Christmas On Crimson Mountain. Michelle Major

always had a smear or stain on some part of him. His son’s favorite food had been peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, and there was normally a telltale spot of grape jelly on the corner of his mouth and sticky fingers, leaving marks on everything the boy touched.

      Connor had often balanced writing with parenting duties if Margo had an appointment or meeting. His preoccupation with his work had sometimes left Emmett, even at five, to slap together sloppy sandwiches for both of them. Emmett loved being in charge, and Connor had been happy to have something to eat that he didn’t have to make. After the accident, he’d spent hours wishing he could have a daddy do-over. He would have put aside his precious words to take care of his more precious son.

      “Are you a delivery man?” the girl asked when he stared at her.

      He shook his head, not yet trusting his voice when memories threatened to pull him under like a riptide.

      “Mommy said Santa Claus uses real delivery people to help bring toys at Christmas so they don’t feel left out because he’s got a sleigh and they don’t. Last year Santa had the delivery man bring me three sparkly ponies and a new set of markers.” She wiped the back of her hand across her nose. “Do you like to draw?”

      “I like to write,” he answered automatically. “At least I used to.”

      She nodded. “I’m good at writing. My teacher said my big G is perfect.”

      “Shay, shut the door.” Another voice drifted forward. “It’s freezing.”

      A moment later, a different girl appeared behind the little one. They were clearly sisters, although the older girl’s hair was a darker blond and her eyes a deeper blue. “Who are you?” She placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder.

      “He likes to write, Ranie,” Shay announced. “But he’s not helping Santa.”

      “I need to talk to April,” he told Ranie.

      “She’s getting ready to take us to town,” Shay answered before her sister could speak, “to buy games to help us be quiet. The man who lives next door hates kids.” She bounced on her small feet. “We’re going to see the lights and get hot chocolate.”

      “I don’t hate kids,” Connor muttered, shifting under Ranie’s gaze. He was certain the girl knew exactly who he was.

      “That’s good,” Shay told him. “You should stay away from the other man. He might not like grown-ups either.”

      “No doubt,” he heard Ranie mumble.

      Instead of making him angry, Connor had the strange urge to smile. He liked this girl standing sentry, still holding on to her sister as she tried to fill the doorway with her small frame. “Where’s April?”

      “I’ll get her.” Ranie went to close the door in his face, but Shay stepped forward.

      “We have to invite him in,” Shay said, grabbing his hand and tugging him forward before he could react. “He’s nice.”

      He fought the need to jerk away from her small hand and allowed himself to be led into the smaller cabin.

      “Shay, you don’t know that he’s nice. This man—”

      “What’s going on?”

      As the door clicked shut behind him, he looked up to see April silhouetted by the late-morning light. She wore a pair of dark jeans and knee-high boots with a thick gray sweater. It was the first time he’d seen her hair down, the gentle red curls falling over her shoulders.

      Shay didn’t let go of his hand, and Connor could feel the imprint of her soft skin like a brand. The pain was fierce, radiating up his arm and through his chest to the empty place where his heart used to be.

      “You left your phone at the other cabin.” He pulled the device from his coat pocket with his free hand and held it out.

      “I could have taken it at the door.” Ranie reached forward and pulled Shay away from him. “You don’t hold hands with a stranger,” she scolded.

      “He’s not a stranger.” Shay pushed a curl off her forehead. “He’s April’s friend. He had her phone.” She glanced up at him. “Right?”

      April took the phone from his hand, her cool fingers brushing his palm. “Mr. Pierce is staying next door at the cabin,” she told Shay, ruffling the girl’s hair. “He’s busy working, so it was nice of him to bring the phone to me.”

      Shay glanced between April and Connor, her mouth dropping open. “But the man living next door hates kids. You don’t hate me, do you?” she asked him, her blue eyes wide with disbelief.

      “Shay, shut up,” Ranie said on a hiss of breath.

      April threw Connor an apologetic look. “I never said—”

      “I don’t hate you,” he told the little girl.

      She pointed to her sister. “See, he’s nice and my friend and April’s friend and you shouldn’t say ‘shut up.’ Mommy didn’t like it.”

      “Mom isn’t here.” Ranie glared at Shay. “She’s—”

      “Enough.” April’s tone was firm. “You girls go get your coats, hats and mittens and we’ll head to town.”

      Ranie stalked off down the hall, but Shay continued to stand next to him, her chin quivering the tiniest bit. “Do you want to go to town with us and get hot chocolate?”

      He started to shake his head when she added, “Because I know you’re nice even if Ranie doesn’t think so. She gets extra grumpy because our mommy died, and that makes her act mean. But she’s really just sad inside.”

      The wisdom in those words leveled him. Connor had been used to being angry since the accident. He had cut people out of his life and pushed them away with his moods until the rage inside him felt like all that was left. What if he had held on to the anger so he didn’t have to feel the lingering sorrow of loss?

      “Will you go?” Shay asked again when he didn’t respond. “It’s a long way down the mountain, so April said this trip is special.”

      “Shay,” April said quietly, “that’s nice of you to offer, but Mr. Pierce has—”

      “I’ll go.”

      The girl smiled and clapped her hands. “I knew we were friends. I’m going to go get my winter coat. April bought it for me new because in California we don’t have snow. You should wear gloves and a hat because there’s an ice-skating rink in the park downtown and if it’s not too crowded we can try it.”

      Connor watched her run down the hall and disappear around a corner before he met April’s dubious gaze. “Does she always talk that much?”

      She gave a small nod. “Shay talks and Ranie sulks. Why did you tell her you’d come to town with us?”

      “Because she asked me,” he responded, echoing her words from last night.

      Her eyes widened a fraction, but she didn’t acknowledge the repetition. “What about writing?”

      He shrugged. “I need a break.”

      “What about needing the girls to be quiet?” she asked, her mouth thinning. “I’m not going to demand they don’t talk.”

      He wanted to press the pad of his thumb to her full lower lip. This need to touch her, to be near her, was a slippery slope that could only lead to complications for both of them. It had driven him across the property when he should be working. Now the thought of April and the girls leaving him totally alone up here on the mountain had him agreeing to a jaunt into town when he hadn’t allowed himself to be social or out in public for years. He was used to being alone, had meticulously carved out the solitary existence he lived. But he couldn’t force himself to turn around.

      “I realize that was an unfair request.” He tried to offer