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

now. The modified version, of course.”
    “Of course.” She laughed harder, and after a moment he grinned, as well. There was nothing coy or shy about Shannon and it was surprisingly refreshing.
    “Hey, someday you’ll be in my shoes and it won’t seem so funny.”
    “Maybe, but it’s further away in my future.”
    “Don’t you want kids?”
    Her smile faltered. “One day. Maybe.” She began working on the train again and he sat next to her, fitting pieces together, as well. The town took shape, along with a small forest of trees and a mountain with a tunnel.
    He sighed. “You were supposed to take this back. And here I am, helping put it together.”
    “Call it a permanent loan. I don’t need two toy trains.”
    He opened his mouth, then closed it again, instead snapping together the last piece of track. Jeremy would love the tree and train, but he doubted his son would talk less about Shannon just because they now had their own Christmas wonderland.
    There was something about Shannon that was hard to forget. The more Alex saw of her, the less he saw the breezy sophisticate from their first meeting. He wasn’t sure if that was good or bad, because the woman beneath the surface was intelligent, charming…and ever so appealing.
    It was baffling, but he just plain liked Shannon. She was far too emotional, something he’d always avoided in both male and female friends. And he would have expected her to act like a spoiled princess given her family’s wealth, but she was down-to-earth and generous to a fault. It made him uncomfortable in ways he hadn’t expected, raising questions about the way he’d lived, the way he’d denied the deeper workings of his own soul.
    The train’s power cords were hidden from view and Shannon flipped a switch on the control board. The lights of the Victorian town twinkled merrily beneath the tree.
    “How’s that?” she asked.
    “It’s great. You have a gift for this sort of thing.”
    She had a gift for handling public relations problems,not decorating or cooking. But she could write a check and wield a credit card with the best homemaker on the planet.
    “My sister is responsible,” she admitted. “Miranda is a professional decorator, and she had most of this stuff in stock already. Anything you want, she can take care of.”
    “Can she take care of my big mouth?” Alex rubbed the back of his neck. “Please believe me, I never meant to hurt your feelings yesterday. The truth is, I was jealous. Jeremy is the most important thing in the world to me, yet you’ve been able to reach him, when I can’t.”
    The pain in Alex’s face turned Shannon’s stomach into mush. “You mustn’t worry, he adores you,” she whispered.
    His mouth lifted in a brief smile. “I appreciate that, but I still can’t reach him. Why, Shannon? Why can’t I get through to my own son?”
    She thought about her day with Jeremy, and the quick, almost guilty look he’d given his father when he had said he couldn’t remember his mother’s face.
    “Maybe he’s trying to protect you,” she said gently.
    “Protect me? What are you talking about?”
    Shannon let out a breath and wondered if she was mistaken. Her instincts told her she was right, but her instincts might be wrong. Still…
    “The thing is… I don’t see any pictures or keepsakes of your wife around, and you seem reluctant to talk about her in front of Jeremy. Maybe he’s decided it hurts you too much, and he’s trying not to upset you.” She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “Problem is, those feelings don’t go away.”
    “He’s a child. I’m supposed to take care of him.”
    “Yes, but when someone dies, people say odd things. Things like ‘smile.’ ‘Don’t be so sad.’ ‘Be strong for your family. For your mommy. For your daddy.’”
    “Damn.” Alex rubbed his face, his mind working furiously.
    Could that be it?
    Jeremy thinking he had to grieve in silence…the way Shannon had grieved? He gazed at