A policeman escorts me toward the San Francisco Police Station. Ella and Bree are in there, and so is Tyler.

No one knows exactly what happened, except some man pulled an assault rifle at the ice rink. I don’t believe it’s Tyler, but the police are holding him because he was the one with the rifle when they arrived on the scene.

They assure me no one was shot, although reports vary on how many shots were fired.

“Step back, step back.” The officers cordon a path for me up the steps. They lead me past the reception area and down a long corridor.

One officer knocks briefly on the door and ushers me into an office. Bree is sitting on the window ledge, and Ella’s speaking to the officer behind the desk.

“Mama!” Bree jumps off the ledge and slams into me. “Ty saved my life. I almost got shot!”

“Bree.” I hug her and kiss her. Tears stream down my face at how I could have lost her. “Ella, what happened? What was Tyler doing?”

“I didn’t see it,” she says, her voice shaking. I only saw the flash and I grabbed Bree and ran. We slipped and fell, and everyone was falling or crawling to get away.”

I reach over and fold her and Bree into my arms. We hold each other, trembling and crying. After we calm down, I ask if I can see Tyler.

“No visitors. He’s being held for questioning.”

“But he didn’t do it, did he? He’d never do something like this.”

“We’re analyzing all the witnesses’ statements as well as forensics. You can take your daughter and sister home. They were very fortunate.” He leads us to the door. “Oh, and Merry Christmas.”

We celebrate Christmas Eve at my mother’s apartment. Jaden and Ella, me and Bree. No one talks about Tyler. Mother had made us promise not to dampen our spirits with his troubles.

As far as I know, he’s still being held on weapons charges. Discharging an assault weapon is a serious offense, and it being the holidays means no judge is going to move on granting him bail.

The guy Tyler tackled is the son of a billionaire, the idiot who gave me the bad stock tip. Rebecca was right. He’d traded the opposite way, wiped me out, then got a slap on the wrist, no jail time thanks to daddy dearest.

This time, he’s not getting away, even if the press is going around pegging Tyler as the one going nuts and the billionaire’s son as the innocent bystander.

I’m praying someone captured the event on video. Somewhere out there is a film that will exonerate Tyler. I’m in no mood to celebrate, but for Bree’s sake, I pull on a happy face.

We go through the motions, singing carols, giving thanks, and opening our one gift for Christmas Eve. Bree chooses the gift Tyler and I bought the day we met at the Ferry Building.

“A monster kit,” she squeals. “I wanna make one and show Ty. He’s coming, isn’t he? After they let him out of jail.”

“Let’s make one and put it under the tree for him.” I know I shouldn’t feed her dreams, but my heart aches because it’s what I want more than ever.

“Yay, Santa pwo-mised. He did.” Bree lifts her chin, so assured in her beliefs. “I also asked God to be safe.”

“So did I.” I kiss the top of her head.

Ella puts her arm over my shoulder. “Let’s all pray for Tyler.”

Several hours later, I’m finally able to relax. It took some bribing, lots of cookies and warm milk, including a share for Santa, and not a few threats about Santa not coming down the chimney at houses where children stayed up, before Bree was satisfied to go to sleep.

Mother went to bed soon after Bree. Ella and Jaden left to spend Christmas at Jaden’s parents’ house, leaving me alone and awake.

I heat two mugs of apple cider and add a splash of whiskey. Setting one on the kitchen table across from me, I cradle mine and sip, imagining Tyler and me kicking back and sharing a laugh.

Either I must have dozed off, or the knocking was faint and I’d imagined it. My heartbeat quickens as I pad to the door. “Is anyone there?”

“Ho, ho, ho, Santa Claus here.” It’s Tyler’s voice.

I fling open the door. Tyler stands there with a large bag over his shoulder.

Joy springs from my heart, and I throw myself into his arms. “They let you out. I knew you didn’t do it.”

He drops the bag, and his mouth swoops down to capture mine. Relief and elation flood through me as I shower him with kisses.

I drag him into the apartment. “Tell me everything. What happened? How did they let you out?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” He presses a finger on my lips. “First, I have to put all the presents under the tree. Then I eat the cookies Bree left for me, and then, I get a kiss under the mistletoe.”

“You got your kiss already.” I laugh. “Okay, let me help.”

Tyler drags a box out of the bag. It’s a Christmas train set. “For Bree.”

“She’ll love it.” I arrange the rest of the presents while he builds the train tracks around the Christmas tree.

While we assemble the track and trains, he tells me how he’d gone to his parents’ graves, how he met a Vietnam veteran who hooked him up with a veteran’s group, and how the police had let him go after a video was turned in showing Tyler as the guy who stopped the shooting.

“That means you’re the hero. You saved Bree and everyone else.” I hug him. “The shooter was the guy who gave me the bad trade. Even though he didn’t go to jail, he had to pay back all his winnings and a huge fine. His father cut off his allowance, and he probably blames it on me for getting caught.”

Tyler’s lips press tight and he nods. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you or Bree. Not if I can help it.”

I swallow a tight lump in my throat. Of course he’d never let anyone hurt me or Bree physically, but he could still damage our hearts. Should I risk it? Put myself out there? Does he even know I went after him?

I light the gas fireplace and drop pillows on the carpet in front of the Christmas tree. Getting comfortable, I lean into his arms.

“Tyler, I trust you with my life and know you won’t let anyone else hurt me, but what about you? When you left, it hurt really, really bad. I can take it, but I don’t want Bree to ever feel abandoned.”

“I feel horrible leaving you like that.” He presses a kiss on my forehead. “I was afraid to ruin your life. It’s not going to be easy being with me.”

“It’s not easy being with anyone.” I stroke his forearm and take his hand. “We all have our baggage, and there’s no guarantee of the future. That’s why I never wanted a relationship. I thought I could raise Bree by myself, shield her from pain and rejection.”

He caresses my shoulders and back, holding me close. “Has someone hurt you? Rejected you?”

The lump in my throat grows and I nod. “My father has another family. What you see here are the castoffs. Me, my mother, and my sister. When my mother got sick, he didn’t lift a finger to help us. When I went to jail, he disinherited me. He tried to manipulate Ella. Made her choose between his money and us.”

“She chose wisely. And so do I.” He tilts my chin to face him. “I need you, Kelly. I won’t ever run off without talking to you.”

“You better not. After I went all the way to Colorado to find you.”

His eyes widen, and his jaw slackens. “You followed me? What happened when you didn’t find me?”

“I froze my tush in your cabin until the guy I hired to take me to the old fort came and got me. He must have felt sorry for me because he drove me straight to the airport and made me get on the plane. Call it temporary insanity.”

He sweeps my hair from my face. “I prefer to call it love. I’m sorry I missed you. I was already on my way back to you.”

I bury my face in his neck and hold him, my heart fluttering with warmth and happiness. I’ve reached him. He’s able to feel my love and believe it. Trust me enough to come back and take another chance. But can I trust him?

Tyler caresses my hair and whispers, “You’re incredible. I can’t believe you were there.”

“Oh, believe me, I had to put up with some real characters at your hometown.” I take his hand and intertwine my fingers with his. “I saw your footsteps and your parents’ graves, the wreath you left, and the little stone cabin in the canyon. I understand why you went.”

“I needed to be with my parents. To feel like I’m not alone in this world. They were there, in my heart. But I needed more than two gravestones. So I came back for you. I couldn’t stay away.” His warm breath brushes over me. “Everything was empty without you. My mother always said I’d one day be some woman’s entire world. I want to be yours.”

I reach for his face and gaze into his eyes. They seem truer and bluer than I remember. “Stay with me, and be Bree’s father too.”

He blinks and wets his lips, a look of hope opening his face. “You trust me?”

“With my heart.” I kiss the stubble on his jaw. “And Bree’s.”

“Let me protect and care for you.” He clasps my hands between his strong, warm hands. “You and Bree. Let me be the man in your life.”

“You already are. I’m falling in love with you.”

“I love you, Kelly, with all my heart.”

“Merry Christmas, Tyler.”

“Nana, Nana, look what Santa got me.” Bree’s chirpy voice pierced the morning stillness.

Tyler shifted his body on the pillows and cracked his eyes open. The needles of the Christmas tree brushed against his face. Kelly was asleep in his arms, and Bree stood over them, still wearing her pajamas.

Bree tapped Kelly. “Mama, what are you doing with my present?”

“Huh, what?” Kelly yawned and stretched. Her elbow caught Tyler in the jaw.

He rubbed his face. “Ouch. I’m getting assaulted on Christmas morning.”

Footsteps shuffled down the hallway. “Bree, it’s too early.”

“But, Nana, look. Mama and Ty are under the Chwistmas tree. I bet they were kissing.” She danced a storm around them, laughing and jumping in glee.

Kelly blushed and straightened her rumpled blouse. Thankfully, they’d fallen asleep fully clothed while cuddling, nothing more.

“Oh, my bones,” Peggy said. She stopped at the entrance to the living room. “Well I’ll be fit to be darned. Looks like we all got our present under the big ol’ tree.”

“You, Mama?” Kelly’s eyebrow cocked at her mother.

“Oh, yes,” she replied. “I asked for a handyman.”

“You did not, you asked for a son-in-law.”

“Same difference.”

“I asked for a papa.” Bree landed in Tyler’s lap and hugged him.

“And Kelly? What did you ask for?”

“I asked for love, but got you instead.” She winked before smacking him with the best Christmas kiss he ever got.

* * *

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If you enjoyed A Father for Christmas, please consider buying the paperback as a gift for a friend or loved one. They come in both regular print size (11 pt font) and large print (18 pt font).