A Family Under the Christmas Tree (22 page)

Now if he could only get his heart to realize falling in love with her was the wrong choice.

Two hours later, Troy wandered out of his room. David sat at his makeshift desk at the dining room table. He'd been able to get a lot of progress made on his app while Troy had slept. Now David set his work aside and picked Troy up. “I have a surprise for you. I hope you'll be okay with it.”

“I like surprises,” he said and hugged David.

David carried him to the living room, where he'd set the Christmas decorations and Troy's old toy box. He put Troy on his feet. The boy stared at the toy box for the longest time before tentatively opening the lid. With a squeal of delight, he grabbed a stuffed giraffe and tugged him free from the box. “Misawah.”

“Me what's ah?” David's heart pounded with relief to see that Troy wasn't devastated, as he'd feared he'd be.

Troy held up the stuffed animal. “Me-saw-wah. Mommy bought him for me. He's named after the baby giraffe at the Woodland Zoo.”

“Oh, well hello, Misawah.”

Troy tucked the giraffe under his arm and dug through the box until he found an action figure from a superhero movie. “I'd wondered what happened to him.” He shut the lid. “The rest are baby toys. I'm a big kid now.”

David laughed and hugged him. “Yes, you are.”

Troy moved to the boxes of ornaments. “Can we decorate the tree now?”

“Yes, we can.”

David broke the tape on the boxes and peeled back the top flaps to reveal a colorful array of ornaments. Some were wrapped in tissue paper or bubble wrap.

Troy grabbed a molded plastic ornament in the shape of an ark with three baby animals on board. “This is my baby one.” The side of the ark had the inscription
BABY'S FIRST CHRISTMAS
.

“That's very special.”

Troy threaded a hook through the metal rung at the top of the decoration and then hung it on a low branch.

David lifted a bubble-wrapped package from the box. “What do you think this is?”

Troy knelt down and gently pulled the wrapping apart to reveal a delicate crystal angel tree topper.

“Mommy's angel,” Troy breathed out in a tone of awe.

David took a bracing breath. “Let's put it on the top.”

He lifted Troy up into his arms, then balanced him on his shoulder so he could reach the stubby knob at the apex of the tree. Then they stepped back to look at the pretty angel sparkling with the white lights strung along the branches.

“It's perfect,” David said.

Troy slipped his arms around David's neck. “Mommy and Daddy are with the angels now.”

Heart squeezing tight with emotion, David hugged Troy close and silently promised his brother he'd protect Troy with everything in him.

Troy squirmed to be set down. “There's more to put on.”

“There sure is, buddy,” David said, setting him on his feet. He picked up a miniature golf bag. “Your daddy loved to golf.”

“Can we go golfing?” Troy took the ornament, put a hook on it, and nestled it on a branch.

“
Come summer, we sure will.” They'd both take lessons.

As they continued to pull out more decorations and talk about each one, David thought the only thing that would have made this time perfect would have been having Sophie there.

Best not to think like that, David told himself.

Fun and light. No promises, no plans. He needed to keep his focus on his priorities. Troy and his company. Sophie didn't fit into their future.

Yet, how was he going to survive when she left?

T
hose smell delicious.” Sophie came into the kitchen, her mouth watering. Grandma stood at the electric grill with a spatula in her hand. Six large, round, fluffy pancakes were cooking. Morning's gray light flooded the house. Outside, the world was awash in customary Pacific Northwest rainy gloom, but Sophie's mood was buoyant. She'd slept well and anticipated a fun day with David and Troy.

Grandma smiled. “Would you mind warming up some syrup?”

“Of course.” Sophie took the maple syrup jar from the refrigerator and poured a generous amount into a ramekin, then popped it in the microwave. “I'm waiting for David to call. He mentioned taking Troy ice-skating today. Would you like to join us?”

Grandma shook her head, then gave her a wide smile. “I have a date already.”

“You do?” Sophie sat at the counter with her chin in her hand. “Do tell.”

“Simon's
taking me to the craft fair.”

Was Grandma blushing? “I like Simon. And it's pretty obvious he adores you.”

Grandma laughed softly. “He's nice. And he's definitely good for my ego.”

“Did I mention that David took me to his office?”

Grandma paused. “No. And?”

Sophie told her about the place and the people. “I had no idea he was so successful.”

“He's an impressive young man,” Grandma stated.

“Yes. Yes, he is,” Sophie agreed.

The microwave dinged just as Sophie's cell phone chimed with an incoming call. Excitement revved through her veins. David? She checked the caller ID and let out a deflated breath. Not David, but her agent. Dread crimped her chest. Had the magazine gig fallen through? She didn't want to answer and hear the bad news, but she hit the answer button anyway.

“Good morning,” Sophie said.

“Hey, Soph, how are you? Still at your grandmother's in Seattle?”

“Bellevue, actually, and yes, I am. What's up?”

“So the skiwear company called—”

Sophie winced. Not good. “Okay. They decided to go with someone else?”

“What? Oh, no. They want to push the date up for the shoot. They want you in Zurich by the thirtieth.”

“Of December?”

“Yep. Will that be a problem?”

Blowing out a breath, Sophie's shoulders drooped.
Yes, it will
. She had made plans with David to take Troy up the mountain to play in the snow between Christmas and New Year's. But if she didn't agree to arrive in Zurich earlier than planned, would the
magazine go with another photographer? She wanted this job, didn't she? “I'll try to make it work.”

“I can tell them you can't be there that soon,” her agent said, but there was censure in her tone. “Only we run the risk of losing the job.”

“I understand.” Sophie had planned to head home to LA to change out her wardrobe, grab more of her equipment, and see the rest of her family before taking off. If she skipped seeing her family, she could fly in, hustle to her apartment, pick up what she needed, and then head straight back to the airport. She would be able to make the earlier date. She'd have at least half of the week with David and Troy. “I'll be there if I can leave LA on the twenty-ninth.”

“Great,” she said. “I'll let them know. I'll book your flight and send you the details. You may have to fly out on the twenty-eighth, but I'll see what I can do about the twenty-ninth. However, that won't give you much time to decompress before you have to jump into the work.”

No, it wouldn't, but jet lag was a small price to pay to be able to hang out a few more days with David and Troy. “That's fine. Thanks.”

“Yep. Talk to you soon.” She clicked off.

Sophie set the phone aside as Grandma slid a plate with a small stack of pancakes in front of her.

“Everything okay?” Grandma asked. “You look a bit shell-shocked.”

“That was my agent. The job that was scheduled for the first part of January has been moved up. They want me there at the end of this month.”

“Oh.” There was disappointment in Grandma's tone. “When do you leave?”

“
They want me in Zurich, Switzerland, by the thirtieth.” She picked up her fork, but her appetite had fled. “I'd have to head back to Los Angeles by the twenty-eighth or twenty-ninth.”

“At least you can stay for Christmas.” Grandma joined her at the counter. “We'd all be sad if you missed the Christmas Eve pageant.”

“I'm not missing that for anything,” she assured her. “And I'll be back.”

“You will?” Grandma beamed. “That's fabulous news. When?”

Anxiety kicked up its heels inside her chest. Was she ready to commit to returning? “Sometime in the spring. Or summer.”

There was no mistaking the subtle displeasure crossing Grandma's face. “I'll look forward to your next visit then.”

Sophie's cell phone rang again, and this time it was David. Pleasure lifted her mood. “Hello.”

“Hi, it's David,” his deep voice said into her ear, sending a lovely shiver down her spine. Like she wouldn't recognize his voice. Or see his name on her screen.

“Good morning,” she said. “Are we still on for ice-skating?”

“Yes. We're finishing up breakfast and then have a few things to do before we leave,” he said. “Would you be ready to go in an hour?”

She glanced at the clock. It was nine now. “Sure, I'll be ready by ten.”

“Great. I'm looking forward to seeing you,” he said.

His words brought a thrilled rush of affection to fill her heart. “Me, too.”

Sophie hung up and found Grandma watching her with speculation in her blue eyes. “What?”

“You're falling for him, aren't you? David, I mean.”

“No, we're just friends.” But the protest held no conviction. Uh-oh.

“
Sophie, my dear, it's time for you to stop playing it safe.”

She tucked in her chin. “I don't know what you mean.” But she was afraid she did know.

“You spend your whole life looking through a lens. That way you don't have to actually experience the world. I worry that life will pass you by before you take a chance on letting love in.” Grandma took her hand. “I've watched you with Troy and David. You light up when they are near. Yet you hide behind your camera, taking pictures, capturing so many moments from your time with them, with me, instead of really being present and in the moment.”

Sophie's cheeks flamed. “That's not fair.”

“Life is rarely fair.” Grandma patted her hand. “I love that you've found joy in your work, but there's more to life than taking pictures.”

She swallowed, but her throat wouldn't work. “I'm scared, Grandma,” she admitted quietly. “I don't want to get hurt.” She'd been down this road before and she'd discovered how quickly attraction fizzled out when reality settled in.

“I know, sweetie. But love means opening yourself up to risk.” Grandma gave her a soft smile. “And it's worth it.”

“Like you're doing with Simon?”

A tender expression touched Grandma's face. “Yes. Exactly.”

Her grandma was so wise and strong. If she could be open to love again, couldn't Sophie open her heart to David?

Something deep inside spread through her, warming her blood and making her pulse jump. She'd fallen for David. She wanted to deny it, wanted to push the thought away and cling to the “friends only” label that they'd both put on their relationship. But lying to herself was never a good idea. She had to be honest. Yes, she'd fallen for David. Head over heels in love with a man who'd assured her he'd never ask her to stay. No plans, no promises.

It was so typical of her to want what she couldn't have.

She prayed God would mend her heart when the time came to leave. Because she'd be leaving a chunk of it behind.

The ice rink was crowded with kids and adults of all ages. Small kids clung to their parents' hands. Teenagers whirled and twirled in the center of the large, oval rink. Sophie strapped on a pair of white rental skates, then helped Troy with his pint-size beige-­colored skates. David had his own pair of black ice-hockey skates.

“You play hockey?” she asked, eyeing him as he stood still. He didn't wobble at all.

“I'd always wanted to play as a kid, but we couldn't afford it, so I joined a league a few years ago and learned how to skate as I learned to play. I needed an outlet,” he said. “I don't get out on the ice as much as I used to these days. The more successful the company has grown the less time I have for outside activities.”