Cole pointed to the table where a beautiful angel stood, a banner in her hands that read Love. The word was surrounded by musical notes.
“She’s beautiful,” Kara said. “But why isn’t she on the tree?”
“Because I promised Taylor he could put it up, remember? He said it had to be special.”
She did. She could almost recall the conversation verbatim. Cole had told her son that if he put the tree-topper up for him, it would be special.
“Yes, I remember. I guess we haven’t been back to put it up.” There’d been so many misunderstandings between them, but suddenly she couldn’t remember what they were. Nor did they matter in the glow of his beautiful tree. She sat down on the floor and saw that all the gifts she’d wrapped for him were crowded atop her tree skirt.
“So, if I sit right here,” she asked, spreading the skirt of her dress around her with care, “the tree will work magic on us?”
“That’s my belief.” He sat down behind her, bending a knee to support her. He wrapped both arms around her and drew her gently back against him so that her cheek rested against his.
Kara leaned into him, delighting in his warmth and the security she felt in his embrace. Love roared like a fire inside her, but she kept the words to herself and waited.
THE REALIZATION that he was holding Kara Abbott in his arms called for a moment’s contemplation, Cole decided. He’d brought her here to be quiet, to think, to borrow a little magic so maybe she would understand what reason didn’t seem to be able to make clear to her.
All along he’d been afraid that what he’d felt for Kara had been based on a physical attraction to a beautiful woman who was fun to be with. When he’d seen her caught in Bishop’s grip tonight, her life threatened, that fear had disintegrated. In its place was a love that felt as solid as life itself. He struggled for the right words to explain that to Kara.
“Can I say something?” she asked in a whisper.
“Yes,” he whispered back teasingly. “You can even say it out loud if you want to.”
“Well, I wasn’t sure,” she said. “I mean, I think my talking has been a lot of the problem. I…I don’t want to prevent the magic from working.”
“I don’t think that can happen. What do you want to say?”
She snuggled in a little closer. “I think I’ve figured out something.”
“What’s that?”
“You thought that Angela wanted something you didn’t have,” she said carefully.
That was no longer true, but it had been. “Yes.”
“Well, you’re wrong.” She turned and looked into his eyes. “You have everything.” She said the words with humbling conviction. “I can’t imagine why she couldn’t see that! Cole…”
The sound of his name on her lips erased all the dark doubts he’d held on to for three years. “I think,” he said, squeezing her closer, “she just didn’t want what I had to offer. It’s very simple, really. Maybe ego kept me from realizing that. It’s hard to feel so strongly about someone and accept that she just doesn’t care. Even when she’s carrying your baby.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with a tenderness he wanted to absorb.
“I think you just offered it to the wrong woman,” she said. “It takes a woman who’s lived with a rat to really appreciate Santa Claus.”
He leaned back to look into her face. “Santa Claus?”
“Oh, Cole—”
There was that reverence in her voice again.
“You restored my faith in men as a species.” She grinned. “Loren shook it a little tonight, but then you were there again, catching me in midair.” She sobered suddenly and said with conviction, “I will love you forever, whether or not you can love me.”
“Kara, I didn’t rescue you this time,” he pointed out, wondering how she kept missing that detail. “You saved yourself.”
“Because you were there!” she said emphatically. “I took one look at your face and knew that whatever it took, you’d make everything turn out right. You inspire confidence in me. I can’t help it. So, that’s what your magical Christmas tree has drawn out of me. Love for you—and complete faith in you.”
That was a lot to live up to, but it was hard to feel inadequate when you were loved that much.
“So,” he asked, kissing her quickly, “can you see yourself as Mrs. Claus?”
The light in her eyes was all he needed for Christmas. He wasn’t sure what to do about the tears, though. He grabbed the cotton throw from the rocker and eased her down onto it, following her to the floor since she had a death grip on his neck.
“This isn’t a sugar-plum dream, is it?” she demanded as he lay beside her.
Her gold necklace picked up the tree lights and her skin appeared to shimmer. He placed his lips at the base of her throat.
“It’s Christmas-morning-Santa’s-been-here reality,” he assured her. “Shall we give ourselves each other as a gift?”
When she placed her hands on his forearms and pushed him slightly away, he experienced a moment’s fear.
“You’re not forgetting Taylor?” she asked worriedly.
He didn’t understand the question. “What do you mean? How could I forget Taylor?”
“He wants his father to come back.”
Cole decided this was not the right time to talk about the lie she’d told her son.
“He likes me,” he said, “and I like him. We’ll work it out.”
“He’s a great kid,” she said, smiling now. “You’ll be so good for him.”
“I know he is. I’m sold on both of you. And you haven’t forgotten Mel?”
ID, license and rabies inoculation tags rattled together in the corner of the room as Mel raised his head.
“Sleep, Mel,” Cole said, and the dog settled down again.
Kara laughed quietly. “How could I forget him? He’s bigger than Taylor. He’s not going to tell anyone what he sees tonight, is he?”
“He’s a model of discretion, so we don’t have to be.”
And they weren’t. They undressed each other with gentle efficiency, then made love like two lost souls who had finally found each other.
Cole explored Kara’s body as though she were a precious gift, and she approached his with the same care and tenderness.
Although he’d intended to make love to her slowly, Kara seemed determined to move as quickly as she could to show him how deeply and completely she loved him.
When they came together a second time, he made her slow down, urging her to take time, making her plead for the passion he held out of reach for just a while longer.
“You’re a monster!” she accused in a whisper as he held her hands in one of his and drove her wild with the other.
He kissed the quivering tip of a breast. “You should know that before you promise ‘till death do us part.’”
She ran a knee up the side of his bare thigh. “Just wait till I get you…”
“You already have, and you weren’t very merciful, as I recall.”
“I was trying to show you,” she said on a little moan, “how much I love you.”
“That’s all I’m trying to do.”
“Cole, please. Now!”
He entered her slowly, enjoying her desperation to sheath him completely, then listening for the little moan she made that told him he was worth waiting for.
It was a long time before they lay quietly on the throw, wrapped around each other, limbs and heartbeats entwined.
“Want to move to the bed?” he asked lazily.
She was curled into his side, looking up at the tree, her eyes reflecting the colorful lights. “But the miracle tree is out here.”
“True. I’ll get a blanket and a couple of pillows.”
“No, don’t go—”
She threw a leg over him, and he wouldn’t have moved for a million dollars.
“I love you,” she whispered, then planted a kiss at his collarbone. “I love you so much.”
He kissed her hair, thinking he’d remember forever the feel of it caressing his skin as she kissed her way down his body. “I love you, too. What a Christmas.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
COLE AWOKE to the ringing of the phone. He glanced at his watch by the light of the tree and read that it was just after midnight. Brad, probably, wondering when he could reclaim his car.
He covered a protesting Kara with the throw and went to the phone on the desk. He prayed the department didn’t need him to cover a shift.
“Hello?”
“Cole?”
He didn’t recognize the anxious voice. “Yes.”
“Cole, it’s Cindy. Taylor Abbott’s here at Blaine’s birthday sleepover.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know where his mom is?”
Cole felt a flicker of alarm. “She’s here with me. Is he okay?”
Kara sat up instantly, worried eyes peering out from disheveled bangs. Then she was on her feet, the throw wrapped around her.
“Well, physically he’s fine, but something’s upset him. He wants to go home.”
“Hold on.” Cole handed Kara the phone. “It’s Cindy, Blaine’s mom. Taylor’s not hurt, but he’s upset about something.”
She took the phone from him, and while she spoke with Cindy, Cole hurried into his bedroom to pull on jeans and a sweatshirt. He brought out a sweatsuit for Kara.
“Here, this should fit you if you cuff the sleeves and roll up the waist,” he said as she hung up the phone. “Want me to go next door and get him?”
Kara quickly slipped the clothes on, her expression stricken. “She says Taylor got up to go to the bathroom and found a newspaper her husband brought back from a business trip to San Francisco.”
He waited for her to explain further.
She closed her eyes for a moment. “There was an article in it about Danny being denied parole. The real estate scam was big news in San Francisco, so I guess it made the papers.”
“You’re kidding!” He knew she wasn’t, of course. Fate played dirty every chance it got. “Does Taylor even know what parole is?”
She spread her hands helplessly. “He knows it means his father isn’t in the military in Europe. I’m going to get him.”
“I’ll come with you.”
KARA FOLLOWED COLE across his driveway to the Hobsons’ house. The door opened as they approached, and Cindy, in a red velour robe, stood in the doorway with a tearful Taylor. Even under the dim porch light, Kara could see the sense of betrayal in her son’s eyes, and he was pressing his lips firmly together so he wouldn’t cry. Blaine and his friends were lined up in concern behind him, a small army in various superhero pajamas. Behind them was a tall, fair-haired man whom Cindy introduced as her husband, Mark.
“Taylor…” Kara opened her arms to him, but he backed away from her.
He looked up at Cole and said firmly, “I want to go home.”
“You got it, buddy. Come on.” Cole put a hand to his shoulder and Taylor allowed himself to be led outside. On the doorstep, Kara turned to thank Cindy and apologize for the midnight disturbance.
“That’s not a problem,” Cindy assured her. “He’s welcome back anytime. Right, guys?”
There was a chorus of approval from the superhero army.
Mark came forward, his expression contrite. “I can’t believe I was so careless,” he said. “I saw the name and meant to ask Cindy out of simple curiosity if…I should never have left the paper—”
Kara forestalled him. “No need to apologize. This isn’t your fault. It’s mine.”
But he looked as though he felt as guilty as she did.
After thanking the Hobsons again, Kara followed Cole and her son back across the driveway, her guilt large enough to burst out of her body like the alien.
“How come you’re at Cole’s house?” Taylor asked Kara when she joined him in the living room.
She sat on the edge of the sofa and tried to draw him to her, but he backed away again.
“I said I want to go home.” Mel came to nudge Taylor with his nose.
“Before you go, I’ll make some cocoa,” Cole said. “Come on, Mel.” They disappeared into the kitchen.
Kara struggled to remain calm. This was all her fault; now she had to do the best she could to salvage her son’s trust.
“Mr. Ford and I didn’t really enjoy each other’s company, and I met Cole on the way home.” It was an abbreviated, sanitized version of what had happened, but still true. “He brought me here to show me his Christmas tree.”
Taylor seemed to accept that explanation, then went to his backpack and pulled out a folded page from a newspaper. “Mr. Hobson went to San Francisco for a meeting,” he said, handing her the paper, “and he brought this home.”
Kara studied the folded paper, seeing vital statistics—births, deaths, accidents.
“It’s on the other page.” Taylor came to open it for her. He pointed to an article near the middle of the page. The headline read, “Abbott Denied Parole.”
“I noticed it because it’s our name. Then I read it. Daniel Xavier Abbott. That’s Dad.”
Kara folded the paper and looked into his face. The anger and sense of betrayal were painful to see. “Yes, it is. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth, Taylor. I—”
“What’s parole?” he interrupted.
“When someone’s in jail,” she explained, feeling as though she had to gasp for breath, “they get a chance to get out early if they’ve obeyed all the rules and learned from their mistakes.” She tried to reach for him again and he pulled away.
“You said he was in Germany! You told me he was a hero!”
Kara nodded grimly. “I know. I’m sorry, but I was afraid it would really hurt you to know that he’d cheated people out of their money and gone to jail. You love him so much, I knew it was hard enough for you to have to live without him. I thought if you knew the truth, you’d be hurt even more.”
A large tear rolled down Taylor’s face and his mouth trembled. He remained stiffly out of her reach. “I told everybody my dad was in the army fighting bad guys! I told them he was really brave. We named one of Blaine’s G.I. Joe guys after him.”
Kara nodded apologetically. “I made a bad mistake, Taylor. But what your dad did has nothing to do with you. Nobody can hold it against you.”
“Oh yeah? Blaine’s dad is a lawyer. Kevin’s dad is a reporter, Ernesto’s dad owns a gardening business, and Miko’s dad helps babies be born.”
“You got a bad break with your dad,” Kara said. “He has a very good brain. He could have been any one of those things, but he wanted everything to be easy. He didn’t want to have to work hard, so he tried to make a lot of money by cheating.”
Taylor sank onto the hassock across the room, still glaring at her as large tears fell. “Didn’t he know that’d make everybody laugh at us?”
“I don’t think he thought about us,” she said honestly.
“I know he doesn’t like me. I’m too big and I’m no good at sports.”
Kara felt a large hand close over her heart. She crossed the distance between them and knelt in front of the hassock. Taylor turned his face away. “Taylor,” she said, putting her hands on his arms, relieved when he didn’t resist her, “your father loved you very much. He just wasn’t…mature enough to think about how what he wanted to do would affect you.”
“I loved him,” he said sadly. “I thought if I loved him, he’d want to come back.”
“I know you love him, sweetheart. And it’s okay to still love him if you want to. But you have to understand what he’s really like, and not just what you want him to be like.”
“You should have told me,” he accused, fresh tears falling.
She could no longer hold back her own tears. “I know. And I’m so sorry.”
“I want to go home,” he said plaintively. “And I don’t want to have Christmas.”
Gathering up his things, he headed for the doo
r.
She followed him, snatching up her purse, forgetting her clothes. “Taylor, Christmas has nothing to do with what’s happened. Christmas is—”
“Christmas is about love and joy and the baby Jesus coming to love all of us.” He delivered that insightful assessment of the holiday, then glowered up at her, then at Cole, who stood in the kitchen doorway. “Did you know my dad was in jail?”
“Yes, I did,” Cole said.
“How come you didn’t tell me? You said we were friends. That I was good to hang out with.”
“You are. And when you really like somebody, the last thing you want to do is hurt them. I’m sure your mom would have told you eventually. She was trying to make it easier for you, since you had to move here.”
“It’s still lying,” Taylor said mercilessly. “I’ll bet Jesus wouldn’t like anybody in our family.”
Kara put a hand on Cole’s arm as Taylor stormed out the door. She held on to him for a moment, stealing courage from him.
“He just needs the night to think about it,” Cole said gently. He reached to the counter for Brad’s keys.
The drive home was brief and intensely silent. When they arrived, Taylor climbed out of the car and used his own key to let himself into the house.
“You could have told him you wanted me to tell him about his father,” Kara said, wrapping her arms around Cole.
He hugged her close. “We’re going to have to get used to presenting a united front. Want me to try to talk to him?”
She drew away, shaking her head. “No, you’re right. He needs time. I love you.”
He kissed her. “I love you, too. And that’s going to get all of us through. Believe that.”
Kara watched him drive away, then went into the house. Taylor’s door was closed tightly.
“Do you want some cocoa before bed?” she asked.
“No, thank you,” he replied stiffly.
She waited a moment, then called, “I love you.”
There was no reply.
COLE NEVER WENT TO BED. He and Mel sat up part of the night drinking coffee and staring at the tree, thinking that its magic had come through for him big-time with Kara. Now he had to make it work with Taylor.
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