The Christmas Catch

delighted surprise. She locked on Carlos’s gaze and blinked. “That would be nice, very nice indeed.”
    John leaned forward, lifting a small box from an end table. “Wait,” he told Tyler, who was organizing his gifts. “There’s one more.” He glanced at Christine, his complexion ruddy. “This one’s for the two of you.”
    “Thanks,” she said, accepting the package. She felt bad that she hadn’t brought anything for him other than a bottle of wine. But, in light of how skittish he was acting, maybe her omission was for the best. “Ty? You want to do the honors?”
    The child grinned and slid the silky ribbon from the gift, peeling back the wrapping. He dug in the box and extracted a tiny toboggan tree ornament. “Look Mommy,” Tyler proclaimed. “It’s a sled! Just like we went on!”
    “Just a little something for you to remember Vermont by.”
    “Oh how cute,” Ellen chimed in.
    Emotion welled in Christine’s throat. Of all the moments they’d shared with John, that was one she’d never forget. “It’s wonderful,” she said softly. “Thank you.”
    “John took me and Mommy sledding!” Tyler informed the others.
    “So I heard, ” Ellen said with a knowing look.
    “Does this mean we’ll get a real Christmas tree next year?” Tyler asked.
    “Christine doesn’t believe in Christmas trees,” Ellen told Carlos.
    “Really?” Carlos asked with surprise.
    “That’s not true,” Christine protested. “I just haven’t gone to the trouble these past…” Now, it was her turn to avoid John’s gaze. “… few years.”
    “Well…” John clapped his hands together and glanced around. “Maybe next year things will be different.”
    The room was silent as all eyes fell on him. John stared first at Carlos and Ellen, then at Tyler and Mason by the tree. Finally, he looked at Christine. “For you, Christine. I meant, for you,” he said, his voice cracking. He stood suddenly, sweat beads dotting his brow. “I’m going to grab some water. Anybody else want a glass?”
    “I’ll come help,” Carlos said, getting to his feet.

    John leaned into the counter and took a long drink.
    “What is it, amigo,” Carlos asked. “What’s wrong?”
    “Suddenly, I don’t feel so hot.”
    “No joke. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
    John gradually met his gaze. “I have, Carlos. The Ghost of Christmas Future, and it’s too much. It’s all too much.”
    “What’s too much?”
    “ This. Old home week. Christine… Tyler… I just can’t do it.”
    “Nobody’s asked you to do anything, other than have them to dinner. As I recall, it was your invitation.”
    “Her best friend’s here. You know they’ve been talking about me.”
    “That’s what best girlfriends do!” Carlos reassured him. “They even weigh the merits of the UPS man, from what I hear.”
    John looked Carlos in the eye. “I heard from Mary Stewart.”
    “On the personnel committee?”
    John nodded. “If I want it, the position’s mine.”
    “That’s awesome news. Congratulations.”
    “You know what this means. Long hours… extra meetings… Honestly, it’s a good thing Christine and Tyler are going home.”
    Carlos cocked his chin. “Sometimes distance doesn’t matter.”
    “And sometimes it’s an excellent deterrent,” John said firmly. “Just the right thing, at just the right time, before anyone’s in too deep.”
    Carlos shook his head with a disapproving look. “And I thought the only chickens in this house were the ones you served for dinner.”

Chapter Twelve

    Christine and Ellen rode in the front of the SUV while Tyler slept soundly in his car seat in back. It had been a full and joyful day for her little boy; Christine was grateful for that at least. She kept her eyes on the road, trying not to think too hard about John’s parting statement. Could she really have made such colossal mistakes that he didn’t ever want to see her or Tyler again?
    Ellen checked her lipstick in the driver’s side mirror and fluffed her hair, lost in her own world. “I think the sexy professor’s sweet on you,” she said settling back in her seat. “ Maybe next year things will be different…? That sounded promising!”
    “You totally misread that, Ellen. I doubt that’s what John meant at all.”
    “He’s got the love bug for you, sister,” Ellen stated authoritatively. “The love bug and it shows. That man wants you in his future.”
    “That man, as you call him, was only making