.

were curious about Teagan.

      He cursed, shot off his chair and grabbed his top coat. Walking through his assistant’s office, he said, “I’m going home,” and strode out to his SUV.

      Even wanting to get to his house as quickly as possible, he made a loop around town and headed up the mountain. As his SUV rolled to a stop in front of the garage, his chest tightened. Althea’s car was gone.

      Frantic, he flew up the porch steps and into the foyer, calling the kids’ names. No answer. Nothing but the eerie echo of his own words came back to him. Crazy clip-clopped into the foyer, nudging her nose against Clark’s hand for a pat on the top of her head.

      Clark stooped to pet the nuzzling dog, but his mind jumped back to the day he’d gotten the call about his wife. He’d come home from a business trip to a cold, empty house and had no idea where his kids were, let alone his wife. Then the phone had rung and he’d gotten the news that his wife was dead and his kids were with her parents.

      He broke out in a cold sweat.

      Cold, empty houses were never good news.

      And with a guy in town who might suspect he was Teagan’s father, a guy crazy enough to throw himself over Clark’s wife’s casket and wail—not worried about gossip or consequences—Clark couldn’t take any chances Brice Matthews would see Teagan.

      Even if the kids were safe with Althea, that didn’t mean they were safe from Brice.

      He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 9-1-1.

      * * *

      Though they purchased a wreath and secured it in her trunk, Althea took the kids around town to visit a few more shops and scope out potential decorations they’d buy in the following weeks. Now that she’d talked Jack into decorating the house for Christmas, she wanted to see her options.

      They had just walked out of the last shop, laughing as they ate ice cream, even though it was freezing out, when two policemen rushed them.

      One policeman grabbed Jack and Teagan. The other backed her into the shop wall.

      “Are you Althea Johnson?”

      “Yes?”

      Teagan began to cry. Jack tried to squirm out of the officer’s hold. “Let go of me.”

      “And these children are Jack and Teagan Beaumont?”

      “Yes.”

      “We have a report that you took these kids from their home.”

      “I’m their babysitter. We came to town to look for a coat and boots for me.” She motioned to her brand-new blue jacket and still shiny black boots. “Call their dad. He’ll tell you I’m their babysitter.”

      “He’s the one who filed the report.”

      Clark’s SUV slid to a stop in front of the sidewalk. He bounded out and raced over, grabbing Teagan from the officer and then pulling Jack under his arm protectively. “Are you guys okay?”

      Jack looked at him as if he were crazy. “We were fine until you called the police on us.”

      Teagan buried her face in her father’s neck. Clark’s expression hardened. “Teagan is not fine.”

      “She was,” Jack insisted. “She was laughing.”

      Standing on tiptoes to see over the policeman’s shoulder, Althea shouted, “She was. We were having fun.”

      “You were supposed to be home!”

      “We were on our way home to start Jack’s lessons. We had plenty of time. We just shifted our schedule.” She pointed at her jacket. “I needed a coat. And boots.” She held up her foot, displaying one of her new boots. “Remember?”

      The policeman holding her back faced Clark. “So what’s going on here?”

      “We were just shopping!” Jack spat. “But I get it! He doesn’t ever want us doing anything that might even remotely be fun.” He shrugged out from beneath his dad’s hold and headed for the SUV. “Take us home. Put us back in jail.”

      Saddened for Jack, Althea swallowed, glanced at Clark, then pressed her lips together.

      A mixture of horror and confusion played across Clark’s face. As if finally putting it all together in his head, he stepped back. “Oh, my God.”

      He looked from Jack who stood beside his SUV to Teagan in his arms to Althea still backed up against the shop wall, and scrubbed his hand across his mouth. “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry.”

      The policeman released Althea. “So everything’s good?”

      Althea forced a smile. She didn’t know whether to be angry with herself for not letting Clark know she was taking the kids shopping, annoyed with him for being so damned paranoid, or to feel sorry for him.

      In the end, she decided to feel sorry for him. He’d lost his wife. He didn’t want to lose his kids, too. She got it. “Everything’s fine. Really. Let me get them home.”

      * * *

      The policeman looked to Clark for confirmation. He nodded. “I’m sorry. I panicked.” He nearly said, “Ever since my wife’s death I’ve been panicky,” but he knew that would only make him look like an idiot. God knew it made him feel like an idiot. So he said nothing.

      The two policemen walked back to their car. Althea ambled over, looking warm and snuggly in her new blue coat and black mittens. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

      He put his head back, closed his eyes. He’d just had her nabbed by the cops and she was asking him if he was okay? “I should be asking you that. I’m so sorry.” He opened his eyes and forced himself to look at her. “You have the right to use whatever schedule you want.” He sucked in a breath. “But I don’t like the kids going into town without me. I wish you had called me before you left the house.”

      “You’re right. I should have called you.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “That’s my mistake. I never thought to call. But I should have.”

      She put her hand on his arm consolingly. “Let’s go home.”

      He couldn’t believe she wanted to go with him. Were he in her shoes, he’d probably quit. But when he pulled his SUV off Main Street and onto the mountain road, she was right behind him. When he drove onto his lane, her little red car was in his rearview mirror. When he got out, she got out.

      They walked into the echoing foyer with Teagan asleep on his arm. A dull sound rang in his ears, making his head pound. He’d never been so mortified.

      Or so confused. Jack thought they lived in a jail? Teagan had laughed with an outsider?

      Althea said, “Why don’t you put her on her bed and I’ll make us all some cocoa.”

      Jack sniffed with disdain. “I don’t want any cocoa.”

      All the control he thought he had slipped through his fingers like melted snow. “Good. You can go into the den and take a look at today’s lesson.”

      “Whatever.”

      He watched Jack stalk away and knew he’d handled that badly, but his head hurt and his thoughts swam like fish in a bowl. How had he gotten to this place?

      He slid his gaze to Althea. “I don’t need any cocoa.”

      “Bourbon then?”

      A surprised laugh escaped. “Actually, bourbon sounds really good right now. But I’ll be fine. You go work with Jack.”

      She shook her head. “Jack needs a minute. Forcing him to set things up on the computer by himself will be a good way to occupy him and give him some space.”

      He took Teagan to her room and lingered over removing her coat and boots. There wasn’t any part of him that wanted to confide