Michelle Major - A Very Crimson Christmas

“Is that really what you think of me?” she asked, her gaze flaring as she watched him.

No, never , a voice inside him wanted to argue. I think you are still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

Even the ratty sweatshirt she wore couldn’t cover Nat’s perfect figure. Her dark hair pulled back in a messy ponytail was still shiny and looked as soft as he remembered from years ago. She wore no makeup, but he’d always preferred her that way. Unlike when they were in high school, she now had faint circles under those big melted chocolate eyes that told him something was keeping her awake at night. Liam found himself wanting to know what it was and figure out a way to fix her troubles.

But that wasn’t what this trip was about. Natalie had made her choice years ago. She’d picked this town over him. He wasn’t about to come crawling back to her.

“I don’t know what to think, Nat. You came to work for her and two months later almost ten thousand dollars is missing from her account.”

“Did you ask her about it?”

“Of course I did. I called her when the accountant alerted me. She told me to mind my own business.”

“Which wasn’t an option for you?”

“She’s a strong woman, but not as strong as she once was, either mentally or physically. You’re her nurse so you must see that she’s frail. I won’t let someone take advantage of her.”

“I would never do that.”

“But you haven’t denied taking the money and you’ve let her return to the house when I arranged for assisted living.”

She looked up at him now, her brown eyes blazing. “I didn’t steal anything, Liam.”

Her voice was quiet but lethal. Liam realized he’d misread her stillness. He thought it might be masking guilt, but now he saw she was reining in her anger. Anger that he would accuse her of something so awful.

“I’m sorry, Natalie. The way the accountant spoke it was too much of a coincidence to ignore. You started working for her and soon after money goes missing from her savings account.”

“Does she know you’re monitoring her finances?”

Liam blew out a breath. “She does now.” He watched as she put two bagels in the toaster, then poured the egg mixture into the heated pan. “She’s mad as all get out.”

“Do you blame her?”

“I want to keep her safe. People know I’ve settled money on her and that she barely touches it. I would have expected someone to take advantage of her long before this. That’s why I keep track of things.”

“All signs to the contrary in your life, you can’t always bully or manipulate people into doing what you want. Ruth can make her own decisions about her savings.”

“Trust me, I know very well that not everyone bends to my will just because I want them to.” He thought of a night long ago when Natalie had made him believe his heart was breaking in half. “But why is she acting like she doesn’t know what I’m talking about? Why isn’t she the least bit concerned the money is gone? That’s not like her. She’s hiding something. Maybe it’s not that someone is stealing from her. But there’s more to what’s going on. I’m going to find out what it is.”

He saw her fingers tighten around the handle of the pan. “Either way, I’m sure Ruth will be glad to see you. If you want to use the guest bedrooms upstairs, Austin and I can move out.”

“Natalie.” He placed his fingers on her shoulder. His chest took a direct hit as she flinched at the contact. “Kicking you out or waging some kind of war with you was never my intention.”

She took a stack of plates from the cupboard, her sweatshirt rising above the waistband of her pants as she reached for a high shelf. His mind went blank for a moment at the sight of the creamy strip of skin across her lower back and the small birthmark that peeked out from her hip. Memories flooded back to him, along with a rush of heat to the lower half of his body.

“You accused me of stealing from a woman we both love. How is that not waging war?”

He shook his head to bring himself back to the present. “I had to be sure.”

“And you are now?” Something about her tone and the way she wouldn’t make eye contact with him made his skin prickle with doubt.

“I’m not getting the whole story, but I will figure it out.”

“Go for it,” she snapped back quickly. “I don’t have Ruth’s money.”

Her movements jerky, she dished eggs, bagels and sliced bananas onto the plates.

“It wouldn’t matter if you did,” an unsteady voice called. “Thanks to Liam, I have plenty to spare.”

Liam turned as Ruth and Austin appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. His breath caught as he watched her lean heavily on a carved wooden cane. He’d arrived in Crimson late last night, so he hadn’t seen his former nanny before this morning. Knowing she was an early riser like him, he’d come to the property at the crack of dawn. She’d been awake but still in bed, so he hadn’t fully noticed how frail she looked compared to the hearty, healthy woman he once knew. Ruth had always been larger than life, the only constant he’d known for most of his childhood. She’d seen his shock this morning and had immediately sent him off to survey her property.

After checking to make sure things looked good around the house and small pond near the edge of the forest, he’d returned to the house to find Austin curled up next to her in her bed. Liam had never been the type of kid to snuggle with anyone, let alone his nanny. He’d been too busy getting into trouble as a kid. He envied Natalie’s son the easy affection he had with both his mom and Ruth. Austin was clearly loved, a thought that gave Liam an unfamiliar stab of envy for what he’d only felt as a boy from the paid help.

“That isn’t the point.”

“Leave her alone.” Ruth straightened and pointed at him. “Sit down and have breakfast with us. Stop harping on Natalie. I’m glad to see you. Don’t make me change my mind.”

“There isn’t—” he began at the same time Natalie handed him a plate. “You made enough for me?”

“When I cook it’s for whoever is here to eat.” She picked up the three remaining plates, balancing two in one hand. With her opposite elbow she pointed to a drawer at the end of the kitchen island. “Bring forks over with you.”

He stared at her.

“Please,” she added as an afterthought.

“I don’t eat breakfast.”

“It’s the most important meal of the day.”

Ruth lowered herself into a chair and patted the one next to her. “Come on over. Catch me up on your life.” She leaned closer to Austin. “Liam is powerful. He has lots of money and dates gobs of brainless supermodels who are too young for him.”

“Ruth, stop.”

“Are you a supermodel, Mom?” Austin asked.

Natalie set down the plates with a clatter. “No, bud, I’m not a supermodel.”

Her son nodded, looking relieved.

Natalie brushed by Liam to get the orange juice and glasses, her mouth tight with obvious disapproval.

He wanted to tell her she was more enticing than any model he’d ever known. She was a real woman, and it was more than her physical beauty that had made Natalie irresistible. It was the way she carried herself, how she knew who she was, the fact that she wouldn’t ever take any crap from him.

He slid into the seat next to Ruth instead. “You can’t stay here,” he said, changing the subject back to the argument they’d been having before she sent him off to look over the property this morning.

“It’s my home.”

“It’s too much for you. You’ll move in with me while I’m here and we get the property ready to go on the market. When I leave, you’ll go to assisted living. Why am I paying for a room there if you don’t use it?”