Her Christmas Hero. Lorraine Beatty
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property.”
She turned to face him and he felt a stunned moment of awareness. Her emerald-green eyes were bright and inquisitive. Her strawberry blonde hair was held back on the sides with barrettes, allowing the wavy strands to tumble down behind her shoulders. He yanked his thoughts back into place. “You have no right to be here. So I suggest you hand me the key and leave.” The green eyes darkened and she raised her chin, a slight smile touching her lips.
“Hello, Mr. Linc. As a matter of fact, I do have a right to be here. I’m your new tenant. My son and I will be staying in the cottage for the next few months.”
Linc narrowed his eyes, sorting through the information. Only employees of his family’s electrical contracting business called him Mr. Linc. It saved confusion between all the Montgomerys who worked there. His dad, Dale, himself and his two brothers, Seth and Gil. But he didn’t recognize this woman, and she wasn’t the type he’d forget.
“I don’t know anything about that. No one told me. Do you have a lease you can show me? Because if you don’t, you’ll need to leave. And if you refuse I’ll have the sheriff out here to escort you off the property.”
The boy he’d seen earlier rejoined the woman, whom Linc assumed was his mother. Standing close to her side and eyeing him with a hint of fear in his hazel eyes.
“Mom?”
“It’s all right, Evan. This is Mr. Linc. His family owns the cottage. We’re just discussing some of the details. You go back inside. I’ll be there in a moment.”
The boy nodded, then smiled up at his mother. “Mom, there’s a river behind the house and tons of good climbing trees.”
Linc spoke without thinking. “It’s a creek. The Sandy Fork Creek.”
The woman and boy stared at him with puzzled expressions. He was just trying to be correct.
The woman nudged the boy back inside, then came toward him, stopping at the edge of the top step and waiting. She raised her eyebrows. “If you’ll allow me, I’ll get the lease from my car and put your mind at ease.”
For a reason he wasn’t sure of, he refused to move. He wanted to challenge her. She was up to something, and he wasn’t about to make it easy for her. He’d mastered the icy glare, the one that would send workers scattering back to their jobs, and difficult builders to bend to his will. He crossed his arms over his chest. “You do that.”
She smiled as if dealing with a naughty child, then stepped deftly around him along the edge of the steps, brushing up against his arm and releasing a flowery scent that reminded him of the Confederate jasmine that grew along the side of the main house. He held his ground. Waiting. He kept his back to her, intending to show her who was in charge.
“Here you are. All signed and notarized.”
She spoke from behind him, forcing him to turn and face her. He felt a flicker of admiration for her gutsy determination. Slowly he pivoted. She held out the paper and he took it with a quick swipe. He scanned the document twice to make sure he understood what he was reading. His mom had rented the cottage to this woman—a Gemma Butler—for free. Why? The lease was in order. His mother was the local real estate broker and she knew her stuff.
The woman held her hands clasped in front of her, her expression calm and a bit superior, elevating his blood pressure. He didn’t like being made to look foolish. “Why is my mother letting you stay here free of charge?”
The woman lifted the lease from his hand with thumb and forefinger, then folded it and slipped it into her shoulder bag. “Perhaps you should ask her.” She moved past him and up onto the porch. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get my son settled. I have to start work in the morning. Have a nice day, Mr. Linc.”
Linc watched the woman disappear inside the house and shut the door with a quiet snap. He dragged his fingers across his jaw. Great. This was the perfect ending to a lousy week. He’d been in Biloxi the past six days overseeing a mishandled construction project. When he’d returned home he’d found his mother gone to Little Rock to visit her sister. Now she’d taken on a tenant and had told him nothing about it.
He understood his mother was hurting and confused. Losing their father so suddenly to an aneurism had rocked their world. But she should have stayed here at home where she could be taken care of.
With his father gone, Linc was not only the head of the family now, but the head of Montgomery Electrical Contractors, as well. The job should have been shared with his brother Gil, but he had left shortly after the funeral for Mobile to oversee a project there and to deal with an urgent personal matter. The responsibility of the company weighed heavily on Linc. He’d never realized how much he’d relied on his dad for advice and direction.
Jogging up the steps at the main house, Linc pushed through the front door and headed to the office at the far side of the large home. Pulling his cell phone from his pocket he dialed his mother, pacing the room as he waited. He was worried about her. It wasn’t like her to run off to visit relatives without telling anyone, and it certainly wasn’t like her to rent the cottage to someone outside the family. He’d lived in it himself for a while before getting his own place.
He barely let his mother say hello before he launched his barrage of questions. “You want to tell me about this woman in the cottage? Who is she and what’s going on?”
“Hello, dear. Oh, she’s there already. Good. Did you help her get settled in?”
Linc pressed his lips together to keep from saying something disrespectful. “No, ma’am, because I had no idea that we had a tenant. It would have been nice to have some warning, Mom.”
“I’m sorry, dear. I meant to tell you, but I was in a hurry to get up here to see Mary and I guess I forgot.”
“Who is she?”
“Gemma Butler.”
“I saw that on the lease. Who is she?”
“From our accounting office. She needed to be closer to Dover when she starts work so I offered her the cottage.”
Linc sank into the chair behind the desk, frustration tightening his chest. “Mom. You’re not making any sense. What work?” Silence. “Mom?”
“Well, honey. I should have told you, but I was—”
“In a hurry to get away. I got that.” Why was she so anxious to leave the home she’d shared with his father? She should be here, working through her grief, not running off to her sisters.
“I resigned from the Christmas Event Committee. I just can’t face it this year. So I recommended Gemma, and the Chamber of Commerce hired her. She’s going to be wonderful.”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desktop. Trying to grasp the changes. “Mom, you’ve always done the Christmas events.”
“I know, but not this year. Surely you understand. With your father gone...”
“I know.” Nothing was the same with Dad gone. The world had tilted and they were all just trying to keep their balance. “When are you coming home?”
“I don’t know. Next weekend, maybe. Have you talked to Gil?”
“No. Have you?”
“Yes. His attorney is still digging through legal tangles, but he’s hopeful. The court should rule in his favor since he’s the legal parent.”
“Let’s hope so. We both know the court system can often make poor decisions. I’m praying they won’t this time.”
Linc heard his mom hum her agreement, then encouraged her once more to come home before ending the call and tossing the cell onto the desk. His gaze landed on the family photo sitting on one corner. A short while ago they were all together. Now they were missing their most important member. Losing his dad had made him realize how much he valued his family, how important it was to stay close