Christmas Kisses

Chapter 23: Christmas Kisses #3

Even with all her charity work, Cecelia couldn't remember a more rewarding night than this one. During the drive home, she and Sean rehashed the evening. From the way he talked, it appeared he had also been profoundly touched. She'd suspected the boy was sensitive, but now it was confirmed.

By the time they arrived home it was after eleven. When they entered the house, Mac was waiting in his recliner. He smiled and asked, "Did you have fun?"

Cecelia exclaimed, "It was wonderful! I can't even express how happy Sage and Sarah made those children."

Mac glanced at Sean and the boy said with no animosity toward his father. "It was great."

Cecelia was so happy about the way Mac and Sean were getting along that she chanced a question. "I know it's late, but how about we take a ride around town and look at the lights." She said pointedly to Mac, "No one is out this time of night and the city is so beautiful. You could see how my coffee shop is decorated." She held her breath.

For a second, Mac looked away and her heart sank, but when he returned his gaze to hers and said, "Why not?" she couldn't stop grinning.

Sean said, "You two go ahead. I'm kinda tired."

Cecelia figured the boy was giving her time alone with Mac and she appreciated his sensitivity.

* * *

Sean couldn't believe his luck. While Cecelia and Mac were out of the house he intended to see if he could pick the lock into the only room in the house he hadn't seen. When he started to feel guilty, he pushed the feeling aside. He had a right to know everything about the man who had brought him into the world and the mother he would never meet. As soon as Cecelia and Mac backed out of the driveway he got a tiny screwdriver from the junk drawer in the kitchen and set to work. The lock was surprisingly easy to pick—a couple of pokes and he heard the button pop on the other side.

His heart beat rapidly as he turned the knob and pushed the door open. The room was dark and he fumbled for the light switch. When the light turned on he glanced at folded easels leaning against a wall, shelves of paint supplies and brushes, a table with books piled high, an easy chair in one corner, and a painting covered with a drape near a bank of windows with the curtains drawn.

Sean knew his dad was a little strange, but locking an art room was really odd. Maybe the stuff didn't belong to his dad. Maybe it belonged to the owner of the house just like Cecelia had said. He was about to close the door when he had a sudden thought, But maybe it does belong to Mac; maybe he paints weird shit. He decided to check out the covered painting.

The drape was lightweight and easily lifted. Wow. This is really good! Sean studied the outdoor scene that was mystical, yet painted to appear like real life. He searched for a signature—Conner MacKenzie. Is my dad's name Conner? Sean had assumed his name was Mac MacKenzie because his correspondence to Sean's adopted parents had always been signed Mac. He'd only learned his father's last name after arriving in Paxtonville because his parents wouldn't tell him anything. He studied the picture. It looked finished. He was about to turn away when he glimpsed what appeared to be a man and woman holding hands and hidden among the trees. Their backs were to the observer.

Something niggled at the back of Sean's mind. He'd heard about a painter who always hid figures in his paintings. He left the room and ran upstairs to his bedroom. Opening his laptop, he signed on to the internet and did a search on the name Conner MacKenzie.

The first listing to pop up was the official website for Connor MacKenzie, but instead of clicking and going to the website, he read the entry from a blog site below that one.