Bride Under the Mistletoe: The Magic of a Family Christmas

“Then what?”

“Kids at school.”

“Are the kids at school bothering you?”

He shrugged again. “Some.”

“Just some?”

“Just one.”

“Who is that?”

“Freddie.”

“Is he hurting you?”

“No. He just told me I was an organ and nobody wanted me.”

Not feeling the need to tell him organ was probably orphan, Cullen reached over and hugged Harry, then drew him onto his lap. “Wendy wants you so much that she was willing to go to court for you. Why do you think Randy Zamias gives your mom so much trouble?”

Standing just outside the doorway, Wendy leaned against the wall. She wondered if Cullen had slipped up in calling her Harry’s mom, but doubted it. He was a very smart guy. He realized Harry needed reassurance, continuity and he was giving it to him in the most subtle way.

Harry twisted to look up into Cullen’s face. “Because he wants me?”

“No. Because he needed to be sure the right person has you.”

Running the car up his pajama-clad thigh, Harry said, “Did kids tease you when you were in school?”

Watching Cullen’s facial features harden, Wendy’s brow furrowed. She’d never considered what it might have been like for him to live in the town where his dad’s grandparents started the company that provided jobs for nearly everyone in town and his mom was the president who ran it. But it must not have been a joyful experience. Otherwise, his expression wouldn’t have gone from sympathetic to hard in an automatic reaction he hadn’t had time to stop.

Thinking back to his first day at the plant, she remembered that he wouldn’t go onto the plant floor without introductions and none of the employees had treated him normally. Men had grunted hellos. Women had giggled.

Wendy had treated him normally, but only because he’d stayed at her house the night of the ice storm. And she wasn’t from Barrington. She’d only moved here four years ago. She had no idea how he’d been treated as a child.

“Yes, kids teased me. But not for the reasons you think. My mom was sort of everybody’s boss. When I got into third grade, the kids thought it would be cool to hit me and stuff.”

Wendy smiled at the way he brought the language of his conversation to Harry’s level.

“Our neighbor down the street, my dad’s partner in the candy store, waited for me one day after school and set them straight.”

Harry’s eyes widened. “He did?”

“Yep. He handed me a brand-new ball and bat, with nine mitts. Enough for an entire team.”

“Wow.”

“Then he told the kids who’d gathered around us that if we wanted to become a Little League team he would coach us.”

“Wow.”

Cullen laughed. “He’d coached his own kids, but they’d outgrown Little League and he hadn’t.”

Wendy tilted her head to the side as a clear image of that day formed in her head. She could see eight-year-old Cullen being teased and tormented, and a family friend stepping in to help him because apparently neither of his parents had noticed.

A shudder of sadness passed through her. He’d been as alone as Harry. But he probably hadn’t been an easy mark. She couldn’t imagine that even as a child he’d let anybody push him around, but she also knew most children weren’t equipped to defend themselves against a gang.

A sudden realization swamped her. He’d spent most of his life in this town alone, a child constantly being forced to prove himself. Only she had treated him normally. Until Friday night when he had asked about her husband and tried to kiss her a second time, then everything had changed. She’d put her back up and refused to talk, wanting to protect herself. But even though she had explained that, she had nonetheless become another person from Barrington who treated him coolly. Then she’d made the ultimate mistake by accusing him of trying to buy her. Lord, could she have been any more wrong?

Harry shook his head. “Freddie already has a mitt.”

“And you don’t need to buy gifts to make friends. You said only he teases you. do the other kids like you?”

He nodded.

“Then you’re just going to have to ignore Freddie.”

Glad he hadn’t told Harry to punch Freddie, Wendy breathed a sigh of relief. Fighting wasn’t the answer. But she also wouldn’t let Freddie get off scot-free. She’d have a discussion with the principal in the morning.

Harry began rolling the little car along his thigh again. “Do you miss your mom?”

“Sure. But not the same way you do. I don’t need my mom to take care of me. You do. So part of what you feel is fear. Especially fear of being alone.”

He nodded.

“Wendy’s not going to leave you alone. All you have to do is believe in her.”

Harry looked up. His blue eyes connected with Cullen’s dark ones. The trust that Wendy saw in them nearly stole her breath. “Okay.”

“And any time you get afraid, I want you to call me.”

“Okay.”

“In fact,” Cullen said, reaching over, opening the bedside-table drawer and retrieving a pen and a little tablet. “This is my cell phone number.”

Harry grinned. “You have a cell phone? Jimmy Johnson has a cell phone.”

He placed the tablet and pen on the bedside table. “Well, now you have my number.You can call me any time. Day or night.”

They were quiet for several seconds before Cullen said, “Do you think you can sleep now?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll tuck you in.”

Rather than laying him down, Cullen switched the mood of their discussion by tossing Harry to the bed. The little boy landed in the middle, his head slightly askew on the pillow. He giggled then said, “Thanks, Cullen.”

“Hey, any time.”