A Mistletoe Proposal. Rebecca Winters

over. Like it or not, Andrea Fleming was responsible for this metamorphosis.

      When morning came, Tessa ran into his room to hug him. But the first words out of her mouth brought bad weather for the rest of the day. “Daddy? I wish you hadn’t brought Andrea to the party.”

      Startled, he sat up. “Why not?” He knew the answer, but he needed to let her talk this out.

      “I don’t like her,” she said in a tremulous voice.

      “Can you tell me why?”

      “Julie said she might be my new mommy and I don’t want a new one.” On that note she buried her face in his chest and sobbed.

      Rick rocked her in his arms. What to say that would comfort this child he loved more than life itself? For the past year his heart had cried out that he didn’t want another woman in his life either. But he hadn’t counted on Andrea....

      At this juncture he didn’t dare lie to Tessa, who took everything so literally. But at the same time, he wasn’t about to stop seeing Andrea. He had no idea where things were headed with her. Possibly nowhere, except that deep inside he didn’t believe that.

      “Right now Andrea is a friend I’ve met. She’s been very sad.”

      That brought Tessa’s head up. “How come?”

      “A year ago she was with her husband in Germany when they were in an accident and he died.”

      He could hear his daughter’s mind ticking over. “And now he’s in heaven like Mommy?”

      “Exactly.”

      She wiped her eyes. “I bet she cries a lot.”

      Rick groaned inwardly. “I’m sure she does.”

      Tessa touched his cheek, reminding him he needed a shave. “You used to cry.”

      His throat practically closed up from emotion. “We all had to cry so we’d feel better.”

      “Do you feel better?” she asked in all earnestness.

      “Better than I did.”

      “Me, too.”

      “Then let’s go eat and then we’ll build a snowman in the backyard.” From the window he could see snow had fallen during the night. Not a lot, but just enough to blanket everything in white. He had some shoveling to do. “I’ll make us Mickey Mouse chocolate chip pancakes.”

      “Can I put in the chips?”

      He smiled, thankful that so far they’d gotten through this tense moment in one piece. “That’s your job.”

      Half an hour later he’d showered and shaved and they were just finishing their pancakes and bacon when he heard his cell phone ring. He checked the caller ID and saw that it was the battalion chief calling. He frowned before clicking on. “Hey, Rob—what’s up?”

      “Plenty. I know it’s your day off, but we need all the extra help we can get. A couple of guys are out with stomach flu, one from your ladder. Just a minute ago there was a big explosion at the downtown furniture mart. We’re calling in help from all over the city.”

      That sprawling monster? “Say no more. I’ll be at the station as soon as I can.” He hung up with a grimace. “Sweetheart, I hate to do this, but there’s an emergency at work. Go tell Sharon I have to leave.”

      * * *

      “Dad? Do you want more scrambled eggs?”

      “No. I think I’m done, but I could use some more coffee.”

      Andrea poured another cup for him. He’d slept on the couch and had opened his Christmas present early because he’d be gone hunting over Christmas. She’d listened to him rant about the numskulls at his work.

      While he’d turned on the TV and was grazing the channels for the news, Andrea had slipped into the bedroom to phone her mom. To her delight she found out that Rex was taking her to dinner that evening. Then the subject changed to Rick Jenner and the scene with Tessa.

      “But I can’t talk about that right now, Mom. I’ll call you later once Dad’s gone.”

      After she came out of her bedroom, she saw breaking news flash across the TV screen. “...case you just joined us, we’re in downtown Providence on the scene of a raging nine-alarm fire that is engulfing the old furniture mart.” Nine?

      Her father whistled. “That’s one mean fireball. I’d hate to be the firefighter I met last night.”

      Andrea was already quaking in her boots over Rick. Today was supposed to be his day off. She’d heard one of the firefighters say they could all stay up late for the party and sleep in. But word of a fire of this magnitude would reach every firefighter in the city. She hadn’t known Rick long, but she knew he wouldn’t stay in bed once he heard the news. Her stomach muscles tensed.

      “The recent rash of fires in the downtown area seems to indicate an arsonist might be involved.”

      Andrea remembered what Rick had said. I’ve a gut feeling this one loves to light fires for the fun of it. He wants notoriety and is the worst kind.

      When her father turned off the television, she wished he hadn’t. Now that she’d seen the fire, she couldn’t think about anything else. “I’d better head home to make things right with Monica.”

      Andrea pretended she didn’t know anything about their troubled marriage. “What happened?”

      “I told her when I married her I didn’t want to get involved with her kids.”

      No. Andrea’s father could hardly handle having one child of his own. What a blow it must have been to her mother when she discovered the kind of man she’d married. The difference between him and someone like Rick Jenner, who adored his daughter and was devoted to her, was too astounding to contemplate. She found his parka and helped him put it on.

      “It’s good to see my little girl.” After putting a new can of bear mace on the coffee table as his contribution to her Christmas, he gave her a hug. He’d always had trouble parting with his money unless it was for more ammunition or a new scope for his rifle. She thanked him and hugged him back before going downstairs with him.

      “It’s a fine day now that it’s snowed,” he exclaimed after opening the door to the alley. “But I’d rather be up in Alaska.”

      That was his mantra. “Drive safely.”

      The second he took off, she raced upstairs to grab her things, then ran down and got into her car. Once out on the street she could see the dark plumes of smoke over the downtown area, making her feel sicker as she listened to the radio report. Without conscious thought she drove to the fire station. If she saw Rick’s Toyota there, then she’d know he’d been called in to help fight the blaze.

      After turning into the driveway to the station parking lot, she spotted it with several other cars and broke out in perspiration. But maybe he was inside the station. She had to find out, and she went in. To her consternation she discovered there was only a skeleton crew on duty. Captain Jenner had been called to the downtown fire.

      It was too late to remember that someone on duty would tell him she’d been by. So much for her avowal that she wasn’t interested in any kind of a relationship with him. She wasn’t, but she feared the danger of a fire of that magnitude. Her thoughts leaped to Tessa. The idea of her daddy not making it back home was too ghastly to contemplate.

      She called her mother again. “Have you seen the news about the fire on TV?”

      “Yes. I’ve been watching, and I thought immediately of Captain Jenner.”

      “I was fixing Dad’s breakfast when he turned on the news.”

      “Where’s your father now?”

      “He’s gone back home. I’ll come over later,