A Christmas to Believe In (47 page)

Heath lifted his cup in a toast. "Well, here's hoping the

third time's the charm. Hey, speaking of three, when do I get

to meet my nieces? And Sydney," he added belatedly.

"Soon," Alex said, but the reply was short and clipped, like

he wasn't quite thrilled about the meeting. Heath guessed it

had more to do with his fiancee than his daughters.

Amelia clapped her hands together and pressed them to

her heart. "Very soon, I hope. I can't wait for you to meet

them." Pride beamed from her features, giving her a youthful

glow in spite of her sixty years.

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A Christmas to Believe In

by Claire Ashgrove

Heath shot a look at Alex and saw the same glow of pride

coming from him. Alex only recently learned he'd fathered

triplets five years ago. Unfortunately, he was engaged to a

woman other than the mother. Heath hadn't met the fiancee

yet, but if the information he'd gotten from his mother about

his future sister-in-law was accurate, he wasn't looking

forward to it.

"They're adorable," his mother went on. "They look just

like your brother. Zoe is bringing them by in a couple of days.

She's doing the catering for the reception."

Heath had difficulty hiding his surprise. "Isn't that a little

weird—the ex-wife catering the new wife's wedding

reception?"

Alex shrugged. "Ask Mom, she's the one who hired Zoe."

"When I first hired Classic Kitchen, I didn't know Zoe

owned the business. She was recommended by a friend."

Wow. As if there wasn't enough drama surrounding the

holidays this year; a new sister, their first Christmas without

their father, Alex learning
he
was a father, and now Alex's ex-

wife catering his upcoming wedding. Throw in a teenage

pregnancy and an evil twin, and the King family would have

their own daytime soap opera.

Heath's heart and mind were only half-involved in the

discussion that followed as the group moved into the living

room and turned on the television while they waited for Clint.

He stood restlessly and paced, pausing by the photos on the

mantel. There were a ton of them, a photographic montage of

the King brothers' childhood. Most of them featured their

father.

397

A Christmas to Believe In

by Claire Ashgrove

Heath stopped in front of one that used to be his favorite.

He and his dad at a Royals game. Clint and Alex weren't

there. It was Heath's tenth birthday, and on each of the boys'

birthdays, they got to pick a special thing to do with their

father, just the birthday kid and his dad. Heath chose dinner

at Gates Barbecue and a Royals game. They'd gotten George

Brett's autograph. It had been the happiest day of Heath's

young life. Boy, had Clint and Alex been pissed.

Heath smiled at the memory. His father's smiling face

stared back, and Heath's smile faded. He wanted to ask his

father why he'd done what he had, why he'd betrayed his

mother and why he'd raised Heath to be upstanding and

loyal, when he himself hadn't been.

But he would never be able to ask him any of that.

Although his father's transgression—if that was his only one,

and Heath wasn't positive about that—had happened before

any of his sons were born, they hadn't learned of it until after

his death, when Frank King's love child burst onto the scene.

Amelia had known about it all these years but kept it from her

sons. Just a little, Heath resented her for not giving him the

opportunity to confront his father, to get an answer to the

questions that plagued him.

He looked at the clock. Clint would be here soon and their

little family circle would be complete, well, minus one

member...Keeley Jacobs, the newest and, in Heath's opinion,

unwelcome one.

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398

A Christmas to Believe In

by Claire Ashgrove

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