Page 49 of The Twelve Months of Christmas
Oh, no. More drama, probably with the ex. He should go inside, pretend he hadn’t seen her.
But he had, and he couldn’t ignore a crying woman. “Come on, Buster,” he said, giving Buster’s leash a gentle tug. “Let’s go see Arianna.”
He may have seen her, but she hadn’t seen him and jumped when he said, “Hey, there.”
His ex had always managed to keep every speck of makeup in place when she cried but Arianna White was a wreck. Her eyes and nose were red and her skin was blotchy. She had no makeup on and he wondered if she’d cried it all off. It was all he could do not to take her in his arms.
He sat down next to her. “What’s wrong?”
“My...” She let out a fresh sob.
“Your kid?”
She shook her head violently, trying to rein in another sob.
“Has your ex done something?” Probably not. He’d seen her talking to the ex on the phone enough and that would have left her mad and breathing fire.
“My...mom has cancer.”
“Shit. Man, I’m sorry. Breast?”
“No. Esophageal. I just, I can’t... She’s all I have.”
“No one else?”
Arianna shook her head. “I lost my father, I lost my marriage. I can’t lose my mother. Oh, dear God.” She buried her face in her hands and howled.
That was when he knew he had to follow his instinct and take her in his arms. He pulled her to him, “It’ll be okay,” he said, rubbing her back. “You’ll get through this.”
“I can’t,” she whimpered. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. You’ve got a daughter. She needs you.”
“Ineed someone,” she wailed, oblivious to Buster, putting his front paws on her knees.
“You got friends,” Alden reminded her. “And neighbors. And I happen to be a nurse, so I can help with anything you need.”
“A nurse?” She pulled away and looked at him in surprise blinking and wiping at her streaming eyes.
“I work third shift at Saint Michael’s. Emergency room.”
“I work at Saint Michael’s. Post-surgery.”
“Small world.” He half smiled. But big hospital. It was hardly surprising that they’d never met.
She sniffed, wiped at her nose with a shredded tissue, petted Buster, who began to lick her tear-salted hand.
“Between the two of us I’d say we’re qualified to take care of your mom,” Alden said.
“I’m qualified,” she said, “but it’s so different when it’s someone you know. I don’t know how I’ll cope.”
“You will,” he assured her. “And I’ve got your back.”
“You hardly know me, and after growling at you and, uh, squishing you,” she added, her cheeks turning red, “the last thing you’re going to want is my back.”
True, he could think of other parts he wanted more. “Hey, I owe you. Those cookies you brought me were awesome.”
She managed a half smile. “That was my mom. She used to be a baker and she’s the cookie queen.” The smile vanished and her lower lip started to wobble.
