Carolina Christmas Read online

  “That’ll work,” he said just as Emma gave his beard a hard tug. “Hey there, sweet thing,” he said, extricating her tiny fist from his beard. “Don’t be giving away my disguise right here. We’re likely to be mobbed by angry kids if they figure out they’re being duped by a fake Santa.”

  A faint smile crossed Amy’s lips, but it didn’t take the worry from her eyes. She was trying so hard to hold it all together, but she had to be close to the edge. She was in a strange city, recently divorced, her kid had wandered off on Christmas Eve and a cop had been asking her all sorts of uncomfortable questions. Nick had to admire the strength it must be taking for her not to come unglued.

  She gazed up at him just then, her heart in her eyes. There was no mistaking the fact that she was counting on him, that she trusted him to find her boy.

  Seeing that expression on her face made Nick want to thrust Emma back in her mother’s arms and take off, but he knew he couldn’t. Trish had dragged him into this and now he had to see it through, for Amy’s sake and maybe even for his own.

  Something told him, as well, that Amy Riley could get under his skin if he gave her half a chance. He immediately sent that errant thought right back to wherever it had come from. His sense of timing obviously sucked. He could hardly hit on a woman, when he was supposed to be finding her child.

  “Where are we going?” she asked him as they set off, their pace slow because of the wall-to-wall throng of people.

  “Everyplace and no place,” he explained. “The goal is just to draw lots and lots of attention, so maybe Josh will find us.”

  As a plan, it lacked finesse, but Nick was a pro at using whatever unorthodox tactics were handed to him. And finding a kid who wanted to see Santa by putting Santa directly into his path seemed to be as smart a strategy as any.

  CHAPTER 4

  Santa was definitely a kid-magnet, just as Nick had predicted, Amy concluded with wonder. They were instantly surrounded by children everywhere they went. She couldn’t help wondering if Nick himself weren’t a babe-magnet under that padded red costume. His sister had certainly hinted at as much and he didn’t seem all that put off by being the center of attention.

  Nor did the throngs of children seem to rattle him any more than Emma’s attempt to unmask him had. Despite his grumblings about being coerced into taking the Santa job, he handled their awestruck silences or chattered barrage of questions with equal aplomb. He hunkered down to speak with them, listening carefully as if each child was the most important one in the world. Amy couldn’t miss their childish delight after getting a private moment with Santa on Christmas Eve. Despite his patience with each child, they made good progress. Nick’s gaze was watchful every second.

  “Do you have kids?” she asked curiously, during a rare moment when Nick wasn’t being besieged.

  He seemed to freeze at the question. “No. Why?”

  “You’re wonderful with Emma and with all these kids who keep stopping you,” Amy told him. “I’m impressed. You never seem to lose patience.”

  “Just playing a role,” he said tersely. “What would it do for Santa’s reputation if I were a grouch? Just because I’m not into the holiday thing this year, why ruin some poor kid’s Christmas?”

  Amy didn’t entirely buy the explanation. She had a hunch he was trying to hide a tender heart, though she couldn’t imagine why he would want to.

  “You said you have nieces and nephews, though. Trish’s kids?”

  “No, our older brother’s. He has three boys and a girl.”

  “And she’s the one who’s about Emma’s age?”

  “A little older.” He gave her a penetrating look. “Why all the questions?”

  Amy shrugged. “Just making small talk, I suppose, anything to keep my mind off the fact that we haven’t found Josh yet.” She’d strained her eyes scanning the crowds, but so far she hadn’t even caught a glimpse of any boy who looked like Josh wandering around lost and alone.

  “I have to admit it’s getting to me, Nick,” she confessed, then voiced her greatest fear, “What if we don’t find him?”

  Nick’s expression immediately turned sympathetic. She was growing to hate that look, the pity that couldn’t quite cover his own worry. And he was worried. She could see it in his strained expression whenever he thought she wasn’t looking.

  “Don’t tell me he’ll turn up any minute,” she snapped before he could respond. “He hasn’t yet.”

  “Come on, Amy,” he chided. “Don’t give up so easily. We haven’t been looking that long.”

  She glanced at her watch and realized it really had been little more than a half hour since this nightmare had begun. She felt as if her whole life—and Josh’s—had played out in her mind since she’d last seen him. She’d formed some sort of bond with this man in the Santa suit, a closer bond of trust than she’d had with her husband toward the end. Maybe that just proved that all kinds of emotions were heightened in a crisis.

  “You’re right, but it seems like an eternity. Don’t worry, though, I’ll never give up,” she said fiercely. “In the meantime, you placating and patronizing me is getting on my nerves.”

  “I’m sorry,” he apologized, his eyes filled with unmistakable regret.

  She drew in a deep breath. “No, I’m sorry. I know you’re doing everything you can. I’m just scared.”

  “Of course you are. You have every right to be, but we are going to find him, Amy.”

  She heard a giggle just then and glanced up to see Emma trying to snatch Santa’s hat off. Nick grabbed it just in time, but not before she caught a glimpse of black curly hair under the white wig Emma had tugged askew along with the red velvet hat.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to take her?” she asked Nick. “She has to be distracting you.”

  “Emma’s fine right where she is,” he assured her. “Besides, she’s actually part of the bait.”

  “Bait?”

  “With me holding her, she’s high enough in the air for Josh to spot her. If I know anything about kids, he will not be happy that baby sister got to Santa first.”

  Amy recognized the truth in that. “You really must be a terrific detective.”

  He seemed taken aback by the comment. It wasn’t the first time he’d seemed surprised or embarrassed when his expertise as a cop was touted. Amy couldn’t imagine why it seemed to throw him. Was he just naturally modest or had something happened to make him question himself? Did it have something to do with that high-profile case Maylene had mentioned? Nick had gotten very uptight when she’d brought it up.

  “Why do you say that?” he asked. “We haven’t found your son yet.”

  The question only confirmed her reading that he was thrown by any praise of his professional skills. She was tempted to ask him why, but instead she merely answered the question.

  “Maybe not, but you’re obviously clever and intuitive about people,” she told him. “At least you have my son pretty well nailed down. You seem to know how he thinks.”

  For an instant, the somber expression faded and his eyes twinkled behind his wire-rimmed glasses. “You met Trish. I’ll bet there’s the same age difference between her and me as there is between Josh and little Emma here. I was not happy when she came along. Having two brothers was bad enough, but a girl? I was not ready for that.”

  “But Josh loves Emma,” Amy countered. “He’s a terrific big brother.”

  “On the surface,” Nick responded. “Underneath there are bound to be a few minor insecurities about having the whole order of his universe disrupted.”

  “Somehow I can’t imagine you being insecure about the arrival of a baby sister,” she scoffed.

  “I was five,” he said with a shrug. “It didn’t take much to shake my world. The fact that my folks wanted a girl so badly was very apparent to
me. After three boys and a whole lot of trucks and sports equipment, suddenly the house was filled up with dolls and frilly dresses and way too much pink.”

  She smiled at the image and at his exaggerated shudder of disdain. “How did your brothers react? Were you the only one green with envy?”

  “Rob—he’s the oldest—was okay. He was nine and already into sports and barely noticed a new baby in the house. Stephen, who’s between me and Trish in age, seemed to take it in stride, too. He just ignored her, though I have to wonder in retrospect if that wasn’t the moment he started to rebel to get attention.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I alternated between being fascinated by this tiny creature with all her pink ruffles and bows and hating her guts because she was taking up all of my mom’s time. I hadn’t felt that way when Stephen came along. He seemed to fit right in.” He gave her a wry grin. “Must have been all that girlie-girl stuff.”

  Amy regarded him with amusement. “And now? Do you still have mixed feelings?”

  “Yes, but the princess back there rules the world. Otherwise, can you think of any reason a sane man would agree to step in as Santa on Christmas Eve?”

  “Not many,” Amy agreed. “Unless the pay was very, very good.”

  “No pay. I’m here as a favor,” he said, then added, “At least it’s a favor if you don’t take into account her particular techniques.”

  “Blackmail?”

  Nick nodded. “Afraid so.”

  “Care to explain?”

  “Not at the moment.”

  “Then I think I’ll just go on believing that Trish has you wrapped around her finger,” Amy replied. “I like what that says about you.”

  “That I’m a wuss?” he asked, clearly amused.

  “No, that you love your sister. What about the rest of your family? Are you close to all of them, too?”

  “Yeah, I guess so,” he admitted. “I spend a lot of time with my folks, just so my mom can nag me about being a policeman. It bothers her a lot, so I make sure she sees me enough to know that I’m still all in one piece, but not so much that her commenting drives me insane.”

  “That’s why you were so surprised when Maylene said your mom brags about you being a cop,” she concluded.

  “Exactly. I never wanted to be anything else, but she and my dad did everything they could to dissuade me. I’ve been on the force for nearly ten years now and they still take every opportunity to suggest other career options. If I complain about anything work related, they’re all over it. My charming sister used that to get me here today.”

  Amy studied him curiously. “How? Are we back to the blackmail?”

  He smiled, though he looked as if he regretted saying anything about it. “Maybe I’ll tell you sometime, but not today. We need to concentrate on finding Josh.”

  Amy could hardly argue with that. The whole time they moved slowly through the mall, she was scanning the faces of the children who were staring in wide-eyed wonder at Santa. Where was Josh? Why hadn’t someone found him by now or why hadn’t he found them?

  Just then Nick’s cell phone rang. He answered it, then glanced around as if to get his bearings. “Got it,” he said eventually. He explained exactly where they were located. “We’ll start in that direction.”

  “What?” Amy demanded, her heart in her throat.

  “Security found a boy wandering around by himself. He says his name is Josh.”

  Amy’s heart turned over. “He’s okay?”

  “He’s scared and crying, but otherwise he’s just fine.”

  “Where is he?”

  “All the way down at the other end of the mall. Security’s going to pick us up in a golf cart and take us to him. In the meantime, let’s start heading that way.”

  Amy took off at a run in the direction he’d pointed.

  “Hey,” he said, catching up to her. “Stick with me. I’m the one the guard’s watching for, remember?”

  “Of course,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

  He touched her shoulder. “It’s okay. Here he comes now.”

  The golf cart cruised to a stop beside them and Amy climbed in. Still holding Emma, Nick sat on the seat in back.

  “Were you there when they found him?” Nick asked the security officer.

  “No. I just got a call to come pick you up.”

  The golf cart made slow progress, especially when kids spotted Santa riding in it. In fact, at times Amy wanted to leap out and run ahead to get there faster, but she restrained herself. As Nick had pointed out, the driver knew where they were going. She didn’t. She’d only waste precious time if she got lost herself.

  Her heart was pounding so hard in anticipation of seeing her son, she thought it would burst. Apparently Nick sensed her restlessness.

  “We’re almost there,” he told her, his gaze locked with hers.

  The golf cart made a sharp turn to the left down another corridor, then slowed.

  Amy glanced around frantically looking for Josh, but rather than spotting him, she saw only a very young security officer walking their way, his expression chagrined.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said, barely able to look her in the eye.

  “What?” Amy demanded, her heart sinking. “He ran away again?”

  “What happened?” Nick demanded.

  The officer shook his head. “It was the wrong boy,” he admitted, looking miserable. “His name was Josh, but not two seconds after I called you, his folks turned up.” His gaze met Amy’s, then shifted away. “I’m so sorry, ma’am. I’ve already put out a call. Everyone’s searching again. We didn’t lose more than a couple of minutes.”

  The last faint shred of strength Amy possessed seemed to snap in that instant. Tears tracked down her cheeks and her chest heaved with sobs. She was barely aware of Nick shoving Emma unceremoniously into the arms of the startled security guard. Then he was gathering her close.

  “Come on, Amy,” he murmured. “I know how strong you are. Don’t fall apart now. It’s going to be okay. This was just a small setback.”

  “I know,” she whispered in a choked voice, but she couldn’t seem to stop the tears or to let go of him. Nick might think she was strong, but he was wrong. She needed to absorb some of his strength before they went back to search some more. “I’ll be fine in a minute, okay?”

  “Okay,” he said gently. He rubbed her back as he had Emma’s earlier. There was nothing sensual about the gesture. It was meant only to calm, but it had been so long since anyone had touched her so tenderly that she wanted the contact to go on forever.

  Not once during her divorce had she let herself lean on anyone, not her family, not her friends. She’d wanted all of them to see that she was handling it all right. But this…this was too much to expect. She didn’t have any reserves of strength left. She needed someone else to share the burden. Nick, a virtual stranger to whom she owed no apologies, filled a terrible void in her life. So what if she held on for just a short while?

  With her face buried against his padded chest, she could smell the faint scent of mothballs—the costume, no doubt—and a mix of clean aftershave and mint mouthwash. The velvet texture of the Santa suit felt good against her cheek, though she couldn’t help wondering how his fake beard would feel. The lyrics of an old Christmas song about mommy kissing Santa Claus came to mind and made her smile.

  “What’s that for?” Nick asked, tucking a finger under her chin and looking into her eyes.

  Amy blushed. “What?”

  “The smile,” he reminded her. “Not two minutes ago you were soaking my costume with your tears.”

  “I just remembered something,” she said evasively. “It isn’t important.”

  His gaze locked with hers and something simmered in the air between them. “It is
if it put a smile back on your lips,” he said quietly.

  She didn’t want him talking about her lips or looking at them or thinking about them. Frantically she searched for something to throw him off track. “I was just thinking about how mad Josh will be that he didn’t get to ride in the golf cart.”

  Nick didn’t look as if he believed her, but he didn’t press her on it. “Then we’ll see that he gets a ride. You ready to go for another stroll through the mall?”

  Amy blotted up her tears with the last of the tissues Maylene had given her and forced a bright smile. “Absolutely,” she said. She looked at the damp spots on Nick’s costume and winced. “Sorry about that.”

  “No big deal.” He shrugged. “It’ll dry out.”

  When he would have taken Emma back from the security officer, Amy put her hand on his arm and felt the muscle clench. “I’m sorry we’ve caused such an uproar.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry for,” he said tersely, his expression suddenly distant. “But let’s not waste any more time, okay?”

  Startled by his abrupt change in mood, she merely nodded, then set out to keep pace with him when he strode off with Emma back in his arms. One of these days she might not mind trying to unravel the many contradictions in Nick DiCaprio, but now certainly wasn’t the time. With his quick withdrawal still fresh in her mind, she couldn’t help wondering if the timing would ever be right.

  * * *

  Nick had just descended straight into hell. He’d had a woman in his arms who’d felt exactly right there, but unless he found her son and did it soon, she would wind up hating him. He imagined Tyler Hamilton’s mother didn’t have a lot of nice things to say about him these days and for good reason. He’d failed her—and her boy—and this whole episode with Amy Riley was beginning to feel the same way…as if it were skidding downhill at a breakneck pace.

  The emotional roller coaster of thinking her son had been found, only to realize it had been another lost child had to have been devastating. It had nearly torn him apart watching the hope in her eyes fade and the despair return.