The Prodigal's Christmas Reunion. Kathryn Springer

       Ignoring the dull ache from the stitches in his arm, Lucas carefully drew Max against his chest and waited. The only sound in the room came from the crackle and spit of the logs in the fireplace.

       As if Max were a frozen statue coming back to life, Lucas gradually felt the thin shoulders relax. The rapid drumbeat of his heart began to even out.

       “Lucas?” Max whimpered.

       “I’m right here, buddy.”

       “It’s dark.”

       The fireplace cast plenty of light, but Lucas didn’t argue. He wasn’t sure if Max had always been afraid of the dark or if it had something to do with the fact that when Lucas found him, he’d been locked in a windowless room not much bigger than a closet.

       Erin moved across the room, and Lucas assumed she was going to turn on another light. Instead, she reached down and plugged in the Christmas tree. Hundreds of tiny lights, in a rainbow of colors, began to wink in the branches.

       Max hooked two fingers in his cheek and settled against Lucas’s shoulder, his gaze focused on the lights rather than the dark memory that had held him captive in its grip.

       “Something sure smells good, Erin.” Lucas sniffed the air appreciatively. “Like…cookies?”

       Erin caught on immediately. “That’s right. Gingerbread,” she said, her light tone matching his.

       Max looked up at him. “Me and Erin maked ’em.”

       Lucas felt the knot in his chest loosen. “I’ll bet they’re delicious.”

       “I ate a tree with sprinkles,” Max informed him. “Erin eats the frostin’ with a spoon.”

       “Is that so?” Lucas bit back a smile as color bloomed in Erin’s cheeks.

       “Someone has to taste test it.” The concern in her eyes remained, but she reached out and playfully tweaked Max’s toes. “You can take some cookies home for your grandma and Aunt Mei. How about that?”

       “An’ Jamie an’ Julie an’ Jessie?” Fear dissipated like a morning mist, unveiling a familiar sparkle in Max’s eyes.

       “Ahh.” Erin looked at him in understanding. “He met Arabella’s triplets.”

       “Yesterday.” Lucas winced at the memory.

       For an entire week after his arrival, settling Max in and working out the details of his new job had been handy excuses to avoid his extended family.

       He’d gotten good at dodging them until Mei cornered him in their mother’s kitchen with a message from his cousin, Arabella Michaels. It was time he “make the rounds” and introduce Max to his new family.

       Starting with her.

       Lucas had braced himself for that first official reunion with a member of his extended family, anticipating anything from awkward silence to outright hostility that he’d returned to Clayton so close to the deadline.

       Instead, Lucas had been shocked by the warm welcome he’d received. Something had changed in his family but he wasn’t sure what it was. And probably wouldn’t be around long enough to find out…

       “They’re sweet little girls,” Erin was saying.

       “They’re trouble in triplicate,” Lucas muttered. “They were playing ‘wedding.’ If I hadn’t stepped in, they would have painted Max’s fingernails pink.”

       Erin’s lips curved into a smile. “I’m not surprised, with Jasmine and Cade’s wedding coming up in a few weeks.”

       “Mei mentioned they were getting married on Christmas Eve.”

       She nodded. “Everyone has been chipping in to help. Kylie Jones has been acting as Jasmine’s unofficial wedding planner, and Vivienne is planning the menu for the reception. Arabella is baking the cake and Zach is going to walk her down the aisle.”

       Lucas was stunned into silence—and not only because Erin knew more about what was going in his cousins’ lives than he did.

       “You don’t approve?”

       “I guess I’m surprised they do,” he admitted. “Nothing against Jasmine or Cade, but they just graduated from high school last spring. They’re pretty young to tie themselves down like that. They have their whole future ahead of them.”

       He saw Erin’s expression change and wished he could take back the words.

       But it was too late.

       Jasmine and Cade weren’t much older than they’d been the night Lucas had shown up at her door and proposed. No candlelight or flowers. Not even a ring.

       Erin had deserved better than what he’d offered the night he left town.

       She still did.

       Erin tried not to let Lucas see how his comment had affected her.

       If she’d ever wondered if he’d regretted leaving her behind, she didn’t have to wonder anymore.

       Once he’d crossed the Colorado state line, he’d probably turned a few cartwheels, relieved that he didn’t have anyone “tying him down.”

       She turned her attention back to Max, who had been listening to their exchange with wide-eyed fascination, and tapped a finger against the tip of his nose. If Lucas could pretend everything was fine, so could she.

       “How about I make sure you have enough cookies for the whole family?”

       “Okay.” Max reached for a wooden camel on the coffee table and held it up in front of Lucas. “This one’s Bob.”

       “Bob, huh? That’s a good name.” Lucas kept a straight face as he examined the carving.

       Erin watched the exchange, still not exactly sure what had happened.

       When she’d heard Max scream, she assumed that he had rolled off the sofa in his sleep. But Lucas had brushed aside her apology, as if he’d known something else had happened.

       Erin’s stomach had dropped to her feet when she’d seen Max sitting on the sofa, the color stripped from his rosy cheeks and his pupils dilated with fear. She’d seen wounded animals in that condition but never a child.