Mistletoe Mommy

Chapter Fourteen

Adam was relieved that none of the kids asked for details of his date the next day. He wasn’t sure what he would have said. Mostly they chatted about the upcoming festival. Josh had told Geoff all about the annual antique car show that the boy was excited about, while Morgan looked forward to the fireworks. If Eliza seemed less ebullient about the event than her siblings, at least she wasn’t being negative about it.

“Daddy,” Morgan asked during lunch, “can Brenna come with us to the festival?”

Adam grinned. “Great minds think alike.”

Morgan wrinkled her nose. “What’s that mean?”

“It means I already asked her,” he said. Seeing the excitement lighting his daughter’s eyes, he hastened to add, “But she probably won’t be able to.”

Eliza looked sullen, but he couldn’t tell whether his daughter was miffed that he’d invited Brenna or upset that the woman wouldn’t be able to come with them.

“She really wants to come with us,” he assured Morgan, “but she has a lot of work to do that day. It depends on whether she can find help with her pet-sitting.”

“I’ll help!” the five-year-old declared.

Geoff laughed. “Spending the day with dogs and kitty cats does sound right up your alley, but we can’t. Brenna told me that only adults are allowed to go into the houses where she’s working.”

Morgan scowled, but seemed unwilling to let the matter go. “Daddy’s an adult. He could help.”

Eliza exhaled impatiently. “Then what do we do, dummy?”

“That’s not how we talk to one another,” Adam reprimanded sternly.

Geoff’s expression was thoughtful. “I don’t know, I think the squirt’s on to something. What if we could hang out at the festival with Josh and Natalie? Then Dad and Brenna could meet us there later, like, for dinner and stuff. They might miss some of it, but the fireworks are the coolest part, anyway. We like Josh and Natalie, right?”

“Right!” Morgan chirped.

Even Eliza was forced to admit, “They’re pretty cool. For grown-ups.”

“I don’t know.” Adam hesitated. Josh and Natalie had already been very gracious with their time, and he didn’t want to take advantage of their generosity. Besides, it had never been his intention to spend the holiday away from his children.

Still, time with Brenna was running out fast. They had only a few days left together, and he couldn’t deny wanting to steal as many moments and memories as possible before his vacation was done.

WHEN BRENNA’S cell phone rang that night, she knew instinctively that it would be Adam. Though she hadn’t realized it until now, she’d been waiting for him to call.

“Hi,” he said. “Got a minute to talk?”

“I can spare a minute.” For you. “I might even have some good news. Quinn said she’d help me on the Fourth. It will still be awfully tight, but if I push-”

“As it turns out, I have a little good news myself. How would you feel about an extra pair of hands? I don’t know the area well enough to be zigzagging around town on my own, and people here don’t know me at all, but could I help if I rode with you?”

Yes, actually. There were always several small tasks to do at each stop, and two could work faster than one. Her heart sped up. The idea of hours alone with Adam seemed like a precious gift. She wasn’t in danger of falling into the habit of leaning on him. He wouldn’t be around long enough for that to happen.

“What about the kids?” she asked.

“Well, Geoff tossed out the idea that maybe they could hang with your brother. If you don’t think he’s sick of them?”

“Oh, he’s crazy about them. But I know he’s working some of the midway games, and Natalie’s busy with the parade that morning. I tell you what-let me talk to them and determine everyone’s schedule.”

“Meanwhile, I’ll talk to Lydia,” he brainstormed. “But if we can work it out, you’ll let me come with you? I really want to help.”

“And I really appreciate it,” she said softly, but she was torn between being overjoyed by his offer and wishing he hadn’t called.

If she kept falling for Adam Varner, who was going to help her recover when he left town and broke her heart?

AS IT TURNED OUT, finding a babysitter for the festival was easy. Maggie called Brenna’s cell phone early Wednesday morning to ask if she wanted to bring her new friend to Sunday dinner.

“I don’t know,” Brenna said. “I’ll definitely pass along the invitation, but it will be up to the Varners. Sunday is their last evening here, and I’m not sure what they have planned.”

“I suppose that’s understandable.” Maggie sounded disappointed. “We were just hoping to meet him. And those kids! Seems like a lifetime ago that you and Josh were young.”

An idea took shape in Brenna’s mind. After all, who was better with children than Maggie Pierce? “Hey, are you guys going to the festival this year?”

“Of course! You know Fred never misses the turtle race. He won’t admit it, but I’m pretty sure he bets on those silly races every year.”

Most men did, even if they felt foolish owning up to it-it was a Mistletoe tradition.

“This may be a lot to ask, but how would you feel about some extra company for the festival?”

IT WAS BARELY FIVE in the morning when Brenna got out of bed on Independence Day. She’d spoken with Quinn and Adam multiple times in preparation. Since she couldn’t in good conscience inflict this early hour on either of them, she’d decided to do the first visits by herself and then meet up with them at the Diner for a quick breakfast while she divvied up everyone’s duties for the day.

She caught herself humming as she cleaned a fish tank. Though she liked her job, she wasn’t usually this peppy first thing in the morning. She shied away from admitting to herself just how much she was looking forward to seeing him.

Quinn, however, was unashamed of her own eager curiosity to meet him. She called Brenna to let her know she was en route to the Diner. “I can’t wait to see this guy! I hate that I was out of town the night of your date-you know, the one you refuse to share any of the details about. I would have been happy to give you wardrobe advice.”

Brenna grinned into the receiver, glad her friend couldn’t see her telltale smirk. “Oh, I did all right on my own.”

“If I get there first, do you want me to order for you?” Quinn offered.

“Yes, please. I have to walk the Webers’ Weimaraner, but then I’m on my way.” She’d just given Quinn her breakfast request and disconnected when the phone chirped again. “Hello?”

“Morning.” Adam’s voice rumbled through the phone.

She felt her entire body responding, her face smiling, her posture subtly relaxing. “Hey, there. Maggie make it over to the lodge?”

“Oh, yes.” The two words held a wealth of humor. “She’s quite…I think she hugged me three times. And she managed to carry on concurrent conversations with Geoff about the car show today, Eliza about some new brand of lip gloss and Morgan about her favorite cartoon. How does Maggie even know about that?”

“Neighborhood kids, I imagine. It started when a girl across the street would come over for the time between when she got home from school and when her mother got home from her part-time job. She’d hang out in Maggie’s kitchen. Word about the pie got out, and now there’s at least one kid dropping by every day of the week. Maggie’s good with them.”

“I’ll say! I got tired just listening to her chat with my three.”

Brenna laughed. “Not too tired, I hope. I plan to work you hard today.”

There was a pregnant pause.

“Adam! You’re awful.”

“What? I didn’t say anything. Don’t project your wicked thoughts onto me.”

She was grinning from ear to ear when they got off the phone. The sun was shining, the kids were in great hands, her good friend promised to have caffeine ready and waiting, and Brenna would get to spend hours alone with Adam, culminating in brilliant fireworks.

It was going to be a great day.

BY MIDMORNING Brenna and Adam had fallen into an easy, natural rhythm. While they were driving, they chatted and laughed a lot. She learned that the Rolling Stones were his favorite band and that he did a truly terrible Mick Jagger impression. She’d written a list of their assignments, analyzing location and meds schedules to put them in the order that made the most sense. After each visit was concluded and she’d double-checked that the house was secure, they’d return to the car where he’d immediately read off the next stop.

In the car, she’d outline what she needed him to do. Usually he handled stuff like bringing in people’s mail and watering plants while she took care of the pets. At one house, he tossed a tennis ball in the backyard for an indefatigable Jack Russell terrier while Brenna filled food bowls and undertook the always fun mission of giving a cat a pill. While Adam’s presence only shaved off a few minutes at most visits, those minutes added up over the course of the day. As soon as they reached their destination, chitchat stopped as they focused on their respective tasks.

She pulled into a driveway in the Heritage Pond subdivision, and he had his seat belt off before she got her keys out of the ignition.

“Synchronize watches,” he deadpanned. “And we’re ready to move out. Go, go, go, this is not a drill!”

Once they met back up at the front door to leave the house, she asked, “Do your patients know the truth about you, that you’re a total nut?”

“No, the hospital’s worked very hard to keep that under wraps. Otherwise people tend not to trust me with cutting their chests open.”

She shuddered. “The less time I spend thinking about what you actually do, the better. I couldn’t take it, the pressure of essentially holding someone else’s heart in my hands.”

He paused in the act of opening the passenger door, giving her a long, measured look over the roof of the hatchback.

Brenna swallowed. She’d never really wanted to be entrusted with someone else’s heart, but the thought of Adam putting such faith in her was both humbling and intoxicating.

Why now? She blinked rapidly, hoping he didn’t notice as they climbed into the car. Why did it have to be you? Yet she couldn’t find it in herself to regret anything that had transpired between them.

They hadn’t made it out of the subdivision before her cell phone rang. Quinn, she figured. Her friend should be about done with her short list of assignments; she had others that had to wait until this evening. She was probably calling to check in.

“More than Pup-” Brenna broke off, realizing that a phone was still ringing.

Adam had simultaneously realized the same thing. “Hello? Geoff, I don’t…Slow down. Maggie’s giving what to who?”

Gripped by a sense of foreboding, Brenna diverted her attention from the road to Adam’s profile. He’d gone ashen.

“We’ll be right there.” He snapped the phone closed. “We need to get to the festival. Now. Morgan’s missing.”

THOUGH BRENNA had turned around immediately, she’d been heading in the opposite direction of the festival. It would take them at least fifteen minutes to get there, and she’d been hoping with every fiber of her body that Maggie would have called by the time they arrived to let them know the little girl had been discovered safe and sound.

But that was not the case.

The festival was sprawled over the entire area of Mistletoe’s quaint downtown. There was not one main entry point. You simply parked in a field or lot as close as you could get, then walked from there. Maggie had been with the kids on the parade route while Fred had gone to buy them cold beverages-the temperature had already been well into the nineties by the time the parade started.

According to Geoff, one minute Morgan had been standing with them among the throng on the sidewalk, the next she’d been gone. In the dense crowd it had been difficult to spot someone so small. As soon as they’d realized what had happened, Maggie had given the little girl’s description to nearby police officers while Geoff called his dad.

Adam hadn’t said anything the entire ride, and Brenna couldn’t think of what to say to him other than a firm “We’ll find her.” He’d nodded tersely, his jaw clenched.

When River had been a kitten, she’d slid out the door without Brenna noticing and hadn’t come home for nearly two days. Brenna had been beside herself with worry. And that was a cat. She couldn’t imagine the hell Adam was going through imagining his five-year-old daughter scared and alone in the packed streets of an unfamiliar town.

Brenna stopped the car, and Adam was out the door before she’d even put it in Park. She saw him dial his phone, heard him ask Geoff, “Anything?” and watched his shoulders sag in defeat.

There was no central PA system for the festival, but several venues used microphones, such as the local bands performing in the oversize gazebo and the sports announcers covering the turtle races. According to Geoff, Fred was systematically going to each of those places to seek people’s help and to ask that anyone seeing Morgan call his cell phone number. Meanwhile, Maggie and Eliza were thoroughly checking all the women’s restrooms in case Morgan had wandered off simply because she needed to go to the bathroom. They were all keeping contact via phone and had left Geoff standing on the sidewalk along the parade route-the last thing they wanted was for Morgan to return only to find everyone else gone.

Geoff described his location to his dad, and Adam turned away from the phone for a moment to ask Brenna, “You know where Christy’s Crafts Corner is?” At her nod, he told his son, “Stay put, we’re coming to you.”

Mistletoe hosted many seasonal events, from the community haunted house every fall to the Winter Wonderland dance that benefited the seniors center. Brenna had always loved these activities, enjoyed the buzzing energy of the crowd, running into dozens of familiar acquaintances. Today, however, the sheer number of people became oppressive and sinister; what would this crush seem like to a little girl who didn’t know anyone?

As they shouldered their way through the mob, Brenna offered the only support she could think of-reaching down and taking Adam’s hand. He stiffened for a second, and she wondered if he would pull away. But then he squeezed her fingers.

She pointed to the left. “The craft store that Geoff’s in front of is just-”

“Daddy!”

Given the high volume of ambient noise, it was amazing they even heard her, but Adam whipped around so quickly he almost took out a passing pedestrian. He scanned the crowd, relief instantly flooding his expression when he spotted his daughter a few yards away. He took off in her direction, Brenna hurrying to catch up, and dropped to his knees in front of her. Morgan looked scared, but not nearly to the degree her father had been. His entire body was shaking as he squashed her into his embrace.

“Morgan! Oh, thank God,” he chanted. “Thank God, thank God. You scared the he-Where were you, baby?”

Her lower lip quivered, tears welling in her sky-blue eyes. “I…I don’t know. I just wanted to pet the little doggie, but then…” She began to wail.

Adam scooped her up in his arms, shushing her.

“Can you give me Geoff’s number? I’ll call him,” Brenna offered. She did so, moved by the naked relief in the teenager’s voice that his sister had been found. Next, Brenna called Maggie, knowing her stepmother must be frantic with concern and guilt.

“We found her,” Brenna said. “She wasn’t that far from where you guys were standing. I think she followed a puppy and got too turned around to find her way back.”

Adam had moved on from consoling to gently lecturing. His voice was kind but firm as he admonished Morgan to never, never, never, never do that again.

“Praise the lord,” Maggie said with feeling. “Eliza and I will meet you back there. I’ll call Fred now.”

Brenna could hear Eliza’s whoop of joy in the background as Maggie relayed the good news.

But joy was not the emotion plastered across the girl’s tearstained features when she stormed up to them a few minutes later. “Morgan Renee Varner, don’t you ever do that again!”

Morgan huddled shyly into her father’s side. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

“Eliza,” Adam said, “I know how upset you-”

“This is all your fault!” the girl blasted him, narrowing red-rimmed eyes. “You swore this trip was about us, spending time with your children! Then you went and dumped us on a total stranger-”

Maggie flinched but didn’t interrupt.

“-so that you could make some kind of booty call or something-”

“That is enough,” Adam said, his voice soft but echoing with cold finality.

Eliza’s shoulders slumped as if from the weight of all the emotions she’d gone through today. She stopped raging, but wounded anger still shadowed her gaze. “She’s not even your girlfriend, Dad. But you broke your promise for her. What if something had happened to Morgan?”

Adam briefly squeezed his eyes closed, actually staggering back a step as his daughter’s words struck him like a boxer’s KO punch. Brenna was certain Eliza hadn’t said anything he wasn’t already thinking himself. More than she had ever before, Brenna wanted to reach out to another person. She wanted to hug him, soothe him with reminders that his daughter was all right now. But under the circumstances, her touching Adam right now might not be welcome.

A lump rose in Brenna’s throat when Geoff, somehow looking years older than when she’d last seen him, moved closer to his father, laying a hand on his arm. An unmistakable sign of solidarity and support.

“Morgan,” Geoff began kindly, “why don’t you tell everyone you’re sorry? Especially Maggie. She was nice enough to bring us to the festival, then you scared her to death.”

“D-didn’t m-mean to.” Morgan hiccupped. “P-please don’t f-fight.”

“Nobody’s fighting,” Adam promised her. He shot a pointed glance at his other daughter.

Eliza nodded.

Brenna took that as her cue. “I’m so glad everyone’s okay. Why don’t you stick together for the rest of the day? I want you guys to have fun with your dad today at the festival.” She retreated a step.

Adam raised his gaze to her, looking miserable but grateful. They both knew there was no way he could go back to helping her with pet assignments now, and she was officially behind schedule. The way things stood, it was better that she didn’t intrude by joining them for fireworks.

She turned to Maggie, who was wringing her hands. “Adam and I both appreciate your doing us the favor. I’m sure the kids were having a great time earlier. I’ll see you for Sunday dinner?”

Her stepmother nodded, and Brenna kissed her on the cheek.

“And I’ll see you,” Brenna told the Varners, not quite meeting Adam’s eyes, “the day after tomorrow. You can stop by and pick up Ellie on your way out of town.” It was hard to get those words past the growing lump.

“Brenna.” The way he said her name was an ache.

She refuted him with a quick toss of her head. She wouldn’t, couldn’t, do the painfully drawn-out, emotional goodbye. That’s why Mom left the way she did, she realized suddenly. In retrospect, it had probably been better for both of them. If Brenna had known what her mother was planning to do, there would have been tears. She would have clung to her, begged her not to go.

Deep down, part of Brenna was having that same reaction to Adam now. Don’t go. Which was stupid, of course, but she couldn’t completely silence the inner plea.