A Mistletoe Proposal: Marry Me under the Mistletoe / A Little Bit of Holiday Magic / Christmas Magic in Heatherdale

That child had worked her way into Andrea’s heart. “Well, that’s lucky. Somewhere I read that a firefighter consumes a lot of calories when he’s on duty.” She was still trying to stifle her laughter.

Sharon rolled her eyes. “That makes it easy for me. My husband was a picky eater.”

“So’s my father,” Andrea admitted.

“Tessa? Go find your daddy and wash your hands while I fix you some apple dippers.”

“Okay. I’ll be right back.”

A few seconds later she could hear voices in the hallway. When Rick’s deep, male belly laugh resounded in the air she knew Tessa had told him about what had happened at school. After his dark mood, the happy sound was a revelation.

CHAPTER SIX (#u9c8600ad-2cdd-5907-993a-0890cfd66ca8)

RICK WALKED TESSA back to the kitchen and beckoned to Andrea from the doorway. “Sharon? Benton just arrived. The three of us will be in the den until dinner.”

She nodded. “Tessa’s going to help me grate the cheese.”

“Hurry, Daddy.”

“We won’t be long,” he promised.

When they reached the hallway, Rick pressed a swift kiss to Andrea’s unsuspecting lips. “I’m in agony waiting to be alone with you, but Benton wants to talk to you first.”

She blinked. “Why?”

“I’d rather he told you. While you were driving over here, I phoned him and told him about Chase. He said he’d be right over.”

When they walked into the den, Benton greeted Andrea and told her to sit down. Rick sat in the chair next to her. “I’m glad you came so quickly. As Rick has indicated to you before today, someone has deliberately been setting fires in the downtown area. We suspect Chase Hayward is responsible.”

A gasp escaped her throat. Her anxious eyes searched Rick’s. “You think our shop is next?”

“Since he saw you in my hospital room and found out it’s your shop, I’m positive.”

Benton nodded. “I’ve been on the phone with your mother. At this point she’s very concerned, especially for you.”

“That shop has been in the family for years. I had no idea you’d been talking to her.”

Benton cocked his head. “It pleased Hayward to find out Rick had been injured in the fire. That’s why he came to the E.R. He needed to inspect the damage. That’s what arsonists do. But he failed to snuff him out, so he’s unlikely to quit.”

Andrea lost color. “That’s so sick.”

“You’re right. When he set the art-gallery fire, he would have cased the outside of the buildings, front and back, on the street. This afternoon he cased the downstairs of your shop. By now he’s done his research and has probably found out that you live upstairs. He’s probably come by Rick’s house and seen your car in the driveway.”

Rick felt her shudder, even though they weren’t touching.

“Since he visited your shop this afternoon, we’re fairly certain he would enjoy it if you got hurt—or worse—in the fire he plans to set. It would be his ultimate revenge against Rick.”

Her head jerked in Rick’s direction. “That’s horrifying. How have you stood working around someone that mental?”

Rick reached out to give her arm a reassuring squeeze. “As I told you earlier, we don’t bump into each other that often. But the point is, nothing’s going to happen to you or your mother. I swear it.”

“I know that.”

Benton said, “We’ve set up a sting operation using help from the parcel service that delivers freight to you. If Hayward doesn’t start a fire tonight, then we’ll have a trap set for tomorrow night or any night in the near future. With your cooperation, we’ll catch him.”

“We want to help!” she assured him. “I can’t bear for that man to destroy more businesses and lives.”

“Amen,” Rick muttered.

“Naturally we hope he’ll show up tonight. Of course you won’t be there. But if he decides to wait until another night, here’s the plan. In the morning we want you and your mother to drive to work together. While she’s out on the floor, we’d like you to answer the buzzer. One of my men will come to your back door disguised as a parcel service employee. He’ll bring in the freight.

“Once inside, he’ll take off his uniform and you’ll put it on. He’ll be wearing a wool hat. It’s the key. Make sure none of your hair is showing. While your mom shows him upstairs, you’ll hurry out to the truck and the driver will take you to an undisclosed location, where one of our men will drive you to your mother’s house. We already have police surveillance on your mother’s home 24/7 to keep both of you safe.”

Rick could feel her trembling. Just when he felt he’d been making real progress with her and Tessa, Hayward had chosen this moment to get his revenge. Rick hated it that because of his association with Andrea, she and her shop were being targeted by that maniac.

“Tomorrow your mother will work until she decides to close,” Benton explained, “then drive home to be with you. One of my men will hide in your apartment for as long as it takes to capture Hayward. In the meantime you’ll stay at your mother’s and the two of you will continue doing business as usual. Do you think you can handle this?”

Andrea nodded.

“Good.” He got up from the table. “Sorry this is such an ugly business, but it should be over soon.”

“Stay in here, Andrea,” Rick whispered before he walked Benton to the front door. The second he left, Rick returned to the den and found her with her head buried in her hands.

He knelt and covered her hands with his own. “Andrea...I know this terrifies you.”

Slowly she lifted a tearstained face. “I have to admit I don’t like the idea of Mom being involved. If anything happened to her, I don’t know what I’d do.”

Rick kissed her wet cheeks. “I promise that neither you nor your mother will get hurt. I swear it.”

“I believe in you.” Her voice trembled. “That’s part of what’s wrong. Chase is after you. It’s horrible and so strange because it’s one nightmare I hadn’t thought of.”

“What do you mean?”

Andrea wiped her eyes and sat all the way up. In the soft light of the room her hair fell in waves around her shoulders like spun gold. The contrast with her brilliant blue eyes set in an oval face was stunning. His gaze traveled to the passionate curve of her mouth. He could never get enough of it, not in a lifetime.

“I don’t know where to start.”

He shook his head. “You puzzle me, Andrea. I never know where I am with you. How about a little honesty over what is really going on with you? I take it you were very much in love with your husband.”

“Yes.”

“So was I with my wife. Meeting you has come as a shock. I’m feeling and thinking things I never expected to experience again. I can see it’s the same for you.”

“You know it is.” She half moaned the words. “It seems way too soon to experience emotions this strong.”

“Is guilt the reason you keep pulling away?”

“No,” she answered truthfully. “Like you, I’m overwhelmed with feelings I thought had died with Gunter. But you have a child and I don’t want to hurt her. She’s too important.”