Mistletoe Mommy

now?”

Mumbling a response, Geoff dashed into the now vacant room. He shut the door with just enough force to up Adam’s need for aspirin without technically slamming it.

Ten minutes later, all three children were ready to go, even if one of them looked like the inside of a kaleidoscope and another was wearing too much eye makeup. Sara had discussed the cosmetics issue with him just before Eliza’s twelfth birthday and he’d deferred to Sara’s judgment, saying that if she was okay with it, so was he. But he wasn’t an idiot. He knew that Eliza didn’t leave the house with red lipstick and raccoon eyes on her mother’s watch. She was baiting him, but he refused to kick off their morning with a fight.

He held the door open while the kids filed past, dropping a gentle hand on Eliza’s shoulder.

“What?” Her voice, probably meant to be challenging, came out nervous and guilty.

“I love you, kiddo.”

She blinked, the little girl he remembered peering out from inside a ring of uneven eyeliner. Then she was gone. “Y-yeah, I know. We better go. If Geoff doesn’t get fed soon, he’ll probably start eating the furniture or something.”

With that, she darted into the hall. Adam sighed. The Medical College Admission Test was easier than this.

The good news? It was bound to get better.

Chapter Five

“And I assume you want to pay extra for the unlimited miles?” Lloyd asked from behind the counter.

Honestly, Brenna thought, no one ever wants to pay extra for anything. But she did accumulate an amazingly high mileage for a woman who spent most of her time driving around a small town, and tomorrow was Saturday. Weekends were often her busiest time. “Same deal as last time, please. Extra mileage, extra insurance.”

Lloyd grinned at her. “You’re one of our favorite customers. Which is really saying something considering you’ve never purchased a car from us. I’ll be right back with the finalized paperwork and your receipt.”

“Thanks.”

Brenna had bought Quinn an early lunch to thank her for her assistance that morning, and Quinn had dropped her off at the auto dealership.

“Sure you don’t want me to keep chauffeuring you?” her friend had asked.

“Thanks, but my schedule’s a bit erratic for the next forty-eight hours.” The Hildebrand family was paying her an exorbitant fee to “tuck in” their chocolate Lab for the night; she’d check on him one last time at about ten-thirty. “I can’t just keep you at my beck and call.”

“All right, guess I’ll head home. But don’t tell Ari we parted ways this early. She was angling shamelessly for an invitation to come hang out at my place and catch glimpses of Gabe in his work jeans.” Quinn had waved goodbye with a reminder to “call if you need me.”

“Brenna!”

At the sound of her stepfather’s voice, she spun around. The sight of his rugged face filled her with affection and exasperation. Josh, you twerp. She’d bet the cost of her latest phone-book ad that Josh had told his parents about her unreliable car.

“Hey.” She hugged Fred. “Didn’t expect to see you here.” Although she should have.

He patted her on the back. “I don’t suppose you’d believe I just happened to be in the neighborhood?”

She sighed. “Well, it is Mistletoe. I guess the neighborhood’s not that big.”

“I’ve offered to go car shopping with you a couple of times, honey, and you’re always too busy. So what better time than now? You’re here, I’m here. An entire lot of economy cars await.”

“You know I appreciate the thought.” Mostly. “But I need to get over to the Heritage Pond subdivision. I’ve got a new-client orientation at twelve-thirty.”

“Got time in your full schedule for Sunday dinner? Josh and Natalie are coming. Maggie’s hoping you can join us, too.”

She ground her back teeth. On the one hand, she loved the Pierces and enjoyed spending time with them, but Fred and Maggie had already been trying to help her find “a nice man” even before Josh started dating Natalie. Now all four of them ganged up on her. And she was the fifth wheel, the odd one out even among people who adored her.

She was damn lucky for the Pierce family and never wanted to seem ungrateful. “You tell Maggie I’ll be there. Can I bring anything?”

“Just your company and your lovely smile,” Fred said warmly. “Unless…there’s anyone you wanted to bring? Any guest of yours is always welcome at our table.”

“Oh, for pity’s sake! Josh couldn’t just leave it at tattling about the car? He told you about the doctor, too!”

“Doctor?” Fred frowned. “What doctor?”

Whoops. She’d read too much into Fred and Maggie’s habitual wishful thinking, immediately making the mental leap to handsome Adam Varner.

“Never mind,” Brenna chirped brightly. “Not important.”

“But-”

“Okay, you’re all set,” Lloyd said from behind them.

“Wonderful! Thanks!” Beaming at him, she accepted the keys to the getaway car.

Since she’d already cited a customer appointment, her stepfather had no choice but to let her go. Unexpectedly her thoughts of Adam were harder to shake. She’d been moved yesterday by his desire to bond with his kids- undoubtedly he’d been an imperfect father, but the fact that he was trying so hard counted for a lot with her. Wonder if he’s having any luck yet.

ADAM LEANED on the railing of the lodge’s massive wraparound wooden porch, listening to intermittent birdsong and the burbling rush of the river. Behind him, Geoff and Eliza were trying to teach Morgan how to play checkers. In a minute he’d join them, but he hated to push his luck. The day so far had exceeded his most optimistic expectations.

A few months ago, he’d kept the kids for an afternoon while Sara and Dan were busy with wedding plans. When Sara had come to pick up the children, she’d caught Adam in a moment of extreme frustration with Eliza; he’d confessed to his ex-wife that he’d never felt so clueless in his life. She’d told him, with a mix of compassion and censure, that half of parenting was just showing up. Today had certainly borne that out. Thank God.

When he’d proposed coming to Mistletoe, even Sara had been surprised by his choice of location. There were plenty of great places in Tennessee-Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge or Chattanooga were far more obvious tourist destinations-but he hadn’t wanted to take the kids anywhere they’d already been. He’d wanted the four of them to have a vacation uniquely their own.

Day one, while not yet over, seemed a success. After a buffet breakfast, they’d followed a trail into the woods. It hadn’t been too steep or overgrown for Morgan to keep up, but it wasn’t so perfectly manicured that they might as well have been walking on a sidewalk in their own subdivision. Even surly Eliza had been charmed by the sight of a mother deer and fawn in a clearing. They’d also spotted lizards, chipmunks and the white cottontail of a rabbit that’d taken off at the sound of Morgan’s delighted squeal.

Their lunch back at the lodge had been a lively exchange of everyone’s favorite moments. Now the kids wore bathing suits under their clothes, and he’d promised to take them swimming after their food had settled. They probably wouldn’t hit the river until tomorrow or the next day, but the lodge also had a good-size pool with a high, winding waterslide. He’d noticed that when Eliza ducked into the bathroom to put on her suit, she’d also wiped off that awful makeup, which he opted to see as a sign of truce.

“You can’t jump my piece from there,” Geoff said to Morgan, shaking his head over the checkerboard. “Remember how I already explained that to you?”