Island Christmas (7 page)

Thanksgiving morning Chris knocked on Rachel’s
front door. He hadn’t seen much of her since he’d been busy working and dealing with house stuff. He would close on the two-story in two weeks.

“You’re here!” Rachel moved aside. “Thanks for coming a little early. I have turkey in the fridge along with all the trimmings. All you do is reheat and eat.”

“Whoa. Slow down, Rachel.”

She stopped and turned, her brows bunched in obvious confusion. “What?”

“I’m fine. And Happy Thanksgiving.”

A slow grin raised her mouth. “Sorry. I’m in sonic speed mode trying to get everything done before I have to leave.”

“What can I do to help?”

“Watch the parade with Jason.”

Her son lay on his belly on top of an oversized red and brown ottoman, resting his chin on his hands. He rolled over. “Hi, Chris!”

Chris sat on the couch facing the television. “Hey there, buddy. How’re you doing?”

“Grrr-ate! Mommy made Thanksgiving for us. I can’t wait! We had it at Zoe and Nick’s too.” He patted his stomach. “Mommy says I’m going to turn into stuffing.” He giggled.

Chris glanced toward the hall where Rachel had disappeared. “It sounds like your mom has been very busy. Have you been a good helper?”

“Yep. I tore bread for dressing, and I helped make pumpkin pie.”

“My favorite.”

Rachel rushed into the room. “Chris, will you come into the kitchen for a minute? I have things to go over with you.”

“Sure. Be right back, buddy.”

Jason nodded and resumed his position watching the parade.

“What’s up?”

She handed him a piece of paper. “If you have an emergency, here’s my cell number and the restaurant’s number in case you can’t reach me. Like I said, all the food is in the fridge. Help yourself to whatever you want. Jason should be in bed by eight and no later. He will try to talk you into letting him stay up, but don’t.” She relayed the instructions to him then paused, tapping her list with a pen. “I feel like I’m forgetting something.”

“Relax, Rachel. I’ve got this. Jason and I are going to have a great day.”

“Oh, I know what it is.” She lowered her voice and leaned close. “He’s regressed with potty training. You’ll have to remind him every hour to go to the bathroom.”

“Every hour?”

“Yes. Unless you want to risk an accident.”

He raised his hand. “No, ma’am. Every hour it is.”

“Good. I can’t thank you enough for today.”

He placed a hand on each of her shoulders. “Look at me, Rachel.”

Her gaze darted to his and locked. She was wound up as tight as a toy soldier.

“Breathe. Everything will be okay. Jason and I get along very well, and I’ve been looking forward to this day all week.”

She visibly relaxed and chuckled. “You’ve probably been dreaming about watching football.”

He grinned and released her arms. “As a matter of fact, I have.”

She took a breath and let it out in a short puff. “Okay. I trust you. And I know Jason is excited to have you here. But promise me you’ll call if there is a problem.”

“Promise.”

She hugged him then launched into the family room. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever get used to her hugs, but clearly she didn’t mean anything romantic by them. In a funny way, she reminded him of the character who played Abby on NCIS when it came to hugging.

Rachel planted a kiss on her son’s head, mouthed thank you to Chris, then darted out the door. Hopefully she’d calm down, or he might be making another trip to the hospital to pick her up.

He sat back on the couch and looked around. She’d done a nice job creating a homey environment for herself and her son. The two-tone couch and love seat had a leather base with red cushions. The area rug was a neutral shade with pops of red, and the TV, though on the small side, fit the space nicely. He leaned back with his fingers laced behind his head and propped his feet on the ottoman.

Jason lifted his head and looked at him. “Can we get a tree today?”

“A Christmas tree?” It looked like the parade had put the boy in the holiday spirit.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t think so, little dude. Your mom will want to do that with you.”

“We surprise her.” Jason looked at him with puppy dog eyes. He was good at this begging thing.

“Are you getting hungry?” Maybe distraction would work.

The boy hopped off the ottoman and ran to the kitchen. “Cookies!”

He chuckled and followed slowly. This day was going to be a lot longer than he’d imagined. A clunking sound from the back of the house drew his attention. “Hold on a second, Jason.” He left the boy alone and moved toward the back of the house.

The clunking got louder, then a scream inside the house rang out.

Rachel julienned a red
pepper. So far things were going well. Her co-workers were in a good mood and the vibe in the kitchen was pleasant. After her rocky first night, she had wondered if she’d made a mistake taking this job, but now she knew it was where she belonged.

Piper walked into the kitchen holding a phone to her ear, an expression of concern on her face. She looked around the room and her gaze landed on Rachel.

Rachel’s stomach flipped, and her heart thudded. “What’s wrong?” She put down the knife she’d been using and rushed to Piper. “Is it Jason?”

She pulled it away and covered the receiver with her hand. “No, it’s Chris. He needs to talk with you. You may want to take this someplace more private.” Piper thrust the phone into her outstretched hand.

Alarm shot through her, and her feet felt like lead. “Chris, it’s Rachel. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing too serious, but I’m at the hospital with Jason.”

“What?”

The sounds of the kitchen faded. Everyone stared at her. She lowered her voice and moved into the walk-in pantry, shutting the door behind her. “What happened and who is hurt? You or Jason?”

“It’s Jason. He fell off the kitchen counter and hurt his arm.”

She closed her eyes telling herself not to overreact.
Breathe in and out
. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Okay, but for now I need you to talk with someone here and tell them it’s okay to treat Jason. Since his injury is not life threatening, they need your permission.”

“Pass the phone over, then I want to talk with you, so don’t hang up.” She couldn’t believe this was happening. She should have known better than to leave her son with a man. She gave her permission for Jason to be treated, then Chris’s voice came back on the line. “What happened?”

A knock sounded on the pantry door. She poked her head out. Piper stood there. “I’m really sorry, but I need my phone back.”

“Oh.” Of course Piper would need her phone. It’s how everyone at the resort reached her, and she was tying up the line. “Chris, I’ll need to call you back.”

“Okay. I tried your cell phone first, so you have my number.”

“Thanks.” She pressed the end button and walked back into the kitchen. All eyes were trained on her. She returned the phone to Piper. “Sorry about that.”

“It wasn’t a problem. Will your son be okay?” Piper asked. Concern clouded her eyes.

“I think so. I still don’t know what happened. I had to give the hospital permission to treat him.” She walked over to Zoe. “Can I take a break and call Chris back, so I know what’s going on?”

“Of course. Do you need to go to the hospital?”

“I’d like to, but how will you manage here?”

“We will all work a little faster until you return.”

“Okay. I’ll hurry.” Rather than waste time calling Chris back, she grabbed her purse and fled out the back door that led to employee parking. Going to the hospital was becoming way too common an occurrence. She sped along the near empty road to the hospital, parked and ran inside. She looked around the room and spotted the receptionist. “Excuse me, my son is here. May I join him?”

“Of course. Who is your son?”

She told her, and a moment later the woman clicked something that allowed the door to the treatment area to open. “Thank you.” She rushed through the doorway and immediately heard her son. Following his voice she found him behind the first curtain. “Hey, buddy.”

He sat on the exam table holding an ice pack on his arm. His puffy red eyes spoke volumes. She went to him and rubbed his back. “What happened?”

“I wanted a cookie and fell.”

She looked at Chris for an explanation.

“We were in the kitchen and going to get a snack when I heard a clunking sound at the back of the house.”

Water pipes
. Those things were awful. If she’d known the racket they made, she never would have signed the lease.

“I was only gone a minute, and the next thing I know, Jason screams. He’d climbed on to the counter and slipped, landing on his arm.”

Her heart rate finally began to slow, and she realized her legs shook. She turned to her son. “I’ve told you not to climb onto the counter because you could fall and get hurt.”

Jason’s eyes watered. “I sorry.” Silent tears streamed down his face, breaking her heart.

“Me too, buddy.” She wanted to hug him, but didn’t want to cause him pain. She continued to rub his back, swallowing her own tears. “I’m sorry about this Chris. You’ll never want to babysit again.”

He shrugged, clearly too polite to deny the truth.

The curtain slid open, and a man wearing scrubs walked in. “Ms. Narrelli?”

“Yes.” She nodded.

“The business office asked me to make sure you filled out this paperwork. We already have you in our records but must have the part regarding your son filled out.”

“Of course. Thank you.” She took the pen he offered and sat down. Her hand shook as she filled in the form then signed a shaky version of her signature.

Jason rested on the exam bed quietly and watched the TV that had been tuned into the football game. She glanced at Chris and noted his eyes were glued to the screen. At least he hadn’t missed all of his game.

Jason seemed content as long as he sat still. “How you doing, Jasie?”

“Okay. My arm hurts.” Crocodile tears slipped down his cheek causing her own eyes to water. She blinked away the threatening tears and cleared her throat.

Glancing at her watch, she sighed. A good thirty minutes had passed watching the game with the guys and waiting for a doctor, but she couldn’t wait any longer. Zoe expected her to return to the restaurant. “The restaurant is expected to be super busy today, and I need to go back to work. Will the two of you be okay together?” She looked at Chris, who nodded, then Jason, who did as well.

“Thank you for being such a big boy, Jason. Please listen to Chris today and no more climbing onto counters.” She brushed the hair off his forehead and gave him a kiss. “Will you call me when you know if it’s broken or not?” Although from looking at it, she highly doubted he had broken his arm. She suspected a sprain at the most.

“Of course. You can’t stay a little longer?” Chris asked.

She checked the time again. “If I hadn’t gotten off to such a rocky start at the restaurant, I wouldn’t go back.” It was clear Jason was comfortable with Chris. “How long do you think it will take?”

“The nurse said an orderly will be coming in soon to take him to x-ray.”

She nodded. “Don’t leave him, Chris. Please go with him to x-ray.”

“I will.”

“Thanks. I owe you.” She moved to pass him so she could exit the cubicle, but he caught her hand.

“He’s going to be okay.” Chris’s intense eyes held a promise of hope.

“I know. Or I wouldn’t leave. Even if it meant losing my job. Thank you for being here with him.”

He nodded and released her hand.

An orderly came in wearing a big smile. “You must be Jason.” The woman who looked to be in her fifties spoke gently to her son. “How would you like to go for a ride in this wheelchair?”

Jason’s eyes brightened, and he nodded.