Page 4 of Holiday Promise

Blake stood. “I suppose you make a good argument. That would mean you ought to take the helicopter back to the city tonight, so you’re there bright and early tomorrow. I’ll need an email sent out to the different departments notifying them of the change. And you’ll need to reach out to those on my schedule personally to let them know how the meetings will progress. I’m not sure all of them will be thrilled about my not being there.”

Thomas scribbled furiously on a pad of paper he held in his hand. “I can give them the option to meet virtually or in person at the main office, while you can attend from your office here. That way, if they don’t want to worry about having technical difficulties, then they have another option available to them.”

Blake nodded. “That should be fine. But I want to make it clear that if there is an emergency, then I’m available. No exceptions. I don’t want anyone thinking that I don’t value their business.”

“Of course, sir. Anything else?”

Blake pressed his lips together firmly. While he didn’t like this feeling—that he’d been strong-armed into doing somethinghe wasn’t comfortable with, something told him It was the right course to take. He shook his head. “I’ll call up the pilot and let him know you’ll be leaving tonight. With any luck he hasn’t left yet.” He pulled out his phone and dialed the number. In a matter of minutes, everything had been squared away.

And he was going to be stuck in Hollyberry Harbor for the next couple of weeks.

THREE

Melody sat at the kitchen table with Max, her face still burning when Thomas emerged from the office. He glanced in her direction solemnly, then headed toward the front door. She stood. Should she go talk to him? Did he say something after she left that made Blake upset? Max continued to color the picture he was working on, not realizing the turmoil that continued to swirl within her.

Her eyes followed Thomas right up until he picked up his overnight bag and disappeared out the front door. Then they darted toward the hallway just as Blake emerged. He didn’t look pleased with her whatsoever. She froze, expecting him to call her back to his office so he could give her a few notes on how to better respect her boss.

Instead, Blake came right toward them and pulled out a chair beside his son. His eyes lifted only briefly toward Melody before he nudged his boy. “What are you drawing there?”

Max glanced at his father and a small smile touched his lips. He moved his other hand that had been obscuring one side of the picture. “This is me. This is you. And that’s Miss Melody.”

Melody sucked in sharply. She hadn’t been paying attention to the picture, her distracted thoughts trying to decide if sheneeded to send out resumes to various places around Hollyberry Harbor. Her gaze shifted to Blake, but she wasn’t surprised that he didn’t give her even a second thought.

He pointed to another silhouette of a person that was farther away from the others. “And who are you drawing here?”

Max shifted his focus to the individual that seemed to be made of clouds themselves. “That’s Mom.”

The room seemed to go cold. Melody didn’t know whether to move to Max’s side to comfort him or cry to relieve some of the pressure in her own skull. She covered her mouth to prevent herself from making a sound.

Blake smiled at the picture. “I like to think of your mother watching over us, too.” This time he did look up at her and the meaningful look he gave her set off a wave of goosebumps. “Miss Melody and I had a little chat.”

Max looked up at his father with curiosity.

“She reminded me that you needed me here for all the Christmas fun that’s about to take place in town this year.”

Even Melody could see the way Max’s features brightened, like he’d won the lottery. “Really?”

“Really.” Blake ruffled up the boy’s hair. “And we’re going to start with getting out the Christmas decorations.”

“Tonight?”

He chuckled. “Tonight.”

Melody felt like she’d been struck by a bus. Her heart stopped as she watched this cold and unfeeling man melt for his son. There had been moments in the year she’d worked for him that she’d caught glimpses of the father she knew he could be. But all of those small moments didn’t come close to what she was witnessing right now.

They were utterly adorable together.

One realization hit her as she continued to watch them together. If Blake was staying, did that mean she’d be able tospend more time with her family? Her parents traveled a lot to see her siblings in other parts of the country, but her sister was a local.

Blake cleared his throat, startling her from her thoughts. She found him staring at her with curiosity. Shoot! Had she still been staring at him? Melody flushed. “Would you like me to find Ms. Anthony? I’m sure she’s around here somewhere. I can ask her to start supper.”

He motioned to Melody as he stood and moved away from his son.

Her heart pounded hard in her chest. This was it. She was going to get fired. She should’ve known better than to say what she had. Dang it! Well, at least she’d be able to see her sister like she’d thought she would.

Blake moved close to her and lowered his voice. “Seeing as I’ll be working from home, I might need your services more than I thought. My hours will be sporadic and I’ll need you on call. Will that be a problem?” His tone seemed to challenge her, expecting her to argue with him even though she’d been the one to tell him to stay.

Melody shook her head. “That won’t be a problem.” She might not be able to spend as much time with her sister, but she’d happily sacrifice seeing her this year if it meant that Max had what he needed.

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