Melissa McClone - Daddy by Christmas / Christmas Magic on the Mountain - Daddy by Christmas / Christmas Magic on the Mountain

“That’s where I’m going now,” he continued, “to meet with a furnace guy.”

She stopped. “You mean we could have some heat today?”

He shrugged. “I’m paying him extra to start right away.”

They continued their way down the stairs to the main lobby. “I would like to ask a favor,” he said.

She paused with a glare.

He hid a smile as he raised a hand. “Good Lord, woman, do you mistrust everyone? I only want you to help get everyone together so we see who has the worst problems and fix them first.”

“Then come to the community room. It’s where a lot of the tenants hang out because it has a working heater.”

They stepped outside into the frigid weather. He first tossed the sack into the Dumpster, and then they continued on to the center.

“I hear your baby is due on Christmas day.”

She gave him a sideways glance. “Who told you that?”

“My sister-in-law, Kira McKane. You both go to the same church.”

She seemed relieved. “How does she feel about you tossing us out of here?”

“I haven’t tossed out anyone, and according to the judge, I won’t be able to until the spring.” Not with Barbara Gillard watching him anyway. If only he could come up with a way to convince everyone to leave a few months earlier.

His only other chance was to get Fulton to hold off on the takeover date. They couldn’t begin construction until the ground thawed. But he wouldn’t get his money either.

He’d put a lot into this project, buying up the surrounding land, including this place. He had too much to lose. And it would cost him even more every day Mountain View Apartments stayed open. And now he was being held prisoner here.

While Jarrett went to the community room, Mia knocked on Joe’s door and asked him and Sylvia to gather the other tenants and bring them to the community room.

Sending the others on ahead, Mia then went to Nola’s place and they walked over together. “We need to make sure you have enough heat, Mia,” Nola said. “For you and the baby.”

They went through the door of the community room to see a dozen or so tenants already there. “I’m fine for now,” Mia answered. Her apartment wasn’t too bad. “I wouldn’t mind a new faucet for the sink, though. It came off last week.”

“You should have told Joe.”

“I wasn’t going to complain when there are apartments with bigger problems.”

Nola gave her a tender look. “You and the baby are a priority.”

Mia smiled. Everyone here had rallied around her like overprotective grandparents since they’d heard the tragic news. “He’s not even here yet.”

“It’s a boy?” Joe said, walking over to them.

“I don’t know,” she insisted. “So you haven’t won the baby pool yet.”

The older man grinned. “It’s a boy all right. He’s going to be born at 12:05 on the twenty-fifth of December.”

Mia looked up to see Jarrett walk in, followed by a middle-aged man with Nichols Heating and Air printed across his shirt pocket.

“Good, most of you are here,” Jarrett began. “This is Harry Nichols. He’s here to look at the heating units.”

Several of the tenants were already on their feet to greet the repairman. Once the niceties were over, the tenants commandeered Harry and went to start the work.

With everyone gone, Jarrett walked over to where Mia sat at the table. “That seemed to please them.”

She studied her new landlord. He was sure proud of himself. “Why not? It’s been a while since they’ve had reliable heat. You’ll probably be rewarded with some more baked goods.”

Jarrett took a seat next to her, filling the space with his large frame. She inhaled a faint scent of his aftershave.

“I had no idea the extent of the last owner’s neglect. I thought it was mostly cosmetic. Now, I’m paying a lot for the repairs.”

Mia eyed his expensive clothes, leather jacket and cowboy boots. She’d seen his top-of-the-line Range Rover parked out front. “I doubt you’ll starve, Mr. McKane. Besides, this isn’t your only property in town.”

He arched an eyebrow. “The last I heard, it’s not against the law to make a living.”

“No. Not unless the properties have been neglected like this one.”

He looked at her with those dark, piercing eyes. “In the first place, I wasn’t the one who allowed this property to fall apart. Secondly, most of my other holdings are commercial buildings. I’ve spent a lot of money renovating run-down properties. You can’t ask for top rent without a quality product.”

Why couldn’t he do the same here? “Have you ever considered putting money into this place? You have a whole other section that’s vacant. That’s twenty-four units that are empty.” She shrugged. “Like you said yourself, this town doesn’t have enough rental properties. With some remodeling you could sell them as townhomes.”

He studied her for a while. “Sounds like you’ve put some thought into this.”

“When we heard that the owner was selling, the tenants tried to buy the complex themselves. They didn’t have enough money, or the expertise to do the repairs.”

“I doubt if anyone can keep up with the repairs of this old place. No one would want to sink the time and effort into it, without knowing if they could recoup their money. The real estate market has been unpredictable.”

He sounded like her father. “Does it always have to be about money?”

He arched an eyebrow. “It does or I go broke.”

She’d been both, and she was definitely happier like this. “I can’t believe you’d lose everything. You still have family and a home. You might lose a little money, but you’ll survive. A lot of these people won’t. They can’t afford to move and pay double the rent elsewhere.”

He frowned. “What are you going to do when the lease is up?”

She blinked, fighting her anger. “Is your conscience suddenly bothering you about evicting a single mother?”

He straightened. “I’m not happy about evicting anyone. But I don’t have a choice. This deal has been in the works for months.”

“Like I said, it’s all about the almighty dollar.”

“What about the jobs this factory will create for the town? The economy isn’t that great to turn this opportunity away.”

“Does a factory have to be built on land that drives people from their homes?”

“I will find them other places to live. I’m not that cruel—I won’t put seniors and single mothers out on the street.”

“Well, you can stop worrying about me. I don’t want your charity.”

“Fine. Let’s see where your stubbornness gets you.”

“I’ve been able to take care of myself so far.”

“Then feel free to continue.” He stood and started to leave.

She tried not to let him see her fear. She raised her chin. “I will.”

Suddenly she felt her stomach tighten and she automatically covered it with her hands.

He must have seen it, too. “Are you okay?”

She nodded as she moved her hand over her belly and rubbed it, but it didn’t help. Then her back began to hurt, too. She tried to shift in the chair, but it didn’t help.

“Mia, what’s wrong?” Jarrett asked.

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

He knelt down beside her chair. “The hell it’s nothing.”

She shook her head, looking around the empty room. There wasn’t anyone else there.

His expression softened. “Mia, let me help you.”

A sharp pain grabbed her around the middle. “Oh, no,” she gasped and then looked at him. “I think the baby’s coming.”

Fifteen minutes later Jarrett pulled up at the emergency-room doors. He threw the car into Park, got out and ran around to the passenger side. He jerked open the door. Mia was taking slow measured breaths. Not good.