Tanya Michaels: Mistletoe Mommy

SARA INSISTED that Adam at least stay for dinner before heading home. “You’ve been on the road for hours. Stay, please.”

The kids had enthusiastically cheered this idea, so he’d capitulated. He couldn’t get that excited about going home to his empty place, anyway. He found himself absurdly grateful for the cat. She would help mitigate the solitude-plus, she was a reminder of Brenna. After dinner Geoff disappeared into his room to call Gina, Eliza booted up her computer to message her friends and Dan went to tuck in a very tired Morgan.

“So.” Sara propped an elbow on the table, leaning her chin on her fist. “Some trip, huh?”

“I am so sorry about Morgan getting lost like that. I swear I-”

“Adam. I don’t blame you for that. We’ve never endured anything on quite that scale, but there have been moments. Do you remember when Eliza was about her age and I told you how much I panicked when I looked around a department store and didn’t see her?’

He was startled. “No.” That seemed like something he should remember.

“Oh. Well, it turned out she thought it would be funny to play hide-and-seek and had dropped to the floor, crawling into a rack of clothes. She was only gone for a minute or two before I realized what had happened, but for that minute…”

“Thank you.” After all the times he’d given Sara reason to be frustrated with his parenting efforts, or lack thereof, he deeply appreciated her trying to make him feel like he was a good father.

She suddenly grinned, mischievous. “I want to hear more about this Brenna.”

His face actually warmed. Oh, brother. Was he blushing in front of his ex? He’d managed to head off the moment at dinner when Eliza had started to share that Brenna “loved” him, but he hadn’t done so quickly or gracefully enough to deter Sara’s interest.

What the hell, he might as well tell her about Brenna. If he didn’t, she’d hear all about her from the kids, anyway.

“She’s amazing. It’s like she gave everyone exactly what they needed. A cat for Morgan, the pride of employee responsibility for Geoff, womanly advice for Eliza-just until we were able to get you on the phone,” he added quickly.

“What about you? What did she give you that you needed?”

He was quiet for so long that even he didn’t think he would answer the question until he heard himself say, “Love. It sounds insane, doesn’t it? But I think I love her.”

Sara straightened. “Then what are you doing here? ”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re in love with a woman in Mistletoe, Georgia.”

“Yes.” Funny, but the more times he admitted it, the better he felt.

“Then either she needs to be here or you need to be there. Adam, no offense, but I’ve watched you squander love before. The kids’, before you finally wised up-this vacation was the smartest thing you’ve done in years-mine.” She held up a hand, fending him off. “I’m not blaming you for the divorce. We both could have done things differently. But people loved you.”

“And I took it for granted,” he said softly. After this past week he truly believed that he and the kids were on the right track again. But how much time had he lost?

He thought of Brenna and considered Sara’s deceptively simple question: What are you doing here? Did he want to lose any more time with someone he loved, or seize the day and be with her?

SINCE BRENNA HADN’T been sleeping well for the past week and a half, it seemed likely that the SUV sitting in her driveway was a hallucination born of exhaustion. She rubbed her eyes and looked again.

Still there.

By the time she’d parked behind it, she’d already seen the man sitting at the top step of her porch. Adam! She was completely flummoxed, her shock not fading in the slightest as she got out of the car and approached him with no clue what to say.

“What are you doing here?”

He leaned back on his elbows and grinned. “I get that a lot. You look good.”

Then he must be even more tired than she was. She’d overslept this morning and dressed without a shower, slapping a ball cap on her head and vowing to come home and clean up more when she was done with the visits that had to be taken care of early. She certainly hadn’t expected to find Adam sitting here when she returned.

“How long have you been waiting?” she asked.

“Since about seven-thirty. I brought two cups of coffee, hoping to catch you before you started your day. I wound up drinking them both,” he said sheepishly.

“B-but what if I hadn’t come home between morning and midday assignments? You weren’t really planning to sit on my porch all day?”

“Not all day.” He gave her a lopsided smile. “I have an appointment at three.”

She plopped down on the step next to him, partly because she didn’t think her legs would support her anymore. This was a lot to take in. “You came back.”

For her? What kind of appointment? Was he doing some sort of medical consulting here in Mistletoe?

“Had to. I forgot something.” He slid closer, turning her face to meet his gaze. “I forgot to mention that I’m in love with you.”

Her mind went blank. Completely and utterly void. She wasn’t even sure how long she stared back at him, stupefied.

Say something, Bren! A woman more comfortable with emotional declarations would probably say she loved him, too.

Brenna, on the other hand, told him he was crazy. “In love? But that’s nuts. I’m…You…What about your kids?”

“Actually, I think my improving relationship with them has made it easier to accept falling for you. As it turns out, loving someone just makes you more receptive to giving and accepting love from others. It makes you a better person.”

She blinked, hearing her own words coming back to her. “Your twelve-year-old has a big mouth.”

“And a big heart. She already loves you a little. And I love you a lot.” For a moment his smile slipped, vulnerability leaking into his expression. “But I should probably stop beating you over the head with declarations I’m not even sure you want to hear. You haven’t mentioned whether…”

Oh, God, hadn’t she said it yet? It was so ever present in her thoughts that she was surprised people couldn’t look at her and hear her thinking it.

“I love you, Adam. I can’t believe you came back for me!” When had she started crying?

He kissed her with slow thoroughness. She recalled how rushed they’d been with each other the night they’d made love, because they’d known they didn’t have long. Now his every unhurried caress spoke of a man who believed they had a future.

“I’ve thought about you, too,” she admitted, tilting into his touch as he wiped away a tear with his thumb. “I even entertained mad ideas about moving to Tennessee. But-”

“Lord, don’t do that. It would be pointless if you moved there and I got a job here. Very O. Henry.”

“You’re applying for a job here?” she said, certain she hadn’t heard him right.

He shrugged. “Why not? I care about what I do, but it doesn’t have to be in Tennessee. People in Mistletoe have hearts, too.”

She could attest to that. Hers was currently full to bursting.

“The medical center is attracting all kinds of new patients, and the local hospital is going to need to take on new doctors to keep up with the growing number of surgeries. I don’t think it will keep me as busy as my current position in Knoxville, but I want more time for me. For my kids.” He stared into her eyes. “For us. Our relationship would have to be long-distance for at least a few weeks, while I get everything settled, but the people I’ve talked to seem very interested in signing me on.”