Barbara Dunlop - Christmas Secrets

“You’re not staying in Atlanta,” she said.

“True,” he agreed, even though he kind of now wished he was.

“And you’re putting in an awful lot of effort flirting with me.”

“Also true.” But only because flirting with her was so much fun.

“So the options are limited.”

“Maybe I’m trying to romance the Pacific routes out from under you.”

“You know that will never work.”

It was true. Cole couldn’t imagine her falling for something so simplistic. Then again, he wasn’t remotely interested in the Pacific routes.

He and Luca were following a carefully planned and meticulously orchestrated expansion scheme for Aviation 58. It was on track, and he had no intention of deviating from it for the next few years. He’d never make a knee-jerk decision based on random availability.

“You’re great with Zachary, you know.” Cole didn’t want to talk business.

“ You’re great with Zachary. I’m mostly treading water.” Then she frowned. “But if you’re ever called to testify, the correct answer is that Amber is fantastic with Zachary.”

“I’ve never seen such incredible natural mothering instincts,” he said.

Her frown deepened. “I’m not his mother.”

“I didn’t mean that,” Cole quickly corrected the innocent comment. “I only meant that it’s obvious that you love him.”

She skated in pensive silence for a moment, the lighthearted music and bright lights suddenly seeming out of place.

“I’m sorry,” he offered, moving back to her side, reminding himself that she had grown up without the love of either of her natural parents.

“He’s so young,” she said softly. “He won’t remember either of them.”

Cole reached out and took her hand. “He’ll remember you.”

“It’s not the same thing.”

There was a deep sadness in her eyes, and it wasn’t at all what he’d planned for her tonight.

“Hot chocolate?” he asked, nodding toward the strip of shops and cafés. “I’ll spring for whipped cream and orange brandy.”

Her expression relaxed again. “Sure.”

They coasted to a stop, exchanged their skates for boots and made their way through the colored lights and happy crowds. It felt natural to take Amber’s hand again as they strolled along the pedestrian street. He helped her pick out a stuffed dog and a soft rattle for Zachary. They waited while the clerk gift wrapped the toys, and Cole slung the package over his shoulder.

“That looks nice.” He pointed across the street to a fenced restaurant patio with padded chairs and glowing propane heaters.

“Sold,” said Amber.

They crossed through the crowds and were shown to a table near a festively lit garden.

He glanced at his watch. “I read there were fireworks at ten.”

“Perfect timing.” She glanced around. “I love it down here at Christmas.”

“There’s nothing like this in Juneau.”

“Too cold?”

“During the holidays, yes. We do fireworks on the Fourth of July, but they lose something since it doesn’t get completely dark at night.”

“Not at all?”

“A sort of twilight look around 2:00 a.m. But you can golf at midnight on the solstice.”

“I can’t even picture it. Do you like living there?”

“I love living there. Juneau has a great sense of community.”

“Tell me about your mother.”

Cole brought up fond memories. “She was very pretty. She was kind and cheerful. She worked hard. Looking back, I realize just how hard she had to work when I was young.”

“She never went after your father for support?”

“She didn’t want him to know I existed.”

The statement clearly piqued Amber’s interest. “Why not?”

Cole immediately realized his mistake in letting Samuel get into the conversation. He purposely kept the rest of his answer casual. “She thought he’d be more trouble than he was worth.”

Amber nodded her understanding. “I hear you.”

How she said it made him wonder if she’d had bad experiences with men. He wanted to ask, but just then, the waitress arrived with magnificent mugs of hot chocolate, decorated with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles.

“Dessert in a cup,” said Amber with a happy smile.

Cole took the opportunity to shift the conversation away from his father. “Tell me about your dad.”

She thought for a moment while she spooned a dollop of the whipped cream into her mouth. “He was tall. He had this booming, infectious laugh. I remember him flipping pancakes in the air, and how he used to trot around the yard, whinnying like a horse, with me on piggyback.”

“Little girls like that?”

“I did.”

“My mom baked bread on Friday nights,” said Cole. “I’d hear her in the kitchen after I went to bed. She’d let it rise all night, then bake it in the morning. Best breakfast of the whole week.”

“I’m trying to picture you young.”

An image of Zachary came to his mind, and he hoped she wasn’t trying to picture back that far. He’d hunted the internet for more photos of Samuel, found many and he realized there was a significant family resemblance. Then he’d had a friend back in Alaska send him some of his own baby pictures to compare to Zachary. They were all but identical.

Amber took another spoonful of the whipped cream. “I can’t picture it. You must have always been old.”

“Old? Thanks a lot.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirty-two. You?” He already knew, but it seemed logical to ask.

“Thirty-one. So I guess you’re not so old.”

“Gee, thanks.”

She grinned. “But I’m surprised you’re not married, or at least in a relationship.”

“There’s no current or likely future Mrs.—” He caught himself. “Mrs. Parker. You?”

“Married?” she scoffed.

“I meant in a serious relationship?”

“Nope.”

“What about in the past?”

“These questions are getting quite personal.”

“They are, aren’t they?” He didn’t apologize or retract it.

She wrapped her hands around the mug. “Nobody of note.” After a pause, she kept talking. “I left home right after high school, worked days, went to school at night to get my accounting designation. I might not be a vice president, but my job at Coast Eagle is significant.”

He stirred the whipped cream into his hot chocolate. “I never doubted it was.”

“I oversee six branch offices and several dozen staff members.”

“Have I said something wrong?” He couldn’t figure out what had made her defensive. He had nothing but admiration and respect for what she’d accomplished in her professional life.

She took a sip. “Not you. Roth, I guess. And some of the other executives. Sometimes I think they assume I’m just like Coco. They all knew her, while most of them had barely met me before the crash. They seem to have forgotten that I was at Coast Eagle before she met Samuel. I sometimes get the impression they think Coco got me the job.”

He could imagine that would be frustrating.

“I decided the best defense was to ignore it,” she continued. “And to do a good job, hard work and success would prevail and all that.”

“Did it work?”

“Not really. And then the plane crashed. And now everyone thinks there’s a ditz at the helm.”

“They’re wrong.”

“They don’t know that.”

“Fair enough. But you know what I think?”

Her expression seemed to relax a little. “What do you think, Cole Parker?”

“I think they’d better learn. They’d better learn to respect your intelligence and your tenacity.”

Anyone could see she was the perfect guardian for Zachary. The judge was going to see that, too. And soon she was going to be in charge of all of their lives.