Blue Chow Christmas Read online

  Brian bent down and ran his hand over the charred rocks and tree trunks. He looked up toward the embankment to appreciate how far the car had tumbled. A golden glint caught his eye. Squinting into the waning sun, he climbed up the steep slope toward the shiny object.

  A golden heart locket was tangled on a broken chain hanging on a bush. His breathing quickened as he removed the locket and opened it.

  A baby boy smiled gap-toothed at the camera. It was Glen, Alana’s son—his son. Now that she was dead, Brian had lost all contact with the boy. The senator had transferred him away from the school he used to attend. All of Glen’s social network accounts had been deactivated, and Glen no longer appeared in any of the gaming worlds where they’d spent precious time playing together.

  Brian had crashed the funeral, standing in the back. It had been a rainy day, and no one had noticed him in the sea of umbrellas standing at the gravesite.

  The boy had been pale and stiff. Clearly shell-shocked. He’d looked right through Brian when he’d tried to catch his eye. Not that Glen knew who he was. Nope, Alana had asked him to keep it a secret, and he’d gone along with it.

  The senator had a reputation to uphold, and Alana had wanted to protect his legacy from any hint of scandal. She also needed to protect herself, because Brian was still in high school when he’d gone to Mrs. Thornton’s house for class projects and parties.

  Her much older husband was always out of town, and she paid him well for yardwork which led to pizza nights and movies, before moving into the bedroom.

  It was supposed to be wrong, but he was sixteen and she was hot for a thirty-year-old.

  A year later, after she got pregnant, she’d cut him off. Told him to stay away and never, ever mention their affair to anyone. Brian felt as if his heart had been gutted from his body and sliced into thin pieces. She had told him they were in love. But she was running scared and moved to Washington, D.C. where her husband believed he’d fathered the child.

  Brian lifted the photo from the locket and blinked at the scrawled words on the back. “Glen, my little Wonder.” The ‘W’ was capitalized.

  That had to mean something, right?

  Brian’s heart squeezed, and a deep ache settled in his gut. Alana had loved him, but she could never ever acknowledge what she’d done. Glen had to be protected at all costs. He was a senator’s son. Case closed.

  Brian snapped shut the locket and slipped it into his pocket. The light breeze whistled amongst the dried branches and scattered leaves in the bush. He felt a chill slither across the back of his shoulders, and he wondered what Alana would say to him now.

  Chapter Four

  Cait loved her family. They were a large, Irish Catholic bunch: loud and opinionated, but close knit and protective. She, of course, being the eldest, lorded over her siblings as if they were her own brood of chicks.

  Saturday evenings were reserved for family, and Saturdays in December were filled with festivals and activities: Christmas lightings, toy drives, Victorian house tours, and horse-drawn carriage rides.

  The fire department sponsored a charity event in front of a row of Victorian mansions. Cait was in her element, running back and forth, checking off the details and making sure her brother, Connor, was costumed up, prepped, and ready for the welcome speech.

  “You have to wear a Santa’s hat.” Cait waved the floppy red hat at her brother. “Come on, it’s tradition.”

  “I’m a firefighter first.” Connor secured his fireman’s helmet with the chin strap.

  “That’s messing up your beard.” Cait fluffed the curls of the fake white Santa’s beard pasted on Connor’s face over the strap. “If you’re going to wear a helmet, don’t be such a dork and strap it. It’s not like there’s going to be a fire or anything.”

  “Hey, this dork is the fire chief.” Connor hooked his thumb at himself. “I lead by example.”

  “Brian never wears his strap,” Cait retorted. “He hooks it across the back of his helmet.”

  “Fat lot of good that does him if he’s looking down a stairway and his helmet falls off.” Connor slapped at Cait’s hands. “Stop touching my beard.”

  Cait moved onto straightening the collar of his Santa suit. “You have to wear the fake belly.”

  “No, I don’t,” Connor said, unbuttoning the red Santa’s jacket. “Actually, I’m not wearing this either. It’s too hot.”

  His pregnant wife, Nadine, stood at the side giggling as Connor handed her the jacket. The suspenders for his bunker pants were showing, and all he had on underneath was a very tight black T-shirt.

  “Nadine, get control of your husband.” Cait put her hands on her hips. “I can’t believe you’re going to let all those women ogle my brother’s muscles.”

  Wasn’t Connor Hart the one who’d refused to have his firefighters do strip teases for charity? It looked like marriage to his dreamy artist wife had changed him. He wasn’t quite the stick in the mud he used to be.

  “Not to worry, I’m wearing my turnout coat.” Connor picked up his firefighting gear.

  On second thought, he was still a dork in his eldest sister’s eyes, even if he used to be San Francisco’s most desired bachelor.

  “Don’t put that on,” Nadine said. She touched Connor’s biceps and ran her hands up and down his muscular arm. “If you have it, show it. Let me fix everything. Cait, you might want to check on the horse and carriage line. It’s getting long and people are leaving.”

  The line snaked around the block, and sure enough, clumps of people had had enough and were seen walking away.

  “I’ll make sure to limit the rides to two minutes,” Cait said. She charged over to the staging area. It was getting dark, and once Connor made his speech, all the stately Victorian homes on the street would turn on their Christmas lights, and visitors could stroll or take a horse and carriage up and down the hilly street to admire the wondrous sights.

  “Larry, Larry,” Cait called to her soon-to-be brother-in-law as she power walked to the carriage booth where Jenna was selling tickets.

  Larry was decked out with a Victorian top hat, bright red cravat, and dressed as a livery man in black.

  He looked down at Cait. “What’s up?”

  A year ago, before he started dating Jenna, Larry had hidden in the corners, embarrassed by half of his face which had been burnt and scarred in a fire where he’d rescued several children.

  Today, he sat straight and tall on the carriage, greeting and laughing with the crowd, owning his scars as what Jenna called badges of courage.

  Cait smiled to herself at how far he had come, but she wasn’t going to cut him any slack for the long line and upset customers.

  “See that line?” Cait pointed down the sidewalk. “Once Connor gives the go ahead, you need to drive that horse at a fast clip. No more than two minutes to go up and down the street.”

  “But people will want to take pictures in front of the lighted ladies,” Larry said, referring to the colorful Victorians by their Painted Ladies nickname. “I don’t want to rush them.”

  “If we want to raise more money for the pediatric diabetes foundation than last year, we’ll need to move them through faster. People are leaving.”

  “Relax,” Jenna said. “The tickets are good all night. Maybe they’re going to have dinner and return later.”

  “I hope so. I wouldn’t want to fall short of our goal.” Cait hugged herself as a chilly wind whipped through the area. “Maybe we can get Melisa and Rob to find a push cart and sell hot apple cider to the people in line.”

  “There you go,” Jenna said. “Great idea. It’ll keep people warm while they wait.”

  “Remember, two minutes.” Cait put up two fingers in a victory sign.

  “Five,” Larry replied.

  “Three, and that’s my final offer.” Cait said, looking worriedly at the growing and shrinking line. “If only Brian were here, he could have driven that vintage fire engine he got when the senator’s wife passed away. It seats
sixteen passengers, and we could have charged a load.”

  “You’re right,” Jenna said. “Where is Brian anyway?”

  “Out hiking.”

  “Hiking?” A strange look of understanding passed between Jenna and Larry, but Cait had no time to worry what that was about.

  Brian marched to his own drum, and her family would never understand him. Orphaned at eighteen, his parents had stipulated in their will that he get married before he could inherit their Richmond district house. He and Cait had been good friends in high school, so when he proposed, she decided to help.

  No one in her family knew the details of their arrangement, because she and Brian spun a story of how they’d been in love since elementary school. It was true, at least on her side, and she didn’t dare question Brian in case he’d find someone else to pull off the charade.

  Would she have been better off if he had?

  She threw the troubling thoughts aside. She had an event to run, and not only run, she had to raise more money than the year before.

  Continuing her crusade, Cait charged to the refreshment booth where Melisa and Rob served up hot chocolate and hot apple cider.

  “Hey, everyone’s in the horse and carriage line. You should find a push cart and sell over there.” Cait pointed. “This is a bad location. It’s right next to the stage, and people are too busy watching the projection screen to drink hot liquids.”

  “Cait, we’re selling as fast as I can mix it up,” Melisa said. “I don’t see a reason to push the drinks down the street. They’ll get cold.”

  “If we had another pair of hands, we might be able to expand,” Rob said. “But as of now, Melisa and I are barely keeping up with demand.”

  “Oh, I hate leaving money on the table,” Cait said, pointing to the line of people waiting for the carriage. “If Brian were here, he could have opened up a second location. Next year, we’ll station two refreshment stands.”

  “Where’s Brian anyway?” Melisa said. “He never shows up to our family gatherings.”

  “He’s out exploring his mind,” Cait said.

  “But Connor said all the firefighters who were off duty would be here today.” Melisa’s eyes narrowed. “I can’t believe he went off on a retreat instead.”

  “He needs time by himself, and honestly, with Mom and Dad living at our house, and all of the wedding planning going on, it gets really noisy.”

  “It must be hard for him to put up with all of us.” Melisa put her hand on Cait’s shoulder. “Maybe you can see if either Grady or Dale can help.”

  Grady was Jenna’s twin and back for the holidays. He was a smoke jumper who traveled to fight fires all over the world. Dale was the youngest Hart and still going to college. Unlike his older brothers, he claimed he wasn’t going into firefighting, preferring to study chemical engineering instead.

  The crowd surged around the stage as Connor welcomed everyone to the lighting festival. Cait craned her neck, looking for her two single brothers. She could barely make her way through the crowd since people were pressed against each other like sardines. Everyone gathered around as Connor counted down.

  “Five, four, three, two, one.” In a single, magical moment, everything on the block lit up at the exact same time. The tree glittered with a thousand points of sparkling lights, and the outlines of the grand old houses came to life, showcasing their magnificent turrets and ornately trimmed gables.

  It was a magical moment, and Cait blinked at all the beauty surrounding her. People around her took selfies with their companions and hugged each other. Couples kissed, and parents pointed out Santa’s throne where Cait’s parents presided as Santa and Mrs. Claus.

  Everyone had someone to share the moment with. Connor and Nadine collected toys. Jenna and Larry took people on the carriage rides. Melisa and Rob sold refreshments, and both Dale and Grady, when Cait finally spotted them, had pretty dates dressed in sexy elf costumes.

  Cait wandered down the street alone, blinking at the lights made blurry by tears welling in her eyes. She did so much for others and went out of her way to make them feel special, but no one seemed to care whether she was happy or not.

  She planned birthday parties, bridal showers, family picnics, and welcome home parties. Every year, she printed out photos and created scrapbooks, although these days, she used an online site, ScrapCloud, started by one of Rob’s cousins to do all of her scrapbooking work.

  But no one showered her on her birthday. No one threw parties to surprise her or took the time out to make her a scrapbook.

  If she was brutally honest with herself, it felt a lot like even her own family wanted to get rid of her.

  Cait wiped a tear from her eye and swallowed the truth. No one needed her, especially Brian, who’d rather be alone than sharing moments like this with her.

  But then, if her family knew what she’d done and why she sold herself short by marrying Brian, they’d disapprove and disown her, and she’d be truly alone.

  Chapter Five

  “Wonder, where the heck are you?” Connor, Brian’s boss, best friend, and brother-in-law was on the phone. “Your wife is all by herself at the Christmas Lights Festival.”

  Brian was at least two hours from San Francisco, sitting in a diner near his in-law’s cabin in the Sierra foothills. He’d spent the day chopping wood and clearing the brush around the property, and had gone into town to eat.

  “I’m at Joe’s Diner and headed to the cabin for the night,” Brian said. “Your dad gave me the key.”

  The cabin had no phone service and was out of range of the cell phone towers. It was just the right place for him to grieve. Not only had he lost the hope of someday being with Alana, but now, he’d lost contact with Glen. True, the boy didn’t know who he was, but he’d befriended him while playing online video games.

  “Didn’t I assign you the Christmas tree lot? How’d you get out of it?” Connor sounded annoyed.

  “Shane and Patrick said they had it covered.” Brian rubbed the back of his neck and nodded at the waitress who set his chicken fried steak down. “Why’s Cait by herself? Aren’t all of you at the festival, too?”

  “Our entire family is here,” Connor said. “But everyone is paired up. Even Dale has a date. She looked kind of lonely standing there all by herself staring at the Christmas lights.”

  “Maybe you should assign her a task. That’ll keep her busy.”

  “I already did. She thinks she’s in charge of the overall operations and responsible for the donations.”

  “Then what’s the problem? I’m sure she’s doing a great job.”

  “She is, but dude, now that I’m a married man, I don’t know how you get away with it. If I don’t pair up with Nadine wherever we go, she’ll give me the silent treatment.”

  “Not my Cait. She’s very independent.” Brian dug into the mashed potatoes accompanying his main course. “I’ll be back tomorrow night if you need me.”

  “I need you back here tonight.” Connor’s voice lowered almost to a growl. “You’ve been a big zero ever since you married my sister. My wife is worried about Cait.”

  Connor’s young wife had befriended Cait earlier this year when she was the first one to believe Nadine hadn’t caused the fire that burned down their parents’ house.

  “Cait and I get each other,” Brian said in his own defense. “We’ve been married twelve years. Maybe she wants to be alone.”

  Cait was a trooper, and she never complained. She was the hub for her family, the glue that bonded everyone together. She didn’t need him hanging around getting in the way of her activities.

  “You’re always leaving her alone,” Connor said. “What the heck are you doing at our cabin?”

  Connor liked to bug him about not paying attention to his wife, but the truth was, she had too much going on for him to keep up.

  “Clearing the brush, repairing the fence, helping out your parents,” he grumbled and set his fork down. There was no sense arguing with Connor. Ever s
ince he married Nadine, he’d turned into a family man and thought everyone else should be as warm and cozy as the two of them were.

  “That can wait,” Connor said. “Get back and surprise Cait. My parents are worried, also.”

  “She’s not sick, is she?” A prickle of heat flushed Brian’s skin. Cait was as healthy as a horse, but lately, with Nadine’s pregnancy, she’d been hinting about getting off the pill, not that she’d ever admit to her Roman Catholic family to being on it. She’d been moodier than usual, what with the constant fights with her two sisters about their weddings, and she’d turned her meddling attention to her remaining two brothers, who were still single and unaccounted for as far as relationships were concerned.

  “No, she’s still going like the Energizer Bunny, butting into everyone’s business. My wife thinks she’s overcompensating because she’s not getting the love she craves.”

  “She wants love?” Brian’s voice was strangled as his throat closed. He and Cait had always been best friends, and they’d long ago agreed that romance wasn’t necessary for a strong partnership. Their agreement had been one of convenience, but it was left unspoken what they’d do if one of them fell in love with someone else.

  “Yes, at least that’s what Nadine thinks,” Connor said. “Granted she’s an artist and the sensitive type. She claims she sees colors, and Cait’s is muddy and gray with frustration and unmet needs.”

  Brian bristled at the accusation, but bit his tongue, hard. He and Cait had sex regularly, and he was one of the few people who remembered her birthday and their anniversary. As for children, Cait had been adamant about not wanting any. To keep the peace with her family, she’d put the blame on him, and he’d been happy to shoulder it. He already had a child he could never acknowledge, and he couldn’t see having another one to replace Glen in his life.

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he grumbled. “But I’m sure Cait will be in the middle of game night, probably beating the socks off of you in Scrabble. She won’t even notice me walking through the door.”