Her Baby's First Christmas

“MICHAEL says you’re as trustworthy as the three wise men.”

“Great. Let’s go.” Jared grabbed her suitcase, cooler and diaper bag and led her to the bench where he’d left the baby carrier. She laid Molly inside, but he didn’t even pause. He walked outside without her. She finished settling Molly, exited the bus terminal and saw him standing at the SUV, stashing her belongings in the rear compartment.

At his car, she opened the back door to install the baby carrier and Jared was suddenly at her side. “Here, let me.”

He reached for the seat belt at the same time Elise did. Their shoulders brushed then their arms, and then their fingers. A jolt of electricity sizzled through Elise. She froze, but so did Jared. He turned his head slightly to the right, catching her gaze with his serious gray eyes.

She didn’t even react. Jared was a very handsome, sexy guy. Of course, she was attracted to him. But she wasn’t going to do anything about it. And neither was he. She might be more “his type” than he let on, but he clearly didn’t want anything to do with her. And that was much, much better for two people about to spend several days in each other’s company, than giving in to a meaningless attraction.

She held his gaze blandly, as if what they’d felt meant nothing. His steely-gray eyes probed hers for another second or two then he turned away. Her breath streamed out of her lungs in a quiet swoosh of relief.

Once Molly was strapped in, Jared slammed the door, pulled open the passenger door for Elise and rounded the hood. As he slid behind the steering wheel, Elise buckled her seat belt. He started the car, and without a word they began their trip.

It didn’t take long to get onto a highway. California was riddled with them. But when he turned onto Route 5 north, Elise frowned.

“Why aren’t we going east?”

“Five takes us to Route 80, which will take me the entire way to New York City. If I’m remembering correctly you can ride with me as far as Pennsylvania and get a bus south.”

“Okay.” She didn’t know a lot about the road systems, but it seemed he did. “Sounds great.”

With the directions out of the way and Molly happily occupied in the backseat, the only sound in the SUV was the faint thwap of the windshield wipers. Jared shifted on his seat as if as uneasy as she was. But she didn’t think he was antsy because of the silence. A man who never even said hello while standing with her waiting for the elevator was probably more afraid that she would talk than she wouldn’t. So she said nothing, respecting his right to keep to himself.

They drove about twenty miles before the rain slowed to a drizzle. Jared flicked a switch and the low thwap, thwap, thwap of the wiper blades slowed, too, making the quiet in the car even more pronounced. Molly woke the second the sound changed, as if the comforting rhythm had soothed her and, without it, she couldn’t sleep.

Hearing her stir, Elise twisted on the seat to face her daughter. Though Molly was lying facing the back of the SUV, a mirror not only caught her reflection, but it also caught Elise’s for the baby. Molly glanced around as if disoriented, then screamed like a banshee.

“Hey, Molly. Hey, baby,” Elise crooned. “See. Your mama’s here. There’s no reason to cry.”

Molly stretched out her little arms to Elise’s reflection in the mirror, her cries echoing through the vehicle.

“We’re going to have to stop to feed her.”

“Stop?”

“Just pull to the side of the road. It only takes her five minutes to eat.”

He sighed. “Right.” But he pulled off the road.

He pulled off the road and, not wanting to annoy him or waste any time, she raced to the back of the SUV, got a bottle from the cooler, retrieved Molly from the car seat and quickly fed her, then burped her. Normally she would have spent a few extra minutes playing with her and talking to her, but wanting to keep the peace, she put Molly back into her seat, stowed the bottle in the little cooler and returned to the passenger side.

Jared immediately got them back on the road. “So how often does she need feeding?”

Elise winced. “Every three or four hours.”

“Do I have to watch the clock?”

Elise laughed. “No. Molly will remind us when she’s hungry.”

Jared didn’t reply. The song that had been playing softly in the background from the radio he’d turned on while she fed Molly suddenly became static as if they’d driven out of range of the station.

“I’ll find another channel.”

“Great.”

Elise set the dial for a country station, but rather than the twang of a country song, the joyful strains of Christmas carols filled the car. Jared reached down, pressed a button and soft rock poured from the speakers.

No surprise there. She’d already figured out he didn’t like Christmas.

He had lots of money but wasn’t happy, and he didn’t want to go home for Christmas but he had to. There was so much more to this man than met the eye, but Elise had no intention of probing. She had her own troubles to deal with. Getting to North Carolina three days sooner meant she’d get to Four Corners three days sooner. And she had no idea what kind of reception she’d get.

Had her grandmother ever mentioned her to people? Did anyone even know she existed? And why did her grandmother leave her the house when her father should have been the one to inherit it?

For all she knew her father could have had a falling out with his mother and she could be walking into the aftermath of that. Plus, he could have other children. She could have half brothers and sisters. Some might even live in Four Corners. Once they heard who inherited their grandmother’s property, they might also be angry about her being the one to get the farm.

Of course, they might welcome her into the family.

She squeezed her eyes shut. Hoping for that was just wrong. Not because it wasn’t in the realm of possibility, but because if she let herself believe it, she could end up hurt. And she’d had enough hurt in her life. Her dad had left. Her mom had died the summer after Elise graduated from high school. Patrick hadn’t wanted her. Or their baby.

So, no. She couldn’t handle any more disappointment and she wouldn’t hope for things that were at best wishful thinking.

She drew a breath, tried to shake off the fantasy that she might have family who wanted her, but it wouldn’t go away. She saw holiday celebrations in her head, gifts to buy and get from people who loved her, and maybe even Christmas morning at a home filled with love and laughter.

Of course, she could also spend Christmas morning listening to somebody scream at her that she didn’t deserve their grandmother’s land.

Hating her thoughts, she squelched a sigh. She’d managed not to think about any of this for the past month. But the silent car provided too much opportunity for her mind to feed her fears and her fantasies.

“How long do you think this trip will take?”

Jared flexed his hands on the steering wheel. “If I drive fast it’s four days. Normal speed it’s five.”

Four or five days until she faced her future. Maybe even her father. Maybe even a family.

Her stomach quaked. It seemed too soon. Yet four days was also a bit too long to sit in a silent car bouncing between fear and wishes.

At noon, Jared’s stomach growled and he took an exit ramp off the highway, suggesting they eat lunch. They ate an uneventful hamburger and fries in a fast food restaurant, and then got back on the road. Molly fell asleep almost instantly and Jared let the country music channel Elise had found fill the silent air.

At six o’clock, stiff from driving, he turned to Elise. “What do you say we stop for the night?”

She glanced up at the highway sign. “This is it? This is all the farther we’re going? We’re not even out of Nevada.”

Ignoring her protest, he said, “Watch the road signs. We’ll take the exit with the first hotel.”

“But it’s only six o’clock.”

“And my back is stiff.”

“I can drive.”