Mistletoe Mischief Read Free Page A

the other people on the platform to cross the distance between them and the fence, all he knew was he caught the little girl at the last second before she plunged head first onto the concrete twelve feet below. He clutched her tight against his thundering chest. Sobs shook her slim little body while her hold on his neck choked hard.  
    “Shh. I got you sweetheart. You’re okay,” he soothed. Concerned voices began to bleed back into his consciousness.
    “I want my mommy,” Heather cried into Eric’s T-shirt.
    He turned to find Marissa at his side. She dragged her daughter from his arms to crush her close. Tears ran unchecked down both their faces.
    “I was so scared, Mommy.”
    “So was I, honey, so was I. But you’re safe now.” Marissa’s voice shook worse than the hand she stroked over her daughter’s hair.
    Reese stood off to the side, looking pretty frightened herself. Eric scooped her up and hugged her close. Just the thought of his daughter facing such danger chilled him to the bone.
    Marissa’s radiant blue gaze met his over Heather’s shoulder. “Thank you,” she said softly.
    Reese burst into tears and burrowed against his neck. Eric frowned and tried to see her face. “Hey, what’s the matter? Everything’s okay.”
    After a few more moments of crying, Reese calmed down enough to mumble, “It’s my fault.” Then she lifted her head to look at Heather, who peered shyly from under Marissa’s chin. “I’m sorry I tickled you, Heather.”
    “Oh, honey, no one blames you,” Marissa exclaimed. She stepped closer and rubbed Reese’s back. “It was an accident.”
    Reese wiped her eyes before drying her hand on Eric’s T-shirt. She sniffed and laid her head on his shoulder while peering at her friend. Heather’s tremulous smile melted Eric’s heart as much as his daughter’s obvious remorse.
    “I’m not mad,” Heather said.
    “So we can still be best friends?” Reese asked in a tiny, hopeful voice.
    Heather nodded.
    “I’ll never tickle you ever again,” Reese promised, solemnly.
    “And no one climbs up on the railings again, either,” Marissa added, her tone firm. “Okay?”
    Both girls nodded. Moments later, they wiggled for freedom. Eric exchanged a relieved smile with Marissa before they both set their daughters down. Heather headed straight for the fence, prompting Marissa and Eric to both make mad grabs for her shoulders. Marissa caught her, but not before Eric noticed a tight grimace of pain cross her face with her shift in stance.
    “I lost my crackers.” Heather sniffed, peering down over the edge at the scattered crumbs on the concrete.
    “You can have mine.” Reese held both crackers out to her friend.
    Heather grinned but only took one. “We’ll share.”
    They promptly got back in line and waited their turn to feed the giraffes. Expelling a breath to release the tension in his shoulders, Eric shook his head in disbelief. To be the child and not the parent; sure she’d just had a near-miss, but heaven forbid she miss her chance to feed Lucy.
    While Marissa spoke to a couple of the parents and one of the platform attendants who wanted to make sure everything was all right, Eric bought more crackers and divided them evenly between the two girls before returning to her side. He felt they’d bonded somehow, and leaned against the railing while she snapped pictures of the girls feeding the giraffes. Excited smiles lit up their faces when the huge animals took the crackers from their small hands.
    “Can you believe those two?” Eric asked after she’d snapped a few photographs.
    “I know,” Marissa agreed. “Like nothing even happened, while I’m still recovering from my heart attack.”
    Emotion clogged her voice. She held out a still-trembling hand to show him the lingering after-effects of the scare. Eric reached to take hold of of her fingers and squeezed gently with reassurance, knowing exactly how she felt. As he rubbed his thumb back and forth across