The Christmas Stranger

Holly released a sigh, while the stray mother cat tended her kittens. Pulling her lips in a half smile, she edged closer. “Hey, little mama, I won’t hurt you or your babies.”

The cat protested with an unhappy meow and crouched low beside her nest of five kittens. The babies were tiny, their eyes barely open.

Holly’s heart fisted. They’d be killed when the wrecking ball came to raze the old church tomorrow. She had to do something, but the mother cat looked none too pleased to have someone poking around near her brood.

“Easy there, mama. I won’t hurt—”

The scuff of feet cut Holly off.

A long, wide shadow fell over her, and a chill settled in her bones. Gasping, she whirled around.

A tall man with shoulders that filled the doorway blocked her only exit. His face was hidden in shadow. When he spoke, his voice was deep and dark. “What are you doing?”

Staring at the disheveled man who had her cornered in the dark room, Holly immediately conjured Robert’s theory.

Ryan’s killer was most likely a vagrant.

Chapter Two (#ud8cca0fe-afb6-5ed5-a700-34053d763db6)

Holly shoved to her feet, tried to answer.

Her voice stuck in her throat.

“Didn’t you see the sign? This place has been condemned. It’s dangerous.” The man stepped farther into the room, moving out of the shadow that had obscured his face.

Holly recognized the dark-haired man with piercing blue eyes who’d saved Tommy’s life, then disappeared from the Halloween party without a word.

Her scampering pulse calmed a bit, but she kept a wary distance. As he moved closer, she edged away. “I…just wanted…to have a last look. This church is important to me, and…I wanted…needed…”

She huffed a sigh. How did she explain about Ryan’s murder, the questions that needed answers, the closeness she felt to Ryan here? Why should she explain?

She straightened her spine and leveled her shoulders. “Never mind my reasons. I knew the risks and weighed them.”

He gave a negligent shrug. “All right.”

His gaze shifted to the pile of rags where the kittens squeaked and fussed.

Holly cleared her throat. “Why are you here?”

His cool, clear eyes found hers again. “I saw you go in and followed you.”

A prickle of apprehension crawled through her. “Why?”

“Like I said, the place is condemned. It could be dangerous. I didn’t want you breaking a leg and being stuck in here alone.”

She blinked at him, stunned. “Really?”

He angled his head and tugged up a corner of his mouth. “Really.”

Holly’s gaze lingered on his lips, visible despite the growth of several days’ beard. His lips were full, soft-looking…sexy. She shifted her feet, uncomfortable with the track of her thoughts. This man was a vagrant. Rumpled, unshaven, dirty. How could she find anything about him appealing?

Yet she remembered how, back at the community center, his blue eyes and calming touch had stirred a warmth in her belly. She sensed something different about him and puzzled over the source of that intuition.

He nodded to the nest of kittens. “Is this why you came in here? Did you know they were here?”

Holly wiped sweaty palms on her dress, then grimaced. She’d left dirty smears on the skirt. “No. But now that I’ve found them, I can’t leave them to die in the demolition tomorrow.”

“No. I reckon we can’t.”

She raised her chin. “We?”

“I’m at your disposal if you want my help.” When she hesitated, he stuck his hand out. “We met earlier but didn’t introduce ourselves. I’m Matt.”

She took his hand, trembling when his long fingers closed warmly around hers. “Holly.” She thought of the stained glass in the next room and held her breath. “If you’re serious about helping, there is something…”

He tipped his head. “Yeah?”

When she didn’t answer for a few seconds, he crouched by the kittens. The mother cat hissed and ran.

“Mom’s gonna be hard to catch. Harder to transport.” He picked up a kitten and stroked it with a finger. “They look pretty healthy. Too young to be without mom though. We’ll have to wrangle her to go with the babies, somehow.”

Holly appraised Matt more closely. Could she trust him?

His clothes, though well-worn, somewhat dirty and wrinkled, had been high quality when new. She recognized the name brand logo on his shirt pocket and designer cut of his slacks. Turning this incongruity over in her mind, she wondered where he’d gotten the expensive clothes. When he’d smiled, she’d noticed how white and straight his teeth were. Another anomaly among the men typically served at the Community Aid Center. So who was he? What was his story?

Trusting her gut, she squatted next to him and gently patted one of the squirming kittens. “I found a stained-glass window in the next room I want to save, too. It’s pretty heavy, but maybe between the two of us, we could get it to my truck.”

He met her gaze and nodded. “Sure, let’s have a look.”

Holly showed him the stained glass and stood back as he hefted it into his arms with little effort. “Lead the way.”

Taking the steps carefully, keeping near the wall, she led him outside and down the street to her truck. He rested the stained glass on the tailgate while she rearranged some painting supplies in the bed to make room for the window.

“I’m remodeling my farmhouse, and this glass would be perfect in the entry foyer over the door.”

“It is beautiful,” he agreed, settling it on the drop cloth she’d spread out. He dusted his hands and gave her a hard look. “You have someone at your house to help you unload it?”

Holly bit her bottom lip as she thought. “I can call one of my brothers-in-law to come over, perhaps.”

“What about your husband?”

Holly’s heartbeat stumbled, and she swallowed hard before she answered. “He died last year.”

Matt’s face darkened as his eyebrows drew together. “I’m so sorry. I lost my wife a few years ago myself. I know how hard it can be.”

“I’m sorry for you, too.” Her gaze flicked to the watch on his wrist that he’d told her was from his wife. The timepiece would have been an expensive gift. Had Matt come from a wealthy family? He certainly spoke like an educated man. If so, how had he suffered such a reversal of fortune?

“Now, about those kittens…” Matt scrubbed a hand on his chin, his beard making a scratching sound that danced down Holly’s spine with a pleasant shiver.