12 Christmas Romances To Melt Your Heart (19 page)

“I promise. Stealing is wrong. It doesn’t matter why. I’m sorry.”

“Does stealing hearts count?” Kathryn whispered in Spencer’s ear after sneaking up behind him. His daughter reached for him. He took her and cuddled her close on one side, and pulled his wife close to him on the other.

“He’s a pretty damn cute kid.” Spencer gave her a sideways glance. “Should I be worried?”

“I’ll let you know in a couple of years.”

He kissed the top of her head. Every day he thanked his lucky stars for reuniting him with Kathryn and starting a family. If he’d learned anything from tonight’s events, it was to live each moment like it was your last. His dad used to say a person could never look forward to the future if they couldn’t see beyond the past. Jack Allen had been a very smart man.

“What are you going to sing?” she asked as she batted those beautiful baby blues. His daughter followed suit and batted hers, too. Talk about stealing hearts. He melted as he always did around them.

“Sing?”

“You always play the piano and sing on Christmas Eve.”

“At home,” he pointed out, but it was too late. Too many had heard Kathryn’s comment.

“I didn’t know you sang.” Wayde nodded toward the door. “We have a piano downstairs.”

In no time, the party moved to the large rec room on the first floor. Spencer sat at the piano and teased the keys as he warmed up. He loved to play. He wasn’t that great of a singer, but it didn’t matter. He was surrounded by his family. For them, he’d happily perform.

“I love Christmas music,” Hunter said and sat on the bench with Spencer. For a kid with communication issues and trouble with social cues, he had no problem fitting right in with this motley crew. “Do you know the one about being together every Christmas? Can that be us?”

Spencer played the intro to
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
. Charis pulled her little sisters over to the piano. JT and Mia joined them. Even Bethany joined in as the women sang the first verse.

By the chorus, the men had joined in, some hitting the mark, but most completely off-key. They all laughed as they got the words wrong, laughed when they missed the notes, and never stopped smiling.

“And have yourself,” Spencer sang above them all. “A
Merry
little
TREXmas
now.”

“
I
f you’re looking
for non-stop, heart-racing action and sizzling romance, look no further. Allie K. Adams will take you there—and more!” –
USA Today
bestselling author Lucy Monroe

A
llie K. Adams
is the
USA Today
bestselling author of several award-winning stories. An active member of the search and rescue, as well as having previously served as a reserve deputy, Allie has firsthand experience in most of the dangers she writes about. Known for her highly thrilling, deeply intense suspense romances, she can be found most days in front of her computer, saving the world one sizzling story at a time.
She grew up in Seattle and now currently lives in southwest Montana with the hubs and various other wildlife.

B
ooks by Allie K. Adams

T
HE MURPH
& GRACE SERIES — Thriller

I Will Find You (#1)

They All Scream (#2) –
Coming soon!

T
HE TREX ADVENTURES
— Military Romantic Suspense

First Response (#1 TREX Brief)

Rescue Me (#2)

At Any Cost (#3)

TREX Boxed Set One (#1 - #3)

No Way Out (#4 TREX Brief – Special Edition)

Seek and Destroy (#5)

Under the Covers (#6)

Out of Time (#7)

It Takes Two (#8)

Merry TREXmas (#9 – Special Edition)

T
HE BRACE SERIES
—
Police
Romantic Suspense

Brace For Impact
(#1)

Brace For Contact (#2 – Part of the Protect & Serve Anthology)

T
HE CAMPUS PLAYERS
—
Sassy New Adult

Grooming the Player (#1)

Hiring the Player (#2)

Playing the Player (#3 – Part of the Playing for Passion Anthology)

K
INDLE WORLDS

A Love Once Lost (Barbara Freethy’s The Callaways)

Taking Chances, Part 1 (HM Ward’s The Arrangement)

Truth or Dare (Carly Phillips’ Dare to Love)

Turn the Page (Tiffany A. Snow’s Kathleen Turner)

Taking Chances, Part 2 (HM Ward’s The Arrangement) –
Coming soon!

T
HE ROADHOUSE SERIES
– Cowboy Romantic Suspense Serial

Riding Lessons – Masters’ Roadhouse, Part 1 (#1) –
Out Now!

Riding Double – Masters’ Roadhouse, Part 2 (#2) –
Out Now!

Riding Cowboys – Henry’s Roadhouse, Part 1 (#3)

Riding the Fence – Henry’s Roadhouse, Part 2 (#4)

Riding Bareback – Emerson’s Roadhouse, Part 1 (#5)

The Last Ride – Emerson’s Roadhouse, Part 2 (#6)

C
opyright
© 2015 by Geri Foster

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

T
homas Avery
and his wife of forty-two years sat on the couch sipping a glass of chardonnay, watching their five grown daughters decorate the Christmas tree. “I tell you,” he said, “I think it’s a great idea.”

His wife, Amanda, placed her hand on his knee, leaned over and gazed into his eyes. “You’re joking.”

Setting his glass on the coffee table, he put his arm around Amanda and pulled her close. Caressing the side of her beautiful face, he said, “It’s your entire fault. I told you I wanted a son to take over my empire.”

Known for her sense of humor, she laughed spontaneously. “I wouldn’t exactly call Avery Security Service an empire.” Tapping his chin with her manicured nail, she placed a quick kiss on his lips. “I did my best. If five girls aren’t enough then you should have married Susan Shoemaker from the third grade. She gave her husband three boys.”

Thomas turned away with a foul taste in his mouth. Susan had gone from the sweetest thing on earth to downright ugly in five years. He cleared his throat. “Yes, but she’s not my type.”

“She was when you were eight.”

“Well, every man is entitled to one mistake.” Glancing at his daughters joyfully hanging bulbs and garland on the massive tree, he smiled at the picturesque setting. Without a doubt, any moment one of them would erupt like a volcano and the fighting would begin.

“My money’s on Cynthia,” Amanda said, thoughtfully. “She walked in the door yesterday with a chip on her shoulder.”

Rubbing his chin, Thomas studied his daughters closely. “Usually it’s either Laura or Kandice. But, I think you’re right this time. The surfer gal could be the troublemaker this year.”

Their housekeeper, Bea, came in to refill their wine glasses. Afterwards she glanced toward the tree. “Nothing’s flying yet?”

“No,” Amanda said. “But it’s still early.”

Bea shook her head. “They’ve been at that for over an hour. It’s time someone kicked up a fuss.”

“Our money,” Thomas said, “is on Cynthia.”

Bea wrinkled her brow into a frown. “Not Miss Kandice? She’s usually the one who gets bored and stirs up trouble.”

Leaning back on the throw pillow, Amanda stared at the girls. “Maybe. She’s certainly the diva of the bunch, but Cynthia’s came in with a dark cloud over her head.”

The housekeeper put her hand on her hip and harrumphed. “How in the world can you tell?”

“Experience,” Amanda said. “As a mother, I can sense these things.”

“Then you’d be real smart to send her packing, right now.”

Thomas chuckled. “And miss all the fun?” He shook his head. “You have to remember, Bea. In our old age we have very little to entertain us.”

“Old my eye,” she clucked loudly, on the way out of the room. “You’re barely in your sixties.”

“Why?” Cynthia, their oldest, yelled. “How come you always have to have your way, Laura?”

Thomas turned and gave his wife a knowing smile. “Told you.”

“Let’s see who wins.”

“That’s always a toss-up, but we know who’ll settle the matter.”

“Laura.” He looked at his wife. “But lately Madelyn has become quite the mediator.”

Amanda patted his hand. “Our little librarian.” She smiled. “Let’s just hope nothing is broken when it’s over.”

Bea hurried into the room, her hand to her chest. “Miss Hanna is at the door and she’s awfully upset.”

Confidently, Thomas wiggled his brows at Amanda. “She must be irritated from dealing with last-minute shoppers.” He pushed off the couch. “I’ll help her bring the presents.”

Amanda rose gracefully, put down her wine and raised her hand. “If it’s presents, you can count me in.”

Their daughters left the decorating unfinished and rushed to meet the arrival. Amanda leaned on her husband and together they walked to the front door, opened it to find Hanna standing on the doorstep crying like a baby. All five girls surrounded their guest.

“Are the presents here?” Madelyn asked, jumping up and down, clapping her hand like a demented bunny rabbit. “Oh, I love Christmas.”

Laura stepped closer. “Are you crying, Hanna?”

“I got robbed,” the Avery Security Service secretary howled, her bottom lip trembling. She sniffed loudly. “Someone stole all the gifts I’d purchased.” She pointed to her car as if it were to blame. “I don’t know what to do.”

Amanda took the secretary by the arm and led her out of the cold Dallas weather and into the warm house. “Dear, do calm down. You poor thing, this is just terrible.” Checking her over, Amanda asked, “Are you hurt?”

“No.” Hanna sobbed like a six year old. “But a man shoved me on the ground and took all the packages.”

Thomas put his arm around the young woman and led her toward the living room. “Tell us what happened.”

Amanda handed her a tissue, and Hanna blew her nose loud enough to attract a moose. As they walked to the living room, Hanna continued wailing.

“I came out of Macy’s,” she said, swinging her arms wildly. “I’d just picked up Cynthia’s present and was making my way to the car. I got there and carefully looked around.” She nodded to him. The tassel on her knitted hat bobbled crazily. “Like you always tell me.”

“Yes, yes,” Thomas said. “Go on.”

“I didn’t see anything so I unlocked the trunk and that’s when he jumped up from the side of the car next to me. Shoved me out of the way then he and another person ran away with everything I had in the trunk.”

He’d given Hanna a week off to do the bulk of their Christmas shopping. His wife had had knee surgery several weeks ago, and they didn’t want to take the chance that she’d re-injure it.

“What mall were you at?” Kandice asked.

“The Galleria.” She sniffed. “I didn’t call the police or see any mall police. I didn’t know what to do, so I came here.”

Kandice patted her on the arm. “Sit down and have a glass of wine. Father will call Alex. He can get to work on it right away.”

Laura and Jacklyn looked at each other with obvious grins.

“Don’t call him. It’s the holiday,” Laura said. “These are our presents and in this family we take care of our own problems.” Laura waved her hand toward her sisters. “It’s no big deal.”

“Of course it is,” Thomas argued. “You’d be dealing with a thief, and God only knows what else.”

Laura looked at her siblings. “You girls up for some fun?”

Jacklyn, the New York detective, rubbed her hands together. “Oh, yeah. We’re all over this.”

The librarian of the bunch, meek little Madelyn, cracked her knuckles, making Thomas cringe. “They won’t know what hit them.”

After a quick huddle, the girls trooped upstairs like soldiers going to war. A few minutes later, Thomas was nearly knocked over when his five daughters came thundering down the stairs. They were dressed in an assortment of clothing, from sweatpants and a hoodie to an expensive jogging suit he was sure Kandice, the model, had never run in.

Thomas hurried to the door and spread out his arms, blocking the horde. “Stop right there. You will not get involved. I’ll call the police. There’s a good chance you’ll get hurt or worse.”

“Girls,” Amanda said firmly. “I forbid you from going out to hunt down criminals.”

“Oh, Father, how hard could it be?” Laura patted her huge handbag. “I have my pepper spray and a whistle.”

The five kissed their mother on the cheek then stormed out the garage door and left to hunt down those responsible for stealing their Christmas gifts.

Thomas smiled down at his wife. “They fell for it.”

Hanna ran into the kitchen. “How was I? I didn’t overdo it, did I?”

“No, no, you did just fine,” Thomas said. Although, the statement would be true only if she were starring in a comedy.

“Good. I wanted to sound convincing.” She turned. “By the way, the presents are in my trunk.”

Amanda’s frown could have caused a hardened criminal to beg for mercy. “You’ll regret this, Thomas. Those girls have no idea how to solve a crime.”

He hooked his arm through hers. “A crime wasn’t committed. They’ll spend a few hours spinning their wheels then get bored and come home.”

“That’s still a nasty trick to pull here at Christmas.”

“Well, if they’re going to inherit a security firm they need to learn a few things. Another bonus is having them occupied and not going at each other.” He folded his hands. “Maybe we’ll have a peaceful holiday for a change.”

“I can’t believe you’ve tricked them like that. You do realize they took your SUV.”

Horror wrapped Thomas’s heart up like a Christmas present. “Oh, hell no, not my baby.”

“Oh, hell yes.” Amanda smirked.