The Patricia Kiyono Christmas Collection (8 page)

After putting
Exercise
at the top of
her list, she hopped up and dug through her wardrobe for some warm
clothing. She couldn't remember the last time she’d gone skiing,
but the woods around the house were perfect — and she knew the area
like the back of her hand. She’d have her cell phone with her in
case she ran into problems.

Opening the storage closet, she checked her
ski equipment. Still looked good, despite being packed away for a
few years.

She got dressed and went downstairs for her
daily coffee. Joanie sat on the couch, working on yet another
knitting project. This one was a sweater in a bubble-gum pink
color.

“
New sweater?”

Joanie looked up and
smiled.
“Yup. This little sweetie is going
to need lots of warm stuff, arriving in December.” Her hands paused
and she frowned. “I’m hoping it’s not until December, but Joey was
two weeks early, and the doctor is saying it could be any time.”
She sighed. “I get so bored not doing anything but sitting here
knitting — or cross-stitching, or reading. My scrapbooking is
caught up. New baby has two sweaters and two afghans. I’ve made
scarves and hats for everyone in the family. I know the longer the
baby stays in, the better, but part of me can’t wait for her to be
born.”

Sophie reached over and gave her sister a
hug. “I know it’s hard for you to sit still when you’ve always been
active. The teachers in school had a hard time believing I was your
sister because we were so different.”

They shared a laugh.

“
I thought I’d try out my
cross-country skis. It looks like a good day to be outside,” Sophie
told her.

“
I wish I could join you.
Have fun.”

“
Will you be okay if I take
off for a while?”

“
Sure. Dave just went in to
the office. He said he’d be back before lunch. Joey spent the night
at his friend’s house, so you don’t have to worry about
him.”

Sophie finished her breakfast then went up
to get her equipment. She was out the door in no time.

Recent snows had covered the area with a
thick blanket of white, and she took some time to simply take in
the sight before pushing off on the trail. Soon she was back into a
smooth groove, pushing with her poles, gliding with each foot, and
she entered the woods.

This had been her refuge back in her junior
high school days. It had been an awkward time in her life when
Joanie was the Belle of Zutphen and she was the gangly younger
sister. She’d despaired of ever attracting a boy. But the woods had
been her friend. Whether it was skiing through them in the winter
or hiking through them in the summer, she’d always felt better
there. Even during her college years she would often come home on
her weekends to unwind among the trees.

Skiing over the trail in the winter was so
much quieter. Smaller, furry creatures were safely tucked into
their winter homes, From above, a family of finches welcomed her.
The sunlight, peeking between the bare branches, cast a lacy
pattern on the forest floor. Yes, driving on ice was a bother, but
the artistry of the winter landscape made up for it, in her
mind.

Before she knew it, she had
glided her way through the woods and came out on the other side.
Into Mitch’s back yard. And the man was outside, practicing his
craft.
Mitch knelt, his right elbow propped
on his knee, his left hand holding the camera to his eye. Sophie
took a breath, ready to call a greeting, but paused when she
realized what he was shooting.

Two white-tailed deer stood at the edge of
the woods. Sophie knew if she called out, she’d scare them away and
Mitch’s shot would be ruined. She stood still until the pair went
back into the woods and he rose from his crouch. Curious about the
photos he’d taken, she glided toward him. Her poles crunched, and
he turned to her with a welcoming smile.

“
Did you get the shot?” she
called.

He stood and nodded. “I think so.” He turned
the LCD screen on and scrolled through his pictures, showing her.
The close-ups showed the gentleness of the beautiful creatures, and
the landscape shots were breathtaking.

“
They’re great. These would
make great prints for a den.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. I’ll send one or two to
some nature magazines and see if they’re interested.” He looked up
at her and frowned. “Did you ski here from Joanie and Dave’s
house?”

“
Yes. The trail goes
through the woods from their back yard and comes out here. I needed
some fresh air, and today was the perfect day to get
outside.”

“
Sounds like fun. Can I
offer you a cup of coffee and a warm kitchen before you head
back?”

“
Sure. Thanks.” She
followed him inside after propping her skis by the back
door.

The neatness of the house was the first
thing to catch her attention. There was a place for everything, and
every surface was spotless. Did he have a housekeeper? She watched
as Mitch efficiently fixed a cup of coffee in his single-cup
brewer, putting everything away as soon as he used it. No, the man
did not need a housekeeper. Every woman’s dream. Frustrated by her
train of thought, she realized the house was quiet — too quiet for
a home with a little girl.

“
Where’s Angie?”

“
She spent the night at a
friend’s. Carley, from her class at school.”

“
Carley Jones?”

“
Yes, that’s her. Do you
know her?”

“
I went to school with her
mother, and Joanie graduated with her father. They’ll take good
care of Angie.”

“
She must have been a young
mom if she went to school with you.”

“
Nancy and Joe married the
week after we graduated from high school and Carley was born the
next spring. I, on the other hand, went to college and changed
majors twice.”

“
Ah.” He reached up into
another cupboard for mugs.

Knowing that Angie wasn’t in the house gave
Sophie mixed feelings. On one hand, she was glad to have some time
alone with Mitch to get to know him. On the other hand, she was
alone with Mitch. And it had been a long time since she’d been
attracted to a man. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. She’d
been attracted before, but not to this degree. This was definitely
attraction, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for it.

But maybe he wasn’t
interested.
It’s just
coffee
, she told herself.
Don’t go worrying about things that haven’t
happened yet.

Still, it was difficult to keep from
wondering what it would be like to have those gorgeous eyes staring
into hers, to have those efficient hands running through her
hair…

“
Do you want it plain
today, or would you like some creamer?”

She blinked. “Uh, creamer, please.”
Embarrassed by her train of thought, she took a sip. And scalded
her tongue. Gasping, she set the mug down. Mitch grabbed a glass
from the cupboard and filled it with ice from the dispenser on the
fridge and set it down in front of her. She lifted the glass to her
lips and sighed as the ice cooled her tongue.

“
Sorry.” He passed the
creamer to her, along with a spoon, but the spoon fell through her
fingers onto the floor. Both she and Mitch bent to pick it up at
the same time, accidentally bumping heads. The jolt she felt had
nothing to do with the bump, but everything to do with awareness.
She rose, wondering if he’d felt it too.

Mitch rubbed his temple. Not a good sign.
“Um, sorry about that,” she murmured.

He shook his head. “No problem at all. My
skull is intact, and the dishwasher works great.” He picked up the
spoon and loaded it into the machine then moved over to the
silverware drawer and picked out another spoon. “Here you are. Nice
clean spoon for your creamer.”

“
Thanks.” She stirred,
hoping inspiration would come to her for something witty to say.
Too bad Joanie couldn’t be there coaching her. “So, um, how long
have you lived here?”

“
Angie and I moved in at
the beginning of August. I wanted to get settled before she started
first grade.”

“
Good plan. I knew the
Hagers, who used to live here. They were family friends. I didn’t
realize they were planning to move.”

“
Eric Hager is my uncle. He
developed some health problems and they decided to move closer to
their daughter in Muskegon. That way they’re also closer to their
doctors, and the hospital, if they should need it.”

“
I guess that shows you how
out of touch I’ve been with this neighborhood.”

“
People know you, though,
and they remember you. It will take some time before Angie and I
are accepted as part of the community.”

“
Angie seems to have made
some good friends.”

“
Do you think
so?”

“
If she’s been invited to a
sleepover, that’s a good sign she’s been accepted by the girls in
her school. And I noticed that she interacts with the girls in her
Sunday School class, too. She’s doing fine.”

“
That’s good to hear. I’ve
had my hands full trying to promote my business, but it’s a little
hard getting people to drive out here to an unknown studio. It’s a
good thing I’ve got contacts with the AP so I can still do some
freelancing.”

“
Aren’t the locals coming
to you?”

“
My calendar is full for
the next month, thanks to your great idea of offering
mini-sessions. But after the holidays, it’s totally empty. I’ve got
to have something to keep paying the bills from January until
wedding season begins.”

The thought of weddings
made her heart skip a beat. She closed her eyes, needing to block
out the view of the man who’d invaded far more of her thoughts than
she’d be willing to admit. But she couldn’t keep them closed for
long without looking silly. She opened them to find him staring at
her. Not just at her, but
into
her. Deep into her soul. Could he tell what she
was thinking?

She looked into his eyes for a signal, a
sign, anything to tell her what to do. He swallowed, his Adam’s
apple bobbing as his face drew closer, and closer… she closed her
eyes and waited.

The first touch of his lips on hers was
gentle, like a caress, and Sophie wondered if she had imagined it.
She ran her tongue across her lower lip and gasped when he wrapped
his arms around her and captured her mouth in a soul-searing kiss.
But the shock was soon replaced with a yearning for more. Her arms
went around him and she melted into him.

His lips touched every inch of her face, and
as his fingers threaded her hair, she realized her fantasies hadn’t
come close to the intense reality of being kissed by Mitch Carson.
She rose on tiptoe and caressed the back of his head, matching him
kiss for kiss.

A car door slammed shut outside. The sound
was like a slap, a douse of cold water, and they broke apart just
before the back door burst open.

“
Miss Sophie! You came to
visit us! Yay! Daddy, did you invite her over? Look at what I
got.”

Sophie cast a glance at Mitch and noted his
dazed expression.

The little girl eagerly showed her party
favors to the adults, oblivious of the tension between them. “Wanna
see my room? Daddy let me decorate it just the way I wanted. Come
on!” Angie tugged at Sophie’s arm. There was nothing to do but
follow.

The room was relatively plain. The walls
were painted a pale shade of lavender with white trim. White lace
curtains with purple trim covered the windows. A white four-poster
bed graced the middle, and a matching dresser and chest of drawers
flanked the window on the opposite wall. A small toy box was tucked
next to the bed, and stuffed animals spilled out of it.

“
I like purple, so I told
Daddy I wanted
everything
to be purple. But he told me if everything was
purple I wouldn’t be able to find anything. So I got white stuff
too. Do you like my room, Miss Sophie?”

The little girl looked so earnest. “Yes,
Angie. You did a wonderful job decorating your room. Purple is one
of my favorite colors, too.”

Angie beamed. “Daddy said I could choose
anything I wanted, because it’s my room. And ‘cuz he can’t see
colors very well.”

“
I can see some colors,
kiddo,” Mitch argued from his post at the doorway.

Angie giggled. “I know, Daddy. But sometimes
you get them mixed up. So this way, you can always get things right
in my room ‘cuz everything is either purple or white!”

He grimaced then looked over at Sophie. “My
daughter takes such good care of me.”

“
Yes, she does.” So the man
was color blind. That might explain the lack of decorations.
Actually, there wasn’t much of anything on the walls, anywhere. No
photos, which seemed odd for a photographer. No portraits of
family, or vacations. Just one large school picture of Angie,
showing her wide smile, missing teeth and uneven pigtails. That
picture rested in a place of honor on the fireplace mantle, still
in the cardboard frame from the school. Sophie’s imagination went
into overdrive, thinking of all the ways she would decorate the
house, even though she knew she’d never have the opportunity to put
them into practice. She’d start with enlargements of the outdoor
scenes he’d taken that afternoon. Best to go, before she got too
comfortable there. “Well, I should head back to Joanie’s
house—”