The Christmas Catch

Chapter One

    Christine sat at her drafting table and focused intently on her sketch. In the background, cheery Christmas music played from her high-end system. Dan had bought it three years before as a Christmas gift for her. Christine tightened her lips in concentration, ignoring the familiar ache in her heart. She couldn’t quite get the angle of the sleigh. Perhaps if she brought it down closer to the rooftop…
    “Mommy, it’s almost—”
    Christine startled at the tug on her sleeve, nearly upsetting her coffee. She gripped the mug to steady it. “Tyler! How many times have I told you not to—?”
    Saucerlike eyes brimmed with tears. “But I’m late for school,” he said, flagging his tyke-size cell in her direction. He clutched his big, black teddy bear, the one with the tattered ear. Christine’s cheeks sagged as her baby boy stood before the snowy window. Flakes beat down harder outside, but work—and preschool—would go on. This was Chicago, after all.
    She drew Tyler into her arms, awash with shame. How many times had she snapped at him this week already? And it was only Tuesday. “Mommy loves you very much,” she said into his charcoal curls. “I’m so sorry.”
    “I love you, too, Mommy,” his tiny, muffled voice returned.
    Christine hugged him tighter, her gaze caught by a framed photo of Dan in his military fatigues standing with his new bride. He’d been so handsome and hopeful at the time. When Tyler smiled, he looked just like him. Christine thought back to the happy, carefree brunette Dan had fallen in love with, wondering what he might think of her now. Her role as a single parent clearly didn’t allow her to be carefree, but she wouldn’t trade being a mother for the world. Dan had left her with a host of happy memories, but the best gift he’d supplied snuggled up against her here.
    Ellen was right in urging them to get away. Apart from being Christine’s boss at the greeting card company where she worked, Ellen was also her best friend. Ellen had noted the toll these last two years had taken on Christine and declared Christine was becoming ragged around the edges. Not only that, she was losing touch with her growing son. Christine denied it at first, but she could see it was true. A single tear slid down her cheek as she took in the Christmas decorations around them. Perhaps getting away would be good for her and Tyler, both.
    “Mommy?” Tyler said.
    “Yes, baby?”
    “You’re holding me so tight I can’t breathe.”
    Christine released him and thumbed his nose.
    “You really are the best little boy a mom could hope for. You know that?”
    “And you’re the best mom,” he said with deeply sincere eyes.
    Children can be so wonderfully forgiving, Christine thought with a tender sigh.
    “It’s snowing awfully hard out there,” she said, her voice brightening.
    Tyler raised his brow. “Yeah?”
    “Yeah.” Christine shot him an impish smile. “So, how’s about you and me taking a little detour on our way into town?”
    Tyler bounced on his heels. “Oh boy! You mean—?”
    “I don’t think Auntie Ellen would fault me too much for running an hour behind on such a snowy day.”
    “Can I get the Happy Stack?”
    Christine ruffled her fingers through his hair, her heart brimming with affection. “You, little man, may order anything that you want.”
    He beamed from ear to ear, a pint-size image of his dad.
    “And while we’re there,” Christine continued. “I’ll tell you all about our upcoming trip to Vermont.”
    Tyler scrunched up his face. “Vermont? What’s that?”
    “It’s a state, sweetheart. Just a little ways away.”
    He paused, considering this, then held his teddy up to his ear. “Jasper wants to know if there’ll be snow there.”
    “At least as much as we’ve got here.”
    Tyler listened to his teddy again. “Will we be there for Christmas?”
    “You bet!”
    Tyler hung his head, drawing Jasper into his chest.
    Christine reached out a hand and gently raised his chin. “What’s wrong, honey?”
    Tyler glanced at his Christmas stocking, then swallowed hard.
    “Jasper doesn’t think Santa will be able to find us.”
    “Trust me on this,” Christine said with a knowing air. “Santa will always be able to find us. Don’t you know he has his magical ways?”
    Tyler twisted his lips in thought. “You mean like a GPS?”
    A chuckle escaped her, in spite of herself.
    “Something like that,” she said, steering Tyler toward the