Single Dad's Christmas Miracle

by Susan Meier

  “That’s great! I was also thinking of telling him that I’d like to use Jack going to school in town as an incentive for him to get his grades up.”

  “That’s an even better idea.”

  “Good. I’ll start working on him tonight.” Happy with her plan, Althea shifted subjects. “So how are the kids?”

  “Eager for Christmas. But Wyatt is worse. God only knows what he bought us this year.”

  She laughed. “You mean you didn’t like last year’s RV?”

  “We love the RV, but the kids are getting spoiled.”

  “A little spoiling never hurt anyone.”

  Crazy Dog bounded out of the den and up the hall. “Crazy!” She flattened herself against the wall, and the dog whipped by her, but she pivoted and raced toward her again. “Crazy! You stop running right now!”

  “What in the hell are you talking about?”

  “The dog. Her name is Crazy. And trust me. She deserves it.”

  “Have you ever thought that maybe she’d behave better if she had a better, calmer name?”

  Althea laughed.

  “I’m not kidding. Call her Crazy, she’ll act crazy. Rename that dog.” She paused then yelped, “Owen! You stop that right now!”

  Althea’s laughter turned to fits of giggles. “I notice Owen’s name doesn’t make any difference in his behavior,” she said, referring to the only boy of her sister’s triplets. “I can’t wait to meet them.”

  “Can you come for supper tomorrow?”

  “I don’t want to miss any interaction between Clark and the kids until I fully understand what’s going on.” She might know the whole story, but she wasn’t sure how much Jack knew, how much he understood. “Give me a few more days to observe and analyze.”

  “All right.” Missy paused to sigh. “But tread lightly, okay? You don’t want to get in over your head. Or worse, this might be nothing and you could be interfering when you’re not needed.”

  Knowing Clark had a right to be concerned, she let that comment pass. Crazy jumped up and licked her face, her big tongue making a slopping noise.

  “And, Althea. Rename that dog. Give her a calmer name and maybe she’ll settle down.”

  Disconnecting the call, Althea laughed. She petted the dog before shoving her off her shoulders and to the floor. “We’re going to start calling you Lullaby.”

  The dog woofed.

  She grabbed Crazy’s collar and led her to the den. “All right. Maybe that one’s a little too calm.” She opened the door and Crazy broke loose, bounding over to the desk where Jack sat.

  The force of her paws hitting the back of Jack’s chair was so strong that she shoved Jack into the desk.

  “Ouch!”

  “Woof! Woof!”

  “Crazy!” Althea patted her hands on her knees. “Get over here.”

  The dog bounded over and danced around her.

  “My sister thinks we need to give the dog a calmer name.”

  Jack laughed. “A calmer name?”

  “To make her behave.”

  “That’s stupid.”

  “Yeah, but at this point I’ll try anything.” She glanced at Teagan. “Anybody have any suggestions?”

  Teagan blinked. Jack sighed. “We already did this when we got her. We’re not good with naming dogs.”

  “You have to think of something that sort of makes sense for her personality.”

  “Dad said Crazy Dog works.”

  “Yeah, but I think it just encourages her to be bad.” Hearing what she’d just said, she frowned. Jack was right. It did seem stupid to change a dog’s name and hope to change her behavior, but this pup was so big and gangly that Althea was desperate. “How about if we think about a name that describes how we want her to behave?”

  “You mean you want to call her Angel?”

  She glanced down at Crazy and she woofed.

  “She’ll never be an angel. She’s more like the class clown.” She paused and smiled. “You know, we could give her a clown’s name so she’d still be allowed to be funny, but she wouldn’t have to be crazy.”

  Jack laughed. Teagan smiled.

  Althea tapped her fingers on her chin. “The only clown name I can think of is Ronald McDonald...or Clara Bell.”

  As if testing the name, Jack said, “Clara Bell.”

  Crazy woofed and danced around again.

  “I think she likes it.”

  Althea stooped down. Using Crazy’s collar she brought her face up to hers. “Okay. From here on out, you are not Crazy. You are Clara Bell. You get to be fun but you’re also a lady. Okay, Clara Bell?”

  Clara Bell woofed then raced out of the den.

  She and Jack exchanged a look. “I don’t think it’s going to work.”

  “My sister’s pretty smart. If anybody’s dumb idea could work, it’s Missy’s.”

  Jack rose and stretched. “So what are we going to do today?”

  “I thought you were already working.”

  “I don’t feel like studying right now. I want to do something fun.”

  She thought of dangling the chance to go to school in town as incentive to get him to work, but bit her tongue. She couldn’t do that until she talked to Clark.

  Then inspiration struck.

  “Hey, if you spend the four hours you’re supposed to spend at the computer and let me do a quick review with you, we can hang Teagan’s wreath this afternoon.”

  Teagan bolted upright in her chair, her face glowing with excitement.

  Jack sat again. “Okay.”

  “Okay.” And now she knew a little incentive worked very well to motivate Jack.

  * * *

  Driving up the lane to his house that night, Clark narrowed his eyes. Something hung on his front door. He drove closer and groaned.

  A big, gaudy wreath.

  Anger skipped across his nerve endings, rippling to every part of his body, like waves from a stone thrown into a lake. After everything he’d told her the night before, she still left the house? Took the kids to town? Risked Brice seeing Teagan?

  Grabbing his bags of fast food, he lunged out of his SUV, marched to the door and stared at the wreath. A huge circle of pine created a bed for red and gold ornaments. The ribbon of the big gold bow at the bottom cascaded along most of the lower half of the door.

  It was, in a word, ugly.

  He opened the door and stepped inside. After setting the fast food bags on the foyer table, he slid his scarf off his neck. Frustrated, he wondered why he’d bothered exposing his humiliation to her, if she had taken his kids to town anyway.

  “I’m home.”

  Teagan barreled into the foyer, Crazy on her heels. She caught his arm and tugged until he leaned down.

  He smiled. “What?”

  She whispered in his ear.

  His eyebrows rose and he winced. “You picked out the wreath?”

  Her little head bobbed what seemed like fifty times in three seconds. Crazy woofed. Teagan caught his hand and turned him in the direction of the door. As he opened it, Althea appeared in the foyer, wearing jeans and a fuzzy pink sweater.

  His prickling nerves caught fire and he froze.

  Her yellow hair floated around her. Her summer-blue eyes sparkled. Everything male in him locked in on her.

  Okay. Maybe the ugly wreath wasn’t her fault, but this attraction was. Not that he was blaming her for his being attracted to her. But she was pretty... No, gorgeous. And obviously he was susceptible.

  Teagan grabbed the door and opened it the whole way so they could see the wreath from inside the house.

  Clark desperately struggled to corral a wince. “That’s really some wreath.”

  A grin split Teagan’s face, l
it her eyes, wrinkled her pert little nose. The pride in her expression about tore his heart in two. Still, he’d asked Althea not to take the kids into town and she’d disobeyed him. He couldn’t let that go. If she didn’t obey his wishes, he couldn’t keep her...no matter how good she was with the kids.

  He caught her gaze. “So you took the kids to town again today?”

  Arms crossed beneath her enticing breasts, Althea strolled over. “No. We bought the wreath yesterday when we were out.”

  “Oh.” With no reason to be angry with her anymore, he was totally defenseless against her charm. She stopped in front of him, and his hormones jumped and popped. His tie suddenly felt too tight. The room grew unbearably warm.

  Her blue eyes glittered with happiness as she dropped her hand to Teagan’s shoulder. His daughter, who rarely spoke and most certainly didn’t cotton to strangers, looked up at Althea with a wide grin.

  His breath stuttered. Teagan was relating to her? Not just relating, but coming out of her shell?

  The happiness that invaded his heart nearly burst its seams. Joy circled through his system like a cyclone, creating a feeling so intense it stole his breath.

  Oh, no! This wasn’t just about an attraction anymore. He liked her.

  Damn it! What was he doing? He didn’t want to like her. He didn’t want to like anyone! He had problems. Tons and tons of problems. All caused by the first woman in his life. The last thing he needed was to get involved with another.

  Lights suddenly cut across the front yard. Teagan spun to face them. Crazy barked and raced out of the house.

  “Crazy!” He turned to go after her, but Teagan caught his arm and pulled him down.

  “What!”

  She whispered in his ear.

  He gaped at her. “The dog’s name’s not Crazy anymore?”

  Althea winced. “Sorry. We thought if we called her something calmer than Crazy she’d start behaving. So we renamed her Clara Bell.”

  Sliding past him, she ran out after the dog. “Clara! Clara Bell! Stop.”

  Shaking his head, Clark stared after her. Crazy bounded through the snow like the Easter Bunny on steroids, woofing and jumping. Althea couldn’t get close enough to grab her collar but she kept trying. And she kept calling poor Crazy Clara Bell.

  Teagan giggled.

  Clark glanced down at her. “I see renaming the dog worked out really well.”

  Teagan giggled again.

  Althea caught the dog before the big black SUV stopped in his driveway.

  Afraid to leave her out there alone when he didn’t know who was in the car, he told Teagan, “You stay here.” Then he walked across the porch and down the steps as the SUV door opened and a petite blonde jumped out.

  “Missy!”

  Althea dropped Crazy’s collar, ran to the short blonde and hugged her.

  Crazy went nuts.

  “Crazy!” He yelped, running over to the dog and catching her by the collar. Teagan yanked on his sleeve. He bent down automatically then groaned. “I told you to stay inside! What are you doing out here?”

  She whispered in his ear.

  He squeezed his eyes shut. “I know you renamed the dog, but right now Crazy fits.”

  “I told Missy it wouldn’t work.”

  Clark straightened away from Teagan to see the tall dark-haired man who had spoken. He extended his hand for shaking. “Wyatt McKenzie. Husband of the woman who came up with the idea for the new dog name. And Missy,” he said, pointing to the sobbing woman hugging Althea, “is Althea’s sister.”

  Clark shook his hand once. “Clark Beaumont. It’s nice to meet you.” He glanced at Althea and her sister as his uncontrollable hound bounced and barked, trying to get free to join the reunion.

  Althea stood hugging her sister. His heart stumbled.

  She was good to his kids. She knew his secrets. And now he liked her.

  This was trouble.

  * * *

  Althea swiped at the tears streaming down her cheeks. Clinging to Missy, she said, “I can’t believe you’re here.”

  Missy whispered, “I kept thinking about the dog and the little girl who doesn’t talk and the boy who just wants friends. I had to make sure that you weren’t in over your head.”

  Althea sniffed a laugh. “Still protecting me.”

  “We always protected each other.”

  She thought back to their days in the closet, huddled together, hiding from their dad. She remembered pooling their money so they would always have enough for lunches and football games and clothes. They were a team, but she’d been so desperate and alone after Missy moved out that she’d forgotten that.

  She squeezed her eyes shut. “I have missed you so much.”

  “Yeah, I know. But at least it hasn’t been eight years since we’ve seen each other,” Missy said, referring to their real reunion two years ago. Once Missy had found her, she’d hopped on one of Wyatt’s private planes and flown to California. She wanted to be sisters again, and though Althea had been afraid to come home because of their dad, she’d missed her sister. They’d mended their fences and become close again through video calls. “Phone calls are nice, but there’s nothing like seeing someone in person.”

  Missy pulled out of her embrace. “You have to meet the triplets.”

  She opened the back door of the SUV and three kids rolled out. Two wore pink jackets and white mittens. The little boy had on a Pittsburgh Steelers’ jacket. Missy sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you not to get yourselves out of your booster seats?”

  “Sorry, Mom.”

  “Sorry, Mom.”

  “Sorry, Mom.”

  Althea hugged each one of them. Though she’d “met” them in a video call, feeling the warmth of their little bodies with each hug filled her with joy.

  Then they spotted Teagan. With a yelp of happiness, they raced over to Clark and his daughter.

  The first little girl, a brunette with big brown eyes, said, “Hi, I’m Lainie.”

  Teagan all but crawled up her father’s leg. Clark bent down and scooped her up. “Sorry. She’s a little shy.”

  Missy walked over. “Does she like chocolate cupcakes?” She lifted the lid on a basket of chocolate cupcakes with white icing decorated with red and green gumdrops.

  Teagan’s eyes widened. Her head snapped around and she whispered in Clark’s ear.

  “Yes. I think she’s offering you the chance to have one.” He motioned toward the porch. “But not until after you’ve eaten dinner.”

  He caught Wyatt’s gaze. “I bought fast food for tonight but I can head back to town and get a few more hamburgers and fries.”

  “No need.” Missy motioned for her husband to go to their SUV. “I have a nice supper of lasagna and homemade bread in warmers in the back of our car.”

  Tears filled Althea’s eyes again. Her heart stumbled in her chest. She hadn’t seen her sister in two years and suddenly here she was with cupcakes and lasagna. Althea’s two favorite things.

  As Missy and Clark and the triplets headed for the front door, Wyatt grabbed a big picnic basket and followed them.

  The men and kids walked into the house without a backward glance. But at the door, Missy stopped and faced her. “Are you coming?”

  Althea pressed her lips together to keep from crying. Missy walked back, slid her arm across Althea’s shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  She caught her gaze. “I’m so sorry I left.”

  “We both did what we had to do.” She squeezed her shoulder. “We’ve talked about all this. We’re okay.”

  She nodded. They had talked about it. Missy understood that she’d needed to leave. She’d also understood Althea’s fear about contacting anyone. And now they were beyond it.

  “Besid
es, we’re going to have fun tonight.”

  Wyatt yelled. “Hey, get in here already. I’m sure Clark doesn’t want to spend good money heating the outdoors.”

  Happiness bubbled through her. Her sister was here. She was about to eat lasagna and a cupcake. Jack would probably die of happiness having other kids to talk to, even if they were only six, half his age.

  Then she looked at Clark just as he glanced over at her. Her heart warmed. Her pulse fluttered.

  She might be close to her sister again, but with her other unresolved issues, was it wise to be falling for her boss? Especially when he appeared to have more troubles than she did?

  CHAPTER FIVE

  WYATT SET THE big basket on the center island. Missy immediately dug in, bringing out a fat loaf of Italian bread and setting it beside the basket before she opened the thermal case for the lasagna. She pulled out the casserole dish and removed the lid of the steaming tray. The sweet aroma of sauce, cheese and Italian sausage filled the air.

  Althea’s mouth watered.

  Jack came into the kitchen, Clara Bell on his heels. His gaze roamed the room, taking in all the people. “What’s up?”

  Althea turned to him. “This is my sister, Missy, and her husband, Wyatt, and their triplets.”

  His eyes widened. “Triplets?”

  The kids’ heads bobbed up, their gazes honing in on Jack.

  Missy said, “This is Lainie, Claire and Owen.”

  Owen said, “Hey.”

  Althea said, “They came for supper.” Then she laughed. “Actually, they’ve brought supper.”

  But before Jack could reply, Clark said, “Okay, let’s get everybody’s coats off. Jack, you get the dishes and silverware and set the table.”

  Jack headed toward the dish cabinet. Owen slid out of his coat, dropped it to a chair and followed him. “I’ll help.”

  At first Jack looked confused and Althea held her breath. Though he was starved for company, a six-year-old might not be Jack’s idea of a playmate.

  But he shrugged. “Yeah. Okay.”

  Missy and Wyatt helped the girls with their coats, then grabbed Owen’s from the chair. “Where do you want these?”