we get Jimbo?"

Rachel bit her lip and glanced at Ian. His eyebrows rose in
question.

"His teddy," she said. Turning her attention back
to her son, she wrapped an arm around him and sat him up. "This is
Ian," she said. "He's come to help us."

"'Cause it's raining in my bedroom?" Toby asked.

"That's right, sweetie. Ian runs a company that mends
houses."

Toby leaned into her side, gazing shyly up at Ian. Her boy
wasn't used to men. His only male relative was his granddad, and he didn't see
him very often. He'd started school a couple of months ago and even his
teachers were all women.

"Will you mend my room now so I can have Jimbo,
please?"

Ian chuckled. "Wish I could work that fast, son. Your
room will take awhile to fix, I'm afraid. Where did you leave Jimbo?"

"In my bed."

Ian pressed his lips together and nodded firmly as if he'd
made a difficult decision. "I'd better go and fetch him then. You can't
leave without your teddy."

"I thought you said it was too dangerous to go in
Toby's room?" Rachel said.

"For clothes, yes. Rescuing a teddy's a different
matter."

Rachel stood and tucked Toby into bed again. "You stay
here, sweetie. I'll be back in a few minutes." Her emotions fluctuated.
She wanted Toby to have Jimbo, but she didn't want Ian to risk hurting himself
to get a soft toy.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Let's have a look."

Ian headed for the door and Rachel followed.

"Where's your coat?" he asked.

"Downstairs in the hall closet."

"I'll retrieve that first. Don't want you getting
soaked."

"Thanks. It's the red one."

Ian disappeared and came back a few moments later with her raincoat.

She pulled it on, drawing up the hood, then followed him
onto the landing. Wind gusted through the damaged wall, splattering them with
rain. Ian played the flashlight beam over the devastation that had been Toby's
room, then passed her the light. "Shine this in front of me if you
can."

Ian kicked aside the remnants of the door and stepped into
the room. The whole house seemed to creak as he made his way through the tree
branches, ducking under some, climbing over others. Stamping on a few with his
heavy leather boots until they snapped.

Rachel pointed the beam of light towards the bed. It sat at
a drunken angle beside the only piece of external wall left standing. Ian
grabbed the striped blue bear off the covers.

He was halfway back when the remaining section of wall just
disappeared, Toby's chest of drawers containing his clothes with it.

The whole floor tilted.

"Ian!" Rachel willed him to hang on.

He scrambled over a large tree branch, and jumped out into
the hallway.

"Yeah, that was stupid of me. Never mind. I'm still in
one piece."

He seemed remarkably calm for someone who'd nearly fallen
through the floor.

They went back into her bedroom where Toby huddled wide-eyed
in the bed. "Mummy, Mummy." He crawled across the covers and fell
into her arms when she sat down. He must have heard her fearful shout.

"It's okay, baby. Ian rescued Jimbo for you."

Her son peered up from within the safety of her arms and Ian
grinned. In the strange white light she met his gaze, his warm brown eyes just
visible beneath the peak of his hat. Her stomach gave a little flip. After all
these years, he still affected her.

Ian reached into the front of his jacket and slowly pulled
Jimbo out, so the teddy peeped over his lapel.

"Jimbo!" Toby opened his arms to receive his best
friend and hugged him tightly, grinning up at Ian.

Rachel reminded him to say thank you and he did, still
grinning.

"We'd better get you dressed in some warm things,
sweetie."

Rachel found a thick cardigan and fastened it around Toby,
then helped him into the waterproof top she wore for running. He didn't have
any shoes, but she intended to carry him to the vehicle.

The house creaked and groaned like a sinking ship in a storm,
and she couldn't wait to get safely away from it.

"Need to hurry up," Ian said, his voice pitched
low. "Have you packed your valuables, your passport, bank cards, that sort
of thing? You need to take your house insurance policy as well."

"I have my passport. My handbag and the insurance
documents are downstairs." She knew the house would be left unsecured.
Anyone could climb in the damaged front wall and steal her stuff. There wasn't
much she could do about it.

"Let's get going then. I'm not happy about the two of
you staying here much longer. The place is unstable."

Rachel pulled a hat down over Toby's ears and picked him up,
then followed Ian downstairs as he carried her bag.

"Wait here while I load your stuff in my pickup. I'll
move Toby's car seat across from your vehicle at the same time."

She told him which car was hers and handed him the keys,
then he dashed out the back door. In the pale light of dawn, Rachel hugged Toby
as she stared at the total devastation of her lovely kitchen. She rescued her
handbag from just inside the door and stared at the wet, stained leather with a
sigh.

She'd worked so hard to save enough to buy this house. It
was meant to give her and Toby a solid base on which to rebuild their lives
after her disastrous relationship with Greg.

Tears pricked her eyes and she blinked them away. She couldn't
feel sorry for herself now. Toby needed her.

Rachel pressed her face against her son and struggled for
composure. She would have to find money for a cheap hotel. She could afford a
few nights until the insurance company provided her with temporary accommodation.

"Okay, all set," Ian said, dashing back through
the door. It was still raining but had eased off a little. "Shall I hold
the little guy while you grab the last few things you want to take?"

"Ian will hold you for a while, okay, Toby?" Her
son nodded and she passed him to Ian. Toby put his arm around Ian's neck,
holding on so trustingly. The sight made Rachel's breath catch in regret. Her
poor boy should have his daddy in his life to look out for him. For the
millionth time, she cursed Greg.

She pushed the thought aside and dug her household insurance
file out of the bills drawer in her lounge and stuffed it in a plastic bag. She
grabbed two photo books she'd had printed up with photographs of Toby and added
those as well.

Ian watched her from the lounge doorway. He gestured at her
television. "I'll come back for this electrical equipment once you're
safely in the pickup. Otherwise some jerk might walk off with it before my men
can secure the place tomorrow."

"Thanks, Ian." She couldn't believe how kind he
was being. She looked down and touched a sore scratch on her cheek from when
she'd rescued Toby. Stress and fear welled up and she hung on to her control by
a thread. "Do you know a cheap hotel?"

She just needed somewhere to put her stuff and clean up so
she could go to work. It was only a couple of hours until her shift at the
airport started.

"You can come to my place."

Rachel looked up in surprise and met his resolute gaze. She
wasn't about to protest. She had nowhere else to go. "Thanks."

"I owe it to your dad to take care of you. Tomorrow
we'll contact your insurers."

Ian carried Toby out to the pickup and stepped aside for her
to strap him in. He'd started the engine and inside the vehicle was warm and
toasty.

Rachel climbed in, hugged herself, and closed her eyes,
waiting while Ian brought her television and DVD player out and stowed them in
the back of the pickup. She didn't know what she would have done without him
tonight, but tomorrow she would have to stand on her own feet and start to sort
out this disaster.

To Rachel's surprise, Ian drove out of the city into the
country. In a short time they were heading along narrow roads, streaming with
water, hedges enclosing them on either side.

"What village do you live in?" she asked.

"I don't. My place is out in the country on its
own."

They turned down a drive. The headlights cut through the
rain as they swung past a yard surrounded by barns. Ian didn't stop but
continued on along the track for another hundred yards before he pulled up
beside a farmhouse. Lights blazed down, illuminating the parking area and
porch.

"This is mine," he said. "Meadow Sweet Farm.
I'll get out first and unlock the door so you can dash straight in with
Toby."

She reached back and released Toby from his seat. He climbed
forward to her lap and she held him close while they waited. When Ian beckoned,
she dashed through the rain to the house.

Her breath rushed out in relief as Ian closed the back door
behind her. Lights recessed in the ceiling lit up a welcoming farmhouse kitchen
with a large wooden table in the center, old flagstones on the floor, and a
huge cooking range to one side.

"Look, Mummy, a dog." Toby wriggled to get down
and she set him on his feet. He walked towards a golden retriever in a basket
by the range.

"That's Max," Ian said, taking off his coat and
hat. "He's friendly if you want to pet him, but be gentle. He's a granddad
dog."

Toby crouched in front of the dog and held up his teddy.
"Hello, Max. This is Jimbo." The retriever sniffed the teddy and Toby
giggled. He stroked his small hand over the animal's wide head. Gray hairs
peppered the old dog's muzzle.

Toby seemed to be taking this disruption in his stride.
Rachel was grateful for it. She was struggling to hold herself together. If
Toby had acted up, she might have snapped and burst into tears in front of Ian.
She glanced his way to find him watching Toby with the dog, a smile playing on
his lips. He seemed at ease with her son. She glanced around the room for
evidence of whether he had children.

"I hope we don't disturb your family."

His smile faded as his gaze returned to her. "I live on
my own, so you don't need to worry about that." He held out a hand.
"Let me take your jacket. I'll hang it up to dry."

Rachel took off her wet coat, passed it across, then pulled
the waterproof top over Toby's head and gave that to Ian as well.

"This is the utility room. Boots and coats go in
here," he said, taking the garments to a room off the kitchen.

He returned and set a kettle on the range. "I suggest
we have a hot drink, then get some more rest. We've all had a disturbed
night."

Rachel pulled her phone from her bag and checked the time.
It was nearly six a.m. She needed to think about leaving for work soon. Then it
hit her—she'd left her car behind.

She closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her forehead. How
could she have been so stupid as to leave her car?

"What's the matter, Rachel?"

"My shift starts at eight and I have no way of getting
there. I also need to drop Toby off at the…" Her voice trailed away as
reality sank in. How could she take her son anywhere when he had no clothes?
But she couldn't miss a shift. She needed the money, especially as she was
bound to have extra costs with the damage to her house. Insurance never covered
everything.

"Hey, don't worry. Just call your employer. They must
have cover for situations like this. They'll understand." Ian stepped
closer and rested a hand on her shoulder.

The airline she worked for would
not
understand. She
was already in their bad graces because of her dispute with Greg. Unfortunately,
as a pilot he had a lot more status than she did. Especially now she worked on
ground staff. They could fill her job easily but they couldn't afford to lose
him.