A Family for Christmas (Contemporary Romance Novella) Read online

  A Family for Christmas

  By

  Helen Scott Taylor

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  Copyright © 2012 by Helen Taylor

  Cover design © Helen Taylor

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  The right of Helen Taylor to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  This is a work of fiction. All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Copyright owner.

  Acknowledgement

  Thanks to my critique partner Mona Risk for her invaluable input, to my editor Pam Berehulke for her usual thorough job, and lastly thanks to my cover artist Su Kopil from Earthly Charms who created the beautiful book cover.

  Chapter One

  The windshield wipers slashed madly to and fro in a useless attempt to clear the huge, fluffy snowflakes. Eve narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. Her fingers clenched around the steering wheel as she tried to see where she was going.

  Her gaze darted down to her speedometer—ten miles an hour. At this rate she didn't stand a chance of making her performance evaluation on time—the most important appointment of the day—the one that could affect her future prospects with the accounting firm where she worked.

  She should have cleared her schedule for the afternoon so she didn't miss the meeting with the firm's senior partner. All six partners had a say as to whom they would invite to join the partnership, but the senior partner had a lot of influence. It was important to impress him, and missing her evaluation wasn't going to earn her any brownie points. A sigh hissed out between her gritted teeth, and she raged inwardly at the unfairness of life.

  The snow battering the glass eased. She stared out across the bleak white moorland—not another vehicle or person in sight. Thank heavens she was cocooned in her toasty warm car and not out there.

  Her gaze flicked back to the road and her headlights gleamed off animal eyes. Eve stamped on the brake. As if in slow motion, the rear of her car fishtailed to the side. With a horrible thunk, her back wheels dropped off the edge of the road into a ditch. The vehicle came to a shuddering halt, and the engine died. The sudden silence beat at her ears. Heart thumping, she raised a trembling hand to her chest.

  When her pulse settled down and her breathing returned to normal, she turned the ignition key and sagged with relief as the engine burst into life. She eased her foot down on the gas and tried to drive forward. The back wheels whined as they spun, but the car didn't move.

  "Wonderful. Just wonderful." She wouldn't make her appointment now. She pulled her phone out of her bag and checked for a signal. Thank heavens there was one. Up here in this god-forsaken wasteland of a place, she half expected to be in a mobile phone dead zone. She dialed her firm's Plymouth office and explained she was unable to make her evaluation meeting due to the weather, and rescheduled it for Monday afternoon.

  Once that was done, she released a harried breath and stared out the windshield as the snow slashed against her car. All she could do was call roadside assistance and wait to be rescued.

  She dug out the phone number from her glove box, dialed, and waited. After holding for ten minutes, she was finally put through to talk to someone. She explained where she was, what had happened, and gave her contact details.

  "We'll get a man out to you as soon as possible," the call center operator said, "but we're very busy at the moment so it might not be until tomorrow."

  "Tomorrow!" Eve stiffened in shock. "What do you expect me to do? Sleep all night in my car?"

  "I'm sorry, madam. The bad weather has meant we've had a lot of calls in the last few hours. I suggest you walk to the nearest town and find somewhere to stay."

  Eve's eyes widened as she gazed at the endless empty miles of nothingness outside. There wasn't even one dot of light in the murk that might suggest a house. "I'm in the middle of Dartmoor," she replied, far more patiently than she felt. "There are no towns. And it's snowing like mad."

  "Well, perhaps you'd better wrap up warm and stay in your car," the woman said.

  "Yes. Thank you for that pearl of wisdom," Eve muttered and cut the connection.

  She sucked in a breath and turned to peer out the back window, hoping for a sign of civilization. Although she was pretty sure she hadn't passed any houses for miles.

  She didn't know what to do next, so instead her mind wandered back to the cause of her accident. Some kind of animal had been out there. It was probably long gone, but…

  Eve turned on the wipers again. Her headlights were now useless as the angle of the car made them shine into the darkening sky. She switched them off, let her eyes adjust, and surveyed the road. A tiny form moved in the whiteness. A lamb? It couldn't be. Surely farmers didn't breed lambs to be born in December when the weather was likely to be bad?

  Had her car hit the poor little creature? She squinted harder, but couldn't see clearly through the blizzard. There was nothing else to do. She would have to climb out and check.

  Eve grabbed her coat from the back seat and struggled to put it on in the confined space, buttoning it up to the neck. She pushed open her car door and gasped as the icy wind whipped snow into her face. Quickly, she climbed out and shut the door to keep in the warmth. Freezing water trickled into her shoes and bits of snow stung her skin. She trod cautiously over the slick surface, a hand on her car to stop from slipping.

  In the road, a tiny lamb stood shivering, bleating plaintively, wire tangled around its legs. No wonder the poor little thing hadn't moved. Narrowing her eyes against the icy flakes, she crouched and tried to unravel the wire caught in the creature's woolly coat. A spike gouged her hand, but her fingers were nearly numb from cold so she hardly felt it. She sucked away a drop of blood and continued working to untangle the lamb.

  Her teeth chattered and she shivered inside her coat. Eventually, she was able to lift the tiny creature out of the twisted strands. After kicking the bunch of wire to the edge of the road, she hurried back to her car with the lamb in her arms. She opened her car door, getting a shoe full of icy water in the ditch, then deposited the small animal on her passenger's seat and followed it into the welcoming warmth.

  "You poor little thing." Eve started her car engine and turned the heater up full, rubbing her hands together in the hot air. The tiny creature stared at her with innocent dark eyes, its hooves leaving dirty skid marks on the cream leather car seat. She released a sigh and hoped the animal didn't decide to relieve itself.

  Bleating, the lamb pressed its nose against the window. "You're better off inside, little guy. Believe me." Eve stroked its damp curly fur, feeling its bony body beneath. The poor thing couldn't be more than a week or two old. How had it ended up out here all alone? And what was she going to do with it?

  The time was only three thirty, but the sky was already darkening. She didn't like her chances of trying to walk to civilization, so it looked as though she would be spending the night in the car. With a farm animal. She smiled ruefully. At least the situation would give her an entertaining story to tell her brother, Connor, at Christmastime. If she saw him.

  The sadness she usually held at bay by occupying herself with work welled inside her. If Connor's wif
e, Lilly, had her way, Eve wouldn't get to see her twin brother at Christmas, or any other time. The family had fallen apart when her parents died. Her eldest brother, Ed, had moved to Germany with his job, but she'd at least thought she still had Connor. She hadn't bargained on Lilly being so possessive and jealous of their close relationship.

  For a moment, Eve wondered why she was so anxious to get home for Christmas next weekend when she would probably spend it alone and working. But she enjoyed her work. There were a lot of people worse off than she was.

  Huge, bright headlights suddenly blinked on about a half mile away, jolting her from her musings. With a burst of hope, Eve leaned forward, squinting to see what sort of vehicle was coming. A truck, no…a tractor.

  Maybe she wouldn't have to spend the night in her car. If the tractor towed her to the main road, she might reach her hotel in Plymouth tonight. She chewed her lip as the mammoth vehicle crawled closer through the snow, the drone of its engine rumbling. It halted a short distance in front of her car. The door opened and a man climbed down from the cab and came towards her.

  She was pleased to see him, but it didn't hurt to be careful. She locked all her doors and cracked the window open. He bent and looked inside. "You okay?"

  She caught a flash of blue eyes beneath the wool hat pulled low on his head.

  "I'm not hurt, but my car's stuck," she said.

  He tried the door handle and she quickly made a decision and unlocked it. Caution was all very well, but right now she needed help. He crouched down, so wrapped up with a scarf and upturned collar that all she could see was his nose. "Where'd you find Pickle?"

  "Pickle?" Eve stared at the man blankly.

  "The lamb. I've been searching for him for hours."

  "Ah." Eve glanced at the woolly creature lying happily beside her. "He's what put me in the ditch. He was tangled in some wire in the middle of the road."

  "Oh." The man rubbed the back of his gloved hand over his face. "Sorry about that."

  "Can you tow me out with your tractor and help me reach the main road?"

  "Not now. It's getting dark and the weather's closing in."

  Eve thought the weather had already "closed in" but she didn't say so.

  "You'd better come home with me tonight. It's the least I can do after Pickle put you in the ditch. I'll tow you out in the morning if the snow stops."

  Eve stared at the man's dark silhouette against the glowing white landscape. She wouldn't normally go home with a stranger, and she certainly didn't want to, but her choice was that or sleep in the car. "Thanks, Mister…?"

  "Tom Millington."

  To her surprise, he extended a hand. She grasped his cold, leather-gloved fingers and shook.

  "I'm Eve Scott."

  "Well, Eve, you'd better bring anything valuable with you," he said, standing. "It's unlikely a thief will come along, but you never know. Even up here."

  While she gathered her laptop bag, handbag, and the small overnight suitcase, Tom went around to the other side of her car, opened the passenger door, and gently picked up the lamb. He unbuttoned his coat and tucked the creature inside so only its head stuck out under his chin. With one hand supporting the animal, he picked up her suitcase and headed for the tractor.

  Eve followed him, wading through the snow that had grown a lot deeper, even since she climbed out to bring Pickle into the car. Surely farmers didn't normally name their sheep? She wondered about it for a moment, then turned her attention to climbing into the massive blue tractor. Tom went up the metal steps on the side of the vehicle and stowed her suitcase, then held a hand down. She passed him her laptop bag and purse, drawing a fortifying breath. "Here goes."

  She grabbed the icy metal handhold and wedged the toe of her pump on the bottom step, then climbed to the next one. Tom's hand gripped under her arm and she found herself hauled unceremoniously into the small cab beside him. She hadn't realized how big he was until she was jammed in the snug space with him.

  He leaned around her to close the door, his coat brushing her front. She came face to face with Pickle who looked snuggly and content cocooned against Tom's chest. She had the strange random thought that she wouldn't mind being snuggled into a warm chest herself right now, but immediately put the idea out of her head. Tom Millington might be her knight in shining armor—or in his case, knight in a wool hat and rather scruffy coat—but she was attracted to professional men. Men who put farm animals inside their jackets were definitely not her type.

  "Let's keep the heat in," he said. "It's only a short drive home, but the weather's damn cold out there now."

  A cold nose pressed against Eve's leg and she jumped. "Don't mind Noodles. He's friendly."

  Very friendly, she thought as the border collie pushed its nose beneath the hem of her skirt again. Tom folded down a small seat for her and then sat in front of the controls. She made herself as comfortable as she could, perched behind him, as he pulled and pushed at levers. Then the tractor lurched forward with a roar.

  For a few minutes, Eve concentrated on hanging on and keeping the dog's nose out of her crotch, then the blizzard eased and the tractor's headlights cut a swath of light across the frozen moorland, eerily beautiful in its stark white winter coat.

  Tom had turned down the collar of his jacket, revealing a darkly stubbled jaw and a few wisps of dark hair poking out from beneath his hat. "You warm enough?" he asked as he negotiated the narrow, snow-covered road.

  "My hands and feet are a bit chilly, but I'm okay, thanks."

  It occurred to her that he didn't have the usual Devon twang to his voice. In fact, he was quite well-spoken.

  The tractor turned down a lane off the road, one that Eve wouldn't even have noticed, and headed across the bleak, empty moorland towards a clump of trees in the distance. Between the snow-laden branches of the pine copse, lights gleamed. Civilization at last!

  They entered a farmyard with a range of farm buildings along two sides and a farmhouse on the other. Lights blazed, the snow turning everything sparkling white and pristine. Tom cut the engine and opened the door. "Let me help you out in case you slip."

  A strong hand gripped her arm and supported her. He followed her down as she negotiated the slick metal steps. Although in other circumstances it would be fun riding up high in the tractor with a view over the countryside, right now she was relieved to have her feet back on solid ground.

  "Thanks," she said as Tom handed down her laptop and purse. She would much rather be snug in her hotel room than having to throw herself on the mercy of a stranger, but she was determined to be gracious about the situation.

  "You go in." Tom indicated the house. "The door's unlocked. I'll be there in a moment."

  Eve didn't need any more encouragement to get out of the cold. She made her way carefully through a small gate and along what was probably a footpath, although right now it was hidden by snow. When she reached the house, she entered and shut the door behind her, breathing in the smell of something delicious cooking, mixed with the fragrance of wood smoke.

  She kicked off her ruined favorite shoes with a little sigh of regret and rubbed her chilled toes. She was in a mudroom with rubber boots heaped in the corner, coats hung on a row of pegs, a freezer, washing machine, tumble dryer, and a sink flanked by a counter stacked with dog food and baby bottles.

  Before she had a chance to venture farther into the house, Tom burst through the door behind her, the collie on his heels. "Lord, it's brass monkeys out there." He pulled off his heavy leather gloves and blew on his fingers.

  Eve smiled tentatively as he levered off his rubber boots and unbuttoned his coat. She was surprised to see he still had the lamb. He set the animal down and it trotted farther into the house as if it knew its way. She blinked as he pulled off his wool hat and scarf and turned towards her, running his fingers back through thick, dark hair. His blue eyes settled on her and his lips quirked. She hadn't expected him to be so good-looking. Turning away, she pretended to glance around.
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br />   "Welcome to my humble abode." Tom extended a hand towards the hallway. "Shall we go to the kitchen and warm up?"

  "Yes. Thanks." Suddenly Eve didn't know what to say. Silly how just because he was attractive she felt awkward. She preceded him along a tiled hall into a kitchen with a flagstone floor and low-beamed ceiling. A scrubbed wooden table sat in the middle and a selection of comfortable chairs was set around the walls.

  An old woman in an apron was tidying the counter. She turned as they came in. "Thought you'd got lost out there, Mr. Millington," she said in a broad Devon accent. "There's a nice lamb casserole in the oven for you. It'll be ready in an hour." After rescuing Pickle from the snow, Eve wasn't sure she was crazy about lamb casserole, but Tom didn't seem bothered. She supposed farmers couldn't be sentimental about their animals.

  "Eve, this is Mrs. Undy. She keeps us fed and the house in some semblance of order."

  Eve nodded a greeting as the woman looked her way with a curious glance. "My car's stuck in the snow," she said, feeling as though she should explain her unexpected appearance.

  "Sit down here and warm up." Tom stepped closer to a wood-burning stove and patted the back of a sagging old chair covered in dog hair. "Where's Polly?" he asked Mrs. Undy, glancing around.

  "In her bedroom, last time as I looked."

  "I'd better go and tell her we've found Pickle." Tom ducked under a low doorway and disappeared, leaving Eve with Mrs. Undy.

  Eve brushed the worst of the dog hair off the chair, sat down, and stretched her cold toes towards the heat. Mrs. Undy gave her a broad grin. Eve returned a tentative smile. "Such bad luck me getting caught out by the weather like that. Does it snow here a lot?"

  "Every winter, love. People 'round these parts know what to expect, but we always get a few grockles caught out by the weather."

  "Grockles?"

  "Tourists, love." Mrs. Undy glanced at Eve's overnight suitcase. "Looks like you came prepared to stay."

  "Oh, no. I was heading for a hotel in Plymouth. I'm only on Dartmoor because I had a business appointment at Crawley Manor Country Club. From there, I didn't have any choice but to drive across the moor."