Her Mistletoe Protector

But he’d certainly thought about it. Too much. He wanted to kiss her again. But this wasn’t the time or the place.

“Are you okay?” he asked under his breath when Joey had gotten far enough ahead of them that he couldn’t hear them.

“Fine,” she said, kicking a rock with the toe of her athletic shoe. “I knew the risk, right from the start. As I told you before, getting Joey back safe and sound was worth every penny.”

Nick couldn’t help playing the what-if game. What if he’d insisted on getting the FBI involved? Would they have gotten Joey back and still have Rachel’s cash, too? Would they have caught the guy who’d killed Morales? Would Rachel and Joey be safe at home where they belonged?

As much as he wanted Rachel and Joey to be okay, it bothered him to think about the fact that once this was over, he wouldn’t be seeing either of them again. Immediately, he felt guilty for even considering replacing Becky and Sophie with Rachel and Joey.

No, he couldn’t do it. As much as he cared about Rachel and her son, he and Rachel would be much better off if they simply remained friends once this was over. Maybe he could be sort of a big brother to Joey. Do things like taking him to ball games or just playing catch. Surely, Rachel wouldn’t mind having some downtime—being a single mother couldn’t be easy.

The more he thought about the possibility of staying in touch with Joey, the more he liked it.

But, first, he had to keep Rachel and Joey safe, while figuring out a way to get her company back.

“I’m going to need your help in order to keep investigating all the possibilities,” he murmured.

“I’m not sure how much help I’ll be,” she protested wearily. “And what’s the point of getting your computer? I can’t imagine there’s any internet available up here.”

“The last time I came up with Uncle Wally, I was able to get a signal from someone else’s internet tower as they didn’t have it secured with a password.” He caught her surprised gaze and shrugged. “Figured it was worth a shot to see if the signal is still available.”

“There’s the car,” Joey shouted, running forward as if they were in a race. “Open the trunk, Nick!”

He caught a glimpse of annoyance in Rachel’s gaze and tried to figure out what he’d done to upset her as he pushed the button on his key fob, making the truck spring open. Joey grabbed his computer case and proudly brought it over to him. “Here you go,” he announced.

“Thanks, Joey,” he said, looping the strap over his shoulder. Before he could say anything more, the boy ran back to shut the trunk for him, too. Nick grabbed the first-aid kit from the front seat and then locked the car.

“We need to talk later,” Rachel whispered as Joey made his way back over to where they waited.

“Okay,” he agreed, even though deep down he could tell by her tone that, whatever she wanted to talk about, it wasn’t going to be good.

* * *

Rachel knew she was overreacting to Joey’s eagerness to assist Nick, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. As they made their way back to the cabin, she quickened her pace to keep up with her son rather than lagging behind with Nick.

“Hey, stop here a minute and look up at the stars,” she said to Joey. “Aren’t they beautiful?”

“Wow, there’s so many,” Joey whispered in awe.

“Out here in the country it’s easier to see them,” she explained. “Back home, the lights from the city tend to get in the way.”

Nick came up to stand beside them, tipping his head back to enjoy the view, as well. For a moment, she could almost pretend they were a family, rather than hiding up here fearing for their lives.

This was what Anthony had stolen from her all those years ago. And she hadn’t even really understood how much she’d missed what she’d never had, until now.

A loud noise, like a tree branch snapping in two, made her jump, and she instinctively reached out to grab Joey’s hand. “Stay with me,” she whispered, drawing him close.

“Rachel, take Joey and this stuff back to the cabin,” Nick said in a low voice.

A shiver snaked down her spine and she glanced around warily. They were surrounded by trees, which wasn’t reassuring, since she couldn’t see much in the darkness. She took the computer case from him and slung it over her shoulder. She held the first-aid kit tight to her chest. Despite being irked with Nick earlier, she was loath to leave him now. “Come with us,” she urged softly.