A Family for Christmas by Mary Eason Page A

tell you—something that’s going to be hard for you to understand.”
    The solemn expression on his face reminded her so much of Jack.
    “Honey, you know that I loved your father.” She glanced at Jack and silently pleaded with him to understand. “But Jack and I, well, we were together before I knew your father.” S he was making a mess of things.
    Jack sat down across from Sammy. “What your mother’s trying to say is that after seeing each other again, we realized that we still cared about each other.”
    Sammy sat completely still, staring at Jack like a mini version of him.
    Rachel was so grateful that he wasn’t rushing into telling Sammy he might be his father. “What do you think about that?”
    “Are you and Momma going to get married? Are you going to be my daddy? Like Jason’s daddy? Are we going to be like a family?”
    Rachel’s gaze collided with Jack’s. There was no mistaking the challenge there.
    Jack nodded his head. “If that’s okay with you?”
    Sammy didn’t hesitate before nodding.
    Two sets of eyes, so alike, focused on her, waiting for her answer.
    “Honey, if that’s what you want, then that’s what we’ll do.” And there at last she let go of all her doubts and didn’t hesitate. She’d do whatever it took to make Sammy happy. She’d hurt him by keeping Jack away. Someday, she’d make it up to him by telling him the truth. But for now, she’d marry Jack and accept whatever he had to offer her because she loved her son.
    “Yippee!” Sammy jumped up and down, then hugged her tight. He looked a little unsure of himself when he turned to Jack. Sammy didn’t know how to treat this new man in his life yet, but he would in time. He stood there staring into eyes so much like his own before Jack reached out and pulled him into his arms.
    “Does that mean you’re okay with having me in your life?”
    Sammy nodded a bit shyly but without a second’s hesitation.
    “Well, good. Then I think the first order of business is to do some shopping. If what I’ve seen of your pantry is any indication of what you have for food, then we’re going to starve to death.”
    Rachel couldn’t keep from looking at him. She remembered all those times in the past when that same grin Jack wore now had won her over. Even when she was determined to remain strong, she felt its attraction.
    “Sammy, why don’t you and I go outside and make sure the truck I rented is okay while your mother gets ready. We should be back in say, half an hour. Will that give you enough time?”
    Somehow, she managed to agree. She felt the weight of the past few days and all that had happened between herself and Jack settle heavily on her shoulders.
    “Good. And since Christmas is just a few days away, we’ll need to do some serious Christmas shopping.”
    She didn’t bother responding, but Sammy’s ecstatic yelp made up for it. Her son was over the moon with happiness. And she had a feeling it had little to do with their upcoming shopping spree.
    As Jack helped Sammy bundle up for the outdoors, she tried to control the feeling that history was about to repeat itself.
    She’d just agreed to marry Jack Bryant for the second time in her life. She could only hope that this time, he wouldn’t break her heart again.
    She glanced back over her shoulder in time to see Jack watching her and knew that he was aware of everything she was thinking at that moment.
     
    Chapter Seven 
     
    It was a long time before Rachel could bring herself to face Jack again. She had no idea what he was expecting from this relationship of theirs, beyond being with Sammy. For that matter, she didn’t know what she wanted from it either.
    She took her time dressing. Over the years, especially once Sam had passed away, she’d gotten used to wearing jeans and sweaters most of the time. She rarely wore makeup, because it was usually just the two of them. But today, Rachel was conscious of the shadows beneath her eyes and the pale complexion