“I have a sister, Mary, who lives in Jersey. My dad left us when I was six. He was a flake and never sent any money, so Mom struggled to keep a roof over our heads. She remarried about two years ago and was able to quit her job and live comfortably—travel and buy nice things. Stuff she couldn’t do while supporting my sister and me.”
“That why you want a husband so badly?”
“Partially.” She shrugged. “I mean, being a single parent is tough in more ways than one. Yes, I want Calvin to have a male influence, but I won’t deny that having a second income would be helpful.”
“And that stuff’s more important than love?”
“It’s not that I don’twantlove. I’m just not naïve enough to think I can have it all.”
“I’m sure that guy is out there,” he said, trying not to judge her. He didn’t have kids, and he did have money, so he couldn’t put himself in her shoes. But the scenario she painted was one of a man loving her—enough to raise her kid and share his income—but her not returning that love. That didn’t seem fair.
“Are you that kind of guy?”
“Well, no,” he admitted. “I would never settle for a relationship without love and trust. And after my last dating disaster, I’m not very good at the trust part anymore.”
“I understand that. After finding out all the stuff my husband was hiding, I’ve got some trust issues of my own. That’s another reason I’m being more practical now.”
“Good thing we’re just friends then.” He winked, and she laughed.
Her laughter died abruptly. “Calvin?” she shouted.
He’d been walking ahead of them a second ago but was no longer visible. When there was no answer, she stepped up her pace and yelled louder. “Cal, where are you?”
After a minute of no response, Alex became worried. They picked it up to a jog and scanned every aisle of trees, all of which looked the same as the last. “Cal?” Alex called. No answer.
They split up to check different aisles and, after a couple of frantic minutes, met again a few rows up. Julia was verging on hysteria. “Oh, my God. He’s lost. What if someone took him? Alex?”
“Stay calm,” Alex said. He grabbed her shoulders to make sure he had her attention. “Go back to the entrance. There’s only one way in and out. Tell them Calvin’s missing and give them a description. Have someone check the parking lot and the Santa building.”
“Okay,” she said. With something to do, she calmed a little and left to do what he suggested. Alex ran to the back of the property until he found the fenced boundary, then started zigzagging his way toward the entrance, calling for Calvin the whole time.
He didn’t want to panic, but after a few minutes, fear crawled in. If he was just lost, Alex should have found him by now. What if someonehadtaken him?
“Calvin?” he shouted. He thought he heard a reply and stopped to listen, calling his name again.
“Mr. Alex?” Calvin’s voice came from a row or two over. Alex sprinted toward the sound and found Calvin midway up the perimeter fence.
He had a horrified look on his face and clung to the fence for dear life. “I’m stuck. I have a ten thirteen.”
Alex chuckled at his use of the ten code and plucked him off the railing. “What are you doing over here?”
“I got lost. Sam said I should climb up to find you. My hands got real cold.”
“Where are your gloves?”
Cal shrugged.
“Come on,” Alex said, carrying him to the entrance. “Your mom’s worried.”
He broke through the trees and called out to Julia, who was talking to the man at the front gate. She let out a cry of relief and came running over. “You found him. Thank God.”
She took Calvin from Alex’s arms and hugged him tight before setting him on the ground. “You scared the heck out of me,” she said.
“Sorry, Mom. Me and Sam found a tree, but now I don’t know where it went.”
She blew out a breath, probably summoning patience. “Let’s just pick one and get out of here.”
They decided on a tree, and Alex dragged it to the checkout area. When the man rang it up, Julia gasped. “A hundred and fifty dollars?” She looked frantically at Alex. Clearly, this was more than she’d budgeted. He whipped out his credit card.
