The Patricia Kiyono Christmas Collection (17 page)

“
You’ve got an agent?
Who?”

“
It’s an agency called
Scribes Limited. They’re in North Hollywood. I got a letter from
one of their agents who said he’d read my script and wanted to
represent me.”

“
I’ve never heard of that
agency. Who’s the agent?”

“
Jonas
Something-or-other.”

Nate sat up, his eyes widening. “Not Jonas
Mack, I hope.”

“
Could be. Do you know
him?”

“
Yes, I do. Sophie, trust
me. He’s bad news. I know I’m the last person you want to believe,
but promise me you won’t send him any money or go out there until
you check him out. If you don’t trust me, I’ll put you in contact
with a dozen other would-be actors and screenwriters who’ve been
burned by him. He takes your money and spins you a line about
shopping you or your work around. The only contacts he’s got are
with the police department.”

Sophie stared, not sure what to say. Mitch
had warned her about this, but she didn’t want to believe it.

“
I don’t believe
you.”

Nate held his palms out to her, as if to
show he hid nothing. “Soph, I’m telling you the truth. I haven’t
dealt with the guy directly—”

“
Then how do you know for
sure? How do I know you’re not just telling me this to discourage
me from going? For all I know you might just want to keep me here
in Zutphen because you’re afraid I’ll have more success than you
did.”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth
she regretted them. If his dreams of an acting career hadn’t worked
out, he was probably devastated enough. She sighed. “I’m sorry,
Nate, that was uncalled for. But I’m getting tired of everyone
thinking I’m not capable of looking out for myself.” She got up and
paced a few steps, trying to gain her composure, then turned back
to him. “Look, I promise I’ll do some research on the guy before I
pack up and leave. Will that satisfy you?”

Nate’s face cleared and he nodded. “Sure,
that works. Well, I guess I’ll go. This elf job ends in a few
weeks, and I’ve got to look into a real job. There’s not much call
nearby for an out-of-work actor, and I wasn’t smart enough to get
training in anything else.”

“
Maybe you could go to
school to learn something else.”

“
Me, go to school?” He
laughed. “I barely made it through high school.”

“
But if you’re studying
something you’re interested in, it’s different. I spent six years
in college — not because I loved it so much, but because I kept
changing my mind about what I wanted to study. I didn’t mind,
because I was interested in what I was learning.”

“
I doubt it would be that
way for me, but it’s something to think about.” He hesitated before
adding, “So, can I call you sometime?”

She had to think about that. Did she really
want to spend time with him? “I suppose. It’s not going to be like
it was. Just coffee and conversation. And I’m tied up with the
Christmas Pageant, so I’ll be pretty busy for another few
weeks.”

“
Fair enough. I messed up,
so it’s up to me to prove I’m a changed man.” He leaned over and
kissed her cheek. For some reason, Sophie felt — nothing. No
excitement, no pounding heartbeat, no feeling of anticipation. Just
a brotherly kiss.

As she stood at the window watching him
trudge back to his car, it hit her. A nudge, a feeling, a
realization. Everything became clear. The whole screenwriting thing
and going to California. It had never really been her dream. It had
been Nate’s idea. Since she wasn’t into acting, he’d suggested it
as a way they could work together. It had been her way to stay
connected to Nate, even after he’d left. Later, she’d thought she
could get back at him by gaining greater fame and recognition than
he’d managed to get, but that no longer mattered.

Those childhood dreams had been replaced.
She had a new dream now, one that included a rugged single dad and
his adorable daughter. And they were right there, in her own back
yard.

It was time to work on making her new dream
come true.

~~~~

Mitch sat in
his office, staring at his monitor but not seeing
anything on the screen.

She was going. He’d known it was going to
happen and he’d tried to stay uninvolved. But his heart hadn’t
cooperated and now it was going to be broken. He would be left with
an emptiness in his life, larger than the one created when Sarah
died. This time he wasn’t sure how he would cope.

He didn’t know how long he sat there, but a
little angel’s voice pulled him out of his trance. Angela. He’d
argued for that name and now he knew why. Because she was here, and
right now he needed an angel.

“
Daddy?”

Mitch lifted his head. He blinked, trying to
focus on his daughter’s face. Why did he have so much trouble
seeing? It was as if — oh good grief, it was dark! The sun had set
while he was thinking of his own sorrow.

Guilt immediately replaced the sadness. What
kind of father was he if he forgot about his daughter? He’d come
out here determined to be there for his little girl, and now his
heart had put someone else in his mind. Maybe this was a sign that
he needed to forget about Sophie. Angie should be his main
concern.

“
I’m sorry, sweetie. You
must be hungry. I’ll get something—”

“
I’m okay, Daddy. I had
some cereal. Do you want some, too?”

Great. His six-year-old daughter had eaten a
bowl of cereal for her supper while he’d been sitting there feeling
sorry for himself.

“
Sweetheart, you need
something more than cereal. Why don’t we go and get some burgers
down at the Burger Den? You can have some ice cream for dessert.”
He plastered a smile on his face, determined to put up a good front
for Angie.

But even though Angie normally loved going
to the Burger Den, she didn’t show any enthusiasm for his offer.
Instead, she tilted her head and studied him.

“
Why are you so sad,
Daddy?”

There was no hiding it. How much should he
share with her? “I — got some sad news today.”

“
Did somebody
die?”

“
No, nobody died.
Someone is moving away, and I’m sad I won’t see
that person anymore.”

His little angel wrapped her arms around
him. “I was sad when we moved here, because I wouldn’t see my
friends any more. But now I’m glad I’m here, because I have new
friends. We’ll have to find you some new friends.”

He laughed in spite of the knot in his
stomach. Hugging her tight, he stood, carrying her on his hip as he
went about turning lights on. “I guess you’re right, sweetheart.
Make new friends.”

“
Who’s moving away,
Daddy?”

He stilled. “It’s — I don’t think I’m
supposed to tell anybody.”

“
I hope it’s not Miss
Sophie. Because she’s the best friend you ever had. She makes you
smile.”

He stared at her.

“
If she goes away, we’ll
have to follow her.”

“
Follow her? But then you’d
have to find new friends again.”

Angie’s face clouded, and she swallowed. But
then she took a deep breath, looked into his eyes, and spoke with
determination. “That’s okay. She’s our best friend. If we’re all
together, it won’t matter.”

Mitch gave his daughter another hug and set
her down. “You’re an angel, you know that? And I’ll bet you’re
hungry, even after eating cereal. Go get your coat, and we’ll get
some burgers to fill your angel tummy.”

“
A
nd so my
gift to Baby Jesus is my
teddy bear,” Molly said into the microphone. She brought her teddy
bear over to the manger and stepped back to her place in the chorus
as the next speaker came up to the mike.

Sophie started to relax on the front pew.
This Wednesday night rehearsal was the last practice before the
pageant on Sunday morning, so she and the children were in the
sanctuary with the sound crew. So far, so good. No one had gotten
sick, nothing had been stolen, and everyone—

“
AAAAAAHHHHH!” Jordan
Longton streaked into the sanctuary, his shepherd costume trailing
behind him like a blaze of fire—

It really IS fire!
Sophie sprang from her seat and raced toward the
little boy. She grabbed him and threw him down on the carpet,
rolling him until the fire went out. Carefully, she pulled the head
covering away from his face, revealing his wide, frightened
eyes.

“
Jordan, are you all
right?” she asked.

The boy nodded.

She helped him stand and inspected the rest
of his costume. Other than the headpiece and a tiny spot on the
back of his gown, none of his clothing looked burnt. She checked
the back of his head and found a few singed hairs, but his scalp
was normal color. The boy was lucky.

“
Jordan, what
happened?”

“
I went back in the room
where the costumes are because I forgot my truck to give to Baby
Jesus. And I found this—”

“
Fire!” Sam dashed into the
sanctuary, waving his hands. “Get the kids outta here. I’m calling
the fire department.” He dug his cell phone out of his pocket and
dialed, leaving Sophie to herd the children out, grabbing coats as
they went. Thankfully, two moms had decided to stay and watch the
dress rehearsal, so she had some extra help.

Once outside, she counted her charges. One
was missing. Who was it? She went through the first graders… all
eleven were there. Second graders… she should have had nine, but
there were only eight. “I’m not finding enough second graders,” she
called out. “Look around and see if you can tell who’s missing.”
The children stared at each other for a moment, and then Jordan
Longton called out, “My brother isn’t here. He went to the
bathroom.”

Cold air filled Sophie's lungs as she
gasped. “Josh is in the bathroom?”

“
Yeah. Grandma took him
there.”

She couldn’t let the children see her panic.
“All right. Everyone stay right here with Mrs. Groendyke. I'll see
if I can find Josh and Mrs. Longton."

The fire department arrived with sirens
blaring and quickly got to work. Spotting Chief Zondervan, she
dashed over to him and relayed what Jordan had told her. He nodded
grimly and called two of his men, instructing them to check the
restrooms for the missing people.

Returning to the children huddled in the
church parking lot, she realized she needed to get them all
someplace warm. Their parents needed to be notified…

She looked over at the other adults and
realized they had already begun. One mom separated the children
according to where they lived, and the other mom and Mabel
Groendyke, the pianist, had their cell phones to their ears. Helen
DeGroot and the older students in the drama soon joined them, and
siblings were paired together. Helen and Sophie both used their
cell phones to call parents.

Someone wrapped a blanket around her and she
realized she’d forgotten to grab her own coat before leaving the
sanctuary. She snuggled into the blanket. It smelled like Mitch,
but when she turned her head to thank him, he was gone. He’d gone
over to help comfort a frightened little boy. Angie and Joey stood
close to her.

Dave pulled into the lot and made a beeline
for Joey. “I heard the sirens and looked outside — we could see the
fire from our house. Are you okay? Did everyone get out?” He gave
Joey a hug then asked the other adults what he could do to help.
One of the moms gave him a handful of children whose parents still
needed to be contacted, and he pulled out his cell phone to start
calling them.

Around them, the parking lot buzzed with the
commotion of anxious parents herding their children and their
neighbor’s children into their cars.

“
Sam! Did Sam get out?”
Sophie looked around for the custodian.

“
He’s over there, talking
to the Fire Chief.” Mitch spoke into her ear, instantly calming
her. She glanced over to where he pointed and, seeing the elderly
man for herself, sighed with relief.

“
Jordan Longton, where did
you get that? I told you not to pick up things that aren’t yours.
And where is your brother?” Peggy Longton’s exasperation cut
through the chaos.

“
He went to the bathroom
with Grandma Longton. Mama, isn’t this cool? I found it in that
room where the tables and big candles are. I wanted to light the
candles like Grandma does. There were lots of candles in there.
See, you just hold it like this and push this button—”

“
Well, it’s not a toy. It’s
for grownups to use—”

“
Did I just hear this boy
say he tried to light the candles in the store room?” Chief
Zondervan asked. “Sam, didn’t you tell me the fire started in the
storage area?”

The custodian nodded.

The color drained from Peggy’s face. She
clutched her son tight. “Please, no,” she cried. “He couldn’t have
started the fire. He’s just a baby. Please, Sam. You can’t let him
be arrested.”

“
I knew it was just a
matter of time before something like this happened.” Sam glared at
Jordan menacingly. “Both those boys are always causing trouble.
They can’t keep their hands to themselves and they run around like
animals.”

Martha Longton came around the side of the
church, leading Josh by the hand. “The boys told me they needed to
use the restroom, and while Josh was still in there, Jordan told me
he had to get his truck. I didn’t know where he’d gone. I’ve been
looking all over for him—” She spied the candle lighter in Jordan’s
hand and gasped. “No—” Her hand went to her mouth.