The Christmas Baby

His mother straightened. Red peppered her cheeks. “No need to hurry him home.” Her mouth thinned on the last word. “It gets busy around here when darkness falls.”

An awkward silence descended. That was their cue to leave.

“Bye, Mama.” Oscar waved.

Holding the door, Ryan cast one final glance over his shoulder. Just in time to see Brittany’s hard, brittle shell crack for a moment as a single tear ran down her cheek.

* * *

On the way to the holiday flotilla, Anna found herself singing alongside Bing Crosby’s rendition of “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” on the radio.

From the back seat booster Ryan had borrowed, Oscar hummed along, not really knowing the words. “This is gonna be the funnest night ever, Mister Sabbage.”

Ryan’s eyes cut to the rearview mirror. “Yes, it is, Oscar. The best.”

As they drove into town, Kiptohanock did indeed look a lot like Christmas. Sitting high in the seat, Oscar made little sounds of happiness at the sight of the decorated homes. Anna glanced over at Ryan.

He was a special man to have taken on something like this to bring Christmas joy to a needy kid like Oscar. Her respect for her old friend grew.

Ryan pulled into an empty space in the cafe parking lot. “Let me unbuckle Oscar first, then I’ll come around for you.”

“Not necessary, Ryan.”

He gave her a teacher look over the rim of his glasses. “How about letting a guy be a gentleman, Anna Banana?”

Childish laughter erupted from the back seat. “She’s not a banana, Mister Sabbage.”

“Thanks for setting me straight, Oscar.” His mouth twitched. “What about it, Miz Reyes?”

“Fine.” She held up her palm. “Whatever you say, Mister Sabbage.”

He flashed her a quick grin—his hunky demeanor like a sucker punch to her gut. He and Oscar helped her unfold from the passenger side.

“Will your family be here tonight, Ryan?”

Ryan and Oscar each took one of her hands and tugged. “Probably not. Christmas Open House at the garden center tomorrow.”

She found her footing as Ryan and Oscar high-fived. “Teamwork!” Ryan smiled at her. “Let’s go have fun.”

Anna took Oscar’s hand as they crossed the parking lot to join the throng gathering around the seawall. The lanterns on the square pulsed with a warm glow. Holiday music blared from the loudspeakers at the Coast Guard station.

Many townsfolk stopped to welcome Anna home. Though she could see the questions on people’s faces at her rounded abdomen, their welcome was nonetheless genuine. And everyone proved kind to Oscar, as well.

Friends of her parents like Dixie, a waitress at the cafe, and her husband, Bernard. The Reverend Parks and Agnes. When their daughter, Darcy, came up and hugged her, she and Anna both squealed like the two teenage girls they’d been a long time ago.

“Lunch. Soon,” Anna promised as Oscar pulled her closer to the marina, where fishing vessels and pleasure boats were decked out in multicolored lights.

Chums of her absentee brothers said their hellos. Many of them were married and had children of their own now. Children, like Oscar, who waited with barely concealed anticipation for the arrival of Father Kiptohanock. Spotting her teachers, Maria dragged her family over to meet them.

Maria’s mother toted a baby on her hip. A toddler perched on her father’s shoulders. The Guzmans spoke very little English, but Maria and Oscar chatted easily. It was the most animated she’d seen Maria yet.

Standing next to her brother, Sawyer Kole, Evy waved from the edge of the town dock. On duty, Charlie was probably somewhere overseeing security.

“Would you like to join Evy?” Ryan’s breath made puffs of air.

“Let’s stay here so Maria and Oscar can enjoy the parade together.” She scanned the nearby church, open for potential emergencies. At least that’s what she hoped. “These days it’s best to never get too far from a bathroom.”

He laughed, the sound rumbling out of his chest.

She was reminded of how close he’d been in the car when he fastened her seat belt. And how he smelled of Old Spice and spearmint gum.

Her pulse did an unauthorized staccato step. “I’ll stay here with the kids and the Guzmans. But you can go.” A little distance might prove wise.

“I’m right where I want to be.” He settled in beside her.

Shoulder to shoulder at the seawall, she forced herself not to inhale too deeply. It wasn’t as if she were trying to capture his scent again in her nostrils. That would be too ridiculous. And pathetic. Despite the chilly temperature, her cheeks burned with an awareness of him.

Hands stuffed in the pockets of his coat, he smiled at her. For an instant, something blazed in his eyes. But before she could identify the emotion, he turned toward the water. “Think we’ll have a white Christmas?”

She gulped past the boat-size boulder lodged in her throat. “Has there ever been a white Christmas in Kiptohanock?”

Taking his hands out of his pockets, he leaned his elbows on top of the wall. “My gram used to tell us about one white Christmas when she was a girl.”

“Doesn’t seem fair, does it?” She shrugged. “The cold temperatures without the reward of snow.”

“Make it your Christmas wish, Anna.” The corner of his mouth lifted, zinging straight to her heart. “And tell it to Father Kiptohanock.” His gaze flicked toward the harbor. “It’s starting.”

Oscar and Maria strained forward as far as the seawall allowed. Vessels decorated like parade floats chugged past the judges on the dock. Charter boats with cutout cardboard Christmas trees glowed red and green.

Max and his dad, Chief Braeden Scott, waved to the crowd from one of the sailboats. A Star of Bethlehem on top of the mast and a blue string of lights festooned their entry.

Adorned with neon cats and dogs, the Santa Paws boat encouraged people to adopt a pet. Flags aflutter, the Coasties had embellished a rapid response boat in red, white and blue. Izzie Clark waved in a queenlike fashion from onboard the sea turtle hospital float.

Ryan chuckled. “Izzie and Max. Always a competition with those two. Yet the best of friends.”

She elbowed him. “Remind you of anyone?”

Ryan elbowed her back. “And here we are, the two of us, teaching the bright young minds of Kiptohanock. Full circle, huh?”

Her smile faded. Only temporarily. Ryan was leaving after Christmas.

Oscar tugged her arm. “Look, Miz Reyes.”

Decked out like a pirate ship, the high school float loaded with students maneuvered past the wharf. A tall, gangly boy lifted his imitation hook and whooped. A teenage girl with flowing dark hair and an eye patch brandished a fake sword. On the shoreline, a ruggedly handsome man and a blonde pregnant woman broke into cheers.

“Is that—?” Anna started to point but thought better of it.

Ryan clapped furiously as the students hammed it up for the judges. “Yes, it is,” he whispered. “One of the Colliers.”