The Christmas Catch

THE CHRISTMAS
CATCH

John turned his
attention on Tyler, waiting eagerly nearby.

“Ever been on a
toboggan, young man?”

Tyler shook his head.

“Well then, you’re in
for a treat. Hop on!” he instructed, positioning Tyler right behind Mason.
Tyler promptly wrapped his arms around the dog,
who
leaned back to lick his face.

“Will he be all
right?” Christine asked with concern.

“Sure. You’ll be right
behind him, holding on.”

“And where will you
be?”

“I’ll be hanging on to
you.” John grinned and her heart melted.

Christine warned
herself not to get carried away. It was just an outing in the country. But when
John settled in behind her and snuggled her and little Tyler securely in his
arms, she couldn’t help but blush in his embrace. He was so strong and capable.
Though the steep slope ahead looked formidable, Christine had no qualms about her
and Tyler heading down it with John.

“Ready?” he asked, as
Christine gripped Tyler.

“What about Mason?”

“That old daredevil?”
John asked with a laugh. “He’ll be fine!”

Then they were off,
gliding at lightning speed down the snowy white slope.

“Whee!” Tyler shouted.
“Whoohoo!”

Christine laughed with
giddy delight, feeling like a child again herself.

“What do you think of
Vermont?” John asked with a husky whisper.

The truth was that she
loved it. Loved it even more than she could have imagined.

“It’s perfect,” she
said with a happy sigh.

John hugged them a
little tighter and settled his chin on her shoulder.

“I’m glad.”

Chapter One

Christine sat at her drafting table and focused intently on
her sketch. In the background, cheery Christmas music played from her high-end
system. Dan had bought it three years before as a Christmas gift for her.
Christine tightened her lips in concentration, ignoring the familiar ache in her
heart. She couldn’t quite get the angle of the sleigh. Perhaps if she brought
it down closer to the rooftop…

“Mommy, it’s almost—”

Christine startled at the tug on her sleeve, nearly
upsetting her coffee. She gripped the mug to steady it. “Tyler! How many times
have I told you not to—?”

Saucerlike eyes brimmed with tears. “But I’m late for
school,” he said, flagging his tyke-size cell in her direction. He clutched his
big, black teddy bear, the one with the tattered ear. Christine’s cheeks sagged
as her baby boy stood before the snowy window. Flakes beat down harder outside,
but work—and preschool—would go on. This was Chicago, after all.

She drew Tyler into her arms, awash with shame. How many
times had she snapped at him this week already? And it was only Tuesday. “Mommy
loves you very much,” she said into his charcoal curls. “I’m so sorry.”

“I love you, too, Mommy,” his tiny, muffled voice returned.

Christine hugged him tighter, her gaze caught by a framed
photo of Dan in his military fatigues standing with his new bride. He’d been so
handsome and hopeful at the time. When Tyler smiled, he looked just like him.
Christine thought back to the happy, carefree brunette Dan had fallen in love
with, wondering what he might think of her now. Her role as a single parent clearly
didn’t allow her to be carefree, but she wouldn’t trade being a mother for the
world. Dan had left her with a host of happy memories, but the best gift he’d
supplied snuggled up against her here.

Ellen was right in urging them to get away. Apart from being
Christine’s boss at the greeting card company where she worked, Ellen was also
her best friend. Ellen had noted the toll these last two years had taken on
Christine and declared Christine was becoming ragged around the edges. Not only
that, she was losing touch with her growing son. Christine denied it at first,
but she could see it was true. A single tear slid down her cheek as she took in
the Christmas decorations around them. Perhaps getting away would be good for
her and Tyler, both.

“Mommy?” Tyler said.

“Yes, baby?”

“You’re holding me so tight I can’t breathe.”

Christine released him and thumbed his nose.

“You really are the best little boy a mom could hope for.
You know that?”

“And you’re the best mom,” he said with deeply sincere eyes.

Children can be so
wonderfully forgiving,
Christine thought with a tender sigh.

“It’s snowing awfully hard out there,” she said, her voice
brightening.

Tyler raised his brow. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Christine shot him an impish smile. “So, how’s about
you and
me taking
a little detour on our way into town?”

Tyler bounced on his heels. “Oh boy! You mean—?”

“I don’t think Auntie Ellen would fault me too much for
running an hour behind on such a snowy day.”

“Can I get the Happy Stack?”

Christine ruffled her fingers through his hair, her heart
brimming with affection. “You, little man, may order anything that you want.”

He beamed from ear to ear, a pint-size image of his dad.

“And while we’re there,” Christine continued. “I’ll tell you
all about our upcoming trip to Vermont.”

Tyler scrunched up his face. “Vermont? What’s that?”

“It’s a state, sweetheart. Just a little ways away.”

He paused, considering this, then held his teddy up to his
ear. “Jasper wants to know if there’ll be snow there.”

“At least as much as we’ve got here.”

Tyler listened to his teddy again. “Will we be there for
Christmas?”

“You bet!”

Tyler hung his head, drawing Jasper into his chest.

Christine reached out a hand and gently raised his chin.
“What’s wrong, honey?”

Tyler glanced at his Christmas stocking,
then
swallowed hard.

“Jasper doesn’t think Santa will be able to find us.”

“Trust me on this,” Christine said with a knowing air.
“Santa will
always
be able to find
us. Don’t you know he has his magical ways?”

Tyler twisted his lips in thought. “You mean like a GPS?”

A chuckle escaped her, in spite of herself.

“Something like that,” she said, steering Tyler toward the
door. “Come on, let’s grab our coats. The Pancake Palace awaits!”

Christine sat in Ellen’s office in a glitzy skyscraper, a
hazy view of the river just visible through the pounding snow.

“I’m glad you’re taking me up on this,” Ellen said, handing
the plane tickets and a house key across her desk.

“It’s not exactly like I had a choice,” Christine said,
accepting them.

Ellen shifted in her expensive leather chair. She was good
at what she did and ran this department without a hitch. Christine only wished Ellen
would give her a chance to prove herself as something more than a copywriter. Apart
from having a knack for turning a phrase, Christine had artistic talent, too.
She was certain she could put her own line together, given the opportunity.
She’d fleshed out several concepts already, but Ellen wouldn’t even take a
look. Ellen said she was burning out, that she needed to get away and recharge
her batteries. No sense branching off into something new when Christine could
barely keep up with the day-to-day, as it was.

Ellen centered her snazzy red frames on her nose,
then
said with assurance, “You’ll love it up there. Nice and
peaceful, the perfect getaway for you and your boy. Give you two a chance to
reconnect.”

“Plus, I’m doing you a favor,” Christine reminded her.

Ellen laughed heartily, tossing her chin-length auburn hair.
“All right, already. You’re doing me a favor.”

Ellen’s book editor cousin was vacationing in Europe and
needed a house sitter. Ellen, who generally accepted the holiday task, was
jetting down to Mexico with some hot new number. Christine admired Ellen’s chutzpah
in sticking with the dating scene year after year. Disappointments never seemed
to faze her, and she remained hopeful—one boyfriend after the next—that
this guy was finally the one.

“So, when do you go on vacation?” Christine asked.

“Day after tomorrow. Same day as you.”

“Guess you’ll be packing more lightly.”

“If you’re asking whether I’m taking the string bikini, the
answer is yes.”

Christine was impressed with her older friend. Ellen was fifty
but still had the figure of a woman in her thirties. Of course, Ellen and her
Stairmaster worked at it. Christine got her workouts chasing after Tyler.

“How old is this guy?” Christine asked, betting he was
several years younger.

Ellen furiously fanned her face with some desk papers. “Of
age,” she said slyly. Suddenly, her face lit up. “Say! Maybe you’ll meet
someone in New England?”

Christine stood, gathering her things. “You’re forgetting
one very important fact. I’m not looking.”

“Pays to keep your eyes open,” Ellen said with a smile.

Chapter Two

“Mommy! Look out!” Tyler yelped from the backseat. Christine
gripped the steering wheel of the huge SUV, wrenching them off to the side of
the road and out of the path of the oncoming pickup. Her heart beat furiously
as she brought the car to a halt and cursed the driving snow. This wasn’t some
idyllic New England snowfall; they were caught up in a blizzard, one as
blinding as they come.

“Tyler, baby,” she asked, reaching back and laying a hand on
his leg. “Are you all right?”

She caught his big-eyed gaze in the rearview mirror. “That
was cool! Can we do it again?”

“No,” Christine answered, breathing heavily. “We most
certainly can’t do it again.”

Just then something knocked at her driver’s side window. Christine
glanced quickly at Tyler,
then
cautiously lowered the
glass.

A handsome man with a rugged face and stunning blue eyes
peered into her vehicle.

“Everyone okay in there?” He wore a deep blue parka, jeans,
and sturdy boots. A large golden retriever bounded up behind him, leaping against
the side of the SUV and perching its paws on Christine’s windowsill.

“Doggie!” Tyler cried happily.

“Well hey there, little fellow,” the man said kindly before
sternly commanding his dog. “Mason, get back in the truck.”

The dog immediately obeyed, springing inside the truck that
sat across the road with its driver’s door ajar. The man turned his gaze on
Christine and she unexpectedly felt her heart skip a beat. She judged him to be
in his thirties, maybe five or six years older than she was.

“Yes, yes. We’re fine.”

“Good to hear,” the man said. “You nearly ran me off the
road back there.”

“I nearly—?”

He shared a warming smile. “It’s not that I mind. It’s how
it all comes out in the end that matters.”

She stared at him dumbfounded, lost in his blue gaze. He
probably thought she was some sort of inexperienced city slicker. And he was
right. Christine didn’t even own a car in Chicago and it had been some time
since she’d driven one. She’d never been in anything with four-wheel drive,
particularly anything this big.

“Where you folks headed?”

Christine lifted a map from the front console and handed it
to him. The GPS had gotten them so lost, she’d turned if off over an hour ago. “Are
we even going the right way?”

He studied the name of the village she’d circled, as the
wind picked up around him. “Only if you want to take the long way there.”