It Must Be Christmas Read online

  He crossed his ankle over his knee. “Charlie, it’s a big thing taking on a newborn. There’s a reason why women take maternity leave.”

  “Is his being here a problem?”

  Josh’s face softened. “Of course not. The practice isn’t that busy, and I don’t mind covering a little bit. It’s a good thing you’re doing.”

  “Thanks, Josh.” She let out a breath of relief. “I appreciate the support. You’ve been really understanding.”

  Josh smiled. “Hey, I’m not a scrooge. Besides, I know it’s only temporary.”

  The words left a gaping hole in her heart. “I don’t want to give him back,” she confessed. Every maternal instinct she’d tamped down for the last few days came roaring back. She did want this. She wanted a family of her own, to love and to be loved. To be needed. She swallowed as she rubbed her hand over Daniel’s tiny back.

  Boy, Dave was right about one thing. Life didn’t come with a perfect blueprint for happiness.

  “Are you planning on adopting him?”

  She swallowed. Was she? “I don’t know. I want a family, but one thing I’ve learned is that being a single parent is really hard. I’m just enjoying him while I have him and trying not to worry too much about the future.”

  She sat back, surprised at the words that came out of her mouth. Her, the super planner, who had everything mapped out and on schedule. She was living in the here and now. Wouldn’t Dave have something to say about that?

  She wished she hadn’t thought of Dave at this moment … Dave, who already had a child of his own. She wanted him to have a relationship with Nora, but she wondered how much room there was for her in that scenario. It had been nice spending time with him over the weekend. Wonderful, in fact. She wasn’t a fast mover but she’d definitely let her mind wander to certain places, wondering if they were headed in that direction.

  But the reality was that the weekend was a little like a vacation. They’d shopped and ate pizza and kissed and flirted, but it was an anomaly. A nice memory. This, right here, was who she was. Anything else was just …

  Vacation.

  Josh tapped his chin, and she could tell he was considering his next words. Her stomach twisted with nerves. He was her boss, after all. And she knew she’d been juggling trying to care for Daniel and still see all her patients. She didn’t want to let him down. And this morning she was just so tired …

  “I was thinking,” he said, his voice soft but firm, letting her know what was coming next wasn’t exactly a suggestion. “Maybe you could find someone to help with Daniel while you’re working, if you’re so determined to not take time off.”

  Leave him home? With a sitter? At his age?

  “He’s bottle fed, which makes things much more convenient. You could use your office, set up a playpen, bring in a comfy chair. I even have the perfect candidate.”

  “You do?”

  He nodded. “My mom. She’s going crazy, waiting for more grandkids.”

  “Josh, I don’t know what to say. You’ve asked her already, haven’t you?”

  He smiled. “I might have put a bug in her ear. You’re not superwoman, Charlie. Just think about it and let me know. And after your last appointment this morning, go home. I’ll cover walk-ins today.”

  “But it’s my shift…”

  “Consider it a Christmas present. Or an order from your boss, if that doesn’t work.”

  She was touched. Josh wasn’t always touchy-feely but his gesture was so thoughtful. After he left her office, Charlie grabbed the chart for her next patient.

  She found herself wondering about Daniel’s mother. In her job, she tried to keep an open mind, because she was generally shown time and again that unless you walked in someone else’s shoes, you just didn’t know what they had been through. But still, even if leaving him in the manger had been planned as they suspected, it was dangerous. Desperate.

  Clearly, she wasn’t entirely objective about this situation. But that was what she loved about this job too. When she’d first moved here, she’d been so professional, able to distance herself from her patients. But slowly she’d started caring about them in more than just an empathetic way. They weren’t family, but they were community.

  The thought was comforting somehow. Maybe Josh was so good at it because he’d been here all his life. Maybe, just maybe, this was starting to be her home too.

  Shortly after eleven Dave texted to ask if she wanted to meet for lunch. She waited until her current appointment was finished, and then considered. Did she want to see him again? Hell yes. She was dying to know what had happened between him and Janice.

  When she caught her next break, she called him instead of texting, and asked if he was busy for dinner. When he said he wasn’t, she offered to bring dinner to his place after work. She’d grab some takeout Chinese and meet him at the cottage.

  She was afraid she might be falling for him, and how stupid was that? He wasn’t even sure if he was staying in Jewell Cove, and she called herself ten times the fool for letting her imagination get the best of her.

  Chapter Ten

  Charlie sat back in her chair and put her hand on her stomach. “Oh my God. I’m so stuffed I think I’m going to blow up.” Dave was still polishing off his mountain of cashew chicken and fried rice, but Charlie was so full of lo mein that she couldn’t think of eating another bite. “That was good.”

  It was extra nice to have a night out without the baby … in some ways, this felt like more of a date than their official date had. Tonight Meggie Collins was at Charlie’s house, getting to know Daniel and crocheting something pretty out of pink yarn. Josh’s idea had been a good one. Charlie loved looking after Daniel, but the break was lovely too.

  Dave nodded. “I haven’t had takeout like that in ages. When I was stationed at Little Creek, there was this place we used to go to that had the best hot-and-spicy beef thing. It was perfect with a cold beer.” He grinned at her. “Or two.”

  “Do you miss that life?” she asked. “Being in the Navy?”

  “I wasn’t just in the Navy, Charlie. I was a SEAL.”

  His smile had faded. “I know,” she answered quietly. Just as she knew there was a difference. She’d never asked him what he’d done or seen or anything more about his job. She figured a man couldn’t do a job like that without facing a few ugly truths about the world.

  They sat in silence for a few more moments and then Charlie couldn’t stand it. She got up and started clearing away the mess. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea after all. Dave didn’t seem his usual happy-go-lucky self. He was … broody.

  She rinsed the plates and started running water in the sink to wash the few dishes they’d dirtied. His chair scraped against the floor as he pushed it back and stood, and her heartbeat quickened a little when he came up behind her and reached around for the drying cloth.

  “You didn’t ask me about yesterday,” he said. “It must be killing you.”

  Annoyance flared. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

  He gave a little laugh at her sharp reply. “Easy, tiger. I just meant that you aren’t always patient when it comes to wanting answers. I figure you’re either not interested in what happened or you’re too afraid to ask.”

  She hoped her expression portrayed calm and perhaps a touch of ennui. “Why on earth would I be afraid?”

  “Charlie,” he said quietly, and her heart knocked against her ribs.

  “Don’t say my name in that kind of voice. I’ve been an idiot, okay? We can just go back to being friends, like we said.”

  She scrubbed at a plate and put it in the drying rack. He instantly picked it up and dried it. “Whoever said we were just friends?”

  She didn’t reply. Damn, he was patient. More patient than she was. They continued washing the dishes until there was nothing left to wash, and then Charlie finally said what had been on the tip of her tongue ever since she walked in the door.

  “You promised you’d call.”

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