Meet Me Under The Mistletoe (O'Rourke Family 5) by Julianna Morris

father or parent , but daddy . Any man could father a child; not all of them were daddies. His own father was the perfect example—a man with so many personal problems, he didn’t have energy to think about the kids he’d helped create.
    “I’m no expert,” Shannon murmured, “but I called my mother and talked to her after picking up Jeremy. I knowyou’ve been concerned, and thought she might have some advice. After all, she raised nine children and we all lived to tell about it.”
    “I don’t think I could handle nine. Just having one has me overwhelmed.”
    “You might surprise yourself. Mom says it doesn’t get easier with each child, but you become more shock-resistant.”
    “She sounds smart. Maybe she can tell me how to help a pregnant sixteen-year-old prodigy,” he muttered, his mind unable to erase the memory of the fear in his young student’s face, and the knowledge that something had irrevocably changed her life. No matter what Rita decided to do about her baby, it was something she’d live with forever.
    “Sixteen?”
    “Yes. That’s why I asked if you’d pick up Jeremy. A member of the football team seduced her as part of an initiation challenge. She told me after class. She’d been crying… I couldn’t leave without doing something.”
    “I’ll kill him.” Shannon’s eyes flashed furiously.
    “Get in line.”
    “I mean it, Alex. What’s his name?”
    “I mean it, too, but she wouldn’t tell me his name.” Alex gazed at Shannon’s passionate expression, fascinated. He’d reacted to the situation as an intellectual, coolly, professionally, though he’d been outraged; Shannon’s reaction was purely from the heart.
    The philosophical concepts of yin and yang, opposites that complemented each other, crept into his mind.
    No .
    He surged to his feet.
    “You’ve been terrific, but if Jeremy’s really comingdown with something, then we’re exposing you to his germs unnecessarily. I’d better get him home.”
    Her eyebrows shot upward. “What about your student?”
    “She’s with the counselors at the school health center. They’re going to work with her. I shouldn’t have said anything, but I wanted you to know there was a good reason I asked for your help,” he said quickly.
    It was a lie.
    He’d told her because he’d needed to talk about the situation with someone else. It was odd, but the school counselors had frustrated him with their guarded responses. He was a careful man himself—a man who avoided emotion—yet he’d wanted to hear someone explode in outrage on Rita’s behalf.
    He leaned over his son. “It’s time to go,” he murmured.
    Jeremy snuggled deeper into the pillow, so Alex lifted him in his arms.
    “No, Daddy,” came a sleepy murmur. “Wanna stay with Shannon.”
    Considering the magical toy train and marvelous Christmas tree, he wasn’t surprised by Jeremy’s response, yet a piercing ache went through Alex. He’d tried to get Jeremy interested in buying a tree, but his son had just sighed and said it wouldn’t be like Shannon’s. How a child could fall madly in love with someone in such a short time was beyond comprehension.
    Shannon followed them to the door with Jeremy’s jacket, and when Alex turned to say goodnight, he caught the faint scent of her perfume.
    God, she smelled good.
    He stared into her green eyes and felt unwelcome sensations,sensations that reminded him he was still alive, even if his wife was gone.
    “Er…thanks again. For everything,” he muttered, taking the jacket and tucking it around his son.
    Without another word he opened the door and left before he could do something he’d regret.

Chapter Five
    “I don’t wanna babysitter,” Jeremy declared, his small chin setting stubbornly.
    Alex sighed. “We need someone for a few days. You can’t go to day-care until we’re sure you don’t have strep throat.”
    “Not going back there, either. I want Shannon.”
    Blast .
    Alex rubbed at his temples. He’d