Jill Sorenson - Risky Christmas

When they first met, his success had impressed her. She’d grown up in a financially unstable household, so it was comforting to date someone rich. He’d spoiled her with expensive gifts and told her to never worry about a thing.

A few years after they got married, his career took a nosedive and their relationship followed suit. He hid his gambling addiction from her and lied about his whereabouts. Soon the facade came tumbling down.

If he hadn’t been murdered, she’d have filed for divorce. He’d refused to face their problems and never acknowledged that he needed help.

He wouldn’t let her in.

John’s death hadn’t been easier to deal with because she’d fallen out of love with him. Failing marriage or not, Leah had depended on him. He’d abandoned them and left her to pick up the pieces, and she still resented him for it.

Leah made breakfast for the girls, who couldn’t wait to walk down to the shore. They’d been in this house for several months, and although the beach was only two blocks away, they hadn’t spent much time there.

“Can we wear our suits?” Mandy asked.

“I suppose,” Leah said, smothering a surge of anxiety. Both girls had taken swimming lessons, but they were small, and the Pacific Ocean was dangerous. “We’re just going to get our feet wet.”

That was good enough for them. While they ran to their room to don their bathing suits, Leah packed a bag with snacks, drinks and towels. She didn’t have any beach toys, so she grabbed her gardening tools and put them in a small plastic bucket.

When they were ready, she ushered the kids outside, locked the door and set the alarm behind her. Brian was in his driveway, scrubbing down his work truck with a long brush. He was wearing gray cargo shorts and a faded red T-shirt.

She couldn’t ignore him like she used to, so she waved hello.

“What are you girls up to?” he asked with an easy smile, turning off the water faucet.

“We’re going to the beach!” Alyssa said.

His eyes traveled along Leah’s legs, which hadn’t seen the light of day, or felt the heat of a man’s gaze, in a long time. “My favorite place,” he said, clearing his throat. He winked at Mandy. “Have fun.”

She expected one of her daughters to invite him along. When they didn’t, Leah urged them forward, feeling like she’d dodged a bullet. But every step she took away from him made her insides twist with guilt.

“Wait,” she said, tugging on Alyssa’s hand.

Mandy stopped her forward march. “What?”

She turned to look at Brian again. He was wiping down the interior of his truck, studiously ignoring her. “Would you like to come with us?”

His hands stilled and he glanced over his shoulder.

Leah wasn’t surprised when Mandy and Alyssa started jumping up and down in agreement. They lived an isolated existence. The prospect of hanging out with anyone besides their mother was wildly exciting.

“Okay,” he said, tossing aside a dust cloth. Just like that, he slammed the driver’s side door of his truck and followed them to the beach.

They lived a few blocks from a long, narrow stretch of coastline known as The Strand. Several miles of road ran parallel to the beach, offering drivers a scenic view of girls in bikinis. Teenagers and rubberneckers drove up and down the strip every day of the week, checking out the hotties. Between the street and the beach there was a barrier of large, slate-colored rocks, mixed with heavy chunks of concrete. During high tide, the waves met these rocks and the beach all but disappeared.

Leah knew that because last time they’d had to walk all the way to the pier to find enough space to lay down a towel.

Today there was a nice amount of sand and it wasn’t too crowded. Leah pointed to a spot near the lifeguard tower and they headed toward it.

“Is the tide coming in?” she asked Brian.

“Going out,” he said.

There were some advantages to bringing a surfer along, she supposed. If one of her children got knocked down by a wave, he could save them.

Fortunately, the ocean looked peaceful at the moment. There were no powerful breakers churning up the sand. Soft waves lapped at the shore, barely causing a stir. “Did you go surfing this morning?”

He shook his head. “Nothing to ride.”

She glanced out at the gentle water. “Oh, of course. Silly question.”

“Not at all.”

“Well, I obviously don’t know anything about the ocean.”

“You didn’t grow up here.”

“Right.” And this was why she avoided people. Pretty soon he’d ask where she was from. “Did you?”

“Yes. Born and raised. Although raised is too kind a word to describe my upbringing. ‘Turned loose’ might be more accurate.”

“Why’s that?”

“I was a foster kid. My sister and I both were.”

Leah came to a stop near the shore, spreading out her towel and spraying the girls down with sunscreen. “Can we build sand castles?” Mandy asked. When Leah said yes, they grabbed the bucket of tools and started digging.

Alyssa got upset when her first tower crumbled.

“You need to pack it down,” Brian explained, helping her fill the cup again. He patted the sand with the flat of his hand, showing her. She turned it upside down and lifted the cup, delighted with the smooth-set formation.

While Alyssa and Leah made a grand sand castle, Mandy and Brian started digging a moat the size of a small pond. Soon it was a major building project, complete with a seaweed drawbridge and pebble walkway.

The girls were covered in sand by the time they were finished, so Leah took them to rinse off in the ocean. Although the water was very cold, they splashed in the shallow surf, chasing each other along the shore.

Brian smiled at their antics. “Do they ever get tired?”

“Not as often as I’d like,” she admitted.

He wore a mild expression, sympathy mixed with envy.

“Why don’t you have any children of your own?”

His brows rose at the question.

Leah flushed, realizing she was being nosy. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. I just don’t know how to answer that without making you uncomfortable.”

“You don’t have to,” she said quickly, trying to squelch her curiosity. “It was rude of me to ask.”

He laughed, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Your girls are lucky.”

She watched her daughters play. They hadn’t looked so carefree in a long time. “Why do you say that?”

“Because you never take your eyes off them.”

“I wish I could,” she murmured. “I fret too much.”

At that exact moment, Alyssa tripped and fell face-first into the water. Leah bolted into motion, running to her daughter and hauling her upright. Alyssa sputtered and coughed, gasping for breath. When her airway cleared, she started bawling.

Leah hugged Alyssa to her chest, cradling her bedraggled head. Her little body was shivering, sobs wrenching from her throat. She carried Alyssa back to the towel and wrapped her up in it, murmuring soft words of comfort. Brian handed another towel to Mandy and they sat together until Alyssa’s tears subsided.

He didn’t seem bothered by the minor incident. John had often accused her of babying the girls, but Leah had never been able to ignore their cries. She took an orange out of her bag, peeling it for Alyssa. “Okay now?”

She nodded, accepting a fruit slice. Mandy also wanted some. They ate the sweet, tart sections while the sun warmed their skin.

Leah offered Brian another orange, which he declined.

“Do you want to walk down the jetty?” he asked.

Leah eyed the man-made rock pathway that jutted out into the ocean. She’d seen fishermen casting poles from its jagged sides, and waves sloshing over the rocks, threatening to drag unsuspecting beachgoers out to sea.