Read Online A Christmas Family Wish by Helen Scott Taylor - Free Book Online

steps to
the bed and climbed in, tugging the thick comforter up and snuggling against
her little boy.
    Ian's clean herbal fragrance clung to the pillow and covers,
wrapping her in his aura, even though she wasn't touching him. At least she was
near him.
    Rachel had dreamed of sharing Ian's bed, dreamed of being in
his arms. Those dreams had not included a four-year-old chaperone, but right
now all she wanted was to be with them both.
    "Did you notice the time?" he whispered.
    "Nearly three."
    Silence filled the room for a few moments, the only sound
the subtle creak of the old house.
    "This isn't how I imagined it would be when you came to
my bed," Ian said softly.
    "No."
    "I promise we'll be together soon, Rachel." Ian's
breath hissed out in a sigh. "First, I have to straighten out my
life."
    A frisson of disquiet passed through her. "What's
wrong?"
    For long moments he didn't answer; she started to think he
wasn't going to. Then he turned on his side to face her and reached over Toby
to clasp her hand. "There's something I need to discuss with you. I didn't
want the issues from my past to get in the way of our relationship, but I think
it's inevitable."
    Rachel's disquiet deepened. "Go on."
    "The phone call was from my ex, Jane. She tends to do
that, call late or early or anytime that's inconvenient, usually after she's
had a fight with her husband."
    Rachel's growing sense of fear that her relationship with Ian
would be derailed by his ex receded at the mention of another man.
    "Can't you tell her to talk to her husband?" And
leave Ian alone. From the tone of his voice, he saw this woman as an annoyance.
    "It's more complicated than that. I have a daughter
with her. Ella's about the same age as Toby."
    Rachel's heart pulsed in painful beats as though it were being
squeezed by a giant fist. She hadn't suspected for a moment that Ian had a
child. Why hadn't he mentioned her before? There were no photos of Ella in the
house. The moment she thought that, she noticed a photo in a frame on his
bedside table.
    During the last eight years he'd had relationships with
other women and there were always consequences. How stupid of her not to consider
that.
    "Where does she live?"
    "Jane's new husband took them down to Cornwall,
supposedly for a new job. Although I'm pretty sure he just wanted to move far
enough away that it was difficult for me to see Ella."
    "Why?"
    Ian rubbed a hand over his face. "He wants me out of
Jane's life."
    Rachel wasn't comfortable with the idea of Ian seeing his ex
regularly either, but she would never keep him from seeing his daughter.
"Are you going to see Ella over the Christmas holidays?"
    "I tried to arrange something, but it's almost
impossible to get any type of commitment out of Jane. The last time I was
supposed to see Ella, I arrived and they were out. I hung around all day. In
the end, I had to drive home without seeing her. It's a hell of a long way to go
for nothing."
    "Oh, Ian, I'm sorry." Rachel so desperately wanted
Toby to have a father that she couldn't understand a woman who would behave
like Jane.
    "I've been lying awake, turning things over in my
head," Ian said. "I'm worried about Ella. I need to put my mind at
rest that she's okay, so I'm going to drive down to Cornwall tomorrow. I'm
sorry to miss our day out tomorrow, but we'll have Christmas Day
together."
    Rachel had sensed this coming. She couldn't blame Ian for
wanting to see Ella, but her heart pinched with disappointment. She'd built up
Christmas in her mind to be this amazing family event when she and Toby would
bond with Ian, the visit to the zoo, and then Christmas Day itself.
    Life never lived up to her dreams.

Chapter Seven
    Rachel leaned on the metal bars around the elevated walkway
at the elephant's enclosure and stared down at the two mammoth creatures below.
The closest one curled its trunk around a chunk of hay, lifted the bunch of
grassy strands, and poked them in its mouth.
    "What's it eating, Mummy?" Toby peered