Her Christmas Hero

“Are you talking about the commercial Christmas or the real one?

“Both.”

“Not possible.”

“Of course it is. If your heart is in the right place. Good night, Linc.”

Gemma walked to her car with a smile on her face. She was actually coming to enjoy these little skirmishes with Linc. It might be fun toppling some of that arrogance. What he didn’t realize was that every time he challenged her it only made her more determined to make the Dover Christmas celebrations the biggest and flashiest she possibly could.

Take that, Mr. Linc.

Chapter Four (#ulink_9f12693c-06f6-502b-94a5-efe61ea0f262)

Saturday morning was chilly and overcast with a brisk breeze that demanded a warm jacket and a scarf to protect against the cold. Gemma hardly noticed. Her attention was focused on the happy boy on the field. Never had she felt so proud and so grateful. Watching Evan play flag football had lightened her mood and confirmed her decision to take the Chamber job. He was having the time of his life. He’d taken the field hesitantly at first, but quickly found his footing and had played the game with enthusiasm. It had helped that his new school friend and neighbor, Cody, was on the team.

And she had Linc to thank. She watched as he paced up and down the sidelines cheering on the boys, calling out directions and letting loose with a whoop and a fist in the air when they scored. He’d surprised her. She’d expected him to be demanding and harsh if the boys failed to perform well. When he strolled past her this time, he smiled and gestured toward the field.

“Evan is a natural. Was his dad an athlete?”

Gemma’s good mood plummeted the way it always did when the subject of Evan’s father came up. She stared straight ahead, focusing on the red number two on her son’s back. “I have no idea.” She sensed his surprise, but after a moment he moved on down the sideline calling out to one of the boys.

The game ended in a tie, but none of the players seemed to care. Evan raced toward her with a huge smile on his face, revealing his crooked teeth. There were braces in his future. But she’d do anything, spend any amount to make sure he had a happy life.

Linc dismissed the boys from a short postgame meeting, and Gemma opened her arms for a hug as soon as Evan ran back toward her. “You were great, honey. Did you have fun?”

“It was awesome. I can’t wait for next week.”

Linc joined them, ruffling Evan’s hair. “Good job, buddy. You’re a real asset to the team.” He looked at her and smiled. “You ready to head to the storage area?”

They had ridden to the game with Linc this morning so he could show her the way. The fields were tucked away on the edge of Dover in what used to be a cotton field. She would have had trouble finding it alone. He also offered to drive her to the storage facility after the game.

“Yes. I just need to check with the Fenellis. They invited Evan to go with them to get pizza.”

As soon as she climbed into Linc’s truck she regretted agreeing to this arrangement. Evan had been with them this morning, and he and Coach, as Evan now called him, had discussed game strategy. Being alone with the man had her nerves firing and her palms sweaty—and had her questioning her lack of foresight. She stole a glance at her companion. No nerves there. He looked as cool as a cucumber, with his wrist resting on the steering wheel, eased back in the driver’s seat and head cocked to one side as if he didn’t have a worry in the world.

She suspected he did have things he was concerned about. It wasn’t hard to see that he grieved his father deeply. And her assistant, Leatha, had mentioned that with his brother Gil out of town, the entire company rested on Linc’s shoulders. It was one of the largest electrical contracting firms in the area, with jobs stretching from Lake Charles, Louisiana, to Orange Beach, Alabama. She knew firsthand the stress of running a company, but Fine Day Events hadn’t been nearly as large as Montgomery Electrical.

“So where is this storage facility located?”

“Across town. It used to be a drugstore before the owners sold it to the city. It got too hard to keep track of all the stuff needed for the events. Things kept getting lost, so Mom decided it would be easier to keep everything in one place.”