Free A Family for Christmas by Mary Eason Page A

future.
    If she stayed at the farm, she knew Jack would find them, but she didn’t have the money to pick up and disappear and she couldn’t ask her family for help.
    She could only pray that she would be able to find some way to stand up to Jack when the time came.
    *****
    It was late in the evening when Rachel pulled off the two-lane road leading to their farm.
    Sammy had fallen asleep several hours earlier. She lifted the sleeping boy from the car and somehow managed to unlock the door with one hand and get Sammy into bed.
    She’d been driving for endless hours without a break. She was exhausted and felt as if she could sleep for days. She’d just finished checking all the locks on the windows and doors when the lights of a car swep t across the front of the house.
    Instinctively, she knew it was Jack.
    Rachel checked on Sammy to make sure he was still sleeping. She didn’t want him to hear the confrontation that was sure to follow. She’d never felt more helpless or more angry than she did at that moment.
    She yanked the door open, ready to fight for her son’s happiness. Rachel expected to find an angry Jack furious with her for disobeying his comment, but nothing could be further from the reality standing before her. Jack appeared almost humble. She’d never seen him look more vulnerable than he did at that moment.
    “May I come in?”
    She held the door open and let him pass, accepting the inevitable.
    “G ees , Rachel . ” He turned to look at her and she saw something in his eyes that took her breath away. This was the man she’d fallen in love with all those years ago.
    “Was the thought of marrying me so terrible that you had to run away? Do you hate me that much?”
    She would have given anything to tell him yes, but she couldn’t lie to Jack.
    “No. It’s just—”
    He moved closer. “Just what?”
    “I guess I was scared. I thought...I thought you were going to take Sammy from me.”
    He closed his eyes. “I was trying to do what I thought was best for all of us. I thought we could work things out together. We were happy once. Why can’t we be again?”
    How many times had she wished for the same thing? “Because we’re not the same two people. Back then, we were only kids playing at being grown up. We weren’t ready for a serious relationship and look where it got us. We both ended up hurt. Don’t you see, we can’t turn back time. It would never work.”
    “You’re right. We’re not kids anymore and that’s why we need to think about this rationally. We were friends before we became involved...emotionally. We cared about each other. We still do. At least, I still care about you. And I think you feel the same way. Rachel, we have a son together. Sammy has a father who is alive and can be part of his life. That’s a good thing, if you let it be, but you have to let me in. Please, don’t just dismiss me. I want to be part of Sammy’s life. Whatever differences we have, I think we can work them out.”
    “Jack...” She turned away from the sincerity in his eyes. She didn’t want to work it out. She wasn’t sure she could survive another marriage to Jack, even one of convenience. She wanted—she needed everything. All the love and passion that she’d believed as a young woman existed between them.
    “Rachel, we owe it to Sammy to try.” He was close. Too close for rational thought.
    Jack turned her gently to face him. “Look, it’s late and I know you must be tired. So am I.” His smile threatened to do terrible things to her resolve .
    “Let’s call it a night before we both say something we’ll regret. I’ll sleep on the couch, but I’m not leaving until we work this out. We can talk more in the morning when we’re both in a better frame of mind. We have to tell Sammy something tomorrow.”
    The thought of having Jack so close was unsettling. “You don’t have to sleep on the couch. There’s another bedroom down the hall. I’ll make up the bed for