Second Chance Christmas

Dating him had been like a cruel vaccine. He’d done so much damage the first time around that now she was immune.

* * *

JUSTIN HAD ALWAYS been fond of Kaylee Truitt. Yet he couldn’t help wishing that Elisabeth and her mother would finish their discussion and rescue him. The pixie-faced girl with her corkscrew curls and glittery purple sweatshirt looked harmless, but she had an uncanny knack for mixing the trivial and the tragic, always finding the cracks in his armor.

She’d gone from telling him why the orange crayon at school was better than the blue one to demanding to know why he hadn’t come over to play since she’d moved to Cielo Peak. Feeling like slime, he’d stammered something about being busy and recently becoming an uncle, relieved when she moved on to asking if he’d ever eaten squid and if he knew the difference between squid and octopus.

Then she looked him square in the eye and asked, “Do you think Santa can do anything to bring my mom back?”

His lungs burned with the sudden difficulty of breathing, and his arms squeezed around her in a quick, reflexive hug. “No. I’m sorry, kiddo, but not even the big guy from the North Pole can help you with this one.” He was jolted through time to that first December without his mom. That year, he’d been ashamed of every toy he’d ever asked for—none of them mattered. He would’ve given up toys and video games and candy for the rest of his life to have her back.

“I’m sorry about your mother.” He touched his forehead to Kaylee’s. “Mine’s gone, too, and I miss her. But your mom knew that Beth—Elisabeth—is going to take really good care of you. And that Elisabeth loves you. Just remember you’re not alone, okay?”

The damp sparkle in her eyes was like a punch in the stomach. Don’t cry, kid. He didn’t think he could take it.

He began babbling, trying to stave off her tears. “It’s not just Elisabeth who loves you but her whole family. Her parents, the employees here at the lodge, your crazy aunt Lina. And I hear your family’s going to get bigger soon, when Elisabeth gets married. I bet you’ll have a really pretty dress to wear to the ceremony.”

Kaylee wrinkled her nose. “She’s marrying Steven. He doesn’t like me.”

“What? That can’t be true.” He pulled back to study her expression and gauge her sincerity.

“We stayed at his house, but he didn’t want to play with me. He worked on his computer the whole time. He wouldn’t even stop to watch SpongeBob.”

“Maybe he likes you just fine, but he doesn’t like SpongeBob.” What the heck was taking Elisabeth so long? He wasn’t qualified as a family counselor. “Try other cartoons. Give him some, er, Bugs Bunny DVDs for Christmas.” Did kids still know who Bugs Bunny was?

“Christmas presents go under the tree. We don’t have a tree.” Her tone vibrated with anxiety, and her lower lip trembled. “Does that mean I don’t get any presents?”

“Hey, no worries. You’ll have presents,” he assured her. “There’s plenty of time to get a tree. I haven’t picked mine out, either.” No point in telling her that he never bothered with one.

“Picked what out?” Elisabeth asked suspiciously as if he might be plotting with a six-year-old behind her back. He was so relieved by her return that he wasn’t even offended.

“Christmas trees,” Kaylee answered. “Can we get one today? Justin can go with us!”

“Actually, kiddo, I have to get back to work.” He tried to sound chagrined instead of eager to be rid of her. “Trails to groom, conditions to check, people to save.”

A waitress arrived with plates of food, and Kaylee groaned that she was staaarving. Did that mean the little girl and Elisabeth’s mother would be joining them? If so, the already strained level of awkwardness for this lunch date was about to rocket to mythic proportions.

Patti, who seemed even less happy to see him than the hostile restaurant manager, held out a hand to her granddaughter. “How about we visit Chef Bates and see what he can whip up for you?”

That brightened Kaylee’s expression. She lowered herself from Justin’s lap but paused to pin Elisabeth with an impatient glare. “When are we gonna get a tree?”

“How about tomorrow? I have to work until at least three, but we could go after that. And since Steven gets here tonight, he can come with us. Won’t that be nice?”

Kaylee grimaced.

“Let’s get you some food,” Patti intervened. “Being hungry makes us cranky.”

Justin watched them go, then turned back to Elisabeth. “She doesn’t seem too enthusiastic about a new stepfather.”

Emotion flared in her clear green eyes. She looked as if she wanted to argue or tell him to mind his own business, but her composure won out. “It will be an adjustment,” she admitted calmly. “We’ll get through it together. That’s what families do.”

Her statement struck a chord with him. How would he and Arden and Colin have coped without each other? And how would Justin manage when both his siblings were gone? An unfamiliar sensation speared him, and it took a moment to identify the pang as loneliness. Ridiculous. Between buddies and beautiful women, Justin was never alone.

He poked at his food. “You mentioned last night that you had something to discuss?”

She nodded. “With Steven in town this weekend, we have a small window of opportunity for engagement pictures. And I was wondering...would it be weird for you if I hired Arden? I was thinking she might be a good candidate for the wedding if she’s not already booked that weekend.”

“She’s a great candidate,” he said loyally. “Her work is terrific.”

“So it won’t bother you at all?” she prodded.

“Why should it?”

Her lips compressed into a thin line. “Right. Silly of me to think it might.” She set down her fork. “I know I said you could have thirty minutes, but Mom alerted me to a guest problem that needs to be addressed. Since we’ve concluded our business here...”

“Don’t let me keep you.” He stood, reaching for his wallet. “I should get going, too.” His obligation to Lina was fulfilled. He’d given Elisabeth his unsolicited opinion on raising a child, and now he wanted to get out of here before the tension between them got any worse. Or Kaylee had a chance to ask him any more difficult questions like why he wasn’t her friend anymore.

Elisabeth shook her head when he pulled cash out of his billfold. “You don’t have to pay for this.”

Oh, but he already was. He followed her back to the lobby, trying not to notice the flattering way her jeans hugged her butt. In the past five months, he’d almost forgotten how fascinated he’d been with her composed nature, how he delighted in the challenge of getting her to open up to him. She was so cool and calm that every time she revealed an emotion—whether anger or laughter or something more vulnerable—had been like a victory. It had become addictive, helping her cultivate her responsive side and knowing he was one of the lucky few to glimpse it.