A Family Under the Christmas Tree (21 page)

She thumbed through the silk ties until she found one that looked like something he'd wear, a navy tie with diagonal lines in a lighter shade of blue. She quickly bought it and rolled it up and stuffed it into her coat pocket, then made her way to the exit. Only David wasn't there. She waited another five minutes before he appeared around a corner.

At her quizzical look, he grinned. “Did a little shopping of my own.”

“Ah.” What did that mean? Had he seen her buy the tie? Or was he saying he'd bought her a gift? A pleased thrill danced through her as she took her packages and they headed to the parking garage.

As David pulled the truck out of the garage, he asked, “Home?”

“Your office?” she countered. She really was curious to see his work space. You could learn a lot about a person by their work environment. And with her there, he couldn't really get too caught up in anything.

David grinned. “I'd like to show you my company.”

There was a hearty dose of pride in his tone. She was proud of him. It took a lot of perseverance and determination and grit to make a start-up company successful. More reasons for her to admire and respect this man.

He drove them to a high-rise tucked behind a thirty-floor hotel. He pulled the truck into a parking space beneath the building that had his name engraved on a plate attached to the wall.

They took the elevator to the tenth floor. The doors opened to a wide and open reception area with soft and comfortable seating arranged to foster intimate conversations. A flat-screen television mounted to the wall played a muted video of sea life, making Sophie want to sit and watch and experience swimming with dolphins in a tropical paradise. A polished mahogany reception desk with a large burgundy-colored vase filled with a bounty of beautiful exotic tropical flowers and leaves drew Sophie's eye.

Seated behind the desk, a stunning African American woman smiled in greeting. “David, we weren't expecting you today.”

“Good afternoon, Eleanor. How are Mike and the kids?” David asked with warmth lacing his tone.

“They're well, thank you.” She rose, revealing a height that nearly matched David's. She wore a vivid red dress with a scarf tied neatly about her neck that sported a Christmas motif. Her ebony skin was flawless and her dark hair, peppered with a few silver strands, was sleekly pulled back into a fashionable knot at her nape. “What a pleasant surprise to see you.”

Her curious gaze made Sophie wonder if David brought many women into his office. Sophie noticed a framed photo on the credenza behind the receptionist. A studio portrait of the woman, with a handsome man and two preteens, one female, the other male. A happy-looking family.

“I hadn't planned to come in but we were out shopping nearby and I thought I'd show Sophie what we do here,” David explained.

“Excellent,” Eleanor replied.

“Sophie, this is my longtime receptionist Eleanor Mayfield. Eleanor, this is Sophie Griffith, my neighbor's granddaughter. She's been helping me with Troy.”

Eleanor stuck out her hand. “Ah, so nice to meet you and thank you for helping out. We all appreciate it.”

Sophie shook the woman's hand, noting her strong grip. “Nice to meet you, too. And it's been a pleasure to get to know Troy and David.”

Eleanor centered her gaze on David. “Everything's running smoothly. Don't let the boys in the den tell you otherwise.”

David chuckled. “I know I can always count on you to keep us all in line.” He put his hand to the small of Sophie's back, the warm pressure sending little tingles up her spine. “This way. I'll give you the grand tour.”

With one last smile at Eleanor, Sophie allowed David to lead her through an archway into a corridor. “This is a really nice space.”

“When we moved in here two years ago I put a lot of thought into the aesthetics because it makes a difference with the clients,” he replied. “We want to compete with the big dogs. The old space we had was in a strip mall. Not very appealing.”

Glass walls separated the rooms on either side of the hall. The effect was very open and airy.

“This is the conference room,” he said, stopping in the doorway of a large rectangular room. An oval conference table with comfortable captain chairs dominated the space.

Across the hall from the conference room was another office, and a blond-haired man in a suit sat on the phone. He waved as they passed.

“That's Ken Larson, my financial officer.”

David urged her forward to an office door to the left. Blinds over the glass walls prevented her from seeing inside. A nameplate with letters engraved in gold read
DAVID MURPHY
. “My office.”

He pushed open the unlocked door and stepped inside. She
followed him. The first thing she noticed was the wall of windows facing east. In the distance you could see the Cascade Mountains. Low cloud cover hid the tips of the mountains, but the view was spectacular.

The room itself was decorated in very masculine hues of browns and blues. A large cherrywood desk paired with an executive chair sat at an angle, giving David the advantage of seeing the door or the view outside. The desktop was neat and tidy with a desktop computer, a mugful of pens, and a letter holder. On the solid wall hung David's diplomas and a smattering of framed photographs. Sophie moved closer to inspect the images.

There was a photo of a white farmhouse with a wraparound porch and wheat fields in the background. Her heart squeezed tight. This must have been his family's farm. She turned to look at David. He regarded her with a small nod, as if he'd heard her thought.

The next photo showed three generations of Murphys on the same porch. David was a toddler, but even then he had a full head of dark hair. Another photo showed David as a teen with another young man—Daniel, she presumed. The two looked so much alike. The last photo showed Daniel, a smiling brunette with laughing dark eyes, and a baby dressed in a Christmas outfit. Sophie could see both Beth and Daniel in Troy's face.

“Come on, let's go see the guys,” David said in a voice thick with emotion.

Sophie moved to him and put a hand on his arm. “This is lovely.”

He covered her hand with his. “Thank you.”

He tugged her out the door, pulling it closed behind him and led her to another open area, where several computer stations were set up with half a dozen men of various ages and ethnicities
busily working. These men weren't dressed in suits and ties but rather in the comfortable, casual hipster style so popular these days with young men.

There were various-size tables and chairs scattered about. In the center of the space were beanbag chairs, couches, and large-screen consoles. On the outside walls were windows, allowing natural light to complement the overhead lights.

One of the men noticed them. “Hey, boss.”

Sophie nearly laughed as the men jumped from their chairs and hustled over, each one staring at her and David with curiosity. David made introductions, but there was no way she'd ever remember their names and their titles. But the mutual admiration, respect, and affection between David and his employees were palpable.

“We could use some advice on the Tangerine,” one young man said with eagerness. He had green eyes, red hair, and a goatee that matched.

David held up a hand. “Ethan, I'm on vacation, remember. Email me your questions and I'll get to them tonight.”

As they left the building, Sophie tucked her arm around David's. “Email you their questions?”

He shrugged sheepishly.

She laughed. “Tangerine?”

“A software counting game for children,” he replied. “We're building it on spec for a gameware company. They source out some of their work and we're glad to take it.”

“You have a remarkable operation going here, David,” she told him as she slid into the passenger seat of his truck.

“You're impressed?” he asked.

She heard a hint of insecurity in his voice. “Very much so.”

He smiled, seeming satisfied with her announcement. She
wondered why he would question his value. The more she learned about this man the more she liked him. She liked his style. She liked his ethics. She liked how other people liked him. But mostly, she liked how he cared for the people important to him.

Guarding her heart from his appeal was becoming harder every moment.

When they arrived at his house, David parked the truck and then turned to Sophie. “Would you and Louise help us decorate our tree?”

She took his hand, her fingers lacing through his. “It would probably be better for you and Troy to unpack the memories together. Just family.”

He knew she wasn't family. But she'd come to feel like it. She'd started to mean so much to him and Troy in such a short time. He wanted to argue with her and convince her to be there. He needed her support, her encouragement. He needed her in his life. She grounded him, made him feel like he could accomplish anything. She was the part of him that was missing.

Oh, man. That was exactly the reason he should accept her wise words. He'd told her no promises, no plans. Keep things between them fun and light. Needing her wasn't light. Needing her meant he was growing dependent on her. And that was the last thing he should be doing. He squeezed her hand. “You're right. This is something he and I need to do alone.”

They headed next door so he could collect Troy. Sophie pulled up short at the foot of the porch stairs. “Uh, David.”

He paused. “Yes?”

“The Christmas tree is gone.”

He looked toward the front window. It was dark. “We can't see it because the Christmas tree lights aren't on.”

“Maybe.” But she didn't sound convinced.

Riggs barked a quick greeting as they entered. David bumped into Sophie in the entryway.

“Oh, no,” she breathed out.

He peered around her to see the Christmas tree toppled on its side. Riggs was gnawing on the trunk like a chew toy. David clamped his lips together to keep from bursting into laughter. That dog was something else.

Sophie pointed to where Troy and Louise were snuggled on the couch beneath a threadbare afghan. Troy was asleep and Louise looked like she'd just awoken.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
played on the television, but the sound was muted.

“Grams, are you okay?” Sophie asked as she moved closer.

Louise smiled at them. “Of course. Did you have a good time? Get what you were after?”

“We did,” David said as he came to a stop beside Sophie. “It looks like Riggs has had a good time too.”

Confusion lit up Louise's eyes. Sophie stepped aside and gestured toward the fallen tree.

Louise gasped. “Oh, that scoundrel. I thought I heard something but I was so sleepy.”

“We'll get the tree back in order,” David assured her.

He and Sophie moved to the tree. Sophie shooed Riggs away from the now-chewed-up bottom part of the tree while David grasped the trunk in the middle and lifted the tree upright. He then replaced it in the tree stand. Sophie squeezed in next to him to hold the tree in place while he shimmied beneath to reattach the stand to the end.

When he crawled back out from under the tree, it only took
one look at the amused gleam in Sophie's eyes to know he was once again covered in pine needles. “I'll go shake off while you collect the downed ornaments.”

She nodded and gathered the decorations. As far as he could tell, none had broken. When he returned from ridding himself of the needles, Sophie was sitting on the floor with Riggs's head in her lap. The dog was obviously trying to make up for his less-than-stellar behavior.

David scooped up Troy into his arms. “Thank you for watching him.”

Louise stretched. “My pleasure.”

Sophie jumped to her feet. “I'll follow you over and open the doors for you.” She hurried ahead of him to hold the front door open.

Her thoughtfulness touched him. “I'd appreciate it.”

They made their way to his house and went through the open garage door. Sophie hustled ahead of him to open the inner garage door.

“I'll say good-bye,” she said in a hushed tone. “For now.”

He liked that she added the “for now.” He matched her hushed tone. “Do you and Louise have plans for tomorrow?”

“I don't think so.”

“Would you care to join Troy and me ice-skating?”

Her eyes widened with delight. “I'd love to. I don't think Grandma would be much good on skates, but I bet she'd like to come along. Let's touch base in the morning.”

He laughed, and she hurried away. With a pleased smile, he took Troy to his room and laid him on his bed. Troy curled onto his side.

David watched him for a long moment, then his gaze took in the pile of toys in the corner. Sophie had been right. The toy box
would fit perfectly right there. Though he'd struggled to make the decision, he knew that listening to Sophie was the right choice.