A Family Under the Christmas Tree Read Free

made more of an effort to visit more frequently. She’d have to tell her brothers they also needed to make the effort to come see Grandma.
    But one thing Grandma had said confused her.
    â€œWho’s Simon?”
    Sophie narrowed her gaze. Was that a blush tingeing Grandma’s cheeks? Or was it just the cold air giving her a rosy hue? In this light it was hard to tell.
    â€œHe’s a friend from church,” Grandma said. “We serve together on the Helping Hands committee.” Grandma fiddled with the controls on her wheelchair. The wheels hummed and spun, and the chair turned so that she now faced the front door. “It’s getting chilly out here. Shall we go in?”
    Hmmm. Definitely a blush. Interesting. She’d need to find out more about that soon. For now, she hurried to open the door.
    â€œRiggs will need to be wiped down. Do you mind? I’m not sure I could manage it. I can barely get myself bathed and dressed on one good foot,”Grandma said as she pushed her chair inside the warm house. “There’s a bucket for water and towels in the laundry room.”
    Sophie eyed Riggs. The white and tan parts of his coat were crusted with mud and they nearly matched the black parts of his fur. His head tilted as he watched her, waiting patiently, as if he’d been trained to anticipate the need for a bath before entering the house. Surely Grandma hadn’t summoned her just to care for the dog?
    No, Sophie had a strong feeling that Grandma’s intentions weren’t that pedestrian. Sophie believed that she did need help after her fall, but she was pretty sure that wasn’t all she had in mind.
    With a little huff, Sophie went to fetch the bucket and towels.

    The stunning Sophie Griffith was one more distraction David didn’t need. He stared at the charcoal etching with frustration. Louise had mentioned on more than a few occasions that her unmarried granddaughter was coming to visit.
    He had the distinct impression Louise was hoping something might kindle between him and Sophie. He suspected that was why she’d asked if he’d put up her lights yesterday at the exact time Sophie was to arrive.
    He’d been amused by her meddling until he saw the leggy blonde step out of her car and he’d felt a visceral reaction in his gut. She was tall, which he liked, and her clear blue eyes had missed nothing. She seemed to stare at everything at once and he’d wondered if she was imagining what the world would looklike with the perfect lighting and the correct angle for her camera lens.
    Louise had said Sophie was pretty, but “pretty” was such a mild word. She wasn’t model gorgeous in that surreal way that some women had. No, Sophie’s beauty was natural. Her golden skin spoke of other places, warm and sunny places. Her blond hair had hung loose about her shoulders and framed an oval face that he’d itched to draw the second he’d returned to his desk. Now that drawing stared back at him, pulling his mind away from his work.
    He pushed the sketchbook aside. He couldn’t let anything or anyone divert his attention. Operating a million-dollar company and raising a child—especially one you hadn’t planned on—was hard enough. The last thing he needed was to add a complication such as romance into the mix. Romances, he’d found, took energy and effort that he didn’t have right now. He’d discovered early on that along with love came heartache. It was a state of being he didn’t want to experience ever again.
    He refocused on his computer, which he’d set up in the dining room so he could work and keep an eye on Troy. Juggling the sudden demands of single parenthood and the company he’d built from the ground up was taxing not only his energy but also his emotional reserves.
    After his brother and sister-in-law’s tragic deaths, David had been granted custody of his nephew, a fate David had