Page 10 of Holiday Promise

She stiffened and looked down at her snow gear.

He hurried on to say, “I only ask because I know how that can weigh a person down when they’re going for a walk.”

Melody offered a small smile. “Yes, thank you. I’ll be right back.” She wasn’t gone for more than five minutes which was enough time to get Max loaded into the car. The tensioncontinued to mount the whole way to the harbor. Blake couldn’t make sense of what had changed, all he knew was that he was seeing Melody in a different light.

When they arrived at the harbor, Max ran ahead of them, laughing as he darted through tunnels of Christmas lights and around trees that had been set up around the main shopping center.

Melody walked beside Blake in silence, her hands clasped behind her back. Every so often, Blake glanced in her direction, but found her focused intently on Max.

He cleared his throat, drawing her attention. When she looked at him, he cleared his throat once more. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

“Yes?”

Blake peered out to where Max had settled. He stood in front of a row of snow sculptures, apparently mesmerized by them. “What you said—last week—about the importance of family. I’ve been neglecting to ask you about yours.”

They slowed as they continued to follow Max, and Melody smiled. “I have a brother and two sisters. My parents visit my brother and sister this time every year, so they’re not currently within traveling distance. My other sister lives in town. We don’t see each other much, but I do visit with her occasionally on my days off.”

“It’s nice that you have family you’re close to.”

“Do you? Have siblings, I mean?”

Blake shook his head. “I’m afraid I was an only child. My parents live in Florida. They always hated the cold. It’s like pulling teeth to get them to visit.”

She laughed. “You can’t blame them, can you? I would imagine the older I get, the harder it will be to stay in a place like this even though I love its beauty.” Melody glanced around the village. “I love places like this one, where you feel like you’reseparated from the rest of the world. We’re surrounded by trees and a lake. It’s the most beautiful place in the world.”

His gaze followed what she was looking at. This woman had an appreciation for this town, much like his late wife. Blake had grown to love it, too, but he’d begun to despise it once he’d lost Alison. Staying had been one of the hardest decisions he’d made—and he’d done it for his son. He wanted Max to be as close as he could to the memory of his mother. “How is he doing?”

Melody jumped and gazed at Blake with a question in her eyes.

“Max. Is he doing okay? Better now?”

Understanding flooded her expression. “You mean his worries about his mother.”

Blake nodded. Max certainly seemed to be doing well, but Blake always had a hard time gauging his parenting skills. “You’ve gotten close to him. He tells you things.”

She moved toward Blake and touched his forearm briefly. “He’s doing great. It means more than you will ever know that you chose to work from home this year.”

The warmth from her touch drew his attention, and he glanced down as she pulled away. “I hope so,” he murmured, now distracted. “The worst thing I could do is fail him.”

“You’re not going to fail him,” Melody insisted. “You’re doing your best and that’s all that anyone can ask.” Her voice was quiet and breathless. It sent a shiver down his spine. Her words were some of the first anyone had spoken to him to make him feel he was doing right by his son. No one else had bothered. And why should they? He didn’t seek it out.

Still, it spoke to him in a way he wasn’t aware he’d been craving. He could tell she meant every word of it, too, by the way she looked at him. Blake forced a grim smile. “I appreciate that.”

Max moved on and so did the two of them. The air felt lighter, somehow. It was as if they’d broken through that wall ofawkwardness and found solidarity together. They both cared for Max in a way that no one else would.

As they walked, Melody’s boot snagged on a crack in the sidewalk and she stumbled forward a step. His hand shot out and grabbed hers. She gasped, swinging around until they faced one another. Her free hand landed against him to prevent her from bumping into him. Their faces came within inches of one another.

Melody breathed heavily, the air from her lips forming small puffs of white, warm air. Blood roared in his ears and his own breath caught in his throat. She was close enough he could smell her perfume—a mild sweet scent with a hint of mint.

Max’s voice was quite possibly the only thing that could have broken the spell in that very moment. “Dad! Look at that one.”

Melody blinked and pulled away from him, forcing him to release her hand. She let out a strangled laugh and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. It was near impossible to tear his eyes away from her, but he did.

Max jumped up and down, pointing to a large sculpture of a reindeer. “It looks so real!”

“It sure does, buddy.”

“Do you think we could make one of these at home?”

---