Tanya Michaels - Mistletoe Mommy

Brenna noted the boy’s earnest intensity. Was he used to having to defend his dad, speaking up for him out of habit, or was he specifically trying to impress upon her that his dad was a great catch?

“I’m sure he has a lot of good qualities,” she said neutrally.

He nodded. “It’s just that, even if he helped me with the cost of the car, I need to save up money for gas, insurance, all that stuff.”

Tell me about it, kid. She was painfully aware of how quickly “that stuff” added up.

“Mistletoe seems okay, but since we’re here for almost a month, I’m not getting to work this summer,” he said miserably. “If I had a job, I could start setting aside money for my sixteenth birthday.”

“That’s a very responsible attitude,” she said in praise. A lot of the teens she’d known, her stepbrother included, had spent money as soon as it was handed to them.

Brenna, on the other hand, had hoarded money as a kid-coins she found, a dollar handed to her by one of her mom’s boyfriends, even change left under her pillow by the tooth fairy. As if having twelve dollars and sixty-two cents in a purple hippo coin bank would add any security to her life.

“I’m very responsible,” Geoff said slowly. “A real hard worker. I mean, my mom hasn’t let me get an actual job because she worries it could interfere with classes, but I get great grades. And Mrs. Miller says I do a thorough job cutting her lawn. I do the edging by hand when I’m finished with the grass.”

He paused, straightening in his chair. Brenna thought she saw where he was going with this. She wouldn’t be able to help him, but she was impressed with his resourcefulness.

“I don’t suppose you need any help walking dogs?” he asked, his expression boyishly hopeful.

“Sorry.” Technically she did need seasonal help-assuming she could generate enough income to pay a second person. But that person would have to be over twenty-one for her company to remain appropriately insured and bonded. “I have special liability insurance because I go in and out of people’s homes-like in case something gets broken while I’m there-so I have to follow the age requirements.”

They were interrupted by a squeal of delight and Morgan skipping down the hall. She was followed closely by her sister and father.

“Looks like it’s time to pick out a name, after all,” Adam announced. “And we’re gonna need some supplies.”

“There’s a pet store on Juniper, three blocks over, that allows animals in the store,” Brenna said. She had a harness-style cat leash they could borrow; she traveled with a “just in case” plastic storage box stocked with tennis balls, pet leads and assorted treats. “You can follow me there. I’ve been meaning to drop off more business cards and promotional materials, anyway.”

When Kevin joined them, she thanked him without quite meeting his gaze, told him to have a great weekend and excused herself to step outside and return some calls. She liked the good-looking veterinarian, but since their breakup, their conversations had been a touch awkward.

She climbed into her car and had confirmed one schedule change and left a message by the time the Varners piled into their own vehicle. When she met them in front of the pet store, they’d reached a consensus.

“Her name is Ellie,” Morgan informed her.

Brenna dutifully assessed the cat that Eliza had cradled against her shoulder. “Yep, she looks like an Ellie! And I have something for her to wear in the store. It’s the smallest one I could find, but make sure you keep a good hold on her.” She handed Adam the orange kitty harness. His fingers brushed hers, so briefly she shouldn’t have even noticed.

But she did.

Inside the store Brenna watched the three kids dart in seemingly a dozen different directions. Geoff grabbed a cart while his sisters made a dash for supplies.

“Just the essentials,” Adam cautioned them. “Food, a litter box…” Trailing off, he glanced at Brenna questioningly.

“You’ll need a cat carrier,” she said. “Ellie may have been pretty well behaved for a ride across Mistletoe, but you don’t want to drive back to Tennessee with an unsecured cat in the car.”

“Definitely not. Carrier, check.”

“Maybe a cat bed.”

He stopped in front of a multilevel, carpeted kitty condo. “Scratching post?”

“My recommendation would be a scratching pad-inclined corrugated cardboard with some catnip in it. It costs less, it’s portable and it’s effective for training, redirecting her if she scratches something you’d rather she didn’t.”

They stopped on an aisle that sold beds and toys. Adam stood back, letting the kids debate colors and laugh at jingly mice. He smiled, but his expression turned sheepish as he faced Brenna. “You probably think I’m a bad parent, bribing my kids to win their affection.”

It was odd-and unexpectedly touching-that he might care what she thought.

“No,” she said softly. “I still remember my first pet.” It had been right after her mother walked out on them. Brenna had been in emotional turmoil, but Josh-who’d gone through his parents’ divorce, a remarriage and now a sudden abandonment-had been equally overwrought. Fred had taken them to the animal shelter and picked out an exuberant golden retriever puppy they’d named Otis.

For Brenna, that dog had been a godsend. She’d spent far too much of her life, even the relatively quiet and happy times, dreading her mother’s next mood swing or capricious life change. And though Fred Pierce was a wonderful man who’d shown her nothing but affectionate welcome, Brenna’s ingrained trepidation had remained. If her own mother hadn’t wanted her, why would a man with no real obligation to her? Otis had shown her unconditional love until the day he’d gone to the great Dog Park in the Sky.

“You okay?” Adam asked.

She blinked, startled to find that her eyes stung. “Sorry, my mind wandered. I was thinking about a golden retriever Josh and I used to have. I realize that, as someone who works with animals, I’m biased, but pets can be a miraculous addition to your life. As long as you don’t mind the occasional messes, clawed drapes, getting up to let the dog out at three in the morning and their bringing you something dead to show their love.”

Adam’s laugh helped put her uncharacteristically sentimental moment behind them. “Wow, when you put it like that… No, I do know what you mean. There have been medical studies arguing tangible health benefits of owning pets, like lower blood pressure. A few people even maintain that chances of survival after a heart attack are higher for pet-owners.”

“This one?” Morgan asked suddenly, approaching with a small red-and-ivory cat bed.

After exchanging glances with Brenna, who shrugged, Adam nodded. His daughter put the bed into the cart, and the kids rounded the end of the lane into the next aisle. The adults followed at a more leisurely pace, Adam absently rubbing a purring Ellie as they walked.

“So what got you interested in cardiac medicine?” Brenna asked.

“My dad, indirectly. He was my hero when I was young-big, gruff, but with a truly gentle heart. He was an anesthesiologist, used to come home in awe of the surgeries performed at the hospital, the people who’d been healed and the lives that had been saved. I looked up to him, so I guess I decided early that I wanted to be like the doctors he looked up to.” Adam hesitated, his lips pursed. “Think I fell short of the mark, forgetting somewhere why my dad was such a hero to me in the first place. He was a great father.”

“And you don’t think you are?” Brenna hadn’t meant to ask-the answer, which was none of her business, anyway, was obvious. But the question escaped on a sigh of disbelief. “I realize I barely know you, but I think you’re being too hard on yourself.”

He flashed her a wan grin. “My ex-wife might disagree.”

“Even after this trip? Because I see a man who’s trying to sincerely connect with his children. You may have made some mistakes, but who hasn’t?”

He was quiet a beat, perhaps mulling over her words. When he spoke again, his tone was lighter, curious. “What about you? You have any mistakes you regret?”

“Me?” The question startled her.

“I’m sorry. That was probably rude to ask.”

He looked so chagrined that she blurted, “I make mistakes all the time. Just last week I forgot that a family had changed their alarm code and left my notebook in the car. Thirty seconds after I stepped into their house, the siren was blaring and two cops from the Mistletoe Police Department had to come out.

“The noise nearly gave the poor Chihuahua I was sitting a heart attack. Not to mention, I felt like an idiot in front of several clients, including the next-door neighbor and one of the policemen on call. He has a mynah bird and an African gray parrot.”

Her confession might not be emotionally on par with Adam’s parental concerns, but his smile was both grateful and sympathetic.

“So, lesson learned,” she concluded. “From now on I take my notebook inside even if I’ve done the assignment a hundred times and feel like I know everything. Especially if I feel like I know everything, because those are the times when you forget to notice what’s going on around you.”

He looked thoughtful. “The same could be said for marriage. I-”

“Dad, we found the food Dr. Higgs recommended,” Eliza called from her kneeling position in front of the shelf. “What size bag do we want?”

After that, the kids needed more input and there was less time for Brenna and Adam to talk. Helping the Varners plan for Ellie’s care, Brenna found herself back on familiar, neutral territory.

Until Adam pulled out his credit card for the cashier and turned to ask Brenna, “So, should we just follow you to your house now?”