Meet Me Under The Mistletoe (O'Rourke Family 5) (5 page)

He leaned over his son. “It’s time to go,” he murmured.

Jeremy snuggled deeper into the pillow, so Alex lifted him in his arms.

“No, Daddy,” came a sleepy murmur. “Wanna stay with Shannon.”

Considering the magical toy train and marvelous Christmas tree, he wasn’t surprised by Jeremy’s response, yet a piercing ache went through Alex. He’d tried to get Jeremy interested in buying a tree, but his son had just sighed and said it wouldn’t be like Shannon’s. How a child could fall madly in love with someone in such a short time was beyond comprehension.

Shannon followed them to the door with Jeremy’s jacket, and when Alex turned to say goodnight, he caught the faint scent of her perfume.

God, she smelled good.

He stared into her green eyes and felt unwelcome sensations,
sensations that reminded him he was still alive, even if his wife was gone.

“Er…thanks again. For everything,” he muttered, taking the jacket and tucking it around his son.

Without another word he opened the door and left before he could do something he’d regret.

“I
don’t wanna babysitter,” Jeremy declared, his small chin setting stubbornly.

Alex sighed. “We need someone for a few days. You can’t go to day-care until we’re sure you don’t have strep throat.”

“Not going back there, either. I want Shannon.”

Blast
.

Alex rubbed at his temples. He’d sat at Jeremy’s bedside most of the night, watching him breathe, gauging how sick he was getting. He’d enjoyed few restful nights since losing Kim, but it was his child’s health that robbed him of sleep now.

He’d do anything for his son.

Did “anything” include Shannon O’Rourke?

Alex had cashed in her offer of help once already, but she handled Jeremy so well. By contrast, Jeremy was still convinced the day-care center meant Mr. Tibbles harm by trying to “poke” the rabbit with a needle.

“
Pleeeze
, Daddy. Mr. Tibbles likes Shannon.”

The heartfelt plea was more than Alex could withstand. “All right, I’ll talk to her,” he said.

Feeling as if he was caught in a quagmire that was pulling him down no matter how hard he tried to escape it, Alex stepped outside and knocked on Shannon’s door. He’d heard a few sounds from her side of their shared wall earlier that morning, so he figured she was awake.

When the door opened and he saw her, looking bright and beautiful as a new penny, he felt old and tired in comparison. For nearly a year he’d struggled, trying to make sense of his life and figure out how to be a father to a withdrawn, grieving child. Now Shannon had dropped into the picture, and she was like a forbidden Christmas ornament dangling from a branch, just beyond reach.

She represented a sweet escape from the struggle, but escape wasn’t possible. He could only endure.

“Is Jeremy all right?” Shannon asked.

“Yeah. He’s sniffling and has a sore throat, but it seems to be just a cold like you thought. The thing is, there’s a lot of strep throat going around, and the day-care center wants me to wait a couple of days to rule it out before bringing him back. I do have a babysitter I could call, but Jeremy’s being difficult and I—”

“If you want to know if I’ll take care of him, the answer is yes,” she said.

“Are you sure you don’t mind? Watching a sick kid is a lousy way to use a vacation day. And there’s more chance you’ll catch his bug.”

“I’m sure. Besides, I never get sick,” Shannon said, at the same minute her brain was screaming in pure panic.
Taking care of a little boy for a whole day was a much bigger step than watching him for a couple of hours.

“That’s great.” Alex sounded as if he wasn’t actually sure it was great, but he was saying so because he didn’t have a choice.

His behavior irritated her. She wished she understood more about single fathers. Then she might know why Alex’s face and posture said one thing, while his voice said another. If he really didn’t want her to take care of Jeremy, why had he knocked on her door in the first place?

“I’m happy to spend the day with him,” she said firmly.

“If he was worse, I’d stay home, only with finals next week it isn’t a good time to miss class,” he said.

Alex removed a key from his key ring and handed it to her, along with a business card. “Here’s a key to my condo so you can spend the day there if you want. Feel free to use whatever you need. My office and cell phone numbers are on the card. I usually turn off the cell in class, but I’ll leave it on today.”

She glanced at the key and had a sudden burning urge to see the inside of the McKenzie household. Would it be neat? Disorganized? Would it still reflect the influence of Jeremy’s mother, who had been the homebody sort who made everything nice? A vision of lace doilies and crocheted toilet-paper-roll covers went through her head—a dizzying image in the face of Alex’s rugged masculinity.

“Er… I’ll let Jeremy take the lead,” she murmured.

Suddenly, Jeremy appeared under Alex’s elbow and smiled up tremulously. “Is it okay, Daddy?”

“Yes. Go back inside, son, where it’s warm.”

“No. Go to Shannon’s now.”

Quick as a monkey, he scooted past his daddy, and Shannon instinctively crouched to catch him in a hug.

Oh…goodness.

A warm, fuzzy sensation curled in her tummy.

She glanced up at Alex and tingles of electricity gave her a different kind of warmth. Barefoot despite the cold, clad in faded jeans and a University of Washington sweatshirt, he had just the right blend of unconscious confidence and sex appeal to make a woman weak in the knees.

“You—” Her voice cracked and she cleared it.

Alex might be yummier than a chocolate sundae, but she wasn’t interested.

Liar, screamed her conscience.

Why else would she keep from confessing that she couldn’t boil water and didn’t have a clue about kids?

Not for the first time she reminded herself that a relationship between them was doomed. He was a family man who loved primitive countries, and she was a city woman. Her idea of survival skills was knowing how to get rid of the containers that came with take-out food.

Straightening, she plastered a polite smile on her face. “Go ahead and get ready for work. Jeremy is fine here.”

“Thanks.” Alex’s blue eyes darkened and a spasm of emotion crossed his face as he looked down at his son. He still hadn’t shaved, but his shadow of a beard and rumpled appearance made him look even sexier. “I shouldn’t be too late.”

He turned and crossed their side-by-side driveways, then disappeared inside his condo.

Shannon breathed a sigh of relief and directed Jeremy into her house. The less time she spent with his daddy, the better for all of them.

After lunchtime had come and gone, Shannon was exhausted. But it wasn’t a bad exhausted. A local store had agreed to deliver groceries—including their “homemade chicken noodle soup,” guaranteed to cure colds “just like Mom’s did.” She’d only boiled a little over in the microwave while reheating it, so nothing disastrous had happened.

Afterward, Jeremy had talked her through making instant cocoa, before delightedly playing with the train again.

The doorbell rang, breaking into her thoughts, and she hurried into the other room, smiling at Jeremy who was curled up on the couch with a blanket.

He blinked sleepily at her. “S’Daddy,” he predicted.

Sure enough, Alex McKenzie waited on the step with an anxious expression in his eyes. “Is Jeremy all right?”

“He’s fine. I would have called if there was a problem.”

Part of Alex’s mind registered the annoyed tone in Shannon’s voice, but the other part appreciated the dark green dress she wore. It was made of a soft fabric that clung like a second skin, and he itched to see how it might peel away. Was she wearing underwear? There weren’t any obvious lines that—

Damn.

His thoughts were going in directions he’d sworn he wouldn’t allow them to go. Shannon was a neighbor—nothing more. It was natural that after a year of being celibate certain feelings would return. And if he felt as if he was being unfaithful to Kim, then that was something he’d have to resolve within himself.

“How did it go?” he asked as Shannon invited him inside.

“Great. We got a few of his toys and books from next
door, and we read together, stuff like that. I think he’s feeling a little better.”

“Uh-uh,” Jeremy declared immediately. “Not better. I wanna come back tomorrow.”

He let out an unconvincing cough and Alex covered a smile. Mr. Tibbles lay on the floor, over ten feet away from Jeremy, sending a surge of joy through him. After the disaster at the day-care center, he’d worried that Jeremy would be more bonded than ever to the stuffed rabbit, but everything seemed to be all right.

“Maybe Shannon can tell us how to decorate our own Christmas tree,” he said, trying to distract his determined son. “How about it, Shannon?”

Alex looked at Shannon in time to see another strange, altogether unreadable expression on her face. Honestly, how could a man have a prayer of figuring her out?

“I’ll give you mine. That’ll be easier,” she said. “And the train set, of course. That way you can have a tree right away.”

He’d expected anything from a polite “Sorry, I’m too busy,” to an enthusiastic “Yes,” but not such a generous offer.

He shook his head. “We couldn’t do that.”

“Daddy—”

“No, Jeremy, we can’t take Shannon’s tree. I know you like coming here because of the train and everything, but we have our own home.”

Shannon stayed silent, lips pressed together as Alex collected Jeremy’s things and said good-bye. Her eyes narrowed as the front door shut behind them, leaving her in silence.

I know you like coming here because of the train and everything…

Of all the insulting things to say.

Even if it was true, it was still rude. And it wasn’t only
because of the Christmas tree and train set that Jeremy liked her. He’d liked her at the post office before they’d ever been inside her condo.

Shannon marched to the phone. Her family would think she was acting like a fool, but that was just too bad. She hadn’t known what to say when Alex asked for help with a Christmas tree, so she’d panicked and offered to give them her own tree.

Now she had a plan.

“Miranda? It’s Shannon. I have another job for you,” she said when her sister answered, then settled down to explain what she wanted.

The next day, Shannon waited until after nine in the evening before carrying various boxes out of her house and stacking them near the McKenzies’ front step.

She figured Alex was still awake since he seemed to be a night person. Lately she was even more aware of sounds on the other side of their shared wall. Bathwater ran every evening around eight, followed by rustles of noise in one of the smaller bedrooms—presumably Jeremy being put to bed. Later, long after she’d gone to bed herself, she’d hear muffled thuds and bumps and the sound of a shower from the master-bedroom suite that gradually quieted. Usually after midnight.

The lights were still on downstairs, so she tapped on the door and waited, stifling a yawn. Night was not her best time; she liked mornings.

“Shannon?” Alex said, swinging the door open. “Is something wrong?”

“Of course not. I have your tree.” She motioned to the boxes her sister had brought to the condo earlier.

“What are you talking about?”

“You wanted my help with a Christmas tree, so here it is.”

Alex blinked as Shannon grabbed a carton and pushed past him into the living room. He’d spent the evening listening to Jeremy chatter about Shannon, and couldn’t he go to her home tomorrow instead of calling the babysitter again? His son had finally gone to sleep, and now here was Shannon. In the flesh, so to speak, clad in tight black jeans and a black sweater embroidered with green and silver holly leaves across the breast and all that glorious red hair…

He let out a harsh breath.

“Where do you want me?” she asked.

He thought of saying he wanted her in his king-size bed. Much as he didn’t want to deal with those kinds of feelings, apparently he didn’t have any choice. But he didn’t have to act on them. He’d always prided himself on his self-control, determined to be different from his mother and father.

“I asked for advice on decorating a tree. I never thought you’d go out and buy something. How much do I owe you?”

She shrugged, her long hair glinting like fire. “You don’t owe me anything. This is a gift.”

“I can’t accept—”

“It isn’t for you, it’s a gift for Jeremy,” she said coolly. “I’ll set it up now, so he can be surprised in the morning when he wakes up.”

She seemed edgy, as if filled with suppressed emotion, and he frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“Heavens, what could be wrong?”

Her smile, like her voice, exuded false cheerfulness. Something
was
wrong, but she wouldn’t admit it. Moreover, he had the damnedest feeling she was furious.

With him.

What had he done?

Well…he had insulted her brother and generally tried to avoid her whenever he wasn’t asking a favor, both of which were probably enough to infuriate most women. But why would she go to all this trouble if she was so mad at him?

They worked in silence, carrying boxes into the house and setting up the artificial tree.

“I prefer real evergreen, but artificial trees are safer,” Shannon said as she tugged light strings around the branches. “Especially for children,” she added. “They want the lights on all the time, which dries out a cut tree and creates a fire hazard.” She sounded as if she was repeating something from a book, or something she’d heard.

It took awhile, but gradually the tree was decorated so it resembled a child’s toyland dream. Yet several boxes still remained, and when she unpacked the first two, he saw that they contained a toy train set that was far more elaborate than the one running around the base of Shannon’s own tree.

“No,” he said quietly. “I either pay for this, or you return it to the store.”

“My brother is a generous employer. I can afford it.”

“So can I.”

“I told you before, it’s a gift.”

“Why? You hardly know us.” Alex caught Shannon’s arm and pulled her around to face him. He was stunned to see unshed tears in her deep green eyes. “What’s going on?”

“You don’t want Jeremy wanting to come see me, so obviously you have to have a better tree and train set. Then he won’t want to come over and you can pretend we never met.”

Shocked, he stared into her hurt eyes, realizing how it must have sounded to Shannon the night before when he was trying to get Jeremy to leave without fussing. He hadn’t meant to suggest his son only wanted to visit her because of her tree and train. And he never would have imagined that Shannon O’Rourke, with her carefree smile and sophistication, would take his tactless words so hard.

But he should have guessed.

She’d told him that as a child she’d locked her hurt away, keeping it hidden from the world. It was obvious that she was still hiding the wounds and hurts from view.

“I didn’t mean it, not like that,” he said helplessly. “You’ve been great to Jeremy, and he really responds to you. It’s just that we’ve been through so much and he’s so little. He doesn’t understand some things. I worry about him getting attached and hoping that something will happen between us.”