A Family for Christmas (Contemporary Romance Novella) by Helen Scott Taylor

arms felt like they were going to drop off, but between them they had opened a gap wide enough for the pickup to pass through.
    "Success!" Tom grinned, a flash of white teeth. His eyes sparkled in the sunlight reflected off the snow.
    Eve grinned back, feeling daring and invigorated like an explorer on an expedition.
    "Time for a cup of coffee, I think," Tom said. They sat on the hood of the pickup, steaming plastic mugs in their gloved hands, and examined their handiwork. "You did well for a pencil pusher."
    "I try to keep in shape by jogging, but I'm not as fit as I thought." Eve flexed her aching fingers. "Or my hands and arms aren't. Anyway, you were a pencil pusher once as well."
    "Yep. I know." Tom sipped his coffee and stared out across the desolate, snowy moorland. "Sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing, whisking Polly away from everything she knew and bringing her down here."
    "She seems to like it."
    "I know, but it was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. After Karen walked out, I wanted to get away from the life that had caused us such heartache. Give us a fresh start."
    "Why Dartmoor?"
    Tom smiled fondly. "I was trying to rediscover my happy past, I think. My parents brought me here on vacation when I was a boy. Back then, the Undys ran the farm and rented the cottage to vacationers. They sold me the farm and kept the cottage. It's useful to have old Undy around. He still works on the farm for me."
    Eve glanced at Tom curiously. So she wasn't the only one who reminisced about her happy childhood. "You got along well with your parents?"
    "The best days of my life," Tom said softly.
    "Where do your parents live?"
    "In Barbados. Dad used to run a company that manufactured specialist filters, but he sold it and retired a couple of years ago. These days they prefer to live where the weather's hot."
    Eve wrapped her fingers around her warm mug. "I can see how that might be appealing."
    "Yeah." Tom laughed. "Perhaps I should have taken Polly to my parents' place in Barbados instead of here."
    "Then who would have rescued me when I broke down?"
    "Ah, you might not have needed rescuing. If Pickle hadn't been in the middle of the road, you might have made it through the snow. "
    The last eighteen unhappy months of Eve's life flashed through her mind. "I think I'd have still needed rescuing."
    Tom's blue eyes twinkled with intelligence, his cheeks pinked from the cold. The tips of his dark hair peeped out from under his hat. She gripped his hand through his glove and he closed his fingers around hers, squeezing back.
    He had done so much more than rescue her from the snow.
    "Thank you, Tom. Thank you for reminding me what's important in life."
    The smile faded from his lips and he held her gaze, his own sharpening with curiosity. "I did that?"
    "You and Polly."
    "Well, that's good."
    They sat in silence then, holding hands, his large, warm fingers engulfing hers, the simple touch filling her throat with a knot of longing and affection.
    How could she have grown so fond of this man in such a short time? She'd dated guys for months and not felt this close to them. But she had never dated one who was a patch on Tom. There was something very special about this man sitting beside her. His ex-wife must have been a fool not to see that.
    "Better get back on the road if you want to reach Plymouth today." Tom tossed the dregs of his coffee in the snow and climbed back into the pickup.
    They set off again, the four-wheel drive negotiating icy stretches of road that Eve wouldn't have dared try to travel alone. The snow cover thinned as they dropped towards sea level. "It's a few degrees warmer down here," Tom said, pointing at the temperature displayed on his dashboard.
    An hour later, they reached the main road into Plymouth. A snowplow had cleared it. A variety of vehicles crawled over the gritty surface, heading for the city. "I'll drop you at the car rental place a couple of miles away. From there you should have no trouble driving