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

sat at Jeremy’s bedside most of the night, watching him breathe, gauging how sick he was getting. He’d enjoyed few restful nights since losing Kim, but it was his child’s health that robbed him of sleep now.
    He’d do anything for his son.
    Did “anything” include Shannon O’Rourke?
    Alex had cashed in her offer of help once already, but she handled Jeremy so well. By contrast, Jeremy was still convinced the day-care center meant Mr. Tibbles harm by trying to “poke” the rabbit with a needle.
    “ Pleeeze , Daddy. Mr. Tibbles likes Shannon.”
    The heartfelt plea was more than Alex could withstand. “All right, I’ll talk to her,” he said.
    Feeling as if he was caught in a quagmire that was pulling him down no matter how hard he tried to escape it, Alex stepped outside and knocked on Shannon’s door. He’d heard a few sounds from her side of their shared wall earlier that morning, so he figured she was awake.
    When the door opened and he saw her, looking bright and beautiful as a new penny, he felt old and tired in comparison. For nearly a year he’d struggled, trying to make sense of his life and figure out how to be a father to a withdrawn, grieving child. Now Shannon had dropped into the picture, and she was like a forbidden Christmas ornament dangling from a branch, just beyond reach.
    She represented a sweet escape from the struggle, but escape wasn’t possible. He could only endure.
    “Is Jeremy all right?” Shannon asked.
    “Yeah. He’s sniffling and has a sore throat, but it seems to be just a cold like you thought. The thing is, there’s a lot of strep throat going around, and the day-care center wants me to wait a couple of days to rule it out before bringing him back. I do have a babysitter I could call, but Jeremy’s being difficult and I—”
    “If you want to know if I’ll take care of him, the answer is yes,” she said.
    “Are you sure you don’t mind? Watching a sick kid is a lousy way to use a vacation day. And there’s more chance you’ll catch his bug.”
    “I’m sure. Besides, I never get sick,” Shannon said, at the same minute her brain was screaming in pure panic.Taking care of a little boy for a whole day was a much bigger step than watching him for a couple of hours.
    “That’s great.” Alex sounded as if he wasn’t actually sure it was great, but he was saying so because he didn’t have a choice.
    His behavior irritated her. She wished she understood more about single fathers. Then she might know why Alex’s face and posture said one thing, while his voice said another. If he really didn’t want her to take care of Jeremy, why had he knocked on her door in the first place?
    “I’m happy to spend the day with him,” she said firmly.
    “If he was worse, I’d stay home, only with finals next week it isn’t a good time to miss class,” he said.
    Alex removed a key from his key ring and handed it to her, along with a business card. “Here’s a key to my condo so you can spend the day there if you want. Feel free to use whatever you need. My office and cell phone numbers are on the card. I usually turn off the cell in class, but I’ll leave it on today.”
    She glanced at the key and had a sudden burning urge to see the inside of the McKenzie household. Would it be neat? Disorganized? Would it still reflect the influence of Jeremy’s mother, who had been the homebody sort who made everything nice? A vision of lace doilies and crocheted toilet-paper-roll covers went through her head—a dizzying image in the face of Alex’s rugged masculinity.
    “Er… I’ll let Jeremy take the lead,” she murmured.
    Suddenly, Jeremy appeared under Alex’s elbow and smiled up tremulously. “Is it okay, Daddy?”
    “Yes. Go back inside, son, where it’s warm.”
    “No. Go to Shannon’s now.”
    Quick as a monkey, he scooted past his daddy, and Shannon instinctively crouched to catch him in a hug.
    Oh…goodness.
    A warm, fuzzy sensation curled in her