Praise for JILL SORENSON
With Jill Sorenson, you are guaranteed a dangerously addictive, gut-wrenchingly tight paced read.
New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Tyler
Sorensons sleek sensuality and fresh new voice are sure to score big with readers.
New York Times bestselling author Cindy Gerard
This heartwarming adventure story has an unusual setting and perfect details, making it one of the best books of the year. RT BOOKReviews on Stranded with Her Ex (4.5 stars Top Pick)
Buy this book. I LOVED it. New York Times bestselling author Maya Banks on Tempted by Her Target
Praise for JENNIFER MOREY
Great characterization and a thrilling plot make this a must-read book.
RT BOOKReviews on Special Ops Affair
The story starts with strong emotion and the action is fast throughout. This is a heartwarming book.
RT BOOKReviews on Librarians Secret Scandal
Morey is an experienced writer who easily picks up the threads of the Colton family with imaginative and fairly true to life characters.
TheRomanceReader.com on Librarians Secret Scandal
JILL SORENSON writes sexy romantic suspense. Her books have appeared in Cosmopolitan magazine.
After earning a degree in literature and a bilingual teaching credential from California State University, she decided teaching wasnt her cup of tea. She started writing one day while her firstborn was taking a nap and hasnt stopped since. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two young daughters.
JENNIFER MOREY Two-time 2009 RITA® Award nominee and a Golden Quill winner for Best First Book for The Secret Soldier, Jennifer Morey writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Project manager du jour, she works for the space systems segment of a satellite imagery and information company and lives in sunny Denver, Colorado. She can be reached through her website, www.jennifermorey.com, and on Facebook.
Risky Christmas
Holiday Secrets
Jill Sorenson
Kidnapped at Christmas
Jennifer Morey
www.millsandboon.co.uk
Contents
Holiday Secrets
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Kidnapped at Christmas
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Holiday Secrets
Jill Sorenson
For my daughters
Chapter 1
Brian adjusted the red stocking cap, trying to cover his dark brown hair.
Hed bought the costume on a whim a few years ago with the intention to play Santa for his sisters children. Due to unfortunate circumstances, it had never been used. The cheap red suit came with an itchy white beard, but no wig. His own black rubber boots, which he used to wade through concrete, completed the look.
Leaving the hat askew, he stepped back and studied his reflection. He needed a haircut. His costume was one size fits all and poorly made. The fuzzy white cuffs of the jacket didnt reach his wrists, the pants were too baggy, and the black plastic belt gaped at his waist. He looked like Homeless Santa.
He grabbed a pillow from the mattress on the floor and stuffed it under his jacket, fashioning a jolly paunch. There, that was better. As he headed outside, he picked up the bag of gifts and put the Dear Santa letter in his front pocket.
At 9:00 a.m., the sun was already blazing. It was going to be a hot Christmas in Oceanside, California. There wasnt a cloud in the perfect blue sky. Brian had spent most of the morning on his surfboard, and the waves were in fine form. He might go back later for an afternoon session.
His pulse kicked up a notch as he approached the house next door. He hardly knew his neighbors and wasnt sure what they would think of his getup. The single mom who lived there had never even spoken to him, and her daughters were quiet as mice.
If the girls hadnt left a letter in Brians mailbox last week, he wouldnt have considered buying them gifts. When he found the envelope, addressed to the North Pole, hed opened it to investigate. At first hed assumed that the girls had mistaken his mailbox for their own, because the two were side by side. Then he read the letter and realized that they hadnt wanted their mother to see it.
The girls had penned the note to Santa in simple words and neat sentences. Judging by her careful signature, Mandy was the older daughter. Her sister, Alyssa, had scrawled her name at the bottom of the page in pink crayon. They asked for a couple of moderately priced toys that Mommy cant buy this year.
Brian could easily afford the extra gifts; he had very few family members to shop for. But the last item on the list was something that no one could delivernot even Santa. Hed been touched by the request and felt a powerful compulsion to make his neighbors holiday a little brighter.
They could all use some cheering up.
Whistling the tune to Jingle Bells, he knocked on the front door. Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas, he called out, preparing to leave the wrapped presents on the stoop. Before he had a chance, the door swung open.
Mandy and Alyssa stood there in red dresses, their dark hair shining. Twin expressions of wonder lit up their well-scrubbed faces.
Santa, the younger girl breathed, fooled by his outfit.
Brian winked at her. Have you girls been good this year?
The both nodded dutifully, eyes wide.
He reached into his bag, finding a present for Alyssa. She jumped up and down, delighted to receive it. Mandy, who was at least five, probably knew he wasnt the real Santa. But she accepted the second gift with a shy smile, examining his ill-fitting suit. If she found it lacking, she didnt say.
We have cookies for you! My mommy made them.
Brian glanced around, wondering where she was. Okay.
Mandy raced into another room, coming back with a loaded plate.
Thanks, he said, grabbing a bell-shaped cookie off the top. He didnt have much of a sweet tooth, and these confections looked almost too pretty to eat, with silver accents and delicate icing. But they tasted like a dream, light and almondy. Mmm.
He was about to wish them a Merry Christmas and take his leave, along with a handful of those delicious cookies, when the girls mother appeared. The moment she stepped on the scene, the cookie lodged in his throat.
She was wearing a short towel, secured over her breasts. Her skin was wet, her dark hair dripping on her bare shoulders.
Brian did a double take, startled by her near-nudity. He couldnt help noticing that she had a great figure. Hed never registered that before, but hed never seen quite so much of her. She always wore shapeless clothes and big sunglasses.
What are you doing? she gasped, staring at him. She had frantic blue eyes and a smattering of freckles across her nose.
Brian tried to chew the bite of cookie, which had turned to sawdust in his mouth.
You opened the door to a stranger? she asked the girls.
Mandy set aside the cookies, appearing stricken.
Go to your room, she said, clutching the towel in a white-knuckled grip. Both of you!
Can we keep the presents? Alyssa asked.
No!
They ran away, little faces crumpled in dismay.
Brian managed to swallow. Im sorry. I had no idea this would be a problem
Get out, she said, pointing her finger. Although her stance was strong and self-assured, her lips trembled, betraying her fear.
He retreated in surprise, unaware that hed stepped over the threshold. Im sorry, he said again, tugging the fake beard down his chin. I didnt mean to scare you. Im Brian Cosgrove, from next door.
Her gaze darted from him to the half-opened presents on the floor. Have you visited my children before?
Brian was so astounded by her question that he almost didnt catch its meaning. Was she implying that he wanted to harm her daughters? His stomach curled in revulsion. No, he said, shaken by the charge. Hell, no.
Then how could you know what they wanted for Christmas?
He reached into his front pocket, bringing out the Dear Santa letter. They left this in my mailbox.
She took the note from him and scanned it, her mouth thin.
It was on the tip of his tongue to explain that he thought he was doing her a kindness. His only impression of her before now was that of an overworked parent. Hed watched her leave the house early in the morning and trudge home late. Her girls had sad eyes. Intuition, and the Dear Santa letter, told him they were struggling.
Hed also studied his own reflection in the mirror often enough to know what a wounded soul looked like.
But the empty place inside him gaped wider than ever at her harsh treatment. Instead of trying to reach out to her, he distanced himself further. Im sorry for stopping by unannounced. It wont happen again.
She kept her attention on the letter, silent.
He turned and walked away, crushing the delicate cookie in his closed fist.
Leah read the message three times, her heart aching.
Dear Santa,
Mommy cant by a lot of presints this year. She said not to ask you for new toys. But Alyssa wants a doctor Elmo and I want a Hello Kitty camera. We also want Daddy back from heaven.
Love,
Mandy and Alyssa
She folded the paper in half, her vision blurring with tears. Her neighbors visit had shaken her to the core.
When shed heard the deep rumble of a mans voice, shed panicked. She turned off the shower and leapt out of the stall in a surge of adrenaline. Wrapping a towel around her body, she burst from the bathroom and rushed down the hall.
Seeing a strange man inside her house had brought back terrible memories. Eighteen months ago, shed walked in on her husbands murderer. Shed dropped her groceries and run out of the house, calling 911 on her cell phone.
The criminal was still at largeand Leah prayed hed never find her.
Her neighbor looked nothing like the cold villain whod shot John in the head. He was taller, leaner, not quite as dark. As soon as he introduced himself, she recognized him as the surfer next door. She saw the man coming back from the beach almost every morning. He was always barefoot, surfboard under one arm, wet suit pulled down to the waist. Something about him made her uncomfortable.
Unsettled by the surprise encounter, she peeked through the horizontal blinds, studying her neighbors driveway. Hed moved in about a month ago. His beat-up white truck said Cosgrove Construction on the passenger side. His house was small and rundown; she was surprised it hadnt been razed.
He was just another down-on-his-luck handyman.
She let the blinds snap shut, aware that shed overreacted and embarrassed him. Shed also yelled at the girls in front of him, which made her feel lousy. Mandy, in particular, was sensitive to loud voices. Alyssa was too young to remember the fights.
After she secured the lock on the front door, Leah went to her bedroom and pulled on her bathrobe. In her manic state, she hadnt even thought about donning it. She must have looked like a crazy woman.
Shed also forgotten to set the security alarm before she hopped in the shower. An unforgivable oversight.
Shaking her head, she padded to the girls room. Mandy had slammed the door shut, which wasnt allowed but she let it pass, turning the knob and slipping inside. The space was cramped, filled with two single beds. Alyssa was playing with an ABC puzzle on the floor. Mandy lay on her bed, arms crossed over her chest.
She was mad. Well, so was Leah.
Knotting the belt at her waist, she sat down on Alyssas bed, addressing both daughters. What have I told you about opening the door to strangers?
Not to do it, Alyssa answered promptly.
So why did you?
Mandy stared up at the ceiling, petulant.
It wasnt a stranger, Alyssa pointed out. It was Santa.
It wasnt Santa, dummy, Mandy said.
Hey, Leah scolded. Be nice.
Who was it? Alyssa asked.
A man pretending to be Santa, Leah said.
Was he a bad man?
Probably not, but you girls need to be more careful. I dont want anyone to hurt you or take you away from me.
Hearing the quiver in Leahs voice, Alyssa looked up from her puzzle. She scrambled to her feet and gave Leah a hug. Okay, Mommy. I love you.
Leah pressed her lips to the top of Alyssas head. I love you, too, sweetie.
Mandy let out an exaggerated sigh. She pretended not to like displays of affection. When Alyssa let go, Leah leaned over Mandy, kissing her nose before she could squirm away. Im counting on you to watch over your sister.
Mandys expression softened. She was already protective of Alyssa, and enjoyed being responsible. He wasnt bad, Mom.
How do you know? Because he had presents?
He liked your cookies.
That doesnt mean anything, she said, her cheeks heating. If she wasnt mistaken, shed also seen a hint of masculine appreciation in his gaze. Brian Cosgrove liked full-grown women. And he knew a good cookie when he tasted one. She felt guilty for throwing him out of her house.
Taking a deep breath, she removed the Dear Santa letter from her front pocket. Why did you put this in his mailbox?
I didnt want you to see it before the mailman came.
She looked from one daughter to the other, pressure building behind her eyes. You know that your daddy isnt coming back, right?
Alyssas face fell. She nodded once and returned to her floor puzzle. Mandy focused on the ceiling, her chin quivering. This was a subject theyd all rather avoid. John hadnt been a perfect husband or an ideal father, but they missed him.