One Night Before Christmas. Robyn Grady

      Once a social animal comfortable at cocktail parties and business lunches, she now preferred the company of chipmunks and woodpeckers and the occasional fox. Dull, dull, dull...

      Leo kicked aside a dangerously sharp portion of what had been the dresser mirror. “I’ll take my chances. I’ve got nowhere to go and nobody to see, as my grandfather used to say. You and Teddy brighten the prospect of my long exile considerably.”

      “Are you ever going to tell me why you’re here?” she asked without censoring her curiosity.

      He shrugged. “It’s not a very interesting story...but maybe...when it’s time.”

      “How will you know?” This odd conversation seemed to have many layers. Her question erased Leo’s charmingly flirtatious smile and replaced it with a scowl.

      “You’re a pain in the butt,” he said, the words a low growl.

      “I told you I’m no rose.”

      He took her arm and steered her toward the front door. “Then pretend,” he muttered. “Can you do that?”

      Their muted altercation was interrupted by the arrival of the insurance agent. The next hour was consumed with questions and photographs and introducing Leo to the agent. The two men soon had their heads together as they climbed piles of rubble and inspected every cranny of the doomed cabin.

      Phoebe excused herself and walked down the path, knowing that Allison would be ready to go home. As she opened the door and entered the cabin, Teddy greeted her with a chortle and a grin. Envy pinched her heart, but stronger still was happiness that the baby recognized her and was happy to see her.

      Given Phoebe’s background, her sister had been torn about the arrangement. But Phoebe had reassured her, and eventually, her sister and brother-in-law gave in. Dragging a baby across the ocean was not an easy task in ideal circumstances, and facing the disposal of an entire estate, they knew Teddy would be miserable and they would be overwhelmed.

      Still, Phoebe knew they missed their small son terribly. They used FaceTime to talk to him when Phoebe went into town and had a decent phone signal, and she sent them constant, newsy updates via email and texts. But they were so far away. She suspected they regretted their decision to leave him. Probably, they were working like fiends to take care of all the estate business so they could get back to the U.S. sooner.

      When Allison left, Phoebe held Teddy and looked out the window toward the other cabin. Leo and the insurance agent were still measuring and assessing the damage. She rubbed the baby’s back. “I think Santa has sent us our present early, my little man. Leo is proving to be a godsend. Now all I have to do is ignore the fact that he’s the most attractive man I’ve seen in a long, long time, and that he makes it hard to breathe whenever I get too close to him, and I’ll be fine.”

      Teddy continued sucking his thumb, his long-lashed eyelids growing heavy as he fought sleep.

      “You’re no help,” she grumbled. His weight was comfortable in her arms. Inhaling his clean baby smell made her womb clench. What would it be like to share a child with Leo Cavallo? Would he be a good father, or an absent one?

      The man in question burst through the front door suddenly, bringing with him the smell of the outdoors. “Honey, I’m home.” His humor lightened his face and made him seem younger.

      Phoebe grinned at him. “Take off your boots, honey.” She was going to have to practice keeping him at arm’s length. Leo Cavallo had the dangerous ability to make himself seem harmless. Which was a lie. Even in a few short hours, Phoebe had recognized and assessed his sexual pull.

      Some men simply oozed testosterone. Leo was one of them.

      It wasn’t just his size, though he was definitely a bear of a man. More than that, he emanated a gut-level masculinity that made her, in some odd way, far more aware of her own carnal needs. She would like to blame it on the fact that they were alone together in the woods, but in truth, she would have had the same reaction to him had they met at the opera or on the deck of a yacht.

      Leo was a man’s man. The kind of male animal who caught women in his net without even trying. Phoebe had thought herself immune to such silly, pheromone-driven impulses, but with Leo in her house, she recognized an appalling truth. She needed sex. She wanted sex. And she had found just the man to satisfy her every whim.

      Her face heated as she pretended to be occupied with the baby. Leo shed his coat and pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “Here,” he said. “Take a look. I’ll hold the kid.”

      Before Phoebe could protest, Leo scooped Teddy into his arms and lifted him toward the ceiling. Teddy, who had been sleepy only moments before, squealed with delight. Shaking her head at the antics of the two males who seemed in perfect accord, Phoebe sank into a kitchen chair and scanned the list Leo had handed her.

      “Ouch,” she said, taking a deep breath for courage. “According to this, I was probably right about the bulldozer.”

      Leo shook his head. “No. I realize the bottom line looks bad, but it would be even worse to build a new cabin from the ground up. Your agent thinks the settlement will be generous. All you have to provide is an overabundance of patience.”

      “We may have a problem,” she joked. “That’s not my strong suit.”

      Teddy’s shirt had rucked up. Leo blew a raspberry against the baby’s pudgy, soft-skinned stomach. “I’ll do my best to keep you out of it. Unless you want to be consulted about every little detail.”

      Phoebe shuddered. “Heavens, no. If you’re foolish enough to offer me the chance to get my property repaired without my lifting a finger, then far be it from me to nitpick.”

      Teddy wilted suddenly as Leo cuddled him. What was it about the sight of a big, strong man being gentle with a baby that made a woman’s heart melt? Phoebe told herself she shouldn’t be swayed by such an ordinary thing, but she couldn’t help it. Seeing Leo hold little Teddy made her insides mushy with longing. She wanted it all. The man. The baby. Was that too much to ask?

      Leo glanced over at her, hopefully not noticing the way her eyes misted over.

      “You want me to put him in his bed?” he asked.

      “Sure. He takes these little forty-five-minute catnaps on and off instead of one long one. But he seems happy, so I go with the flow.”

      Leo paused in the hallway. “How long have you had him?”

      “Two weeks. We’ve settled into a routine of sorts.”

      “Until I came along to mess things up.”

      “If you’re fishing for compliments, forget it. You’ve already earned your keep, and it hasn’t even been twenty-four hours yet.”

      He flashed her a grin. “Just think how much you’ll love me when you get to know me.”

      Her knees went weak, and she wasn’t even standing. “Go put him down, Leo, and behave.”

      He kissed the baby’s head, smiling down at him. “She’s a hard case, kiddo. But I’ll wear her down.”

      When Leo disappeared from sight, Phoebe exhaled loudly. She’d been holding her breath and hadn’t even realized it. Rising to her feet unsteadily, she went from window to window closing the curtains. Darkness fell early in this mountain holler, as the old generation called it. Soon it would be the longest night of the year.

      Phoebe had learned to dread the winter months. Not just the snow and ice and cold, gray days, but the intense loneliness. It had been the season of Christmas one year when she lost everything. Each anniversary brought it all back. But even before the advent of Leo, she had been determined to make this year better. She had a baby in the house. And now a guest. Surely that was enough to manufacture holiday cheer and thaw some of the ice that had kept her captive for so long.

      Leo returned, carrying his laptop. He made himself at home on the sofa.