Her Mistletoe Protector

“Are we going to be home in time for Christmas?” Joey asked.

“Christmas is three days away, I’m sure we’ll be home by then,” she assured him.

Nick looked as if he didn’t necessarily agree. “We can celebrate Christmas here, too, if we have to,” he pointed out.

She knew he was right. “If we have to, we will,” she agreed. “But hopefully things will get back to normal soon.”

After dinner, Nick continued to work on the timeline. She found a game of checkers on the pantry shelf and played a few games with Joey to help keep him occupied. Soon Nick came over and asked if he could play the winner, and she was truly disappointed when Joey beat her.

As she watched Nick and Joey play, she was struck by how easy it was to feel they were a family. Had she been wrong to warn Nick to keep his distance? He was everything a role model should be: kind and considerate...strong yet gentle. What a wonderful husband and father he must have been. So different from her ex.

Joey won again, and he let out a whoop. She had to make sure her yearning for a family of her own wasn’t visible on her face when she gave Joey a high five.

Several games later, after Joey had yawned for the fifth time in a row, she deemed it time for bed. “Say good-night to Nick,” she reminded her son.

“Good night, Nick, you’re the best dad ever,” Joey said.

Her breath froze in her chest and she stared at her son in horror. Why had he said that? It was as if she’d somehow projected her secret wishes into her son.

“You’re welcome, Joey,” Nick said thickly. “Get some sleep, now, okay?”

“Come on, Joey,” she mumbled, completely mortified by the turn of events. “Good night, Nick.”

“Good night.” Nick gave her a searching look, which she avoided meeting head-on—too afraid he’d see the same sentiment in her eyes. He picked up the Bible and as much as she was tempted to stay and listen while he read some more she had no choice but to go with her son, who was still afraid of the dark. Besides, she couldn’t imagine trying to explain why Joey had called him the best dad ever.

She’d never been more acutely aware of how her son had been impacted by growing up without a father. Had he been looking for a surrogate father this whole time?

Was it any wonder he’d latched on to Nick?

She and Joey took turns in the bathroom, the scent of the aftershave far less obvious now, though still lingering in the air. Joey wrinkled his nose but otherwise seemed fine as he crawled under the pile of quilts on the bed.

Joey immediately fell asleep but, just like the night before, her mind refused to settle. She tried to remember some of the Bible phrases Nick had read but could only recall a line or two.

She kept replaying the moment that Joey had called Nick the best dad ever. She hoped Nick didn’t put too much importance on what her son had said. The way she already had.

At some point she must have dozed, because a noise startled her awake. Another wild animal moving through the woods? She stayed perfectly still, straining to listen.

After several moments, she crawled from beneath the quilts and moved silently over to the window overlooking the back side of the cabin. There weren’t any stars out as they were well hidden behind a blanket of clouds.

She heard it again, the same thunk that had woken her. Did animals make that kind of sound? Somehow she doubted it. She stuffed her feet into her athletic shoes and cautiously made her way down the hall to find Nick.

* * *

Nick shot upright when he felt a hand on his arm. “What?” he asked harshly, blinking the sleep from his eyes as he gazed up at Rachel.

“Get up, I think I heard something outside,” she whispered.

His pulse kicked into triple digits and he swung around to put his feet on the floor. “Are you sure?” he asked in a low, raspy voice as he quickly slid his feet into his shoes and tied the laces.

“I don’t think it was an animal,” she said, her eyes wide with fear. “It was a thunking noise and I heard it twice.”

Nick wrestled with guilt, knowing that he should have taken Jonah’s advice and found a new place to stay. But it was too late for self-recriminations. He needed to get Rachel and Joey safely out of the cabin. “Wake up Joey and make sure he’s wearing his winter jacket and his shoes, okay?”

“Okay.” To her credit, Rachel didn’t panic and went to do exactly as she was told.

He used the poker to break up the remains of the fire, and closed the iron doors on the fireplace, to help douse the flames and eliminate even that small bit of light. The room was plunged into darkness and it took him a minute for his eyes to adjust. He tucked his weapon in his shoulder harness and then went over to peer out the large picture window.