Choosing Christmas (A Piper Anderson Novella) (Piper Anderson Series)

by Danielle Stewart

  “And then what did you do, open presents?”

  “Oh, I just remember running downstairs to pull our stockings off the fireplace. She’d have these little cranberry orange muffins sitting out for us. We’d all sit around and open presents. Then the real work would start. They’d spend hours in the kitchen making the most amazing meal. Prime rib roast, apple and sausage dressing, brown butter green beans. I can practically taste it all. It kills me that my son will never have a Christmas like that.”

  “You can make your own traditions. He’ll love whatever you do, I’m sure.”

  “And do you plan to celebrate with us this year? Maybe silence the bah, humbug for a while and come enjoy everything this wonderful season has to offer?”

  “You sound like a greeting card.”

  “You sound like you’re avoiding my question.”

  “I’ll think about it. Let’s see how this date goes. I don’t want to get ahead of myself here. Christmas isn’t for three more weeks. You could do a lot to screw this up by then.”

  Chapter Five

   7 Days Until Christmas 

  “Uncle Sean is coming home today,” Chris chimed as he tousled his son’s hair. “He’s really excited to see you.”

  “And to meet Sydney?” Little Chris asked, looking over at the beautiful woman who’d become a constant presence in their home since the basketball game.

  A large portion of the last two weeks had been spent in the kitchen as they tried hard to make some decent home-cooked meals. Some were completely inedible, others weren’t so bad. Then they’d all watch a movie or walk the neighborhood trying to decide who had the best Christmas light display while Sydney pretended not to participate.

  “Yep, he’s really excited to meet Sydney, too. And he’s going to be helping us plan our special Christmas. We’re going to go buy some lights and decorations. Then we’ll cut down our tree. We only have a week and a half left to whip this place into shape. Santa won’t visit if we don’t have it looking like a winter wonderland.”

  The snow had started falling that morning and hadn’t stopped. It was the most snow Chris and his son had ever seen, and they were both anxious to go out and play in it, but they were waiting for Sean. And, finally, the time had come; Chris was on his way out the door to get him.

  The ride to Sugar Leaf rehab facility was far more nerve wracking than he imagined it would be. It seemed like an eternity since he’d seen his brother in any other state but disheveled. He wasn’t always high or drunk, but he was usually a mess. He tried to temper his high hopes with the statistics he had read about drug addicts and relapses.

  The instant he opened the heavy glass door and saw his brother standing there, he ditched the sobering statistics and let the feeling of pride overtake him. His brother looked amazing. His normally matted and wild hair was cut short. He had gained some weight and looked healthy. The dark bags that had always been around his eyes were gone, his face glowing, made brighter by his smile.

  Chris was walking quickly toward his brother, not for a minute self-conscious about how it might look to people watching. They embraced with a fierce thud against each other and both fought back the emotion welling inside of them. They hadn’t really had time to talk after leaving Edenville; Sean had gone right into the treatment facility because Chris knew if he didn’t put him in there immediately he would likely cave and not do it at all. They weren’t just celebrating Sean’s sobriety, his victory, but the freedom they had both won from a life they never intended on living.

  “It’s so good to see you, bro,” Sean said, squeezing his brother even tighter.

  “You look great, Sean, you really do. I’m so proud of you.” Chris choked out the last sentence. He’d been waiting years for his brother to give him a reason to say that, and Sean likely had been waiting equally as long to hear it.

  There were some formalities that needed to take place before Sean could leave. They had meetings with doctors explaining to Chris how to support someone coming out of rehab. There was a cake waiting for Sean in the lunchroom, and a video played of his time there, showing the transformation he’d undergone—how far he’d come.

  “Thanks for coming to get me,” Sean said quietly as they loaded his things into Chris’s car. “I could have taken the bus back. I know you have Little Chris all by yourself now. Where is he?”

  “A friend of mine is watching him. A girlfriend. Well, a girl who is a friend I should say, I guess. It’s complicated.”

  Sean’s lips curled into a devilish smile and Chris rolled his eyes. That was the grin Sean used to flash just before getting himself into trouble.

  “Her name is Sydney, and she used to be my boss. It’s kind of a long story but you missed a lot while you were at the spa.”

  “The spa? I can assure you there were no massages. It was not a vacation.”

  “I know, I’m only screwing with you. You know it’s hard for me to gush about how I feel. I’m proud of you, and I’m here if you need me.”

  “You always have been,” Sean said, clicking his seat belt. “Part of the therapy I’ve been doing talks about making amends. I’m an ass. I’ve been an ass for years. I’ve screwed you over so many times that ‘sorry’ doesn’t feel like a big enough word. When everyone else gave up on me, you stuck around. I’ll never be able to pay you back for everything you’ve done for me. You easily could have left me behind in Edenville and gone in to witness protection without me.”

  “I can tell you where you can start. Sydney means a lot to me. I’m trying to give her and, well, all of us a really special Christmas. You don’t have a very good track record with women in my life, or women in general, or Christmas, for that matter. I need this to go well. I really want things to work, and I want you to be a part of that.”

  Sean turned toward his brother. “I swear to you, bro, I will not mess things up for you.”

  The remainder of the ride home was spent filling Sean in on what he’d missed while away at rehab. There was the visit they had from Betty and her crew. Sean had missed home cooking that could knock his socks off. He told him all about what happened at the cabin; how he’d killed a killer to protect someone he cared about back in Edenville. He never kept secrets from his brother; he wasn’t about to start now. And, finally, he told him about Sydney and Caleb, what he was trying to prove to her, and why it was an uphill battle.

  As they pulled into the driveway, Sean took in a deep breath, his eyes closed and hands shaking.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m nervous to see the kid. I’m embarrassed how I’ve acted around him in the past, and I’m worried he won’t understand where I’ve been.”

  “I explained it to him already. I’m sure there isn’t a thing in the world you could do to make him look at you any differently. He draws pictures of you with a super hero cape on, and the way he’s described you to Sydney had her asking if he was talking about the same uncle who is in rehab.” And if there was any doubt left in Sean’s heart, Chris was sure it evaporated the second he saw the boy hopping down the stairs and sprinting across the lawn. He barely had his footing on the slick driveway before Little Chris was wrapping his arms around his waist.

  “Hey kid, I missed you.”

  “I missed you more. Isn’t it so cold here, do you want to play in the snow? Dad says we can go sledding now that you’re here.”

  “Slow down there, buddy,” Chris called, over the top of the car. “Let’s let Uncle Sean settle in a little while before we have him rolling around in the snow.”

  “No way,” Sean shouted back at his brother. “Someone grab me some gloves, I’m dying to go sledding.”

  Little Chris squealed with delight. This transition wasn’t easy for a young boy, but having the two most important people back in his life was the start of better days. Little Chris had always looked at Sean with admiration, but finally it was nice to see Sean worthy of it.

  Chapter Six

   5 Days Until Christmas 
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  “So, bro, Little Chris and I are heading down to the mall to play at the arcade and have lunch. We’ll be gone a few hours.”

  “Okay, grab some money out of my wallet and call me if you have any trouble,” Chris said.

  Sydney was unpacking the groceries they’d just brought back from the store, and she wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation. Her mind was wandering through the meal she was considering attempting to make for dinner. They’d been spending nearly all their time together. Sydney had gotten the final word from the university that they’d be letting her go, so she decided to give herself until after Christmas before looking for something else. Chris had been given another job by his relocation specialist. He was now the head of facilities at the local hospital. He had told Sydney the job pretty much just did itself. The crews had all been working there so long they knew where they were needed and how to handle any issue. All he had to do was sign payroll and fire a guy for fooling around with his girlfriend in an empty break room.

  “You’re not hearing what I’m saying.” Sean cleared his throat loudly, obviously trying to make sure he had their attention. “We’re going out for at least a few hours with no intention of coming back even if we forget something. The house is all yours.”

  “Ah, I see,” smirked Chris.

  Sydney was not quite as perceptive about Sean’s coded message. She smiled and waved goodbye with the innocence of a nun.

  When they were out the door, Chris broke into a laugh. “You missed that, didn’t you, Syd? Sean was trying to let us know we’d have the house to ourselves for a few hours if we wanted to have some fun.”

  “I did miss that,” Sydney said flatly, not giving Chris any signals to read one way or the other. It was working, because he looked baffled. She had given this whole thing a couple weeks. She’d scrutinized every move Chris made, every interaction he had with everyone from his own son to the woman ringing up their groceries. She kept running the old clues she’d missed with all the other men through her mind and passing Chris through that filter. The men she’d chosen before had all done small things that should have given her some indication of who they were on a deeper level than just who they were telling her they were. There was the man who wouldn’t tip a waitress if she didn’t call him sir. The guy who stepped over homeless people in the city as if they were discarded soda cans. Chris had said something the other day that had stuck with her—character is how you treat those who can do nothing for you. That’s the true test of who someone is, she decided, and Chris seemed to be passing that test again and again.

  He was kind and courteous to everyone he came across. He had a joy in him that he said came from the absence of the stress that had been lifted off him in moving to Joliet. She loved watching him tease his brother and tickle his son. She kept looking, harder than she had ever looked at any man in her life, and she couldn’t find a single red flag. Yes, she remembered what he told her that day. She knew he had blood on his hands; his crimes were probably endless. But he’d also shared with her how he grew up, what he was up against, the life he had always wanted for himself.

  So with all that in mind, and an empty house, what in the world was stopping her? She finished putting the rest of the food in the refrigerator and then turned and lifted herself to a sitting position on the counter. “It’s a good thing you filled me in on the secret conversation,” she whispered. She had never seen such a heated, passionate look from any other man in her life. It wasn’t nerves that were making her feel warm all over, but his dark eyes, strong jaw, and his guilty smile. She was completely turned on. If she were being honest with herself she’d imagined what it would be like to sleep with Chris since the first day she met him. Back then she couldn’t really stand him, but that didn’t stop her from fantasizing about what it might be like to be tangled up in the sheets with him.

  Lifting her shirt over her head, she grinned widely at him. “If you hadn’t clued me in, I would have asked you to play scrabble or something.”

  It took Chris less than a second to cross the room and kiss her with a passion that might as well have been his way of screaming, thank you. In one swift, clearly well-practiced move, he unfastened her bra and slid it off her. She pulled up the back of his shirt; he released her just long enough to pull it off the rest of the way.

  His mouth on her neck sent her into a steady moan of pleasure. Her legs wrapped around him and pulled his body closer to her. He lifted her off the counter like she weighed nothing at all and carried her down the hall to his bedroom. “Not up for kitchen counter sex?” she teased, nibbling at his ear.

  “My kid pours his cereal there. But trust me, you won’t be sorry to be in my bed. I hope you hydrated today, because we’re about to have a marathon.” He eased her down and kept his body against hers as they hit the mattress. She felt her pants slip off. How had he done that without her even feeling them unbutton? He must either be a magician or he’s undressed so many women it’s a skill he could put on his résumé.

  He grabbed her wrists in one hand and pulled them up over her head, kissing his way back down her arm. His other hand was exploring her, teasing her, tempting her. This was where she didn’t mind not being in control. She didn’t want to feel completely out of control but she liked someone to take charge of her pleasure, to act as though it were his job to bring her to the edge of ecstasy and then jump off with her. She ran her nails across his smooth hard chest and, as her hand crested over his shoulder, she dug them into his skin. His weight on her was not suffocating; it was comforting. He was strong, and, unlike so many men she’d known, he hadn’t used his strength to dominate her, but instead to protect her. His muscular thigh came down between her legs and she pressed hard against it.

  His hands roamed her body and tuned in perfectly to each place that made her quake and moan. He skillfully slipped on a condom without skipping a beat. When he finally entered her, after a lustful eternity of exploration and pleasure, she responded to him, instantly shuddering as the wave rushed over her.

  “That was fast,” he whispered, smiling down at her as she tightened around him, arching in ecstasy. With precise timing, his own climax was unavoidable. Panting and pulling her closer to him, he groaned in a low, primal tone, making Sydney feel even more satisfied. She’d done that; she’d driven Chris so wild he couldn’t even put up a fight in his own body or contain the guttural noises that accompanied his release. For the first time she felt she was there to do more than just fulfill his needs. Chris held her affectionately, not with a firm-gripped hand on her hips moving her like an object, but rather like a person. The contrast between this encounter and the others she’d had was stark, and she heard her heart saying, so this is what it’s supposed to feel like.

  “That was pretty fast, too,” she smirked, as he lay on top of her trying to compose himself.

  “That’s what you get when you make me wait so long. I promise next time you’ll be begging for a water break or crying because your muscles are cramping.”

  “Trust me, I’m not complaining. That was incredible. I’ve clearly been dating selfish, unskilled men.”

  “It’s no fun unless we both get our jollies. That’s my motto.”

  “You’re an idiot.” She shook her head at him. “Should I be worried that you have a sex motto? Are there T-shirts with this printed on them or something?”

  “Patent pending, don’t go stealing that line and have posters made up.” He rolled off her and she tucked herself under his arm, resting her head on his chest.

  “We have a couple hours before your brother is back, what do you want to do?” she asked, flashing her crystal blue eyes up at him.

  “Scrabble?” he teased, raising his eyebrow playfully. “How many points would this word be?” He pulled his arm out from under her head and slid back on top of her. Leaning down into her ear he hissed something that instantly had her face reddening. She could feel he was ready for her again, and she was ready and willing for more.

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nbsp; “That was two words. Actually, I think that might be hyphenated.” She pulled him down for a kiss and it all began again.

  Chapter Seven

   4 Days Until Christmas 

  Nothing made Chris happier than watching his brother, his son, and the woman he was falling for all getting along. It was a snowball fight this time, and he felt as though he was watching three children. Sean and Little Chris had never seen so much snow, and Sydney clearly hadn’t let loose to this degree in years. Happy looked great on her.

  “Okay, truce—truce,” he called, sticking his head out the front door, hoping he wouldn’t get dragged into their standoff. “It’s time to go cut down our Christmas tree.”

  They all dropped the snow in their hands and brushed themselves off. Their cheeks were cherry red as they huffed into the house, bringing with them a mess of slush. “Wipe your feet, please.”

  “Bro, you have really turned into a nagging wife,” Sean laughed, bumping his shoulder against his brother on the way by.

  “Well I’m the only one here who seems to know what a mop is does,” Chris said with his hands on his hips. “Oh God, you’re right.” He dropped his hands down and shook his head.

  “You guys have fun getting your tree,” Sydney called, reaching for her car keys.

  “You aren’t coming with us?” Little Chris whined, pouting at her from under his long lashes.

  “Yes, she is,” Chris answered for her, hooking her arm with his. “You see, Sydney hasn’t celebrated Christmas in a long time, but she’s going to really give it a try this year. Do you know why? Because she doesn’t want to disappoint a sweet little boy like you.” He watched as his son’s scowl transformed instantly into a smile, resulting in a resigned eye roll from Sydney.