Christmas Miracle (11 page)

“Car crash. They died on impact.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, lass.”

“They had good lives,” she replied softly, clearing her throat as the lump built. Only three months had passed between her parents’ death and the Christmas that had turned into a nightmare. She pushed away those memories and focused on her parents. “They were high-school sweethearts. It was the night of their thirty-third anniversary, and my father wanted to take her to a ‘fancy and overpriced’ restaurant.”

He heard the smile in her voice and lightly traced her spine through the material of her shirt. She was silent for a few minutes, and then he heard a soft sniffle. Pulling her up slightly so that he could see her face, Cameron saw the tears in her eyes.

“Sorry,” she said, trying to smile through them. They only welled more.

“Shh, it’s okay,” he murmured, placing a kiss on her forehead, and then holding her against him. She held on to him tightly as she silently wept. All the while, he remained as receptive as possible, lightly caressing her back for comfort, and to show her that he was still there.

***

Breakfast was filled with boisterous chatter and good-natured heckling. Melanie had forgotten what it was like to sit down with a family. As the baby, Adeline got most of the heckling, but she wasn’t whiny, and easily delivered it right back at her brothers. When breakfast was finished, they made their way to the living room, where soft Christmas carols were playing. Melanie was pleasantly surprised to see that Cameron’s gifts were joined by many more from the family.

She took a seat on the couch and watched with a smile as Adeline practically rushed through opening her presents. The eighteen-year-old opened each one with her name before she stood, proceeded to beam at everyone, and then did something that was guaranteed to give her a good heckling throughout the next year, and probably for next Christmas too. She began to dance around like a six—no, four-year-old. Sebastian Sr. clapped to urge her on as his redheaded wife, Cait, tried to stop him. Aiden, Brendan, and Cameron released loud guffaws and shook their heads at each other.

When the dancing was finished, she ran over to Cameron and gave him a hug and kiss, before doing the same to everyone else. Even Melanie got a hug and a kiss. As Melanie considered the amount of brand-named bags, shoes, clothes, and jewelry the girl had gotten for Christmas, she decided that had she been an eighteen-year-old, she would have acted the same way.

Now that the “Christmas beast” was sated with presents, the other family members went under the tree to retrieve their own. Melanie couldn’t help her laughter when Cameron opened a long box and retrieved a walking stick with a Christmas bow on it.

He lifted it and smirked. “Did someone mix the two Sebastians up again?”

Everyone else but Sebastian Sr. laughed. The older man only retorted, “I may be older than the lot of you, but I’ve got a spirit younger than all of you combined.”

“You tell ’em, luv,” Cait Mackintosh replied, soothing her husband’s ego even as she winked at Cameron.

“Yeah, Da. The nametag on that gift obviously says ‘Cameron,’” Brendan added, laughing when Cameron wagged the stick at him. “Merry Christmas, big brother.”

“You are getting up in age, Cam. We just thought to show you that we recognized it.” This was from Aiden. “As Brendan said: Merry Christmas. Next year, we’re going to throw in some Rogaine.”

Covering her lips with her hand, Melanie looked at Cameron. Although he wasn’t smiling, she could see the laughter in his eyes. Cameron Mackintosh was thirty-two, nowhere near old age, so it was only understandable that he didn’t take them seriously. She watched as Cameron reached under the tree. He tossed something at Aiden, who caught it with a loud laugh. It was his present. He did the same to Brendan.

As his brothers worked at their presents, Cameron looked to her and smiled. She lowered her hand and let him see the laughter playing around her lips.

“What’s this?” Brendan exclaimed.

Aiden was overturning the box, banging on the bottom. “Why, Cameron, it seems you’ve lost your wits along with your age. It’s empty!”

“Exactly. Merry Christmas.”

Melanie giggled and shook her head, and Cameron winked at her.

“Oh, come on,” Brendan whined, and he plopped himself next to her and began to look at her with wounded puppy eyes. “See how he is, Melanie? Not even a present for his brothers. What kind of man does that to his own brother?”

She was chuckling from the moment he turned those eyes on her. And then Aiden joined her on the other side, shaking his head and adding to Brendan’s sob story. Those two were a hoot.

Cameron glared at both them.

“No one opened my presents yet!” Adeline whined.

She heard a low groan from both Brendan and Aiden, and then Brendan whispered conspiratorially, “You don’t have a present for her, do you, Mel? Tha’ way we can open her presents after lunch.”

“Sadly, no.”

“Was worth an askin’,” Aiden added, before pasting on a lovely smile and walking toward his sister. He threw an arm around her shoulders. “Show us the presents, Addy.”

Cameron filed in where Aiden had been and wrapped an arm about Melanie’s waist. She moved closer to him and even grinned when Brendan clutched his heart as if wounded.

“It’s either a scarf, gloves, mittens or hats,” Cameron said softly.

Adeline handed out the presents with a large smile on her face.

Moments later, Sebastian Sr. exclaimed, “What a lovely hat, Addy.” Followed by Cait with, “Oh, me love, these mittens are beautiful.” Followed by less than enthusiastic chimes from Brendan and Aiden, “Our hats are nice, Addy.” Cameron opened his present last, and Melanie might have laughed if he wasn’t trying so hard not to. “How did you know I wanted a scarf for Christmas, Addy?”

Happy that everyone seemed pleased with her presents, Adeline took a seat on the carpet before the tree and began trying on her new shoes.

At that time, Sebastian Sr. and Cait handed out Christmas cards to their sons. From the way Brendan’s eyes lit up, Melanie knew that they were “special” cards, of the cash or check variety. When hugs were exchanged after those, Cait stood and walked over to the tree. A lone present was off to the back, and she lifted it and walked over to Cameron.

“Merry Christmas, Melanie,” Cait said softly, handing over the present. A card with her name lay atop it.

“Thank you.” Melanie was shocked. She hadn’t expected anything.

Cait remained where she was standing and nodded encouragement to Melanie to open the gift. When Cameron tried to help, his mother swatted his hand away.

“It’s the lass’s present, not yours,” she chided like a mother hen, which she was.

Brendan guffawed, and Cameron reached behind her to playfully shove his brother.

The wrapping paper came off to reveal a large bath set, complete with two towels, body washes, body oils, lotions, soaps, and even exfoliating beads.

“Pretty,” Brendan murmured, leaning closer to her. Cameron shoved him away again, but he came back just as quickly, pointing out, “There’s a card as well.”

With slightly shaky fingers, she opened the card, which had a simple “Merry Christmas” in gold on a red background.

“Here’s a small gift, from our family to you.

Thank you for spending Christmas with us.

Merry Christmas,

—the Mackintoshes.”

Melanie handed the gift to Sebastian and stood. Unsure of how the woman would react, she stepped forward and hugged her.

“Thank you,” she murmured softly.

“Oh lassie, you’re more than welcome. We didna know what you’d like, so we chose the bath set. It’s lavender.”

She laughed softly as she pulled away from Cameron’s mother and looked around the room. They were all staring at her.

“Thank you for allowing me to spend Christmas with you.”

“You’re very welcome,” Adeline chimed in from next to the tree.

“Yea, I like you—” Brendan began only to stop short after looking at Cameron. He added slowly, “—in a strictly platonic way. My brother’s a right jealous basta—
ow
!”

She looked back to find Brendan shaking his hand quickly, as if someone had done something to it. When she turned her attention to Cameron, he was grinning from ear to ear. When she looked up, Sebastian Sr. was standing before her, blue eyes dancing merrily. He pulled her into a bear hug while wishing her a Merry Christmas and saying something about how she was a “right pretty lass.” She laughed.

When Aiden stepped up, intent on getting his hug in, Cameron stood. With a grin, Aiden took a seat.

Cameron kissed the side of her neck and wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Lunch is at two o’clock sharp,” Cait said, turning to look directly at Brendan and then Aiden. “Do ye hear me, lads? Two o’clock sharp, so wherever ye scurvies need to go, go now.”

Brendan nodded and gave his mother a quick grin. “Yes, ma’am.”

Aiden pressed a kiss to her cheek and answered the same.

Her eyes narrowed on them before they landed on Melanie and softened. “Ye can go see yer family in the meantime, Melanie. I still ’ave to finish cooking.”

Even as Melanie smiled, she felt some of the warmth, which had infused her body since she’d woken up next to Cameron, leave. She thought of Lauren, and then of Janie. The little girl’s present had arrived almost a week ago. She always sent it early. Still, she hadn’t seen her for years now.

“What are you thinking of, sweetheart?”

Melanie blinked and looked around. Cameron’s family had all filed out and he was standing before her, a curious expression on his face.

“Were you going to go to Brooklyn today?” she asked softly.

His brows lifted and he replied, “If you want to go to Brooklyn, I can take you there.” She nodded, but didn’t say anything. “Do you want me to take you to Brooklyn, lass?”

Her eyes lifted to his, and he read her uncertainty. In spite of that, she nodded. “Yes...please.”

Chapter Nine

Melanie stared long and hard at the red brick, semi-detached house on East 42
^nd
Street in Brooklyn. Lauren was right. It seemed like a nice neighborhood. Quiet and clean. Christmas lights danced in almost every window.

Reopening her BlackBerry, she checked the address once more, and then looked to the number on the door. They matched. Pushing the phone back into her jacket pocket, she straightened the burgundy scarf around her neck, redid a few of the jacket buttons, and placed her hand on the car door latch.

“Do you want me to come with you?” He’d turned off the car and had been staring at her for some minutes now.

“No. No, it’s okay.” She turned to look at him and offered him a quick smile. “I shouldn’t be more than fifteen minutes—”

“Send me a text when you’re ready to leave.”

A brow lifted and she asked curiously, “Where are you going?”

Cameron grinned. “Nearest gas station.”

Melanie looked to the tank monitor. Although the Maserati was built for speed and it burned fuel like water, the trip from Long Island to Brooklyn hadn’t put much of dent in his fuel tank.

“I need supplies.”

Deciding that she was almost nagging with the number of questions, she pinched her lips together and nodded.

His hand caught hers, and he pulled her back to him. Before she could think about it, he brushed his lips over hers, lightly tracing her lips with his tongue before pulling away.

“We ran out last night.”

Out of what?
When he lifted a brow and his eyes lowered to her lips, she understood.

“Oh.” Melanie’s eyes widened as she thought of that. They hadn’t been particularly firm with the use of protection, which wasn’t like her. She’d probably need to make a stop to the pharmacy as well.

With that in mind, she stepped from the warm car and into the frigid air. Moving up the steps, she stopped before the door. Pressing the bell for the first floor, she took a step back and waited.

***

She was beginning to doubt herself when seconds later there was still no movement in the house. Lights appeared to be on, but that didn’t mean anything. Maybe Lauren had taken Janie somewhere. She probably should have called before deciding to come down here.

The door swung inward, and Melanie blinked as she stared directly into a peach and cream living room, complete with a glass table on which peach-colored roses sat.

“Who are you?”

She looked down in search of the soft voice. A pretty little girl wearing a red and black dress and soft little black shoes stared up at her. Janie. Her hair was brushed up, and two white ribbons, a bit lopsided, were perched against her bun.

Melanie stooped low and stared at her. Janie had grown much bigger since the last time she’d seen her. She still favored her father in looks, but she had her mother’s light brown eyes and full lips.

“Hi there, Janie,” Melanie began with a smile.

Janie remained where she was, her little eyebrows lifting at her name as her eyes narrowed.

“Where’s your mommy?”

At that moment, Lauren stepped into the living room, saw that the door was open, and immediately rushed over to her child. Upon seeing her sister, Melanie stood, but Lauren hadn’t seen her yet.