Upon a Midnight Clear Read online

  Tony nodded as he headed over to it. He took out his wallet and paid the vendor. "All right, m'lady, it's yours."

  Tony grabbed the tree and hiked it over his shoulder.

  Back at the house, he helped her set the tree in the stand. Only after they had wrapped several strings of tiny gold lights around the thick green branches did Tony's beeper sound. He pulled the beeper off his belt and looked at the number. "My service," he said, automatically recognizing the number. He kissed Kim on the lips. "I have a sneaky suspicion I'm going to have to go to the hospital for a while."

  She nodded. "The phone is in the kitchen."

  She understood. Even before he volunteered to help her pick out the tree he had warned her he was on call.

  A few minutes later, Tony reappeared behind her. "Unfortunately, I have to go back in," he said as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close to him. "I can't remember when I've had a better afternoon."

  "Will you stop by later?" she asked.

  He kissed her forehead before he spoke. "I thought you'd never ask."

  "In case I fall asleep," she said, handing him her key. "Let yourself in."

  When Kim opened her eyes the house was completely dark with the exception of the lights on the Christmas tree. Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" played softly on the stereo. She glanced over at the fire, which had died down except for a few embers that were still smoldering.

  She smiled to herself, recalling her day. After Tony left, she had rummaged through the basement and found the old box of Christmas ornaments that she and her mother had always used to decorate the tree. In a box beside the decorations were the old Christmas albums her parents had collected through the years. Kim had spent the rest of the afternoon and evening on a date with Christmas past, listening to Christmas carols as she unwrapped the old, familiar ornaments and hung them on the tree.

  She heard the lock turn and smiled to herself.

  Tony crept into the room and knelt down beside the couch where Kim lay curled up.

  "Hi," he whispered, putting his hand to her cheek.

  "Hi," she answered. '

  "I thought you'd be asleep by now."

  "What time is it?" she asked, yawning as she pushed herself up.

  "Close to eleven."

  "Did you see my dad?"

  "I checked in on him right before I left. He was sleeping and doing just fine."

  "Thank you," she said.

  He sat up on the couch next to her, picked up her hand, and kissed it. "The tree looks beautiful," he said, wrapping his arm around her.

  "Thanks. Do you want something to drink?"

  He shook his head. "I didn't want to leave you today," he said quietly, caressing her fingers. "I've had a hard time thinking about anyone—or anything else."

  She inhaled slightly as he began to lightly kiss each fingertip. "As a matter of fact," he said, his eyes settling on hers, "I've had a hard time thinking of anything else since I met you."

  She leaned forward and kissed him. She slid her fingers inside his shirt as she drew him toward her. "I'm sure you say that to all the girls."

  He shook his head. "Never," he said seriously. "I don't play games. I don't have time for them." He kissed her forehead and ran his lips down the side of her face, breathing in the faint, dean smell of her perfume. "I've known what I wanted for a long time. Until recently, I was beginning to give up hope that my wish would ever come true."

  "What exactly did you wish for?" Kim asked as innocently as she could manage.

  He held her hand to his lips and kissed it. "A woman…" he said, thinking. "A woman that I… well, could never forget"

  "And what happened recently?" Kim teased as she leaned back on the couch.

  His eyes locked with hers as he slowly began to unbutton her blouse. He whispered, "I met you."

  * * *

  Chapter Six

  Harold Risson sat up in bed and impatiently hit the buzzer for the nurse. He had always been self-sufficient, and he found himself resenting the fact that he was dependent upon others for so many things. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he grabbed his robe and wrapped it around his slender frame. Cautiously he stood up and made his way to the door, slightly embarrassed that his staff would see him walking around clad only in a bathrobe and slippers.

  The whole experience of being a patient in the same unit that he presided over had been a humbling one. But still, he did not feel sorry for himself. Instead, he felt gratified that his illness had allowed him to be with his daughter once more. Her being there had helped heal his heart more than any of the many medications he was forced to take each day.

  Harold shuffled awkwardly into the hall and looked both ways for a nurse. The hall was practically empty. He made his way toward the pantry, determined to get his own water.

  Outside the doorway he stopped. There were people inside the pantry. People saying his name.

  "… Risson. Imagine my surprise. Who would've even thought he had a heart!" There was the sound of a woman's laughter.

  "Well, you've heard the news, I'm sure," a man's voice piped in. "Guess who Hoffman's latest conquest is? Kim Risson."

  "Noway!"

  "I saw her riding on his motorcycle the other day. And this morning I drove by Risson's house on my way to work… Hoffman's car was parked outside."

  Harold stood still for a moment, not quite believing what he had heard. Surely they were mistaken.,

  "Can you imagine? Risson would have another heart attack if he found out his daughter was dating the same guy he'd been trying to fire."

  "What does Risson call him again?"

  "An immature kid masquerading as a doctor."

  There was laughter, then a man's voice again. "I wish they'd just fire Risson. I'd rather work for Hoffman any day."

  "Hoffman?" the woman asked. "You think he'll succeed Risson?"

  "I think he wants to." The man laughed. "Whether he will or not is another story."

  Harold Risson turned away from the pantry and slowly made his way back to his room. Kim and Tony? He refused to believe it. Surely his daughter had more common sense than to be taken in by a man like Tony Hoffman.

  He had made it back to the doorway to his room when he heard the woman from the pantry call his name.

  Harold stopped, his hand on the doorknob.

  "Dr. Risson?" the woman repeated as she ran up to him. She was a pretty nurse in her fifties. Harold had seen her many times before. Never would he have imagined himself as the object of her gossip. "What are you doing?" she asked. "You shouldn't be up walking around."

  He touched his throat. "I need a glass of water. Please."

  Kim drove the Cadillac into the parking lot, pulling in in front of a large, unruly-looking snowbank. She jumped out of the car and smiled. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and two large fresh green wreaths had been placed outside the hospital doors in honor of the approaching holiday.

  Kim had to admit she was enjoying this Christmas season. She was with her family—her dad. And of course, there was Tony.

  When she had opened her eyes and seen Tony lying there beside her, his arms still wrapped around her, she had been filled with a warm, calm sense of intimacy. She didn't want the morning to end.

  In fact, when Tony left, she had found herself unable to think of anything else. So she had done the only thing she could think of. She had started work on his Christmas present. She had had little trouble deciding what to give him. She would paint him a picture.

  Kim stepped inside the hospital, glancing around for Tony, even though she knew that he was in surgery. She took the elevator to her father's floor, clutching the fresh-baked bagels she had brought for him. She knocked on his door and stepped inside. Her father was sitting straight up in bed. When she entered the room, he raised an accusatory eyebrow.

  "Hi, Dad," she said, giving him a kiss on the forehead. "How are you feeling this morning?"

  "Sit down, Kim," he said sternly. "I want to tal