Barb Han - Kidnapped At Christmas

“The man should be given the option to be part of her life.” Meg was steeling her resolve by picking up Aubrey. Holding her daughter, so much innocence, inspired her to do the right thing even when her nerves were frayed and her stomach threatened to revolt.

“I’ll be right down the street with her at the park. You give me the green light and I’m there at the restaurant. If you don’t pick up on the vibe that he wants to know or if he makes one wrong move before you tell him you can always do this another time.”

“Will you text me first so I don’t seem rude or obvious if I have to whip out my phone in front of him?” Meg hedged. Thinking through an exit strategy made her feel less trapped.

“Great idea. I’ll take the baby for a lap or two before checking in.” Stephanie picked up her purse. “The fresh air will be good for us both, and the park is so pretty this time of year. Plus, the mayor’s lighting the Christmas tree at noon.”

“She’d love that. It’s probably just all these hormones and this time of year giving me jitters.” The first part was true enough. Meg didn’t want to acknowledge how much the thought of seeing Wyatt Jackson again affected her. This was the first time the Christmas season had brought a feeling of renewal and hope instead of sadness and dread. The magic of the holidays had always escaped Meg until having Aubrey. Facing Wyatt with the news he was a father stamped out all the newly gained warm-and-fuzzy sentiment.

Stephanie shot a sympathetic look. “I know. Everything in town’s been strange ever since Maverick Mike Butler’s death this summer. The whole town’s been on edge. But everything’s calming down and slowly returning to normal. It’s only a matter of time before the sheriff finds the person responsible and we can put all this behind us. You have a new baby and lots of memories to look forward to. And it’s nice to focus on something besides murder for a change.”

Meg nodded. The town had been through a lot since its wealthiest and most infamous resident was killed on his ranch this past summer. But it was more than that. The holidays brought back a memory of being interviewed for hours. The unspoken accusations had been so obvious that even a ten-year-old girl had understood them. Meg shivered involuntarily, thinking about the past. She couldn’t bring herself to talk about it with anyone. She needed to focus on something else. Bad thoughts had a way of multiplying, causing her to tumble down a slippery slope of pain and regret.

Meg turned her attention to her sleeping baby. The change in Meg this year was because of Aubrey. That little girl brightened everything she touched. Her baby held a special kind of magic that made Meg want to believe in miracles again, precisely the innocent sentiment that would end up crushing her in—she checked her watch—less than five minutes.

She shouldered the diaper bag. “Ready?”

When Meg had become too sick to drive herself to a doctor visit, Stephanie had stepped up to help. Not long after, her work partner had found herself in a bind when her two-year relationship ended and she had no place to live. Meg had volunteered to room together and the friendship had blossomed from there. It was nice to have that in her life after keeping herself isolated for so long.

Stephanie examined Meg with a questioning look. “I am.”

“It’s just a conversation,” Meg said to herself as she walked outside, bracing herself against the blast of frigid air. Her small SUV was parked in the lot behind the office. “I speak to people every day.”

“And you’re pretty darn good at it, too.” Stephanie closed and locked the door behind them. It was Friday and they’d let the receptionist go early so she could watch the tree-lighting ceremony. “But anything about this guy gives you pause and I’m only two blocks away. I can be at the restaurant in less than five minutes.” Stephanie snapped her fingers.

Meg froze as an awkward thought struck. “What if he doesn’t remember me?”

“It’s only been a year, Meg. You said that he’d been clear about not being the type to settle down, but I seriously doubt you’d spend time with anyone who was that much of a jerk.” Stephanie jangled her keys. “Besides, I’m following you in my car in case you both remember all too well and decide to get to know each other again while I babysit.” Stephanie wiggled her eyebrows.

Meg held back the laugh trying to force its way out of her throat. Wyatt Jackson didn’t want anything to do with her.

“I had to email him half a dozen times in order to get a response. If he remembers me at all from a year ago, he obviously wasn’t too impressed.” Meg secured Aubrey in her car seat in Stephanie’s car. The baby stretched but didn’t wake. She’d had a bottle twenty minutes ago so, fingers crossed, that should buy Meg a couple of hours to do what she should’ve done months ago before the baby arrived. Shoving the guilt aside, she climbed into the driver’s seat.

Meg glanced around with that awful feeling of someone watching her. Her stress levels were already on an upward trajectory and this made it worse. It was probably nothing more than the thought of facing her baby’s father that had her insides braided and the tiny hairs on her arms standing at attention. Or maybe it was the time of year. The holidays. The cold. The memories...

Meg glanced at the rearview. No one was there. She started the vehicle.

Wyatt Jackson was just a man like any other. This wasn’t the time for her brain to point out that he was intelligent, successful and unnervingly gorgeous. In retrospect, the man seemed almost superhuman to her. But then, he’d given her the absolute best gift in her life, her daughter, and that was likely the reason she’d built him up so much in her mind.

Meg checked the rearview one more time, making sure that Stephanie had cleared the parking spot behind her. She glanced at the backup camera as she pressed the gas pedal. Something crossed the corner of the screen.

Heart jackhammering, she touched the brake.

What was back there? An animal?

A tiny little thing darted toward the trees, yellow stripes streaking past the driver’s side. It was just a cat, barely more than a kitten.

Hands shaking, Meg white-knuckled the steering wheel, trying to calm her rattled nerves by sheer force of will.

There was nothing to be afraid of.

Right?

* * *

CHRISTMAS MIGHT ONLY be weeks away, but the holidays were something Wyatt Jackson would have no trouble skipping over altogether. New Year’s was more his style with its all-night partying and the attitude of ringing in the New Year with free-flowing booze and a carefree attitude.

Speaking of which, receiving an email from the blond-haired beauty Wyatt had spent time with last year had caught him off guard. She’d made it look easy to ignore his repeated phone calls this time last year, so he’d returned the favor by deleting her messages when she’d first contacted him.

In fact, in the past twelve months he’d done his level best to forget she existed. Although part of him had known that would be impossible given that he couldn’t seem to shake the feel of her soft skin on his fingertips, her intellect or the easy way she made him laugh.

The last email from Meg had seemed urgent, and to make matters even more interesting Maverick Mike Butler’s lawyer had been hot on Wyatt’s tail to get him to come to Cattle Barge. Mike Butler had been one of Texas’s most colorful citizens. A billionaire cattle rancher who’d been murdered on his own property this summer had sent the media into a feeding frenzy.

Ed Staples, the family’s lawyer, had seemed downright shocked that Wyatt already knew he was Mike Butler’s illegitimate son. Probably because Wyatt hadn’t made a single attempt to contact the estate—and thereby claim his right to the Butler fortune. Wyatt had made a success of himself on his own terms and had no need for a handout from the family who’d left his mother pregnant and destitute.