Mistletoe Mischief

by Stacey Joy Netzel

  Reese bounced on her toes in front of him. “I need a quarter so I can get some crackers for Lucy.”

  Eric dug into his pocket. Before his fingers could scrape up his loose change, Marissa held out her hand to Reese. “Here you go, honey. There’s two for both you and Heather.”

  “Don’t forget Larry,” Eric called after his daughter. That earned him an eye roll from Marissa, but hey, someone had to look after the guy. He hesitated, and then stepped in front of her, because sometimes, the guy had to look after himself. After a quick scan to assure semi-privacy, he moved closer so she’d be the only one to hear his low-pitched voice. “Listen—about what I said—”

  She leaned sideways to see past him. “Heather, Reese, stand back and wait your turn.”

  Eric checked over his shoulder to see the two girls alongside the fence surrounding the platform, their rye crackers in hand. They looked fine, so he faced Marissa again. This time she lifted her blue gaze direct to his. His pulse revved like his circular saw just before it bit into a plank of fresh pine.

  “Forget it,” she said. “I overreacted.”

  “If I’d meant it the way you took it, you’d have been justified,” he allowed. “But I was trying to point out it was good you were going so slow.”

  “Oh.” Her gaze flickered from his, and she glanced around his shoulder again. “Heather, get down off the railing. It’s almost your turn.”

  Eric shifted to keep an eye on Reese and continued the conversation. “I like that you took the time to teach them at each—”

  He broke off when Reese reached up to tickle Heather, who’d leaned over the top of the fence to see the giraffes better. Heather wobbled precariously before tipping the wrong direction with a terrified shriek. His heart about stopped beating at the same time he heard Marissa gasp in panic beside him.

  “Heather!”

  He didn’t remember pushing past the other people on the platform to cross the distance between them and the fence, all he knew was he caught the little girl at the last second before she plunged head first onto the concrete twelve feet below. He clutched her tight against his thundering chest. Sobs shook her slim little body while her hold on his neck choked hard.

  “Shh. I got you sweetheart. You’re okay,” he soothed. Concerned voices began to bleed back into his consciousness.

  “I want my mommy,” Heather cried into Eric’s T-shirt.

  He turned to find Marissa at his side. She dragged her daughter from his arms to crush her close. Tears ran unchecked down both their faces.

  “I was so scared, Mommy.”

  “So was I, honey, so was I. But you’re safe now.” Marissa’s voice shook worse than the hand she stroked over her daughter’s hair.

  Reese stood off to the side, looking pretty frightened herself. Eric scooped her up and hugged her close. Just the thought of his daughter facing such danger chilled him to the bone.

  Marissa’s radiant blue gaze met his over Heather’s shoulder. “Thank you,” she said softly.

  Reese burst into tears and burrowed against his neck. Eric frowned and tried to see her face. “Hey, what’s the matter? Everything’s okay.”

  After a few more moments of crying, Reese calmed down enough to mumble, “It’s my fault.” Then she lifted her head to look at Heather, who peered shyly from under Marissa’s chin. “I’m sorry I tickled you, Heather.”

  “Oh, honey, no one blames you,” Marissa exclaimed. She stepped closer and rubbed Reese’s back. “It was an accident.”

  Reese wiped her eyes before drying her hand on Eric’s T-shirt. She sniffed and laid her head on his shoulder while peering at her friend. Heather’s tremulous smile melted Eric’s heart as much as his daughter’s obvious remorse.

  “I’m not mad,” Heather said.

  “So we can still be best friends?” Reese asked in a tiny, hopeful voice.

  Heather nodded.

  “I’ll never tickle you ever again,” Reese promised, solemnly.

  “And no one climbs up on the railings again, either,” Marissa added, her tone firm. “Okay?”

  Both girls nodded. Moments later, they wiggled for freedom. Eric exchanged a relieved smile with Marissa before they both set their daughters down. Heather headed straight for the fence, prompting Marissa and Eric to both make mad grabs for her shoulders. Marissa caught her, but not before Eric noticed a tight grimace of pain cross her face with her shift in stance.

  “I lost my crackers.” Heather sniffed, peering down over the edge at the scattered crumbs on the concrete.

  “You can have mine.” Reese held both crackers out to her friend.

  Heather grinned but only took one. “We’ll share.”

  They promptly got back in line and waited their turn to feed the giraffes. Expelling a breath to release the tension in his shoulders, Eric shook his head in disbelief. To be the child and not the parent; sure she’d just had a near-miss, but heaven forbid she miss her chance to feed Lucy.

  While Marissa spoke to a couple of the parents and one of the platform attendants who wanted to make sure everything was all right, Eric bought more crackers and divided them evenly between the two girls before returning to her side. He felt they’d bonded somehow, and leaned against the railing while she snapped pictures of the girls feeding the giraffes. Excited smiles lit up their faces when the huge animals took the crackers from their small hands.

  “Can you believe those two?” Eric asked after she’d snapped a few photographs.

  “I know,” Marissa agreed. “Like nothing even happened, while I’m still recovering from my heart attack.”

  Emotion clogged her voice. She held out a still-trembling hand to show him the lingering after-effects of the scare. Eric reached to take hold of of her fingers and squeezed gently with reassurance, knowing exactly how she felt. As he rubbed his thumb back and forth across her knuckles, fresh tears brightened her eyes and an overwhelming urge to gather her close for a comforting hug surprised him.

  “I don’t even know how to thank you,” she said.

  “It could just as easily have been Reese. All that matters is that Heather’s safe.”

  The girls rushed back to their side of the platform. Eric reluctantly released Marissa’s hand as Heather asked, “Did you see me, Mom? Lucy licked me!”

  Marissa blinked a few times before giving her daughter a bright smile. “I got a picture of it,” she said.

  “Let me see!”

  Both Reese and Heather crowded close to view the digital camera screen, giggling over Lucy’s tongue and themselves in the snapshots. Reese pulled Eric close to see a picture of her with her hand near the mouth of one of the giraffes. “That’s Larry, Dad. I didn’t forget him.”

  Eric grinned and ruffled her dark curls, surprised she’d remembered. “Atta girl. So, what’s next?”

  “Lunch!” they exclaimed in unison and took off for the stairs.

  “Hey, slow down and wait for us,” Eric called before raising his brows toward Marissa. She didn’t seem in her usual hurry to tail the kids. “Ready?”

  He started forward, but with Marissa’s first step, she gasped in obvious pain. She lifted pressure off her right foot so fast that any amount of balance she had on her left was lost. Eric ducked one flailing arm and caught her against his chest before she went down.

  Chapter Three

  “Whoa—what the heck did you do?”

  Eric’s voice rumbled in his chest against her back, but Marissa was too busy biting back a whimper of agony to enjoy the feel of the strong arms that’d caught her.

  “My stupid heel wedged in the boards before, and I twisted my ankle when Heather almost went over the railing.”

  And with that one single step just now, the throbbing pain she’d been trying to will away exploded into a thousand sharp knives stabbing at her ankle. Adrenaline had kept her oblivious until after she held Heather safe in her arms, and then, she’d hoped the pain would fade if she gave it a few minutes.

  Obviously not
.

  “Mom? What’s the matter?”

  Heather stood in front of them with an anxious expression. Marissa wiped the moisture from her eyes and gave her daughter a reassuring smile. “I hurt my ankle a little, but it’s okay, I’ll be fine.”

  The knives had dulled slightly, receding enough to let the details of Eric’s hard, muscular body register on her consciousness. He helped her straighten, and her body slid up along his chest in the process. A wave of heat crashed over her.

  “Can you stand?” he asked.

  “As long as you don’t let go.” The moment the breathless words escaped, her cheeks flamed. She sounded as turned on as she suddenly felt. Their daughters stood three feet away, for heaven’s sake! Staring at their parents with big, round eyes.

  “I won’t let go,” Eric promised. “Take a couple slow, deep breaths and I’ll carry you to that bench down there.”

  Marissa focused her gaze toward the bottom of the steps. Thank God. He thought her breathlessness stemmed from the pain. A few moments ago, yes. Now? Not so much. And no way she’d let him carry her.

  “I can walk.”

  “It’ll be easier if—”

  The zoo employee who’d checked on Heather earlier had noticed their group again. “Is everything okay?” the young man asked. “Should I call for the medical cart?”

  “That’s not a bad idea,” Eric said. “Thanks.”

  “I’ll walk,” Marissa insisted when the employee lifted his walkie-talkie.

  “Fine, you walk,” Eric relented. But then he still nodded to the employee to make the call before stooping slightly to fit his shoulder under hers. His arm curved around her waist for support. “Let’s go. Girls, wait for us at the bottom.”

  With his help, Marissa hobbled toward the stairs. She didn’t know which was worse, her unsteady balance in the strappy sandals, or the riot of sensations radiating from his large hand spanning her waist. In an attempt to gain some equilibrium, she put weight on her right foot again. Pain attacked with a vengeance and she sucked her breath through her teeth.

  A low growl of annoyance sounded deep in Eric’s throat. “I need to look at your ankle sooner rather than later, and at the rate we’re going, it’ll take you a half hour to get down the stairs. Now hang on.”

  He scooped her into his arms, leaving her no option but to cling to his neck. At five feet seven inches without shoes, she must weigh three times what his daughter did, yet he strode down the platform steps as if she were as light as his six year old daughter.

  “What possessed you to wear heels to the zoo anyway?” he muttered.

  She stiffened in his arms. “I’ll give you two guesses. One, I’m an airhead who enjoys people looking at her like she’s an idiot. Or two, I was supposed to work today, ran late and missed the bus at school, drove Heather here to meet her class where Patti begged me to help because three of her chaperones didn’t show up and after one look at my daughter’s face, I knew I couldn’t disappoint her.” She took a much-needed breath of air. “So I stayed in my stupid high heels.”

  He’d descended the stairs and stood by the bench by now, but made no move to set her down. A slight frown creased his tanned brow.

  Marissa lifted her eyebrows when his guilty gray gaze met hers. “Any other questions?”

  “No.”

  He set her on the bench before kneeling at her feet. His deft fingers made short work of unfastening her sandal strap. He eased it off her foot, and she reached to take the shoe, ridiculously glad she’d splurged on a pedicure two days ago.

  “Your ankle is swelling already,” he noted, resting her bare foot on his camouflaged thigh. His work-worn hands were gentle and warm against her sensitive skin. A shiver raced along her spine at the sensual sensations his touch sparked. What did he do for a living to put those calluses on his hands?

  His darkened gaze rose to hers. “This is going to hurt, and I’m sorry, but I have to feel for any obvious breaks. Ready?”

  She nodded, a little nervous, yet at the same time, impressed by the calm confidence in his voice. Heather scooted onto the bench next to her on one side, and Reese took the other. Like curious little kittens, both of them watched every move Eric made.

  Marissa did her best to endure the prodding without complaint, but couldn’t control a couple of flinches and a swift reflexive jerk at one particular sharp stab of pain. Heather took hold of her hand, and Marissa smiled down at her through gritted teeth.

  “You seem to know what you’re doing,” she said to Eric in an effort to distract herself.

  “Daddy’s a Pear Medic,” Reese announced.

  “Par-a-medic,” Eric corrected without shifting his attention from his work. “I spent six years as a field medic in the Army, and now I’m a volunteer First Responder.”

  Ah ha. That explained his take-charge attitude, his determination to keep going after yet another gasp from her, and his hair. She’d thought it was a little long for him to be active-duty military. That’s right, focus on something other than the pain. She stared at his bent head. Were those waves as soft and thick as they appeared?

  Bet his wife wouldn’t appreciate her finding out any more than she had when Ted ran around. Marissa readjusted her gaze and refused to let it wander from the watch on his wrist.

  “What’s a first reponderer?” Heather asked.

  This time, Eric glanced up. “Responder. I help people who are hurt until the paramedics arrive to take them to the hospital.”

  Finally, he rested her foot on his leg again. “I don’t think it’s broken, but we’ll need to get you to the ER for an X-ray to be sure. There could be a hairline fracture that I can’t feel.”

  Heather clutched her hand in a death grip, lifting wide, frightened eyes to Marissa. “You have to go to the hospital?”

  Marissa quickly shook her head. “Of course not, honey. Eric said it’s not broken.”

  “You really need—”

  She shot Eric a quelling look before catching sight of the summer school director over by the lion exhibit. “Oh, look, girls, there’s Miss Patti. Could you go get her for me, please?” The moment they were out of earshot, Marissa turned back to Eric.

  “You need an X-ray,” he insisted before she could speak.

  “I know,” she agreed quietly. “But my ex’s mother passed away last fall, and ever since then Heather’s been afraid of hospitals. I’ll go, but not with her. I can maybe see if Ted could take her tonight, or figure out something tomorrow.”

  The chances of Ted being available and willing to help were slim to none, so she considered her options for Saturday.

  “You can’t wait until tomorrow,” Eric said with a frown.

  Marissa bit back her argument when Patti, her three charges, and Heather and Reese arrived. “Good to see you made it, Eric,” Patti said.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry I missed the bus this morning, but better late than never…I think.”

  When he glanced up at Marissa with a crooked smirk, she knew he was referring to her little shoe tirade a few minutes ago. She couldn’t help a small smile in return. The man was much too handsome and boyishly charming for his own good, and she never had been very good at holding a grudge—especially with him being so nice about her ankle. The warmth tingling up her leg from the touch of his hands on her foot melted her resistance even more.

  A wimpy beep broke their moment of connection. She turned to see a golf cart had pulled up to the bench, candy cane striped with holly boughs strung across the front. When the driver stepped onto the pavement, Marissa covered her mouth to smother a laugh of disbelief. She may not care for all the Christmas stuff in the middle of summer, but this was priceless. The kids giggled without reservation.

  “Ho, ho, ho. One of my helpers told me someone’s lookin’ fer a ride over here.”

  Santa stood before them, unlike any St. Nick Marissa had ever seen. He wore his white-ball topped hat, had the required wire-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, a long, white beard and rosy ch
eeks, and a big ol’ belly…but that’s where the similarities ended.

  “Daddy, where’s Santa’s pants?” Reese whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.

  Indeed, Santa’s pants and white trimmed red jacket were hilariously absent. In their place, red suspenders bulged over a white T-shirt, holding up a pair of cherry-red shorts. Matching red flip-flops completed the outrageous outfit.

  Santa waggled his bushy white eyebrows at the kids. “It may be Christmas in July, but this here ain’t the North Pole, you know. I should get a vacation, too, don’t you think?” After they nodded their agreement, he turned to Eric and Marissa. “How ken I help?”

  “A ride to the first aid office would be great,” Eric said, gently setting aside Marissa’s foot before rising to his feet.

  “I’ll take Heather and Reese with us to the South picnic area,” Patti offered before Marissa could even ask.

  Marissa hugged Heather, who’d come back to stand next to her with a worried expression. “We should be back in time for the reindeer wagon rides. Until then, you be really good for Miss Patti, okay?”

  “I will,” Heather promised solemnly. Reese nodded as well.

  Patti smiled. “The two of them are always good. And I’ll make sure to save you each a plate for lunch.”

  With everything arranged, Eric helped Marissa into the cart after she removed her other sandal and stuffed the shoes into her bag. Walking through the park with both heels had been hard enough, doing it with one shoe and a sprained ankle proved impossible.

  Eric sat next to her and lifted her injured foot to rest across his leg. Marissa groaned silently at the sensations his touch sparked, feeling like a jerk for wanting what she couldn’t have. To make things worse, she’d been right about him being as hard as he looked. Besides already having been caught against his firm chest and carried in his arms, now she could feel the solid muscle of his thigh beneath her calf. Another shiver shimmied along her spine when he left one warm hand resting on her shin and the other cradled her bare heel.